Mumma's Group

Friendship Recipe

- a group of individuals

- an endless supply of laughter

- 1 box of kleenex 

- a pinch of sweetness

- a handful of love 

Take group of individuals and mix together until laughter forms, eventually mixture will become solid. Add a continuous pinch of sweetness every once in awhile, if one of the individuals encounters a sticky situation whisk until smooth and add your handful of love.

Enjoy for years to come.

 One of the best things I believe for Xavier is to grow up with alot of friends to play, learn and laugh with, friends he has always remembered having. We are lucky enough to have a great in fact amazing group of friends that we see on a weekly basis, I love watching each baby grow as if they are my own, I love how they learn and develop off one another. 

 Its also great for myself, I get to chat to my friends who have babies because lets face it someone who doesn't have a baby themselves isn't going to want to chat about what brand of nappies you use or what you fed your child that day. Its remarkable how each child develops at different stages and how small features of their teeny tiny faces change as they get older, I absolutely feel so much joy when I watch all the babies learn something new.

I have a good laugh when we come home and Xavier has picked up something new that he has learnt from another baby. He learnt to crawl by watching baby Cooper, he learnt to squeal from baby Holly, he learnt to love from baby Bonnie, he learnt to stand from Bentley and Olivia, he learnt to be gentle from baby Caiden and baby Nate. He learnt to smile from baby Tate and he learnt to hold hands and share from baby Lochie. All these babies are making Xavier a brighter, sociable and loving child.

 Xavier and I are so blessed to have such a beautiful and caring group of friends to learn from, the best part of my week is seeing every mumma and every baby for those few hours of chats, laughs and fun.

My biggest suggestion to any new mumma is to try and get into a mummies group, its the greatest feeling knowing you can relax and have a group of friends that you know you'll have forever.

Becoming a young mummy.

You are precious in every way, the sunshine of my day, the joy in my soul and the love of my life.

Becoming a young mother was the most life changing decision I had ever made, I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing, whether I'd be a great mum or if I was going to be useless. Xavier became a surprise in our lives and the best surprise I could have ever imagined.

I fell instantanoulsy in love with him when he was only 5cm long, then he kicked me for the first time and i fell in love again. Becoming a mother is like falling in love all over again every single day, children make you discover a whole new meaning to life.

You see things brighter, you learn new things everyday ,you learn to laugh even when your the most frustrated because its 2am in the morning and they're still wide awake. You learn to survive on less hours sleep, you learn your microwave like no tomorrow with the constant warming up of meals, bottles and the cup of tea you've reheated over 5 times and wonder whether you should reheat that 6th time. 

I am lucky to watch my son grow,laugh and learn. I am so lucky to be a mother. So when people ask me whats it like to have a baby at the age of 21 while all of my other friends are out travelling, moving states and partying most weekends. My answer is, its great, amazing and totally worth while. The greatest thing i've ever done! I get up every morning hearing muuum, we eat our breakfast together and watch kid cartoons on the couch. When I  look at his face and see my eyes. What could possibly be better than that?

Its truly such a blessing to have such a bond with your child, I know exactly what mood he is in, what he whats and what he doesn't like. We can see and discover the world together. I fall asleep every night knowing I have the greatest gift in the world and i wouldn't change that feeling for anything.

Baby Stylin

My absolute favourite thing to do with Xavier is too play and have fun with his clothing everyday, luckily I have a baby who has gotten used to a camera being in his chubby face so often. (Or will one day get me back with a vengence). I have a huge weakness when it comes to buying baby clothes, I even use the excuse that he grows out of things so fast, which I'm sure he doesn't need that 100th long sleeve top in a size 0 or the 10th jacket because its 'just such a big staple in a wardrobe and he'll always need another jacket'. Im sure many mothers can completely relate! I can justify spending $50 on Xavier in one shopping trip but that $10 top I just found for myself is still not ok to purchase, how amazing that our lives change just like that in a blink of an eye! So this week instead of writing advice, tips or anything to do with how I personally raise Xavier I decided to have a little fun and show you some of the outfits we have worn the last few weeks and let you know some of the places we shop. Now that Xavier is 9 months old and standing dressing up is alot more fun!

 Hat- Untamed (Purchased online, they are made by mums who couldn't find flat peaks especially for kids and babies. How great is that!)

Shirt- Pumpkin Patch

Shorts- Bigw

Shoes- Best and Less

Bowtie- From a bridal store in Hobart.

 Hat- Untamed

Shirt- Target

Pants- Bigw

Shoes- Cotton On Baby

Jacket- Target

 Hat- The brand is Unit but the beanie itself is from braaap (its actually an adults beanie)

Shirt- Cotton On Baby

Pants- Myer 

Shoes- Cotton On Baby

 Hat- Unit (braaap)

Shirt- Country Road

Pants- Target

 Hat- Unit (braaap)

Shirt- Kmart

Pants- These pants are handmade in Tasmania.

 Hat- Untamed

Shirt- Target

Pants- Big W

 Hat- Untamed

Shirt- Obey (I made this one myself as i found alot of the adult brands they don't make for kids unfortunately, so you can't buy this in stores.)

Shorts- Target

 Shirt- Kmart

Vest- Espirt 

Scarf- Cotton On Baby

Pants- Target

Shoes- Cotton On Baby

 Hat- Cotton On Baby

Shirt- Kmart

Vest- Pumpkin Patch

Pants- Target

Hat- Pumpkin Patch

Shirt- Myer (max and tilly)

Pants- Target (the overalls are attached to the jeans)

Bowtie- From a bridal store in Hobart

Solids- Puree Food vs Led Weaning

Everyone has their own opinions and techniques on everything to do with parenting because we all know each child is so different and unique. I started Xavier on solids at the age of four months, some may say thats too early because rule of thumb is usually not before 6 months old. But my style of parenting is too go by what the child wants, Xavier was showing signs quite early on of his love and curiosity towards food, so i went with it. 

He opened his little mouth and ate every last bit of his farex which is what i decided to start him on considering he was so young i preferred to go into solids slowly. By the age of 5 months we moved onto basic vegetables and fruit pureed, by 6 months he had most of the basic fruit and vegetables. By this age i noticed his hands really wanting to hold the spoon or to touch the food and he became a little more fussy than usual. Then a friend told me about a thing called 'baby led weaning' so i did abit of research and quite liked the idea of your child exploring the textures and food with their hands and mouth.

 It was then i decided i really wanted to give this a go with Xavier, we first started off with soft cooked vegetables and pasta. It was a huge success so we kept going with it, trying new different things everyday! By the age of 8 months we had Xavier eating lamb chops and noodles or toast, it certainly makes a BIG mess so you have to have some time on your hands to clean afterwards. Xavier became so much more confident with his food and it made making meals and heading out to lunches or dinners alot easier on me.
Im truly so amazed at the gag reflex a child at this age can have and never get worried about any foods that i give him that are bigger and need chewing, it all comes totally natural!

I would suggest to any parent to research into baby led weaning because it was one of the best decisions I made as a mummy for Xavier. There are alot of blogs and websites with recipes and guides to help if your feeling confused or unsure. I have a few favourites myself, one called 'My lovely little lunchbox" who makes the most incredible recipes that are sugar free including brownies etc. 

The first 6 months.

Who knew such a tiny thing could create so much love in your life, you fall so in love with someone you've never met but feel as though you've known for a lifetime. I'd fall asleep dreaming of how his little nose would look like or how small his little hands will be, pondering on how I'm going to cope being a first time mother.

And then on the 16th april 2013 at 4pm I was admitted into hospital to be induced. As I was double or should i triple checking everything I had packed for Xavier I realised the next time i stepped foot into our house again it would be with a baby.

After hours of contractions and hard work Xavier finally decided to enter the world on 18th april at 1am. He was far more incredible and beautiful then I could have ever dreamed of, most of all he was ours. 

Everything came quite easy I was breastfeeding like a breeze, He slept fantastic during the day and 3 hourly at night. It was almost too easy what was everyone talking about?? 

One Month had passed already and I quickly realised how fast it flies and I'm already noticing my babies features changing. He was still a sleepy little bear and adapted to change of scenery and noise very well.

Two Months now and poor little Xavier got a hormone rash all over his face, who knew a baby could have just as bad acne as a teenager does? We were still going strong with the breastfeeding although now we decided to form attachment problems which then led me to being attached to a breast pump full-time. Even though I was exhausted from being attached to a machine in which the noise would slowly drive you to insanity I knew it was all worth it and that it was the healthiest and best option for Xavier.

Month Three and our little shining star is sitting up aided! What proud parents we were! He has doubled his birth weight and thriving. We begin to get smiles everyday and the alertness was far beyond what I had imagined possible at 12 weeks of age. 

Month Four, this is my favourite photo of this month purely because moments like this you can never get back. Xavier can now roll to things and actually enjoys tummy time now, we're starting to get the first real giggles and have now started on solid foods.

Month Five, what a massive change from newborn to now! His smiles are different again and he now laughs uncontrollably. Unfortunately our breastfeeding journey came to an end as I was now not making enough milk to satisfy Xavier.  Although his colic disappeared the day I changed him onto formula so it made the decision alot easier for me. Xavier is going great in fact fantastic on solid food and as far we have had nothing he dislikes or has had an allergic reaction too.

Month Six, Wow our baby is now half a year old already.  It really is true time flies when your having fun! Xavier is now sitting up unaided, nearly crawling and has said his first word 'dadda'. We are such proud parents and knowing how well our little boy is thriving makes you feel on top of the world!