Remembering the early days...

Two of my amazing friends have just popped out the most gorgeous bubbas. Both are settling into becoming mummy's (and will be absolutely amazing) and getting to know these new cherubs that suck away our sleep but also give so much love.

We are in a completely different phase of bubba land - crawling. N has been getting ready for about a month now (starting backwards, then developing his sky-diver pose), but we are now MOVING FORWARDS - and quickly too! He loves banging things on the wooden floor, trying to bash himself in the eye with the TV unit and giving kisses to his dad and I (he just needs to master not giving tongue at the same time).

But no matter how exciting it is just now, I miss the days when N would curl up into my chest and snuggle for an age. I now still get lovely cuddles, but it also involves a headbut or three along with a kick in the crotch so he can find that perfect position.

But 7 1/2 months on, I am so happy we are here. I love seeing him develop (even if it seems at record pace). He is the most happy little munchkin and is adored by every old lady at the bus stop going.

Anyway, must dash - he has just woken from a nap and we are off to see Zia Cristina today. xoxo

MEternity vs MAternity

If you have not seen This Morning recently, you will have missed the delightful lady who came on to argue that single ladies should qualify for MEternity time. What would it involve? Well, as we all do on MAternity, it's all about going to the gym, long lies, coffee in Starbucks for several hours and generally having some ME time. 

I will be the first to argue that before I had N, I underestimated how challenging being a mum would be (a case of rose tinted glasses). I completely underestimated how tired I would be, how frustrating it would be not to be able to get the baby to sleep when I needed him to would be or just how much work is needed to be done around the house in between those two things. 

While I am not in an office, I am definitely working. Bloody hard and all the time. It is my time to change 90%f the nappies, wash two loads (and iron it) of clothes each day, plan meals not only for the adults but also now N. On paper, looks like a piece of piss - in reality, but 3pm when you have a baby screaming through tiredness, cutting teeth, hunger or for no reason at all it can be REALLY FUCKING HARD - especially when the statutory pay ends. **Cue baby crying after a 26 minute nap**

.......

**46 mins later after a feed, bum change, bounce and wiggle into the Jumperoo**

Please don't get me wrong - I am adoring my time with an and wouldn't ever change it for the world. But to see a silly lady preach that single ladies should be entitled to a similar amount of leave just for being single. Clearly she did what she did to drum up a bit of attention, but If  you fancy a bit of time off, love, book a holiday. 

"Hello, my name is..."

Babies are brilliant, aren't they? Obviously, they change your world/make life worthwhile blah, blah, blah. But they also create a brilliant ice breaker when meeting new mums.

We went to a new baby/toddler group today and I have to say, even though I needed to psyche myself up to have the guts to walk through the door, once I was there it was N who helped in meeting the other mums. 

Prior to having a baby or any work networking settings, I was rubbish in talking to new people. While I am pretty social and pretty awesome once you know me, please never make me go somewhere on my own - I am much happier with my own people.  

But not I literally have my own person who I can use as a buffer. 

Just another plus to being a mum ;)

Sleep training update

We are now 11 days into sleep training and I think we are finally getting somewhere. It's not been without many, many tears (N's and mine).

I think I mentioned, but we started with Pick up, Put down and closing the boob bar. Well, whilst the latter definitely worked; PUPD was a dud.

So four nights ago we decided to play hardball and change up the strategy. We have followed the Ferber method and so far, so good.

Night one was an absolute bastard with 46 mins (yes, I counted) of crying. Night two got us down to 14 mins and night three, we'll he settled himself!!! Yes!!

Having spoken to another friend who tried this with her bubba, I think the babies just need to be ready themselves to self settle. What's more, we have gone from up to FIVE feeds a night to just ONE around 5am and even then I'm starting to think we could erase that completely (though, I am still a mum and don't want to deprive my baby).

What's more, we are then not waking until after 7am - absolute bliss I tell ya!

The true test will now be once the hubby returns to work tomorrow, how N copes with more noice around the house in the morning. As ever, wish us luck!!

Sleep training (or lack thereof)

We are currently six days into sleep training during the Easter holidays.

Whilst holidays used to be full of long lies and afternoon naps pre-baby, we are trying to figure out how to get the boy to sleep longer at night.

Before we set off, the hubby and I did our research and spoke to friends to find out what they did. After a chat on what we would and would not be comfortable with (cry it out didn't make the cut), we decided to close the Boob Bar between midnight-5am (previously on 24/7 service) and try the Pick up, Put down option.

Before I get into the details we probably didn't pick the exact right week to do this as we were going away on our first holiday as a threesome and we're taking a different buggy (which was previously the only place N would nap during the day) but try we must.

Long story short, we have managed to cut down on feeds for five to just two, but the screaming matches have been blood curdling - to the point N has been close to losing his voice. We (I) also had to give in on a couple occasions as the Boob was the only way to calm the beast.

So this brings us to today and we have decided that whilst we might not be feeding five times a night, N is still waking the same amount so we need a brand new strategy.

From tonight, the bar will still be closed, but will be trying the Ferber method which seems to be a nice balance of CIO and PUPD. After trying it for this mornings nap, N settled after just 15 mins.

Please, please wish us luck. Needless to say I will be topping myself up on wine before the night begins....

Sorry for the break

It's been a while since I last posted - my bad!

However in my defence, the iPad had run out of charge and to be quite honest, I'm exhausted. You see, N has decided that the four month sleep regression wasn't enough and so he has created a six month version too. We are currently woken four to five times a night. Not great really.

N is pretty good at going down for a sleep during the day (as long as it's in his buggy) and is also good at going to sleep at night.  However our big problem is then waking during the night.

I don't think I've helped my keeping the boob kitchen open 24/7, and I'm not expecting him to sleep through, I just can't cope with being woken so many times a night.

So this Easter, it's all about sleep training with us. If anyone has any tips on how best to do this please do share!

A piece of me

Yesterday, I managed to catch up for some lunch with some work friends. Although it took a while to set up and was brief as we all had other places to be afterwards, it was good to hear about things other than 'baby'.

I could reminisce about a different area of my life (one that seems to have passed me long ago since N arrived five months ago), how it was in the real world and all the gossip I have missed from their lives.

As I was asked "so, what do you do now.", I told tales of baby sign, massage, swimming with N and trips to the park. Whilst not near as hectic as running teams and accounts as well as keeping up with the usual office politics, it gave me that little taste of what life will be like once I return to work.

It also reminded me that whilst my current "job" is to raise my son, I do also need to remember that is not solely who I am and I also need to take time for me once in a while. Whether that be going for a run, leaving baby with his Dad whilst I have an uninterrupted shower or even a Starbucks if I am lucky; it's important to take the time for myself so I can be Kirsten and not just N's Mummy.