Elliot's 8 Month Update

Dear Elliot,

This month was all about pumpkins and Autumn. We have been on some lovely walks, although we have realised that we need a new baby-carrier, as you are far too heavy to be carried on our fronts now, hah!! We also had half-term so your brother had a week with no school, yay!!! 

One of the best things we did this month was your underwater photoshoot, which was made even better when we all joined in and had a full family photo. CAN NOT wait to get the photos back! 

Milestones 

I feel like you have completely changed this month, you don't seem like a baby anymore!!!!!!!!! 

You got 3 more teeth making a total of 6 and they are all almost completely through which makes you look really different. 

You eat loads now and basically having the same meals as us. You say Mama now too. 

The biggest change is that you 'army crawled' at the beginning of this month and now are in full blown crawling mode. You do still need some practise before you are catching up with your brother and sister though. 

Routine

I am still feeding you on demand but we have been trying to get you into more of a routine, when we are at home we are now putting you in you in your cot for naps: 5:30 - 6:30am -  Wake up8:00am - Breakfast 9:00am - Nap (anything from 30mins to 2 hours)12:00pm - Feed 1:00pm - Nap (anything from 30mins to 2 hours)5:00pm - Dinner  6:00pm - Bath with your brother and sister 7:00 - 8:30pm - We aim to get you to sleep
You have had many nights this month of not waking at all!!!! 

Weight 
You now weigh 19lbs 14oz and you jumped a bit closer to the 75th percentile! You do wear some 6-9 month clothes but I would say you are mostly in 9-12 months. 

Love you so much,Mama xxx

Elliot's 7 Month Update

Dear Elliot,

This month we had your Aunty's and Uncle's birthdays and your cousin's first birthday too! It was also a big one for us, with Jackson starting school and Florence going back to preschool, which meant that we have had some lovely one-on-one time. Dada and I also left you with your grandparents for the first time, while we went out for Lunch for our anniversary. 

Milestones 

Your 3rd tooth made an appearance and it looks like a few more are on their way! 
You are loving eating now and have tried loads of different foods. Next month I am going to try to introduce some meat. 

You have been an amazing sleeper this month (minus a particular week, for which I think those teeth were to blame), it was well needed!!! 

You had your first bottle and you took it so well. You have not taken another one since but at least I know that you will have it if you're hungry enough. 


You said 'Dada' for the first time, although you generally say it the most when you are tired and upset which is funny as this is when you want me the most!!! 


You love giving kisses now, and your cuddles are epic!!! 

Routine

I am still feeding you on demand and let you sleep when you want but this has roughly been your routine this month:
6:00-8:00am - Wake up
8:00am - Breakfast 
9:00am - Nap (about 30mins)
12:00pm - Feed 
1:00pm - Nap (about 30mins)
4:00pm - Nap 
5:30pm - Dinner  
6:00pm - Bath with your brother and sister 
7:00-8:30pm - We aim to get you to sleep (doesn't always work and sometimes you come back down with us) 

You have had many nights this month of not waking at all!!!! 

Weight 

You now weigh 18lbs 14oz and are basically on the 50th percentile! You fit into mostly 6-9 month clothes but you do wear a few 9-12 month outfits too. 

Love you so much,
Mama xxx

Elliot's 6 Month Update

Dear Elliot,

This month we celebrated your Yaya's birthday by going away to Brighton for the night and we have been lucky enough to go away for 2 nights in West Wittering as the 5 of us as well, which was just wonderful. 

Milestones 

This month you found your thumb and I don't think it has left your mouth, which is new to me as your brother and sister took a dummy.  

You now roll all over the place and don't stay in the same spot for more than a couple of seconds. 

Your 2nd tooth came through too, bringing you back to your happy self. 

You even treated your Mama to a full night's sleep, just the once though (you didn't want to spoil me, haha)! 

We started weaning you at 5 months and 2 weeks, following the 'baby-led' method, so there has been a lot of playing with different foods with the occasional eating. So far, you've tried broccoli, courgette, carrot, cucumber, avocado, tomato, banana, strawberry and some bread. 

Routine

I am still feeding on demand and let you sleep when you want but you're naturally falling into more of a routine now:

6:00-7:00am - Wake up
8:00am - Breakfast 
9:00am - Nap (about 30mins)
12:00pm - Feed 
1:00pm - Nap (about 30mins)
4:00pm - Nap 
5:30pm - Dinner  
6:00 - Bath with your brother and sister 
7:00-8:30pm - We aim to get you to sleep (doesn't always work) 

During the night you normally feed at around 10:30pm, 1:00am, 4:00am, 5:00am (sometimes) and 6:00am. 

Weight 

You now weigh 17lbs 11oz and are just above the 50th percentile! You fit into mostly 6-9 month clothes with some clothes being 9-12 months, which are still very big on you. 

Love you so much,
Mama xxx

Open Letter to Florence, July 19

Dear Florence, 

The last time that I wrote to you was before your first birthday and now you are 2 & 1/2! Well, what can I say about my gorgeous, innocent, curly blondie? You have certainly turned into a fiery diva (I think deep down you must be a red head, haha)! I am pleased that you can hold your own as, in a family where we are outnumbered by boys, you need to be a strong woman. I saw a quote the other day that said 'I hope my daughter's sassiness helps her run a company one day and not a gang in prison', this pretty much sums it up! 

While I am saying all this, you are probably the cutest you have ever been right now. The way you say 'come here' when you want us to play and wanting us to tickle your back when you get tired is just adorable. You had moments of jealously when Elliot came but already you are coming round to not being the baby anymore and I love it when you say 'heeellloooo' and 'you alright' to Elliot in your sweet voice. You love it when he laughs at you and you shower him with kisses. 

You have done your first 1/2 term at preschool which you really enjoy, even though you only do 3 hours a week at the moment (that was all I could take right now). It gave me some time with your big bro before he starts school and I will do the same with you when you get to that stage. 

I had so much fun on our holiday to France and I think that your favourite part was all the swimming - you have no fear in the water which terrifies me! We are keeping up with your swimming lessons but I am also thinking about starting you in ballet, as you still love dancing and I think that you will be brilliant at it!!! 

We are heading into the school holidays now, 6 whole weeks with you all at home. I am looking forward to the slower mornings and fun things we are going to do all together. 

Keep your sassiness and your mega-cute side because we love you for it. 

Lots of love 
Mama xxx

Open Letter to Jackson, July 19

Dear Jackson, 

I looked to see when the last time I wrote to you was and it was when you had not long started preschool. Now you are starting school in just 6 weeks! It's crazy how fast the last 4 & 1/2 years have gone. Everyone tells you it goes quickly, it really does. 

You are so excited about school. I told you today that it was coming up to the last day of preschool and your little face lit up and you said 'do I go to big school now?' I'm afraid you still have 6 weeks with me first though! 

We have bought your school uniform already and I know everyone says to wait until later but I got 5-6 year sizes so they all have room to grow into. I don't think that you will shoot up 2 years worth in the next 6 weeks (maybe I'll eat my words now, haha!!). 

You have so much confidence nowadays - on our holiday you would walk up to other children and just start chatting away. A family arrived at the caravan next to us the day before we left and hearing you talking to them was so lovely. You barely let them get a word in, chatting away about your holiday. 

Since my last letter, you have become a big brother again and it has been wonderful watching how you have been this time. You are so caring and protective and if I am busy with Florence or something else and Elliot cries, you are straight over trying to comfort him. Even Florence has started copying your behaviour and the 3 of you are so lovely together, which makes Dada and I so proud. 

This will be the first year that you will not be going to Greece since you were born. To be honest, it's only my 2nd ever year of not going - unfortunately it was not in our budget this year but I am going to try to make this summer the best ever anyway!!! The great thing is that Dada will be around more and we may get a few bonus days with him! We did have an amazing family holiday to France last month too, which should get us through the rest of the summer holidays without another trip! 

On Thursday mornings Florence has started going to preschool, which has meant that me and you (plus Elliot) have had some special bonding time and I have loved it. We have had time at home making your potion kits, been to the skate park on your scooter and had coffee mornings together. You have asked, on the odd occasion, if we could send Florence everyday and spend time as just the 2 of us all the time (I wont tell her you said that, haha) but it does make me happy in my decision to send her one morning a week. 

I am going to miss you so much when you go to school but I am going to make the most of the summer with you and treasure our weekends and school holidays even more in the future. 

Your Dada and I are so proud of you and love you so much. 

Love Mama xxx

Slimming World

After I had Florence, I joined Slimming World to lose the baby weight for my sister's wedding. Now, after Elliot has joined our family, I have done the same but this time with the knowledge that I will not be having any more babies! I started on the 6th May and I had put on the most that I have put on out of all of my pregnancies - a whole 2st more than my pre- Elliott weight. So far, I have managed to lose an amazing 1 stone and 7lbs, bringing me only 7lbs away from my 'target', which to be honest I might now move down another stone. 

I haven't found it too difficult so far as I am still breastfeeding so I am allowed more dairy, which is your 'Healthy extra A'. To be honest I am allowed so much of it that I don't keep count! 

Here is an example of my meals each day: 

Breakfast: Blueberry Wheats with extra blueberries and skimmed milk.
Mid-morning Snack: Banana. 
Lunch: Pasta with lots of veggies. 
Mid-afternoon Snack: Melon. 
Dinner: Tandoori kebabs, rice and salad.
Evening Snack: Yogurt, fibre one bars and berries. 

The biggest thing that I have changed is eating more regularly, so mid-afternoon the tiredness and hunger doesn't kick in, which is when I would usually head for the biscuit tin. 

I have been using a lot of the Pinch of Nom recipes - they are so easy to follow and full of flavour. 

One thing that I am really struggling with is trying to fit in exercise! I have started the Body Coach's 7 Day Challenge (only 15mins per day) but I as I write this I am only on day 3 and already struggling to walk, haha! 

Recipes that I have loved are: 

http://pinchofnom.com/recipes/syn-free-chicken-tandoori-kebabs-slimming-world/

https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/spaghetti-carbonara

I keep giving myself mini targets, this month's being to get to the next stone bracket, for which I have another 3 pounds to do in 2 weeks. The next one will be to get to target, even though I have already mentioned that I want to lower it, which makes it about 7 pounds in 4 weeks. I think that it will be harder now I am getting close to pre-pregnancy weight, plus now it is the school holidays but I will give it my best! 

Elliot's 5 Month Update

Dear Elliot, 

This month has had lots of family and friends time and most importantly we had your Dada's birthday, as well as your cousin's Christening. To top it all off, we have had the best weather too!!

It's crazy to think that next month we will start thinking about weaning you. Time needs to slow down!!! 

Milestones 

You rolled front to back, only a few times so far but you're getting there. 

Sleep is still not that great but luckily you are pretty darn cute! 

Your first tooth came through, which was horrible and I really felt for you. The second is on it's way but hopefully then you'll get a bit of a break!!!

Routine

We have started to get you into more of a routine this month:

6:00-7:00am - wake up. 
9:00am - nap. 
(The middle bit has no routine and you are fed on demand). 
5:30pm - bath with your brother and sister. 
7:00-8:30pm - we aim to get you to sleep (doesn't always work). 
10:00pm - dream feed.
For the rest of the night, you often wake a few times and in no particular pattern. 

Weight 

You now weigh 17lb 1oz! You fit into mostly 6-9 month clothes, still wearing a few 3-6 month outfits but I think they are going to be packed away soon. I have also got you out a few 9-12 month ones and even though they are giant, I have still put them on you. 
You're currently in between the 50th and 75th percentile. 

Love you so much,
Mama xxx

Elliot's 4 Month Update

Dear Elliot, 

This month we left your brother and sister behind for a few days and went to Lyme Regis for the weekend, to see our gorgeous friends get married. 

We celebrated your first father's day with your Dada. 

We also went on our first holiday as a family of 5, when we drove to France and stayed in a Eurocamp - it was so much fun! 


Milestones 

You did your first proper little laugh this month, which was so cute and now you just can't stop doing it. 

You slept bloody amazingly when we went to the wedding but just before our holiday, unfortunately we went a tad backwards. I think it's the dreaded 4 month sleep regression. 

You loved all the swimming on holiday but definitely struggled some days with the heat. I think that it was Mama's fault, as I would sometimes dress you in too much. 

Routine

I am still not doing any sort of routine but you normally go to bed at about 11:30pm, wake loads during the night and generally up fully by 7am. You have occasionally had a few naps in our bed upstairs but on the whole you just nap where and when you want.

Next month I will start trying to get you into a routine.  

Weight 

You now weigh a whopping 16lbs! You fit into both 3-6 and 6-9 month sizes (I have already packed away some 3-6 month ones). You're currently in between the 50th and 75th percentile. 


Love you so much, 
Mama xxx

Elliot's 3 Month Update

Dear Elliot, 

It feels like only yesterday that I was writing your 2 month update, you are growing so fast! 

We started this month with a sleepover at Yaya's house, as your Dada went away on a stag do. It was so lovely to have some bonding time with Yaya.

Most excitingly we started your swimming lessons. I have to admit you didn't love it but at the same time didn't hate it. 

You also had your first trip up to London and went on a bus, which was probably the funnest thing ever for both of us (we were your typical Marlownian's on a bus, haha!!)!

You also went to your first concert, for which you slept most of the time, letting your Mama and Dada have a drink or two. 

Milestones 

Amazingly and slightly worryingly, you learnt to roll front to back!!!!! I totally blame your brother and sister for this one. 

You are such a smiley and happy baby. You have also started being so good at night, which literally happened over night!!

You have started to make the cute baby noises too and you have definitely found your hands! 

Routine

I am not doing any sort of routine with you yet but we are having a lot more periods of awake time. At night, you normally go to sleep at 11:30pm until anywhere from 4:30 - 6:30am, which is the best and I hope that never changes, haha!!! 

Weight 

You now weigh a massive 14lbs 13oz. You are are well and truly in 3-6 month clothes and seen as Jacks was even bigger than you at your age, his summer bits were more 6-9 months, so you have worn some of those without them looking too ridiculous. 

Love you so much, 
Mama xxx

Elliot 2 month update

Dear Elliot, 

You went to your first kid's party recently, your big brother Jackson and big cousin Livy's joint 4th party. You slept through the whole thing and were so good!!! 

We celebrated your first Easter, this year we went round your Yaya's for it and we all had great fun. 

We had our first mini-break too, when we went up to Newcastle to meet your new cousin. All of you were so good in the car, as well as in Newcastle and it was sooo lovely to see Gigi with her 5 great grandchildren! 

Milestones 

We have started to get a couple of giggles this month and you smile all the time, even at Dada!. 

We have gone a bit backwards with the nights, waking every 2-3 hours but you do feed and then go straight back to sleep, so I can't complain too much.

You absolutely love your baby gym, I have never known a baby to like it so much. You kick your legs giggling away, sometimes even for up to 45 mins!!!

You still love baths loads! So much so, I have started bathing you every day, which they don't recommend but I really love it too.

Routine

Still have no routine at the moment. 

Weight 
You now weigh a whopping 13lbs 3 oz, actually dropping to just below the 75 percentile but still doing very well. You are are just starting to out grow 0-3 months clothes. 

Love you so much, 
Mama xxx

Elliot's 1 month update

Dear Elliot, 

What a month it has been! You got fully discharged but they do still seem slightly concerned about your jaundice, so we will be going to the prolonged jaundice clinic soon. 

You had your 2nd hearing test (the first one, in hospital, came back inconclusive), which you passed with flying colours. 

In your first week, you went to watch your brother and sister at their swimming lessons, have been to soft play and even been to the park a couple of times - so much for keeping you indoors!! 

Milestones 

At the end of the month, we even got a big toothless grin, which melted my heart. I am currently the lucky one and getting all the smiles, Dada always moans that you don't give him any yet!

We have no routine yet but you do tend to cluster feed from about 4pm until bedtime. You're eating so well and feed anything from an hour to 3 hours apart. 

You definitely like cuddles and generally only settle when either feeding or being cuddled. I don't mind, I love soaking up the baby cuddles while I can!!!!!! Although, you're always going to be our baby boy! 

You're so good at holding up your head and you constantly lift it up, trying to have a look around. 

We have given you a few baths now - you love them and so does Jackson and Florence, as they fight over who's turn it is to clean you with the sponge! You're not too sure on the whole getting out of the bath at the moment but I totally agree with this, after a lovely warm bath it's freezing when you get out. 

One thing you hate is your car seat. Your big sister was just the same!! You are fine when we start moving though. 

Routine

We have no routine at the moment. 

Weight 

You weigh 10lbs 11oz, following the 75th percentile nicely and in mostly 0-3 month clothes now.

Love you so much,
Mama xxx

My birth and labour story for baby number 3

So, this will be quite a short blog post, as the whole thing was very quick!

At 5:50am, I woke up and didn't feel quite right. I joked to Chris that I was either ill again or in early labour. I then asked him to make sure he was out of the bathroom early, as I needed to wash my hair (now that I am on Maternity Leave and not swimming, I had forgotten to wash my hair... #mumlife). So, off he went to the bathroom and I put the telly on to distract me a little bit, which is when my contractions started. I quickly downloaded an app and started timing them, as they were coming on very quick and fast - they were about 2-4mins apart and lasted about 40 secs each (I just checked it on my app, I haven't got an amazing memory!), so I quickly chucked Chris out of the bathroom and got in the bath. Chris messaged my Mum to let her know that she might be needed soon, although I was still in denial that I was in labour, I even asked Chris if he could maybe stay home and look after the kids today, to which he replied 'you're in labour, of course I'm staying home'!

The contractions were getting stronger and closer together, so we rang the Labour Ward and they told me to come in. Chris then rang my Mum who was already on her way.
As soon as I got out of the bath, I realised how strong the contractions were, so we quickly got the last few bits of the hospital bag together and I got my self ready. At this point, it was about 7am and Jackson woke up, so we went in to say goodbye and told him where I was going. He was so good and gave me a big cuddle. As we were leaving, Mum said 'do you think we need to call an ambulance', to which I laughed off and made my way to the car, which was a slow walk with a few contractions along the way. 

In the car, I just focused on my breathing and practised my hypnobirthing techniques. We are quite far from the hospital (a good 40 minute journey) and on the way my contractions definitely got a lot stronger, so much so that Chris said I was starting to do my pushing face, which I am sure is a gorgeous expression, ha!! By the time we got to the hospital car park, it was 8am and, again, it took us a while to walk across the car park! When we got in, they where sooo busy. I heard one of the midwifes say to another 'she looks relaxed send her to the waiting room', to which Chris responded 'her contractions are really strong' and I said 'I've been pushing', so they quickly changed their minds, especially after seeing one of my contractions, and sent me down to a room.

They were not ready for me at all and the midwife was rushing around to get bits sorted. All I wanted was the gas and air and an epidural, so the midwife gave me the gas and air and I got on the bed ready. The other midwife joined us, with both racing around getting towels and stuff. Due to losing lots of blood with my other two labours, I needed to have a cannula put into my hand, just in case they needed to give me anything. It was about this point that I turned to the midwives and said 'I'm not getting my epidural am I!?' No one had checked me so I had still thought that I had time for the drugs!! But simply from the way that I was behaving, they knew the baby would be with us soon.

Very quickly after that, the head was born and amazingly, he was still in the sac, which is so rare! They decided to break the sac on the way out, to make it a bit easier, although it took them a little while to find the sterile instruments, I think because they were so rushed.
Elliot made his super speedy entry at 8:25am, he was gorgeous and weighed a healthy 8lbs 9oz!!! There was no pulling of the red cord (well a brief one when I started bleeding but they cancelled it as it stopped very quickly) and there were no emergencies!!

When he was born, the midwives noticed some bruising-like spots on Elliot's arm, so the Paediatrician was called just to check him. She said that it could be 'Mongolian Spots', which aren't a problem but they needed to make sure that they don't get any bigger, in case it was actually bruising. During this time, he had a huge feed for probably about an hour. Afterwards we had our first facetime with our 2 babies back home.

A while later, the midwife said that she had called back the Paediatrician to check Elliot again, as she was worried about a noise that he was making. For the rest of the day, he was checked every so often by the midwives and at 4pm, the paediatrician sent us down to the neonatal unit to get him properly tested so they could make sure that it wasn't anything serious. 

We spent 2 hours down there are we were so luckily that we got to leave and head back upstairs with our baby! Neonatal was one of the most scariest places I have been to - as soon as I got there I cried, I cried for Elliot and for the other babies that were down there.
But like I said, 2 hours later, everyone was happy with his levels and we left. I have never felt so grateful and so lucky than I did in that moment.

We spent the night in hospital and the next day, once the paediatrician had checked him over again, we were allowed to head home. Due to it being a Sunday, meaning they were very busy, we were not discharged until 5pm, so the kids came up to meet their baby brother before we left.

In regards to his 'Mongolian Spots', they had almost completely gone by the time we left, so it turned out it was bruising but none that we needed to worry about. Chris loved joking to the staff if he needed a DNA test because, like the name suggests, Mongolian Spots are much more common in Asian families!

For the 3rd time, I cannot fault the care at Stoke Mandivile Hospital and the staff were just amazing!!

Love Sophia xxx