The Hospital Bag

I’m due to give birth for the second time come February 2019. If experience has taught me anything it’s that the labour bag I packed was absolutely useless, it was full of size 8 jeans, cute outfits and a few other unnecessary pieces. This time, my lists are full proof! My plan is to go home four hours after giving birth so I have packed a labour bag and a long stay back, just in case things are out of my control and I need to stay for a few days.

Labour Bag
full of the essentials for everyone to be as comfortable as possible. It is important to have a spare outfit for Dad because the chances are he will be feeling yuck too! This time I have packed Lola a little activity bag and a gift from her little sister to entertain her when she comes in for a visit.

Long Stay Bag
The hospital will give you the minimum! cracked, bleeding nipples? sucked in if you don’t have cream (or didn’t know that was a thing), hungry in the middle of the night when you’re up feeding… you’ll have to wait for breakfast. So pack absolutely everything you need to be comfortable! The biggest underwear you can find and all bottoms BLACK, that way if you do leak it won’t be noticeable.

The Five Senses of Christmas

I love Christmas, not only for what it marks in the Christian calendar but also because certain things that hit my senses are filled with amazing memories.
Having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit? enlighten your senses 🙂

Hearing: Nothing gets me more excited for Christmas than when I hear the carols in the shops. So this year I have made a playlist of all my favourite Christmas music ranging from classics, Lolas’ choices and the modern but amazing hits! Click here to listen and/or download it. You won’t regret it 😉

Smell: Firstly, chuck out your plastic Christmas tree and get a real pine tree, the festive scent will fill your house. If you can’t do that get your hands on this the o Christmas tree scentsicles are only $15 at Myer currently. You all know I love my oils this year I will be diffusing holiday joy and holiday peace! They won’t be available until November first though so set your alarms. Don’t forget your gingerbread soy melts.

Touch: It’s time for some self care ladies. Go treat yourself to some festive lush cosmetics the Christmas essentials this year are: The Rudolph jelly mask, Santa’s Belly shower jelly, Gingerbread man sparkle bar, Holly Berry Massage bar, Snowflake bubble spinner filled with patchouli, and lastly something fun the Santa Bath Bomb. I am in no way sponsored or affiliated with Lush. Lush is just a bit of a luxury I like to treat myself to in the silly season. You have my permission to treat yourself too!

Taste: Order someone you love one of these gorgeous edible Christmas bouquets to get them into the festive spirit or if you still feel like you need a little some extra loving after your lush haul get one yourself. Make some gingerbread men and register at your local church for their Gingerbread house event, because is it even Christmas if you don’t make one of these houses to lug around with you on Christmas Day?

Sight: Put on your cool white Christmas lights and hire a Christmas movie. Here are my top picks:

Now all your senses are set for the festive season! Molly x

Christmas 1st December Box

One of my families Christmas traditions is the 1st December box. The purpose of this box is to get our family into the festive spirit. This box provides my daughter with a few staple things to prepare her. We also do daily activities but the materials for these activities arrive with the elf (I know my daughter and she would do all the activities on the 1st December.)

Want to get in on the tradition? Need help knowing what to put in your box? attached is your 1st December box checklist.

Santas’ Key: These are available at Kmart and essential for all of us who don’t have a chimney for Santa to arrive through on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Pyjamas: I love giving these on the 1st December as the child has a whole month to enjoy them! Last year when Lola was ten months old I got her the Christmas bonds suit. This year I have opted for a cute summer set from best and less.

Christmas Top: The more extra the better, I always grab a few. here is my latest.

Christmas dinner set: I have this plate from last year the only difference is it was mint. and this straw cup.

2018 ornament: This is completely personal. Every decoration on my tree has a story and a memory. Each year Lola gets a new decoration. We also buy decorations when we go on certain adventures.

Christmas apron and chef hat: Handmade by me for all her baking adventures.

Reindeer antlers: This year I purchased gorgeous antlers from this shop second hand from a gorgeous brand ambassador.

Book: I get my Christmas books from Koorong. Just make sure to read it before you give it to your child. last year my daughter was gifted a book that was completely incorrect.

Dress ups: I have purchased two dress ups this year from Australian Target, in my opinion Target has the best Christmas stock for 2018 (big call I know!)I have gotten the angel and a reindeer costume.

Advent calendar:I have a beautiful handmade quilted advent calendar for my daughters bedroom. Each day she gets a new bow. The bows I have chosen are from baby bow club (we have a monthly subscription), Inspired by Mya, little miss mouse crafts Australia and handmade by me (let me know if you would like a tutorial.) alongside a bible verse a day that sets the theme for that days activity.

What’s on: This one was more for me. It’s a laminated program of the month to keep on the fridge. I haven’t attached a copy as it includes private details.

The elf brings the box alongside some ingredients for a north pole breakfast. Please tag me on Instagram: @babyandherbaby_ with your 1st December box!

Wooden Toys Tutorial

Have you been wanting to make a wooden pram garland or some toys for your play gym? You’ve come to the right place.

‘What you will need

• string
• beads (spotlight or eBay)
• baby toys (I sourced this batch at Kmart)
• coconut oil
• ribbon (option:depending on what toys you use)
• unpicker
• scissors
• sewing needle
• thread
• ‘wooden ring

Method

1. Unpick the toys from the plastic ring.
2. Stitch toy onto wooden ring using thread. If the toy did not come on a ring this is when you will need to stitch the ribbon to the top of your toy, loop ribbon over wooden ring and sew closed.
3. Tie your desired length of string (for the toy) to the wooden ring that the toy is already attached too.
4. Thread beads onto string, whatever pattern you like.
5. tie a wooden ring to the end of the string.
6. Rub coconut oil over all wooden beads.
7. Let dry… now watch your baby play.

If you would like to order the baby gym frame please comment below. They are $40 raw or $45 painted.

Much Love. Xx

Budgeting

My husband is currently a full time student, I am a stay at home mum who will be returning to work in the next few weeks. So when it comes to saving and budgeting I like to think I know a thing or two. We looked for the perfect template, tried apps for tracking  but none were specifically catered to us.

At the beginning of the week we use the template attached to budget all our money. We then use the cash envelope system so that the only thing coming out of our account is bills.

We have envelopes for: swimming lessons, pocket money, groceries and petrol. This means we are unable to overspend in a category and we are always prepares adequately for everyday expenses.

Below is the budget template, please try it and give me some feedback on it.

budget template    

much love. X

Mum Guilt

 

Mum guilt, it catches you unexpected, it lingers and it stays longer than you like. Yesterday I started following a beautiful instagram feed, it wasn’t comparison that caught me. In that moment I was confronted with the #Breastisbest hashtag in the bio. It’s not that I don’t agree with this, I do wholeheartedly I just honestly didn’t have enough milk. You can read about my breastfeeding journey here I Quit Breast feeding.  In the moment I saw that hashtag, every feeling I had in that lactations office, watching my daughter drink her first few bottles, and the months that followed came rushing back. The deep guilt and shame I felt filling me again. The irrational thoughts I had about our feeding journey resurfaced.

Im all about being an educated mum, and educating others but I don’t think the place for that is in an Instagram bio. I don’t know anyone whether a formula mum or a breastfeeding mum who doesn’t know that scientifically breastfeeding is best so what is this hashtag actually achieving apart from division?

Tonight I was feeding my daughter a bottle and had no idea she had fallen asleep there, I instantly was taken back to the first few weeks where she would fall asleep during a feed and I could instantly feel it and tickle her under the chin to wake her a little. I instantly felt guilty for not breastfeeding. Do I wish I could breast feed? Yes! Would I do it exclusively in exchange for my daughters health and well-being? Hell no.

I’m sorry that this post doesn’t provide any tips, how tos, etc. I hope it’s comforting just to know someone feels the same way you do.

‘Let’s stand together as mums, recreate the tribe mantality, promote unity and steer away from the things that cause hurt, division and the dreaded mum guilt.

 

Youre doing your best, keep going mumma ✌🏽

Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning is something I have always struggled with. Solution? Routines, learning and lots of reevaluating. The most important thing is that everyone in your household is on the same page.

1. Sit down as a family and write down all the areas in your home you don’t feel is running smoothly.
2. Write down a practical amount of time you can spend cleaning daily. I personally follow leanne bakers 15 minute session. I can practically dedicate 60 minutes a day to cleaning, organising and decluttering. 15 minute sessions make it achievable.
3. Dedicate one room/section of the house per day of the week make sure you include outdoor areas and the car!

Below is my cleaning schedule. On top of this I do one load of washing a day.

Don’t be hard on yourself. Tomorrow is a new day, start afresh. I have days where I don’t get 5 minutes of cleaning done but it’s all about priorities and some days my daughter needs me more than others.

You’re doing a great job, keep chugging on.

Be Blessed!

Molly. x

Save Our Sleep

I’m no sleep expert, I have never claimed to be. Lately, my daughters’ sleep has improved dramatically so I feel like I owe it to someone who may need some help to share my experience. Now first off I am an advocate for ‘kind parenting’ this means I have not implemented any emotional straining sleep training, e.g. cry it out or timed crying sleep training.

In the first few months we did responsive settling this is recommended by Australian tresillian. It involves no crying, it really just shows your child that they can put themselves to sleep (it often had me leaning over the cot kissing her cheek as she happily dosed off. As she began to stand, talk, basically reach milestones of any kind she stopped sleeping through the night and began coming into my bed earlier and earlier. So, let’s cut to the chase… what did I change?

Sleep Environment

It is important for your child to have cues to sleep. Ours may seem over the top but she’s been going to sleep happily and sleeping overnight.

• Sight: our daughter sleeps best in the dark with no night light, she is easily distracted so finds it easiest to drift off to sleep and stay asleep longer in a dark room.
• Temperature: She sleeps in a room temperature between 20 degrees celsius and 25 degrees celsius (22 is ideal)
• Sound: This lullaby playlist has played since she was two weeks old. As soon as she hears it her head goes onto my shoulder. Im pretty sure I’m the reason this video now has ads, sorry about it.
• Smell: I know this may seem like a fad, I’m really not trying to sell you anything just letting you know what works for us. Every night in her bath oat mix I put lavender doterra oils. Whilst her father is bathing her I diffuse 4 drops of easy air and lavender for 4 hours or longer in her room. (an hour before she goes to bed and 3 hours whilst she is sleeping.) Lavender relaxes the body and promotes deeper sleep, whilst easy air is great for asthmatics/ anyone at night) purifying the air. Click here if you want to hook yourself up with some oils.
• Touch/ Comfort: my daughter has always slept with a jellycat bunny. In December it went missing, a lovely friend sent another one (which is still in her bed and she regularly cuddles it) but she had stopped going comfort from it. We had to make the next drastic step and get a lulla doll. Now I slept with this lulla doll for a week before introducing it. I then started putting her to bed with it… I only turned it on when she’d wake up through the night wanting to come into my bed. She know regularly sleeps on Lullas’ chest and I hardly have to turn it on.

Routine

You all saw this coming. Have a clear set out routine. We are currently working on eliminating the bed time bottle (if you would like a blog post on this please comment below.) I know that this process is so much easier because her routine is clear and not reliant on the bottle.

Feel free to follow our routine but be aware that every Childs’ bedtime is different depending on their day sleeps, morning wake up and day time activities. For instance we moved everything forward an hour tonight because my daughter was exhausted.

A clear routine sets the child at ease. read books in the same spot every night, feed them their milk in their room before bed (get a hobbe rocker, they next level.) Kids’ love routine and consistency.

Before flipping your Childs’ routine upside down, simply try putting your child to bed half a hour early and then half a hour late. It is quite possible that your child is just over tired or under tired. Follow their cues, you’re momma no one knows them, their cues and what they need better than you.

-Molly. x

Easter Activity

We love holidays and festivities in this house. Particularly ones that are christ focused. We have adored playing with some plastic eggs that we got for $4 at Kmart. These eggs are great for fine motor skills. My daughter is 14 months old so this activity helps build her hand strength and hand coordination.

• Fill the eggs with something noisy or something that interests your child. My daughter is currently loving money so we have been doing a lot of activities involving money in our one on one time as it is a choking hazard I can’t let her play with it in free play time. With the addition of money the eggs double as a shaker;)
• close all the eggs and the rest is history!

We did this activity for the first time in the bath as this encouraged her to reach also. Opening the eggs works on hand strength (my 14 month old has mastered this) closing them works on hand coordination (she is still way off doing this alone but her attempt at it is still building the necessary skills). Seriously look at that focus on her face. Whenever she needs to focus or calm I pull out these eggs.

Grab a packet of these eggs and help develop your Childs’ fine motor skills. They are so versatile, engaging, educational and cheap! Keep them around after Easter you won’t regret it;)

 

-Molly x

Tips for Painting with your toddler

 

I’m one of the lucky ones who has a daughter that loves all things craft, sensory play, skill building and development. Which gives me the opportunity to extend her constantly.

Lola is all things kind, fun, loud, beautiful and MESSY. Did I mention Messy? To start off our spring activities we decided to do some painting of her easter gifts. I had just cleaned the house so almost skipped that activity. UNTIL I remembered the old faithful bath tub.

She painted, I cleaned and caught up on administration. It also creates a clean, crisp backdrop 😉

Tips for painting with your Toddler

1. Find a space that you can allow your toddler to explore, get messy and create freely.  Our two favourite spots are the bath and the back garden.
2. Give your toddler a creative license: Leave your vision of this activity at the door, provide your toddler with the materials needed and step away.
3. Embrace their creativity… even if this means they paint with their hands instead of the natural brushes you spent to long to admit making.
4. Follow their lead: remember it is their art, their journey.
5. Have fun: paint with your toddler, play with your toddler and enjoy it with your toddler.