A Babe.

He is here. A perfect baby boy. Mannix Aaron. We could not have fuller, more grateful hearts. 

He made his swift arrival on 2 December 2014 at 11:23am.

His big brother is in awe and is taking his role very seriously. There is a lot of love in our home tonight. 

34 Week Bump

I can really see the finish line now. At least I hope that is the finish line because man do I need a drink break. My body has totally ditched me and isn't coming to the pregnancy party anymore. I am tired. Extremely thankful for what my body is doing but ready to take it back as my own and hold this precious boy in my arms.

How far along? 34 weeks.
Best moment of this week? Trey deciding he is not a fan of my new and enlarged belly and quickly running to cover it every time it is revealed.
Sleep? At night no but I feel like I could sleep ALL day.
Missing Anything? I am selfishly missing having my body to myself. I know I will miss this babe the second he leaves me though.
Movement? All the time, I can feel whole feet and limbs when he pushes out. It is incredible.
Food Cravings? Chocolate thick shakes from Maccas.
Anything making you queasy? Nothing in particular but having so many waves of nausea.
Labour signs? Braxton Hicks almost daily and on one occasion I actually thought I was in labour. Not sure if it was false labour or what?!
Looking forward to? Tomorrow I get to have a growth scan at the proper ultrasound place so I am super excited to see this guy in 4d.

The next four weeks I will be eagerly awaiting this guys arrival. I feel like he could come any day now and I have suspected from the start that he will be coming early. Lets see if I am right. I never seem to be right when it comes to baby predictions though so we will see :)

31 Week Bump Update

How far along? 31 weeks. 

Best moment of this week? Exposing the bump to some much needed sunshine.  

Sleep? Still struggling to sleep at night thanks to insomnia! 

Missing anything? Being comfortable. Especially in the evenings when I finally get to relax I just can not get comfortable. 

Movement? Most of the day, I hope he is a wriggly sleeper like me and that this doesn't mean lots of awake time :)

Food cravings? Not really... I will take anything I don't have to make myself. 

Anything making you queasy? I have had a few days lately where I feel nauseous, just like that morning sickness feeling.    

Gender? Still a BOY! 

Labour signs? Nope. 

Looking forward to? My OB appointment this week. 

Sneaking Away.

Trey and I are back from our few days away at the beach. We had such a great time but was definitely bitter sweet as we missed having Daniel around to enjoy it with us.

Trey is such a water baby! If he can see water - he wants in. This also includes Tupac's water bowl, puddles and any type of small water formation you can imagine. Its a blessing and a curse. He is not afraid of the water or the waves. As soon as he was put down on the sand he would run for the waves. Getting straight back up if one knocked him over in his attempt to get deeper. His love for the beach included the sand though so he was happy to take dry breaks and spend hours playing in the sand.

One day we plan to live on the beach and I can not wait. I hope it isn't too far away because this boy needs to be near the ocean.

We also didn't mind our daily fish and chips and the perfect walk to the juice shop for our fresh juice each day.

We also LOVED getting to spend the extra time with my brother and parents (more photos to come of this).

Here is a few snaps for now.

Second Baby Must Haves.

Adding a second baby to the mix when I still have a baby (yes I consider my then to be 17 month old still a baby and I will probably still call him my baby when he is 20) has made me I think I need to be super tricky with the items I have in order to prevent total chaos.

1. Baby carrier. I didn't have a baby carrier when Trey was first born but when he was about four months old I borrowed my sister in laws baby bjorn and I loved it. It was so great for getting things done when Trey just wanted to be snuggled. It will also leave my hands free to attend to Trey if we decide to be crazy and go somewhere without a pram.

2. Double Pram/Stroller. I did a lot of research into which double pram we should get. Trey still uses the pram almost daily for strolls, shopping etc so this was my number one must have. We have ended up going with the Baby Jogger City Select. I wanted something easy to use, light and also narrow for shopping centres and so on. An essential for us with this was the car sear adapters so I can clip the car seat into the pram instead of a seat. Which means baby is free to keep on sleeping.

3. Bath Seat. This was one of my favourite things with Trey. He loved being free to wave about and not be constricted by mumma or pappa. It also saved our backs and meant much longer baths. I am hoping this will mean I can bath Trey and the baby together on my own.

4. Swaddles. I am the worst wrap swaddler ever. I could not get the hang of it with Trey. So after weeks of pointless loose wrapping I found these. They velcro in certain spots and wrap exactly how you would do it if you did it yourself. Lifesavers. They come in different weights so you can get nice airy light ones for summer or thicker ones if your having a winter baby.

These are my basics and I have already checked them all off ready to go. I am hoping to not let this baby take me by surprise quite as many times as Trey did.

Sprinkler For Days.

This is happening right now. It is hot here - 34 degrees and we are not complaining. In fact Trey and I are going on a sneaky holiday while Daniel stays at home to relax after a busy few weeks.

We flying tonight which I am slightly nervous about. My belly is getting pretty big so I am not 100% sure how we are going to fit in the one seat. I am crossing my fingers for a spare seat next to us. Other than that though I am totally prepared (as prepared as possible) for flying with a toddler. I have chocolate milk, lollipops, dummies, new books and toys and the one thing I could not do it without - HI5 on the DVD player. Basically as long as we fit in the seat we are OK :)

We will definitely miss Daniel (like really miss him) but his worked his butt off for us the past few weeks and is totally exhausted so I think he could do with a few days alone to come home from work and just do nothing and not have to attend to his toddler and crazy pregnant wife. It is actually sounding quite appealing.

Trey and I are going to be staying with my brother and my mum and dad will be there visiting too so it will be loads of fun for us. Especially for this water baby with my brothers place being on the beach and with a pool.

Happy Sunday everyone. Enjoy the extra day off this week!

Post Pregnancy Essentials.

The best thing about being pregnant the second time around is that I feel more able to prepare. This time I am trying to make my recovery and the first 2 weeks as comfortable as possible.  As a new mum you totally forget about yourself in those first couple of weeks and my goal is to not do that! I know, I sound crazy - a one year old, a new born and time to think about yourself, I am dreaming. Time might not be something I will be able to find to spoil myself with so instead I am indulging in a few luxuries to help make my recovery easier.

1. Body Salt Scrub. I can not tell you how much I love salt scrubs. If you have never tried one please go buy one right now and get straight into the shower. So relaxing and you feel amazing after. This is my favourite one.

2. Body Lotion. Specifically something with lavender scent to help induce relaxation.

3. PJs. I love wearing a brand new pair of PJs for the first time.

4. New Bed Sheets. I am going to be honest with you, I will be buying 1000TC because if I have just laboured and given birth I deserve every one of those threads.

And that is my spoil yourself in an attempt to make you forget how much sleep you are not getting so you can feel slightly like a normal person list.

What is on your post pregnancy essential list? I would love suggestions, this list needs additions.

The Second Time Around.

29 weeks.

With only 9 weeks to go until we meet our baby boy I feel like I have blinked and we are at the finish line already. How can so many months go so quickly?

I can already feel his patient nature coming through. Or maybe that is positive thinking on my part. 

Trey was 8 months old when we found out we were being blessed with another little. I am not even going to try and explain how ecstatic we were when we found out. We had a tough time waiting for Trey to join our family so never in our wildest dreams did we expect things to be so quick and so easy this time. Thankful does not even touch the surface. 

I was so exhausted this pregnancy. Lets be real, raising an eight month old boy is exhausting enough. Throw in a million hormones and a body in overdrive and you have a very tired (crazy) mumma. I am sure I was not the most pleasant person to live with during the first four months but I sure do love my boys for sticking by me and loving me even more when I didn't deserve it. 

Here is a little update as to where we are right now.... 

How far along? 29 weeks. 

Best moment of this week? Seeing Little O on the ultrasound at this weeks OB appointment. 

Sleep? Not much - thank you insomnia and itchy feet! 

Missing anything? Sashimi, everyday. 

Movement? I have a very active little growing inside. 

Food cravings? I am addicted to these yummy caramel butter cookies. So good. 

Anything making you queasy? Flashes of memories of labour, haha.  

Gender? BOY! 

Labour signs? Nope. 

Looking forward to? Our extension starting so I can finally make some space for him. 

Truth be told pregnancy is just as wonderful the second time as it is the first. Every scan is just as exciting and you long for every movement just as much. You count down the seconds until you can hold your babe in your arms just as often as the first time. 

It only gets better because you know all the wonderful things you have to look forward to. 

Pirate Party for Captain Atreyu.

Trey turned one back in July (we run a little slow these days) and we decided to throw a big pirate themed party for him.

It was such a fun day with all his family and friends. We hired a hall to save on a messy house and to make sure there was plenty of room if the rain showed up and we had to move things inside.

Here is a few photos of the party. Trey was passed around all day with so many people to see so we barely got any photos of him, which doesn't make sense and won't happen again! We only got one shot of us as a family too!

We did all the decorating and catering ourself so I tried to make sure that everything I was doing could be done the day before so we could also relax and enjoy the party.

As far as food we had fairy bread (always a favourite), jelly cups, cakes, fruit sticks and lolly cups. Lots of little easy to eat bits and pieces for little hands. And everything was served on things that could go straight in the bin after the party. Less mess makes this mumma very happy!

We hired a face painter / balloon artist and this was the best thing we did. Such a hit with the kids! We also had a jolly roger tattoo stand, hook toss and treasure hunt. All games that could be done at peoples own leisure.

We had a great day and most importantly so did Trey. I am still deciding if we will have a party for his 2nd birthday or if we will stick to the party every second year rule. I do struggle to say no to a party.....