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Adding some spring colour

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17

So our house is full of illness again. Honestly this year has been a year of bugs and to tell you the truth I am fed of talking about it. So I am not going to write about the horrendous cough that Monkey had and now poor LM has, or how I had to doze in a chair all night last night so she could sleep upright and stop coughing so hard she was sick every time she tried to go to sleep… no I am not writing about that. Instead I am looking outside and writing about the lovely spring colours in our garden. In the hopes that spring will bring less bugs… eventually!

What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were very much in the throes of Operation Garden Renovation and our garden was basically a mud pit at this point I think! It has since been well and truly transformed but is still very much a work in process. (Excuse the toddler toys but hey, it’s his garden as much as ours :))

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Recognition

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13

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write a word of the week this week as it has been a bit of a mixed bag. Some parts of the week have been absolutely lovely, others really hard with LM and honestly I am a bit fed up about banging on about the difficult days, so I wasn’t sure what word I would use.

Then I woke this morning to a pingback, a little email telling me I had been included in a Tots100 article – a real first for me –  titled Five blogs for Parenting Advice. To be included amongst such awesome company as the other bloggers felt pretty incredible. But what really, sincerely touched me, was what the author said about my blog, and one of my posts in particular. She said that it had genuinely helped her and her little one. This meant so so much to me.

I blog primarily for my own sanity. It is a way to keep my brain working and exercised while I am surrounded by nappies and crumbs and toys every day of my life. It also serves as a lovely record of our family journey which I hope I will treasure in the years to come. I also blog in the hope that something I say may be able to help someone else. I am no saint and I know it sounds cliche saying I want to help people, but becoming a Mum is the hardest thing I have ever done and it is challenging and lonely at times. If by sharing my experiences I can help another Mum feel, even for 30 seconds, that they are not alone,  then I am ecstatic. Or if I can share a technique that actually helps them  get some more sleep or avoid a mealtime battle, then I am thrilled. It makes me feel that my blog has a purpose.

I have noticed this week that the ramp up to the Bibs has started with lots of posts about why people hope to be nominated. Of course I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope for a nomination, who wouldn’t want that recognition? But there is so much talent out there in the blogging community that I am pretty realistic about my chances of winning. I thought about writing a post showcasing some of my favourite blogs to vote for rather than asking for votes for myself, but I don’t even know which blogs to choose and nominate for my own vote as there are so many amazing bloggers that it feels unfair to choose some over others. I may yet try as I would love to see some of my favourite bloggers up there getting awards or at the very least receiving a nomination.

I guess that what I am trying to say is that while winning an award for my blog would be amazing for me, being included in this article felt a little like winning an award. Someone out there felt that what I had written was worthy of comment. Someone out there felt that my blog genuinely helped them through a tricky time. I couldn’t ask for more.

So regardless of awards I will continue blogging. I will carry on sharing my experiences, good and bad, and the things that have, and haven’t worked for us. In the hope that I can help a few other Mummies through this amazing yet challenging experience.

The Reading Residence
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Rest

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17

My word of the week this week is Rest.

It is half term next week and for the first time that really means something to us. Monkey’s first term at playgroup has gone really well, he loves it and talks about it all the time. But, I do feel he is quite tired. He only goes 2 afternoons a week but I still feel that it has tired him out, just as it is such a new  addition to his routine I suppose, meaning regularly missed naps and a busy week overall as he still has other activities such as Rhyme Time and Tumble Tots. He has come down with a bit of a cold this week and I just feel having a bit of a rest from playgroup will do him good 🙂

We also had quite a restful weekend last week, we have been s busy every week since Christmas so it was nice to have a bit more of a chilled one. We saw some friends for a coffee on Saturday morning and also saw Hubs’s parents as his Dad is recovering from a shoulder op. Then on Sunday we kept to ourselves and stayed home – and cleaned the house from top to bottom. Not exactly restful to spend a chunk of the day cleaning but it did us good and we did get to rest once the cleaning was done!

WP_20150211_14_35_27_ProThen the best reason that Rest is my word this week is because on Wednesday I managed to get a rest. A real proper full day of rest at a spa! Not a regular occurrence for me at all! It was part of my best friend’s hen do and 4 of us headed to Ragdale Hall for the day. All I can say is that it was blissful and I felt so so rested for the first time in a long time. It was hard leaving the kiddies, particularly LM as I certainly never left Monkey this early (she is only 3 1/2 mths old) because I was breastfeeding. Because LM is on formula I do have the freedom to be away from her on occasion but that doesn’t make it easy. It was a wonderful day but I really did miss her! Such a soppy Mumma. BIt also broke my heart a little to hear that Monkey had asked Daddy at bedtime “When’s Mummy coming back?” I know they were fine and does them no harm to be away from them, it just goes against your instincts a little I think.

It was amazing though as Ragdale has a fantastic Thermal Spa with tropical showers, a candlelit pool, thought room, outdoor spa pool with massage jets and waterfalls. It was blissful. We spent the day mooching around in our swimming costumes and robes, feeling so dozy! We did intend to take part in some exercise classes but there was so much to do we didn’t need to, and actually felt so rested we didn’t want to. It was an amazing day and lovely to be able to spend time with my friends and properly talk without kids running around us or taking our attention away. Very very peaceful and I felt well rested by the end of the day.

Unfortunately I came home to a Daddy who was very much in need of a rest after a stressful day with LM – I have been saying for a while she is teething and I think a tooth may be about to erupt, there is a sharp ridge on one bit of her gum and she is very unsettled at the moment poor thing. We have an amber anklet, teething gel, various teethers and teething granules but sometimes the only thing that will settle her is good old baby ibuprofen. Poor thing really needs a rest! Daddy is off to see his business partner’s new house today so hopefully he will get a bit of peace and quiet on the car journey, even if it isn’t that restful it is less stressful than a screaming baby!

How has your week been? Are you feeling rested?

The Reading Residence

Feeling Cheerful

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17

Yep I am feeling cheerful this week :). It’s amazing how much better you feel when you are getting enough sleep isn’t it? LM has now slept through from 7pm till 430/5am for the past 6 nights, meaning hubs and I are both getting a good long sleep at night. After a troublesome week last week  we are so very, very pleased about this!

We are expecially grateful as we had a busy weekend. On Friday night my brother and his girlfriend came round for a takeaway which was really lovely and, well, the four of us can natter away til the cows come home so it was an uncharacteristically late night for us, meaning instead of our usual 9/930pm bedtime we went to bed after 11! Shocking I know! We were a little tired Saturday morning but had another busy day ahead of us as it was one of my best friend’s hen do. I had my hair cut in the afternoon and then in the evening I left hubs alone with both kiddies for bath and bedtime – the first time one of us has done this alone with both kiddies since LM became part of this routine!

Hard work for him but I had a lovely lovely time with my friends, having a good natter and a bit of hen do silliness :). I love my kiddies but I so need some time for me sometimes and this gave me the push I needed to get out of the house and enjoy just being me, rather than being Mummy.

hen fun

Sunday was a yummy lunch at my Mum’s with my side of the family and we had a very lovely time, Monkey so loves playing with all of his aunts and uncles and LM was good as gold too.

at mums

 

I love that pic of my Mum and Stepdad with Monkey and LM, just gorgeous :).

Monday I have to admit I was shattered from a 430am start to the day and the busy weekend, but as the week has gone on I have been feeling positively restored. Getting a series of solid nights sleep, even with the early start to the day, really is making a huge difference to my energy levels. LM has been a lot better too, she is still dribbling a lot but she doesn’t seem to be in as much pain with the teething and has been sleeping really, really well. This means I have had more time for me but also more time for Monkey.

We have had some lovely playtimes out in the cold this week while  LM has bee happily dozing. I have also been trying to be less negative towards him, to give more positive praise. I am a huge believer in positive reinforcement but it is so easy when you are tired and stressed to focus more on the negative behaviours. So instead we have been concentrating on the good and while we have had to threaten the naughty spot a few times, in general his behaviour has been much better this week and he is learning to say “please can I have” instead of “I want” which is actually going surprisingly well bless him! We are still having issues at dinnertime with him refusing to swallow food but there are a lot less tantrums and he is much more cheerful and so I am much more cheerful….or is that I am feeling more cheerful so he is feeling more cheerful hmm maybe a bit of both :).

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How has your week been?

The Reading Residence
Mama and More

Troublesome

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The best word to describe this week is troublesome. It hasn’t been a bad week and some parts of it have been really quite good, and lovely, but the children at least have definitely been a bit troublesome at times.

Monkey’s behaviour has certainly kept us on our toes this week. I’m not sure exactly why but since starting playgroup (which is going really well, more on that next week as I don’t want to tempt fate at the moment!) his behaviour had home has gone a little downhill. Whether it is because he is more tired as now twice a week he has busy afternoons, whereas before he nearly always had quiet, restful afternoons, whether it is because he is seeing other children’s behaviour at playgroup, or whether he is just acting up because we have started taking him to playgrup and because his baby sister is taking up a lot of my attention, I am really not sure.

Or it could just he growing into the terrible twos which we have been lucky with up until this point. Either way, the tantrums have stepped up a notch as has the yelling of no and don’t want to at every opportunity. It is taking threats to get him to eat even his favourite foods. That sounds worse than it is, I basically just threaten to throw it away (and he knows we are serious as we have done it in the past) which makes him suddenly realise he does want to eat it after all when he likes the food anyway, if he doesn’t want to eat it at all he just says ok, so I have to follow through!). He has been on the naughty spot after daddy lost it with him on a car journey when he was trying to get out of his car seat. He is threatened with going straight to bed with no stories every night  in order to get him to have a bath, which is getting old. We then have another tantrum when it is time to get out of the bath,. He doesn’t want to get in but then loves it so much he doesn’t want to get out.

Sometimes in addition to the threats his toys “talk” to him and they are often much more successful at persuading him to eat something or do something than Mummy and Daddy are! His postman pat toy (and this morning LM’s squeaky crocodile) helps at mealtimes and Herbie the hedgehog (a hand puppet) helps persuade him to do things in the evenings. In some ways I really don’t like doing this, but also I just can’t handle the stress of having stand-offs when trying to get him to do the simplest things. As at the moment there is about a hundred stand-offs a day and I don’t have the energy!

I do feel for him though as I know a lot of it is just attention seeking. His baby sister is also being troublesome this week which is taking a lot of my attention. I am trying really hard to focus on him too but it’s not easy when she won’t stay asleep for more than half an hour at a time and is also fussy when she is awake. Not entirely sure why this is,but she is starting to teethe and is dribbling loads and chewing her teeth constantly. Monkey got his 1st tooth at 4 mths so I guess it is not a complete surprise but she is definitely more restless too.

It’s difficult to know if this is because of the teething or something else but I do feel like it is potentially giving her tummy aches, (apparently this is due to the properties in their drool, which when swallowed creates gas in their intestines(?)) so am on the hunt for teething remedies. We used ashton and parsons powders with Monkey but they contain lactose and while she is fussy anyway it doesn’t seem the right time to re-introduce lactose to her diet. Thanks to all the twitter peeps for their help with suggestions, fingers crossed we find something that works. I am intrigued by amber necklaces and anklets but not convinced yet, we have some teethers from Dr Brown’s on the way and have just started using Chamomilla by Weleda, so I am sure I will keep you posted!

The Reading Residence

Improving

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13

My word of the week is “improving.”

With LM turning 3 months things are definitely improving, I am not saying life is totally easy but things are definitely better than they were. Her reflux is much improved and she does sleep well at night so I really shouldn’t complain (though of course I do as I am still shattered by the looking after of a baby and toddler ;)).

After a good start at playgroup things with Monkey went a bit downhill and last Friday I was very much questioning whether it was the right thing to do. Thanks to the lovely supportive ladies on Facebook who reminded me it would get easier, which it did, that day in fact. We seemed to hit rock bottom, and then turn a corner and when I picked him up on onday afternoon he didn’t even cry (he had balled when I dropped him off) and keeps telling me he loves playgroup. So I know it won’t necessarily all be plain sailing and there will still be tears, but things are improving.

My mood is improving too. I started off the week feeling really, really low. I went for dinner with some friends on Monday and it was lovely to see them, but it was a bit of a late night for me (home just after 10pm, so going to sleep around 11, rock and roll I know) and actually knocked me for six a bit. I just felt shattered and tiredness can take me to some very miserable places, mood wise and I am not that fun to be around. Add to that a baby screaming and a toddler coming down with a cold and I wasn’t at all cheerful.

I have pulled myself together a bit and have caught up on some sleep and am feeling a lot better about things. Things aren’t easy or perfect but wallowing and making myself feel down about it all doesn’t help anyone.

How has your week been?

The Reading Residence

 

Routines

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19

This week is all about routines in our house. First of all, hubby is back at work after 2 weeks off over the festive break. We had a lovely time and got lots of much needed jobs done while he was off, but it is good to be getting back to a normal day to day routine. This is especially true as we have been sleep training Little Miss ( I talk about this in more detail here) and trying to find a routine that works for her and for us.

Nighttimes are going brilliantly, meaning hubs and I are getting a more normal amount of sleep now and therefore we are getting into a more normal routine, for the first time in months really! this means more jobs are getting done around the house, little things that have only had cursory cleans are now getting proper cleans, as we are not so drop-dead tired at the end of every day! LM is also happier lately and we are being rewarded with lots more lovely smiles and she even mad her first giggly sound yesterday which melted my heart.

hard to catch on camera but here's a little smile :)

hard to catch on camera but here’s a little smile 🙂

Day-times with LM have been trickier and just when we thought she was getting into a routine…. she threw me for a loop again and changed her nap lengths and wake up times. A few days of this and this and then she does it again! I am a big lover of routines but I have to try and not let my control freak planner side take over and get stressed when things don’t go according to the routine. Especially at this young age as she can’t help it. It does make planning things difficult though and arranging to see a mummy friend this week I really wasn’t sure what time to say to meet she was that all over the place. Thankfully though my friend has obviously been through it and was therefore totally understanding about waiting until the day itself to decide a time… then it started raining, well anyway that’s a story for another day!

Trying to spot patterns in LM's behaviour!

Trying to spot patterns in LM’s behaviour!

We also have a bit of excitement this week as on Friday Monkey has his first ever session at playgroup. He will be going 2 afternoons a week from now on. So far he is very much looking forward to it and we hope he enjoys it. I definitely think he is ready for it and am sure when he settles in he will really enjoy it. That being said it will be strange at first. Apart from grandparents, I am used to being the one who looks after him and so have to loosen the reins slightly. I know it is the right thing but it will be strange to think of him being in that situation without me. He may be ready but I’m not sure I am! I am sure I will manage though and it will give me more 1 on 1 time with LM as she gets older which is a good thing.

Anyway this will all change our routine as for the first time since Monkey was born we will now have to be somewhere at a set time twice a week. It starts at 12.30 so lunch will either have to be a tiny bit early or quite a quick affair on those days. I can’t help but wonder how I will balance LM’s routine with this either… But again refusing to worry about it, what will be wil be and she will have to go along with it all I guess! I shall let you know how Monkey gets on at playgroup, eek!

Finally I have also been getting into a bit of a routine with my diet and weight loss. I will do a specific post about it but so far it is definitely working, though I am so tempted to comfort eat when LM is throwing me through a loop, it has really been testing my willpower! I know it is worth it though and comfort eating doesn’t actually solve anything! ( I wrote that earlier but am actually sat drinking a glass of wine and eating chocolate at the mo, hopefully not destroying all of my progress so far!)

So that was my week, how has your week been?

The Reading Residence

Feeling Festive

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WP_20141201_08_09_06_ProWith the arrival of December we are well and truly embracing the Christmas spirit in our house and feeling festive! My mum made Monkey this fab advent calender and he is loving finding the number every day and eating a chocolate. The only trouble is reminding him it is just one a day hehe! We also got a gorgeous Christmas Tree from Pines and Needles last weekend which we had great fun decorating. (You can read our review here and find an offer code too!). We don’t normally put the tree up quite this early but Monkey is really happy we have! He’s actually a little obsessed with Christmas and asks about 50 times a day when Father Christmas is coming. He also wants to read his Christmas storybooks every night! Ooh it may be a long month ;).

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Adapting to life with a newborn

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The word of the week this week is definitely “Adapting.” We are all adapting to the changes that bringing our newborn girl home has brought.

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Rubbish shot but Monkey going in for a kiss 🙂

Monkey is doing amazingly well at adapting to being a big brother. We have been so proud of him from the get go and he just gets better and better. After a few days of playing up a little more and being more demanding (which is not at all surprising when his little world had been turned upside down and he barely saw Mummy or Daddy for days) he has settled down a lot. We are trying to find the balance between giving him plenty of attention, and not over-indulging him, as he does need to learn that he is not the only one that needs our attention now.
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