Indiana's 13 Month Update

30.12.14

With Indiana turning 13 months on Boxing Day I haven't had much time to blog. This past month has flown by and I truly see Indie as a toddler now and not my baby girl. We've had a busy month filled with shopping, jabs, a photo-shoot and Indiana's second Christmas and Boxing Day! 

It's also been a pretty tough month with the worst leap yet, leap 8. I'm so glad to be on the other side of it, but my god was it a toughie! The tantrums left behind are not exactly the most fun, but they do make me laugh sometimes. Especially if she's having a breakdown over something silly, like me taking away her spoon haha.
Weight
I've been a bad mummy and haven't got Indiana weighed since before her 1st birthday! This is the longest I've gone without finding out her weight so I'll hopefully go in the new year; I'm guessing she's still around 20lb ish.
Daily
I could probably copy this from last month to be honest. She's still being a monkey and waking pretty early around 6ish which isn't so fun! However she does go to bed easily and still has 2 naps (more 1 if we're out) so I can't complain too much haha. She's still having 2x8 oz of cow's milk; in the morning and before bed, but not really during the day anymore. She's really getting into her books now, and will bring them to you for you to read to her which is so lovely. Her favourite games the past month is to open every cupboard and get everything out; especially her bowls and the cereal haha. She also throws the DVDs everywhere, turns off the tv when you're watching it, and throws some pretty impressive tantrums too!
Bedtime
Again still the same. It's bottle and bed by 7ish and that's her gone. We're still pretty iffy with remembering to brush her teeth, especially as she's usually asleep by the time her bottles gone!

Eating
This month has been a bit of a strange one for Indiana. She's over night turned pretty fussy and now pretty much refuses most vegetables (with the exception of peas, sweetcorn, and potatoes). She is definitely starting to decide what she does and doesn't like and makes it known! She still eats really well however so we're not worried about the faze. Her favourites are still satsumas, chilli con carne and to be honest any meat haha. She was a very lucky girl and enjoyed her first advent calender leading up to Christmas, and has definitely got my sweet tooth!
Sizes
Still 9-12 here. Everything fits her pretty much perfectly now though so I know it won't be long until the become a bit too tight haha. Still size 4+ nappies which I think she's going to be in for ages.
Milestones

  • Walking everywhere! She now walks when we're out and about and crawling practically never happens now. She can stand herself up too,
  • Second Christmas!
  • 1 Year jabs :(
  • New words: 'NO', 'row row' if she's sat on your lap to do the rhyme, bubba (as in baby), and she's constantly babbling, trying to have conversations with you.
  • Opening and closing - she loves opening the cupboards and finding what's inside.
  • Giving cuddles and kisses - okay she's done this for ages, but now she gives you them without even having to ask!
  • Dancing! Everytime she hears music or the theme tune of her favourite programme she starts to boogy.
  • Reading - she's now bringing me books for me to read to her.
There's so much more I could say about her, but I'd be here all night gushing about how beautiful and clever she is! I do video updates on my YouTube Channel if you do want to hear a bit more and see the little lady herself!

Indiana's 12 Month / 1 Year Update

1.12.14

So we made it, Indiana is 12 months old; an official 1 year old! I'm still in complete denial and I'm sure I'll be like this for a long while yet haha. This is slightly late as we've just been enjoying celebrating as a family so the blog has been forgotten a bit recently. Unfortunately we all had dreadful colds so the day was a bit overshadowed by that, however we had a lovely day which I'll write a separate post about! But back to her update:

Weight
Poor Indiana has suffered quite a bit recently; with a chest infection, numerous colds and teething she didn't put on a lot of weight. As of last Thursday she weighed a healthy 20lb 2oz.
Daily
The afternoon nap is back, thank the lord haha; although only when she's at home though! She's got into the habit of waking around 6/6.30 the past few weeks for no apparent reason. We started to give her her morning bottle in her cot and she would go back to sleep until around 7.30/8ish which was a nice treat. She's absolutely loving nursery! They do a Jo Jingles class in her room on a Monday which is lovely as she gets to be involved for free! She's now on two bottles a day of cows milk and eats 3 meals a day as well as snacks. She now loves to play with her toys a lot more, and will do so very independently (she doesn't like you to take things away from her or play with her if she's busy haha).

Bedtime
This girly gets so exhausted towards the end of the day and is generally in bed by 7pm now. She has a bottle of warm milk, snuggles her bunny and then gets put in her cot to sleep. Once she's down you won't hear a peep from her until the morning!
Eating
Where do I ever start?! Indiana is a massive foodie. She loves food and will happily eat all day if we let her haha; even nursery comment on how well she eats. Baby led weaning was the best decision we could have made and it's really worked well for Indiana. She uses her cutlery a lot more, will only throw her plate on the floor when she's done/it's empty, and will drink lots of water from her free flow beaker. She does have a habit of throwing the bits she doesn't want on the floor with a chorus of 'uh oh', but it's so cute I can't get annoyed haha. She had her first taste of chocolate on her birthday and couldn't have eaten it fast enough! She wasn't bothered by the switch from formula to full fat milk either, so we're really happy about that!
Sizes
We're still in 9-12 but I knew we would be for a while. Luckily I have an excuse to buy things that are Christmassy haha, otherwise I'd have no excuse to shop. She's also finally got feet big enough for shoes! We got her measured at Clarks and she's currently a 3H (super wide feet like her mummy bless her). Size 4+ nappies.

Milestones

  • WALKING! Indiana is now a full on walker. She toddles about everywhere, and now she has shoes we let her walk around when we're out.
  • New words: Indiana can now say 'ta' when we offer her things, bubble, 'woof woof'' for a dog, hiya, 'down' when she drops something on the floor.
  • 8 teeth! 4 at the top and 4 at the bottom
  • Using her cutlery when eating
  • Getting her first shoes
  • She loves putting things back in instead of taking them out - I'm loving this one haha
  • Switching from formula to cows milk
  • First tastes of chocolate
  • TURNING ONE!

Whenever I watch Indiana play I can see her brain whizzing about, thinking about lots of things. She's such an intelligent little girl and it's amazing that we have played a part in her development. She's cheeky, loving, beautiful, clever and just an amazing little lady, and I just cannot believe she's one!

What were your little ones doing at 12 months?

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY INDIANA!

26.11.14

So today's the day, my baby girl is ONE!

I've been on such an emotional roller coaster this week. I'm a mixture of so excited and so upset; I can't wait for her to be a toddler and to watch her develop, but I really would love my tiny baby back haha.

This year has gone far too fast. Watching Indiana grow and develop has been the most amazing thing, and I'm so proud to say I'm her mummy!

Indiana turning one also means I made it! One whole year of being a mummy! A year full of sleepless nights, constant nappy changes, bottles, sick, snot, etc, etc haha. But also a year full of smiles, giggles, joy and amazement. 

Being a mum is by far the best thing I've ever done and although it happened sooner than we had planned, I would not change anything for the world (and yes I'm getting all emotional just writing this haha).
Thank you for following our journey on here and through our YouTube channel, I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

DIY First Birthday Cake Smash

19.11.14


It was a couple of weeks ago now that we did Indiana's cake smash, and with only 1 week to go until her birthday, I thought it was time to share them with you! I would have loved to do a professional one but it would have worked out SO expensive. So in the end we did it completely 'DIY' and I'm so pleased with the results, especially considering Indiana just doesn't sit still haha.

Jack is the baker in this household so he was in charge of the cake. I bought a cupcake mould from Ebay as that's the design we were going for. It turned out pretty well, and it was even topped with pink icing and a pink ribbon.

Her outfit was something I thought about for a while. I wanted something that looked super cute, but also something that symbolised her turning 1. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know how much I love My First Years. I found the 'first birthday' vest and instantly fell in love, so that was sorted. The pink frillys are something I've had my eye on for ages now! They're from my favourite place The Bow Boutique are are SO cute and girly. I completed her outfit with a pink bow from The Bow Boutique as well.


We just used a plain wall in the living room (luckily we have laminate flooring too which is a must!). I took some of her bunting from her room to decorate the wall, and then just blew up some pink balloon... so simple!

Then it was time to let her loose with the cake. As soon as she saw it she wanted to touch it and we needn't have worried about her crawling off haha. Her face was a picture and it wasn't long before she got stuck in. She didn't eat much of the cake itself but I'm surprised she wasn't sick after all the icing she ate! Jack was photographer too, using his Bridge camera.

I would totally recommend doing a cake smash for a first, or even other birthdays. The pictures are something we'll treasure forever and as we did it ourselves we can keep them all, and then decide what ones we want to print. To be honest I think doing it ourselves was much more fun, and she completed the shoot with a nice warm bubbly bath, her favourite!



















Indiana's 11 Month Update

27.10.14

So that's it, we're on the final countdown to Indiana's first birthday! Only 4 weeks to go until I have a one year old. I still can't decide if I'm really excited, or really upset haha... probably a real mixture of the two. Indie's developed a lot mentally this month, you can see her really thinking about things and working things out which is amazing to watch


Weight
As of Wednesday Indie weighed 20lb (at 47+1weeks). She's still following her curve smoothly and is now between the 50th and 75th percentile.
Daily
The only thing that has changed from Indiana's routine is that she's decided she doesn't want an afternoon nap anymore! For over a week now she's been fighting it and just not having any of it. I've been giving her a snack instead and playing with her more to keep her in a good mood; she's just like her mummy and gets very cranky when she's hungry or tired haha. She's starting a new nursery as well as Jack got a new job. As it is closer it means our parents can help out more too, so my mum will have her Monday mornings and Jack's mum, Friday afternoons.

Bedtime
Bedtime is slightly earlier now that she's napping less. She now has her last bottle just before 7 and is usually fast asleep by 7.10/7.15! She has really grown close to her comforter this past month and will scream and moan if she drops it out of her cot (which she thinks is a brilliant game in the mornings!). 

Eating
Again, exactly the same apart from maybe another snack around 4pm. She could probably eat and eat if I let her the piggy haha. She usually has less of her evening bottle now as she's having it earlier. She's really starting to understand what a plate/bowl and fork and spoon are for now. She will only throw it off if she's finished or all the foods gone. She is learning to put the fork/spoon into the bowl to get food too!

Sizes
We're almost fully in 9-12 month clothes now which fit much better. Everything is so long on her though bless her as she's got diddy legs (just like me!). I had to get her a pair of ugg style boots in 12-18 months as her feet are so wide; although they're still smaller than a size 2! She's in size 4+ nappies.
Milestones
  • She can now stand unaided for ages!
  • She took her first steps!!
  • We now have 4 teeth (and we think there are 2 more on the way)
  • She can stack her rings perfectly; and even did it in the right order haha
  • She can build towers with her mega bloks
  • She's talking SO much and constantly chats away to herself. Her new favourite trick is to drop something and then say 'uh oh'
  • Her problem solving/hand-eye co-orderation is really improving. She trys to fit shapes into the right places, puts things in boxes and takes them out, etc
  • She puts her phone to her ear and speaks! 
She's becoming such a clever clogs, and every thing she does I'm so proud of! She's still only taking a few steps as her balance isn't 100%, but we don't think it will be long. 
Emily xx

Indiana's 10 Month Update

26.9.14

10 months old! Double digits and only two months away from turning one... I think I could cry! Saying that though this month has definitely been my favourite by far. She's turning into such a cheeky little lady and her personality is really beginning to shine through. She's a massive daddy's girl, yet when daddy doesn't do what she wants it's mummy she calls instead haha! Her development has taken a HUGE leap and you can really see what she's going to be like as a toddler now. So here's a bit more of her progress.
Weight
So after worrying she wasn't putting on much weight she's back on track. At 42 weeks +1 day (last Wednesday) she weighed 19lbs 7oz. She's still following between the 25th and 50th percentile which is perfect.
Daily
Routine has stayed pretty much exactly the same. Mondays and Fridays she goes to nursery with Jack where she's pretty much in all day (depending on the hours Jack's working). Then Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are our days. We chill, play, see friends/family and do whatever we like. Then the weekends she either spends with Jack when I work or we have family days. She still wakes at 7ish and has a bottle, then breakfast around 9 followed by her morning nap at 10. Lunch is around 12/12.30 and then her afternoon bottle around 2.30 (she's in the process of swapping this for a snack instead), then her afternoon nap at 3. Dinner is at 5.30/6ish, then her last bottle at 7ish and in bed by 7.30!

Bedtime
We have now added a story and brushing teeth into her bedtime routine. As I've said above she has dinner around 5.30/6. Then she will either have a bath or just enjoy some baby TV or playtime. If she has a bath then we'll brush her teeth then, if not we'll do them around 7. Then she has her last bottle of the day either during her story or after. Then she goes straight to bed with her comforter and giraffe and self settles to sleep.
Eating
Eating is exactly the same. She's eating 3 meals a day, as well as a morning and nighttime bottle. Her daytime bottle is hit and miss; if she doesn't take it we usually offer her a snack of fruit or a baby biscuit to keep her going until dinner. She eats for England and we are still amazed by how much she truly eats. For example for dinner she can eat a portion of dinner, fruit, and either a yoghurt or rice pudding... and still be begging for food haha!

Sizes
She's now in a mixture of sizes as she's getting to the awkward in between size. 6-9 months fits still, however it depends on where they're from. Primark and Mothercare bits are getting too snug, although her Next bits still fit ok. We've been incorporating her 9-12 month clothes in as I just can't resist putting her in her new outfits.
Milestones
  • New words - As well as mama and dada she can now say hiya, yeah and woo
  • Cruising! She started doing this pretty soon after her last update. She's super speedy and walks around the sofas, baby gate, basically anything she can pull herself up on.
  • Her two top teeth are on the way in!
  • We got her a push along walker and within half an hour she was whizzing around the room. She pulls herself up on it and walks around the whole place with it now. She even holds onto her baby gate and pushes it along the monkey!
  • Copying - this may not really be a milestone but she is brilliant at this! She's learnt to splash her legs in the bath from watching Jack, and bangs things if you show her how. She shakes instruments if you do it first, so cute to watch!
  • Earlier in the week she stood unaided for about 5 seconds! She's becoming a bit of a daredevil and even let go when holding on herself a few times.
  • Climbing stairs! Don't even know how she learnt this as living in a flat we don't have any to practice on haha.
  • TANTRUMS! God this little lady is a diva. She's learnt what no means and is not happy when she hears it haha.
Everyone keeps telling us how she's going to be walking soon and although I think so too, I just can't believe it! We're really going to have our work cut out then haha!

Indiana's 9 Month Update

26.8.14

9 Months old... what?! Next week when she turns 40 weeks old she would have been out longer than she was in, and that's just such a crazy crazy thought. Month 8 has been pretty amazing and once again Indiana has amazed me with how much she has learnt! I've returned to work, turned 21, we took a trip to Paris and she's learnt some new tricks.
Weight
I had Indie weighed last Wednesday (when she was 38+1 weeks) at the clinic. I was a bit surprised that she's only put on 9oz bringing her to 18lbs 9oz, but she's still following her curve nicely. She's eating loads and filling her clothes better so I'm not worried!

Daily
Now I'm back at work we have a pretty smooth routine. On Mondays and Fridays she goes to nursery with Jack. She has all her meals there and has got on really well with it. She loves all the older children and now happily plays with the toys there and gets on with it. Then in between it's our time together to do what we like. She still wakes up between 7/8 and has a bottle. Then breakfast, lunch, another bottle at 3, dinner and then her bedtime bottle and then bed at 7.30. She has two naps that last between 1-2 hours at around 10ish and 3ish. We spend these days playing, seeing friends/family and relaxing. I work every other weekend where she spends time with Jack or if not we do family things. We're really lucky she's a great napper and sleeper as it makes life so much easier, and makes for a happier baby!
Bedtime
Now she's only having 2 naps a day she's usually knackered by bedtime, bless her. She doesn't have a bath every night anymore as it just wasn't necessary (especially now meal times are less messy!). We have cuddles from around 6.30/7ish, her bedtime bottle, which she usually falls asleep during and then we pop her in her cot. She's still in her 1tog sleeping bag but as it's got cooler we now are back to using sleepsuits. She then has her bunny comforter and soothing giraffe which are our lifesavers!
Eating
Her bottles and their routine are exactly the same as last month. She now feeds herself her bottle, although we still hold her as I personally love the snuggles haha. She doesn't always finish them anymore as she's much more into actual food. With food I would say she's pretty much weaned and not weaning anymore. She eats everything and anything, and especially loves fruit! Eating out isn't any trouble and she happily sits in any highchair now.

Sizes
Sizing is pretty much identical to last month. Her clothes fit pretty much perfectly now, dresses no longer drag along the floor and the lengths are good at last haha. She's finally growing out of her 0-6 months tights, although I'm sure 6-12 months will be back to being huge! I had her feet measured at Clarks and she's still smaller than a size 2. However she's got feet just like me as she's already a H width! We're still in size 4 nappies too.
Milestones
  • She can now clap - she usually just does it herself if she's happy. But will also do it if you ask her to 'clap clap' - cutest thing ever!
  • She also waves properly. Although she still doesn't do it on demand it's getting there though.
  • She can now sit herself up from laying down!
  • She can also kneel up and now spends pretty much most of the time playing on her knees.
  • From this she learnt to pull herself up! For the first few days it was just to her knees but now she's fully mastered standing. She stands in her cot and pulls herself on anything she can. As much as I love seeing her learn, this development scares the hell out of me!
  • Drinking from a cup! After weeks of trying sippy cups she now drinks water from her Doidy cup.
  • Cruising is pretty much imminent - she's standing one handed and turns to move - this scares me even more haha!
  • Starting nursery.
  • First trip to France - we have just returned from a weekend break to Paris. She came with us everywhere and has even been up the Eiffel Tower!

We're now only 3 months away from her first birthday! Written down that does seem like ages but I know it's going to fly by. We've already started getting presents and planning her birthday party, and we have decided to do our own cake smash! Please slow down time, I want my baby forever!

Mamas & Papas Kato Buggy | Review

4.8.14

All the way back in June we went on our first family holiday to Majorca. We knew one of the first things we needed to purchase was a smaller buggy for whilst we were there. We decided on the Mamas & Papas Kato buggy in grey/pink. It was on offer for £50 down from £100 so we knew it was going to be good quality, and the price was reasonable too!


My initial thoughts of the buggy was that it was quite big and bulky. When folded it is longer than most buggies and only just fit in the boot of Jack's Seat Ibiza. However, after using it for our holiday I really love it!

It's SO easy to push and had no trouble with uneven surfaces, it even survived being pushed along the beach. The wheels can be either locked or allowed to swivel (which is what we prefer), and the handles are foam covered so are comfortable to hold whilst pushing. The basket is a reasonable size and fits in a lot more than you think too.

You can easily pop the hood up or down to offer shade. Then the foot rest can be lifted up or down depending on the size of the child it is being used for. The website claims the buggy can be used from birth as it lays pretty flat by just pulling the tab at the back (then pulling it u again to sit it back up). Although I would never used a buggy for a newborn I think it's great that the option is there.



It came with a raincover which is a bonus. It just poppers onto the hood to protect the child when it's wet. A negative of this though it that it doesn't cover the whole buggy, so the hood itself would actually get wet, which I think it a bit silly really! The five point harness although easy to use could also do with some improvement. As the straps are joint together they become twisted and mixed up quite easily.


Overall we love the buggy and will be using it for definite when we need it. Indie seemed to love facing outwards and watching what was going on, and had no trouble falling asleep in it either (with help from the SnoozeShade of course)! For the price I think it's just what we needed and I would definitely recommend it for a holiday or just for use as a buggy in general.

Indiana's 8 Month Update

27.7.14

I have an 8 month old... 8 whole months! I just can't believe it; okay maybe looking at her I can, but seriously where does the time go?! This month has been another huge month for development and hitting milestones. It also marks the last of my maternity leave as I'll be back at work in a week *sobs*.
Weight
I had Indie weighed last Wednesday (when she was 34+1 weeks) at the clinic. She's now a round 18lb and my arm definitely notices when she's in her car seat haha! Her cousin who is 6 weeks younger is almost 2lbs heavier which is so funny... she still manages to beat him up though!

Daily
As she'll be in nursery twice a week it was about time we got a definite strict schedule. It was pretty much there but just needed some fine tuning. She wakes around 7/8 and has a bottle, followed by a play and then breakfast. Then around 10/10.30 she has nap number 1 which lasts between 1-2 hours. We are SO lucky that she has always self settled and I swear by a grobag, comforter and her seahorse or soothing giraffe for this! Then she's up for lunch, more play and/or we go out. She has her second bottle around 3 when she'll go back down for her second nap which is also between 1-2 hours. Then it's more play or I'll let her watch TV while I prepare dinner. Dinner and then depending on how late it is she'll have a bath or just a quick snuggle with daddy. Then she has her last bottle between 7/7.30 and goes to bed! 
Bedtime
Well the dreamfeed was gone and not even missed after about 4 days haha, clever girl! So now once she's in bed she's a goner until morning. It's been ridiculously hot the past month so she's been sleeping in either a nappy or a vest and then her 1 tog grobag. I have even popped the fan on in her room on a few occassions as it was just so muggy and sticky. I love how she knows when it's nap/bedtime and she snuggles into her bunny comforter, so cute!
Eating
Baby led weaning worked so amazingly for us. She took to it so well and now eats three meals a day. She eats so much and I do worry sometimes she's had too much, as she just doesn't stop haha! However, I know this can't be the case and she clearly just enjoys her food. She's dropped her mid-morning bottle by herself so now takes 3x8oz bottles of Cow&Gate Stage 1 milk - morning, afternoon and before bed.
Sizes
Her 6-9 month clothing is fitting much more comfortably now. Leggings and tights fit perfectly which I'm happy about, although some things are like t-shirts are still a bit long (she's got short arms just like her mummy haha). Still in size 4 nappies which I think she'll be in for a while.

Milestones
  • Crawling! She started off commando crawling but now literally drags herself around the room. She rocks on all fours but hasn't mastered that quite yet.
  • Blowing rasberries - she literally does this all day long and I've got so many photos of her with her tongue out now haha.
  • Someone finally said MAMA! Aghh it's literally the best thing in the world, especially when she looks at me and says it.
  • Cuddling - every morning when I get her out of her cot she squeals, gives me the hugest smiles and then cuddles me. Almost as cute as her saying mama.
  • She's learning to clap and pull herself up. It's amazing watching her think about what she's doing and trying to figure it out.
  • Her pincer grip is pretty much spot on - she was picking up individual peas at lunch!
Another busy month for my little monkey this month! She's got a whole new adventure to start with nursery and spending lots more time with her daddy. I'm just praying I don't miss anything as I think that will make the transition a whole lot harder. It's also my 21st birthday this month, so hopefully little miss Indie has lots of plans to spoil her mummy!

What was your little one up to at 8 months?
Emily xx