What Noah Eats

Noah loves food, there's no doubt about it. At just 10 months old he is already becoming a little foodie in his own right and will eat just about anything and everything. We are yet to find a food that he doesn't like and one afternoon when he sat there happily sucking on a lime we even wondered if he had any taste buds! He really enjoys trying new foods, flavours and textures. Considering he is yet to cut his first tooth you would be amazed at what his gums can manage to devour.

Our family has our fair share of fussy eaters and I knew long before I ever became pregnant that I really did not want a picky eater. From the very start of our weaning journey I have always been conscious of what I feed Noah. I have always tried to offer him a lot of variety and introduced new foods often. 

The majority of his meals he now feeds himself and he thoroughly enjoys to do so. I am certainly no expert but I try to balance his meals the best that I can which is usually easy to do because he is a good eater. He loves his fruit and veg and his favourites are; strawberries, blueberries, grapes, peas, carrots and tomatoes. All the healthy eating aside I don't deprive him of any treats and he does have the occasional jaffa cake, biscuit or chocolate button! 

I am hoping that these healthy and positive food habits stick with him as he grows up. I know most children go through a fussy stage but here's hoping Noah doesn't because he's made a brilliant start!  

What are your babies favourite foods? How did you find your weaning journey?

Photo's of Noah - 10 months old

Baby Diary: 7 Months Old

It literally doesn't feel like a minute ago that I was typing up your 6 month update. This month could possibly been the quickest month to date. There's no sign of time slowing down. Each month you come on leaps and bounds but this month you seem to have changed dramatically. Every day I seem to love you more and more and I don't even know how that is physically possibly! You are my best little buddy. 

Character

You are still that cheeky chappy we know and love. You are a dream first baby as you are just so easy to please and a pleasure to be around. You usually wake up with a smile and go to bed with one too. You love to smile and and laugh and give them away freely. We will have the odd day where you are cranky but that's usually when you are teething or a bit constipated. 

You have learnt how to throw a mini strop this month though. If you are playing with something that I would rather you not be and I take it off you, you will cry! Then if I give it back you stop. I now don't give it back as I don't want you to learn that if you throw a wobbler you will get your own way. I usually give you something else to distract you. 

Your confidence is growing around other people and you seem to have totally overcome stranger anxiety now which is great. People are now able to see the Noah we know and love and get to enjoy you like we do. 

Size

I'm a bad Mum. I really need to get you weighed. You are now wearing 6-9m in everything but I am finding that some of the smaller sizes babygrows are already starting to get a little snug on the legs and feet. But that just seems to be in the Next babygrows. Everything else is fine. You have long legs and arms and a skinny little body. Considering how much you eat I am surprised you aren't a bit chunkier. 

Health

Well you had another good month until this morning! This morning you turned 7 months old and you woke up with your first cold. You have a runny nose, are sneezing and a little cough. You are currently napping in the travel cot beside me as I type this up. You had a bad night sleep last night with it and considering the lack of sleep and the cold you have been in a good mood. You aren't your usual cheeky self. We are still getting smiles but you just want to be cuddled and want to take it easy. Hoping you won't begin to feel worse and that this is as bad as you will feel. I don't like to see you under the weather but I am enjoying these extra snuggles. 

Feeding

You love your food and are yet to discover something you don't like the taste of. You now have three meals a day; breakfast, lunch, dinner. Usually porridge and fruit for breakfast, a veg meal and a fruit dessert for lunch, then a meat meal and pudding for dinner. At the mintue we are living with the in laws while our house is being renovated so we have been relying on baby food jars as we aren't cooking. You have the stage 2/ from 7 months jars and pouches and enjoy the different textures. Once we are in our new house you will be eating what we eat and mainly eating home cooked foods again. 

I have introduced fingers foods too and you do brilliantly with them. Your favourites are; toast, crumpets, strawberries, wafer biscuits and biscotti. Again once we are in the new house I want to give you lots more choice and variety when it comes to finger foods too. At the moment everything is convenience but I do get lots of fresh fruit and veg into you. 

Seeing as you are such a foodie you don't really bother with your milk anymore and we really need to make you drink it. You currently have 4x 5oz or 3x 5oz a day. I like giving you porridge in the morning as I make it with your milk and it's a good way of getting more milk into you. 

You now also drink cooled boiled water or very weak juice with your meals as we were having issues with constipation as you eat that much! You drink about 5oz of water/juice a day. 

Sleep

As I have already said we are currently living with your Grandparents whilst our new house is being renovated. I think as you are now sleeping in a new room, in a new place that is has interfered with your sleep a little. You are still sleeping well but the room gets really hot and bright in the morning which tends to wake you up. I can't open the window either as it's a busy road and that would wake you too. That being said you are still sleeping around 10 hours but seem to wake a lot more frequently. Nap wise you have been great! I think the noise of the traffic soothes you at nap time as you have never napped so well! 

Milestones

- Sitting. You are pretty much sitting up totally unaided now. I still wouldn't leave you alone whilst doing so as you can get a bit lazy when you are tired. I'm so proud of you. 

- Confidence. Again your cofidence with other people has grown so much this month. Although you can have your shy moments and can still cry if a stranger takes you from me and is a bit full on with you. 

- Vocal. You have always been a very chatty baby but this month you have discovered your consonants. You now babble away with gaga, rara, dada, baba, yaya. You haven't said a word purposely yet though so we are still holding out for your first word. 

- Coordination and movement. Where as before you could only grab items at arms length you are now able to move your body to reach across for things. Now items that I think should be out of reach are easily picked up, nothing is safe! I've also seen you grab your dummy or a toy with your feet to drag it up to your hands! Little monkey boy!

- Food, As I have previously said you now eat lumpy baby foods and can eat various finger foods. You love to feed yourself. 

- Playing. You now enjoy older toys that require a bit of concentration. I only need to show you something once and you remember how the toy works. You love to kick your toys around too whilst you are sat up. 

- Eating you feet. You have discovered that your toes taste really nice!

Things you like

- SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. You took a liking to spongebob back when you were only a few months old and would stare at the TV in awe. Well now you absolutely adore it. You will be watching it and I can see you enthralled. You smile at certain characters and laugh at different points. If you hear the theme tune or someone sings it to you (which we do a lot as you love it so much) you will get all excited and smile away. Yesterday I was singing it to you and when I got to the part that says "sea" you said "eeee". I thought it must be a fluke but kept singing it to you and you said it about 5 times in a row. So your first word might end up being sea! Ha ha.

- Kiki. You cannot go anywhere without your comforters which we nickname Kiki's. You play with them, snuggle them, bite them, suck them. I bought them in a two pack from TK Maxx when you was a newborn and they are the best baby item that I invested in. I just wish I bought some more of them because you are really partial to these two certain ones and if we lose them I don't know what we would do!

- Food. I've said it a dozen times but you are so good with your food. You have tried so much and we haven't discovered one food that you don't like. I just hope that you will be this much of a good eater when you get older.

- Singing. Although I have a terrible singing you voice you love it when I sing to you. A long with the spongebob theme tune your favourite song is "hush little baby" and one I improvised "How much is that Noah in the window? The one with the curly hair? How much is that Noah in the window? I do hope that Noah's for sale!"

- Nappies and Wipes. I don't know why I bother with toys. You get the most enjoyment out of throwing a nappy about!

Things you don't like

- Having something taken of you. You will now throw a wobbler if you don't want it taken from you!

- Bedtime. Since we have moved in with the inlaws while our house is being renovated you have decided that you no longer want to go to bed at 8pm (which is late enough) but will fight sleep until as late as 11pm. I think the change of routine is to blame. 

- Runny noses. We are currently experiencing our first cold and you have been handling it well despite the coughing fits. It really bothers you when I try to wipe your nose. 

 

So there we have it for another month! Lets hope this month goes by a little slower. The next time I write your update we should be settled in our new home. So exciting! 

First afternoon apart

Today has been a first for Noah and I, it's our first afternoon apart. The longest I have ever spent away from him was when Nick and I went to see the Hobbit a few months back and we were both itching to get back to him half way through the film. 

My Mum comes to visit us on one of her days off work every week. She doesn't drive and lives a couple of towns away so when she does visit she has to take at least two different modes of transport to get to us. That's dedication. She does it every week, rain or shine. Then Nick and I take Noah round on her other day off, so she see's him twice a week. But each time she see's him he is with me and she hasn't had much quality time, just the two of them.  

She came today as usual and lightheartedly said to Noah "I'd love to take you back home for the afternoon, but your Mum won't let me." I looked at him sat on her lap smiling up at her and said "You can if you want." I didn't have to say it twice. The look on her face, I'd made her day. It wasn't planned and a spur of the moment thing and I am glad that we did it. 

Noah is currently suffering with stranger anxiety (which I will be blogging about soon) and my Mum is one of the only people he is fully okay with. He did used to cry with her too but she persisted with him, didn't let it put her off and now he is smitten with her. I wouldn't of let her take him for the afternoon if he wasn't. 

I got all his things ready and she didn't waste anytime, they were off. I did feel a little strange packing his nappy bag up knowing I wasn't going with him but it was only for a few hours. 

My Mum has been keeping me updated with everything they have been doing and has been sending me lots of photo's. She's taken him on the train, took him shopping, went on a walk and went to feed the ducks with him. The train and feeding the ducks are a first for Noah. Here are some of the photo's she has sent me-

I should of spent my free time relaxing but instead I spent the day cooking and bleaching the kitchen! He is currently with my Mum whilst I am writing this post but once I click post we are setting off to pick him up! I'm so excited to see him! 

How old was your little one when you first spent time apart? 

My mini me

Back in October while I was pregnant I wrote a post called "Daddy's double or Mini Mummy" because throughout my pregnancy I was always wondering who our baby would resemble. For the entire nine months I was trying to imagine his face inside my tummy. He had a name for nine months and I so wanted to put a face to that name.

When Noah was born everyone commented on how much he looked like Nick. We even nicknamed him Nick Jnr or NJ as he really was Nick's double. Now as he is getting older he is really starting to look like me when I was a baby. I think the resemblance is uncanny but I may be biased because I secretly wanted him to look more like me. Why is that? Why do we like it when people say our children look like us and actually feel a little hurt when they say they don't. Or is that just me? 

What do you think? Is Noah a Mini Mummy? I think so!  

Photoshoot - 4 Months Old

Today I dug out my old DSLR and decided to spend the afternoon taking photo's of my favourite subject; my baby. 

I did this back when he was 2 months old and I really wish that I had done it every single month. I have always been obsessed with taking photo's but these days most of the pictures I take are on my iphone, which is a real shame. I intend on using my nikon a lot more as an iphone picture will never compare. 

Here are some of the photo's I took today. Noah loved posing for the camera, it's safe to say he is used to it already! 

 

 

All about baby - Day 11 - Brushing teeth

Noah doesn't have teeth just yet so obviously we have no tooth brushing photographs so this gummy one will have to do. He has just started teething and you can see the teeth beneath the gums. Hopefully they won't make an appearance for a while though because I love his gummy grins! 

Mummy tag

I was tagged by a few Mummy bloggers to do this tag, so here goes!

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

I am on maternity leave until October. I will then be returning back to work but on a part time basis. My maternity leave it going way too fast.

2. Would you have it any other way?

I'm in two minds about it. We would be able to afford for me to stay at home but we would have to make cut backs. So I have compromised and will be going back but less hours. Part of me wishes I could be a SAHM but I know that my wage will help us a lot and allows us to do many more things with and for Noah. 

3. Do you co-sleep?

We did do when Noah was newborn as he would not sleep in his moses basket and would only sleep on me. Thankfully as he got older he became more and more comfortable with his moses basket and will now sleep in it. Most mornings I do bring him into bed with me when Daddy goes to work as I like to be close to him. Best of both worlds I think! 

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?

Just the one? I could name a dozen. I would have to say large muslin cloths. Got to be super soft and the larger the better. They are fantastic. We use them for blankets, as comforters, to clean up, to dry up, for sick, keeping his bottle warm, for play time (peekaboo), changing mat, head rest. Endless uses for them!  

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

I would like to have 3 or 4. Happy with our number 1 at the moment and have plenty of time for others! 

6. Date nights? How often do you have them? 

Not as often as we should! We need to make more time for one another but when we do go out we just talk about the baby all the time, miss him and want to get back to him. We went to see The Hobbit and half way through we looked at one another and both said we missed him! 

7. Your child's favourite show?

Noah loves the TV! He seems to have taken a liking for Spongebob Squarepants. He will watch anything though! 

8. Name one thing you brought before you had the baby and never ended up using?

Outfits in new born size. I preferred him in his cosy babygrows rather than proper outfits. Little jeans and shirts may look cute but they don't look comfortable on their soft delicate skin. I want him to look like a baby for as long as possible, he has the rest of his life to be suited and booted.

9. Your child's favourite food?

Milk? I have a feeling that Noah will love his food once we begin weaning him.  

10. How many cars does your family have?

We have the one. I can't drive but Nick does.  

11. Weight gain, before pregnancy, during, after and now?

I have put on a lot of weight, most of it after pregnancy. I can't seem to find the motivation to diet. I blame the weather!

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

Disneyland Florida. When he is older and maybe when he has a brother or sister. 

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

A road trip across America! A lifelong dream a long with living in Spain.  

14. How has your life changed since having kids?

My life has been turned upside down in the best possible way. Not only has my life changed but I feel like a different person all together. Having a baby makes day to day life much more tiring but much more enjoyable and totally filled with love. My life has never been so good. 

15. Finish the sentence "It makes heart melt when..."

Noah gives me a big gummy grin. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much at him cause he just fills me with pride and joy.

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

I shop all over the place! Next, The Essential One, Boots, Tesco, Mothercare, Asda, Ebay, Beebies Baby Store. One of my favourite places for baby clothes has got to be Tesco! Cheap and gorgeous bits and pieces.

17. Favourite make-up and skincare products?

Well you can tell I am a proper Mum now cause the skincare products I use are baby wipes and baby lotion! When I use make up I like Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse, Maybelline Powder, MAC blush, eyeshadow and eyeliner. I use lots of different mascaras. My favourite being They're Real by Benefit. 

18. Huggies or Pampers?

I like both but Pampers are easier to find. 

19. Have you always wanted kids?

Always! Isn't it why we are here?

20. Best part of being a mum?

Everything! From changing his dirty nappies to getting cuddles curled up on the sofa. Every part of being a Mum is the best part. I love being Noah's Mummy so much. 

Letters to Noah: Father and Son

Some say that Father's don't have that instant love for their child when they are born, that the love develops over time. I don't agree with that sentiment at all. The minute you were born your Daddy was overcome with emotional. I could see it in his eyes that he had never ever loved anyone to that extent before. Your Daddy looked down at you with bewilderment, astonishment and adoration. It was plain for everyone to see and he couldn't take his eyes off you. I know that he will be the best Dad you could of ever hoped for. Everyday the love between you both grows and grows and my heart literally aches when I see the two of you together. It aches because there is simply nothing as beautiful. I love you both so much.

I love being a Mummy

Words cannot describe how much I love my boy and how much I am loving being a Mummy. It is tough at times but there is nothing more rewarding than caring for your little one and watching them bloom before your very eyes. When he was born I didn't think it was humanly possible to love anyone as much as I did in that moment in time. I was totally and utterly wrong because I love him more and more each day so much so I sometimes feel like my heart is going to burst. 

The past ten weeks have flown by in exhausted bliss and I wish I could hit the pause button as time is going by so fast. Noah is already so much bigger and has changed so much in such a short amount of time, it is crazy. I am totally soaking in every single moment I have with him as these days are flying by so quickly.

I am insanely proud of my son, like every parent is. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  

Baby Diary: 2 Months Old

Today you have turned two months old! We have spent the day cuddling up to one another on the sofa and I have loved every second, just as I have enjoyed every second since you entered the world. You have really come into your own this month, it's been incredible watching you learn and develop. You now recognise Mummy and Daddy and love to babble and smile at us, nothing makes me happier.  

Character

I said it on your one month update and I will say it again, you are such a little character! You are such a Mummies boy already, which I love! Your character reminds me a lot of my own. You know your own mind and can be really impatient, especially when it comes to feeding time! As much as you love to be held you have become more independent this month too and we can actually set you down in your swing or on the sofa without you screaming the house down. You can actually lay there and entertain yourself, it's great! You are becoming so vocal and a real cheeky chappy.

Size

You now weigh 12lb 11oz are currently wearing 0-3 month clothes and the majority of them fit you perfectly now, some with a little more room to grow. The issue with most sleepsuits though is that you have rather long feet so we do tend to have to stretch the feet sometimes. You are becoming such a big boy. 

Health
Other than the occasional trapped wind and runny nappies you have been great. Recently the trapped wind and belly ache has reared it's ugly head again. You get such bad trapped wind that you end up hysterical but nothing a bit of gripe water, cooled boiled water and a tummy rub doesn't fix.

Feeding

You still absolutely love your milk! When you are feeding people always comment on how much you are enjoying it and that they have never seen a baby guzzle like it! We did switch onto hungry baby milk and it agreed with you but after a few weeks of consideration we switched back to regular Cow and Gate so we have hungry baby milk to move onto further down the line if you need it. Otherwise we would of had to move onto solids early if milk wasn't satisfying you anymore. You now drink 5oz every 3 hours during the day and have 6oz at bedtime which usually sets you through the night.

Sleep

Although you still don't settle until 1am in the morning your sleep has improved tenfold this month! You now take frequent naps throughout the day which is brilliant because it makes you a much more content baby. We have also cracked the moses basket situation and you are more than happy enough to sleep in it through the night and through the night. I mean that you sleep for a full 6/7 hours in it without waking! You then wake for a feed and then have a few more hours kip. Because you are only settling at 1am you do sleep until lunch so we are trying out best to get our times better but if we try settle you any earlier than midnight you scream the house down. I think we just have a night owl on our hands. 

Milestones

- Smiles. Proper social smiles! You love to give Mummy lots of smiles, from little smirks to big gummy grins. Each one you give to me melts my heart! So amazing.

- Lifting your head. You started lifting your head at an early age but you are still mastering the art. You can hold it up for long periods of time but you are still a little wobbly.

- Becoming alert. Again you have always been alert but this month you don't miss a beat. You now turn your head not only to different things that you see but to different things that you hear too. You have also discovered the TV and like to lie on the sofa and gaze at it in amazement. You now recognise Mummy and Daddy and chat and smile the most to us. 

- Vocal. You are so chatty! From eyy's to iyya's to cooo's you come out with some real noises and love chatting to everyone and anyone. You have such a lovely sounding voice, it's so adorable. Your favourite time to chat is after a nappy change. 

- Touch. You are still mastering the art of touch. You can grasp and pull but you aren't grabbing your toys as of yet. I have caught you pulling your dummy out and you bash your toys but you are still learning. 

Things you like

- Milk! You still love your milk!

- TV. You have discovered the TV this month and your favourite show is Spongebob Squarepants! You lie on the sofa and watch TV. It's hilarious.

- Going Tata's. You love being out about in the car, pram and going shopping. You love it even though you sleep the entire time.

- Baths. You absolutely love being bathed. You have a big smile on your face the entire time and have a real kick around. I can't wait to take you swimming.

- Sitting in your chair. You now don't mind being sat down and put down where as last month you would scream the house down. This makes my life so much easier.

- Laying on my chest. You still love sleeping on my chest and I am enjoying every moment while I can.

- Sitting up. You can't sit up on your own of course but you love sitting back on the sofa. You like acting like a big boy!

- Music. I recently started playing music to you and you really enjoy sitting their and taking it all in.

- Late nights. No matter what we do to try and make you sleep earlier you prefer to stay awake until the early hours.

- Moses basket - You now love sleeping in your moses basket.

- Blankey - You love your blankey against your face, it really helps you to doze off.

- Your Dummy - I sucked my finger growing up and didn't want you to suck your thumb so encouraged you to take a dummy as we will be able to take that away from you when the time comes. We also struggled getting you to sleep and found a dummy helped. We only give it to you when you are unhappy or when you are going to sleep. 

Things you don't like

- Being put down. You like a lot of attention!

- Waiting for a bottle. When you are hungry you want a bottle there and then. 

- Early nights. Like I said you like staying awake until the early hours. 

- Getting dressed. You still really hate being dressed and normally protest. 

- Being winded. You still fight being winded. 

It's been incredible watching you grow this month as you have grown and developed so much. Everytime you smile or coo it gives me goosebumps and I love you more and more each day.