Crying It Out

Ah yes, the old crying it out conundrum - is it cruel? does it damage your relationship with your baby? is it selfish? There is copious amounts of information, both negative and positive on crying it out (CIO) online. You could tie yourself in knots reading all the conflicting opinions (and in fact, I have).  Before I had a baby, and in the first few months of J's life I was firmly in the "I will never do such a thing camp". How could I bear the idea of my precious baby crying out for me like that? Little did I know!

Now J is 9 months old and still a terrible, terrible sleeper. I keep looking for ways that it is my fault but I've come to the conclusion that it is just his personality and the way he is. I don't remember what it felt like to not be tired and 9 months of disturbed sleep is really catching up on me. J is a wonderful baby, (although he is very active so wears me out during the day as well), he is a fantastic eater and a day napper and loves people (he has yet to reach the "making strange" stage) and being out in new places. The only thing that causes us problems is his sleep. Everyone keeps telling me that it will get better, when he goes on formula, when he is on solids, when is eats 3 meals of solids a day, but it still remains a huge problem for us.

We did a modified version of CIO about 6 weeks ago and after that he was sleeping from 8pm until 4.30/5am when he would come into bed with us. I didnt't know myself. Then his first tooth cut and we went on holidays and it's just got worse and worse since then. At the moment, he will go to bed easily at 7.30/8pm. He goes asleep with no problems, it actually seems that he wants to go to bed, he goes down in his cot and turns over and goes to sleep. Our problem is the constant waking during the night and the complete inability he has to self-soothe. Recently he has been waking up as early as 9.30pm and there is nothing you can do to get him back to sleep in his cot. If you hold/soothe him until he falls back asleep he wakes up the minute he is put back in his cot. The only thing we can do to get sleep at the moment is to have him in the bed with us. I miss having our bed to ourselves and not waking up every hour to soothe a squirming, crying baby.

As I said, I was against the idea of CIO but we just can't go on like this and I know it gets results. When we did a modified version before (modified being that we didn't leave the room but we also did not pick him up when he cried) we saw results very quickly. This time we're getting so frustrated that we're happy to whatever to get him to sleep.

Mr HNW was out last night and he's the one that finds it tougher to hear J cry so I decided it was time to start the CIO. When J was very tired I put him in his cot, kissed him goodnight and walked away. It took him a minute or two to realise what was going on and then the crying started. I went in every two minutes three times and then every four minutes three times. At 18 minutes, I was about to go in and soothe him and then wait 6 minutes until going in next when he abruptly stopped crying and went asleep. I was so relieved because the crying was horrible and from what I've read on the first night in can take over an hour for the baby to go to sleep.

He slept soundly until 4.30am. I went in then to give him a bottle which he wouldn't take, he then cried for 5 minutes and went back asleep again. This morning he woke up at 8am in his own cot as happy as can be. It's nothing short of miraculous.

So, the CIO is getting a big thumbs up from us. I'm out tonight so Mr HNW will be on duty. He's sworn he'll tough it out so fingers crossed it continues to go well. Wish us luck!

N
xxx

Charity Shop Challenge

As I mentioned in a previous post, Avril at School Gate Style is having monthly style challenges throughout 2014. February was Frugal February - a challenge to abstain from shopping. As I was going to be in South Africa, I knew that that was never going to happen for me. It would be a miracle if I left Johannesburg with nothing new in my bag. March is a charity shop challenge, all about sharing those good finds she has come across while charity shopping and challenging others to do the same. I think it's a wonderful idea.

As I discussed briefly before, when I lived in New Zealand I used to shop in charity and secondhand shops regularly. Buying second hand is a big thing there, as goods are just harder to get and I used to really enjoy "op shopping". I didn't just shop for clothes either, I have a collection of New Zealand Crown Lynn Colourglaze crockery that I amassed by trawling through online trading sites and charity shops up and down New Zealand. I really enjoyed the triumph of finding a piece I was missing in some small town we were passing through.

Anyway, enough reminiscing, today was just a beautiful day in Dublin. It was the kind of day that just breathes life into you and makes everything seem that little bit better.

Not a bad place for a walk with the baba

I was meeting my other mum friends for coffee in Dun Laoghaire so walked in with J in his buggy to make the most of the day. As I had time before meeting my friends I had a look in a few charity shops to see if there was anything to take my fancy, with Avril's challenge in mind. Since returning from New Zealand almost 2 years ago I haven't set foot in a charity shop so I'm thinking this challenge is a good opportunity to get back into it.

Dun Laoghaire has a reputation at the moment for becoming a bit of a ghost town, full of closed down business and charity shops. I still head there fairly often, it still has a lot going for it and there didn't seem to be that many charity shops to me. I went into three along the main street and came out of two of them empty handed.

In the third, Oxfam, I did find an item that I'm really pleased with. A dress for €6.50.

It's a dress from Oasis, and it was the colours that caught my attention first, i just love this particular shade of purple and turquoise. The label is actually cut out of the back of the dress but I looked at the label on the inside at the bottom. I actually used to work in Oasis when I was at University so I knew from the code on this label that it is a size 10. I'm amazed how I could remember what the codes meant almost ten years later, I doubt I could recall any of my lectures so accurately!

I'm wearing it here with a silver and turquoise necklace that can be picked up for cheap in Penneys and metallic silver pumps I bought in the sale in Topshop (now out of stock!)

I'm really pleased with this, it's in great condition and the fabric is very comfortable so I can see it being a great casual dress with pumps or sandals for the summer. I suppose boots and tights in winter could be an option but I have a vehement no navy with black policy so it would rule out black boots making it a bit tougher to style. I know dresses like this go for between €50 and €60 instore and given how good a condition it is in, I'm very pleased.

Murdoch wanted to be included. He also likes the dress. 

While I was out I also donated a pair of Seven For All Mankind jeans to one of the shops. They are in a size I doubt my post-baby body will ever fit into again. It makes me smile to think of some other (skinnier) thrifter coming across them and snaffling a bargain.

So all in all, a good day. I can definitely see myself popping into charity shops in the future, especially given we are on a budget.

N
xxx

Spring Is In The Air

Since we returned from South Africa earlier in the week we've been hibernating trying to recover from the trip and the journey home. We had ourselves well bedded down into the house this weekend.

Today, a friend suggesting meeting for lunch, as we were in hibernation mode our initial response was to say no but on balance we decided it was time to rejoin the world and get some fresh air. I'm very glad we went out in the end, it was a lovely day and it has been a while since we ventured into town.  Today was one of those days where you can feel spring in the air and everybody looks that bit happier that Winter is coming to an end.

As it was a bit warmer today it was a good chance to try out a recent purchase. I bought a khaki parka with "leather" detailing in Penneys (aka Primark) for €25 before I went on my trip but it was just too cold then to wear it, it's very light with no lining or anything. It was perfect for a day like today when you don't need anything too heavy. We went for a walk around St Stephen's Green with J to feed the ducks. He's just old enough that animals are very amusing to him.

At €25 - a bargain by any standards!

Worn here boyfriend jeans, green long sleeved knit top and green bow pumps, all of which I bought on my mad shopping spree in South Africa. I'm late to the boyfriend jeans party, I was stubbornly sticking to me skinnies but I love these. They're just so comfortable.

I'm also wearing a scarf which is from Penneys too. I bought this a few weeks ago and it's getting a lot of use. It has a number of shades of green in it and I seem to be wearing a lot of these colours lately so it's proving very useful.

I hope wherever you are that you had a lovely Spring day too!

N
xxx

Fat Face - Lymington Jacket

Despite my previous post saying there wouldn't be many purchases in the future I am toying with ordering the Lymington jacket from Fat Face. Liz at What Lizzy Loves brought it to my attention on one of her posts a few weeks ago and ever since I've been seriously coveting it ever since.

While I was away I looked around for a similar item but as South Africa has opposite seasons to us it just wasn't the right time to be looking for this kind of jacket there.

I love it in yellow but I can't help thinking that it would date a bit quickly or maybe wouldn't go with as much? Navy seems like the safer but more boring option. I do have a bad habit of buying shoes and jackets in only black, navy or beige so as to get the most wear out of them. It's actually probably sensible as opposed to a bad habit but I'm trying to think more about what I buy and make different choices.

I'm torn on this one though, I do have this navy superdry jacket already:

I bought it a few years ago in Australia and it does get worn a good bit. I'm thinking the navy Fat Face jacket is just too similar to justify it. Do I need another jacket?

Fat Face are having a mid season sale and I was hoping the jacket would be in it, to make my decision a lot easier but of course, that was not to be (although there are some other lovely items on sale).

Hmm, decisions, decisions..........

N
xxx

Return to Reality

After almost two and a half weeks away I have returned from South Africa. I would love to say that I have returned feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world again but unfortunately, that is not the case. It was a bit of a stressful trip, there was a lot of moving around staying with various people which just played havoc with J's routine. On top of that he came down with an ear/throat infection that necessicated a trip to Casualty one night, as well as a follow up visit with an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor. He is still not right and therefore not sleeping well meaning I am one frazzled mammy at the moment. Luckily, Johannesburg is only two hours ahead so jetlag is not really an issue, although the overnight flight home was a bit hard on him (and therefore us!). He is a great flyer, not a peep out of him on any of the flights, despite his ear being at him but the return trip in particular really disturbed his sleep.

It was lovely though to see J with his South African grandfather and his aunts, uncles and cousins there. Both Mr HNW's grandmothers are still with us too so it was wonderful for J to meet his great grandmothers. It was a bit stressful and tiring for us but it was worth it for J to spend time with the other side of his family.

Another great part of the trip is the current euro/rand exchange rate. Some days it was 15 Rand to the Euro which made shopping extremely affordable for us. We went a bit mad, especially buying stuff for J for the next year of his life. I will share some of my purchases in a future post. I don't think there will be many purchases over the next few months. We'll be getting back to saving again, methinks.

This fits in well with Avril at School Gate Style's March challenge - to blog about what you can find in your local charity shop. Luckily, there are a number of charity shops near me so I'll be making a trip soon to see what I can come up with. When I lived in New Zealand I used to buy second hand clothes a good bit as it's very common there (they call it op shopping) and I used to sell clothes I no longer wanted through a big second hand store there and then use the money to pick up some new items for myself. It's something that is not popular here at all so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can pick up and if there are any bargains to be had.

N
xxx

Stylitics

I am (or was, pre-baby) a very organised person. I love lists and having things laid out neatly and organised. It pleases me. Now, I'm not like this in all areas of my life, (which would be very obvious if you arrived unannounced to the house and saw my kitchen) but one area I am very organised is my wardrobe.

Even when I was a teenager and my room was a tip my wardrobe was neat and organised by colour starting with black on the left going through to white items on the right. I like to hang up as many things as possible so I can really see what I have and put outfits together more easily. Like a lot of women I'd love a walk-in wardrobe. I genuinely believe I would be better dressed if I had enough room to store all my stuff, and be able to access it quickly. If I have an item that has been put away I tend to forget I have it.

One solution to this that I've been enjoying recently is Stylitics. It's like a virtual wardrobe. You can add pictures of all the items in your wardrobe, along with where you bought it, the price you paid etc. There is even a stylitics button you can add to your toolbar so if you buy an item online it will add it to your wardrobe. You can then put items together to make outfits, or simply use it as a way to record what you wore on a particular day.

A Screen Grab of the Accessories section of my Stylitics

Starting this blog has made me think more carefully about what I'm buying and how I'm putting outfits together (which was one of the reasons I wanted to blog about style as well as other mummy type things). Stylitics has also added to that, I really enjoy browsing through it and seeing what I wore over the past few months and it reminds me of items I haven't worn in a while, or gives me inspiration on items to wear together that I wouldn't have thought of before. You can also tag items and then do searches, as well as track the cost of the items, if you want (great if you want to see how much you have spent on clothes in the last year. Personally I'd be too afraid to find out!)

I don't get time to log in everyday but I do add items whenever I buy something new and I do try log outfits that I particularly liked. My profile is private but you can have a public profile where you can share new purchases/outfits with others and receive comments.

There are a few things I don't like about it, it's of course very American focused (meaning it doesn't always make it easy to use the terminology I would be more familiar with) and uploading multiple photos more often than not causes it to have a minor meltdown. Also, as some shops don't have online versions (I'm looking at you Penneys) you will need to photograph items you buy from there yourself which to me, is a bit of a PITA. It's much easier just to save the image from the shop's website. That's not Stylitics fault though I guess, it's just a limitation in any virtual wardrobe.

I do recommend it though, it's a great way to be more thoughtful about what you're wearing and an easy way to put outfits together when you are lying in bed exhausted after a busy day and your wardrobe just seems that little bit too far away to look through in person.

Also, I am away for the next two and a bit weeks so there will more than likely be no blog posts. My internet access is likely to be limited at best!

N
xxxx

Best Baby Buys

I know this has been done a thousand times before, it seems like every blogger with a baby does a post about good and bad purchases for their baby. I am not going to be any different, I'm afraid! I can see why it is done so much though, when you are pregnant with your first you really are clueless. You're walking around a hormonal (and in my case, vomiting) mess, befuddled by the choice of baby things available and all you think is BUY ALL THE LITTLE THINGS!!! There are things I bought for J that were just completely pointless and things I bought that ended up being surprisingly useful.

1. Fleece Backed Bibs

I have a giant basket of bibs in J's rooms, of all shapes and sizes. He has just cut his first tooth (yay!) but it took him 2 months of teething to get to that point. His mouth was like Niagara Falls most of the time, really just constant drooling. I was changing his bib every 20 minutes at one point. There is only one type of bib I've bought that really works and that is one backed by fleece. Fleece is actually great for drawing away moisture, it's used to make reusable liners for cloth nappies and on the back of baby's bibs, it's the bees knees. If I put him in a bib without fleece on the back it would just soak through and his clothes and even the chest skin underneath got really damp.

The best brand I've found and the only place I buy bibs from now is Name It. The bibs are €3.95 each which isn't super cheap but they are worth it. They say Newborn/Mini on the label but they do fit older babies. J is still wearing them comfortably at almost 8 months. In the shops as well, they have a large selection of colours and patterns- I'm not sure why the website is only showing three colours.

2 Clevamama Soother Tree

Clevamama is an Irish company, run by Irish parents which is a reason to support them from the off. Luckily, a lot of their products are great, they make the sleep positioner that helped us so much when J had reflux. I saw this soother tree when I was first shopping for J and thought it was a bit ridiculous. Why would you need a special thing just to sterilise soothers (dodies/dummies/binkies/pacifiers whatever you want to call them) in the microwave. It seemed redundant and extravagant. Then I had baby who loves his dummy (which is what we call it in our house)and I realised they get everywhere. There are dummies just scattered all over the house, on the floors, in our bed, in his cot, in the cat's bowl - everywhere! Then I realised why the soother tree is so useful. Whenever I come across a dirty dummy it gets rinsed and put directly on the tree, once the tree is full I sterilise the dummies, then take them off the tree, put the caps on and they go in a pot in the kitchen. For only €9.95 it's a great way to keep them organised and not just littered around my house.

3 Clevamama Pillow

Another Clevamama purchase. There are few things that had any positive effect on J's sleep. One of them was this pillow. It's safe for young babies and is designed to help combat babies getting flat heads. For us, it just helped J sleep better and anything that can do that is a miraculous purchase in my opinion. Why it helps him, I don't know and to be honest, I don't care.

4 Jumperoo

The Fisher Price Jumperoo is like the deluxe version of those little seats on elastic that are attached to doorways. We bought this for J when he was about 4 months old and we noticed that he was starting to want to jump a lot while we were holding him.It says it is for ages 6 months and up but as he had very good head control at the time we figured it would be ok for him. It ended up being a lifesaver. Honestly, I tell my friends with babies that are a little younger than Josh that it is the number one thing we bought.

When be bought it his feet didn't quite reach the floor, despite it being on the smallest setting but we just put books under his feet. The reason it was a lifesaver was that until J could sit up it was the only way he would entertain himself at all. Otherwise, my little velcro baby was just on me constantly. He loved (and still loves) bouncing away in it and I loved it because it allowed me to actually go and pee when I needed to. All of a sudden I had freedom that I hadn't experienced since he was born.

At almost 8 months it's still on the smallest setting so we should get another while out of it yet. It was worth every penny. Also, I kind of wish they made them in adult size, it could be great exercise jumping up and down in front of the TV in the evening. In fact, I sense a business opportunity.

5 Sophie the Giraffe

I wasn't going to include Sophie, as she seems to be the must have accessory for babies at the moment. She is just everywhere. When I meet my other baby mama friends for coffee we have to keep a close eye on the Sophies to make sure we don't end up taking the wrong one home. There's a reason for that - she is awesome.

We are actually on Sophie Mark 2 at the moment. Sophie the first got jettisoned from the buggy somewhere on O'Connell Street. When I realised she was missing, I had to make a mad dash to Mothercare to buy another one. That's how much J likes her. I don't know why he (and other babies) love Sophie so much, it must be to do with the feel of the rubber on their poor teething gums, I just know when J hears Sophie squeak his little face lights up.

Just something to note about Sophie, a piece of advice passed on from a friend, don't put her in the dishwasher. It will kill her voicebox and you will never hear her lovely squeak again!

N
xxx