Saturday

Today was fun!

Changed a baby

Washed some dishes

Ate some popcorn

Watched a movie

Cuddled a baby

Kissed a booboo

Dressed some kids

Cleaned a mess

Wiped some snot

Packed 2 bags

Got a taxi

Hugged a girl

Gave a present

Sang a song

Ate a cake

Changed a nappy

Changed some undies

Changed some pants

Changed some shoes (damn that creek)

Punished a child

Ate some food

Took some photos

Said good bye

Got a taxi

Settled a baby

Dressed some kids

Read a story

Tucked kids in

Folded some washing

Perved on vampires

Wrote a blog.

Time for bed.

Sleep Little Baby

Sleep my little baby

You bring me so much joy

Know that mumma loves you

My sweet little boy

Sleep my little baby

You'll never fear or weep

Cuddled in my warm safe arms

As I rock you off to sleep

Sleep my little baby

I love having you near

Curled up safely in my bed

Your snores I love to hear

Picture This

Picture this.

An adorable small child, about the age of 2. Big brown eyes, beautiful blonde curls, and one hell of a cheeky giggle.

Picture this.

Child, running up and down the isles of Woolworths, while his poor flustered mother pushed the trolley after him, asking him to please stop. All the while his small baby brother giggling away in the trolley, no doubt taking in all the mischief his fun big brother is getting up to.

Picture this.

Said adorable (getting less adorable by now) 2 year old, spots his favourite thing! "Powers!". Otherwise known as... flowers.

Picture this.

Poor flustered mother reaches out to stop the adorable 2 year old, from attacking the $50 bunch of roses, and knocks 2 bunches out herself. Picks them up and they are back on their way.

Picture this.

Silly flustered mother, and not so adorable 2 year old head down the fridge isle, and something catches the attention of the not so adorable 2 year old. A fire exit.

Picture this.

Silly (for thinking taking a 2 year old shopping who had not had his ritual 2 hourly nap), flustered and highly embarrassed mother yells "No Ash, don't open that...". Alarm sounds.

Oh man, it didn't get any better either. After a dropped milk carton, a dirty look, some bell dinging at the counter, and running into the carpark, this (silly, flustered, embarrassed and utterly exhausted) mother, was so happy to get that taxi home. Finally. To put the not so adorable 2 year old to bed.

Lesson for the day. Don't attempt to break the routine. You might think you're the boss, but you're not.

P.S. Ashton is back to his utterly adorable 'butter wouldn't melt' self.

Another Lazy Friday

Eli... coming to a door near you

Wow today has flown by. I am totally exhausted and I can honestly say I haven't done a whole lot today. What I have done, is fed a baby, changed a nappy, cleaned a potty, made food/snack/drink for children, fed a baby, changed a nappy, cleaned a potty, picked up toys, cleaned a potty, made snack/food/drinks, fed a baby... you get the picture.

Eli's having a growth spurt I believe. He's been feeding pretty flat out for the last 2 days. Going to see the health nurse on Monday, I am excited to see how much he's grown since last month!

Oh! Exciting news!!

Eli...

Has....

A...

TOOTH! yay!! Today he was really gnawing on his fingers so I stuck my finger in and there was a little spiky left toothy. Well done Eli! I have to say I 100% believe the teething necklace is what helped him tolerate it. We haven't had any major dramas with this one :) If you'd like to know more, please check out Sarahs store - Sunshine'n'Lollipops

Well better get the small children to bed. It's late and this mumma has to send out invoices then head to bed for some baby snuggles!

Day Trip

Today we headed off to the Cataract Gorge in town

Pictures speak louder than words really. It was lots of fun. Now I am off to bed to snuggle up with this....

Jealous? I would be too!

When Kids Go Quiet

So all the mummas in my little "Cuddle Cuddle Cuddle" group are all having a giggle over what happen when kids go quiet. I thought it was worth a blog post! Here is what happens when my kids go quiet...

What have your kids done?

Lazy Mondays

Well today was a rather relaxed and lazy day... to the point where I am still in my Pj's. It's good to have these days occasionally!

Poor Eli had his 4 month old needles last week and he's still unwell from them. Has a little temperature and is a bit more sleepy than usual. Not all bad, I used the oportunity to snap some cute sleepy photos!

We got some new nappies in the mail today! They are so cute, 8 in total. I had them on layby at Twinkle Lily for what seemed like forever, it's always good to pay something off. I took some photos and the lady who makes them, Kat, has asked if it's ok to use this photo on her website and on pamphlets! Eli is a little bit famous :)

He's also the star of Wozzleberries ;) Not only is he the star on the web page, but also on the facebook page as their profile pic, and their business cards! We love our Wozzleberries nappies here! Have some more coming soon and I can't wait to see what Michelle comes up with!

Today I think I formed some really great friendships. It's always nice when you meet people who think just like you and you have someone to bounce off. So thank you to all our Cuddle Cuddle Cuddle girls ;)

I just got word that my ERGO love story blog post was linked from an eco blog in the UK! That's a little bit exciting! Go check it out here :) This post was part of a competition which I am hoping to win, you can have a look here.

Better go snuggle my little monkey, he's just woken up and is still a little warm.

xx

Controlled Crying or Crying it out?

I am trying to write this post without anger and disgust. I am trying to write it with fact but as with all things emotional, it isn't possible.

Today it came up again, as it does. I can plead my case until I am blue in the face, the dangers, the negative effects, but when people choose to be ignorant and selfish there is really nothing that you can do to change their minds.

Leaving a baby to cry is selfish. I dare one person to give me a good solid reason of why we should leave any baby to cry, that isn't about the parents getting more sleep. I dare you because I have NEVER heard one good reason.

If you are considering controlled crying, or if you know someone who is considering it. Please direct them to Pinky Mackay. Even just to read this little excerpt of her book. Do it for the babies :(

"Sleeping Like a Baby"

An excerpt from Pinky McKay's New Book!



Chapter one
The con of controlled crying

After a week of controlled crying he slept, but he stopped
talking (he was saying single words). For the past year, he
has refused all physical contact from me. If he hurts himself,
he goes to his older brother (a preschooler) for comfort.
I feel devastated that I have betrayed my child.
Sonia

The ‘science’ of sleep training
Although many baby sleep trainers claim there is no
evidence of harm from practices such as controlled crying,
it is worth noting that there is a vast difference between
‘no evidence of harm’ and ‘evidence of no harm’. In fact, a
growing number of health professionals are now claiming
that training infants to sleep too deeply, too soon, is not
in babies’ best psychological or physiological interests.
Despite the popularity of controlled crying, it is not
an evidence-based practice. What this means is that despite a plethora
of opinions on how long you should leave your baby to cry in order to
train her to sleep, nobody has studied exactly how long it
is safe to leave a baby to cry, if at all.

Babies who are forced to sleep alone (or cry, because
many do not sleep) for hours may miss out on both adequate
nutrition and sensory stimulation such as touch,
which is as important as food for infant development.
Leaving a baby to ‘cry it out’ in order to enforce a strict
routine when the baby may, in fact, be hungry, is similar to
expecting an adult to adopt a strenuous exercise program
accompanied by a reduced food intake. The result of
expending energy through crying while being deprived
of food is likely to be weight loss and failure to thrive.
Paediatrician William Sears has claimed that ‘babies
who are “trained” not to express their needs may appear to
be docile, compliant or “good” babies. Yet, these babies
could be depressed babies who are shutting down the
expression of their needs.’

Leaving a baby to cry evokes physiological responses
that increase stress hormones. Crying infants experience
an increase in heart rate, body temperature and blood
pressure. These reactions are likely to result in overheating
and, along with vomiting due to extreme distress, could
pose a potential risk of SIDS in vulnerable infants.
There may also be longer-term emotional effects.
Babies need our help to learn how to regulate their emotions,
meaning that when we respond to and soothe their
cries, we help them understand that when they are upset,
they can calm down. On the other hand, when infants are
left alone to cry it out, they fail to develop the understanding
that they can regulate their own emotions. There is
also compelling evidence that increased levels of stress
hormones may cause permanent changes in the stress responses
of the infant’s developing brain. These changes
then affect memory, attention, and emotion, and can trigger
an elevated response to stress throughout life, including
a predisposition to later anxiety and depressive disorders.

One of the arguments for using controlled crying is
that it ‘works’, but perhaps the definition of success needs
to be examined more closely. In the small number of studies
undertaken, while most babies will indeed stop waking
when they are left to cry, ‘success’ varies from an extra
hour’s sleep each night to little difference between babies
who underwent sleep training and those who didn’t, eight
weeks later. Some studies found that up to one-third of
the babies who underwent controlled crying ‘failed sleep
school’. A recent Australian baby magazine survey revealed
that although 57 per cent of mothers who responded to the
survey had tried controlled crying, 27 per cent reported no
success, 27 per cent found it worked for one or two nights,
and only 8 per cent found that controlled crying worked
for longer than a week. To me, this suggests that even if
harsher regimes work initially, babies are likely to start
waking again as they reach new developmental stages
or conversely, they may become more settled and sleep
(without any intervention) as they reach appropriate developmental
levels.


Want to read more?

Pinky's fab new book is available from your local book store or via her website
http://www.pinky-mychild.com/

Today I Feel Old

As the title says, today I feel old. Very very old.

"Why?" I hear you ask, because tomorrow is my eldest babies birthday. He. Is. 7.

WHEN did he grow up?

He's so sweet. I am so proud of the boy he's is. Caring. Thoughtful. Innocent. So very sweet. He's got a little special something about him.

Tomorrow we're off to the pool for his birthday. I hope he has a wonderful day!

New Year and Summer is here!

Ahhh I have a feeling already that this blog is going to be all scattered like my mind lol It's been a while since I really updated, and I thought new year deserved a new blog :) So here it is!

It's been a couple of months since I wrote a proper blog. I feel rusty! I had a million photos to share so excuse the overload! The last couple of months have been just wonderful!

Best thing about Summer... the fruit!

The water!

Bubbles!

Sun in the mornings coming through the window

Warm days

We had an interesting day today. Long... and interesting. We went out for a picnic lunch today with the boys. Bumped into their aunty. She's a strange one. She is Matts sister. She's moved here which is strange. Anyways, was just a very interesting moment LOL

Gorgeous eyes for a gorgeous Elijah

Beach baby

Teeth perhaps? (nope, still no teeth!)

I decided yesterday that I needed to clean the carpets and the couch. Ash is newly potty trained and I was sick of the lingering wee smell from one too many accidents on the carpet. Yuck! Well it smells nice now! The couches are 5 years old. They are cream coloured. They've never been cleaned before... with 4 small boys... well I'll show you.

Ew!

Eli has his 4 month needles today... on his 8 month birthday. It seems the end has finally come to his illnesses and he could finally be immunised. It was horrible. He screamed blue murder and the 10 minutes (really 2 seconds, just felt like 10 minutes) from when the screaming started and I could pick him up was traumatic. I hate needles. I hate seeing my baby crying and knowing that I KNEW it was coming and he was just too busy being innocent and smiling at everyone to have any idea what was about to happen. A quick cuddle and breast feed and he was 100% fine. Not even a temp this time around.

Pretty boy in blue

Hippy baby

The juice spillage haha this was him learning to use a straw

On to other news! My bestie had her 2nd baby, little Franky, tiny 6lb 15oz, 49cm, and a picture of perfection. I was lucky enough to get lots and LOTS of cuddles, and I get some more tomorrow!

Tiny little fingers!

So little!

Chase starts prep this year! It's going to be strange having just 2 at home! Quiet. More full on I think without Chase to play with Ashton! Eli will start crawling soon.

I have really enjoyed these holidays. We've done lots of fun things :) Tomorrow we're off to the city to see the monkey and meet some other mumma friends. Really looking forward to it. We've had a lot of time outdoors, lots of scooter rides and trips to the park.

Having a play at the park

Exploring

Smelling some flowers

Eli had his first trip to the beach these holidays and he is absolutely a water baby! He loved it, he splashed and played and laughed, ate some sand, slept. Not a sook out of him ALL day! Definitely helped that the weather was a bit perfect!

Ashy the beach bum

Enjoying playing with the sand

Beautiful boy!

We've been to Low Head beach, Gravelly beach, beauty point park, beacy park, next week we're off to the Gorge for the day.

Chase at the beach

Jaidan in a boat, he made a new friend :)

THE bag, the beach bag with all the goodies needed for a day at the beach

Eli at Low Head beach

Low Head

Eli and Jaidan at Low Head beach

Ash at Low Head beach

Jaidan at Gravelly beach

Eli enjoying some flake from our favourite Fish and Chip shop in Beauty Point

I've taken them to both the local pool and the big pool in town. That was so fun with the 4 on my own LOL

I absolutely love this photo. Ash was terrified of the bucket that dumps water! His face is priceless!

My water baby

We've been to a snake show, had lots of fun in our water park yard and playing in our pool.

Tiger snake!

Tiger snake

Eli watching the snake show

Eli has gone from a baby who just lays there to sitting up, pulling himself around with his arms, saying "mumma", drinking from a straw, standing up and really enjoying playing with his toys! Ash has toilet trained day and night, started talking more like a little person and less like a baby. The big boys have just been amazing, hardly any fighting these holidays! Jaidan has come out of his shell and he is so sweet with Elijah. I am not looking forward to school going back in 2 weeks :(

Australia Day was great this year! We spent the day close to home, had a splash in the pool and an indoor barbecue. I think the kids had a blast! Eli loved his first try of lamb cutlets and smoked salmon!

Surf and Turf at 7 months old :)

Australia Day fun!

Some water fun in the yard

Playing in the pool

Chasey boo

Jai

Eli the water babe

For the boy who hated baths and only liked to shower, I've found the trick! The sink LOL He loves to bath in the sink! Works for me as there is no bending haha only down side is I end up covered in water...

Only one more exciting thing to share and that is me moving, date set! 1st April. Can't wait!

"We came into the world, like brother and brother. And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another" - William Shakespeare