10 Month update

This month has been spent getting back to normality after all the Christmas fun. Chris and I had a special date night at the Hand and Flowers, so Jackson had his first sleep over at Yaya's (my mums). It couldn't have gone better but we did miss him loads! 

Jackson had his 9/10 month check with the Health Visitor which went really well. I was quite worried about it, as it is one of the first times that he's been tested and I almost felt that my parenting skills would be assessed. However, unless you have something in particular that you are worried about, its really not a big deal, it was more of a general chat! 

One of Jackson's buddies turned 1 this month, so we all went round to her house to celebrate.

We also had another catch up with some of Jackson's only boy friends in Kent, which meant a bit of a drive to get there, and he was the best he's ever been in the car! It was lovely to see the twin boys and to see how they are getting on. 

Milestones

One of the main changes this month is that Jackson is now 'cruising' around the furniture in our house and walking with help from his walker. 

He has also started a sort of throwing action with his ball toys, which he then races off to catch. 

He has started holding his milk bottle himself but is still finding it difficult to tip it to get all of the milk out as he is not tipping it quite enough. 

He learnt to wave a while back too, but he then sort of forgot how to do it! This month, however, he waves all the time, even sometimes when nobody is coming or going!

Jackson's speech is coming along really well, which is obvious because he never seems to stop talking! He copies a lot of sounds that we will make at him, such as his favourite, which is 'Oh no'.

He had another two teeth come through this month, taking his total up to 10!

We also decided to stop giving him his dummy for nap-time. He was starting to get a rash around his mouth from all the dribble and the dummy containing it around his lips, so after a lot of talking and worrying about it, we ditched it! Despite our worries about how he would cope without his beloved dummy, the nights weren't too bad and he seemed to go straight to sleep when we put him down. However, his daytime naps were more of a struggle and he still sometimes refuses to go to sleep during them. The rash, however, cleared up quickly and overall he seems perfectly happy without it! 

Routine

This hasn't changed that much this month, although he has now dropped his morning bottle:

8:00/8:30am - wake up and bottle

9:00am – breakfast

10:30am – nap for about 30mins

12:00pm – lunch

1:00pm – nap for 30 mins to an hour

2:30pm – bottle

5:00pm – dinner

5:45pm - bath and bottle

7:00pm - down for bed

Each time he is having about 6oz of milk in a bottle and 7oz before bed.

Clothes and weight

He has moved into 12-18 months clothes but can still sort of fit into 9-12 month sizes.

I got him weighed a couple of weeks ago and he was 24 lbs 5oz, which is over 11kgs. He also made a jump on the percentile chart, going up to just below the 98^th line.

Love Sophia xxx

How to entertain a 10 month old

I am loving this age and how interactive Jackson is. We play together loads and he is at the stage where he can sometimes play by himself too! Below, I have shared a few of our favourite games that we play:

The first one uses bubbles - we have a bubble machine that I picked up from Tesco's and as soon as the machine is switched on, Jackson is glued to it! He's not yet trying to catch the bubbles but just loves to stare at them floating through the air. 

The next play activity we often do is stacking cups or building blocks. I will build towers and then Jackson will knock them over - he will often turn to me afterwards, waiting for me to build it up again! 

An obvious one, which I am sure most mums do, is going out for a walk. He likes looking around at the surroundings and especially likes seeing the sun shine through the leaves (when we get sun that is!!!) 

Whilst out walking, we also often go to the park; Jackson finds the swings hilarious! 

Jackson is just starting to show an interest in books. The textured ones are his favourite and he enjoys turning the pages for me.  

One, which will be brilliant in the summer, is water play. For now, he enjoys playing with his cups, which have holes in the bottom, in the bath and with his squirting animal toys but when the weather is nicer we can give him some buckets of water to play with in the garden. 

Jackson has loads of toys but he will play with pots and pans from our kitchen cupboards for the longest! I think he must enjoy the loud noises (great for when mummy has a headache!). 

Nursery rhymes always go down well with Jackson. Some of his favourites are 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and "Old Macdonald Had a Farm'. Our local library has a free class called 'Bounce and Rhyme', which is brilliant for practising all the nursery rhymes. 

Another thing he enjoys doing is playing in his ball pit. He loves crawling in and out of the tent and pushing and chasing all of the balls across the floor. 

I think 'Peek-a-boo' is a baby favourite, not just with Jackson, but for all babies. I normally use a muslin cloth (as I alway have one near by) and either cover my face or his. This gets some brilliant giggles out of him! 

If you want to see my youtube video please click below...

Let me know what games/toys your baby loves! 

Love Sophia xxx

What Jackson ate

Weaning has been so much fun, even though it can be really messy and very difficult at times. There have been many occasions when I have had no idea what to make or give Jackson - I do like to give him homemade food as much as possible, so I make sure that everything I make is freezer friendly or that he can have the leftovers from our previous night's dinner. Most of the time, I have stuck to 'baby led weaning', giving Jackson finger foods that he can eat himself. However, I haven't stuck religiously to it, giving him mostly cereal for breakfast and when he's had a cold/sore throat, I have given him completely pureed food instead. 

This is what Jackson, who is nearly a 10 month old baby, ate today. 

Breakfast: Weetabix made with warmed, full fat milk. 

Lunch: 1 sausage, cucumber, peppers, celery, cheese and a yogurt for pudding. 

Dinner: Pasta with veggie sauce (from the Annabel Karmel cook book) and a tangerine for pudding (for your information, Jackson made so much mess with the pasta but really enjoyed it!!!!!).

Along side all the meals, he has water from his beaker. He also has 3 bottles of milk a day.

Let me know what you do for your little ones food throughout the day!

Love Sophia xx

Mum Cheats

Becoming a Mum means I have even less spare time than when I worked a full time job. However, over the last 10 months, I have found ways to save time and to generally make my life run a bit smoother.

The first one is dry shampoo - this is a life saver. I used to religiously wash my hair every other day but now that's not always possible. On a good week, I have time to wash my locks twice (which I actually think is better for my hair anyway!). I also spray some dry shampoo on every morning to give me a burst of freshness. And for the days that the dry shampoo is just not enough, you can always turn to hats!!!

The second life-cheat I have found is the formula dispenser. Obviously, breastfeeding can be a lot easier but if your like me and want to move on from breastfeeding to a bottle, milk powder dispensers are simply the best. I actually have three separate pots, each with three compartments and I fill them up in the morning when I need to. So when ever Jackson needs milk, its very quick and easy to tip the already measured powder into his bottle. This is especially helpful when your baby needs feeding... NOW! 

The third one to mention is freezable meals. I like to make all of Jackson's meals but I don't want to waste my time everyday in the kitchen. Chris is off work on Tuesdays, so I take a few hours out and make lots of freezer suitable meals for the week and separate them into portions. Then all I do in the morning is take out what I want and let it defrost, making it really easy when Lunch/Dinner time comes around. 

The fourth hack is another food one but is mainly for Mummy and Daddy, however, Jackson does eat most of what I cook as well. It involves using a slow cooker - during Jackson's morning nap, I chop up and fry off any meat we have and put it in the slow cooker so it's ready for our dinner. 

For number five, it's a bit of a beauty regime. During the winter, my skin tends to go back to it's original Welsh colouring but nowadays I don't have, nor do I want to spend, loads of my spare time fake tanning. St.Tropez have brought out an in-shower fake tan, which is amazing! All you have to do is shower as normal, then turn off the shower, massage in the lotion, wait 3mins and then rinse it off. It's only a gradual tan, so you have to do it a few times to really get the benefit, but makes the Winter look a lot more bearable!

My last pointer is to do with storage - during the day my house looks like the Tasmanian Devil has been over for an espresso party! But as soon as Chris is home at 6pm, I head downstairs and start clearing up while he takes over of Jackson's bedtime routine. I put everything back in their cupboards and tidy his toys into some cute storage boxes we have, so they are easy to get in and out. This means that in the evening, we have a clean and tidy 'adult zone' to relax in!

Let me know if you have any other Mum Cheats. 

Love Sophia xxx

Jackson's first sleepover

On Monday night, we had a booking at the Hand and Flowers!!!!! We actually booked it nearly a year ago, this being the earliest date available, and we still only got an 8:45pm booking (must be a popular place!). I asked my Mum to look after Jackson but due to how late the table was booked for, we thought best that Jackson have a sleepover at my Mum's.

She picked him up after work at around 5pm and took him back to her house, which was perfect as it meant I had time for an extra long bath. Chris doesn't get to see Jackson in the morning, so he dropped by my Mum's after he finished work to have a quick cuddle and say goodnight.

I have to admit, it was very nice to get ready with out little hands helping me or adding dribble to my outfit!

When we got to the Hand and Flowers we both had a cocktail while we waited for our table.

I'm afraid that after that snap, we got carried away and forgot to take any more pictures, but I can tell you that it was amazing. I had a starter of 'Crispy Pig's Head with Pickled Pineapple, Sage and Onion Puree, Pancetta and Crackling'. Then, for my main, I had 'Slow Cooked Duck Breast "a l'Orange" with Duck Sausage, Girolle and Rillette Tart'.

Chris had a starter of 'Pork and Mushroom Terrine with Dill, Pickles and Toasted Sourdough', then a main of 'Loin of Cotswold Venison with Boudin Noir Puree, Allotment Roots, Ragout Pie and Cow Puff'.

We had every intention of getting at least a dessert to share, but unfortunatly we were too full! Maybe I can use that as an excuse to go back again to try sometime! ;)

Jackson was as good for my Mum as he is with us but we did miss him loads! He was dropped off just after 9am the next day so my Mum could get to work. Of course my Mum sent us loads of photos to keep our nerves at bay while we were out!

We really enjoyed our night out and Jackson had a really lovely time at Yaya's. 

Love Sophia xxx

Clothes and Toy Haul

I was naughty and went shopping again! It's ok though, as it was for Jackson and most things were in the sale! The main places I went were Zara and Next, both have become my 'go to' place for when the little man needs new clothes. The haul also includes some bits from Fred and Noah, a company owned by two British mummies that make clothes for babies. They can be found on Etsy.com (link below).

Jackson got so many presents for Christmas, so I thought that I would include a few of the toys he got on here too. They may give you some ideas for any babies you might need to buy gifts for, however, the ones I have shown were some of Jackson's main presents, so they might be slightly on the pricier side. Therefore, I have also included some cheaper options underneath.

Everything that is still available to buy, I have linked below. Just click on the shop name and you will be directed to the site. Enjoy!

Top: Next 

Trousers and Bib: Fred and Noah

Wooden Walker: Johnlewis

Alternative: Amazon

Shirt: Next 

Trousers: Zara

Wooden Activity Table: Johnlewis

Alternative: Amazon

Jumper: Next 

Trousers: Next 

Book storage: Great Little Trading Company

Alternative: Amazon

Shirt: Zara

Trousers: Next

Balls: Amazon

Let me know which outfit is your favourite!

Love Sophia xxx

January Blues

When I was in late pregnancy, one of my fears was getting Postnatal Depression. Previously, I have briefly suffered from depression, so I had a teeny tiny insight into it and I never want to feel like that again.

I was very lucky and never suffered from Postnatal Depression but after having a baby, your hormones are all over the place and ‘baby blues’ are very common. It takes a while for all your hormones to settle and I still have some down days now. I think it doesn’t help with the mixture of sleepless nights and teething babies!

I am by no means a professional, nor can I understand how bad it can be for some mummies, however, I did think that I would share some of my tips on how I can make myself feel better:

1.     Talking - yeah I am going to say the cheesy line ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. I always tell Chris when I feel down, otherwise you can say things that you don’t mean and then it can lead to an argument. Also, talking to friends and other mummies always helps, as it makes you understand that you are not the only one to feel like this.

2.    Listening to music - I find that putting on music really loud and dancing round the house like a complete idiot can give you instant happiness and Jackson finds it hilarious!

3.    Making your baby laugh - hearing Jackson’s laugh has got to be one of the best things. I love the way the way he laughs with his whole face.

4.    Hot bath - this can only happen in the evenings when Chris is around to take care of Jackson. I run the bath at a temperature that I can only just cope with. As a self-confessed Lush fanatic, I use one of their bath bombs (that alone is satisfying) then I lay in the bath until my fingers have gone wrinkly.   

5.    YouTube - this may seem a strange one for some people but I search for some of my favourite bloggers and watch them cope with real life situations and again it makes you see that you're not alone in life’s struggles.

6.    Write a blog - the Internet is such a good place to express your feelings. Even if you don’t want to publish it, just writing things down really helps. I often write blog posts that I don’t end up publishing!

7.    One of my favourites is a cuddle - this can be from Jackson, hubby and/or the puppies!

I hope this helps you and would love to hear how you make yourselves feel better.

Love Sophia xx