The First One...

It's coming up to Bubba's first birthday. 

I should be all, Oh I can't believe it. It's gone so fast. It feels like only yesterday we brought her home from hospital. What a year!

It's a little bit true.

But in some ways it has felt like a long time. 

Photo credit, Amanda Tipton

My Top 7 Baby Discovery Baskets

I don't know why I didn't do discovery baskets sooner.

They sound difficult to organise and fiddly and time consuming. They aren't. And babies love them.

Essentially, the idea is to fill a basket with everyday items (baby safe items, of course) from around the house or garden and make it accessible to bub in their play area. That's it. And my bub absolutely adores her basket. It is the go to play thing above so many other toys (that cost us a lot more than the contents of that basket). I would say they are better for a baby six months or older who can sit up and grasp objects easily. And make sure the basket is light weight and baby safe too as babies are often attracted to this as a toy as well.

Mix up objects from across different themes or have a specific theme in one basket.

Here are my top SEVEN discovery baskets:

Photo credit, D, Garding

So you're going to have a baby.... A rough guide of what to do first

A faint pink line, a plus sign, a digital read out that screams PREGNANT. However you first discover that there is a little life growing inside you, it's a moment you'll never forget and comes with a huge range and mix of emotions. After chatting to a few friends (new mums, hopeful mums, not too far off mums and any other life stage centred around 'two becoming three' mums) and reflecting upon my own experience, I've realised that there can be a fair bit of confusion about what you should do when you find out you're pregnant straight away. So here is a rough guide of what to do first (and a bit before and later)...

Note: I've tried to include a few different perspectives here. AND, this information is specifically for women based in NSW, Australia as other states and countries may have different systems and ways of doing things.

Photo credit, Ryan

Baby and Family Menu

I am often scouring Pinterest and searching on Google for family friendly meals that will easily convert into beginner finger food for my nine month old daughter. In my search it seems that there are many many other mums out there who are doing the same. I decided that since my daughter is not currently starving that I would track a week or so of foods that have happened in our house and share them here. Maybe if a few of us did the same there would be some excellent, practical resources out there for sparking creativity in the kitchen (and easy ideas!). I hope the list encourages you that you're probably already doing a great job.

Photo credit: Donnie Ray Jones 

I try to avoid a lot of packaged food and always love things that are simple. I try to include variety but this is by no means a perfectly balanced meal plan. It is me doing my best during a pretty average week with its normal change ups and routine. Enjoy!


Sunday

Baby Breakfast ~ weetbix and boiled water with some cows milk added, dry toast fingers
Mum's Breakfast ~ coffee, mashed avocado on toast and a hard-boiled egg (3 leftover hard-boiled eggs go in fridge for later. I write the date on them with a marker.)

Notable 'grams: Love My Bambino

This lovely lady's online store is making me all excited for Christmas with the littlies. My notable 'gram of the week goes to these gorgeous chrissy baby girl headbands!!!! Get on down to Love my Bambino to pick one up or just oggle the very gorgeous baby and kids range. 

The First Foods Fiasco

I love food. A lot. And I don't always like 'good' or gourmet food. I just like food. My relationship with food isn't an unhealthy one. (My health is suffering more due to my relationship with exercise. We're not really getting along.) I don't binge anymore than most fertile women who experience monthly emotional upheavals or slightly worn out stay-at-home mums who grab the easiest thing between sleep times and are starving by ten pm. But I do very much like to eat. If you have read Eat Pray Love (I haven't seen the movie) I now crazily desire to return to Italy with a pants size up packed in my suitcase. I think you get the picture. I'm an eater.

So when my daughter was not gulping down enormous amounts of blitzed pumpkin the moment I placed the spoon before her lips, I was stumped.

Photo credit, F. Voisin-Demery

Notable 'grams: Zoe Foster Blake

On her Instagram profile, Zoe Foster Blake (wife of the radio/TV comedy personality Hamish Blake, but well known in her own right as a popular journalist and the founder of new skincare range Go-To) posted this photo capturing the well wishes and new mum advice passed on from a good friend. I thought it was awesome: 

Today was one of THOSE days

It's 8:22 AM and hubby has just raced out the door for work ten minutes late. He's always ten minutes late. I never understood how someone could get from being half asleep and horizontal to running out a door so quickly. I like taking an hour to get ready, half an hour if I deserve a sleep in. I guess that was before baby. Now I need at least two hours to make sure we will both cope after we step outside. Two and half if I attempt a shower. But what am I kidding. Showers are a luxury. Like going out the front door...

So it's 8:22 AM and I've been asleep for about four hours. And before that for about an hour. Let me explain. We'll just revisit the previous evening. I believe some of you may relate:

Photo credit, D. Garding

Bubba's Favourite Things

We all have those baby books. Some of us love them, meticulously penning the dates of each miraculous milestone as they occur; printing the photos we snapped at exactly the right moment and scrapbooking them into place with pride. And some of us begrudgingly fill them in for the fourth child, sneakily fudging a few (most) dates since we have no idea about when tooth eruptions and first rolls actually occurred. I sit somewhere in the middle. A few milestones are haphazardly kept on my Sprout App on my phone, some are in the baby book and for others I am relying on the date sticker in my camera to help me remember if my daughter ever asks, or when I actually transfer every detail to her baby book. Whichever comes first.

Inside these beloved, or 'buried deep amongst the baby clutter', books is the "Favourites" section. When my now eight month old daughter was around twelve weeks I excitedly noted her favourites as anything she smiled or reached for. Which, of course, was everything. She loved her mobile, her parents, a particular stuffed giraffe we always gave her, Sophie (of course Sophie!) and anything we sang to her. It was wonderful! And probably a little far fetched...

It's amazing how their personalities grow so quickly though. Now I can definitely see true tastes and preferences emerging from my pint sized companion. So here is a list of just a few of her favourite things, and experiences:

Photo credit, Pietro Motta