I have moved girlies…
and unfortunately can not take all my posts with me! I have moved to blogger because I hate wordpress so much.
my new address:
http://toddlerawesome.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you there! I see it as a new blog, new start :)… heres to more frequent and exciting blogging!
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Ollie is learning so so much…
Recently I have really noticed Ollie learning quite a lot… last week he crawled to his dad’s shoes, sat down and tried to put them on his feet… and now whenever i go to put his shoes on he lifts his foot up for me…
a few days ago I had the baby wipes lying on the ground while he was having a naked crawl about but he came over and sat down, grabbed a wipe and started wiping his *bits* himself!
He will pick up any cup and put it to his mouth to drink from…
…and last night he was holding his bottle and spotted the lid, grabbed it and tried to put it on top..
It is so so amazing seeing how everything is starting to make sense to him!
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Sleep advice pleeeeeeeease…
I am ALMOST at my wits end. Ollie has normally been so so good at going down for the night, normally we just set him in his cot awake but sleepy and we don’t hear a peep…. but the last number of nights have been AWFUL… he seems to have developed a fear of going to bed. As soon as we set him in his cot, tuck him in, rub his tummy and stroke his head, say night night and walk away he goes hysterical. He ends up screaming so bad that his breathing sounds strange and it sounds like he will at any minute throw up. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve tried controlled crying in the past and this worked and is the reason why he has been such a good sleeper… but it seems to have disappeared. We tried the controlled crying last night but his crying was much worse than when i used to use controlled crying.
HELP!
It hurts knowing that my boy falls asleep in tears :(
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Tags: sleep problems, sleepless nights, tired, toddler
Project 365…
has come to an end… the last photo (the 365th photo) I took was the night before Ollie’s first birthday. I’m so so pleased I did the project and LOVE the photos I have as a result… proof the last year has really happened!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmaleehughes/sets/72157605554191064/
Check it out at the above address :)
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Tags: a year in the life of, photo, Project 365
February:
- Ollie celebrated his very first Valentine’s Day… He got a card and a heart chocolate bar from Charlotte and a heart balloon from Ruby! He then went on a Valentine’s date to his Nanny’s while James and I went out for dinner.
- He tasted his very first pancakes on Pancake Tuesday with sugar and lemon.
- He learnt to roll from front to back and back to front.
- Ollie had his first attempt at feeding himself.
- He said Dada for the first time and learnt to commando crawl.
March:
- Ollie learnt to crawl backwards.
- He got a 3rd tooth…
- …and a 4th tooth!
- I had my very first mother’s day.
- We started looking for a house to buy…
- …and had an offer accepted on a house!
- Ollie had his first go on swings…
- and he even tried his first olive.
April:
- In April James and I applied for a mortgage. Very very scary!
- I won £50 mothercare vouchers from a baby photo competition and we spent it on a paddling pool and balls to put into the pool when not being used with water.
- Ollie got a 5th tooth…
- …and 6th tooth…
- He learnt to say up…
- …and hiya!
- Ollie also learnt to clap…
- and ate a lot of easter eggs!
May:
- Ollie went into his paddling pool for the first time (in the house I might add! It was too cold outside so we put towels on the living room floor)
- He learnt to crawl properly…
- … and got first pair of proper shoes and started pulling himself up to standing.
- He learnt to drink from a straw.
- We moved house…
- and I laid vinyl flooring for the first time.
- James and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary
- I had japanese for the first time.
- Ollie went to his very first baby concert…
- …and he got his 7th and 8th tooth!
June:
- Ollie turned 1 and had a lovely party.
- He saw ducks at the duckpond for the first time.
- Ollie slept until 8.30am… and since then has been sleeping till 7.00 – 7.30… an improvement on the early 6am starts!
- Ollie and I made playdough from scratch!
PHEW! That is a lot. It is mad how fast things happen!
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Tags: catch up
How crummy am I at blogging!?
Gosh, I have not posted since February and so so much has happened. I am going to try and catch up here everything that has happened in the past 4 months! Can you seriously believe how bad I am at this blogging thing? So many things started to happen and I just did not get the chance to blog and here I am asking for forgiveness. There has been loads of things happening recently that I have desperately wanted to write down, but I was not sure whether or not to come back to blogging as I was not sure I could keep it up, but I’m going to give it a go.
Please bear with me while I type some posts and catch you up on our going-ons.
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Tags: catch up, I'm back!
kind of… James is working hard at the minute preparing a course that he has to deliver to a team in his work on Thursday and it’s taking quite a bit longer than expected. He has left this morning to go to work to get it finished and I’m not expecting him home until 8 tonight… the same tomorrow and Wednesday. This will be the first time I will have looked after Ollie completly on my own for longer than 8am – 4.30pm so wish me luck! I feel a little bit sad for James that he won’t get to see Ollie for more than about 10 minutes in the morning for the next few days. :(
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Tags: husband, single parent, toddler
Ollie is doing so so so well these days. He actually turned 8 months a couple of days ago. It’s very hard to believe that so much time has passed already… it feels like no time at all! He really is coming along leaps and bounds and his personality is growing every single day.
So much has happened the last couple of weeks so I’m going to try and fill you in on the best bits… with pictures of course!
James had his first birthday as a daddy (January 29th and James turned 29). Ollie made James a Birthday Card with his foot prints on the front… one in red and one in blue. He gave it to James on the morning of his birthday. Ollie and I headed into town to meet James for a quick lunch in Starbucks (Ollie was a little bit confused by their highchairs!) and then on to do some pressie shopping.
This is Ollie waiting for his daddy to come home. We decorated the house with blue balloons and had Ollie’s pressie all ready in a lovely little blug gift bag. when James started opening it Ollie got stuck in!
James parents called round and we had a massive Indian carryout!!! It was huge. I made chocolate chilli cupcakes for James instead of a cake.
On Friday night James and I went for a lovely romantic dinner in a tiny restaurant called Molly’s Yard. The meal was divine. I had scallops to start and then a lovely steak for main. I was too full for dessert. Saturday night consisted of a LOT more eating with a small party for James at his parents house.
Ollie went to his first ever soft play area on Sunday with his friend Josh. It is called Indianaland. James took Ollie down all the big boy slides but I was unable to get a photo. Ollie wasn’t scared at all. He loved it. He loved seeing all the bright colours and all the other babies there.
This weekend Ollie had his first ever snow day! We woke up and the whole place was white! We hardly ever get snow. Ollie was very confused by it all when I opened the blind in his room. We took him out in the snow and he just stared around him in wonder!!
First glimpse of snow with daddy!
The snow even cleaned the wheels of the pram!
Our winter wonderland back garden!
Ollie is babbling up a storm these days saying mama all the time (although a lot of what he says is made up). I’ll never get tired of his cute little voice!
He also has bad excema :( It is bothering him a lot at the minute.
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Tags: birthday, catch up, snow day
Week 30 January – 5 February
30th January
We went out for James birthday dinner to Molly’s Yard. It was divine! Such a small and intimate little restaurant.
31st January
Ollie had his first ride in his big boy carseat! He was in absolute awe the entire journey. I doubt he will sleep in the car anymore as there is so much for him to see now. I love that I can now turn round to him and chat or tickle his feet!
1st February
We took Ollie on his very first trip to a soft play area. It is called Indianaland and he had a brilliant time! The ball pool was his favourite though.
2nd February
My clever little man is getting so so good at eating finger foods. More of it goes into his mouth now rather than ending up on the floor!
3rd February
4th February
Look at the cheekiness of that face!!!
5th February
Ollie’s first ever snow day!!!
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Tags: Project 365
Week 23 – 29 January
23rd January
My little man’s cheeky morning grin. He spends the whole of breakfast time banging his tray!! It’s funny.
24th January
Ollie has his very first taste of cucumber. He really seemed to enjoy it. Maybe because it was lovely and cold on his gums! It’s cool that he is at the age now where he can try pretty much anything!
25th January
Every Monday we visit James mum and dad for dinner but we went Sunday instead. Ollie has a new highchair at Nanny’s house and he loves it.
26th January
How cute are these guys!? This is Ollie and his 2 weeks older cousin Conor. I was having a crap day so Nanny popped up with Conor in the pram to visit us for a couple of hours.
27th January
It does not matter how many toys Ollie has or how good those toys are… he will still go for anything he is not allowed…. tv remote, camera etc… I will have to get better at putting these things out of reach! He got hold of my phone and sucked it so much that all his saliva got inside and I can hardly hear a thing when anyone rings!
28th January
Blueberry face!
29th January
Happy Birthday James! :) I made chocolate and chipotle chilli cupcakes to celebrate James birthday.
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Week 16 – 22 January
16th January
Look at how sturdy and strong my little man is getting :)
17th January
Look at Ollie’s second tooth. There don’t seem to be anymore on the way just yet… think we are getting a little break!
18th January
Mum… why are there trousers on my head?
19th January
20th January
I love being able to do the clear up after Ollie goes to bed. This is the only time my living room is as clean as this!!
21st January
Ollie’s friend Ruby passed on a few of her old toys… he loves them… but he loves this one the best!
22nd January
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Week 9 – 15 January
9th January
A bit late I know, but this is the bracelet James bought me for Christmas! It’s a charm bracelet but the charms are beads rather than hanging charms. I love it. Above is a little boy charm to represent Ollie :)
10th January
Ollie’s toothbrush joins the family of toothbrushes hehe!
11th January
12th January
It’s very strange but if I were holding a can of coke Ollie comes nowhere near it… but if James was holding a can or bottle of beer… Ollie goes mad grabbing for it!! It’s like he knows what is in it!
13th January
Ready and wrapped up warm to go for a walk with Clare and Ruby!
14th January
Ollie is getting much better at drinking out of his beaker… It’s hard to know if he is drinking enough though! He only ever has a few mls at each meal. He tried to hold it himself but he is still unsteady with it.
15th January
One of the cutest moments of my day is when I go to get Ollie up from his afternoon nap. He is always so lovely and happy and grins when he sees me.
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My poor wee man
…is still suffering an awful cough! It got a little better and then all of a sudden it got worse again!! I was up for AGES the other night trying to settle him because he woke up every time he coughed! Quite a shock to the system considering he has been sleeping through the night for a very long time! Last night was much better… he woke up at 1.00 but James just gave him a little pat and he slept the rest of the night.
He is really developing his own little personality now… and he has learnt how to growl… he growls all the time!! He also loves blowing raspberries, letting the dribble fly everywhere! He is so sturdy now and loves standing up holding onto the couch or my hands.
He seems to have been going through the seperation anxiety here and there… but it is not so bad anymore.
His two teeth right at the front are getting so big now too… it’s hard to put teething gel in his mouth because his little jaws are so strong!!!
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Week 2 – 8 January
2nd January
Ollie has moved on to the number 3 milk! I figured since he is only having 3 bottles a day now that maybe this would be a way to get extra vitamins into him!
3rd January
Not sure what to think of the cheese on toast!
4th January
Mummy and daddy bought me lots of lovely presents for Christmas but this one is by far my favourite. Honestly… this cube keeps Ollie entertained for HOURS!
5th January
This was so funny! Ollie found a piece of pink ribbon on the floor (I have no idea where it came from) and he played with it for AGES! He seems to like ribbony things and the labels on his bibs!
6th January
Ollie trying to hug the camera!
7th January
So proud of myself! I made Ollie homemade bolognese… all myself and served it with parmsan and mini pasta shells!
8th January
Ollie tries to feed himself! Look at the mess!
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Yay!
I can feel Ollie’s second tooth cutting through!! It should be up for the weekend!!!
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7 months today!
O0o0o0oh my goodness how fast the year is going! I can’t believe that Ollie is now 7 months old. He is changing so so much everyday.
He is becoming so much more interested in his toys rather than chewing EVERYTHING. The music makers (jingly thing and a shakey thing etc) I got him for Christmas are going down a treat… he knows to shake them to make a noise.
Ollie is getting so so strong… he can sit completly unaided and reaches forward and striaghtens himself up without falling over. His legs can take all his weight but he is so wobbly. No interest as yet in crawling and he does not like to practice as he hates being on his front!!
Weaning is going really well… Ollie is off purees now and onto lumps. He didn’t fancy them at first but now is really learning how to chew. He has had a go at some toast and biscuits and little slices of cheese. He loves finger foods… think he likes the independence! He has eaten such a wide variety of foods… even homemade salmon fishcakes I made mashed with milk. He really seems to like fish and he loves cheesy pasta! He won’t drink so much milk anymore so we are making up for it with Petit Filous yoghurts which he adores. I tried him with scrabled egg for the first time today but I think I cooked it too rubbery and it was quite hard for him to manage!
Ollie’s repertoire of ‘words’ (babbles) is getting larger every single day. Sometimes I think he knows a foreign language! I sometimes repeat his words back to him and this really makes him smile! I make an effort to talk to him as much as possible and talk about the things around us!
Tonight we have started to try controlled crying… totally our own fault, but Ollie had started only sleeping when one of us rocked him to sleep and the other night was the last straw when he wouldn’t even sleep with rocking! It was so hard… I went in after 2 minutes and then 5, 8 and then 15… it took him from 8 – 8.45 to fall asleep…. so so so hard but he has to learn to fall asleep on his own. Fingers crossed this is it now for the night and he does not wake up very upset again.
We have not yet had an real problems with seperation anxiety which normally happens around this time. He is very used to other people and stays overnight at grandparents a lot! There was an instance though that during the day I had been playing a game where i hid behind the door and peekabooed after a second… I did this a few times. Later that day I went over to the shop and when I came home James said as soon as I left Ollie stared at the door and when I didn’t peekaboo, he started to cry!
He is finally getting over his sickness (bronchiolitis and THEN a cold!) and his appetite has picked up again…
Oh! and it looks like he might have his second tooth by the weekend!
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Week 26 December – 1 January
26th December
We spent Boxing Day at James mum’s house. We had a gorgeous dinner of duck, turkey, ham AND lamb!! Ollie got into the festive spirit once again!
27th December
28th December
I’m trying Ollie on some different finger foods. He has baby biscotti that he loves and eats very very fast… but today I tried him on grated cheese! He didn’t really know what to do and just kind of spread it about the tray and felt it with his fingers!
29th December
Christmassy robin in our back garden!
30th December
The first picture of Ollie’s first tooth! It’s very sharp!!
31st December
James and I went for a 4 course meal at the Cloth Ear. Funniest name I’ve ever heard for a bar!
1st January
Ollie sleeping all cuddled into James hoodie!
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oooh… more resolutions
as well as my number 1 resolution:
1. Get back to wedding weight by our 2nd Anniversary..
…I have a couple more:
2. Be a more RELAXED mother and stop worrying about things so much. I really do over worry.
3. Keep on top of the housework more so that I have more time to spend playing with Ollie.
4. Blog more!
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Here’s to a wonderful 2009! We had a lovely night out at a bar called the Cloth Ear. We went with friends and enjoyed a lovely 4 course dinner with champagne and got a little the worse for wear!
2008 was a great year with so much happening! James and I celebrated our 1st anniversary and Ollie arrived one week later… James passed his driving test at the start of August and we made the move back to Belfast from Dublin at the end of August! Weve moved into a house we love which we plan to buy in the summer… and we had Ollie’s first Christmas at which he cut his very first tooth. I’ve been going to mother and baby group which I love and have made a super dooper mummy friend just a few doors up from us!
Having little Ollie has changed my life forever and I can’t imagine what life would be like right now if he had not been born! I’m having so much fun (and yes there are bits that are super stressful… but it’s never boring). James and I think to ourselves sometimes… what did we do before we had a baby! We find ourselves being so so busy right now we wonder what we filled our time with before!
I hope 2009 can be as exciting and rewarding as 2008…
…and as for my resolutions… well… still thinking about a couple of them but the main one is to get back to my wedding weight by our 2nd anniversary (which is just 4 months and a bit away!).
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Ollie still sick…
Ollie’s chest has cleared massively but he is still so so congested. His little nose is running constantly and he has a very chesty cough. His mood has been fine the last couple of days but the nights have been horrendous with him waking almost every hour!! Were not sure what is causing it or how to make it better… I have propped his cot up slightly so he is not lying flat, used vaporub and olbas oil to help decongest him… he has had calpol to take away any pain… and he is wrapped up nice and warm. Still though he wakes. Were all knackered and really hoping this goes away soon because there isn’t a lot more we can do!
Poor little man!
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Ollie’s First Christmas!
was a total success…
Christmas Eve was spent with my family. My youngest brother Ryan was away to Scotland with my dad to spend Christmas with relatives, so my mum and Harry came over after lunch time. Mum helped me decorate Christmas cookies and then we went out for dinner with my other brother Jason. we went to Frankie and Benny’s in Belfast and had a wonderful meal and cocktails! Mum and Harry’s gift to Ollie is a new highchair which he loves.
When we arrived home on our doormat we found a little Christmas Book for Ollie with a note from our neighbours saying “For the baby in the house”. We have not spoken to them very much before and were so surprised by the kind gesture. I popped some of my nicely decorated Cinnamon Cookies through their letterbox for them to enjoy.
On Christmas Day we had the best day!
On Christmas Eve I had felt the first corner of Ollie’s tooth peeking through, but Christmas morning… there it was… the whole thing poking through his gum.
Ollie woke up as usual at 7am on Christmas morning so we brought him into bed with us to open our stockings. James and I opened ours first and Ollie had a lot of fun playing with the wrapping paper, and then Ollie opened his. In his stocking, Santa left a turkey dinner, a Baby Einstein Mirror book, A scanimation book called Gallop and some very cool music makers (little hand held ones… one of them jingles, one shakes, one clack clacks and one has cymbals in it).
We then went downstairs to give Ollie his breakfast and let him open his presents from under the tree. What a lucky lucky boy he was!! He got loads of clothes for 9 – 12 months… lots of toys… some books and a few other things. James and I bought Ollie an activity frame, a crawl along mirror, a rainmaker and a ring stacker. To be honest though we could have just bought him a roll of wrapping paper and he would have been in his element hehe! I gave James a new Ipod Classic 120GB and he gave me a new red ipod 8GB AND a Pandora bracelet… spoilt rotten!
It is tradition in James family to meet up on Christmas morning for a little drink and a chat. We got dressed quickly (Ollie in his “Santa’s Little Helper suit”) and drove to James’ mum’s house. It was lovely to see everyone on Christmas morning. We exchanged presents with James’ parents and siblings before his Aunts and Uncles arrived… and when they did Ollie recieved more presents!! It was a lovely morning… Conor, Ollie’s cousin was there and it was lovely to see them both interacting with each other. Conor is just 2 weeks older than Ollie. James Auntie Elizabeth gave Ollie 4 tree decorations that were knitted by James Granny when she was alive. I thought that was such a sweet gift and a really nice keepsake for him to have.
After a couple of drinks (for me… James was driving!)… we went home to get dinner ready. James was very organised and had it all nearly prepared… just vegetables to do. We tossed a coin before to decide who cooked Christmas dinner this year…and James was picked. I cook next year! Anyway… James cooked us the most delicious meal ever. We had sweetcorn and smoked paprika soup to start and for our makin we had slow roasted lamb shanks with rustic roast potatoes, baked onions and asparagus wrapped in pancetta.
Ollie opened his big pressie from James and I… a Fisher Price Amazing Animals Touch and Go Choo Choo. It was by far my favourite toy and I just wanted him to have one so much.
Mum and Harry visited after lunch for a couple of hours and we just relaxed and chatted. It was nice to be able to drive in the morning but when we came home we were able to relax the rest of the day.
James mum and sister arrived later at night to stay over. We watched movies and hung out and relaxed some more.
I have never seen Ollie in as good a mood as he was on Christmas Day. He was in such good form with everyone who held him and played with him. I’m certain it is because his tooth came through and must have given him some relief! Thanks Santa!
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Week 19 – 25 December
19th December
My little man, playing on my bed, sicky boo… but very happy with teddy!
20th December
I had a panicking mummy moment today. Ollie’s breathing got so so bad this morning that I was very worried and we took him to the hospital. He sounded exactly like I do when I have an asthma attack! The doctor in the hospital said he has Bronchiolitis but it is mild… I wonder what he would sound like if it was bad!?
21st December
I love our advent calendar. My mum bought it for Ollie and when he is old enough we will start filling the pockets with chocolate. At the minute we just move the santa from pocket to pocket!
22nd December
…and this is my other santa! Counting down the days!
23rd December
How proud I am of my little man that he can manage to fit his foot in his mouth! Oh the talent! :)
24th December
Ollie dressed all ready for Christmas Eve! His top says Mummy’s Little Pudding! The first corner of his first tooth came through today!
25th December
Our Christmas family photo! We were at home just the 3 of us so there was no one else to take the photo… that is why it might look a little scary!
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WOOHOO!
Ollie cut his first tooth today! You can’t see it yet but I can feel that it has cut through his gum! On Christmas! So proud of him. He is in the happiest mood today that I’ve ever seen him and I’m sure it is because the tooth is through and relieved him of a bit of pressure!!
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Catch Up!
Have not written in ages. Again.. things have been hectic. Were getting ready for our first Christmas as a family… and Ollie got sick!
His first ever sickness. Not bad considering he is 6 and a half months old now and had never had so much as a sniffle! Poor wee man started to sniffle on Tuesday, on Wednesday he sounded quite bunged and was off his food… Thursday I was going crazy that he was not eating much… it had gone down to just one and a half bottles and a small yoghurt IN A WHOLE DAY!!
I took Oliver to the Dr. on Friday evening but he was very unhelpful… he didn’t reassure me about Ollie’s lack of eating and prescribed an antibiotic.
We woke up on Saturday to Ollie breathing very very badly. It really scared me because it sounded just like my chest would if I was having an asthma attack… I know though that babies do breath faster than adults. We went to the hospital A and E department and were seen by a very friendly Dr. who told us Ollie had bronchiolitis and it was mild (I’d hate to see what bad would be given that his breathing panicked me so much!). He said so long as he was getting SOME liquids he would be ok and to keep an eye that he did not develop a fever. He also told us that the Dr. should not have prescribed antibiotics because they would be useless! He said this is viral and would just have to run it’s course.
Ollie stayed at my mum’s house on Saturday night so that I could catch up on some rest and a little bit of relax time because I have been worrying myself sick. Ollie came home yesterday looking so much brighter and rested and today he has nearly got his whole apetite back. I’m so glad it’s passing.
It’s hard as a first time mummy, knowing when to be really worried and when to relax about things!
Were all ready for Christmas… all the pressies are wrapped, I’ve made gorgeous mince pies and cinammon cookies… were going for dinner with my mum, stepdad and one of my brothers on Christmas Eve, having lamb for Christmas dinner just the 3 of us, and spending boxing day with James family! I can’t wait. James is not off work untl Christmas Eve so only one more day to go! I’m so excited to be having Ollie’s first Christmas. I will document it with lots and lots of pictures!
Have a lovely Christmas everyone!
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Week 12 – 18 December
12th December
O0o0o0oh! Ollie got a pressie in the post! From his friend Charlotte in Liverpool! He had great fun opening it. He got a lovely pair of Peter Rabbit pyjamas, Milkybar chocolate and a nursery rhyme cd! Thank You Charlotte!
13th December
Ollie’s first stocking! It is filled with little surprises!
14th December
Because Ollie is now eating meat, I picked him up a Christmas dinner jar! I can’t wait for him to join in Christmas dinner with me and James… and Granny has got him a highchair for Christmas!!
15th December
Ollie had his very first ride in a shopping trolley. He was ok for the first 5 minutes and then decided he much preferred his pram and kicked up a fuss!
16th December
My little man really is getting big and strong and can now sit completely on his own. How proud of himself does he look?!
17th December
Ollie has his first ever sickness. His first ever cold! He is off his food at the minute and when I try to give him medicine off a spoon he won’t open his mouth because he thinks I am trying to feed him. My mum is a nurse and picked these up for me… they are super! I just squirt the medicine in his mouth before he has a chance to notice!
18th December
Poor Ollie… still sick… but even though he is pretty sick he is in GREAT form. Very happy and smiley.
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Week 5 – 11 December
5th December
This is how my Christmas table looks so far. I know I have decorated it early, but our kitchen is very open plan and looks a little un-Charistmassy… so I decorated to jazz it up a little!
6th December
This is the baby feeder that my friend Pam in Canada sent us. It’s brilliant. I can put food in without having to mash it or puree it and he can chew away. Today he had mango and enjoyed it thoroughly!
7th December
We gave Ollie his very first taste of chicken! I know you can’t tell from the photo but he really was impressed and polished off the entire pot!
8th December
We really needed to bath Ollie because his hair was full of food and his face was crusty from eating rusks. We did not have time to bath him so we came up with the genius idea of putting him in the bath in his bumbo and showering him instead! It worked really well and he really enjoyed it. He seemed a little confused though as to where the water was coming from!!
9th December
Our Christmas card!! How cute does he look!
10th December
This is Ollie and his friend Ruby.
11th December
Look at what I made! My friend Clare and I had a night of baking and we made mince pies and florentines! Delicious! Not normal mince pies either… fancy ones! hehe
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Week 28 November – 4 December
28th November
I started giving Ollie little bits of toast to chew on at mother baby group! He loves it. This is also his favourite place to sit at the group as well!
29th November
I am a sucker for putting my tree up early! I put it up and then did not like it so I redecorated it! James and I choose a new ornament each year.
30th November
O0o0o0oh look what we recieved in the post. Our good friends Pamela, Paul and James in Canada sent us a parcel full of goodies. We got Kool Aid (you can’t get it here) and Hershey’s kisses and Reeces Pieces (both of which you can’t get here either). Pamela also included really cool baby safe feeders which have a handle attachment and a little net bag that you can put food into (or icecubes for when his teeth are bad)…. it’s hard to explain! I’m sure I’ll post a photo sometime!
1st December
How cute does my little man look!? This is the photo I am going to use for his Christmas cards this year.
2nd December
3rd December
Getting packed ready for a night away to Granny’s!
4th December
It looks like we have not one, but two video gamers in the house! Ollie is helping James get past the hard bits of the game! :-)
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Ollie is 6 months today!
Happy 6 month birthday little man!
Half a year has gone by and Ollie has grown and leart so much! He weighs nearly 8kg and measures a long 65cm!
Ollie is now nearly sitting unaided. He pretty much can, he just has to stop falling backwards, but he is definately much more sturdy. he has really strong legs and tries to stand while I’m holding him… he has even tried to crawl (not getting too far) during tummy time. His little bum goes in the air and he pushes with his feet. It is so cute!
My clever little man can now see and hear almost the same as I do and his communication skills are developing rapidly. He has a wide range of squeals, gurgles and what sounds a little bit similar to opera singing! He even sometimes repeats certain syllables and often I swear he is saying mama! But at other times I swear I hear him saying Emma! I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know who mama is just yet but it’s nice to hear him make the sounds! I don’t think babies start being specific until they are about 10 months old.
There is still no sign of any teeth (poor lamb) but I’m pretty sure he will get one before Christmas. Hopefully then he can have a little break from teething. To be honest most days aren’t bad but occasionally we have that awful day in between where nothing comforts him and we both end up quite upset by it. I can feel little lumps right under his gum. It has to come soon because I can’t imagine it hurting him any more severly than it does already!
Weaning is going ok. Ollie is now eating 3 meals a day. He normally gets fruit or baby cereal for breakfast, vegetables for lunch and vegetables with rice for dinner. We tried him on some sweet potato with chicken stock mixed in today and he was not that fussed but we will keep trying it. I’d like to get him used to that before trying him on real meat. I reckon he will be eating meat before Christmas… and he can have himself a little Christmas Roast! Yum! He tried avocado the other day and loved it! He ate an entire one! He doesn’t make funny faces at food anymore and sometimes looks excited when he sees me coming with the bowl and spoon.
Can’t believe how fast the time has gone… I’m learning loads and having so much fun with my little man :)
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Week 21 – 27 November
21st November
Because this house is rented at the minute we have been waiting to put up our photos. They are all sitting against a wall at the minute waiting to be hung. I can’t wait to put them all up and show Ollie off!! Is there a rule to how many photos of your baby you can put up around the house hehe!?
22nd November
Ollie likes to take charge of feeding himself his bottle. We let him hold it himself sometimes but he has not grasped the concept of having to tip the bottle up to get the milk out!
23rd November
It is so exciting that there is a baby in the house now because we have to do all the Santa things! We have this sign, my mum bought Ollie his first stocking, we have to leave out a plate of treats for Santa and Rudolph and James has a Santa hat!
24th November
Handsome Fella!
25th November
Heinz have introduced a whole range of baby sauces! Sauces that they can have from 4 months old. We will be trying Ollie on chicken stock mixed with some veg next week before we try him on proper chicken just to get him used to the flavour a little bit first. Yummy!
26th November
I agree!
27th November
Oh! Poor Ollie went right off his food today. During his morning feed he projectile vomited everywhere. Poor wee soul. Normally he takes all of the bottle but today he didn’t finish a single one, he didn’t really touch his solids either. It’s so easy to get worried but I have a friend up the street who is a nurse and she reassured me that it is quite normal when they are teething!
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p.s….
Ollie smiles at him self and then hides his face whenever I get him to look in the mirror. He has never paid any attention to his reflection but in the past week he has TOTALLY noticed. He squeals with delight when he seems himself. I’m not sure if he knows it is him… or if he thinks it is another baby! But it’s cute anyway!
He has also learnt to squeal. A PROPER squeal that is dreadfully sweet but makes my head sore. He squeals with a big grin.
We had such a wonderful day today. James and I did a massive clear out and clean up of the house at the weekend and I did the ironing on Sunday so there were no chores needing done (for the first time ever!). It meant that Ollie and I could spend the whole day together playing without me having to stop to get on with housework, leaving him to his own devices. I hate doing that! I think he really benefited from all the extra attention today. He was such a happy chap and he has gone to bed worn out. I’m going to keep the house in much better shape from now on and try and spend that much extra time with him each day because today was just delicious :D
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Catch up :)
Were all doing good here… had a really busy weekend!
Our car kind of gave up the ghost during the week… so many things were going wrong with it and the last was the radiator so we decided to take out a car loan and buy a new one. We got a lovely gunmetal grey Seat Altea. It is a 2005 car but looks like it has hardly ever been touched. Were very pleased with the purchase!!
Ollie has been eating all kinds of vegetables recently. he was not fussed ont he green beans first of all but has come to like them and today was the first ay I introduced a breakfast. He is now on 3 solids a day and 4 bottles of milk. I have to start introducing a bit more water though. I think he will be ready for protein by Christmas… he can have some of our Christmas dinner! :)
We are on top of our Christmas shopping… only a few pressies left to buy. I have even started wrapping! James is preparing our Christmas dinner this year and thinking up the menu all by himself. This is our first Christmas on our own… every other year has been spent with either set of parents. I’m really looking forward to starting our own traditions. We are going for dinner with my family on Christmas eve and we are spending Boxing day with James’ fmaily.
My mum got Ollie his very own little 1st Christmas stocking!
I’ve been going to mother and baby group more regularly over the last few weeks and I really like it! It’s so easy on cold days here to stay inside and not do much… so the group is a lovely way to get out for a few hours and chat to other mummys! I’m already making some friends there.
We are trying to live more frugally. We seem to leak money constantly so James and I have set ourselves a plan to get into a proper budget and actually think about what we are spending money on. Our goal is to buy this house in June so we need to save hard hard hard!
Oh, Ollie got his first ever runny nose on Saturday! Today he seemed more snuffly in the morning so I think he might be getting his first ever cold. Not bad… 5 months and not a hint of sickness until now! Let’s hope his snuffles don’t develop and that the cold stays away!
Still no sign of a tooth!
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Week 14 – 20 November
14th November
Look at the grin on Ollie’s little face! He has the cheekiest grin I think. He thinks he is cool here because he looks so trendy!
15th November
Ollie had his first taste of a Farley’s Rusk. He loved it. He can’t really eat it but it’s something tasty for him to chew on and help relieve his gums a little… he made a huge mess!
16th November
Since Ollie was born I always said I wanted to manke his food myself… the purees and everything. Pureeing is hard work but there is a huge stock now in the freezer. There are some jars of baby food in the cupboard incase I’m in a hurry out or forgot to defrost homemade puree, but I hate to use them! I found these though… completly organic… 100% pure fruit, no additives of anything and they taste DELICIOUS compared to the bland jars! Ollie gobbled it all up!
17th November
5 little bottles sitting in a row…
18th November
Ollie is so good now at opening his mouth for food and swallowing. He is also starting to look less confused at the new tastes. Here he is eating sweet potato and courgette puree that I made myself. He loves it!
19th November
This is Ollie’s bedroom. It is still not decorated as we are still renting the house but soon… I think were doing a zoo theme!
20th November
I have nearly finished the present shopping! I wanted to get it finished quickly so I didn’t have to go into town close to Christmas and attempt to push the pram through the crowds. I started wrapping today! Woohoo!
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Adventures in weaning part 3
My little man looks set to have the same appetite as me. He eats a lot! We have overcome the carrot issue and he now enjoys it. So far he has had apple, pear, banana, carrot and potato… he didn’t like potato all that much but he loves sweet potato! This week he is going to try courgette, swede and green beans! Should be interesting!
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Week 7 – 13 November
7th November
Ollie recieved his first bit of mail! Address to Oliver C J Hughes! He was mighty impressed and excited! The card inside was from his Auntie Sandra (James sister) and she said she is looking forward to spending his first Christmas with him! I thought it was lovely and so unexpected!!
8th November
For Ollie’s first night in his new room I picked up these letters for his door in a local craft shop. His nursery looks quite cute even though it is not decorated or anything. Were planning to do it after Christmas, with a zoo theme!
9th November
When I feed Ollie, he LOVES to hold the bottle too so I bought him his very own cup. Apparently he is supposed to be having water during the day sometimes but he just won’t drink the water. He is like me! I HATE plain water… so I put a teeny tiny bit of juice in it… so so diluted. He still wasn’t over impressed but he drank a little!
10th November
These are my lifesaver right now! They are completly herbal and have chamomile and stuff in them. They help soothe Ollie’s sore gums but they also calm him down when he is having a tantrum! I tried them and they even calmed me down!
11th November
James and Ollie playing together! Look at my clever boy nearly sitting!
12th November
James and I used to be massive concert goers… then I got pregnant. A concert, where people are all squashed in together with really loud music playing, isn’t really the best place for a pregnant lady… so we had not been to a single one since I became pregnant with Ollie… we had a super time seeing Death Cab For Cutie though… especially as not that many bands come over here to Ireland!
13th November
Poor Ollie exhausted after a hard day of teething!
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Clever Boy!
Ollie has dropped his 11pm feed…. now he is on just 4 milk feeds a day!
He kind of did this himself… but the wrong way around. He would drink the 11pm feed but would’nt drink any of his 7am feed. So last night we didn’t give the 11pm feed and this morning he took a big chunk of his 7am milk! He was supposed to be giving up the 11pm feed sometime this month anyway. His apetite for food had kind of decreased the last few days so I’m sure this will help get him back on track. 4 nights in a row sleeping through too! Clever Boy!
It used to be that I would have to wait up till this time so I could feed him but now that he no longer needs it, I can go to bed whenever I want! Woohoo!
Ollie is staying at Granny’s house again tonight. She is picking him up when she finishes work. James and I are going to see Death Cab For Cutie who are playing in St. Georges Market. We used to be massive concert goers but have not been to a concert in over a year! So I’m very excited!
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…and last night?
OK… he didn’t need picked up or anything but he did wake at about 1am… James went in and it was just that he had kicked all his blankets off! Once he had fixed his blankets he went off to sleep straight away. James said he also woke up at 5am and fussed for about a minute and he didn;t have to go in (I didn’t even hear). I guess it counts as sleeping through!
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Discovered something funny!
Ollie sneezes at the sunlight!
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How did last night go?
Really well actually! I settled my little man at about 8.00pm… fed him a bottle at 11.00pm (he never wakes for this… I dream feed)… and off he went and did not wake up until 7.30 in the morning! I feel pretty darn rested! Good fella! I’m not getting my hopes up too high though. He has slept through the night sporadically before and then it stopped all of a sudden… so who knows. It is darker in his new room and must be quieter too!
Woohoo!
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Tags: Ollie sleeping in own room
His own room!
We finally (well James finally… I can’t take the credit), cleared out the ‘miscellaneous room’ in time for Ollie spending his first night in there on his own! It looks nice. The large cupboard is getting picked up tomorrow and the room will be even nicer! I’m a little nervous that he won’t like it, that he will miss us or that we will miss him… but on the other hand I’m looking forward to it too! James and I might soon start catching up on proper solid sleep… something almost forgotten by us!
To mark the event I bought him some cute little letters today for his door, that spell out Ollie!
We decided to move him in on a Saturday night incase the night is unsettled! I can’t believe how much bigger our room looks now with no cotbed!!
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Aw my little Ollie…
ALMOST slept through the night again. I think he is waking not because he is hungry (he only takes 30ml or so if James tries to give him a bottle in the night!)… but because his teeth are so sore. Maybe that’s why he woke so much the other night… and in our sleepiness didn’t even think of that.
Well last night he went to bed at 8 and didn’t wake up until nearly 5… James put gel on his gums and he went back to sleep until 7! That’s not bad… He slept through apart from a slather of gel on his little sore gums!
Fingers crossed THIS is it now… fingers werent crossed hard enough last time!!!
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Week 31 October – 6 November
31st October
My little man dressed up for his first Halloween! He looked so cute in his skeleton babygro! It even glows in the dark!
1st November
Ollie much prefers pureed apples to carrots! Much more content!
2nd November
My dad came round to do another set of professional photos of Ollie. Ollie wouldn’t smile though! He was very happy and smiley and then got distracted by the huge big black lense on the camera!
3rd November
James and Ollie both love playtime. Ollie loves to be tickled under the ribs and around the belly. He laughs so hard if you rub your face on his belly and make a grrrr noise!
4th November
Dad had to come back and do more photos of Ollie because we could not get any smiley ones the other day! Luckily we got a couple today! This is Ollie and his grandad having a cuddle!
5th November
Look at that look of guilt on Ollie’s face! That’s because I had only just fed him, left his bowl in the kitchen and come back to find him chewing on his blanket! Anyone would think I didn’t feed him enough. He is a cheeky monkey!
6th November
A little more success with the carrot! Woohoo! He didn’t spit it out or keep his mouth clenched shut!
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Were not happy today!
Ollie has never been an upset baby…in fact he hardly ever used to cry but now with his teething he seems to have learnt. He cries when i’m there and he cries when I leave the room and last night he woke 6 times in the night crying! It might be down to his sore teeth coming through, but anytime he stays at my mums he sleeps the whole night through… she doesnt have to go to him once!
Im scared i’ve made him to clingy and im finding the amount of crying very hard to cope with day to day. I just dont know why he is so unhappy when he used to be the happiest baby ever. The sleeping thing was nearly all sorted out… we weaned him off his dummy and he was waking only once in the night… we patted his tummy and he went back to sleep. I feel like he is regressing and things are getting harder than easier. Everyone said things get easier….. but they arent!
I dont know what to do… I cuddle him, calpol, calgel…. teetha granules…cuddle some more but nothing is working. I hope it’s a phase and I haven’t spoilt him by cuddling him too much…
Poor Ollie and me…
Thank goodness it’s Friday so we have James here for the weekend!
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Adventures in Weaning Part 2
So Ollie is now on two meals a day… when I say meals I don’t mean MEALS… he already seems to be a fussy eater and only really eats a lot of fruit… he doesn’t seem to be all that keen on ANY of his vegetables!
He has been having baby porridge for breakfast (which he loves with a little dollop of baby red berry compote from a jar) and having either a lunch or dinner.
Today I tried mixing some baby cheese sauce into the carrot and potato mix but it smelt foul.
Not sure how to get him to start eating vegetables instead of fruit though… I think I’ve got him used to the sweetness of fruit and carrots just taste bland compared!
He is so good at taking it off the spoon now and at swallowing. Hardly any dribbles out at all!
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My arms feel useless!
Today I haven’t had to hold baby and a bottle… I haven’t had to push a pram… pick up crying Ollie or throw him in the air to make him giggle… I haven’t had to cuddle him in my arms to help him fall asleep for his naps…
My arms feel useless…. but at the end of those arms are some cute nicely manicured nails!
I’m enjoying my break today but I still miss him a lot… like always… things have been so tough recently and I really think I need to give my head some space more often. A baby’s cries are so upsetting and I’ve been hearing a lot of it in recent weeks. Poor honey bun. I never expected to be as upset by his cries as I sometimes am.
He has never been a very upset baby… he hardly ever cried so I think it upsets me more because I’m not used to it. Those darn teeth!
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Ollie is going to Granny’s this morning and is not coming back until lunchtime tomorrow! I have no plans… I should have plans…. I should get the housework doe but I think a day to myself should be spent doing something fun I can’t do with Ollie… like getting my nails done….
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My baby is 5 months today!
He is growing so fast! His little personality is not so little anymore. He chats and smiles at everyone he meets! He knows familiar faces and I THINK he can roll (most of the time he is a little lazy to try though) (I think he can roll because I had to catch him nearly falling off the sofa and there is no other way he could have done that!)
Ollie now weighs 16lbs and is 64cm long!
Unfortunately the Gina Ford thing isn’t working out so well… we had a couple of ok nights but now it’s just back the way it was when he was a tiny baby! He woke 3 times last night. I don’t know how to fix this!!
The weaning is going fantastic. He had porridge with red berries for breakfast the last two days and he loved it! Today I’m starting him on two solid meals a day rather than one so maybe this will help keep his tummy a little more full and help him sleep longer at night.
The teething is ok at the minute. Bad days are interspersed with good days and there is no pattern, but when a good day comes around you love it all that much more. Poor wee soul… I wish there was more I could do for his teeth. I hope one comes through soon because I can’t imagine it getting worse than it is now.
My little man is quite the chatterbox… it’s lovely! He makes such a wide range of sounds and “word” that sometimes I swear I can hear mama! Apparently they can say it from this age but it has no connection to me being his mama… it’s just a sound… what’s not to say my baby is a genius though! :)
On his happy days he is the brightest little being I could imagine. He smiles nonstop and laughs if you use a silly voice, tickle his waist, rub noses, tickle his neck and bounce him on your knees! His laughs makes James and I both laugh and I nearly cry it’s that cute!
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Week 24 – 30 October
24th October
It is getting so cold here. James and I had our very first fire here in our new house. In fact it is the only fire we have ever had!
25th October
Ollie is so spoilt! He gets so many presents and this is the latest lovely gift from his grandad (my dad)!
26th October
The above photo is of Ollie gnawing away on a Bickie Peg. They are like really hard biscuits that don’t go too soggy that he can chew away on. He loved it!
27th October
Ollie’s outfit for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. We have the cutest little babygro that is red and says Santa’s Little Helper on the front, for Christmas Day!
28th October
I am the puree queen! Above is carrot puree and potato puree in an icecube tray so it’s easy for me to keep a batch so I don’t have to puree every day! The freezer is well stocked with lots of lovely food for my boy!
29th October
Ollie was so happy on the day I first gave him a taste of something other than rice. This is the smile just after I told him that he was going to be having pear for lunch. He was very excited!
30th October
Ollie had his first taste of carrot puree and he was so not impressed.
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Carrots are a no-no!
Ollie’s solids are going ok and he is now eating about 3 teaspoons of puree :)
So far he has had the pear, which he was confused at but enjoyed and yesterday I tried carrot. I made the carrot puree myself so it could have been my cooking skills, but he HATED it. His face was a picture and he threw it up all over our cream coloured rug.
Today he had a jar (I forgot to defrost a cube!) of apple and banana and he gobbled it all up!
I’m glad he is taking to it so well… I’m finding weaning less confusing than I initially thought!
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