12 months of Motherhood

Motherhood

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In exactly one week, Spencer will be one! Just like that? I do not even know where this time has gone and truthfully I am in denial that I had him almost a year ago.

I remember the night before he was born so clearly. I packed a suitcase, yes a very big suitcase completely stuffed! I am an anxious person who always likes to plan in advance for things that may or may not happen, so I packed quite a bit. I do not know how you could just bring a bag! I was induced and knew by the next day that I would be finally meeting my baby.

All we ever wished for, was for a healthy baby. We did not find out the sex of the baby and there were so many times where I was ready to give in! However, the surprise was well worth the wait.

Honestly, when I first saw Spencer’s face I felt such a mix of emotions. My thoughts were: ‘who does he look like?’, ‘I am so in love’, ‘why does he have all these milia’s on his nose?’, ‘I made him’ and ‘my life will never be the same’. I was now a mother and now that the baby was earth side – reality hit. This tiny little human is half of me and half of the person I love, so I felt an enormous responsibility come over me to take care of him. I also thrive on making others happy, so i just wanted to make him so happy.

I was amazed at how besotted my husband and I were towards Spencer, especially since all he did was sleep and eat. Even though we were told to sleep when the baby does, we often found ourselves just staring at him. It was the strongest love we have ever felt and till this day we are still amazed that we made him!

These past 12 months, we have had lots of ups and downs. My greatest struggle was with breastfeeding. I felt enormous pressure to be able to master it. Something so natural, simple and easy for other mums, did not come easily for me. I will save this story for another post though. There have been so many more positives than negatives in our journey. Like the first time Spencer recognised our faces, smiled, giggled, crawled, stood up, put his arms out for us to carry him, said our names and danced. There is so much more to look forward to as well such as when he will give us a kiss, ask for a hug, be able to put together words, speak and hold our hands.

I have never learnt as much in my life as the past 12 months.

Spencer, I thank you for choosing me to be your mother. I will never take you for granted and seeing you grow has been my greatest joy. It is my privilege being there for you, even in the early mornings when my eyes are pink. You are such a mini-daddy. Thank you my little boo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Easy Eco Changes to Your Household

Eco

 

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One of my 2019 goals was to be more eco conscious. After seeing how full our weekly bin was getting, i decided to make a few simple changes around our household. At first, my husband was very reluctant but with small steps, a little patience and the introduction of these changes over a few months, these changes have been working successfully. Here are the five simple changes we have made in our household:

Reusable Bags.

We love our reusable bags for running errands and for the groceries. There are so many cool designs, fabrics and prints out there as well to match your personal style. In our family, we love a good old plain canvas bag. The pocket tote is a particularly good bag from Seed and Sprout as it is made from organic canvas, washable and has sections to keep your groceries organised. If you are sewer or are a little creative, you could make some of your own bags by upcycling and making them from old clothes!

Keep Mugs.

Such an easy change to make and if you buy one coffee a day, that’s saving 365 cups going into landfill! Plus, i found that most cafes will give you a small discount for bringing your own cup and your drink tastes so much better out of a reusable cup.

Silicone Lids.

Say what? Ditch the glad wrap, these are an amazing invention which i love! So easy to use as well. It is a stretchy reusable circular lid that can cover bowls (including rectangle ones)! We use these to keep our leftovers and to cover fruit cut in half.

Cloth Nappies.

This was the change which we felt would be the hardest to implement but once we got started and got into a routine, it was the best eco change we have made! Cloth nappies have been great not only for the financial benefits but also for Spencer’s eczema! We hardly ever have any nappy rash now and another advantage is that we hardly ever get a leak.

Wooden Toys.

We choose wooden toys over plastic whenever we can. We find plastic toys to be overstimulating sometimes with all the colours and sounds. We find less is more and simple is best. Wood is also sustainable, recyclable, timeless and aesthetically pleasing!

 

Wipes Solution

DIY

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We love making our own wipes solution in our home! We made two bottles and it has lasted us the whole year, making it so cost-effective as disposable wipes are expensive and often contain nasties. This way, you know exactly what is going on your baby’s skin.

It is understandable that reusable cloths are not for everyone, so i also recommend these dry baby wipes which cost $6.99. You will get 100 wipes in a pack but they are large, so what we do is cut them in quarters and that gives us 400 wipes!

For those using cloth wipes, you can just pour or spray some of this solution into an airtight container with your wipes so that they are ready to go!

 

What you need

2 Cups room temperature filtered or distilled water

2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Tablespoon Dr Bonner’s Organic Castile Soap (you can also use any other liquid soap or baby wash)

Amber Glass bottle

 

How to

Add water to bottle.

Add olive oil.

Add soap and mix.

 

Some extra information

Use within a year.

Using filtered or distilled water is important to stop bacteria growing in the water.

Coconut oil, sunflower oil or even grapeseed oil can be used as a substitue to the olive oil if you child has allergies to olives.

Quality essentials oil can be added but do your research first. We do not include essential oils in our wipes solution as Spencer has very sensitive skin and allergies.

 

Egg Free Pancakes

Food

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Spencer has been reacting to food containing eggs, so we have been looking at some egg-free options when we are cooking. This is the most delicious egg free pancake recipe which is so easy and quick to make. Spencer absolutely loves them too!

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes | Makes: 8 Pancakes

 

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups Self Raising Flour

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Milk

2 Tablespoons Water

2 Tablespoon Vegetable oil

I Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional)

Fruits to top or add in (we love banana, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries!)

 

To Make

Add all ingredients in order listed into a large bowl and mix well.

Lightly butter a non stick pan and turn heat to medium-high.

Pour batter onto the pan until they are 8cm wide.

When you see the top of your pancake bubble, they are ready to be flipped.

Cook until the pancake is golden.

Top with fruits.