GROMMETS - OUR JOURNEY: HOW LONG IT TOOK & WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

I was mooching around the blog, tidying up some posts and I realised not only had I not really spoke about Theo's constant battle with ear infections, but I hadn't shared our journey to when he got his grommets fitted last year. Although ear infections are pretty common we had a really tough time and as someone who has never had one before I was completely bewildered by them, and the thought of grommets. So I thought it would be helpful to write a post about it for anyone searching for answers or just some help.

THEO | 18 MONTHS

Wow! The last post I wrote about Theo was back in October when he was 10 months old. It contained his love of his jumperoo and how he had started standing up. How things change! Now this little chatterbox won't stop walking or talking! So here, is our 18 month update for my crazy one and half year old. My mucky faced munckin is no longer a baby.

PLANNING A 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY - AND WHAT I LEARNT FROM IT

This post is coming to you a little late so I've had plenty of time to reflect: make that 6 months late! Oops! However I thought that passing on my experience of how planning a - completely inappropriate but lovely nonetheless - 1st birthday party panned out - and also share some pictures because I didn't get chance to at the time.

I attended a lot of 1st birthday parties last year and since I didn't have a baby shower or a Christening I decided to go ahead and celebrate Theo's 1st birthday big. But obviously, as birthdays of all ages do, it didn't exactly go to plan.

THEO | 10 MONTHS

Happy 10 months (and Happy Halloween! Which is why we've got a little dressed up for this months baby spam!) I cannot believe in 2 months time I will have a 1 year old...holy mother of god. I'm going to keep the intro short and sweet and crack on with the main event.

THEO | 9 MONTHS

*Ok so I've had this post written up for almost a month and it seemed a shame to not post it even though he's almost 10 months so here it is.

It's been a busy month since I last posted anything at all. Theo and I are now settled into our new home and our new life as a duo. A lot has changed since his 7 month update - yes I skipped month 8, lets just brush over that one - with Theo as well as in our lives and every day is amazing watching him learn and grow! Apart from the lack of sleep, that bit isn't so amazing! Oh and the tantrums.

THEO | 7 MONTHS (A VERY LATE UPDATE)

How is the time going so quickly! I'm pretty sure if I'm not careful I'll blink and he will be passing his driving test or something! Thankfully we've still got 5 more months left until reality kicks in - which I plan on making the most of once we've moved! Which I would like to say is the reason this post is so late! Packing URGH! This month we've been a grumpy bugger because we're most likely approaching some kind of leap or we are busy pushing teeth through and we've tested our strength by falling off the bed and the sofa - it happens to the best of us doesn't it...?

THEO | 6 MONTHS

I refuse to believe that my little squidgy came into the world 6 months ago! I won't get too mushy (I'll save that for his 1st birthday) but it still feels like a bit of a milestone. 6 months is sort of when they are viewed as actually babies as opposed to cuddly newborns - as shown by the pictures because he will no longer sit nicely for photos! Now they are rolling and sitting and babbling! They are officially starting to become their own little person! Where's my tiny baby at! No wonder people get broody again!

THEO | 5 MONTHS

We're a tad late as I had a hell of a lot of washing to do when we came back from our holiday - who knew babies needed so many clothes aye! Theo is now 5 months old and is definitely no longer my squidgy little newborn!

OUR TRIP TO CORNWALL AND THEO'S FIRST HOLIDAY

We're back!! Well we were back on Friday but it's taken me all weekend to wash all the holiday clothes and everything. It's hard to believe that such a tiny little person takes up so much room in a suitcase! I loved having some time away at the seaside and Theo's Dad got to spend some quality time with Theo for probably the first time since Paternity Leave. So here you go, a peak into our first little family holiday.

THEO | 4 MONTHS

My god it's been a long month...but in a good way. Looking back on my last post from Theo's 3 month update to now is crazy! My little premie baby is turning into an actual little person...and a cheeky one at that! Stop growing munchkin! So here we have a quick update on how we're getting on at 4 months old! The photo's are a little bit crap because like an idiot I took then the day after his 3rd set of jabs and wouldn't even look at the camera - SPOILER ALERT: They are a life ruiner!!

OUR HOMEMADE MILK BATH PHOTOSHOOT

This horrible windy morning we decided to do something a little bit creative. I saw this idea on Kirsty's blog a few months ago - check out her post here! - where she accidentally stained her little boy yellow but did get some beautiful canvas worthy photo's. Basically the popular Pinterest practice consists of plonking your baby in a bath full of milk (formula powder, not the milk for your tea) with some flowers. Even after reading her traumatic experience I still wanted to give it a go so armed with her words of wisdom, we we're ready to do this and this, is how we got on!

THE START OF TEETHING: SPOTTING THE SIGNS & HOW TO COPE

Over the last few weeks we've been umm'ing and arr'ing over whether Theo is actually teething - after all he is only 3 months old. The dribbling, the irritability and the sudden awkwardness when it comes to sleeping and eating were dismissed by health visitors and random strangers alike. Until they saw him in person. My usual happy chappy can turn into the devil child in a matter of seconds and nothing settles him. It's bloody heartbreaking - and bloody hard work!

THEO | 12 WEEKS/3 MONTHS

So we're a tad late with the update. Theo was 13 weeks on Saturday but we didn't get him weighed until today and I thought I'd make it more a 3 months update rather that 12 weeks (the milestone cards don't have a 3 months so we will have to stick with 12 weeks for now...) but anyway I'm babbling. We've currently started baby massage AND baby sensory classes and to be honest I've been choosing sleep over nearly everything over the last few weeks - eating, blogging, even showering! - so we've been a little distant. Thankfully milestone can now be switched to monthly (3 months just seems a nice round timescales don't you think). I want to just apologise for the crappy lighting and Theo's lack of enthusiasm in the photo's but I suppose he can't be perfect all the time!

THEO | 10 WEEKS OLD

A lot changes in 2 weeks! Last week our little monster had his first jabs and took them like a trooper and seems to of had a bit of a growth spurt - mentally and physically! Moving on to Theo's 10 week update. I've tried to give it a little bit more structure as he's now doing a hell of a lot more than just sleeping and eating!

ALL ABOUT THE HYPE | EWAN THE DREAM SHEEP

 

After the last installment of "All about the hype" - you can read my review on the covetted Perfect Prep Machine here - we move on to the next product in this series: Ewan the Dream Sheep. This little ball of fluff has been praised for helping aid babies sleep - as well as their parents - and who wouldn't want that! There are many different varieties of "bedtime womb noise" toys out their but Ewan seems to be the most commercially known. With his fluffy body and strap tail he makes a great addition to any babies bedroom - or pushchair! Retailing at £29.99 he doesn't really break the bank and isn't the most expensive of sleep aids and yes he's undoubtedly cute, but does he actually work miracles?

THEO | 8 WEEKS OLD

I cannot believe this little munchkin has been in the world for 8 weeks, that's almost 2 months! Crazy! This is our first update post as I didn't get the milestone cards until he was around a month old and then the colic kicked in and it was all a little bit chaotic.

THEO'S FIRST WEEKS | QUICK CATCH UP

This weekend was Theo's 2 week birthday and also marked what would of been our 38th week of pregnancy. The last couple of weeks have been delightfully chaotic with last week being our first week at home fending for our selves after a full week in hospital. Due to this I've not really had a lot of time to even entertain the idea of writing a post so this will generally just be a bit of a catch up of the last few weeks with our new family unit of four. Plus I've jam packed it full of some of the many pictures I've taken! Who doesn't love a bit of baby spam!

THEO'S BIRTH STORY

As you may of seen, our little baby boy sprung into the world a week ago today on New Year's Eve and it's been a bit of hectic one since. He is finally here and a today we were finally allowed to come home - But how did this little bundle of goodness enter the world I hear you ask. Well as all good birth story's start, grab a cup of tea and you'll find out!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD | THEODORE RYAN INSLEY-NEWSTEAD

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! If you follow my personal Instagram account you may of noticed a slight change in content...instead of hospital food and takeaways there is now in fact copious amounts of baby pictures! But who is this little munchkin you may ask. Well we would like to properly introduce Mr Theodore Ryan Newstead to the world.

PREGNANCY TALK: 35 WEEKS & COUNTING

AND A BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope everyone had a cracking time and ate copious amounts of food! Setting off from where I left off on my previous blog - it's time for another pregnancy update! We have 5 weeks left until my due date! EEP! Unfortunately over the last month I've been a little unavailable due to being ridiculously poorly and being stuck in and out of hospital - which as you can imagine doesn't have the greatest of photo opportunities. Also due to this I am being induce in 8 days time! Yup that's right! So this will most likely be one of my last pregnancy updates so I'll make it short and sweet and try not to moan to much!