Christmas Traditions- Aussie Style

Now, I had to title this entry "Christmas Traditions- Aussie Style", but that being said, I'm sure our Christmas Traditions aren't hugely different to many other countries, especially being that dear Hubs is American.
Now that we have a little one to share the holidays with I was kind of excited, some may say a little ambitious about the 3 gazillion new Holiday Traditions I wanted to start up so Hudson could experience them all.. it was like as soon as I discovered a new tradition I Had To Have It. Eventually I culled the myriad of ideas I had, and we were left with the following:

1. Christmas on the Island- Yes, my parents live on an island.. So we treck over to the island for Christmas Day. We have croissants for breakfast, and in the sweltering heat we have turkey and ham for lunch, but sides are things like salads, a special cold spaghetti salad that Mum makes only during Christmas. There are prawns and seafood and dessert is usually something like Pavlova (an Australian dish) or trifle. Neither of which I am a huge fan. Give me chocolate any day!


Pavlova- basically a meringue topped with cream and fresh fruit



2. A New Christmas Ornament Each Year- I like the Hallmark ones. When we first got our cat-child, we got a little fishbowl ornament that you can put a photo in. When we got (ha, kidding) our real child, we got a very cute baby booties ornament that has 'Baby's First Christmas' on it. Some say tacky, I say cute!



Obviously the ones we have say 2011...



3. New Christmas PJ's- starting this year, so far just for Hudson. When I suggested it to Hubby, he was all "I already have enought Pajamas".. geeze, ok.. bah humbug!

4. Personalised Santa Stockings- They are so cute! I got one for each of us (and shhh, a blank one for the next addition to the family to be stored until needed!), they each have our name embroided across the top. Santa stockings are always opened first on Christmas morning. My parents used to give them to my brother and I to open first when we were up at like 4am, and my parents were still trying to snatch a few more hours of sleep.

5. Milk and Cookies Left Out for Santa: I don't think this is hugely original or anything. But I did manage to buy a really cute little milk and cookies plate & matching cup. I don't think we'll use it until Hudson is a bit older, but it's still cute.

6. Christmas Puzzling: Who doesn't love a good puzzle? Oh right, most people. Ok, well Hubs, myself and a few friends love doing a good puzzle while sitting around listening to Christmas Carols and eating Tim Tams (a delcious chocolately Aussie cookie). I prefer cool puzzles (can puzzles be called 'cool'? Really?) where you don't know what the picture is, or the murder mystery types. This year we're doing a "Wasjig" Christmas Puzzle.

So, those are just a few Christmas Traditions we're doing this year. I'm sure I can sneak another two or three in, any ideas for me?

Back on the Wagon

Well, last night was a little bit hideous to say the least. Hudson slept really well from 6.30pm until 2am, but then he woke for a feed (normal) and after that kept waking up as I think he was having some tummy pain, poor thing. Needless to say Hubby and I are pretty exhausted today and looking forward to an early night. My husband is an absolute star when it comes to getting up in the middle of the night. I am the designated feeder for those middle of the night feeds and hubby is the designated settler/ dummy plugger for those other times when Hudson wakes. He also gets up when Hudson wakes between 5-6.30am (Hubs gets ready for work then) and lets me sleep until 7am. I just wouldn't be able to do it without my husband!!

Anyway, so I weighed in this morning and after a pretty crappy week of eating, being sick and only going to the gym once I was still down 0.6kgs (1lb). I was amazed.
This also puts me at exactly my pre-preggo weight, but still leaves 3.4kgs until I reach my goal of 60kgs.
This morning I'm meeting my good friend at the gym for a workout while we put our babies (she has a 6 month old also) in the creche for an hour. I'm always so nervous to leave him there, but I know it's good for both him and I to get used to it.
I'm also going to be much stricter with my eating this week- time to get back on the wagon!

Updates.. Weight, Trip and Baby #2

Ahhh! It's been too long since I've updated. In a nutshell here's what's happening:
1. I am still doing WW online.. I got below my pre-preggo weight, but then we went on a trip to the US to see family and I managed to put on a little weight. This week I have been sick and lost all motivation to eat healthy, so tomorrow I am back on the wagon!

2. Hudson is 6 months old! He is just such a good, sweet little boy and I am loving this age. No, he is still not sleeping through the night, but on further investigation I found only 1 baby out of 8 at my mothers group is sleeping through! So that made me feel a little better.

3. We have been talking about #2! Yes, already! We're definitely not trying any  time soon, but we don't want the age gap to be too big so we are trying to plan things out.

Weigh in Day

Ok, so last week I would definitely say I was not 100% perfect. I had a baby shower, so I ate a cupcake or 2, I also had a mini pizza for lunch one day, a cocktail on Saturday night and I didn't do a scrap of exercise over the weekend (I was feeling pretty sick on Sunday). Anyway, I still did stick to my points allowance, but I only managed to lose 200g (that's half a pound folks!) Arghh. I think I get allocated too many points per day as I have extra points as a 'breastfeeding mother', but because I am both breastfeeding AND formula feeding I feel I have too many points. So, I turned that feature off this morning and I am back on the straight and narrow! I also plan to start jogging in the afternoon- goal this week is 3 days. I was planning on jogging today, but after a terrible nights sleep and still feeling a little sick, I'll leave it until tomorrow.
So weight loss this week: 0.2kgs
Weight until goal: 5.2kgs
Total weight lost: 3.8kgs

Weight in #4

Hi all,
It's Monday morning, time to weigh in! I was extremely happy to see I had a decent loss of..*drumroll*
This weeks loss: 1kg (2.2lbs)
Current Weight: 65.4kgs (144lbs)
Goal Weight: 60kgs (132lbs)
Weight until goal: 5.4kgs

According to Weight Watchers Online I have lost 5% of my body weight (yay!) and I have only 0.4kgs (about a pound!) until my personal mini goal of 65kgs. I have decided I will buy myself a new pair of jeans when I hit 65kgs. Surely it's time to ditch the maternity jeans for once and for all?!

So, I have been a little bit slack with my blog the past week. This is mainly because I've been SO tired! Why so tired? Well, little did I know, this thing exists called 'The Four Month Sleep Regression'. So that decent little sleeper you thought you had goes out the window! We went from maybe 1-2 wake ups per night, to around 6 or so wake ups per night (waking up every hour from around midnight or so!). And also instead of waking at around 7am like he used to, he decided that 5.50am was going to be his 'wakeup' time. Um no.
Oh my! So exhausted!
Thankfully Hubby was just as commited as me (if not more so!) to getting up and soothing our little guy back to sleep. Unfortunately, crying it out does not work in any way for Hudson. Seriously. So every time he woke, it just meant one of us getting up and giving him his pacifier or rocking him back to sleep.
Last night was the first night in about a week and a half where he only woke up twice and slept in until 7.15am (never thought I'd consider 7.15am a 'sleep in'!).
So, I am feeling much more refreshed today! Yippee! I hope we're onto something here.

I have such a full week planned this week. Today I have got to organise a few things for a baby shower I am throwing on Wednesday, as well as meeting a friend for a walk with our bubs this afternoon. I've got Mum coming over tomorrow, lunch with friends, the baby shower, mothers group and coffee with a friend. So all in all, a busy week! Love it!

Hubby and I have also pretty much decided that we WILL be flying to the US this November to see his family and go to a friends wedding. We'll also be there for Thanksgiving which is awesome! Still have a million things to do to make it official though, including passports for Hudson (US and Australian), booking flights and a few other things. If we do go, I know I pretty much plan on stocking up on all my US favourite items while I'm there.. I'll post more about that in another post :)

Weigh in #3

I weighed in on Monday, but forgot to post about it! I am down another 600g (1lb) which doesn't seem like a huge amount, but I am taking the 'slow and steady' approach for sure. I have been sticking to the Weight Watchers Online plan, still eating a little bit of chocolate each day, I had takeaway on Saturday night- but just made healthy choices. I have also been walking each day. So as you can see, I'm not going nuts, I'm just being sensible and taking it one week at a time. As long as I lose at least 500g each week, I am happy. If I lose less than that I am going to have to start thinking about what additional exercise I can fit in. No easy feat with a 3 (and a half!) month old!|
So, total weight loss: 2.6kg (5.7lbs)
Which puts me at: 66.4kgs
Weight to lose until goal: 6.4kgs

A Day in the Life (with a 3 month old!)

I have read a couple of these 'Day in the Life' entries lately and thought I would write one.
So, here we are.. a day in the life of yours truly with a 3 month old baby. How times have changed since before I had a bub.

7.00am- This is the time Hudson usually wakes up. Hubby is always up at 6am getting ready for work, so he brings Hudson in to me at 7am where I feed him in bed. (Can you tell I'm not a morning person!). This morning however Hudson let me sleep in until 7.30am which was amazing!
Hubby leaves at 7.30am for work.
After I have fed Hudson, he has some time on his play mat where I get the joyus task of pumping (Hudson is a fussy feeder so I have to combo feed him).
8.15-8.30am- Hudson goes down for his morning nap. This is his longest nap of the day, so it's go time for me as soon as his little peepers are closed!
I make the bed, then hop in the shower (I take our video monitor with me so I can keep an eye on him), get dressed, throw some makeup on and do my hair (ponytail is as good as it gets these days).
9.00am- I come downstairs and put on NBC's Today show, so I can pretend I'm still in the US. hehe.
Breakfast time. Toast & tea. While I'm making my breakfast I am multi tasking and making up Hudson's bottles for the day (like I said, I am both breast and bottle feeding as Hudson is a very fussy feeder. It takes a lot of effort and work to do both, but I think it's worth it.).
9.15am- I check my emails, blogs, ebay listings, facebook etc while eating my breakfast. I also might write a blog entry and update my weight watchers food tracker (which I also do on my iphone throughout the day).
This morning I am also ordering a few things online for a baby shower that I am organising for a good friend and checking my work emails (ewww!) because I have to put in my teaching preferences for mid next year.
10.40am- I am currently marvelling at how Hudson is still napping and that I have only had to run upstairs once to put his dummy (pacifier) back in! Unpack dishwasher. Look up flights to LA for November.
10.55am- The small fry has woken up. I run upstairs, grab him and bring him downstairs for a feed. I feed him and change him and then we're off to a friends place. I usually like to see friends or run errands around this time.
11.30- Arrive at my friends place. She has a baby the same age as Hudson. So we have a tea, the babies 'play' on the mat while we chat and then we head off for an hour long walk in the forest with the bubs.
2.00- Arrive home. Feed Hudson. Because he hasn't really napped while we've been out (he usually has a sleep in the pram- but not today!) I put him down after his feed as I can see he is quite tired.
2.30- Hudson is napping and now it's time for this Mumma to have lunch! Finally! Cheese, tomato & ham toasted sandwich. Nom nom nom.
3.00- Hudson wakes up (arghh!) I get him back to sleep then put on a load of laundry.
3.15- Hudson wakes up AGAIN (this is what happens when you have a child addicted to the dummy. It falls out, he wakes up and so on). Luckily he immediately falls back to sleep as soon as it's back in. But I have a feeling it's going to be one of those afternoons!
3.30- After going upstairs AGAIN, I end up bringing him downstairs to go in his swing and chill out, as I think nap time is well and truly over. He doesn't nap anymore, so I play with him, read to him and he plays on his play mat for a while. We do some tummy time too. Got to strengthen those muscles!
4.30- We head off in the pram to 'pick up' Hubby from the bus stop. It's a bit of a walk, which I really like getting in each day! On our walk home we always catch up on what happened during the day.
5.30- Hubby spends a bit of time playing with Hudson while I fold laundry.
6.00- Hudson's bed time routine begins. Hubby gives him a bath, feeds him and gets him to sleep while I'm downstairs washing and sterilising bottles and getting dinner ready. We're having pasta tossed with chicken, basil and roasted vegetables. Yum.
6.30- Shower time for me! Ahhh! Complete bliss. No looking at the monitor because Hubby is doing that. I take my time!
7.00-9.30 Dinner, TV, cleaning up the kitchen and general relaxation.
9.30- I wake Hudson for a 'dream feed'. Then I pump for the following day.
10.00- Hudson is back in bed.
10.15- Bed time for me! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weigh in #2

Well, I've been sticking to the WW program for a week and a half now (yeah, not very long!), but because my weigh ins are on Monday and I started at the beginning of the month, I am already up to my second weigh in. I wasn't 100% angelic this week. I had Thai on Saturday night (still tracked it though, I had enough points for it!) and a piece of cheesecake at our belated Fathers Day Lunch on Sunday. I also allow myself a little treat after dinner- whether it be a mini pack of maltesers (2 points!), a piece of dark chocolate (1 point!) or a weight watchers sundae (3-4 points!), but I do track all of this.
Anyway, I stood on the scale this morning.. dum dum dum... and I had lost...
400grams. (About a pound)
Blah!
Not a huge amount!
But, my total weight loss is now:
2 kilos (4.4lbs)
Slow and steady! I have 7 kilos to go to reach my goal.
Oh, I also stupidly tried on a pair of my old jeans the other day.
Bad, bad idea.
I mean, these were jeans that fit me around the time I got married.. and geeze, I was in a LOT better shape back then!
The zipper was nowhere even close to being done up.... It was not a pretty sight. I think I best be tucking those jeans in the back of my closet!
I know I just had a baby 3 months ago, so I can't really expect miracles. I also no longer have the time to be rushing off to the gym 5 days a week. So now, a walk with my baby boy in the pram and a few arm weights have to suffice! I do want to be fit and healthy, but Hudson is my priority right now!

First Weigh In, Fathers Day and Weekly Goals

Well I have been faithfully logging my points and following the Weight Watchers plan for, um.. only 4 days now. But being Monday, it was.. dum dum dummmm...
Weigh In Day!
Previous weight: 69kg
Current Weight: 67.4kg
Loss this Week: 1.6kgs
Woohoo! Since starting I have lost a total of 1.6kgs (3.5lbs).
I was thrilled with that result! I know the weight loss will slow down after the first week or two, but if I can just consistently lose until I'm at my goal I know I can do it.
I have been making sure I'm doing exercise every day. Whether it be walking Hudson in the pram (I do this almost every day!) or just grabbing some weights we have at home and doing a few curls or whatever while Hudson is napping, I am trying my best to up the exercise!

Well, yesterday was Father's Day. Hubby's FIRST Father's Day! I got him a few things, um, I mean Hudson got him a few things. We got him: something to play with Hudson with, something to remind him of Hudson and something so he can spend more time with Hudson.
The something to play with: was a set of bath toys. He bathes Hudson every night- it's their special bonding time. Now, I know a 3 month old can't play with toys, but in 6 months or so, they will be more useful!
The something to remind him of Hudson: This was a wooden  box with a photo that had been printed onto a tile which was on the top of the box of Hudson & my Hubby. It was MEANT to have a pair of silver cufflinks inside the box that had Hudsons birth date engraved on one and his name engraved on the other, but they didn't arrive in time. Very sad, seeing as I ordered them a month ago!

Here is the photo box.. although obviously not with a photo of some random girl on it!

The something so Hubby can spend more time with Hudson: This was a voucher for 2 inside & outside car washes!
We also went out to lunch together and then came home and relaxed and watched a DVD. May I add, how does a 2 hour DVD take 3.5 hours to watch? Have a baby and you'll find out! I think I need to stick to shorter movies or TV series!

Ok, so goals for this week:1. Plan out healthy meals for dinner. I need to do some research on the Weight Watchers website so I can find some yummy new recipes!
2. Exercise 5 out of 7 days this week, minimum.
3. Get car serviced and tax return done.. ugh!

Time to Lose the Baby Weight!

Well, here we are, the first day of Spring!
I have been thinking about it for some time, and I decided that 3 months of eating whatever and soley focusing on being a new Mum was long enough. The first day of Spring would also be the first day of trying to get back into shape and to try and lose the baby weight.
So, to help me out I have decided to join Weight Watchers Online, which I just did this morning. The plan looks easy enough and I love that it is super flexible and you can still save up points for special occasions etc. It's just not realistic at this point to be ridiculously strict with a 3 month old! I think this plan will be the encouragement I need to focus on eating healthy, exercising more and still allowing myself the occasional treat. Right now I am 9 kilos (that's almost 20lbs!) over my goal weight. It is about 5.5kgs (11lbs) over my pre-pregnancy weight, but I was also a couple of kilos heavier than I would of liked when I got pregnant.
My goal weight is a nice round 60kgs (132lbs). I have never been this heavy in my life (babies will do that to you!), so it's time to step it up and focus on feeling fit and healthy again.. instead of feeling like a frumpy new Mum and perhaps even get out of those damn maternity pants (yes, really!).
So, cross your fingers for me please and join me on my weight loss journey with a baby... it's bound to be interesting!

Splurge!

Ok, so a week or so ago, I got this amazing deal in my inbox on baby clothing from the store Mothercare. I went in there yesterday with my $200 worth of vouchers (that I paid $74 for!) and managed to get some gorgeous clothes for my baby boy. Mostly Summer stuff, but there were also 2 little Winter outfits that I had to have! I know they won't get as much wear, but I couldn't resist! Here are some of the things I bought:

This is one that's a bit more Wintery. But I love it! I think Hudson will be wearing this one for Fathers Day (only a week away!)



Awww! So perfect for Summer. I love that it's a onesie- so much easier than separates. Plus I do love clothing that is specifically for babies (as opposed to mini versions of boys clothing- although he has plenty of that too)




Overalls! I love little overalls on babies. So cute!



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And another pair! This one has a matching bucket hat- adorable!

 

There were 2 other outfits as well, but I can't find pictures of them! Who knew it would be so fun shopping for a baby boy!

The In-Laws

This will probably be a pretty quick entry as it's been a bit of a rough morning with the little one deciding to wake in the middle of his nap and me having to rock him back to sleep only to then have to listen to him cry on and off (with a dummy in his mouth may I add!) for the past 20 minutes. Anyway, he got over it and is now napping-yippee! The next time he wakes I'll be feeding him.

The in-laws are visiting from the US at the moment. They arrived yesterday, and my hubby was just SO excited to show off Hudson to them. It was kind of adorable. They just LOVE their new Grandson. He of course got spoiled with lots of cute clothing and some books that hubby had as a child (I love passing things down through the generations, so glad his parents brought them over). So we'll be spending the next few days as a family, going out to lunch, sightseeing and having the grandparents spend lots of time with Hudson.
I also went nuts and got my in-laws to bring over an order for some clothing I placed for Hudson. Oh my god, it's just adorable! Especially for boys clothing! I would post some pics, but of course I am too lazy to do that at the moment!

Oh and thrills here, for the past week Hudson has been sleeping from 10pm ( I wake him at 9.30pm for his 'dream feed') until about 7am. YIPPEE! He wakes at about 4am-5am and has a bit of a grumble, he usually settles himself though, or I give him his dummy. So for the past week I haven't had to do a middle of the night feed. It is great! I feel SOOO much better on a proper nights sleep. I don't want to jinx it though.. touch wood!

My Favourite- Newborn baby items

I want to share with you some of my favourite newborn baby items. Well, some of them may not specifically be for a newborn, but these are the baby items I am using now with a 2 month old.

Firstly: Bonds 'Newbie' Coverall

I love these little onsesies. They fit perfectly, are super cute and easy to put on and change nappies etc. Love them. Hudson is really tiny and these start in really small sizes and just fit really well.



Baby Jogger City Elite

I love, love, love our pram! It's great for taking Hudson on walks outside, for the malls etc. I like that the diaper bag clips on to the side so it doesn't tip the pram and the hood is super large and covers Hudson up nicely. There is a decent amount of storage space and it steers really easily. I also like that we can get another seat to attach to the pram when we're thinking about having #2!
Only negative is that it is a teeny bit wide.

The Woombie

I know, it does look a little like a baby straight jacket. But Hudson sleeps so well in his woombie. He's snug and cosy in it and of course it stops that damn startle reflex that seems to wake newborns. We have a white one in the smallest size (perfect!) and a  blue one in the next size up (too big!).


Oricom Video Monitor

I adore this video monitor! We started out with a crappy Fisher Price monitor and our mobile phones constantly interfered with it. So we busted out and bough the Oricom digital video monitor. It has infrared viewing so you can check on the little one at night and the screen only pops on when he makes a noise which is great. It has 2 way talking (so we can do a little "shhhhhh" when Hudson starts fussing- it often gets him to stop!) and lullabies (which we don't use to be honest). It saves running upstairs every 5 minutes when Hudson is sleeping and we're having dinner or a bit of relaxation time. It was worth every penny of the $220 we spent on it!
Munchkin Nappy Wallet

This handy little wallet is perfect to throw in my regular handbag, my nappy bag or to tuck into my pram. It has compartments for wipes and nappies and then folds out to a change mat. It even has a zippered pocket that I keep the nappy baggies in and some hand sanitiser. I love it. I use it ALL the time!

Lastly, The Boppy Nursing Pillow

I am so glad I bought this pillow. It fits around your waist when feeding your little one and makes it soooo much more comfortable. I sometimes just rest my arms on it while feeding Hudson, or if I hike it up a little Hudson rests on it. I hate feeding without it (see I have been spoiled!). I also have it in a really cute safari animal print. Adorable.

Well, these are a few of my favourite baby items, I'm sure I'll have a second edition for a baby of 3-6 months!

Baby Update

Arghh! So slack! I have all these ideas for great posts I want to write, but I know half the time I sit down and start writing I will be interrupted by the small fry waking up and demanding my attention- hehe.
So, I'll start this entry and let's see how far I actually get with it.
Today we have an 8 week follow up appointment for Hudson. I hope the doctor finds that all is well. I am also going to mention the feeding issue (e.g fussiness in the afternoons!), because it's getting really tiring dealing with it. I have taken to feeding him expressed milk in addition to his usual feedings in the afternoon. When he gets really fussy while feeding and gives himself wind through being so fussy (poor guy!) and therefore starts screaming because he's in pain, I go and get a bottle of expressed milk and voila! Problem solved! Apart from that, he is such a happy, calm, content baby. We really got lucky!
Last night we put him down at 10pm after his late night feed (yes, he was sleeping before this as well) he slept until 5.45am! Woohoo!We are making major progress. He is doing close to 8 hours- which I am really really happy with for an 8 week old.
I can't believe he is 8 weeks today. The time has flown by, but yet it seems like he has been around for longer than 8 weeks.
Oops, there he is.. must go!

Feeding the Baby

If it's not worrying about sleep and settling with a newborn, it's worrying about.. dum dum dum.....
feeding!
I am currently breastfeeding the little guy, and I swear nobody tells you that it can be quite difficult! When I see/ hear of others breastfeeding it always just seemed to easy and relaxed.
In truth, it can be quite the opposite! I am pretty determined to continue breastfeeding for a while longer, but it hasn't been without it's hiccups. To start with, the first month or so I had to deal with the pain of cracked nipples. Now I had midwifes and such check to see if he was latching on correctly (he was), but I still had this hideous toe curling pain each time he would feed. Finally they healed up, and all is well.
Now I'm past the first hurdle and onto the next one!
It seems that Hudson is getting more and more fussy every time he feeds. I don't know if this is a wind issue, or if he is a lazy feeder, but I swear during my afternoon feeds he is on and off the breast like crazy, having little cries and looking as frustrated as I feel!
I'm always hoping he is getting enough milk and each week when I weigh him I always have my fingers crossed that he has gained weight (Thankfully he has had a gain each week!).
Sometimes I think it would be sooooo much easier switching to formula- he drinks from a bottle with no issues (have tested this with expressed milk), Hubby could share with the feeds, and at least I could actually see how much milk he was taking in.
But, I've decided to stick with this whole breastfeeding caper for a while longer. Let's see how we go!

Sleep Scehdule.. Yawn!

Wow I am a slacker. Really need to POST.MORE.OFTEN!
Things here are going well. My main obsession with our little boy is.. *drumroll*... sleeping! I swear after almost 6 weeks of not having a full nights sleep, I am obsessed with him sleeping through the night. Now, I know he is only 5 1/2 weeks old, and I can't expect that he will sleep through just yet, I am super keen to get him into a routine so that the transition to sleeping through the night is easy and when he's ready he will just do it.
I have consulted a number of books and strategies to help with this.
Firstly, a friend lent us a book they swore by. It is called 'Baby Wise- Giving your Infant the Gift of Night Time Sleep' (more like giving the sleep deprived parent the gift of night time sleep!). I think it has a lot of really, really good points that I agree with. For example, having a routine and also highlighting the negative aspects of what he calls 'child centred parenting'. Main problem here is I don't think he really emphasises what to do when your little one cries and cries through the night, apart from just letting them 'cry it out'.

Next, my cousin recommended 'Save Our Sleep' by Tizzy Hall. Again, some good points, good routines etc, deals exactly with how to let your little one 'cry it out', but alas, the crying it out thing just doesn't seem to work for Hudson. Trust me, we have tried. Put him to bed, followed everything the book said to do. He wailed and wailed and wailed, didn't seem like we were getting anywhere. Honestly. So, gave the little guy his dummy (which Save Our Sleep does not recommend), straight away he calmed down, and about 10 minutes later he was asleep (which is when we would promptly go in and do the 'stealth dummy removal'). Trust me, we have tried every different soothing technique and the foolproof, works 99% of the time strategy for Hudson is his dummy! The poor little guy often needs it to soothe himself.
Ok, so the next thing we've consulted is 'The Happiest Baby on the Block' DVD. I think this one is great. Has some really good tecniques to calm your baby down. Great DVD (Hubby liked it too as he didn't have to read a book, could just watch the DVD!). And lastly, I have just ordered the 'Mom's on Call' book and DVD, so we'll see if this one has anything different to say!
So far Hudson's schedule goes like this:
7am- feed/ play/sleep
10-11amish- feed/play/sleep
1/2pm-ish- feed/play/sleep
4/5.30-ish feed/bathtime with Daddy, Put to bed in his bassinet for the night.
9-9.30pm- I wake him for a feed (still deciding if this is the best strategy- for me to wake him or just to let him wake on his own?)
He then sleeps until around 1am-2am, he wakes for a feed.
Then he sleeps until around 6.30-7am when he wakes for a feed.

I am hanging to get rid of the 2am feed, but I know that could take some time!

Birth Story

This is a bit overdue, but here is my birth story:

Well, it all started on Monday morning, the 30^th May. I woke up at about 4am with some intense pains that kept  coming every 20 minutes or so, that wouldn’t let me sleep. I guess these were some pretty mild contractions. Hubby didn’t want to go to work that day, as he was pretty worried, but I sent him off- knowing it could be some time before things really ramped up. My contractions continued at about one every 20 minutes or so. By the time Hubby came home from work, they were closer together, coming at roughly every 10 minutes. I wasn’t too fussed, so we continued going about our normal routine- making dinner, watching TV and so on. At 11pm, they were getting stronger and much closer together, but I decided to give sleeping a go. Off to bed I went, which lasted all of 20 minutes, as I had quite strong contractions coming every 7 minutes. At this point Hubby was getting pretty worried, and decided to call the hospital. They told us to wait until the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I knew this wouldn’t be too far off, so Hubby started loading the car up, putting extra food out for our cat-child while I had a nice hot shower to try and relax. Every time a contraction came at this point I had to lean against the wall as they were getting pretty painful. We kept timing the contractions (using a trusty iphone app!) and when they were every 4-5 minutes and I was in way too much pain, we got into the car and headed off to the hospital. Sitting in the car and not being able to lean forward when I got a contraction was agony, so I was really happy that, being it was close to 1am- there was no traffic!
We went into the hospital and were immediately sent to the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit at about 1am, where they did an examination and found I was 4cm dilated. I stayed in the bathroom there for another couple of hours under the hot shower on the fit ball, breathing through each contraction. When the pain became a little too much to bear on my own, I was then transferred to a birthing suite so I could use the gas to help ease the pain of my contractions.
Again, I chose to sit in the shower, alternating between a chair and a fit ball, with the hot water on my abdomen. Hubby kept helping me out by rubbing my back and giving me water after breathing in the gas as it dried my mouth out.
By 7am, my favourite OB started her shift which I was pretty happy about.
It had been close to 6 hours since my last examination, and being that your cervix should dilate approximately 1cm per hour, I was thinking we should be nearing the end and coming close to pushing time. Well, after my examination my OB told me that I was now only 5cm dilated. 5cm!! It had taken close to 6 hours to dilate 1cm! I was devastated. My waters had also not broken, so at this point they had to be manually broken. Once this happened, my contractions went from something I considered painful, to the most intense pain I have ever experienced! I could no longer sit in the shower as I was in too much pain. I kept leaning against Hubby and squeezing his hand. At the peak of my contractions I was yelling and screaming in pain- I never thought I would be one of those people! I continued trying to suck on the gas, but the pain was so intense I could hardly hold it in my mouth, instead I was sobbing and crying out in pain. At this point, I knew I needed something else to enable me to continue, so my midwife convinced me to give a shot of pethidine a go to ‘take the edge off’ the contractions. Well, let me tell you, the pethidine was the biggest waste of time. All it did was make me feel sleepy and drugged out in between each contraction, but did not at all lessen the pain! I persevered another few hours, but by about 11am I’d had enough. They examined me to find I was now 9cm dilated, and when I asked how much longer I’d have to go, I was told it could be another 3-4 hours. Oh my god. Then all of a sudden I got this intense urge to push and I screamed out “I need to push”- it was like it wasn’t even me, it was my body completely taking over. My body was no where near ready to push, so I have no idea what was going on there. At this point I was so exhausted from lack of sleep the past 2 nights and I told Hubby I couldn’t do it anymore and I needed an epidural. He made sure that I really did want one (oh my god, did I ever), and that was that. The anaesthesiologist was sent in (after what seemed like eternity), I had to agree to all sorts of risks (I would of said yes to anything at this point) and they started prepping me for the epidural. I was supposed to sit up very straight on the bed and keep still while the inserted the needle. Let me tell you, it is not at all easy to sit up straight on a bed while crying out in pain through contraction after contraction hoping that the anaesthesiologist isn’t going to mess up because you’re moving! Well, I somehow managed to stay still and they got the epidural up and working (“How long is it going to take? How long is it going to take?” ), once it kicked in, I felt like it was a completely different labour. I was calm, relaxed and was feeling really good about my decision. I have no regrets taking it all as it came, and if I were to go through labour again, I definitely would not opt for an epidural off the bat. Some people are lucky enough to have a short labour, which I believe I could of endured!
 A few hours later, after having to have a drip to increase my contractions, due to a ‘failure to progress’, I was told it was time to start pushing. We were going to have a baby really soon! Well, again nothing was to come easy with this labour, and I had to lie in numerous positions to try and push our little baby down the birth canal. After an hour and a half of pushing (again, thankful for my decision to get an epidural at this point!) my OB told me I had a very small pelvis and our baby was started to become distressed and would need a little bit of help to come out. I remember thinking “Oh, no, I hope they don’t want to give me a caesarean!”, but luckily that was not the case. She told me she thought a vacuum extraction was needed. At this point my dignity was long gone and my legs were put up into the stirrups, the vacuum put onto his head and I was told to push. I pushed with all my might, and after a few more minutes at exactly 1.42pm on Tuesday 31^st May our little baby was pushed out into the world. Instead of telling us the sex, they held our baby up so we could see…. It was a… boy! He had these big eyes that immediately stared at everything around him, then he started crying. Hubby cut the cord, and then they placed him on my chest for some skin to skin contact and his first breast feed.
I remember really not caring that my legs were up in stirrups as my 2^nd degree tears were being stitched up (thank god I was distracted and couldn’t feel the pain!) as I was instantly in love with this little being laying on my chest. He weighed 6lbs, 10oz (2.998kg) and everything on him was just perfect.
After a long, long labour and the most ridiculous pain I have ever experienced our little baby boy- Hudson  was brought into the world.

It's a.....

As you may have guessed from my absence, we now have a new addition to our family.
It's a boy!
Little Hudson was born on 31st May, at 1.42pm, he is healthy and perfect and we have absolutely fallen in love!
This whole parenting gig is unbelivably hard, but yet rewarding at the same time- I don't think anything can really prepare you for it.
He is 2 weeks old today. We had his first check up and his weight is on track (he is back to his birth weight), he has been getting the hang of feeding and is doing really well.
I am still healing up, after an extremely long and exhausting labour. We're talking a good 24 hours of labour- I now truly know the meaning  of pain!
More entries and photos to come!

3 Days Overdue

Yup, my little bub is quite cosy and content inside and is now 3 days overdue! I'm really not too worried, as I'm not uncomfortable or unhappy, but I'm definitely feeling a little anxious (as in, when is this crazy labour stuff going to happen!) and excited to meet our little one. I'm also dying to know if baby is a boy or a girl!
Today is my Dad's Birthday and the family is coming over for a BBQ. Hubby had bets on that today would be 'the day' and my Dad and baby would share a birthday, but at this point it looks like Hubby might be wrong! My bets are on for Tuesday/Wednesday (31st-1st)... we shall see!
I better keep this entry short as I still need to whip up some potato salad, finish the birthday cake I baked for Dad and make some guacamole. We'll also be having American hot dogs (Aussie hot dogs are nowhere near as tasty!), I love that they make Hubby feel a little more at home...
Well, let's hope next time I update I'll be updating with a birth story!
Feel free to leave me a note if you read this blog, as I do occasionally wonder if I'm just writing to myself!

40 Week Appointment

Well I had my 40 week appointment today. I had my favourite OB, a young-ish female who knows her stuff. She measured my blood pressure- which was good, checked out bubs heart rate- also good, she said baby was 'happy' awww.
Next I had to have an internal to see how things were progressing. Lucky me! ;-) To her and my surprise I am 2cm dilated! My cervix is soft and she could actually touch the babies head- which spun me out.. I can't believe she touched bub's head! Baby gave a bit of a kick when she did as well. haha!!
She also gave me a 'stretch and sweep' which is meant to get things going a little. Since then I've had a tiny bit of bleeding (normal) and have felt crampy ever since. So now I am just laying on the couch, trying to relax and realising this baby will probably be here sooner than later! I also have an induction date booked for the 7th June, but to be honest, I think bub will be here before then! I have a feeling we'll be having a May baby!

Due Date

Well, here we are baby, it's your due date... come out, come out wherever you are!
40 weeks have absolutely flown by and I can't believe that some time in the next 2 weeks we will have a little baby. Today I have an appointment with my OB, she's going to check out how things are looking (gee, can't wait for that) and we'll also book in an induction date (which I hope I will not have to keep!).
At the moment I can't help that the only thing on my mind is baby, baby, baby!
I've been pretty busy lately, oh when I say 'busy' I just mean 'maternity leave busy'. e.g Nothing profound or pressing to do, just spending time with friends, catching up for lunch and coffee, going to the movies, seeing my Mum, going to pilates etc.
Everything is ready for baby, I've managed to cook a freezer full of meals, ready for those first couple of painful weeks when we're settling in and getting used to a routine. Our place is spotless and shining- we did a massive clean last weekend- can we say, nesting?
I'll get hubby to take a 40 week picture tonight and post it next entry.
Now,  I wonder when baby will make an appearance?

Pregnancy Stats:
Weeks Pregnant: 40 Weeks!
Weight Gain: 12kgs I believe (I will get weighed today at my appointment)

Current Symptoms: Sleeplessness, braxton hicks, feeling lethargic

Food Cravings: The same as before, chocolate milk, ice water and ice cream!

Feeling: Nervous and anxious

3 days until D-Day

Well, I am now 3 days off my due date. Can't believe it!
I will give you the update from my last appointment.... the OB seemed to think baby has not dropped any lower, and when I mentioned that I had an appointment with her the following week (on my due date!) she said she thought she would be seeing me then.. e.g- baby aint coming early! We also got one last ultrasound, which I totally didn't expect. She was checking measurements etc of the baby. It was pretty hard to even tell what I was looking at to be honest and she made us look away a few times because she knows that we don't want to know the gender of our bub! Again, not that I would even know what I was looking at!
I met my friend for coffee this morning and we had a walk around the mall and I was getting this fun little owie pain, which kind of felt like period pains. Rather annoying.
Anywho, one of my friends that I met at my ante-natal classes had her little baby on Friday, she is just adorable. So I managed to buy a cute little outfit for her. I got  some cute little baby tracksuit pants with a matching top and little socks. All are by Bonds (love this brand!).

They look a lot bigger than they are- this is newborn size! So adorable!

Speaking of shopping, I also got a couple of things in the mail today that I had ordered online. Firstly, I ordered some CD's from 'Rockabye Baby' which is a really cool company that takes songs that we know and love and changes them into baby lullabies!

Pretty crap picture, but you get the idea!

The next thing I got in the mail is something that I think is going to come in handy post-pregnancy to attempt to whittle away the enormous belly I have accumulated! So I bought myself a 'Vespa and the LadyBird' post pregnancy belly wrap:

I really hope it works!!



Oh and to top things off, here is my 39+1 week belly picture.

39 weeks! Can hardly believe it!

39 Weeks

Well, I am 39 weeks pregnant today! Hard to believe that bub could come at any time now. I still get the feeling that it won't be until our due date, or even a little bit over. I have an appointment with my OB today, so I will be interested to hear what she has to say about how far the baby has dropped etc
I have to keep this entry short as I'm about to head off for my appointment, then lunch with Hubby, followed by meeting up with a friend. We're meeting at a chocolate cafe (mmmmm!!), so I'm sure I'll managed to fit in a delicious chocolatey treat- maybe even a chocolate milkshake (my favourite right now!). To end off, I have a 38 week picture (will take a 39 week picture tonight!) and some stats:

38 weeks!

Pregnancy Stats:
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks

Weight Gain: I have no clue! I have avoided weighing myself, but I'm sure I'll find out today at my OB appointment. Until then, we'll say 11 kgs.

Current Symptoms: Sleeplessness, braxton hicks (now aren't they fun!)

Food Cravings: STILL  chocolate milkshakes, ice.

Feeling: Anticipating the pain to come!

Nursery Pictures

Well, the nursery is finally finished! Yippee! There is only one little thing I want to do, and that is to put some art work/ frames etc on the walls. Now that I am officially on my 'maternity leave pay' (ugh!!), which is half pay- so I can take double the time off, me thinks I better find a creative and cheap way to get babies room looking cute. I already have some ideas.
Anyway, here are some pictures of how the nursery is looking:

Bub's cot and cute little wall decal

Drawers and a few little cute bits and pieces on top.

Change table

There are a few other things in the nursery that I haven't posted, such as the delightful glider chair (oh, so comfortable), but you get the general idea. It's very hard to imagine that there is actually going to be a little baby sleeping in that cot very soon!

Not Long Now...

Well, I'm 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant! As of today I have officially started my maternity leave. Ahh! I am glad I made it working as long as I did, but things were getting pretty uncomfortable at work this last week. I am a teacher, and having to be on my feet and with a class full of kids all day long got pretty exhausting! Especially when I got fun little pains in my belly and had to just pretend everything was ok, and teach through it!
Well, this weekend I have quite a few things on. Firstly, I have a friends bridal shower/ high tea on this afternoon. It should be really nice, I love a good high tea! Tonight we have another friends 30th Birthday party, and tomorrow is Mothers Day, so we're going out for lunch with my Mum, brother and sister in law.

Next week, my first week of actual maternity leave, I have lots of plans. No sitting around for me! I plan on buying all the last things we need for baby. We have mostly all the things we need, but I'd like to buy some terry towelling squares (good for burp cloths etc), I need to buy some bassinette sheets and I think that's it! I also need to pack my hospital bag (ahem, suitcase!!), and make sure everything is washed and put away in the nursery (nursery pics to come soon!).

I also have plans to get the baby capsule installed in the car, I have a hair appointment, an OB appointment, coffee with a few friends, pregnancy pilates, oh and a maternity photo shoot with hubby on Monday! We also have a wedding down the coast on Saturday, and poker on Sunday!
So, a fun week ahead. Bub better not come early, as I have too many plans and things going on!
I really don't think bub will come early though, because at my appointment last week, I was told the baby has not dropped, so I think I still have some time.

And to end off...
Pregnancy Stats:
Weeks Pregnant: 37 weeks, 2 days.
Weight Gain: Well my weight is definitely up! I have gained 11kgs.
Current Symptoms: Period type pains, tiredness, sleeplessness and all that good stuff ;-)

Food Cravings: STILL  chocolate milk! Ice.
Feeling: Excited and nervous!

One Month to Go!

There is one month to the day until our little bub's due date. Not long now! I hope our little one continues to bake in there until the 26th of May, give or take a day or two!
I am still feeling quite uncomfortable, just little things like going for a walk are uncomfortable as the baby's head seems to squish my poor bladder (perhaps it's a comfy pillow?), my hips and legs hurt through the night as there are only limited positions to sleep in. Honestly though, if this is as bad as it gets I can deal with it. It really hasn't been too bad. I am back to work tomorrow (I've had a week off for the Easter break), and then I only have 1.5 weeks until I finish and go on maternity leave. I can't wait to be done!
I'm going to post a few pictures of my baby shower from last weekend- which was amazing, so much fun! And then top it off with a 35 week bump picture....

A nappy (diaper!) cake- how adorable! The best part is there is a bottle of champagne in the centre!

These were the most delicious cupcakes!

More cupcakes. I love the black & white striped paper and the colourful sprinkles.

How cute is this!

Here is my 35 week bump!

35 Weeks

The time has flown since I last wrote an entry! I can't believe I am now 35 weeks pregnant. It seems hard to believe that we'll have a baby in 5 or so weeks.
Things have been going well, I've been feeling pretty good and it's only just been in the last week that the tiredness and uncomfortableness of my belly is hitting me. I have such a baby bump now, I must post a picture!

Here is my 33 week baby bump! I'll post my 35 weeks bump once I upload it from my camera.
The thought of having a baby does slighly scare me, I must admit. I worry about a million and one things, from: labour (eep!), looking after a newborn, how our life will change, will I get 'bored' staying at home instead of working (something I am not used to), will I make a good Mum, and many other things. I know I have to just go with the flow, but it's definitely a LOT to take in! I still have another 2 weeks of work before I go on maternity leave, then I'll be taking 1 year off to look after our little bub.
Well, that's it from me for now, I must definitely post more often.. final countdown here we come!

Nursery + almost 26 weeks!

Oh wow, how slack have I been? Ok, lets see.. things have been going well. I have felt pretty good lately. Apart from the sweltering heat that is! It's SO hot here, being that it is Summer and all. It would help if we had air con at work! I can't wait for things to cool down.
Mum bought us the cutest change table and cot for our little bub. I'll post some pictures....

Here is the change table!

Here is the cot! Obviously without that particular bedding.

The nursery is in no way, shape or form anything resembling 'complete'. A few weeks ago we got a ceiling fan installed in there, and this weekend our plan is to paint the purple feature wall a nice shade of calming green. From there we can start building the furniture (or should I say, Hubby can start building the furniture!) and decorating. I still have to buy a cot quilt etc and a few other things, but it will be fun  putting it all together!
Oh and I had an appointment with my OB on Monday. All well except she thinks I need to gain more weight! She encouraged me to eat more etc. I definitely have not been skipping meals or anything, but perhaps I could eat a few more snacks etc.
Pregnancy Stats:
Weeks Pregnant: 25 weeks, 6 days.
Weight Gain: I think it's about 5kgs (11lbs) but my OB says it's only been 3kgs since she first weighed me and that I haven't gained weight in the last month!
Current Symptoms: Swollen feet if I am on them for too long, sore back at times, tired, sleepless.

Food Cravings: STILL  chocolate milk or smoothies! Yum!
Feeling: Quite content with being pregnant, looking forward to our next scan to see how bubs heart is.

Here's a 22 week picture, I'll be taking a 26 week pic tomorrow! :)

Latest Scan Results

Haven't written in ages- so much to update with!
Trip was amazing- Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice were great. We saw all the sights, ate so much food and belly even popped- I officially look pregnant!
It was also great seeing friends and family in LA. The in-laws surprised us by buying us the pram we wanted (Baby Jogger City Elite)- it's such a great pram! We also went to town buying a ridiculous amount of baby stuff with the Aussie dollar being so good. Originally we bought a few gender neutral clothing items, then thought- screw it! And bought a whole lot of girls clothes and a whole lot of boys clothes. I'd love to have one of each so you never know!

We had our morphology scan today. It would be too easy to have everything go smoothly now, wouldn't it???? The morphology scan is where they look at organs and body parts etc to make sure all is ok. Very relieved that the majority of things are perfect, and oh my god- the 4D scan is just amazing! We could see so much detail- especially on the face. Just adorable.
Well, unfortunately it turns out our bub has a little hole in the heart. Luckily it's very small and the doctor told us holes this small usually correct themselves between now and 2 years of age. Apparently 1 in 200 babies have them.
 But of course, just another reason to have a bit of a stress. We're booked in for another scan at 31 weeks to check on it. Fingers crossed that it has gotten smaller, or even gone.
We told the doctor we didn't want to know the sex, so she made us close our eyes during certain parts of the scan- apparently baby had it's legs apart and would of been a give away. I was leaning towards thinking this bub was a girl, but a few things and ways things were worded by the doctor now makes me think it's a boy. So based on what I'm feeling, and what the doctors have said (I swear I read into every single word they say WAY too much!) I am 50/50 split down the middle. So, that's probably a good way to be so I don't have expectations either way!
Next entry I'll update with pregnancy stats and bump pics!