I don't care I just want brownies

Ever since we went to a friends place for dinner and feasted on brownies for dessert I just can't get them off my mind. Late the next night I was stranded at home in sub zero temperatures and actually found myself googling NYC brownie delivery. You'd think if there's any city in the world that would have a late night brownie delivery service it's New York. No such luck. Some offered delivery in 2 working days?! Seriously when a sister wants a brownie or 20 she wants it now. 

The next day I went and got a Duncan Hines packet mix. I patiently waited the 30 mins they took to bake. I was devastated with the result. They tasted like a weird plastic flavoured cake. I had to throw out the whole batch. I did extensive research on which is the best brownie mix so as not to the make the same mistake.. Yes I could make them from scratch but that would take up more precious time. The reviews were actually quite extensive, descriptive and funny. Betty Crocker came up trumps, so today I went out and bought a couple varieties of Betty's brownies. This fail was completely my fault. Ten minutes into the baking process I saw the sachet of Hershey syrup I was meant to add to the mixture... They were cakey. UGH! I was on the verge of punching a whole in the wall. 

Never one to give up on my dreams, I made the other box of Betty's brownies the "Supreme Ultimate Fudge. I wish this story had a happy ending, but I never want to make brownies or associate with anyone eating a brownie ever again. I'm so disheartened and angry about all this. Yes I should have just found a bakery or made them from scratch but it's too late for "should haves".

This is probably a blessing in disguise. I don't want to gain too much weight this pregnancy. I thought I was doing really well last time but after I had Boston I realised that in fact I hadn't done so well. My belly was soo big that it made my bum look really small... but then once he was out my butt was far larger than I had anticipated. It was a perspective illusion! Anyway I've wasted soo many calories testing these brownies.. It will take me a while to get back on track. 

This is how I felt after the whole ordeal

xox

  

12 weeks

12 weeks is an eternity. Especially when you're in a state of paranoia. Wishing hoping praying that everything is as it should be. I was convinced I had number of pregnancy complications/conditions.. Had all the symptoms Wikipedia described. Thankfully Dr Google was wrong... This time. 

Checking the pregnancy app every day to find that yet again the baby is still the size of a kidney bean.. Not big enough! I thought having a toddler would make this period of time fly! It hasn't. Same worried,sick,delirious 12 weeks as the first time. 

I don't want to be mean by sharing this picture but I was really jealous when I saw this lady. I wanted to be pushed around, munching on a giant block of cheese and have a supply of Cheezits in the trunk during that period of time. I would have been as happy as a clam.  She's probably at Disneyland too, happiest place on earth just to escalate my jealousy. 

                                             

I struggled with smells again this time. I deliberately stopped using my perfume incase I developed a hatered. Cooking was out of the question. I stopped making Boston's omlette in the morning and tried poaching.. When that failed (picture below) I started making oatmeal again which we both enjoy. 

                                    

I was living in Vancouver during the worst weeks. Since I often feel bad about my cooking prowess.. I thought I'd pop on a boat over to Granville Island Markets and buy some yummy dinners. Bad move. I bought steak and lamb skewers covered in a potent marinade. Only then I realized my husband was on night shoots all week so the meat just sat in the fridge and made me ill everytime I had to

open it. I didn't have the heart to throw it out so I cooked it all with a tea towel tied around my head. I'd hoped cooking it would take the edge off the smell. It didn't, so it sat in the fridge again.. Killing me slowly. It was the lambs revenge. Being in a hotel didn't help. I told my BFF my tortuous tale and she couldn't understand why I wasn't just getting room service every night. So from then on.. I did and it was wonderful. My husband kindly paid the bill on checkout and never mentioned how enormous it was. We lived there for 1 month. 

Thankfully now I'm in a much better state. I no longer get to tear point about having to unload the dishwasher and sort the cutlery. It's a roller coaster. I wish I was cooler but I'm not. I was really mean during early pregnancy last time. I was a lot nicer this time. I still have my friends and haven't hit anyone with anything so that's a positive. 

Here's to a happy healthy pregnancy round two!!  Please! 🙏 

One Year of Motherhood - Part One

Boston has survived a whole year of us being his parents. He's survived my cooking so far... We barely survived my cooking before he came along so I had to pick up my game. I make risotto now so it's getting quite advanced. Seriously, I have never understood people when they say cooking relaxes them.. it's the most stressful part of my day.. burning things trying to selvage them takes up a lot of energy. I've had to buy a whole new set of pots and pans as a result of my kitchen nightmares! Anyway back on track. I feel very accomplished having a one year old who seems to be thriving very well. He's happy, which makes me happy! He loves pigs,cars and Mickey Mouse. A strange array of loves. 

I bought him some new clothes recently and I got the same kick as when I buy myself clothes but I didn't have to experience the discouragement and inconvenience of trying anything on. I was worried boys clothes wouldn't be fun to shop for but they are awesome! Every now and then I jealously glance over at the girls section and see some ridiculously adorable things... one day. 

I survived his first vomit. It was his gift to me on my birthday. We were out to dinner and it happened during the only 2 minutes I was alone with him all day. My husband went to get him some yoghurt from the convenience store because he was acting unusually fussy. I decided to take him outside for some fresh air. As soon as I stepped foot outside he barfed all over the footpath and down my arm.. I remained calm and maintained my grip. I'd been dreading this day since he was born. This was no "baby" vomit. It was human. I didn't eat anything for the next two days in fear I would contract the virus. It was only a one off and I still love him. 

He hasn't reached the stage where he's destroying things just yet. (Apart from numerous gauges to my face) Although he got milk all over my ipad .. it must have seeped into the cover so now every time I open it, it smells like one of those stinky people who don't dry their clothes properly. It's quite gross. I also caught him hiding play-doh in one of my UGG boots which would have been disastrous/annoying. Whenever I'm missing things they're always in the bath or bin. I was dreading the day he learned to open the toilet seat, it happened and thankfully nothing of value went in accept his HANDS. These shallow toilets in America are awful! 

There have been moments of extreme tiredness throughout the year. This is usually my own fault.. Candy Crushing until the early hours has been an issue. When we got stuck on a level I unfortunately downloaded Pet Rescue. So now there's two late night gaming vices. (Not to be a bragasaurus but we're up to level 259). Boston goes to bed at 7pm so I have no excuses. I wish I could go to bed early but it's just not me. When he wakes up at 6:30am I always regret not having gone to bed earlier but oh well. We're Watching Friday Night Lights at the moment too (I know 10 years late) which has compounded the problem. We end up watching 2 hours of it a night. I love Riggins. Paige is all about Serasen but no.. It's Riggins all the way. 

I'm starting "I Quit Sugar" an 8 week sugar free regime. I'm in utter shock that I'm doing this as sugar is one of the top 5 things I live for. It's been an every meal thing forever. I even have dessert after lunch. Breakfast usually IS a dessert of sorts. So this along with a lack of sleep could be lethal. I'm pushing through though because I have stopped breast feeding which has been my diet and exercise for the past year. I've eaten anything and everything... but now since I'm not getting rid of those extra milk calories I've noticed an unwelcome change. I find myself buying croissants "For Boston" and....then we "share" it.. and by share you can guess what happens.. this sort of behaviour is not on. I don't anticipate I'll last long but it's worth trying.. It's actually my second attempt at it.

Word wise at 12 months he was sticking to D words. Dog, Dad and Duck. He could also moo & quack and make various other animal sounds. We're Game of Thrones fans and we taught him to ROAR when we ask "What does Khaleesi's dragon say?" soo advanced. My Mum follows a little asian baby on Instagram and jokingly told me he's the same age as Boston and can say "Rocket". Well let's be honest.. I'm not about to try and compete with that.. Asians are inherently intelligent.. they are born with high IQ's and awesome hair.

Walking happened at 15 months. I'm very late in posting this as he's actually 16months now!  I thought once he started cruising around the furniture at 7 months he'd just take off from there but no. He was getting around A LOT faster crawling so that was his favourite mode. I'm stoked that he's walking now because his hands won't get so gross. 

I'm writing this post in two parts so you don't get too bored with my ramblings.. well done if you made it this far! Will post part 2 tomorrow! Here's some pics. 

Day One

 Here is an example of one of my kitchen nightmares. I was making stew which rapidly turned into a stir-fry. I went out for a walk while it "simmered" ;(

Six months with Dad, Nanny & Aunty Paige 

                                   

My Valentine 8 Months

12 Months

He went though a scrunchy face smile phase

Boston's first birthday party.

In Croatia!

In Scotland at Stirling Castle with Aunty Paige

15 months

Helmsley Castle on my fateful birthday weekend

xox

Curbing my germophobia

When Boston started crawling I decided I'd better clean the floor. We were living in a vacation rental in LA at the time. I got some spray and wipe and paper towel and to my disgust the paper towel was completely black after just a few swipes of the floor. Unfortunately my disgust did not overpower how overwhelmed I felt at the thought of how thoroughly and how often I would need to clean the floors. My paranoid self was thinking of all the potential germs the black stuff on the paper towel was harbouring.. There was bound to be dog poo particles and who knows what else. Germs that could potentially cause serious illness. I thought about how exhausted I would be if I cared too much about germs and about how I don't want to pass on my phobias and paranoid parrot behaviours onto my son. I would also be a total killjoy of a mother if I did not allow him to explore the world around him uninhibited by me worrying about germs. So I made a decision which I have been trying to stick to ever since.. Let it be.. Germs will set me free. 

This change of heart will be a journey for me as I have little tolerance for germs and people harbouring them. I still wince when anyone coughs in my direction.. I got a pedicure the other day and the technician was coughing and spluttering all over my feet.. I breathed calmly and thanked the heavens I wasn't having a manicure! Ugh! 

I want to be more compassionate and caring towards to sick people and resist my urge to rocket launch out of there atmosphere. 

I breezed through an incident the other day where I'd swept the kitchen floor and while I looked for the dust pan.. Boston had grabbed a handful of my dust and food particles pile and put it in his mouth. I calmly fished out the debris and moved on with life. 

Ok.. This post has been in my drafts for a while now and I've slowly added to it. I'm currently disastrously ill and my care free attitude towards germs has diminished. I HATE being sick.. I had the flu and now a cold.. It's just the pits and I will continue to vehemently avoid illness at all costs .. Even if I do seem crazy. So I guess I've gone fill circle.. I'm back to where I started because I'm in the thick of feeling terrible as a direct result of contracting the rhinovirus. I'm disgusted with myself.. I'd hate to be sitting next to me on a plane. I'm coughing, sneezing and generally just a snot head. I went to Paris this weekend and it was beautiful BUT I couldn't taste a thing.. I ate about 6 macaroons and countless croissants hoping my taste buds would reactivate but they didn't. The moral to the story is, wash your hands always. I guess being this sick has helped me to be a bit more understanding and compassionate towards other people when they're sick. It's just a fact of life but a very unwelcome one! 

Terrifying 

Why you no like food?

- Julia Childs

 I've been force feeding my son unsuccessfully for the past 3 months. It's been quite an effort.. My sister in law warned me not to go to great lengths preparing baby food. She once spent a great deal of time crafting salmon cakes for her daughter.. the cakes were dramatically swiped off the high chair tray onto the floor. Devastating. So I proceeded with caution. However I did foolishly splash out on a Beaba baby food making appliance. Which I haven't and will never get to use. I've discovered that Boss has a serious aversion to the pureed texture... That would have been good to know before I bought this pureeing appliance. My bad.. I guess I wrongly assumed all babies eat baby food.

There's been a break though recently...My husband put his food on a cookie and Boston was forced to eat it off before getting to the good stuff. Like mother like son.. I always surrender to cookies and would eat through almost anything to get to one. 

On the paediatricians recommendation I started introducing solids at 4.5-5 months. Boston was very offended and simply clamped his mouth shut after barely tasting what I offered (rice cereal with breast milk)... I persisted and started feeding him all sorts of yummy things. Not interested. I didn't stress out as he's quite fat and I knew he wasn't going to starve to death.

SLOWLY he's starting to take interest. Still doesn't swallow much of anything but at least tastes it. I'm really confused by him today because I cut up some watermelon and strawberries which he refused.. then about 30 mins later I found him chewing on a wipe I failed to throw out. Don't worry.. it was just wee... but still must have tasted foul. He eats carpet, chews on shoes and dangerously loves sucking on plastic bags. Food tastes much better than all of those things! My standards have dropped quite dramatically. I went from only wanting to feed him home made organic food to feeding him WHATEVER he takes interest in. He's tasted pizza, cookies, macaroons, Starbucks pumpkin bread.. the list goes on. Don't judge me. The paediatrician says he can eat all our food now.. so I think I need to work on my "All I eat is mexican food" diet and start bringing some veges into the equation. Tonight I'm making lasagne, the first meal I've made in a while.. if it goes badly I will feel discouraged and probably won't cook again for 6 months. So for my sons sake lets hope it's a success! 

FOOD TO FEED A BABY THAT DOESN'T LIKE FOOD

-Smoothies made with baby yoghurt, coconut milk, banana and berries.

-BAMBA - An Israeli peanut snack. (They have discovered children in Israel don't have peanut allergies as a result on the early introduction of "Bamba") I found it at a Kosher supermarket. 

Toast with Vegemite. Like a true Australian he loves Vegemite.

Oranges

Christmas!

When reading this post you might say to yourself "She's got a lot of time on her hands"... I suppose I do.. But I've prioritised my Christmas decorating over all household chores. I've made a festive and fabulous choice of choosing Christmas over cleaning. Maybe some kind person will come clean my house for me as a jolly act of service?

There's nothing mothery about this post other than displaying the fact that you can have a 5 month old and still find idle time for craft. I also spend a disgusting amount if time playing Candy Crush and until my child's welfare is compromised I will continue my candy saga.

I thought I'd share some pictures of my home at we count down to my favorite holiday. 

My husband was shocked I'd never had a real xmas tree so he ordered one. I'm sure it's struggling to survive in the this blazing Brisbane heat.. I only needs to stay alive for a few more days!

I bought some burlap to make a tree skirt.. I decided I couldn't be bothered sewing the skirt, burlap is always dusty and smells bad so I just scrunched the fabric around the tree and voila! (Saved myself more time for candy crushing)

I got this advent calendar from Myer last year for $10. I thought I'd fill the little bags with Freddo frogs and eat them all myself.. luckily I never got around to that. Boston will enjoy finding treats in them when he grows up. He'll have to battle me though.

I bought a craft kit from Riot. You wrap fabric around wire to create either Joyeux Noel or Merry and Bright. It was fun to make for the first 10 mins or so.. then I began to morph into the Grinch.. I was sweating and as usual burnt myself with the hot glue gun quite badly. Like any committed crafter I persisted and I was pleased with the result.

Next. I got the NOEL idea from Pinterest. I found the wreath at David Jones and the E at Typo.. I cut out card board letters for the N & L then wrapped them with fabric and jute string. The sparkly lights are from Restoration Hardware. Driftwood star is from Earthborn.

The glass tree is Salt & Pepper. Driftwood tree from David Jones and the Ceramic one from Bed Bath and Table.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year" art I ordered from hardtofind.com and the gold cushion is from Country Road.

I'm still hoping to sew Boston a stocking and Santa sack... Only a few days left! It felt weird wrapping all his presents knowing I'll be the one unwrapping them. I even took off the price tags knowing full well he wouldn't judge me if I left them on. I'm very excited for my little mans first Christmas. We were going to make our second attempt at Santa photos last night but despite my efforts Boston got sunburnt at the beach yesterday... his face would have been camouflaged by Santa's red suit.. I felt quite terrible... anyway.. 

 It's such a special time of year where we can be mindful of Christ and the awesome example he left for us. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas full of good times with family and friends! Throw back a few litres of eggnog and demolish a Gingerbread house.. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year. 

xox

Five Months of Motherhood

My little man has been on quite the adventure since landing on planet earth 5 months ago! It's been too much fun. Everyday is better than the last (most of the time) Motherhood has been kind to me so far. Yes we've had a few dramas. Falling off the bed at 12 weeks wasn't ideal nor was cutting his finger while clipping his nails but overall my triumphs have overshadowed my fails.

We've spent more than 36 hours on a plane together ... He's always a perfect travel companion (apart from when I have to change his messy nappy in a confined space). We've been to Disneyland 4 times already.. Not sure the bank accounts will allow us to continue this tradition. Sadly his favourite ride is "It's a Small World" I agree with my Aunt Lesley who says the ride makes you want to peel your skin off by the end... I guess these are the sort of sacrifices you have to make as a mother ;)

He's the cuddliest little kid. Very calm, relaxed and happy.. Unless he's hungry and who doesn't suffer from a bit of Hangriness. Teething is just around the corner so that lovely character description will probably change! He's a pretty good sleeper. His record is 6 hours straight while we were in NYC... I think we should probably move into the Tribeca Grand seeing as it's where he's slept his best! hehe We saw the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden while we were there and he fell asleep during the game which is remarkable given how loud it was. He also fell asleep during a Lakers game at the Staples Centre. We bought him little ear muffs for that game because he was getting a bit scared when the crowd roared. There won't be any creeping around my house knowing he's capable of sleeping under these extreme circumstances!

As for me 5 months post partum is has it's pros and cons... My hair is falling out (con). Who needs it anyway. I'm actually stunned I have any left on my head. I should have collected it all and woven myself a wig for the day when I wake up completely bald.  My hair is just getting thinner and thinner ... BUT on a positive note I think that my body is too! I've only done my work out dvd twice so I can't credit Tracy Anderson at this stage. Although there was quite a bit of diet damage in NYC..  Magnolia's Bakery Banana Pudding was a life changer. I'm shocked I'm losing weight given that I'm living in America and the novelty of Captain Crunch hasn't worn off. I think I have Boston to thank... it's a two pronged effort.. he's heavy and acts as an all day weights session then he kindly drinks the excess calories I have consumed! I'm not sleep deprived yet... We're not on a routine as such.. he has a little rhythm he's slipped into... never to the minute or anything. I started out doing Tizzie Halls routine which was great because I had no idea what I was doing.. when to feed him or how long he needed to sleep etc... but now that I know him better we just go with the flow. He naps when he's tired and eats when he's hungry and so far that's working well. It's a stress free approach for us.

Life has just gotten better with our little man in it. The only thing missing was spontaneously going to the movies. One day my husband and I just decided to take him with us! We saw Gravity. He didn't make a peep for the first 20 mins then got a bit sleepy/cranky. Jeff took him out for 10 mins he fell asleep and we all watched the rest of the movie together! So now there's nothing I'm missing. Being a Mum is the best. I adore this little person more than words (despite him being responsible for my imminent baldness)

Mum-flu

Mum flu is a pejoratively used phrase that refers to the idea that a Mum (Brooke) when they have a cold, exaggerate and claim they have the flu.

I have always prided myself on rarely getting sick.. My immune system has been compromised lately due to having not slept a full night in 4 months. I have learnt that I suck at being sick. Anyway my husband was the culprit for this cold entering my atmosphere. He brought it home from a Buck's weekend in Vegas. I'm not a very nice nurse... I was mad at him for catching a cold and naturally blamed him for the pain and suffering I experienced while the disgusting cold virus lived with me. I have little tolerance for germs and people harbouring them. That's why I think Nurses are the greatest people on earth. It sucks to be sick for a million reasons but now, being a Mum.. It's sucks on a whole new level because you can't wallow to the extent you normally would. To make matters worse I couldn't mask the symptoms with Codral because I'm nursing, it was one of my more unpleasant weeks. I was convinced that Boston would catch my cold but he didn't, apparently the antibodies in breast milk are magical! We just got back from a trip to wintery New York and we survived that very well so fingers crossed that's the last virus I will catch for the remainder of my life on earth.

Best Baby Buys

It's very easy to go overboard when shopping for a baby. (Guilty) Especially your first. There's something for everything. The baby and wedding industries have it sorted... purely targeting your emotions and bank accounts! Here is a list of 10 of my best purchases so far... followed by some hilarious not so practical products I've come across.

1. The swing chair.

Dad walked though my front door after I had Boston with a huge box and said "We wouldn't have had 4 kids if it weren't for one of these" I couldn't imagine life without my little siblings!! Boston loves the swing chair.. It sings songs and vibrates. I bought another one in America that doubles as a rocker which is handy so Boston can listen to my singing in the shower. You can buy monstrous swings.. but you don't want it to take up your whole living room! The swing is a winner.

2. Skip Hop play mat

This thing is GOLD. Affectionately known as "Owly" This play mat has served us very well. He LOVES it. I think babies like big eyes. The best thing is that you can detach all the toys, string them together and take them with you on adventures. The little pillow it comes with is really handy. Tummy time has been a necessary evil because baby has a flat head on one side. Putting the pillow under his arms makes tummy time more bearable!

http://www.skiphop.com/product/treetopactivitygym.html

3. Dickies Towels

Sadly for Mother Earth I'm not an eco warrior when it comes to nappies. I do recycle bottles and the like but I'm not willing or able to commit to the "mother load" of washing using cloth nappies would entail. My friend Annita got me my first batch of these towels. They are outrageously multi purpose ...I always have 3 or so with me. I actually made a couple burp cloths... Mum mentioned they might be too small. She was very right. These towels will catch everything!

4. Medela Swing Pump

This one's a winner. Not that I have experience with any others but I did my research and read a lot of reviews and the Swing came out on top. It's great because it's battery operated....  you can plug it into the wall as well. Expressing can be a terrifying sight  which is why you need something speedy and efficient!  I'm happy with all the Medela products. I recently bought the Quick Clean Micro steam bags and the bags that you can express into a very handy too.

5.Rockabye Baby

Boston has always loved loud music... He's probably heard Random Access Memories about 80 times. So when I saw this at Kitson Kids I thought it would be great idea! This CD is magic. Boston is always silenced/put to sleep by it. The tunes don't drive me crazy either which is a bonus. I think I'll buy the whole collection! They have lullaby renditions of Aerosmith, Prince, The Beach Boy's, The Beatles, Blur, Bob Marley, Metallica and list goes on! 

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/jay-z.html/

6. Bonds Wondersuits

I think it's a tradition for Australian children to wear a bonds. The Bonds wonder suits are truly wonderful. I had a hard time finding good onesies here in the States so I ordered some online and my sister brought them over. I love the two way zip.. especially now that baby is wriggling around while I dress and change him! Another feature is the built in hand mittens which are essential to avoid your baby gauging his/her face. They are suitable for all seasons as they come in warm and cool fabrics. You can't buy enough of them!

7. My Bugaboo Cameleon

I could not be happier with this purchase. It was a bit of an investment BUT well worth it. Soo light and simple to put together. Boston is already in the seat attachment because he was getting a bit bored lying flat in the bassinet. It's smooth to push and has great suspension on the jagged LA sidewalks. Easy to manoeuvre around tight corners and overall I trust it's quality and know I won't need another pram... until I have another baby and need the Donkey (double) pram. Or maybe I can just attach the skateboard to this one!

8. IKEA Dimma

This is an odd one, yet I've found it very useful. I plugged it into my bedside lamp so that when I wake up to feed Boston neither of us get blinded by the bright light.. Dimma allows you to dim all your lamps to your desired brightness! 

9. Munchkin Bin

There's no doubt with the number of nappies we go though that having a nappy disposal system is essential. It's a convenient odourless time saver. Time accrued from taking the nappies out the big bin would equate to hours! I bought one for home and one here in America. Target sell them and the refill bags .. you can order them online too. At first I was concerned about having up to 25 nappies just sitting in the bin, but it doesn't take long to fill it up and the bi-carb soda illuminates the smell! This was another one of Annita's wonderful recommendation.  

http://www.munchkinnappybin.com.au/

Baby Body Booty Belly

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

 Where do I begin. I thought I was doing pretty well weight wise during my pregnancy. It wasn't until after I had Boston that I realised the full extent of change. I've decided that a number on the scales means nothing. After 6 weeks I was 5kg off my pre-pregnancy weight which I was shocked about considering a didn't feel remotely like my pre pregnant self! Even now after 3 months the scales tell me one thing but I feel another! 

I was in the family change rooms with my sister the other day trying on jeans. The time had come to break out of the comfort of my maternity jeans. I was bragging about how proud I am to be trying jeans that fit her (she's 16)... I spoke too soon. The next pair I tried I SPLIT. Yes I tore them... it wasn't even bad seam construction I split the actual fabric. We laughed hysterically and silently for about 5 minutes... before making a quick get away. I felt terrible but it was too embarrassing to admit my crime. So I split and ran! 

Anyway if you've had a baby I think you have to go easy on yourself... Undoubtedly bringing a baby into the world the way we do is bound to create a few changes. I was lucky to only get a couple stretch marks.. but that doesn't mean my stomach looks any less weird...at least I can say I earned my stripes! Ultimately whatever state you're left in post pregnancy, you have to embrace it! Dieting isn't the answer in my opinion.. the last thing you need is to make yourself miserable.. depriving yourself of essential delicious treats is a terrible idea. They offer much more goodness than you think. A little bit of sugar makes everyone nicer... especially me! I'm sure it makes your milk taste better too.. which might make your baby drink more which means you'll lose weight faster! It's a win win. 

I'm clearly no guru on the subject but my message to myself and you (if you're a pregnant girl) is that it's ok not to look like you did before! Celebrate your new figure! You're body did something amazing so reward it with POSITIVITY! (and a cupcake) Jokes... but seriously.. you deserve it!

Here's a cartoon I made.

Across the Pacific with papoose.

 A papoose (from the Algonquian papoos, meaning "child") is an American English loanword whose present meaning is "a Native American Indian child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in the context of the child's mother.

A few weeks ago my 7 week old little boy, my Mum and I boarded a 13 hr from Brisbane to Los Angeles. Before leaving I asked Boston's paediatrician if he had any tips for traveling long haul with babes. He advised me that I should book a first class ticket and an economy ticket for the baby.  LOL. But seriously, he didn't follow it up with any real advice. So.. I thought it can't be too big a drama. Thankfully my Mum came with us for reinforcement and also just because we love her.

 I knew I had to feed him on the way up and also on descent to save his little ears from hurting. Timing is everything. For any future newby Mum and babe travellers. I'd say start feeding during take-off. I started  prematurely and he was a bit over it by the time we made it to altitude. The way down is a lot trickier... especially in my case... the plane was diving down then suddenly starting shooting back up again! Needless to say my poor little boy had to over indugle and did an epic vomit. I barely survived it. I couldn't run away because I was belted in and he was strapped to me! Another tip. Take plastic bags and spare clothes for yourself! (Which thankfully I did) He takes a dummy now so hopefully we won't have a repeat incident.

A fellow passenger gave Boston an A+ for his travelling skills. (I'd like to think it was my mothering prowess) He was a little champion on his first flight. Didn't sleep though, apart from a few cat naps.. but overall was a happy camper..  Hooray!  Although he did create about 10 dirty nappies. A new personal best in 13 hours. Mum and I took two on, two off. It's best to use the disabled bathroom at the back of the plane so you don't go dropping everything into the loo like I almost did. I'm soooo lucky my Mumma was with me for my maiden voyage as a Mum! I would not give Boston an A+ for the days/nights following his first flight however. Never expect to hit the ground running with a jet setting babe!  It took about a week (felt like two) for us to figure out day from night! I had a taste of what sleep deprivation is and understand why it's used as an army torture technique.

Hello world

BNE TO LAX

Murphy's Law

Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".

It's always the one time you don't throw the burp cloth over your shoulder that the bi-weekly massive vomit starts to trickle down your butt crack. It's the odd occasion when you don't place the wee wee tee pee on (a tiny cone shaped cloth that prevents little boys from weeing on you and themselves) that you receive a spray. Recently the first major poonami arrived when I was home alone and required serious back up. I used to think Murphy's Law came into play when you are running late somewhere (which is always) and get caught at every red light. Now it's taken on a whole new meaning. 

 After all the feeding, nappy changes, baths, outfit selecting and general entertainment I provided for the first 8 weeks... I was beginning to feel under appreciated as Boston was quite unresponsive. Luckily right on cue at 8 weeks he gave us a big gummy shark smile.. Yes he was awake and no it wasn't gas (for once) Now at 11 weeks I've had a few giggles.. All my songs and silly sounds are not in vain! As far as Murphy's Law goes the stakes will only rise from here. The adventure continues.

P.S - Boston just fell off the bed. I left him to go get his nose puffer in the kitchen. I cut my finger on the blender blade while retrieving the puffer from the dish rack and as I walked back into the bedroom he was crying on the floor. Lesson learnt. I feel TERRIBLE but he seems ok. Will continue to observe. Thanks again Murphy..u suck.

Amber Cherry Photography

Amber Cherry Photography

My dear friend Amber is an amazing photographer. She's captured some precious moments for me during my pregnancy and beyond! 

Babe at 2 weeks. Amber and Clint were patient beyond measure and have the midas touch when it comes to keeping babies calm and sleepy. Baby whisperers! I want them to be around at bedtime every night!

Check out her Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amber-Cherry-Photography/114917662033204