Our week in pictures #3

Hello all welcome to another week in pictures! As promised, I did more this week than just sit around in my pyjamas and take selfies! 

We started off our week with a trip to baby gym class with a mummy friend and Luke's best buddy Ted. It is so much fun for the boys, and us mummies had a wail of a time on the trampolines (they're the sort of thing that you find extremely exciting when you're a mummy!) 

They are getting so grown up now, it's hard to imagine they were once tiny newborns with floppy heads! 

I also had quite an emotional week. While writing a blog post on being a preemie mummy, I scrolled back through all my photos of Luke as a newborn. I have to say it hit me harder than I expected and I got all blurry eyed looking at my little boy in an incubator and realising how far he has come. 

Our week has also been filled to the brim with mummy play dates this week.  Although it is mainly so us mummies can keep some degree of sanity and gorge on obscene amounts of chocolate, I also feel it's really lovely for the boys to have some bonding time (and I think they enjoy seeing something other than mummy's boring face!)

Despite the gloomy weather today, our week couldn't have had a more perfect end to it. As my husband has been away a lot this week, we decided to have a family trip into Bath and wonder round the gorgeous Christmas market. I had the most wonderful time, keeping myself toasty with an all important glass of mulled wine and I am now finally getting into the festive spirit! I was also spoiled rotten and my darling hubby got me a new iPhone as an early Christmas present! Mine was rapidly dying and I had been angling after the rose gold one ever since it came out (My wedding ring is rose gold so of course I needed a matching phone!) 

We were cold and damp by the one we arrived home so cooked and devoured a delicious roast - I think I have decided it's my all time favourite meal. Sunday's are the best :-) 

Lastly, we hit a very important milestone this week - exactly one week before he turns 8 months, Luke is sitting up by himself! So I am an extremely proud mummy. 

Be prepared for a very festive 'Our week in pictures' this coming week - we are putting the Christmas tree up, making hand print decorations and blitzing the Christmas shopping! Expect tinsel, baubles and obscene amounts of fairy lights! 

Baby boys Winter wardrobe!

I think winter is my favourite time of year. The crisp, cold winter mornings (which sadly we haven't had many of recently). Warming, hearty, slow cooker beef stews and of course best of all the lead up to Christmas! 

Winter is one of my favourite seasons for my own clothes, so you can imagine how exciting I've found it getting a winter wardrobe for little pickle! Here are just a few of my favourite winter wardrobe picks from Next and Tesco. 

Now Luke is starting to look a bit more like a little boy, I quite like having the option of proper trousers rather than just trackies or onesies. I am a bit in love with cords at the moment and have bought a grey pair from Tesco and a navy pair from Next. They both have adjustable waist bands which I loved or baby boys trousers as it makes them a lot more comfortable. 

I really hope we get some cooler weather heading our way soon as I am totally in love with the little chunky knit jumpers that are in all the shops at the moment. Between Tesco and Next I got some gorgeous jumpers for Luke - my favourite ones are the little cream one with the brown suede on the shoulders (which looks gorgeous paired with the grey cords I got) and the little car jumper from next because it's just such a little boy jumper! Also the colour makes Luke's eyes look amazingly blue. 

I also got a couple of little baby shirts from Tesco as Luke we are having Luke christened in A couple of weeks and I wanted him to look a little bit fancy! He's going to wear the navy cords and gorgeous little checked shirt! 

Lastly my mother in law got Luke a gorgeous coat from Tesco. It's a little parka style coat with fur round the hood which looks totally cute when it's up! Also from a practical mummy point of view it is really warm and has extra padding - the sort that makes your child resemble a starfish! 

On top of all that I of course stocked up on little tops and obscene amounts of babygrows! I also indulged in some little Christmas outfits but you'll have to wait until Christmas day to see those! What are your favourite winter buys for your little ones and where is your favourite place to shop? 

Being mummy to a preemie

I remember repeating it like some sort of mantra - "he's due the 11th May" I would say over and over again to each person who looked at my bump and asked when he was coming. So when I was taken to hospital on 28th March and told that my waters had broken and baby would be with us in the not too distant future, all I could think was "but he can't come... my baby's not due until the 11th May.

Funnily enough I had a feeling throughout my entire pregnancy that Luke was going to make an early appearance (lets call it mothers instinct). I had my hospital bag packed from about 26 weeks after having a horrible nightmare in which I went in to early labour and had nothing to take with me. That weekend I promptly bought everything I needed for my bag and left it buy the door, waiting for babys birthday to arrive.

         The day that Luke arrived 

I was measuring big from very early on and on the night of 28th of March, I sprung a hind water leak at my friends engagement party (thunder stealing much?!) I will never forget the feeling of panic and uncertainty when the doctor told me "your waters have started to go. We will keep baby in as long as we can but it looks like he's coming early". What followed were a very stressful few days of blood tests, steroid injections, bed rest and scans. We managed to keep him in an extra week but on 6th April, exactly 5 weeks early our little baby boy entered our lives.

                  Baby's first photo 

Having your baby come early, every step of the way is filled with worry. I was lucky to have a relatively straightforward labour and birth. However at the end of it I only got to hold Luke for a couple of minutes before he was whisked away from me and taken to NICU. I didnt get the post birth cuddles and closeness. When everyone else was on the ward with their babies next to them, I was alone with what seemed like a million miles between me and my little boy. It seemed so unfair at the time that everyone else was getting newborn cuddles and spending time with their little bundles of joy and then there was me. Stuck in a nightmare of bad news.

          Luke at just a few days old 

There is also a slight sadness to being a preemie mummy. I am hugely grateful and feel very blessed that Luke ended up being ok. He is now no different to any other 7 month old. However I can't help but feel a pang of jealously whenever people mention being in that 'newborn bubble'.
Being mummy to a poorly little preemie you don't get to be in a bubble of feeding and cuddles and pyjama days on the sofa. My bubble was full of wires, machines, blood tests and hospital food. It is a really hard place to be in, especially when it feels like the rest of the world are living in a happy little bubble of love. And quite honestly with all our problems along the way, I didn't find it got any easier until Luke hit 6 months.

            First cuddles with Daddy 

Unfortunately when you are pregnant, you don't get told about how to deal with being mummy to a premature baby. No one tells you how hard it will be, how drained and helpless you will feel when it all starts to go wrong. When we were in hospital, we had to deal with things I hope I never have to go through again: Our baby being rushed to the resuscitation table, not being able to hold him properly until he was 2 days old, having to navigate your way around a mass of wires whenever you wanted a cuddle. No one prepares you for what it will be like if your baby comes before your due date.

Having a baby earlier than planned is a really scary, difficult thing and I personally think that pregnant women should be educated and made aware of what they could potentially face. I am just thankful that I was lucky enough to have a really wonderful support network of friends and family along with my lovely husband.

     Now a happy, healthy 7 month old 

Our week in pictures #2

To be quite honest we have had a relatively lazy week this week. Luke has been teething like crazy and as a result we have had a slightly grumpy baby and a very grumpy mummy! 

At the beginning of the week my Daddy came to see us and we had a Grandad day. He works away a lot so I treasure the rare times I get to spend the day with him. Luke is totally in love with his Grandad - seeing them together makes me heart melt. We went to Starbucks and I tried their hot mulled fruit which is hands down the best Christmas drink ever (except actual mulled wine!) totally in love!

I also got my first set of Christmas nails done this week which I got extremely over excited about and I have already planned my next two sets! They look kind of like Frozen nails, however this wasn't intentional and they are actually meant to match our Christmas decor at work - I felt super co-ordinated this weekend!

At least 3 days this week I have also invaded my friend Rebecca's house (partly due to the lack of coffee in my house and partly because she is lush and plies me with chocolate!) her little boy and Luke are totally cute together even though their play dates usually involve chewing each other feet and trying to grab each others faces!

My biggest feat this week is a little bit pathetic but a major triumph in mummy world! Trying to get Luke to sleep when he is poorly is a total nightmare so this picture was a very proud moment! Haha lame I know!

Honestly the rest of the week has mainly involved snuggles and selfies with a teething, poorly milk monster - my sincere apologies that I haven't been up to anything more interesting! 

I will do my best next week to get out of my pyjamas and get some more interesting and exciting pictures for next weeks 'Our week in pictures'!

What have you been up to this week? Share your favourite picture below! 

5 tips for returning to work

I recently had my first weekend back at work. As you may know if you read my post about returning to work, I was extremely nervous. However I actually had a really wonderful couple of days (and sold a rather expensive ring which made the boss happy!) In a way it felt like I had never left - a perk, I guess, to only taking 7 months maternity leave. However it was also very different - I found myself worrying about Luke throughout the day, I got major baby brain and forgot what I was saying half way through talking to customers and by about 3 o'clock I was starting to flake.
Here are a few tips from me to you other working mummies out there to help your return to work run smoothly.

Get a coffee machine:
Before I was a mummy I didn't drink coffee. Now I live off the stuff (she says while sipping her deliciously strong espresso!) As well as being an essential mummy item, it also came in handy for my first day back at work. I have a Nespresso machine which my wonderful parents got me for my birthday this year. I love it because it makes espressos (the perfect mummy drink - all your caffeine in about 2 sips!) or you have the option to add water and make a full sized coffee! Fab for returning to work as it saves me spending silly amounts on Starbucks and usually making myself late waiting in the queue!

Wear a pair of killer heels:
Obviously I'm not talking 6" platforms, but I find wearing a pair of heels automatically boosts my confidence and makes me feel like I can conquer anything that is thrown at me. Having a little bit of extra confidence will make your return to work that little bit easier.

Buy a new handbag:
It sounds ridiculous, but one of the things I was most excited about on the day I went back to work was taking a handbag! Not a changing bag full of babywipes, bottles and various brightly coloured toys, but my beautiful, shiny, grownup Ted Baker handbag. I felt like the fanciest person in the world strutting through town clutching it! Of course to everyone else I just looked like an ordinary person carrying an ordinary handbag. But to me it felt like I was queen of the world!

Throw your whole self in (This feels like the start of the hokey cokey...):
If you decide as a mummy to return to work, whether full time or part time, my advice to you is to go for it with everything you've got. I have found that when I am at work I need to distance myself from being mummy Laura and throw myself into being work Laura. This way I really enjoy my days at the shop. Ok it helps that I get to spend my time selling diamonds and sparkly stuff (and of course trying all the beautiful jewellery on just to make sure it looks as nice on as it does off is an added bonus!) but I find that if I think about Luke too much, I miss him and it makes me sad which in turn means I don't enjoy my day. So I get on with being work Laura in the knowledge that I will have a whole 5 days of the week to be mummy and get all the cuddles I can to keep me going through those two days without.

Do something you love:
Ok, I am aware that this is not always possible - sometimes you just need something that pays the bills. But as a mummy, its surprisingly hard to leave your little one for a whole day especially when you are used to being with them all the time. If you can go back to doing something you enjoy, it makes leaving your baby for the day a whole lot easier and dare I say it... you might actually enjoy the break.

Those are my tips for going back to work - have you got any words of wisdom to share?

6 week milk update - CMPA

Looking back through the archives today I stumbled across my first ever blog post that I did 6 weeks ago on Luke's new milk. Things have changed so much in that time so I thought I'd do an update post on how Luke is getting on. Hopefully it'll give any fellow mummies out there a little bit of hope in a potentially dark and difficult time. 

After exactly 6 weeks exclusively on the amino acid formula, Luke's reflux has almost completely disappeared. We have gone from violent projectile vomiting every hour to a little bit of sick once or twice a day (usually after meals and as a result of bouncing or rolling around on the floor like a lunatic baby!) 

I think this is the biggest difference we have noticed on the new milk and I am so thankful - I was beginning to think I'd never catch up on washing!

The other major difference we have noticed is Luke's skin. Since he was 5 weeks old he has had terrible eczema which got no better despite the various lotions and potions we plastered on him. 

Although his skin isn't quite 100% (we still get bad face flare ups when he's teething) it is so much better and with the help of Aveeno moisturiser we are able to keep the worst at bay. 

Another big change I have noticed is Luke's weight gain. He has always been a clothing size below what he should be, however now at the grand age of 7 months old he is in the 6-9 month clothing that he should be! This is a major breakthrough for us as he was still in 0-3 month clothing at 5 months old! We have a health visitor appointment next week so I'm super excited to see what my chunky monkey weighs now! 

Smiles and giggles now just get more and more every day and Luke is turning into such a happy little boy, that the nightmare first months of motherhood that almost broke me are slowly becoming nothing more than a distant memory. 

If any of you out there have a little one who is suffering with CMPA keep going, it does get better and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Our week in pictures #1

When I decided to start doing a recap blog post of what we have been up to each week and I had no idea how much fun it would be! Looking back at the photos I took this week and remembering what did was lovely and I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this post! 

Now I am back at work the weeks just seems to whizz by in the blink of an eye and before I know it we're starting all over again. 

This week has been lovely and full of friends. We had some of my favourite people round at the beginning of the week and made my sweet potato hash recipe for brunch. The recipe is up on my blog - it is the perfect autumn/winter meal and is super tasty as well as being healthy! 

This week it was also Mr yummy mummy's birthday (his first as a daddy!) so we had presents and cards and lots and lots of cake! Unfortunately Luke got a little bit excited about the card and decided he wanted to eat the envelope - we went with it and pretended the soggy patches were kisses! I realised on the day that Luke wouldn't be able to try any of the cake because of his CMPA, so next year I'm going to find a good dairy free cake recipe and make one so he doesn't feel left out. If you have any good ones please let me know! 

We met up mid week for coffee with Granny and Grandad which is one of Luke's favourite things to do. We are very blessed to have my parents near by which means Luke gets to see a lot of them. He absolutely adores them (and they are besotted with him - they're very dotey Grandparents!)

We also got to see Auntie Anna this week - We don't get to see her a huge amount as she is a mega cool and very busy 17 year old! 

She came over on Thursday to read bedtime stories and Luke absolutely loved it. He settled like a dream so I have told my sister she has to come and do bedtime every night! 

And then we were suddenly back at Friday and Saturday which are my working mummy days. I was run off my feet both days with customers buying beautiful jewellery. However it made me realise how behind I am on my Christmas shopping - I haven't even started making lists of who I need to buy for yet! You know you're disorganised when even the men are beating you to it! 

We also had a big first this week - Luke has cut his first two teeth! (which explains why he's been such a grump recently)

You can already see his face shape changing. I got all emotional as my little baby has gone and he's starting to turn into a little boy! It's scary how fast they grow up and I am determined to make more of an effort to savour every second of it. 

That was our week - next week I am getting my first set of Christmas nails done which I am super excited about. So keep an eye on my Instagram for pictures!