52 WEEK OF MEMORIES | 4 - SMILE

This week was always going to be easy. Bubba loves to smile, shes been doing it since she was less than a month old. These days the smiling is often followed by giggling or squealing and sometimes it involves a tongue poking out! Still no teeth though (wish they would hurry up). In the photo below she was super excited because Max walked onto the playmat near her. Max is her best friend ever at the moment (other than mummy of course).

 4 - SMILE

- I love watching her smile -

I have loved seeing the photos you have shared throughout the week. If you are new to the challenge and wondering how to play, you can find out here. These were some of my favourite photos shared last week for the prompt play.

Instagram: @frandeebee

Facebook: Krystal Jade Whitney

Linky: Little Pink Lines

You can follow me on Instagram @tones84 and join in on Facebook. When sharing via Instagram or Facebook don't forget to use the hashtag #fmy52weeksofmemories so I can see your lovely photos.  If you have a blog feel free to link up your photos via the linky below (please read the rules before linking) and come back each week to link up each new prompt. I will feature some of my favourite ones the following week.

Reminder - next weeks prompt is hug.

Toni xx

Also sharing with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys 

and Bree from Twinkle in the eye for Wordless Wednesday.

Linky rules

1. Follow Finding Myself Young
2. Add your post for this weeks prompt
3. Grab the button below and link it to the bottom of your post or sidebar
4. Visit some of the other blogs and share some comment love (because its the nice thing to do)

<a href="http://www.findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/join-me-and-create-52-weeks-of-memories.html" target="_self"><img src=" http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae7/sammycatmeow/blog/138f6ffb-80c4-45a9-a338-157be2d37cad_zps36ad828f.jpg?t=1388666606" alt="Finding Myself Young" width="125" height="150" /></a>

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Mummy Must Have | Finlee and Me

Before bub was born I had this grand plan to do up her room in a Winnie the Pooh theme. It was all planned out in my head down to the very last detail. Matching bedding, wall decals, figurines on the shelves, night light, mobile etc. The problem was when I went out to start buying stuff to decorate my dream Pooh nursery there was hardly anything available in a Pooh design for a girl. Don't get me wrong there's a lot of Pooh stuff out there, but its all really aimed at boys and it didn't match enough for my ocd brain to even contemplate putting it all together. As a result I kind of had to rethink my whole nursery design. There is still a bit of Winnie in there, but not as much as I first wanted.

One of the things I made sure to get though was one of those little security blankets with a Winnie the Pooh head. I had a security blanket (I think it was actually a washer) when I was younger and I took it everywhere. I also know that they help babies to sleep when they aren't with mum. Well, little miss has decided to replace her Pooh with a new blankie. Her new blankie is actually a Snugglie from Finlee and Me. I can't really blame her though, the Snugglie is a lot nicer than Pooh.

A Snugglie is a sensory blankie (similar to what others call taggies) which combines a patterned fabric side, minky side and additional textured colourful tags around the edges. Let me say the minky side is amazingly soft! I actually sat there touching it over and over before I gave it to her originally. It's like when you find a toy that feels like your cat and you just want to stroke it (although this is softer than my cats). I never really understood the attraction of the tags on taggie style blankets before, but now having my own baby I totally get it! As soon as I gave it to her it went straight into her mouth. She was chomping away on every single one of those tag bits and loving it. She grew so attached to it so quickly that she was sleeping with it during the day and we now take it with us each time we leave the house.

The Snugglie provides her with sensory play, that is perfect for her age, by exploring new textures with her hands and mouth. Don't worry it's triple stitched so there's no chance of the tag pieces coming loose. It also introduces her to different colours and patterns. The other feature I particularly like (as a mum) is the loop and clip in the corner. It has come in very handy when we are out to secure the blanket to her pram rail. She's realised lately that she can throw things, so the clip makes sure it doesn't get lost while we are out (because I would be totally stuffed if that happened).

Angela from Finlee and Me also introduced us to a product I had never heard of before, balloon balls. They are such an awesome idea, I wish they had them when I was a kid. They are fabric covers that are purposefully designed to cover a blown up balloon. To use them you insert a deflated balloon into the hole at the bottom, blow it up then tie it off and push the tie through the hole so the entire balloon is inside the cover. Balloon balls are AWESOME. It's like combining a balloon and fabric and making your own beach ball. Hours of fun, even with a six month old!

Shaking with excitement!

Having heaps of fun playing with daddy (look at that face)

It's bigger than her, but that doesn't matter

I have a huge fear of balloons popping. I'm not sure where it comes from, maybe there was an incident when I was younger or it could just be that I'm sh**  really scared of unexpected loud noises. Despite this fear I happily played with her for over an hour with the balloon ball. I knew if it popped that it would be contained within the cover. The ball provides a really safe way for babies and kids (and scardy cat adults like me) to play with balloons. The cover means they can't get to the actual balloon so there's no way they can put it in their mouth, which I'm sure would happen if we were just playing with a normal balloon. It also stopped the balloon giving off heaps of static when we played with it. We were rolling it along the floor, throwing it and bouncing it and there was no static at all. The cover is also machine washable and available in a huge variety of prints for girls and boys.

Finlee and Me is an online baby shop run by Angela Henderson. She started her business because she was bored of the same old baby products available in department stores and baby shops, she wanted something diifferent (aww snap!). Finlee and Me stocks a huge range of innovative, original, creative and versatile products. A girl after my own heart; Angela loves cool, funky and well designed items for her kids and stocks products that fit that brief. She has products for babies, toddlers, kids and mums.

Angela has been kind enough to provide Finding Myself Young readers with 10% off everything at Finlee and Me, simply use the code FMY10 at checkout. I'm off to do some more shopping.

Toni x

Disclosure - I was not paid for this review, but was gifted a Snugglie and balloon ball. All opinions are my own based on our experience with the products.

Linking up with Jess for #IBOT

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The sleep battle... and how I won

I'm sure if you ask any new mother what they want most, their answer would be more SLEEP. Especially in the beginning. Looking back now I seriously don't know how I survived. I remember when she was about 2 weeks old I posted a Facebook status marvelling about how amazing it was that I could function normally on 3-4 hours of broken sleep each night. I was totally in awe of my body. I've since found out that this is possible because after you have a baby the surge of adrenaline and change in hormones you experience are specifically designed to ensure you continue functioning so that the baby survives (evolutionary facts never cease to amaze me). The problem is that after the first few weeks the adrenaline wears off and you are left with plummeting hormones and the cold hard reality that sleep deprivation sucks!

Unfortunately for us, bubba has her (then undiagnosed) allergy so she was a very unsettled newborn, especially at night time. Well she was unsettled all the time really, but it was worse for me at night. Most nights I got about twenty minutes sleep after 2am. I was literally a living zombie. But eventually we worked the sleep thing out. I'm pretty sure it was a combination of her bassinet mattress being raised, being swaddled and being rocked to sleep. Whatever it was, it worked.

She started to sleep for four to five hours straight. It was heaven. Of course the first few weeks of her doing this I would still wake up every 2-3 hours expecting to feed her and panicking that she'd been crying and I hadn't heard it. As her stomach started settling more and she got older she started to sleep longer and longer. By around 3-4 months she had dropped all her night feeds and was sleeping roughly nine hours straight each night. It took me a while to adjust to sleeping longer, but eventually my body got back in the groove and we were moving along nicely in the sleep department. Of course the wonderful thing about babies is just as you think you've figured them out and gotten into some sort of routine, they go and change it just to keep you on your toes. Just as my poor body had grown accustomed to getting a good 6 hours of sleep a night, I was thrown back into the (non)sleeping patterns of a brand new mum.

This time it was much worse than before. I was up every 1-2 hours each night to resettle her as she started screaming for no reason. She wasn't hungry (I tried feeding her, it made no difference). Her evil non sleeping sleep regression hit at the same time that we had to transfer her to her cot and while she was teething. Originally I wanted to keep her in the bassinet until she was 6 months, but she quickly outgrew it just before five months. At first I figured that the transition to the cot and/or teething were to blame so I set about trying everything I could to rectify the situation (and reclaim my sanity).

I tried putting her in the cot semi awake so she was aware of where she was, incase that's why she was freaking out. It didn't work. Then I let her fall asleep next to me on my bed then transferred her to the cot. That got her to sleep, but didn't stop her waking during the night. We tried panadol two nights for her teeth. Didn't stop her waking up. I noticed she was rubbing her ear a bit so I took her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. No ear infection. I couldn't work out why she was waking up.

Then we noticed that she was getting her arms out of her swaddle. So I thought maybe shes waking herself up by touching her face at night. I started re-wrapping her each time she would wake. It settled her, but she kept getting her arms out over and over. I swear this kid is related to Houdini, it didn't matter which way we wrapped her she would get her arms out. It was kind of funny to watch on the monitor. She would wait until we got downstairs then she would start wriggling about as hard as she could and pop one arm would come out, followed closely by the other. Then she would flail them about and start screaming. Finally we had worked out what the problem was.

I always knew the day would come when I would have to stop swaddling her. To be honest it scared me. I'm petrified of her rolling over in her sleep and not being able to move. I know in reality she would most likely cry straight away and nothing bad would happen, but I can't wipe the thought from my head. I had always planned on using sleeping bags with her (mainly for my own peace of mind), even though I didn't really know where to start with tog levels and brands etc. I thought that you could just go from swaddles to a sleeping bag. Obviously that wasn't going to work for us as she would just flail her arms around everywhere and wake herself up, so I had to put my thinking cap on to find a solution.

During this time I came across the Love to dream page (it appeared in my newsfeed on Facebook) and remembered that my friend had one of their swaddle ups and had been using it since birth with her son. I actually went to buy one from a local baby shop when bubba was about five weeks old, but when we got there they didn't have any in stock and they talked me into a large wrap instead so we just went with traditional muslin wraps from that point on. Curious as to whether the swaddle up would solve our sleep dilemmas, I went onto the Love to dream website to look at the swaddle up again and I discovered that they also had a swaddle up 50/50. Its a swaddle designed specifically to help babies transition from a swaddle to a sleeping bag. Why had I not heard of this before?? The swaddle up 50/50 keeps the arms swaddled up tightly with detachable wings and the bottom half is like a sleeping bag. Over a couple of weeks you detach the wings one at a time until your baby is used to sleeping with their arms totally free and it essentially turns into a sleeping bag. I was a tiny bit worried that she might not like it as she's used to being swaddled with her arms down, but it couldn't make the situation any worse.

This is her not impressed face!

I was somewhat correct. When we first put her in it she was not impressed at all. Probably because she realised she wasn't going to be able to get her arms out no matter how much she thrashed about when we weren't looking. It was quite hilarious, she looked like a seal flapping its paws with a mermaid tail. I know that sounds horrible, but I couldn't help but think it at the time. She even tried to eat through the wings to get her arms out (hence the wet patches in the pic). After a while of protesting it was obvious that she wasn't going to give in and go to sleep so I compromised and took one wing off. Having one arm out seemed to be all that was needed to keep her happy. She was so proud of herself when she got her arm out and started being all cheeky pulling her dummy out. She took about ten minutes to settle to sleep at first, but after that she didn't wake up all night! It was a miracle. I thought it may have been a fluke, but it continued to happen. She even slept in until 7:30am one morning! She normally wakes at about 6am so that was huge.

The first night

The good sleep continued

She is getting closer and closer to possibly rolling in her sleep (much to my dismay) so I decided it was time to move onto trying sleeping with no arms. She took longer to get to sleep and it required letting her fall asleep next to me in bed, but after that she transitioned into the cot well and has only cried once (and that was for her dummy). As I sit here typing away this blog post, I am watching her on the monitor happily sleeping with both arms outstretched. Hopefully this continues for the rest of the night. Fingers crossed.

The swaddle up 50/50 has been such a lifesaver (sleep saver) for us in the past couple of weeks. I am so glad that someone invented a product like this and that I stumbled across it (random Facebook trolling is useful afterall). While researching it I also noticed they sell sleeping bags as well for later on. I will be using this one for as long as she fits into it and will then be transferring her to a proper sleeping bag. If you are in the horrible sleep transition period and you are stuck for ideas I would suggest you give the swaddle up 50/50 a go. It can't hurt.

The Love To Dream sleep system stages

Do you have any other sleeping tips?

Toni x

* All opinions are my own and based on our experience with the swaddle up 50/50

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52 WEEKS OF MEMORIES | 3 - PLAY

I have to say I thought this week would be a really easy prompt, but it turns out it wasn't. I have a heap of old photos that would fit the prompt perfectly, but I'm determined not to cheat (I don't mind if you guys do) and use old photos because my whole purpose is to have a photographic record of how shes grown and changed throughout the year. So, I tried my best all week to get a play shot. We have played A LOT, but the problem with playing and an almost mobile child is that she will not sit still long enough while playing to get an in focus, non zooming photo.

We played in the jumperoo, but the obvious problem with a jumperoo is that she jumps while in it (and not normal jumping, like skitzo trampoline jumping) so its kind of hard to get a good photo. We played on the mat with lots of different toys, but that was a combination of flailing arms and weird caterpillar like manoeuvring that I'm sure is supposed to somewhat resemble crawling. We also did a lot of playing with paper because shes worked out she can rip it and incase you didn't know ripping paper is the-most-awesome-thing-ever (this week). But again it involves a lot of flailing arms and zooming limbs. Thankfully on the last day of the week I managed to get a semi still photo of her playing in the bath (ignore the cropped out hand zooming at the bottom).

 3 - PLAY

- she loves to play with her ducky in the bath -

Once again I have loved seeing the photos you have shared throughout the week. If you are new to the challenge and wondering how to play, you can find out here. These were some of my favourite photos shared last week for the prompt sleeping.

Instagram: @littlebitdesigns

Facebook: Jodie Dobson

Linky: Over Cups Of Coffee

You can follow me on Instagram @tones84 and join in on Facebook. When sharing via Instagram or Facebook don't forget to use the hashtag #fmy52weeksofmemories so I can see your lovely photos.  If you have a blog feel free to link up your photos via the linky below (please read the rules before linking) and come back each week to link up each new prompt. I will feature some of my favourite ones the following week.

Reminder - next weeks prompt is smile.

Toni xx

Also sharing with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys 

and Bree from Twinkle in the eye for Wordless Wednesday.

Linky rules

1. Follow Finding Myself Young
2. Add your post for this weeks prompt
3. Grab the button below and link it to the bottom of your post or sidebar
4. Visit some of the other blogs and share some comment love (because its the nice thing to do)

<a href="http://www.findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/join-me-and-create-52-weeks-of-memories.html" target="_self"><img src=" http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae7/sammycatmeow/blog/138f6ffb-80c4-45a9-a338-157be2d37cad_zps36ad828f.jpg?t=1388666606" alt="Finding Myself Young" width="125" height="150" /></a>

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Mummy Must Have | Cheese & Pickles

Pre-baby I had all these grand plans of commemorating every step of pregnancy and life once my baby was born. Keeping a journal, taking daily belly shots, recording firsts, filling in baby books etc. I may have had the best intentions, but my enthusiasm was no match for the insane reality of a newborn. There was no time for any of that. All I have managed to do (five months post baby) is to write two letters to my daughter, print out a few photos to decorate the fridge and order an instagram book for the grandparents. Major fail.

My fridge looks pretty though right?

I'd be lying if I said I don't feel guilty about this. The first child is meant to be the one you make all the fuss over, right? And then the motivation to continue doing the same wavers a little more with each additional child (so I'm told). So I've been feeling really bad that I hadn't even managed these things for the first. But, I found a way to make up for it and she won't even know it took me a couple of months to get my act together.

When I was little there were only the standard baby books and chunky old-school photo albums. At least thats all I've got (so either there was a lack of options or my mother was cheap). These days though there are a plethora of items available and a heap of personalised items too! You just have to know where to get them from. That's the hard part. So, let me tell you about a great place to find a whole range of personalised items....

Cheese and Pickles is an online store that specialises in personalised items for babies and kids. It is run by a fellow mum who understands the desire to find the perfect item for the special little people in your life. Whether you are after a keepsake, unique gift or cute nursery decor they have you covered. Cheese and Pickles stock personalised kids items including toys, prints, cushions and name blocks, to name a few. I have to say thanks to them for saving my butt allowing me to create an awesome keepsake for my daughter. I was lucky enough to be able to design my own personalised cubbie for bubba. They are so cute (see image above) and a great unique option for many occasions.

Baby cubbies are personalised teddy bears (and other animals) that come with a range of different motif and text design options. Each cubbie is personally embroidered by Cheese and Pickles resident professional sewing extraordinaire (also known as mum).  The designs are machine sewn onto the cubbie according to the specifications you choose. There are so many ways to personalise your cubbie and the process is so easy.

1. First you pick the cubbie you would like.
You can choose from:

- a lion
- a turtle
- a monkey
- a penguin (black or blue)
- a teddy bear (blue)
- an elephant
- an owl, or
- a lamb (pink or blue ribbon).

Then decide what design style you would like to be embroidered onto the cubbie. There is name & motif, birthday, christmas or birth detail options.

Just select which option (animal and design) you would like from the main list and then you can further personalise the design on the next screen.

I chose the elephant with the birth details design. I'm not going to let her play with it because I'm a mean mummy I want to be able to keep it for years to come. Right now she's into eating everything and pulling things, so I doubt it would last very long if I let her play with it. I will get her another one she can play with, I'm just deciding between the name & motif design or holding off and getting the birthday one. Anyway, I am digressing, back to the ordering process.

On the same screen you will find the different text and colour styles for your chosen design (see below).

2. You simply choose your text style and then add your child's details. You can also change any of the colours in the text design to make it even more unique. I spent ages deliberating over the NBP4 design (shown above) and the more girly G2 design. In the end I decided on the NBP4 text design and then changed the colours to be very similar to the ones in the G2 design. That way I got the best of both worlds with the font and colours I was after. I thought it might be too many changes because I changed nearly all of the colours, but they were more than happy to alter them for me. The best thing is that it doesn't cost anything extra to change the colours which is a nice change because most places usually charge for alterations from original designs.

3. Once you've done all your alterations simply check out. Its seriously that easy! You will receive your cubbie in the mail within 3 weeks (mine came earlier than 3 weeks, it just depends on how many cubbies they already have waiting to be embroidered at the time of your order).

So, here's what my final design looked like...

I would definitely recommend Cheese and Pickles personalised cubbies as they provide a unique, highly personalised gift or keepsake. There are heaps of options in regards to cubbies, embroidery designs and text styles so you are sure to find one that suits what you're looking for. If you are super fussy like me and want to change the design even further, you can. They really have catered for everyone.

In addition to this at $44.95 cubbies are great value for money. These days you would be hard pressed to find a good quality 30cm tall stuffed animal for that price, let alone a personalised one (especially if you are buying from a boutique gift shop). Another feature that I think makes them even better value for money is the removeable cover so you can easily wash them without having to put the whole toy through the wash. So if you do let your kids play with them you have an easy way to keep them clean and looking new.

I let her have it so I could get a photo, it only took 5 seconds for her to try and eat it!

Cheese and Pickles also have a great Facebook page. Its one of the funniest ones I've seen. Seriously you will lol everyday with her posts. It's my go to entertainment at the end of the night when I'm over the day (you know the point where you've just got to the end of your tether, finally got the kids to bed but no longer have the brain capacity to read a book). 

CUBBIES GIVEAWAY

Just incase you may be in the same boat as I was and you haven't got that something special for your child, Cheese and Pickles have you covered. They are generously giving away a personalised cubbie to one lucky Finding Myself Young reader (total value $54.90 incl. postage). You can choose any cubbie you like, with any design. It doesn't have to be the birth print like mine. Maybe you need a special gift for a newborn or a present for a birthday?


All you have to do is follow the rafflecopter prompts below and leave a blog comment telling us which cubbie you would choose and who you would give it to. Its that simple!

Toni xx

Linking up with Jess for #IBOT




 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The reality of having a child with allergies

Sound asleep in my bed I woke to her crying. It was only 5am and not her usual wake up time so in my delirious state I assumed she just wanted her dummy to go back to sleep. Then I realised the crying was different. It wasn't a high pitched demanding cry, it was a quieter whimpering. It was a sad, help me cry. I picked her up and took her over to my bed and turned on the light. That's when I realised it was happening again.

She was having another choking episode. It can happen at any time, but night time is always scarier. When it happens I feel helpless. All I can do is get her upright and pat her on the back to try and loosen up her airways enough for her to breathe. Other than that we just have to ride it out. It can go on for up to half an hour. The whole time I am rocking, patting and hugging her I have to remain calm on the outside and keep reassuring her it will be ok. Its hard to do while watching your baby so helpless, red faced and struggling. The look in her eyes is so heartbreaking, its the look of complete fear. While I remain calm on the outside so I don't get her any more worked up, on the inside I am broken. There is always that fleeting moment where I contemplate is this it? Will this be the last time I hold my baby? I have to quickly push that thought aside so I can focus on helping her. After the choking is over there is always a period where she is very lethargic and goes floppy, reacts slower and tries to work out what just happened. Once she realises she is safe she normally falls asleep. I imagine she is completely exhausted after struggling to breathe. I always cuddle her for much longer than needed at this point. I need the physical closeness to emotionally heal after such a traumatic experience.

This is not the only reaction she has from her allergies, but it is by far the scariest. What happens is thick mucus starts coming up her throat and nose and she can't breathe. If she is lying down its worse and will result in complete choking. The choking itself is silent, so I'm glad she managed to get out a cry and wake me up this time. Unless you are looking directly at her and can see her face go bright red and her struggling, you wouldn't even know she was choking. Needless to say I didn't really go back to sleep after this happened.

As a mother my biggest fear is that something will happen to my child. I'm sure many other mothers can relate. Unfortunately because of her allergies I am forced to face my fear on an almost daily basis. The more I go through it the more I learn to deal with it. I know what to do during these episodes so I don't freak out as much as I did before, but it doesn't make it any less heartbreaking watching my baby choking. We have been hospitalised for it before.

She has a cows milk protein allergy and also a soy allergy. If she has any of the protein she breaks out in red spots (which she gets every feed) and they turn into a rash and then full blown eczema the more she is exposed. She also gets extremely dry skin that means cradle cap treatment every day as well as hair washing. She also has extremely sensitive skin and reacts with hives and red patches easily. She has reacted to different bath washes, moisturisers and even olive oil (which I tried for the cradle cap).

Her allergies mean we have had to be very careful with everything that comes in contact with her skin. I use sensitive washing detergent and have gone organic with some products and am in the process of trying out more organic products as it appears the allergies will be sticking around for quite a while. Most children with cmpa will grow out of it by 1, but we have been told she might not grow out of it until 2-5 years old (if she does indeed grow out of it).

Of course her food is most affected by the allergies. It meant the end of our breastfeeding journey and going through a series of different prescription formulas to find the right one. We are trying a new one this week as she is still reacting to them. Each time I am sitting in a mothers room feeding her a bottle and I feel the breastfeeding mother next to me giving me dagger eyes I want to yell at them that she has allergies and its more healthy for her to have specialised formula. I didn't want to stop breastfeeding. If she didn't have such a bad reaction to my breast milk I would still be doing it now. I loved the bond I had with her that only a breastfeeding mother knows and I still mourn the fact that I can't do it. So to sit in the room with a stranger and feel the judgement being flung in my direction just adds salt to my wounds. Not only do I have to deal with all of these symptoms and reactions, I also have to deal with judgement from people who come into my life for a few minutes and then walk out again. Giving me condescending looks or deliberately talking loudly about how they are feeding their baby because they want to make sure I know that they disapprove of my decision to give my baby formula. They assume I am taking the easy way out instead of the best option for my baby, when I am actually doing what's best for my baby by giving her body the best chance to eat without having an extremely painful reaction.

These are all the things that my daughter and I have to deal with on a daily basis. To all of those people who say that allergies are not real and that they are just made up excuses for when people don't like a certain food, I invite you to walk a day in my shoes. I wonder if your child had an allergy if you would dismiss it and be so judgemental. I imagine most people would do what is best for their child, just like me. It would be nice if people would think about these things before they judge others.

By the way I am not pro anything when it comes to parenting, except doing what you feel is best for your child.


Toni


Linking up with Tegan and Grace

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52 WEEKS OF MEMORIES | 2 - SLEEPING

Well I could have timed this prompt a little better and not chose it for a week when teething completely screwed up her sleep routine, but nevertheless I did manage to eventually capture her sleeping (napping really). I just need to learn to wear makeup incase I decide to randomly include myself in photos. I quite like the end result regardless. For me the challenge is about capturing memories, not aesthetics, and I love the moment I managed to capture here.

WEEK 2 - SLEEPING

- I love to watch her sleeping on me -

Once again I have loved seeing the photos you have shared throughout the week. If you are new to the challenge and wondering how to play, you can find out here. These were some of my favourite photos shared last week for the prompt new.

Instagram: @purplecrazymum

Facebook: Kylie

Linky: Sheridan

You can follow me on Instagram @Tones84 and join in on Facebook. When sharing via Instagram or Facebook don't forget to use the hashtag #fmy52weeksofmemories so I can see your lovely photos.  If you have a blog feel free to link up your photos via the linky below (please read the rules before linking) and come back each week to link up each new prompt. I will feature some of my favourite ones the following week.

Reminder - next weeks prompt is play.

Toni xx

Also sharing with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Linky rules

1. Follow Finding Myself Young
2. Add your post for this weeks prompt
3. Grab the button below and link it to the bottom of your post or sidebar
4. Visit some of the other blogs and share some comment love (because its the nice thing to do)

<a href="http://www.findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/join-me-and-create-52-weeks-of-memories.html" target="_self"><img src=" http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae7/sammycatmeow/blog/138f6ffb-80c4-45a9-a338-157be2d37cad_zps36ad828f.jpg?t=1388666606" alt="Finding Myself Young" width="125" height="150" /></a>

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Mummy Must Have | Petite Bebe Couture

They say its an evolutionary trait for babies to look like their father when they are born so that the father doesn't reject them. Well that definitely happened with our daughter. I was expecting a brown eyed, brown haired little baby (like I was) because back in school they told us brown genes are more dominent. Well either they lied or the evolutionary theory is right (or I have a couple of recessive genes I didnt know about). Bubba is the spitting image of daddy. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a whoppa of a baby. Unfortunately she is a little too like daddy though because people constantly mistake her for a boy.

In order to overcome this I am going against my original anti-pink stance and dressing her as in your face girly as I can. And yet people still sometimes think shes a boy. One day she was in a pink floral onesie and a lady said "oh its a boy". Um what the.... So now I'm taking it to a new level, adding headbands! If you think shes a boy when shes dressed girly and wearing a big ass bow on her head you have issues, just saying. Problem I had with this is that she grew out of the cute newborn headbands I bought her really quickly because apart from being a whoppa baby (8lb 9oz) she also had a huge head (37cm) so for a while there I couldn't find any that would fit her head.

I couldn't find any the right size in the big department stores, they all seemed to have newborn size and then 3yr old sized ones with nothing in between. I swear I looked through every shop that even remotely stocked baby items each time we were out with no luck. Finally I found some that were big enough that they didn't cut off the circulation to her head. You guessed it, once again it required searching online. I've found Facebook is so great for finding businesses that stock awesome products that I can't find in 'bricks and mortar' shops.

The headbands I found are from Petite Bebe Couture and they come in a range of different colours and styles. All very girly! And a good price (which is always an added bonus). Hopefully nobody thinks she looks like a boy in the photos below (I realise they are a bit out of focus, but it was extremely hard to get her to stay still).

Girly enough?

What about this one?

Yea I realise the black one is super out of focus, but she literally would not stop moving her head. So I thought I better add some of the actual product images as well so you can see what they really look like when they're not zooming around on a babies head. I think the floral ones are great for special occasions and for adding a bit of umph to your subliminal I'm definitely a girl statement.

These ones are $8

These ones are $5

We also have one of the bow headbands shown above, but it was impossible to get her to stay still long enough for my phone camera to capture a non smudgy photo. I love these ones because they add that little bit of wow factor to an outfit, yet they are simple enough to be used everyday. If it was up to me I would just buy every colour so I would always have one to go with every outfit (to keep those pesky gender blind people at bay). Apparently that may be a bit excessive though - according to T. 

I'm sure he'll come around eventually.

Petite Bebe Couture stock chidrenswear from newborn right up to tweens, including accessories and shoes. They stock a range of Australian and international brands providing a selection of trend setting pieces while also supporting home grown talent. They offer great customer service and their aim is to form long lasting relationships with customers, not treat you as a one off transaction or another number as some of the big businesses do [ahem, I'm talking to you department stores]. I love supporting local small businesses where possible.


If you are in need of some more cute baby headbands then Petite Bebe Couture have you covered. They're something you really can never have enough of if you've got a daughter (or maybe I just have a shopping addiction). As you can see above, there are ample colours to choose from so you are sure to be able to match a headband to an outfit when needed. Great for christenings, photo sessions, parties etc.

Their outfits are also super cute! They also run giveaways and sales throughout the year so be sure to like their Facebook page so you don't miss out on a bargain.


Toni xx


* I was gifted 3 headbands for the purpose of a review
* All opinions are my own

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Living in the moment

Image source

I have never been one to come up with new years resolutions, so its no surprise I don't have one this year. They always seem so grand and over the top that they ultimately become unachievable which is why many people fail to keep them. I already have enough criticism and self doubt running around in my head, I don't need to fuel the fire by adding another failure to the list. All this considered though, I must confess that I have decided to try and focus on living in the moment more. It's not a new years resolution, its more an ongoing goal I have set for myself and one I find particularly pertinent now that I'm a mum. I don't want to miss out on anything now that I have a tiny little human to play with. And I don't want her looking back on her childhood thinking I wasn't present with her.

So, how do I plan on doing this?

I've thought of a number of little ways I can go about achieving my goal. I figure if I have a few ways up my sleeve then there's less chance of failure. Right?

1. Take moments to pause

Each day I take moments where I pause. I switch off my brain and the outside world and just be in the moment. I try to really experience what is happening and store it away in my memory bank in the hopes that it will last forever. Most of these times involve my daughter. Most recently today I took a moment to enjoy her sleeping on my lap. I was captivated by how peaceful she looked. Her long eyelashes caressing her cheeks as she slept. One hand holding on to my arm and the other protectively clutching her blankie. It was perfect.

2. Enjoy the simple things

One of the easiest ways to live in the moment is to find the pleasure in the little things. They can be everyday moments or occurrences that you normally wouldn't give a second thought to. Ones I've paid attention to lately include: the times I get to enjoy a hot cup of tea (mums will understand this), the excitement on my daughters face when she knows she's about to be fed, the amount of fun ripping paper can be and how awesome it is to be able to have a shower. Babies are good at making you see the excitement in the simple things, because everything is new and exciting to them no matter how simple it is.

3. Spend less time on gadgets 

It just seems a natural part of society these days that our daily lives are taken over by gadgets. Most homes will have a smart phone, laptop, kindle, Ipod, Ipad, or some other I-thingie.  We have all of them except the kindle. I must confess I am guilty of being on my phone or laptop while I should be enjoying 'real life' moments. I blame you Candy Crush! So, this year I am trying to spend less time on my gadgets and more time in the 'real world'. You have no idea how hard that's going to be considering blogging requires a fair bit of online presence and social media networking (thus gadgets). So, I'm not going as far as eliminating them all together, I am just going to be more aware of when I can and when I shouldn't be on them.

Do you have habits you want to break?
Did you make a new years resolution?
Do you need to live in the moment more?
Do you have any other tips on how to live in the moment?


Toni x


Linking up with

Kirsty from My Home Truths for I must confess...
and Eva from The Multitasking Mummy for #Mummy Mondays

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52 WEEKS OF MEMORIES | 1 - NEW

I hope everyone had fun thinking up photos for the 'new' prompt this week. I find it incredibly ironic that when I am only required to take one photo in a whole week I find myself taking multiple photos each day to ensure I have the perfect one by the end of the week. Yet I am unable to stick to 'photo a day' challenges. Go figure. Did anyone else have this problem?

After quite a while deliberating over all the options I decided on this one. It not only features a new item, but it also captures her new favourite thing to do now that she is teething. It's also my new favourite thing as it helps control her pain and keep her calm.

WEEK 1 - NEW

- She loves her new teething necklace - 

{from Nibbly Bits}

Can't wait to see the ideas you have all come up with this week. I have loved seeing your posts on Instagram throughout the week. If you have a blog feel free to link up your photos via the linky below (please read the rules before linking) and come back each week to link up each new prompt. I will feature some of my favourite ones the following week.

When sharing via Instagram or Facebook don't forget to use the hashtag #fmy52weeksofmemories so I can see your lovely photos.

Reminder - next weeks prompt is sleeping.

Toni xx

Linky rules

1. Follow Finding Myself Young
2. Add your post for this weeks prompt
3. Grab the button below and link it to the bottom of your post or sidebar
4. Visit some of the other blogs and share some comment love (because its the nice thing to do)

<a href="http://www.findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/join-me-and-create-52-weeks-of-memories.html" target="_self"><img src=" http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae7/sammycatmeow/blog/138f6ffb-80c4-45a9-a338-157be2d37cad_zps36ad828f.jpg?t=1388666606" alt="Finding Myself Young" width="125" height="150" /></a>

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Mummy Must Have | Milk & Masuki

When it comes to my daughters health I am very careful with what she is exposed to. If she didn't have allergies I probably wouldn't be so paranoid worried or overly cautious, but the fact is she does. Her allergies cause her skin to break out in hives and eczema. On top of that she has also inherited my sensitive skin and has histamine reactions very easily. Because of this I am very careful when choosing anything that is going to come in contact with her skin.

I do as much as I can to minimise her skin reactions. She is only washed in organic bath wash and moisturised with QV (the less chemicals the better as she has reacted to a lot of brands). I use eucalyptus delicates wash for all her washing and 95% of her clothing and bedding are cotton. I try to keep everything as natural as possible to minimise the chance of a reaction. The less chemicals, fragrances and additives she is exposed to the better.

I have found out about great organic skin care brands and natural pain relief options through other mums. I only knew about the big brands in terms of baby items before I had a baby, but now that I'm dealing with her allergy and sensitive skin issues I am finding out about a whole range of natural organic brands available. I'm not an alternative, hippy mum by any means, but I am interested in doing what is best for my child and in my opinion using natural (or as close to natural) products is whats best for her. 

Apart from skin care, baby food and therapeutic remedies there is also a great range of organic baby clothes available. Previously I just bought all of her clothes from the big department stores (Kmart, Big W, Target etc), but since I have discovered the wonderful world of online shopping I have found there are some great 100% organic baby brands available at the click of a button. One that I particularly love is Milk & Masuki. 

Milk & Masuki make handmade 100% organic cotton items for girls and boys. They are designed and made in Australia by 2 artists, Ishak and Rachael. They specialise in bibs, wraps, blankets and baby and toddler clothing. Their items are hand printed and come in a range of grey, aqua, orange and purple styles. Their designs are unique and unlike any others I have seen available. They combine animals and geometric shapes in what I would describe as tribal inspired prints. Your child will definitely stand out in their items (for all the right reasons).

My favourite item is the fox onesie, its sooo cute! I love it in the aqua, but bubba often gets confused for a boy (even while wearing floral clothes) so I opted for the neutral version with the orange fox print. Its just as cute and a nice unisex colour combination. There is also a grey version with black print. I'm tempted to get that one too. I also got the owl onsie as it was the more feminine option from their range. You can see their whole range here. When she's older I will get her the fox tees as well.

  

Organic cotton is free from pesticides and other chemicals which means it is environmentally friendly and also safer for sensitive skin. Organic cotton also has a softer feel and lasts longer as the cotton fibres are not broken down by chemicals. Milk & Masuki only use organic GOTS certified cotton in all products so you can be rest assured their items are as safe as possible for your little one. 

Organic clothes are known to be more expensive than non-organic clothing, but I think the benefits make the price worthwhile. Milk & Masuki clothing retails from $35.00, bibs for $16.00 and wraps from $29.00. When you consider the amount of time and effort that goes into hand-making an item, I think it's worth a lot more than a mass produced item. Organic clothing also tends to last longer so it will pay for itself over time. Personally I am more than happy to pay that little bit extra for an item of clothing which I know is environmentally friendly and better for my child.

I'm not getting on my soapbox and saying organic is for everyone or that you are bad if you don't buy organic, but if you are looking for organic brands, Milk & Musaki is a great place to start. I got the 6-12 month size for bubba in the onsies as she is quite long and has chunky thighs and they already fit her perfectly - shes only 5 months old at the moment. Keep in mind if you are purchasing the onsies and have a chunky bubba like mine it's probably best to get the next size up. You can purchase Milk & Masuki items from Rochelle at Bean and Me with the special Finding Myself Young 15% off code [YOUNG] until January 31st. She also has some other wonderful organic brands available too.

Toni xx


*I did not receive payment for this review and all opinions are my own
* The first photo was edited in Instagram, the fox print is actually a fluro orange as per the close up photo.

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