The week of the 4th August

Its been another busy couple of weeks, I didn't get to do a recap last week so this is effectively for two weeks. Between gymbaroo, swimming, mothers group, and trying to catch up with friends, the weeks have just flown by, and the weekends come as a well needed refuge.

We finally signed a contract to have our bathroom and laundry renovated. It starts next week so I'm excited but also nervous about having to work around not having a bathroom with a young baby for three weeks.

I started making lactation cookies again to see if they would help (I blogged about my issues with breastfeeding here if you want to read about it), so have been snacking on heaps of those as well as this yummy five:am yoghurt.

 I also finished my box of chia squeezes, so I decided to make my own and they turned out great! I actually think I like them better than the Mamma Chia ones, which is good because its also cheaper to make my own. I got these reusable pouches from Pouched.

 In major fashion news, I got my Jimmy Choos signed by the man himself! Jimmy Choo was making an appearance at Claremont Quarter for a shoe exhibition they have set up in his honour. I was lucky enough that my mum works for the centre and got to meet him! So lucky ;)

In other fashion news, I bought my first pair of pants in about 5 years. I have refused to wear pants for such a long time as I didn't think they suited my body shape, but I found these at target and really liked the look o them. My mum thought they looked like pajamas, but I don't think so. What do you think about this style of pant? I ended up getting the blue ones, but thinking about getting the black/white as well.

Also fell in love with this skirt from Seed. I haven't bought anything for myself from there before, only baby clothes. 

New shoes! I really wanted a pair of bright pink shoes and these fit the bill perfectly. This was also a nice bonus from work!

Finally got a new one of my favourite candle: Aquiesse Boardwalk. I haven't even had to burn it yet, the smell of the candle alone fills up the room.

Another big thing that's happened is I've officially cancelled my gym membership. I was finding it so hard to go now that I've got a newborn, because I'm already out of the house two nights a week for pilates, and the rest of the week I really wanted to be home with the husband and baby for quality family time. I am now on the Turbo Fire bandwagon, and having done it for about a week so far I can say I'm enjoying it. Its much more practical for me as I can fit in a workout at home when S is asleep rather than having to wait for P to get home to look after her. 

We went to the Perth Baby Expo on Saturday, and made out like bandits with samples. Will probably give quite a few away to my mother friends as I really don't need most of them.

Lastly, on Sunday we went on a huge (1.5 hour) walk down by South Perth. The weather was amazing and it felt great just to get out with the family and enjoy a walk.

 S also turned 4 months on Sunday, so we wanted to get some proper photos of us. We ended up with some great shots, here's my favourite:

Riette

x

Baby gear hits and misses

Becoming parents for the first time is very daunting, and when you consider all the things available for babies these days it can be overwhelming deciding what to buy. Here's a list of things I have found great and not so great since having our baby S:

The hits

 

1. Travel system

We purchased a Bugaboo Chameleon 3 with a Maxi Cosi Titan capsule. We wanted to have a pram that we could use with a capsule as we thought it would be easier rather than having to take the baby in and out every time we left the car. I am so glad we decided to buy this, S usually sleeps when she gets in the car so I can just leave her sleeping happily whilst I get out the pram to go to the shops etc...I am still on my pram L plates, but I love the look of this pram and it steers so smoothly. It does take up quite a bit of space in our boot and we have a hatchback Mazda 6, however we still have enough room for shopping so it should be fine whilst she is young and we don't need the boot for other activities.

 

2. Stretchy baby carriers

S was very unsettled in the first few weeks of life and wouldn't sleep unless being held, which made actually doing anything around the house impossible. We have an Ergo but she was too small for it initially, so on the recommendation of our baby photographer, I put her in a stretchy wrap and she instantly loved it. Some of the more popular ones are the Moby and Hug a Bub, but I had a couple of Hana wraps that I purchased cheaply off Brands Exclusive last year and they did the trick just as well. I used them to carry S when I took Jessie on her daily walks so I could be hands free, and around the house for cleaning/cooking.

3. Cherry pacifiers

S loves to suck so a dummy was a lifesaver! Cherry ones are definitely the way to go as they stay in the mouth better than other types. We have tried both Happy Baby and Tommee Tippee ones with success.

4. Nappi creme

S is lactose intolerant (apparently quite common in newborns and usually passes as their guts mature), and because of this she gets lots of nappy rash. I was given this cream at my baby shower and it is magic, the rash pretty much disappears straight away.!

5. Bonds wondersuits

These are the best onesies I've tried, especially the ones that zip up as it makes late night/early morning changes so much quicker. They are also really reasonably priced especially if buying online as Bonds always has big discounts.

The misses

1. Baby sock, mittens and hats

I purchased some of each before going to hospital thinking we'd need them, but they are all useless! I don't understand how you keep them on, as soon as the baby does anything they end up on the floor. Cute for pictures, but not practical at all.

2. Gro egg

I do actually like the Gro Egg, but it became redundant when we purchased our baby monitor as it also has a temperature reading.

3. Bed sheets and change table covers

With the number of accidents new babies have, after a couple of sheet changes we gave up and now just keep the mattress protector on the bed and swap them over when needed (don't worry, it's nice and soft). Also after the first nappy change we took of the change table cover as we realised it would also just get covered in mess.

4. Ergo infant insert

We love the Ergo (we bought the performance model) but found the infant insert was awkward to use and we were worried about suffocating S when she was in it. I used stretchy wraps instead until she was big enough to fit without the insert (around 9 weeks).

And that is my list so far, I'm sure as time goes by there will be many more things we'll love and things we won't like so much. What were your favourite or least favourite baby items?