We're Back!

(For now)
Sooo I had high hopes of making this blog something regular and special but #mumlife took over I forgot my password, forgot my name and by the time I thought about opening the laptop I'd accidently fall asleep!
Sooo what's new?

I am back at work!
And my, my it's hard work!!

When I created the name for my blog 'nappies, flights and sleepless nights' I thought it was cute and sounded catchy. LOL. It should be something like this:

Nappies. Flights. No sleep. Tantrum. Melt down. Cuddles. Sleep. Food fight. Tantrum. Cuddle. Laughter. Melt down. Peppa Pig. And so on! But I LOVE it.

I am also really enjoying being 'me' again. My part time is really good being one week on, one week off. So one week of juggling early starts/late finishes, drop off and pick-ups of Noah and then a whole week of mummy/Noah goodness. I miss him every minute I am at work especially when I am away but I always remind myself I am working for him. He goes to his nanny and has a childminder where he is so happy so I don't worry about him it's more I miss him and spending time with him.

Being back at work - my little ways for just about coping:

- SLEEP! For once in nearly 18 months I have listened to the 'sleep when they sleep' because usually I've been up since 3.30 and come home at lunch time to a lovely, hyper active toddler, so if he naps I will try to.
- Taking special things to work. I have a ring I wear of Noah's birth stone so every time I see it I have a little smile. I have photos of him stuck to everything possible. If I stay away which I probably do a few times on my week on I always take something to snuggle. But next time: I won't take the spare of his favourite comforter because my suitcase got lost in Rotterdam (lol) it made it home so all is ok!
- Talk!! It's ok to go on about your child until someone gives you 'the look' as in wow I've heard about every minute of your child's day since he was born. Come on -we've all had it! Fortunately lots of the pilots I fly with have children and we can quite easily spend the days sharing photos and stories. It's nice to seek comfort in others.
- FaceTime! Thank the Apple gods for FaceTime. I'll say no more because I'm sure if any of you mums or dads have been away you've been trying to FaceTime as you walk out the door.
-Enjoy!! Believe me a day goes a lot quicker with a smile on your face :-) I am so lucky to be in the job that I am and I love it! It was my birthday last week and actually I didn't mind going to work at all. It was a private charter for a football team and I got to sit in the flight deck back in to Bristol. It could be worse couldn't it!?

Side note: I don't permanently have a smile on my face because that's not the real world. It is bloody hard I've cried more than ever since Noah's been born because I am tired, just so, so tired.

Whatever you do be it a working mummy/ stay at home mummy - you’re doing an amazing job. I need to tell myself that more often and I'm sure you do too :-)

Hope all you mummies are well. Can you believe I have a nearly 18 month old!? I can't and don't think I ever will.

I count my blessings every day being Noah's mummy.

Love,

My high flying mummy and me x

What's in Noahs suitcase?

What’s in Noahs suitcase?

So were off to Barbados on Friday! Wahoo! However excited I am, I am seriously nervous! The flight is 10 hours long and we have a 4 hour time difference! Ouch! How do you explain that to a baby? We are going with the in laws so thankfully we have a very lovely extra two pairs of hands! Its mid 20c-30c in temp with seriously strong sun! So I am living in constant fear of that but will simply keep him out of the Sun, however when in the sea/swimming pool etc. I will be covering him head to toe! Hehe!

It’s coming up to spring so I thought finding summer items would be hard but actually majority of shops have actually bought out some of their SS range already. My favourites have been from Baby Gap. Were fortunate to have a lovely lady who will do our washing when we are there so others keep saying you don’t need to bring much….. but I have 23kg to fill! And it is his first holiday so he has to look dapper! I was googling baby holiday lists to try and find essentials so have purchased some and not others. I will review what is truly essential when home!

These items I think are great and will be very helpful:

- 0.5 Grobag travel sleeping bag – this has a hole for stroller/car seat straps so great if up and out at funny times and they are wanting to nap or sleep! It is super lightweight and will be great in the hot weather and hopefully to use in this lovely hot summer were going to have right? ;) It also has a super cute holiday themed print! Comes in a handy travel bag.

-  -Tomee Tippee one use steribottles. I plan to use these on the plane so it is one less thing to worry about and more space when we arrive as my hand luggage is going to be bursting!

- Microwave sterilising bags – Our steriliser is huge and would take up half the suitcase these take up no space and can be used a number of times.

- Snooze shade – For snoozing in his stroller – it blocks out 100% UV. I just hope he doesn’t get too hot under it.

- Bepanthen sun cream – Noah has very sensitive skin and we use the Bepanthen cream on him sometimes so I hope this will be ok for him. It is made for babies so hopefully with sensitive skin in mind!

- - BabyBanz – sunglasses for babies!! Cute I know! His eyes are more precious than any so I hope he will keep these on if he is in the sun! Elastic strap to keep on (Supposedly)

He has about two outfits a day and we will be putting him in sleep suits at night as he has such a light sleeping bag as there will be air conditioning in our accommodation. He has two pairs of flip flops (lol) that were just too cute to miss! He is crawling everywhere now and having shoes or booties on actually help him steady himself so hopefully these do too.

Swimming shorts and hats with Pampers swim nappies. He is such little legs bless him his shorts are more like swim trousers lol but it keeps him nice and covered up so I am not bothered!

Luckily he eats pretty much everything so I don’t feel too worried about food for him I am packing just a few Ellas kitchen pouches and Organix snacks to keep him going. Our virgin flight actually includes baby food but unsure what this will be, so will take a few pouches for this.

The flight

We have reserved a sky cot but he is nearing the weight of being too big for this so from experience I think this will only be useful if asleep. He gets bored VERY easily as do they all so I think it will be a matter or introducing something new every 30 mins or so. Rotating toys and things to watch on the ipad! In the night garden is a favourite of his! There will be 4 of us so hopefully we can all share the load of entertaining him. It will certainly be different to what we are all used to! Especially being an air hostess for a living I won’t know what to do with myself!

Most important of all: having an amazing time! Our first proper family holiday, a rare week off for Daddy and precious, precious memories I can't wait to create. My booboo is nearing one year old and it has been the quickest year of my life, I will cherish every minute of this holiday whether its a tough hour of listening to Noah scream with angry looks from surrounding passengers - this is our family holiday. I know it's going to be just magical. Bring it on!

I will of course blog when home with what was useful and how we got on! Big kisses.

Love,

My high flying Mummy and me x

Our home

So when we moved in to our previous property was when I was pregnant so designed the nursery only a year ago and bought everything new so moving in to the new property there wasn't much I needed to do - his room is very babyish but that is the way I want it until he has his say and it turns in to a too colourful cartoon themed bedroom!! I like things to match and I love neutral colours. The theme in his nursery is a farm yard theme with light greys, white, peach and navy. Please do ask if you want to know where anything is from.

And on to our bedroom. I wanted our bedroom to be about us as every other room in the house is over loaded with Noah and his bits which isn't a bad thing just lovely to have our own room. I have gone for calm golds, creams to feel cosy and warm. I love photos so wanted as many up high from little hands! 

I plan to show more as things get completed, as if you are nosy like me then I can't wait to share the rest! 

Love Mummy x

Moving House with a baby

So we have just moved in to our dream family home! It is amazing and we are already so happy here. It is funny when you go to look at a house you view it only a couple of times and spend the most money you will ever spend in your life! We had our offer accepted back in October and were hoping and we would complete after Christmas so we could have Christmas out the way. This was also our first Christmas in our first home! We lived in a duplex - so a house in an apartment block. It was perfect, light and big but unfortunately it was up two flights of stairs and only had a balcony. This was a problem from the moment I found out I was pregnant. So when we felt the time was right we put ours up for sale and very fortunately sold it in a week. We had looked at our home previous and did not think it would still be for sale come selling ours but to our delight it had fallen through and was back on the market! We only looked at a few as this one had everything we wanted - a garden, it was a town house, has driveway and garage and a bigger room for Noah.

Time went by and the talk of a completion date was looming and we had not even thought about packing!! It was just going to be impossible with Sam working such long hours and looking after Noah. We paid for a company to come and pack our house up the day before we moved. This included taking down our furniture and putting it back up the other end. Luckily our in laws live round the corner and were away on holiday so we moved in to their house with enough for us for 2 days so the packing and moving could go ahead with minimal disruption to Noah (well this was the plan anyway) A single man arrived at 9am and had packed our whole house by 4pm!! It was amazing, although the thought of someone packing our possessions did not sit well with me - there was no way it was going to happen between Sam and I.

Tips for moving with a baby:

- Take all the help you can! I hate asking for help, that’s just who I am. All those people that say 'let me know if there is anything we can do' and usually you don't - take advantage!! Even if it was taking Noah for a walk around the block or to the shop to buy milk - a lot more can be done on your own than with a baby! My brother and his girlfriend and Sam’s sister were great. Watching Noah for an hour here and there - we got a lot done!

- Get the baby's room done primarily. Babies do not like change. So the first room we got straight and unpacked was his bedroom with his cot made up with fresh bedding and all his familiar comforters and night lights.

- The kitchen second. Having three meals and three bottles, the kitchen is very important to Noah’s routine and day. So made sure we knew were everything was and was easy accessible. Before we had our house packed up I put everything of Noah's - his plates, spoons, food, formula, bottles etc. in a particular place and was asked that it was all packed together and put in the kitchen first. It was and we could access everything he needed straight away.

- Keep them out of the chaos. After their room is done, gather their toys and get them familiar with their new room. Old toys and a new room with Mummy or Daddy and they will soon feel at home.

- Make sure your current curtains/blinds fit. If not ensure you have the correct sizes. As coming to bed time and realizing you can't block out the light would not be good!! We looked at our property for a second time and measured to ensure our curtains would fit.

- Don’t rush to get it perfect in one day. You have the rest of your time to get it perfect, so those cute frames and cuddly toys can wait.

We were fortunate enough for the house to be in amazing condition and there is minimal that we want to do. We plan to decorate the living room and Noah’s bedroom in the next few weeks but leave the rest and the Garden as future projects to look forward to. I love interior design and getting things perfect so although I advise to wait to get things perfect – I can’t wait to get it how I picture. Our room and Noah’s is pretty much there. Check out my next block post for pictures!

Love my high flying Mummy and Me x

Weaning Noah

Noahs weaning journey so far

Just a little insight in to starting Noah with food and his current eating routine!Books I read and the things we use!

Like everything else with becoming a parent weaning felt extremely daunting, and I couldn't get my head round it! I couldn’t think when I would give him food and when I would give him milk! I was used to feeding on demand and didn't think I would be able to routine to three meals a day but like everything else – it just clicked! There are also so many items on the market to buy how do we know which ones are essential? Everyone was asking the question – are you doing normal weaning or baby led weaning? Baby led what? Sounds odd! How can a baby lead his food!? I needed help! I went home and ordered two books:

1.‘Baby-led Weaning’ by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett

2.‘Weaning’ by  Annabel Karmel

I would definitely recommend reading both of these if you are feeling a bit clueless like I was! They helped me come to the decision of doing a bit of both! Great meal planners for people who love it in black and white (like me)! I wanted him to learn to feed himself and explore with food but also wanted him to try the taste of purees and comfortably knowing he had eaten enough at a particular meal time!

Here is a little info on both:

Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a method of adding complementary foods to a baby's diet of breast milk or formula. A method of food progression, BLW facilitates the development of age appropriate oral motor control while maintain eating as a positive, interactive experience. Baby-led weaning allows babies to control their solid food consumption by "self-feeding" from the very beginning of their experiences with food.

Weaning - Accustoming a baby to food other than its usual diet of breast or formula by introducing smooth purees (stage 1) suggested 4-6m. Then gradually increasing the lumps suggested 7m+ usually starting with single vegetables, baby rice and yoghurts.

I think baby led weaning sounded great, or the idea of it, But I had huge fears of him choking or not being able to know how much he has actually eaten. So I wanted to start right at the basics of stage 1 smooth vegetable and fruit purees. We started him on baby rice at 5.5 months old to get used to the texture and to our delight he loved it and couldn’t get enough! I always wanted to make him his own food but didn’t know where to start.

I bought the Beaba ‘Baby cook’ which defrosted, steamed, pureed and heated up vegetables! (easy, right?) 

We followed the Annabel Karmel book for these and thought it was great! A few weeks in to weaning Noah, trying first tastes it was going so well we started gradually introducing more and larger portions. I also started giving him things to pick and explore with. 

By 7 months old he was on 3 meals a day. I had started doing some BLW with him as he handled it so well – and with 4 teeth he just wanted to chew! I also said I wanted to make lots of purees but was lacking imagination so have found Ellas kitchens pouches fantastic. We are also getting in to making extra at dinner time of we have and transfer into little pots some examples:

Sweet potato and potato mash, sausages (home made, just sausage meat and pepper) and peas

Pasta, bolegnese, cheese and garlic bread

Butternut squash mash, salmon and peas

This boy LOVES peas!!

A typical day for Noah food wise is:

Wake: 7oz

Breakfast: Porridge

11am: 7oz

Lunch: Ellas kitchen Pouch with a yoghurt

Dinner: Pitta bread, chicken, tomato, strawberries (whatever we have in the fridge)!

Bedtime: 7oz

Its really about understanding what your baby wants and you soon do! You know what is right for your baby and do what you feel comfortable, just because someone thinks what your giving your baby is right/wrong that is your choice. Noah is particularly hungry in comparison to other babies and naturally dropped his milk feeds and just like that all my worries were out the window! But every baby is different: some refuse spoons, some only like sweet things - they're smarter than they look! hehe!

A few examples of blw food we give him:

Pitta bread (strips), Organix snacks, cubes of cheese, rice cakes, oat cakes with Philadelphia or hummus, sliced fruit and vegetables.  These will keep him entertained for ages! Majority of it ends up on the floor and on his clothes – but that’s all part of the fun. We tend to do this at dinner time so it keeps him busy in the last hour (witching hour) and its easy to plonk him in the bath when hes covered head to toe in food!!

We use:

Vital Baby spoons and bowl - they are easy for him to hold and the bowl can be suctioned to the high chair or table, a Dr Browns Sippy cup, it has a soft teat that he drinks easily from without throwing it over himself! A long sleeved bib for saving clothes, a splash mat to catch the spills and a Joie Highchair.

I would love any tips or stories of weaning your babies as Its all so unknown!!

Love,

My high flying Mummy and Me x

Birth Story - Noah Donald Kew

This is a very late birth story! I love reading these and hope you do as much as I do!

It was an ordinary Monday (or so I thought) and I had a dozen things I needed to go out and do – boring things, like nails, eyebrows and a few bits of shopping but I had this over whelming feeling to stay at home. To which I did! I was 36+6 weeks pregnant and giving birth was the last thing I thought I would be doing over the next day. Around 5.00pm I lost the tiniest bit of my plug (approx. An inch) but this seemed to be the most exciting thing in the world! Sam arrived home from work at usual time of 6.30 we had dinner and I then decided I was going to clear out two cupboards that we had wanted to do for months! We joked that I was nesting and after I had finished I went to bed. I watched TV and started dosing about 11pm to then at 00.30am I woke to the sound of a pop and my waters had gone! 

I couldn’t believe it! I shot out of bed shouting ‘Sam! I think my waters have gone’ we both jumped around not knowing what to do whilst my waters gushed everywhere! I ran to the bathroom so not to make a mess and my entire plug fell to the ground like a jelly fish! And that was it I knew we were going to have a baby! I was 30mins in to being 37 weeks so felt very anxious about that. We rang the maternity ward and because babies movements were reduced they suggested we came in on our own time to monitor baby and that I would be allowed home to hopefully go in to labour naturally. We were both so excited! I jumped in the shower and we made our way to the hospital we live about 30mins from the hospital and it felt like the longest journey in the world! I was experiencing mild contractions but didn’t want to say anything to Sam in case I jinxed it! We had done Hypnobirthing throughout our whole pregnancy and we were making ourselves familiar with what we were going to do. We arrived at the hospital about 2.00am and we went through to the Assessment unit to which baby was put on to monitors and he was fine! The midwife said we’ll monitor him for a further 30mins then you can go home and see how you get on. Sam and I were discussing making our relaxing area with candles and music.

Then out of nowhere I experienced a huge contraction, and just like that I was in labour. They were coming every 4 minutes and lasting a minute or so and was told I should not go home. I kept on needing the toilet and she kept on saying to me ‘you don’t you are having a baby’! There was no room in midwife or doctor led unit so I was left to labour in the assessment unit which was very off putting and I found very stressful. It got to the point I heard the midwife ring the unit and whisper ‘she is going to have her baby on my floor if you do not find her a room’ I was very stressed by this but Sam was my rock and spoke very nicely and firmly with the midwife that something had to be done! And within a few minutes we were on our way to the delivery unit I desperately wanted a water birth or midwife lead but it was obvious baby had other plans! I was examined and was 6cm we made the room as relaxing as possible. I could handle the pain by using our breathing techniques we had learnt at HypnoBirthing and it was the most amazing and empowering feeling of my life. I was using gas and air on and off mainly because I found it enjoyable (lol) the midwife left us as we were coping so well. She then came in with the fantastic news that I was allowed to use an old water birth pool! My contractions were very close and we were all convinced baby was coming soon. This was about 6am. This time was a blur to me as I was so ‘in the zone’ birthing our baby. She ran the pool for me and getting in to the water was amazing my pain was lifted. It got to the point where I was ready for our baby to come (or so we thought) I had asked for minimal examinations so the midwife said if you have the urge you push. I did – and I really, really did, but nothing was happening. My poor baby was stuck. I got out the water and was told my little baby was stuck on an anterior lip on my cervix, but I was 10cm. The more he tried to birth and the more I pushed we were making it worse resulting in babies head swelling. I was told to resist the urge to push which is impossible! I was advised to have an epidural but we refused and this was ok. The experience of fighting the urge to push was excruciating, I felt helpless. I remember shouting ‘I can’t do this, please help me’ But they couldn't. I was rushed to Delivery and suddenly surrounded by doctors, midwives and anesthetists – baby’s heartbeat was dropping. I can hear it now in my head. Beat, Beat, Beat …….. Nothing. The emergency button was pressed and even more medical staff entered the room.  I was briefed for a c – section. Baby’s heartbeat was back to normal – but we could not wait any longer. I was pushed on to my back and legs put up in stirrups. I was told my baby was coming by Ventouse and if he couldn't come I would be having an emergency C-section. I was given an episiotomy with NO anesthetic due to it not working and only gas and air. A small cup was put on babies head. I felt so scared there we’re approx. 6 medical staff in the room with anesthetists waiting in the doorway to whisk me away. I just wanted my baby. We had reached 10.55am and time had flown by but only 10 hours after my waters broke. The doctor pulled with all her strength to get my baby out and it failed the cup popped of babies head. She did it again and told me with my next contraction and push our baby would be here. Here it came. I pushed harder than I could ever think possible and that’s it our baby was here he was put immediately on my chest but I was in total shock he was taken off me for checks and I had my stitches. He cried and it was the most beautiful cry I had ever heard.  The doctors gradually went out one by one and finally it was just me, Sam our midwife Kate and our little perfect baby and for the first time I cried I looked at him took him in and he was just perfect. He was fast asleep just snuggled and it suddenly hit me the love for him, I don’t know why it was delayed I was in such shock everything happened so quickly. I said to Sam ‘please can we call him Noah’ and we did (it was his favourite of many) we spent the whole day in our delivery room as a three! As the Kew family and it was the most amazing day of my life just staring at him. We then moved to the ward at about 6.00pm unfortunately I had an infection and wasn't very well but that was insignificant our boy was here!

Noah Donald Kew 03 June 2014 11.03am 6lb 11.5oz.

I think about this day every day since he has been born and would do anything to do it all over it again. It is the most amazing thing a woman can do in her entire life. Mummy’s everywhere should be so proud!

Love,

My high flying mummy and Me x

The 'S' word...

Oh sleep, sleep, sleep… Sleep! Sleep? What is sleep? Why aren’t you happening sleep? Why didn’t I sleep all my life? Can sleep be a job? I’d be amazing at that… Why won’t our baby sleep? Does your baby sleep? Is he a good sleeper? My baby sleeps why doesn’t yours? Have you tried this?

Just a few of the questions us mummy’s ask ourselves at 3am in the morning and get asked about our little darlings and do you know what I am thinking inside, just itching to shout out? NO! My baby does not sleep, he has not slept for 6 months and I even tried to sleep in the shower the other day. But I reply with an exhausted ‘Oh sometimes…’ and they return with a pitied smile and that’s the end of the conversation about the ‘S’ word.

But now at 7 months old our baby does sleep through and oddly I miss getting up. I don’t miss thinking I am the only person up in the world wrestling a baby to sleep with a singing sheep, swaddle blankets, and made up lullabies about a baby called Noah. I miss the cuddles and snuggles and the special bond of breast feeding my baby and the feeling of him only needing me.

Now the biggest question of them all – How did we do it? Well it has not been easy but I can reassure you in saying how we have gone from a short napping, waking several times through the night to only falling asleep on the boob or on me with lots of cuddling and rocking till he would sleep for 3 hours top at night. 20 minutes max in the day to now go to a baby who self-settles, sleeps 12 hours in a row and naps 3 times a day for 1-2 hours. As I write this I still can’t imagine that I am actually talking about the same baby a few months on. A lot had changed in month 6-7 for Noah.

1. Stopping Breast Feeding – Now this isn’t something I ever wanted to do and I am not suggesting that you do it. I intended to until he was at least 1 year old but he was just not interested anymore he preferred the bottle, was fussy on the boob bobbing on and off up to 10 times a day. Mainly for comfort – but I didn’t actually mind that.

2. Starting 3 meals a day - We have been so lucky with Noah’s weaning journey so far he loves food and I mean loves it! He will eat anything and enjoys 3 varied meals a day. Therefore when he goes to bed at 6.30-7.00pm I know he has a lovely full tummy and has had everything he needs through the day. With 21oz of formula and his 3 meals. This leads on to my next step: Controlled crying.

3. Controlled crying you ask? Torture, un-ethical, bad parenting, you name it - I’ve thought it. I never would have imagined doing such a thing to my child, But through extreme lack of sleep and me and my partner Sam at breaking point. He put his foot down. He is the most supporting partner and father and would do anything for either of us. After going up to Noah 3-4 times in only an hour Sam trawled the internet for solutions we had not tried. And there it was - ‘Controlled crying’. We read many articles and it sounded so simple. But letting my baby cry? Oh hell no! Just come and poke my eyes out now for me! But Sam made a plan of putting Noah down ‘drowsy but awake’ and to leave him for 2,5,10,10... Minutes to cry before we went in to let him know we were there, rub his back but not taking him out which went against anything we had ever done before but we were willing to try it and we did! I cannot write in to words how well this went for us we had about 3 wake ups of no more than three sets of crying at a time and our little babe stayed in his own bed from 7-7.30. We put him down for his naps in his cot and it took us just 3 nights to crack it and just like that he slept through! He desperately needed this sleep training and we are all reaping the benefits now. I can now remember my own name – wahoo! It certainly wasn’t easy listening to him cry for me, in fact I cried more than Noah did but we told ourselves it was for the best. I am sharing this because I cannot believe how simple it was for us. I know everyone is different but it’s certainly nice to know we are not alone! I would love to hear your thoughts on your babies sleep, controlled crying and what has worked for you!

Love,

My high flying Mummy and Me x

Nappies, flights and sleepless nights!

Hello…

And welcome to my brand new blog! I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a while but being a new mummy finding the time to have a shower comes way before starting a Blog, but we’re finally finding our feet 7 months in... So better late than never! I plan to blog about my baby Noah and our life as a family with my partner Sam, celebrating Noah’s milestones and learning to be first time parents, throwbacks to blogs I would have loved to have written - my pregnancy and Noah’s birth, my love for shopping and beauty, my journey to become my pre baby weight and finally my return to work as a working Cabin Crew mummy! 

A little introduction...

I'm Melissa and live in Bristol, with my boyfriend Sam and our baby Noah born 3rd June 2014. I am currently on maternity leave from my career as Cabin crew and plan to go back after 1 year at home, but only part time. I love shopping, holidaying and beauty (who doesn't).

I hope you enjoy and can bear with a technophobe, sleep deprived mummy like myself! 

Love,

My high flying mummy and me x