Woombie-free!

When Isla was a few weeks old, we discovered the miracle baby product known as the woombie. Seriously, I don't think there is anything better. It is my TOP, TOP, TOP must-have baby product as it literally saved our lives. When Isla was a newbie, she would only sleep on our chests. The minute she was placed onto her back, she would wake up very unhappy. I totally thought that I was going to have an 8 year old child that was still sleeping on me. 


Then we attempted the woombie. She slept. On her own. Without us. To me, that is a miracle product :) Isla has become a pretty good sleeper I would say. She usually is in bed by 7 or so, and will wake about 2 times a night looking for a soother. When she wakes up around 6, I will normally feed her and then put her back to bed. She has been in this routine for awhile now, which is working pretty well for me. She is napping about twice a day, with her naps being between 1-2 hours in length... on our days with only hour naps, she will usually sneak another cat nap in somewhere along the way. 


Recently, I moved her into her own crib, in her own room. Sigh. She is getting big! For the most part, I kept her in our room as I could not stand the thought of having to get out of bed and cross the hall in the middle of the night to replace a fallen soother. Call me lazy, but it is so much easier to lean over, pop the soother back in, and fall back into bed...not even really having to wake up. Oh well, the time had come. I figured if I didn't start getting her into her own room at this point, then I really would have an 8 year old sleeping with me. She is doing wonderfully, and seems to enjoy her new space. There have definitely been some times in the middle of the night when I am less than enthused to go find a soother, and I have come to the realization that now it is super important to actually put her toys away since I have bashed many toes in the dark.... but it is working. 


Our most recent milestone, was the weaning of the swaddle. So back to our woombie. Isla has used it for every nap and nighttime since she was a few weeks old. As soon as I would put her in and zip it up, her eyes would start to close. However, our first summer in the house has arrived, and it is hot! With no AC upstairs, Isla's room is really warm. I felt pretty bad about having to wrap her up tightly, even if she was only wearing a diaper underneath. Also, she can roll. Very well. The good part about the woombie is that it doesn't restrict her arms, so she was able to lift her head right up off the bed, as well as her shoulders. I didn't have any concerns about her not being able to breathe, but I felt that she wanted to be able to move around a little more at night without being limited. The last reason was that she is really good at putting her soother back into her mouth. If I give her arms back to her, maybe she will start doing that in the middle of the night instead of me having to go and do it for her. 


So yesterday, I decided to go cold turkey and go woombie-free. No, one arm in, one arm out deal...just a normal aden and anais summer sleepsack. Well, I couldn't have been more proud of my little bean. She was awesome. Her first nap was 2.5 hours!!! Second nap was 1.5... and then she went to sleep on her own. Two wake ups (that just required soother replacement)....but I will take it! The tears were VERY minimal. I gave her a stuffed sheep and an aden and anais security issie to play with in bed and then scattered three soothers around the bed...hoping she would find one when needed. I did hear soothers drop, and for her second nap I had to go in as she was screaming, looking at the soother on the floor. As soon as I gave it to her, she was out like a light. 


All in all, we are on day 2 of no woombie and things are going well. I guess she was ready. So, farewell woombie... it was a great ride. I definitely couldn't have made it 6 months without you. I will get you out of the storage when baby number 2 decides to come along :)

Happy May 2-4

This weekend was Isla's first May 2-4 celebration. It was a weekend full of neighbourhood fireworks (which I have grown to despise with a sleeping baby), bbq, swings and beautiful sun. It was absolutely perfect weather, and Isla enjoyed every single second of it. 


I was pretty impressed with Isla for managing to sleep through the loud fireworks each night. She only ended up waking once last night- I am not sure whether it was due to the really loud bang, or the fact that her room was a mini sauna. Poor nugget went to sleep in just a diaper and the woombie but it was pretty hot. We have started to look into what options we have for air conditioning in this house. If it were just Sean and I, I think the heat would be totally manageable as we could just sleep in the main floor bedroom where it wasn't so bad. However, things are totally different now as I have to think about this little being that can't really be shuffled from sleeping spot to sleeping spot every night. I want to make sure she is as safe and comfortable as possible- so we will see what comes of this!


Yesterday, Sean and I took Isla to the beach for the first time. The splash pad at Albion hasn't opened just yet, so we decided to just go and relax at the beach. We dipped Isla's toes in the water, played on the blanket and enjoyed the swings. We only stayed about an hour as we picked the hottest time of day to go, but it was fun. She really loves being outside which is fantastic. I will have to pick up a little wading pool for her to enjoy in the backyard this summer. 


Here is a pic of her enjoying the swings:

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday was my first official Mother's Day :) We were in North Bay, celebrating Melody's third birthday, so we got to spend the entire day with family. Isla apparently didn't get the memo that she was supposed to sleep in to give mom a little break, but that's ok because seeing her gigantic smile in the morning is the greatest gift she can possibly give me. 


Now being a mom, I definitely have learned to appreciate what my own mother has done for me. It is a lot of work! Being a mom is tiring and frustrating at times, but the pay-off is that you have an amazing child who you love so much. Isla has truly been a blessing and I can't imagine my life any other way!


Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there :)


Here is a pic of Isla and I celebrating Melody's rainbow birthday party and our first Mother's Day:

6 months old

The past week, Isla has decided that she needs to wake up around 4 or 5 am. I will feed her and try to put her back to sleep, but that just doesnt seem to cut it. The other day I decided to bring her into bed with me (Sean was sleeping downstairs waiting for a supply call) and it seemed to do the trick. She did her little tilt the head to the side and snuggle down. I love that little move. She fell right back to sleep as that was exactly what she wanted. So when Isla woke up again last night at 4:30am, I skipped the feed and just put her into bed with me, and we both slept peacefully until 7:30. Waking up beside this little nugget is one of the best feelings and I absolutely love these few morning hours to cuddle with her. I know they won't last forever, so why not take advantage of it now?!? Habit or not, I am under the impression that you need to live for the moment with babies and love them every second... that can never be wrong in my opinion :)

Today, Isla turns six months old. That is proof of just how fast time flies and how I need to treasure every little minute I have with her when she is this small. Isla has started to become a very energetic and active baby to say the least. She loves her carpet time to roll absolutely everywhere and begin to crawl. So far she is able to get her bum in the air and push herself forward. She is very determined when she sees something that she wants, and she will get it! It is a combination of rolling and pushing to get from one end of the carpet to the other, but she can do it. I can't leave anything around the living room anymore, or she finds it! I love her determination and energy, and the budding sense of humour that she is starting to develop. 

Isla is also loving her food. So far she has had cereal, bananas, apples, pears, sweet potato, avocado, squash and mum mums... not sure mum mums really count as a food...but they keep her entertained in her high chair long enough for Sean and I to eat dinner usually :) This week I picked up some prunes and peaches to try out. I think that she will enjoy those!

Last week, I took Isla to the park with her friend Cameron. I had put her into the swing awhile ago, but she just kind of hung there with a confused look on her face. This past weekend, she absolutely loved the swing. She had a gigantic smile and even let out a few laughs. I had to bring Sean back to the park with us after dinner so that he could see how much she enjoyed it!

Swimming has also started to go really well (keep your fingers crossed that the same happens tonight). The past few weeks have brought little to no tears, and even some smiles and "happy kicks" (when Isla is really happy, she does these cute kicks with her legs when you pick her up... one of my favourite things). She can go under water and do little dives- quite impressive at such a young age. The car ride home is usually a different story as she is tired and it is bed time, but I usually give her a free pass on that one. 

This weekend, we are headed to Melody's third birthday party. It is rainbow themed, and Isla has a cool new rainbow dress to wear that she picked out. It is also my first real Mother's Day. Every day pretty much feels like Mother's Day as I am so lucky to have Isla in my life- truly a little miracle :) I know that she had a few ideas for gifties that she was telling Sean to pick up for her. I wonder what she decided on. haha. Truly, the only gift I need is the little smile and gurgle that I get every morning when she wakes up :)

Happy 6 months, Isla!