Meeting a sibling for the first time…

Lovely friends of mine have just welcomed their second child and their first born has coped really well with meeting her little brother.

This got me thinking about when H met E and the advice we received going into it.  Their first meeting went really well… we couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

He walked in and we had huge cuddles and kisses… it was the first time I had been away from him and I hadn’t seen him for two nights. I had E wrapped on the bed and I was standing waiting for my little man to walk in. We had big cuddles and then I just let him go and explore. He went straight to the phone and then E squeaked… all of a sudden H looked and saw her and exclaimed… look Sis, it’s Sis and he was so interested so we had a look and they got to meet. he was fascinated with her facial features. After a minute he was done and we went on to check out the rest of the room and open some presents.

From then on he was and still is a wonderful brother. He is very patient and on the whole very loving and protective.

Here are my top 5 tips for introducing your older children to their new sibling…

1. Have a present from the baby for the older sibling/s

2. Don’t be holding the baby when your child/children walk into the room. Have your arms free for cuddles and kisses

3. Let them find the baby of their own accord

4. Allow the older child/ren pay as much or as little attention to the baby as they want. Don’t push the issue

5. Lots of cuddles and kisses and make yourself available as much as possible

Any tips to add to it? Would love to hear your meeting story…

Jx

Anything can be a phone…

What is it about phones, remote, tablets and computers that children love so much?… is it the sheer delight they get from pressing buttons and seeing things light up…or is it they are simply drawn to the forbidden?…

Whatever it is…our little man has been bitten by the phone bug big time!! he has been into the phone for a while now and it doesn’t appear to be fading anytime soon. I actually adore it…he paces the floor with his phone to his ear chatting to whomever is on the other end…the conversation can be intense with lots of loud voices or quite jovial with short sentences broken up by laughing!…

I took these photos ages ago in the park. He was playing with a leaf and showing it to me. The next time I looked up he was pacing in the park and chatting loudly…he was using the leaf as a phone…

It’s just too cute!!…

Photos copyright Jessica Flett

I know this is all part of normal development and something most children do…but I still take pride and pleasure in seeing him mimicking and learning from his environment…

Jx

Sleeping like a baby…

H has a funny position he sleeps in. I have often gone in to check on him and found him in the below position. It makes my legs ache to see him folded over like this… many times I have stretched him out.

I have seen him get into this position…he sits up in his sleep (he is such a wriggle pot) and then just folds over and stays there…like he has passed out!

I couldn’t resist taking some photos…

I would love to hear if any of you have found your kids in awkward sleeping positions? 

What were they? 

Do you move them?…

Jx

P.S…You will see that H sleeps in a Merino Kids sleeping bag. I absolutely love them and they are high on my list of essentials. Being a wool growers daughter I love using natural fibres. The wool lining is super soft and cosy and the cotton jersey outer is just as soft. They come in lovely colours and are easy to wash. They also have many other goodies so check out their website here.

A Boy and his stick…

H is 14 months old today. I am having so much fun with him. Watching him explore and learn everyday is incredible. He is becoming more and more expressive and cheekier by the day. He has also…much to my delight…become a really affectionate little man. There is nothing better than his hugs and kisses.

Yesterday afternoon we were in the park having a play and he found this stick. Well, he played with it for ages…pointing, poking, holding it up in the air, putting it on the ground, looking at it turning it over and over in his hands. Something I would look normally look past is so interesting to him. I am fast learning to see things through his eyes…everything is new with endless possibility for learning and fun!!

Images copyright Jessica Flett

Were you amazed seeing everything again through the eyes of your child/ren too?

Jx

Mummy Uniform with a touch of Green for Spring…

Mum Uniform by jessflett featuring stainless steel watches

I have always loved my jeans. I used to hangout for the weekend so I could wear my jeans. We didn’t have casual Friday at my old company so the weekend was my only chance.

Now I’m a stay at home Mum I wear jeans and flats ALL THE TIME!! (or my tracky dacks on quiet days at home – classy huh!!). I call it my Mummy Uniform.

My favourite jeans, that work best on my post baby body, are the Adriano Goldshmied Stilt Cigarette jeans. Being a Cigarette pant they are the perfect length for me so they have the added bonus of not needing alterations. You can find his jeans here, here and here.

With the imminent arrival of Spring I am trying to inject a bit of colour into my wardrobe. My latest efforts are the above green scarf and ballet flats from Country Road…you can find them here and here. 

Is your Mummy uniform jeans and flat? 

Do you hang out for the end of the working week so you can get into your jeans and give you feet a rest from heels?

What are your favourite jeans?

Are you looking forward to wearing lots of colour this Spring?…

Jx

Family Holiday…Destination Fiji…

Bula!

Last month we were lucky enough to have a week in Fiji for our first family holiday. It was my first time to Fiji and it did not disappoint…from the moment we landed until the moment we left it was excellent!

The Fijian people were so hospitable and in our experience couldn’t do enough for you. We had heard all of this from friends and family and we found out very quickly just how lovely they are.

H was a big hit and it wasn’t long before he developed an attachment for two lovely ladies. He would look for them every morning and flirt with them to get their attention…

With or without children it’s a wonderful holiday destination. We can’t wait to hopefully go back one day.

Here are some photos from the trip…

All photos copyright Jessica Flett

Some of the real highlights of the trip were…

Seeing H enjoy exploring, he had only been walking for two week when we went away so he was loving his new found independence.

Being serenaded by the lovely island band… they went around to each table and sang a song just to them…when they got to us they sang… ‘Burning ring of fire’ by Mr Johnny Cash (a highly interesting coincidence in light of how many curries had been on offer over the last 2 days!!!)

This was not a highlight but was definitely memorable. The most embarrassing moment was after H’s dinner one night…for his dinner we would head down to the main bar and have a drink whilst feeding him dinner. The gorgeous staff would be setting up for dinner and would come over and say hi and have a chat. This one evening the gorgeous Va took H for a walk to say Hi to the guys in the kitchen and when he came back he was wrapped in a towel…unbeknown to us he had gone to the bathroom and had leaked all over the lovely Va. We were mortified and she was sooo good about it… Ah the joys of parenthood!!

Vanaka to everyone at Vomo Island Resort, especially Va, Mere, Maria, Maci, Henry, Vuli, Sarah, Shane, Maddi and Noah for making our stay so special. We hope to see you again.

I would love to hear about your first family holiday…where was it, did you enjoy it and would you go back there?

Jx

The ‘Uh Oh’…

The ‘Uh Oh’ is H’s new ‘word’. Everything is being dropped over the edge of highchairs, his cot, the neighbours fence and the back of the couch…

After every sleep I hear little chirping through the monitor followed by ‘Uh Oh’ on a loop cycle… I walk into his room to find both teddies and dummy on the floor and H standing in the cot smiling and pointing to said items saying ‘Uh Oh, Uh Oh, Uh Uh Oh’…

On Sunday he was a huge “help” to his Father in the garden. As N was pruning dead wood off a vine H was promptly pushing them through the boundary fence… thank you to our lovely neighbours for finding it endearing.

His latest exploit was to half eat a milk arrowroot, paint the windows and couch with his yummy biscuit then climb up onto the couch, stand at the back of it, look at me, then back to the job at hand where he promptly said ‘Uh Oh’ as he dropped the arrowroot down the back of the couch!!! CHEEKY LITTLE MONKEY!!!

I was on the phone to his Father where I took great delight in telling him what HIS son had done (he is always HIS son when he’s done something cheeky!!) We both had a giggle at how cheeky and cute it was…

When retrieving the biscuit I found his toy mobile and the DVD remote. Ladies and Gentlemen… we have a new hiding spot!!!

IT’S LUCKY HE’S SO CUTE!!

I know this is the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come but I am loving watching him explore and seeing his little personality develop and push his boundaries.

Have your kids/nieces/nephews/babysitting charges ever enjoyed the ‘Uh Oh’ and had hiding spots? I’d love to hear your stories…

Jx

Bath Time…

Bath time here is lots of fun. H loves his bath, especially when Daddy is home for it (Mummy is a huge fan of that too)…

Some of our essentials for bath time are…

Gaia body wash…visit their website here. We were given this in a gift pack and have used it from day one. I love the smell of it and it’s so gentle on H’s skin.

Johnson & Johnson No Tears Shampoo – the smell reminds us of when we were kids. We started using this when H was about 6 months old. My Mother gave me a gift pack to use when we went home to the farm (saving me from carting our supplies home). Once we smelt the shampoo that reminded us all of being children we continued to use it. When he was a newborn we used the Mustela foam shampoo for newborns and it was terrific. It is a foam so is really easy to use and is gentle on their skin… he never had a day of flaky scalp.

Eeni, Meeni, Miini, Moh hooded towel – H looks so cute in it. He has nearly grown out of it sadly but I’m thrilled he got as much use out of it as he did. You can find one here.

Bath toys. H loves his ducks and fish…for similar visit here

All images copyright Jessica Flett

Jx

P.S The dummy doesn’t always accompany H to the bath but just happened to this night…whatever works right!!??…

Sleepy Wrap…

Yesterday I caught up with a very dear friend who is having her 3rd baby in the very near future. When we were chatting to arrange the lunch date she asked me if I used the Ergo Baby with H as she had heard and seen very good things about it and was thinking about possibly getting it for this baby. I used a Baby Bjorn (as did she with her previous 2) but I said I would more than likely get an Ergo if we have another as I too have heard and read very good things about them. They look very cosy and I think you would get longer use out of them than the Baby Bjorn.

I found the Bjorn excellent but once H hit the 9+ kg mark he was just too heavy for it and within 10 minutes of him being in it I would have a headache from the stress it put on my shoulder muscles… so I had to stop using it. From what I have seen of the Ergo Baby this is less of an issue and many people have used their Ergo baby up until their little one is 2.

The other great item I have and still use is a Sleepy Wrap. The Sleepy wrap is also know as the Boba BabyWrap…it is a one size fits all wrap so it’s easy for both parents to use without any adjustments…it has many different carrying positions from birth through to 18 months.

I took the Sleepy Wrap over to show my friend yesterday and she thought it was great and also something she would use with her little one.

In my experience of the sleepy wrap it is not as tricky as it looks to tie (practice makes perfect) and it distributes the weight evenly. When I put H into the wrap now there is no pressure on my shoulders or back…he is cosy and I am comfortable – WIN/WIN!!

I don’t have a recent photo of H and I using the wrap but I have one from when he was little and another from when he was 7 months old…

There are many instructional videos on YouTube demonstrating the different ways to carry the baby…here is the one for the newborn hold…

I think these make great gifts for parents to be so if you are interested in the Sleepy Wrap you can find them here and here.

There are many wraps out there which I am sure are just as effective. I have only had experience with the sleepy wrap so am writing from my own personal experience…

If you have used one before or similar I would love to hear your thoughts…

Do you know anyone who has used one and what they thought of them?…

Do you think you would use one when your time comes?…

Jx

The Airport…Happy Homecomings…

Yesterday morning H and I went out to the airport to meet N off the plane…I was very excited to have him home.

I love the airport…whether you’re coming or going it is a hive of activity with such a sense of anticipation and excitement.

It was a zoo out there yesterday…I am told Sunday is their busiest day and in the early morning there are many flights coming in at the same time…this all added to the excitement…and frustration..imagine trying to contain a busy toddler who if you allowed to walk around would surely get squashed. There was lots of dancing on the spot, waving to strangers, chirping and singing.

I loved watching all the happy welcomes and the many tearful homecomings…I couldn’t help but well up a little myself at seeing these happy reunions. There were lots balloons and flowers and lots and lots of hugging, kissing and tears. The whole scene reminded me very much of the ending of Love Actually (This is one of my favourite movies of all times)…

I finally spotted N walking out and when he was close enough I was able to point him out to H…and well…to see both their faces light up brought tears to my eyes…it was so gorgeous. When he reached us H fairly leapt out of my arms into his Daddy’s arm…SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!!!

There were lots of cuddles and chats on the way home…and when H woke from his morning sleep and heard his Dad’s voice…the excitement all over again was so funny and LOUD!

Welcome home honey…we missed you!!

Jx