Sofia's feeding schedule at 6 months old!

When you have your first baby you try and do everything by the book and we were the very same. As Sofia gets older we just go with what we feel is best for her and just use "books" as a guideline. They can only advise you so much and after all you know your baby and what they like and dislike.

This is Sofia's feeding routine for an average day!

8.30am:
She has a 5oz bottle when she wakes up. She is on the Cow and gate follow on milk.

9am:
We will usually give her either cereal or a liga mixed with her milk and then some juice or water.

1pm:
After her morning nap she will have a fruit pot and a yoghurt for her lunch and some water. This is her favourite meal of the day.

2pm:
She will have another 5oz bottle.

6pm:
She will have a full jar of any of the cow and gate meals and some water. She loves the carrot ones and there's not much she wont eat. But she still doesn't like cottage pie or bollognaise.

7pm:
Sofia has another 5oz bottle.

10.30/11pm:
This is her last bottle before bed and she usually has a 7oz bottle which keeps her going till half 8 again.

All babies are different and will have more or less of what Sofia has but this is the routine what works for us right now :)

6 months postpartum!

I had a baby half a year ago! That just sounds crazy to say. I'm still not back to my pre-pregnancy body but I'm going by "9 months in and 9 months out" to hopefully be back to myself.

Diastasis Recti!

My stomach muscles are still not together as they should be I can still feel a gap in the middle and when i do a sit-up i get a bulge in my stomach coming up through my muscles. Its still sore to do a sit up and i find it very hard. Ive heard the Belly Bandit wraps are supposed to be brilliant for holding the muscles in and helping them join up again. They are quite expensive though so might be a while before i get one.  I did get an Ever last tummy slimmer for 6 euro for the mean time and it really keeps everything in so I'm going to wear it day and night and see in a few weeks if it makes any difference.

Broody Again!

One thing Ive noticed is I'm getting so broody again if I see a pregnant woman or a newborn baby but it's way too soon to even think about doing it all again. I want to make sure Sofia has my full attention till she is around 2. We want 3 kids and I hope to have them all before I'm 30 so 5 years for 2 more is loads of time.

6 month postpartum belly and stretch marks!

I still have my stretch marks but they have faded so much so I'm hoping they will carry on fading. I read somewhere at 6 months is when they start going white. My stomach still sticks out from my muscle separation but its gradually going back in.

Sofia's 6 month update!

Sofia is 6 months old! Half a year old already i really don't know where the time has gone. Shes such an amazing little girl shes so clever and very advanced for her age.

Routine!

She wakes up around 8.30 am and has her bottle and breakfast. Around 11 she usually naps for about half an hour. She is usually in a really good mood mornings. At 1 she has another bottle and dinner and will play till 6 when she has her dinner. Some evenings she will nap for about half an hour to an hour but she usually becomes really fussy around 7pm. She has her last feed at around 9pm and will stay awake till about 11. Once shes asleep she will sleep through till 8.30 am again although some nights she will wake 2 or 3 times but goes back to sleep after 5 minutes.

Milestones!

• Sofia finally rolled over :)
• She can sit up on her own for almost a minute.
• She can say mama, dada and baba.
• She holds her feet up and trys to put them in her mouth.
• She is such a fun little girl she loves to be tickled.
• She is in her 6-9 clothes and her follow on milk, shes growing up too fast.

Sofia's 5 month update!

Sofia is now 21 weeks old. Shes starting to turn into a little girl now she doesn't seem like my little baby anymore. She has pretty much grown out of all the baby things like her bouncer and her 3-6 month clothes are all being packed away. She is growing up way too fast! As of now she is in mostly all her 6-9 month clothes. I cant believe she will be half a year old in one month i want to cry thinking about it, I wish she could stay this age forever.

Baby's first care doc visit!

We had to bring her to the care doc the other morning at 1am! She had been coughing and chocking alot but it turned out to be a little cold and mucus from her nose making her cough. It was our first real panic with her and the doctor even laughed at us bringing her in but id always Rather be safe than sorry! She has saline drops in her nose now every 4 hours and its clearing the mucus really quick so its so much better for her.

Baby Talk!

She is non stop babbling, typical woman never stops ha! She is really trying to say words, I know its so soon but she is so intelligent she listens to everything and responds so well. So far even if it's just coincidence shes said egg, hiya, hi, baba. I need to try record her one day so someone believes me ha.

Tantrums already!

Sofia is very clever and she knows already how to get attention. She has starting screaming when she wants to be picked up or if shes in her jumperoo she will scream, stamp her feet and hit the top. It's very hard but we have to ignore her so she understands, after about 5-10 minutes she stops and carry's on playing. I have a feeling we are going to have a little madam on our hands ha!

Milestones!

• She seems to respond to her own name now and she is remembering people. She can be strange with people she doesn't know now.
• She is so close to rolling over she gets almost over and flips back the other way.
• She sat up for a few seconds on her own the other day.
• She almost sleeps through the whole night now, she goes down about 12-9.30/10am. We just have to try get her in a bit earlier.
• She can hold toys on her own now, pick them up and put them back down. She also reaches for everything and trys to put it in her mouth.
• She is such a happy baby she is always smiling and laughing.

 

My Dad x

My dad passed away from a sudden heart attack on Sunday 6th may 2012 at 47.
This is something i find very hard to talk about because when i do it just reminds me that he isn't here anymore. Anyone who knew my dad knew he was stubborn, hard headed, always right and always did what he wanted. He was also kind hearted, loving, supportive and a big softy. I feel angry he was taken when i was only 23. One thing that will stay with me forever is how he was always there for me and at one point he was my only friend.

When we were younger my dad worked abroad alot so we barely saw him, so it was like Christmas every day he came home. He used to always play his music really loud at the weekend and we would sit downstairs on the floor listening to songs all day.

 As i grew up i resented my dad for not being there, i guess i was too young to realise he worked so hard to give us everything we wanted. We disagreed on alot of things and grew apart. He became very depressed at home after his accident and it was very hard to talk to him. I should have tried to help him more and i regret that everyday.

When i became pregnant for the first time he was so excited and couldn't wait to be a grandad. When i lost the baby he was there for me and we started to become close again and it felt like old times. Unfortunately this was 3 months before he died.

There are things i will never have like him walking me down the aisle, our father daughter dance and meeting my daughter Sofia. It breaks my heart she will never know him. But there are things i will cherish forever, secrets and memories.

I miss him more everyday and the hole that's missing never goes away. 

If your dad is still here give him a big hug and kiss and tell him you love him x

4 months postpartum!

I am now 4 months postpartum! This month I am starting to finally feel back to myself. I stopped going to the exercise class in Mount Wolseley it was just too much I found she pushed us to much too soon. I started circuit training so I know with that I can go at my own pace. Matty's job recently gave us a tennis club membership for the year so we are starting that soon aswel.

I have been getting spasms in my back which my doctor said is nerve pain from having sofia so hopefully keep working out will relive some of the pain. He checked my stomach muscles and they are finally back together now so it doesn't hurt as much to do sit-ups.

Weight 4 months postpartum: 10 stone 9.

So far now ive lost 33lbs since I had Sofia. I want to lose the last 9lbs to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I lost 4lbs this month which is on track that I want to lose 1lb a week. I can hardly believe i put on 42lbs when i was pregnant! I know for sure next time im pregnant i will have a healthier diet and do light exercise so i dont pile on the weight again.
I have cut out so much junk food now I barely ever eat chocolate but if im craving it I will have it.

 

                         40 weeks pregnant                                             4 months postpartum

 

 Me and my little girl x

Sofia's 4 month update!

Sofia is 18 weeks old now! She doesn't seem like a little baby anymore, she's getting bigger each week and she knows what she wants already!
We recently went to the health nurse for her check up at 3 and a half months and she was 13lb 7oz's and 63cm long. She has always been a tall baby and is above average for her age. 

Baby's first solids!

We first tried her with the Heinz baby rice and she liked it but it bound her up too much so we took her off it and have her on the Milupa orange cereal now. At the moment she is having about 7-8 small spoonfuls each morning so she's gradually getting used to it.

In the evening around 5 we give her a fruit mix or a dinner and she loves it, she cant eat it quick enough. Her favourite so far is the apple and pear cow and gate pots or chicken dinners.

Milestones!

• One cute thing Sofia will do now when shes laughs is acting shy. She hides her face and smiles it's so adorable.
• She's so good at tummy time and holds her head right up for ages and moves her legs, i think she will be an early walker.
• She is non stop babbling now and gurgling its like she almost wants to talk.  
• She laughs so much now like proper belly laughs and is getting tickle-ish! 
• She has started screaming or screeching really loud to get attention it's so funny. 
• She is so close to rolling over now. 

Routine!

She wakes up around 9-9.30 now on a good morning and has her bottle. Then around half 10 we give her her orange cereal. She will usually nap around 11.30 for about an hour, maybe 2 if were lucky. Then at 2 she has another feed. Some days she will be awake or have another nap but it isnt usually for very long. At about 5 she has a few spoonfuls of her fruit or dinner then her bottle at 6. She usually goes on her play mat or in her jumperoo for about an hour. We do her bath around 8 and then she has another bottle at 10. She gets fussy after that and will stay awake till 1 most nights. Depending on her she will have a few ounces or go straight to sleep.

Baby's First Photoshoot! 

Sofia won a free photoshoot with pixifoto in mothercare. She was a bit cranky to start with but then as she got used to her surroundings she was smiling away and we got some lovely photos.

Getting baby ready for her first St Patricks day :)