Vest is Best

The weather is warming up and Art's winter knits are slowly retiring and being replaced by short sleeved onesies, singlets and.... knitted vests! Just as he thought he was free from the world of wool...

Here's his latest collection of knits for the colder mornings and outings leading up to summer. I think he has enough now?

 My nana made the bear one. It is so stretchy and soft! I call him Arthur Bear, so I wanted an old school classic knitted bear vest for him. Nana thought the bears were ugly... I'd classify them in that ugly but cute category... and I love it, and this poor kid has me in charge of dressing him!

Mum made this nice darker blue one - fancy shmancy... 

This was the first one Mum made the other day... it JUST covers his little round tum. Seriously - this boy is getting some serious chub going on.

And that's it - time to put on a vest and take him into the garden for some fresh air. He is 12 weeks today! Happy 12 weeks Arthur Bear and thank you for being such a happy and content little baby. He does actually smile a lot! - but as soon as he sees the camera he gets all blue steel on me.

Hello Sunshine

It actually felt like Summer was arriving this weekend. We can finally enjoy our big back yard and Art can lie under the fruit trees, watching the leaves blowing in the wind, smelling the sweet smells of grass and sunshine.

I love watching his senses go into overdrive. His little nose twitching, eyes darting all over the place struggling to take everything in, and then looking over at me every so often and smiling as if to say "This place is GREAT mum!".

He strangely spreads each of his really long monkey toes apart in anticipation of touching the ground, gently bouncing his feet up and down on the blades of grass, and then kicking his chubby little legs with excitement.

Imagine what's going through his brand new little brain when he experiences all of these new sights, sounds and smells. It's the strangest thing to think about and the most amazing thing to witness. When you stop each day and imagine life from their perspective, it makes you slow right down and look at things in a totally new way.

Before Art, I never would think of going and sitting on a blanket in the garden on a Sunday afternoon - I'd be cleaning the house, or browsing the net, or doing washing or something equally as boring.This kid has opened my eyes again.

He is by far his happiest when wearing no clothes or in the water - so to be only in a singlet and nappy made him pretty happy. Wait until it's warm enough to be nude in a paddling pool! That will just blow his little mind.

10 weeks

We're nearly at 11 weeks... which is nearly 12 weeks...which is 3 months! That came about pretty quickly! I'm already forgetting those early days and finding myself going "that's right... remember how we rocked that basinette for two hours that night to get him to sleep?"

Where are we at 10 weeks and a bit?... I still stare at this little bundle in awe. I just want to eat him he is so scrummy. I have those "my kid is the most beautiful baby in the world" eyes going on.

He has discovered an ability to blow spit bubbles and actually squeals with delight now which is pretty cute to watch and is really starting to look at things, like his books and react to what is happening around him. Incy wincy spider is a big hit around here and I may have sung it 20 times on repeat this morning to get him to nap, but I don't mind, because watching him nod off into sleepy land is pretty sweet (when he isn't screaming). Seriously though, when a baby FINALLY closes their eyes you want to do a victory dance.

He got his first mozzie bites this weekend when we stayed at the beach. 5 of them on his head. Naughty mozzies! They look so angry and red, but don't seem to be bothering him.

Last week he worked out how to fall asleep on his own! Hallelujah! Three sleeps in a row he just lay there babbling, then staring at the wall, then closing his eyes and nodding off peacefully. I think I nearly high-fived myself I was so excited. Then he forgot again... and needed SHHHHHHHHHing, and lots of it. Now some naps are self settled, and some are very very very labour intensive (hence 20 repeats of incy wincy). The naps where he goes down super overtired are always the hardest. He's awesome at going straight back to sleep after night time feeds, and to be honest that's more important to me than self settling for day sleeps. To be able to feed for 10-20 mins and then crawl back into bed with a sleeping, contented baby is awesome.

OK enough about sleep because I'm fast becoming one of those mums who just talks about sleep... and her baby... and sleep.... and it REALLY bores people. Sorry! I said I wouldn't become that person...but look at me go!

Tommy the turtle has been with him since the day he was born. Mum said this shot isn't so flattering and his face looks chub. Hah. Mean Grandma! His chub is delicious. 

My little dude... 

Tummy time attitude. Yeah... I got this mum. 

This little guy is about to get his first ever ski suit and goggles all ready to take on Canada. CUTE! Baby ski suits are ridiculously cute. I'll be taking LOTS of pictures, don't worry. 

My baby must haves...

Amongst the mountain of baby stuff we have received and purchased, there have been a few things that have come in very handy since Art was born, and I thought I'd create  a little list of those things for other expectant mums to maybe consider adding to their shopping carts...

I guess they could be considered my must haves?

Aden & Anais Wraps

These are extra large muslin wraps and worth the money! I got the above print 'Liam the Brave' as they are unisex and will last for my future babies, be them boys or girls. I used these to swaddle before moving to the swaddle bag. They make good spill cloths, sheets in his basinette, a light cover in the pram or a nice ground cover for some tummy time. They have so many uses. They wash up beautifully and dry in no time at all. Love them! I was lucky to receive two more A&A wraps from a friend at my baby shower... note to other readers - a REALLY nice gift for mums to be! 

Love To Swaddle Bags

Art has always been a hand sucker since birth, so swaddling him was hard. He spent more time wriggling out of the wrap than sleeping in those early days! I tried one arm swaddling techniques and everything. Then one night I zipped him into the 'Love to Swaddle' bag that my friend Hanna lent me. He slept... like a baby? I got about a 3 hour nap on the first go! 

He outgrew the small, so we invested in two medium bags. He knows when he's getting zipped in that it's sleeping time! These were about $35 each but WORTH IT! He loves being able to still suck his hands (the bags get pretty worn in the hand area!) and he stays a nice temperature. 

Toshi Muslins

My sister gave me a Toshi wrap in the print below. This follows us everywhere, it is practical and cute and the perfect weight for so many things, as well as a nice big size. My cousin's wife sent me another one in the mail the other day. They appear to be widely available in Australia, but not so much here. She gave us a cute one with grey and red bikes on it. Love it. 

Plain White Onesies

Art pretty much has a uniform - plain long sleeved onesie and pants. Easy for nappy changing, and easy to match with all of his clothes. I buy the Teeny-Weeny ones from Farmers for about $8 each. Whenever they have a sale I stock up on various sizes. Their all in ones are also simple and sweet for bedtime, and not too fussy for nappy changing. Some of those all in ones are a nightmare! 

The Nappy Bag 

I purchased this bag from Glassons for about $40 and it's done well so far as a nappy bag. I decided to just start with a small bag as I know, the bigger the bag, the more crap I'd throw into it. Being smaller I need to repack it often, so I sort through and reorganise what's in there, so I'm always properly stocked before leaving the house. It fits in several swaddles, blankets, spare clothes and my other bits and pieces. The front pockets are the perfect size for nappies and wipes so they are easy to access. 

The Carry Cot

I was fortunate to have a friend who was willing to part with their mountain buggy. She organised to have it cleaned and serviced, and when it was delivered to my place it was like brand new! well worth looking into a second hand pram and just paying the $50 to have it serviced and steam cleaned. 

Because we didn't spend too much on the pram, I decided to buy the carry cot attachment for $200. It's been so handy! He sleeps for hours in that bed, and when we go away for the night it serves as a portable cot. I will be so sad when he doesn't fit in here anymore! 

The Flexi Bath 

We don't have a bath in our house at the moment, so we got this one which folds up nice and flat for easy storage when not in use. When you're lacking in storage space, it's great! It's easy to throw into the car if we are going away for the night. Art LOVES his bath. 

There are so many more things  - but they're the stand outs. His moses basket and rocking stand were a great buy as well. He has nearly outgrown his basket...nearly time for the big boy cot. 

Half a decade

As of today we've been married for 5 years... How did it go by so quickly? I'll tell you how... by having FUN! In the past 5 years we've circled the globe, had selfish, relaxing getaways, had many memorable social outings with friends, numerous dinner dates, saved our house deposit, house hunted unsuccessfully (work in progress)... and grew our family by one more member!

This is our first wedding anniversary with our newest member... baby Arthur. What a better way to start the day than to have your little boy look at his Daddy in bed and just lose himself in smiles and coos... it melts my heart completely to see these two guys that I love so much developing this unbreakable bond.

I felt a LOT of love today.

We celebrated by putting my little red tulips in a vase on the windowsill, popping up the road for a drink at a local pub together as a family... and came home to bathe our little boy, tuck him into bed and order Thai takeaways... perfect I reckon.

Time for an update...

Where is the time going? This little guy is 8 weeks, going on 9... and he is changing so quickly. Some days when he wakes up in the morning I swear he looks different, literally changing in his sleep.

So at 8 weeks, what's happening?...

He decided he wasn't quite ready to sleep through the night (he teased us with a few nights of only needing one feed..) and now wants two again. I offered him a dream feed again seeing if that would carry him through a bit longer, but it made no difference.. to him that was just a bonus feed.
He is getting better at the napping game, and I'm getting better at reading his signals. This guy is super social and loves getting out and about. Most of the time he is the best baby... when he has melt downs and sleep issues I think it's more to do with us carting him about and letting him get waaaaaaaaay overtired.

Ok enough about sleep - I talk about it way too much.

He LOVES his tummy time, gets right up there, lifting up his chest and chatting away like "look at me, look at me" it is the cutest thing EVER! Yesterday he also finally worked out how to flip from his tummy to his back. We saw him trying the other day... and it's like he had a rethink over night and woke up the next morning going... I got this! and he got it... 6 times in a row... {proud parent}

He has found his voice... In the mornings we prop him up on our knees in bed and he chats away in his husky little man voice... giggling to himself. We don't know WHAT goes on during the night, but come morning he has a lot to say about it.

He has discovered Mack the Moose on the wall in his room. When I'm changing him he turns towards Mack on the wall and chats away to him. I went over and patted Mack on the nose the other day and Art just lit up with ear to ear smiles and started squealing, apparently it was the most exciting thing. He talks to him sometimes when I go in and get him out of bed. Like he's saying "I've finished sleeping now Mack, but I'll see you soon"

I think things are going pretty well to be honest. I feel absolutely in love and fulfilled. I love my little family and just adore watching every little thing this guy does. I had no idea I'd feel this way. I actually miss him while he sleeps. {can you tell we're had a good week?}

He wakes! Time for smiles and cuddles.