Darcy | 2 Month Update

Time is absolutely flying by at the moment & I think I said something

fairly similar in Darcys 1 month update but seriously she's 2 months old now! 8 weeks, it's crazy.

A lot has changed since Darcy was 1 month old, she has turned in to such a happy smiley and content baby and she is just simply such a pleasure to be around. She obviously has gotten bigger and the only time it really hits me and I realise it is when I look at photos of when she was a newborn. 

So one of the biggest changes with Darcy is me trying to implement a routine, nothing has been established as such during the day, I am always reading her ques and can definitely tell the difference between her feed me cries, hold me cries and her i want to sleep cries. We have however got bedtime down to a tee. It goes a little something like this

• 9pm I'll take her up for a bath
• 9.30pm she'll have her last bottle and settle down
• 10pm she'll hopefully be asleep (most of the time she's pretty easy to settle.
• 3-4am she'll wake up for her night time feed and settle back down
• 9am she'll wake for the majority of the day apart from nap times.

I know some people won't agree with the routine I've implemented there in particular the waking at 9am part as it gets them in a bad habit but to be honest it works for us! She sleeps in our room still in her moses basket and I plan on continuing that until she is at least 4-5 months old. She is getting slightly long for her moses basket now though and I did consider getting a longer crib but I guess she'd curl up wouldn't she..

Darcy is still in 0-3 month clothes however she is getting long for her sleep suits so I might have to put her in 3-6 month for those (wowzers) she is tall like mummy, she is still in size 2 nappies and I will finish off those but next time we buy more I will get her size 3 as  size 2 are getting a bit snug.

She is playing with her toys more now and really focusing on them, she has a bright spider that hangs from the ceiling your can pull it and it will bounce around and she absolutely loves that! It is so lovely to see & I really enjoy playing with her. 

She has become very vocal and chatty so we have little chats which she also always ends up smiling at, adorable (though I would say that, wouldn't I?)

I don't know how much she weighs at this stage but 2 weeks ago today at 6 weeks old she weighed 9lb 12oz so i imagine she weighs around the 10 lb mark. I do get her weighed at 12 weeks so I'll be sure to add that in her 3 month update. She is on the 50th centile line though which is good and I'm happy about.

We did cave in and give her a dummy because we found her difficult to settle, although she doesn't really take to it, so i'm not sure it will stay around. I really didn't want to give her one purely because I know they're difficult to take away again. 

That's probably the main changes with Darcy this month.

Do you have any tips on implementing routines?

Thank you for reading

Amelia 

xxx

My Thoughts On Co-Sleeping

source: http://www.designrulz.com/design/2013/05/the-culla-belly-co-sleeper-attaches-onto-beds-for-easy-access/

Before I had Darcy co-sleeping was something I would always say i'd never do, I just always felt like it was a terrible habit to get yourself in to and I also thought it was slightly on the dangerous side.. i mean what if I was to roll on to her or crush a little arm or something..

However fast forward to Darcy who is now nearly 8 weeks old, co-sleeping is something I am completely open too. The night she was born and I was in hospital there was no way she was going to sleep in the little crib they supply you with there..she has just come out of my tummy after spending 9 months there and you expect her to sleep on her own? It just wasn't going to happen & I was understandably exhausted. The only way I would get any shut eye was if she was going to sleep whilst either I cuddled her or if she was lying next to me. So it all went from there really. All my opinions on it went straight out the window.

When we arrived home she did sleep in her moses basket fairly easily, but when she'd wake up in the night & all she wanted was to be cuddled I didn't really hesitate to bring her in our bed, i need to sleep too! I did do some research on co-sleeping & it was 50/50 opinions. Most health professionals would tell you not to do it, I didn't even bother telling my health visitor that I was doing it some nights, it was bad enough telling her I'd stopped breastfeeding. I feel like this is my little way of bonding with my baby & it is working for us. I must add i've just read through what I've written & i've made it sound like she exclusively sleeps in our bed, if she'll go off in her moses basket then we definately leave her to it, but having now had a baby it has changed my opinion completely & I now understand why mothers do it. As far as health issues go, from my research I found that to co-sleep safely you should never:

1. Co-sleep whilst drunk

2. Co-sleep when extremely tired

3. Co-sleep if you smoke

I would never do it if I was drunk & I don't smoke anyway but I am a very light sleeper so even if I was tired which I usually am I would wake up straight away anyway.I think when you know your baby is the bed with you, your maternal instinct is makes you even more of a lighter sleeper.

So there you have it, a confession from someone who thought she would never co-sleep.

Amelia

xxx

Baby Products Not Worth Buying

When I was pregnant I was forever searching what I actually needed. I ended up making sure I had pretty much everything because without having a baby before how was I supposed to know what I needed? I had people telling me what I didn't need but I feel as though now the things they were telling me not to purchase eg. a nappy bin actually turned out to be pretty useful. However here is what I've found in my experience I didn't find useful.

Steriliser & Bottle Warmer 

This is probably the strangest one that I wasn't expecting. I bought this as thought it was essential, however It turns out I found it a bit irritating and I find using a big bowl filled with kettle water & a plate on top far easier. As for the bottle warmer I didn't even use this once, again I used a jug filled with kettle water and popped the bottle in that, far quicker. 

Baby Mobile
 I just couldn't find one I really liked, so my mum found in a craft magazine a diy mobile with elephants tutorial so you can make your own. Darcy stares at it with awe making it so worth it. I bought the kit off Amazon so it plays the tune 'you are my sunshine' I am so pleased with it, I will do a tutorial soon. It was definitely worth making.

Dummy
 They are not essential items! Especially in the early days anyway. The amount of places I've found Dummy's being on the essential lists for having a baby, this is just something I haven't needed.

Baby Bathing Products
 These are essential you're right but not something you need straight away. I bought pretty much the whole Johnson's range for baby's and haven't used it yet! In at least the first month all they need is water to wash in & some products can be slightly harsh on newborn skin. I've now purchased the Johnson newborn kind to skin all in one wash & I have just began washing Darcy with that. 

Baby Toys 
I always remember saying before I had Darcy 'oooh I've got everything but the only the thing I haven't got is toys' people just laughed. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to entertain her. At five weeks I've only just got her a baby play mat gym & to be honest I don't even know if she likes it, especially as when ever I put her down she cries anyway. I am finding more ways to entertain her but at the moment she just seems to like me talking to her.

Scratch Mits
I deemed these as essential however I've just kept making sure Darcy's nails are kept short so she doesn't scratch herself and this seems to be enough. She doesn't have any scratches on her face. I will keep them though because even though I haven't used them with Darcy this might not be the case if I were to have another baby.

Clothes Not Suitable For The Weather 
This is a funny one, before Darcy was born I bought a coat in the size 'up to 1 month'. I don't have a clue what I was thinking! In July! This has been the same with quite a few clothes I had bought. I think I'd think better in the future, silly mummy.

So there we have it, a few things I haven't found useful (in the first month at least). Please tell me below what you have and haven't find useful. I have a list ready to write up soon about what  I have found essential.

Thank you for reading

Amelia

xxx