I never thought I'd be the sort of mother who would consider sedating her child. However, I sent the boyfriend off to the doctor to get a precription for Phenergen last week. We are flying to London next weekend and while I'm sure our 8 month old will sleep happily for the first leg of the journey, it's the second leg I'm concerned about! Lewis is crawling and is a very active child - he doesn't like to be constrained! How on earth we are going to keep him in a bassinet or on our laps for 22 hours is beyond me!
Recipes ideas for 6-12 month olds
Here are some recipes that are quick to make and nutritious! I recommend making a large batch and freezing in ice-cube trays or meal-sized containers. These are tried and tested on my 7 month old baby.
I don't believe in over-pureeing - a quick whiz with a stick blender should do it. Lumps are good - it teaches them to move onto more solid foods. I supplement these 'mushy' foods with steamed vegies and cheese that my baby feeds to himself. He loves it! He also loves toast. I list these finger food ideas below too.
Good pregnancy websites and books
I thought I'd give you a quick run down of the books and websites I found useful when pregnant.
Ditch the gym membership!
Pre-baby I was a total aerobics junky. I always had a membership to a gym, and went to a minimum of three aerobics classes a week. I only went to gyms that offered Les Mills classes, and usually went to Body Attack or Body Step. If you don't know about Les Mills, classes are always structured the same, so no matter where you are in the world the class will be the same or similar. Which can get a touch boring after a while.
However, post-baby I didn't want to fork out for an expensive gym membership that I might have to quit if I get pregnant again. So now I am a bit of a gym floozy...
However, post-baby I didn't want to fork out for an expensive gym membership that I might have to quit if I get pregnant again. So now I am a bit of a gym floozy...
Ethical shopping guide
I recently discovered the Ethical Shopping Guide 2011. I picked up the pocket guide at an environmental store in Brunswick, and think it's great! The website is a lot more detailed than the pocket guide, giving you information on why the product has a particular rating, but the pocket guide is handy to have in your handbag in the supermarket.
First foods 4-6 months: Tips and ideas
We started feeding Lewis solids a bit after he turned 4 months. He loved it from the first mouthful, and is still a big eater. Baby Love was very helpful in telling you how to introduce solids and when to introduce certain things, but I thought it might be helpful to others to tell you how we did it. So here goes:
Lewis' first music festival: Golden Plains 2011
I always said I'd never bring my baby/child to Meredith or Golden Plains music festival. I couldn't understand why these parents wouldn't just leave the kids at home so they could have fun?
I skipped Meredith (the boyfriend went), as Lewis was only 4 months old, but we purchased Golden Plains tickets in advance, as I assumed we'd be able to leave him with the grandparents for the weekend. Which we could have done, except that we couldn't leave him for two nights! He was just far too little still - and often waking in the night. We couldn't make the grandparents get up at all hours.
So as the time got closer we realised we would have to take him with us, or miss the festival. So I went and bought a massive family tent, ordered him some ear muffs and bought jars of baby food.
I skipped Meredith (the boyfriend went), as Lewis was only 4 months old, but we purchased Golden Plains tickets in advance, as I assumed we'd be able to leave him with the grandparents for the weekend. Which we could have done, except that we couldn't leave him for two nights! He was just far too little still - and often waking in the night. We couldn't make the grandparents get up at all hours.
So as the time got closer we realised we would have to take him with us, or miss the festival. So I went and bought a massive family tent, ordered him some ear muffs and bought jars of baby food.
That Raising Children DVD is actually pretty good...
You know the one? They give it to you at the hospital.
They really should give it out earlier, and then perhaps people would watch it! I watched it when my baby was about 2 months old, and I wished I'd known a lot of the stuff a bit earlier. (For example, how to wash bottles and prepare formula, mothers stories about how breastfeeding was difficult/didn't work.)
I told everyone at my mothers group, and they all came back the next week (after watching it) and said the same thing. The families in it are great, Dave Hughes is funny, and it makes you feel a little bit more confident, as the people in it didn't know what they were doing either!
The Raising Children Network website is also very good. Check it out!
They really should give it out earlier, and then perhaps people would watch it! I watched it when my baby was about 2 months old, and I wished I'd known a lot of the stuff a bit earlier. (For example, how to wash bottles and prepare formula, mothers stories about how breastfeeding was difficult/didn't work.)
I told everyone at my mothers group, and they all came back the next week (after watching it) and said the same thing. The families in it are great, Dave Hughes is funny, and it makes you feel a little bit more confident, as the people in it didn't know what they were doing either!
The Raising Children Network website is also very good. Check it out!
Travelling tips - road trip!
Lewis was 5 months old when we embarked on a 2 week road trip, from Melbourne up to Sydney, then on to Yamba in northern NSW. The excuse for the trip was a wedding in Sydney, then we figured we were half way so we should keep going further north to visit the boyfriend's brother and family! Yes, it was a bit exhausting, and yes, Australia is a very big place. But a bit of planning can make a car trip with a baby totally do-able... even fun!Packing the car was a challenge in itself. With the pram taking up most of the boot, some culling and creative arranging was needed. It encouraged me to reduce the amount of clothes, shoes etc that I took, and I looked at it as very good practice for going overseas in May (when our bub will be 8 months old), when we will have to carry everything from airports and onto trains.
Maternity clothing... ugh!
My friend and I fell pregnant within a month of each other, and when I was about 2 months (and already showing!) we decided to go maternity shopping. My initial excitement was quickly squished when I realised that the clothes in maternity shops are horribly mainstream (boring and mostly ugly) and also REALLY expensive.
Nappy bags
Well before I was pregnant I was looking for a laptop bag for work. I ended up picking a bag from Catherine Manuell that just happened to be a nappy bag! It worked great as a laptop/work bag (perfect size) but hasn't really cut it as a nappy bag. It's just too small, with not enough pockets.
I've spent a lot of time googling to try to find what I would consider to be the perfect nappy bag. I want something big with compartments so that I can see everything when I open it. We are heading overseas soon, so I really need a big bag so that I can fit 2 days worth of nappies, formula and food in.
I've spent a lot of time googling to try to find what I would consider to be the perfect nappy bag. I want something big with compartments so that I can see everything when I open it. We are heading overseas soon, so I really need a big bag so that I can fit 2 days worth of nappies, formula and food in.
Crawling!
After months of nearly getting it, yesterday Lewis finally started crawling! Little Finn from next door was over, and Lewis was watching him intently as he crawled around. By the end of the day Lewis could get past his normal 2 crawls then collapse, to crawling a few metres! And at swimming lesson this morning, he crawled along the mat to get a toy.
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