Letter to my Bean : You're 3 months.

Dearest Lil' Bean,

I really can't believe you are 3 months old! This past month, your personality is still shining. For one you want to be heard and boy you are, Who can ignore your LOUD babbles? Your cute giggles & your hysterical Laughs? Your facial expressions are to die for. Especially when concentrating. Either to poop or burp or when you are trying to figure out how to get a toy. You have started teething. I suspected at 8 weeks but lately the symptoms have intensified. You have been drooling, chewing your hands and everything else, your nappies have been atomic, you wake at night crying and you start fussing at the breast. Your gum structure is 'bumpy'.

This month we have also struggled with reflux which you have had since birth. I'm happy to say it is getting much better. You don't cry in pain anymore & you puke less. This month, you jumped from 75th centile to the 91st in weight. This is good because I know you are doing well despite the reflux and feeding less.  Long may it continue. This past week , Both of us have been home with colds. I think we got it from the last Mother & Toddler group we went to. It was rather difficult taking care of both of us when I was ill myself.

Daddy videoed you trying to crawl to your toy the other day. It amazed me as you are always eager to conquer the next challenge. So much so that we have put your carry-cot & moses basket away and have brought down your big boy stroller. Mummy was a little sad when daddy put them in the loft. We got you a bebe pod plus seat as you like to seat up and watch us do things. I also finally got to grips with the Kari-me so I can carry you around the house now that my c section incision is FINALLY healed. You have moved onto 3-6 month clothes. I love your rather chunky thighs.

Baby, so much has happened and mummy knows that much more is going to as you discover your world.
I love you,

Mummy

Here is the video I was talking about:

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to us!

Wow. This last year has flown by it is crazy! Wasn't it a blink of an eye ago that I was writing these posts ( see here , here & here) to celebrate our 1st Anniversary? Time really does fly!

 In the last year we have:

• Moved House in preparation for starting our family.
• Overcame Vaginismus
• Got Pregnant
• I got my first grown up job
• Hubby got a great job & a raise
• Went to Paris.
• Gave birth to our son

Our Marriage has evolved throughout these changes & I'm looking forward to the next chapter as we raise Ethan together. 

Happy Anniversary Hun! I love you!

I have planned a surprise for Mark - will share after our anniversary.

Six Months Since My Big Chop

Hi Guys,
It has been 6 months since I took the plunge & did my big chop! I'm so glad I did! It has been really fun getting to discover my hair's little quirks. In the beginning I was scared & didn't really know what I was doing. You tube was a Godsend. Vloggers like Naturalchica & napptural85 really helped me.
I bigchopped in the winter so doing wash n go's were a pain! I discovered spritzing!

My Spritz Recipe

• Water
• Tea tree Oil.

Simple, Does its job & keeps dandruff away!
I use a lot of Alicebands & flowers in my hair. Usually in an afropuff. Now that my hair is longer, I need to be more adventurous with trying out styles. I twisted my hair & did twist outs this past months since Ethan was born. I take my time & do the twists throughout the day. I can then keep it for a week & rock my twistouts for 2-3 days. Totally low maintenance. What I need now that I have my high need baby.

Shea-aloe Butter Recipe

• Unrefined Shea Butter
• Coconut Oil
• 100% Aloe Vera Gel
• Your Choice of Essential Oil ( I haven't added any as I was pregnant at the time, Will add Rosemary to my next batch)

Whip till perfectly combined.

I use this as my hair moisturiser. This often is enough to give me curl definition. But for days when I need more, I use Boots Curl Creme. Was A bit weary due to the alcohol content but I don'y use it often & mostly on my freshly washed days.

This is an ongoing Journey but I'm loving every minute. Especially when Mark tells me how much he loves my curls.


Journey In Pics

Just After Big Chop - Dec 2010

Jan 2011 - Length Check

Feb 2011 - TWA Style

Feb 24th - Afro Puff

June 2011 - Length Check Afro

I know most people Blow dry their hair straight to check their length but I would rather not use heat on my hair. Plus I can see how big my afro is getting! I will make a list with my regimen on my sidebar when I get a chance. For now, I'll just reminisce on how far I've come & how confident I have become in dealing & embracing my natural texture.

Overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed. That's how I felt today. It was a scary place to be. It started rather subtly, We were having quite a good day. I woke up in time to ring the surgery for an appointment for Ethan, I got us ready and off we went. It was pretty easy to get some medication for his reflux. I was feeling quite good as I'd achieved quite a bit and it was only 10am. We went into town & I bought a rather awesome maxi dress from Monsoon for a wedding I am going to this weekend, Ethan was pretty happy, It started to go awry at Cath Kidston. My friend had bought me an iphone cover but it was for iphone 4 not 3gs like I had so I had to exchange it. Well Cath Kidston had decided to discontinue those & because it was bought in the sale, they could only exchange. Ethan began to get impatient and I searched in the buggy shopping basket for his buggy toy which I only bought yesterday. Couldn't find it. I retraced my steps to no avail. 

I waited at the bus stop for our ride home, it was hotting up but Ethan really wanted to be cuddled but didn't like the sun or the muslin I was using to protect him. Anyway, By the time we got home, We had been attacked by termites and various other flying bugs. I was getting irritable, I could feel it welling up within & I struggled to squelch it and got down to playtime.

It wouldn't go away though.

Image sourced :health.wikinut.com 

I ended up crying it out and that didn't feel good. I took E to bed for a nap and feed and by the time I woke up, Hubby was home. It felt so good to be able to wash the day away and I came out the bathroom feeling revitalised but very confused. I have had tougher days than this why did this feel worse? To be honest I really don't know. I wish I did.

My New Look

Hi Everyone,

As you might notice, I have a new look! I love it! I figured that since I love blogging - have been for almost 2 years, It was about time that I spruced it up a little! Bailey from Bailey's blog boutique did a fab job! With a new cover comes a new outlook. I really want to blog more but lately with Ethan, I haven't succeeded so my new deal with myself is to write at least one post a week.
Fingers crossed for me!