In My Nappy Bag

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The last time I shared a post about what's in my nappy bag, I think I had a little silver pouch full of baby supplies that easily fit into my handbag. These days things are a whole lot more different! My nappy bag is huge, so huge that it could easily double as an overnighter (if you happened to be going somewhere overnight without kids, which I don't get to do for obvious reasons!).

The picture above is the pretty version of what I carry around everyday. A change of clothes for Elliot, nappies (for Link and Elliot) & wipes in my gorgeous Bella & Moo nappy clutch, hand sanitiser, nappy rash cream, a rattle given to me by Julia, my phone and purse and a couple of burp clothes (also from Bella & Moo).

Not pictured is the epic amount of extra things that I always have with me just in case. A change of clothes for Link and Max, a muslin wrap and a heavier blanket, books for Link and an iPad for Max, dummies (as many as I can find on my way out the door), a couple of bottles for Elliot, snacks, a bottle of water, a spare pair of glasses and whatever else I need on the day.

So much stuff! All absolutely essential though of course!

Tell me. Do you still carry around a big nappy bag? Or have you managed to whittle your essentials down to a purse sized pouch?

This post is part of a Nuffnang native advertising series.

Having trouble during nappy change time with a wriggly baby? Try BabyLove Nappy Pants - with no tabs to contend with, the 360-degree stretchy waist allows you to pull them up quickly and easily, so your active toddler can get back to action in no time! Request a sample.

Nursery Inspiration for Elliot

Little baby Elliot doesn't have his own room yet (he will stay in our room until he's about six months old), but that hasn't stopped me from planning and dreaming about what I want to do in his nursery.

If you have a look at my pinterest board you'll see that I've changed my mind quite a few times, I think I have finally settled on what I want now. My plan is to keep it quite neutral and and classic (no surprises there!!). Here's some of the images that are currently inspiring me.

I love everything that Bel from Nest Design Studio does, so it's no surprise that I am head over heels in love with the sneak peaks she's shared of Leo's new nursery. Cannot wait to see more!

Monika Hibbs is another blogger who's style I love, Liam's nursery is right at the top of my inspiration list.

I'm loving the mix of grey, white and wood tones in these rooms (from here and here).

And these nurseries from The Boo and The Boy are so gorgeously serene.


As soon as I get started on his room I'll share some progress shots!!

Life with Three - Five Tips for Surviving the Early Days

Having trouble during nappy change time with a wriggly baby? Try BabyLove Nappy Pants - with no tabs to contend with, the 360-degree stretchy waist allows you to pull them up quickly and easily, so your active toddler can get back to action in no time! Request a sample.

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Six weeks in to life as a mum of three and believe it or not I'm still surviving! So far there have been a few little challenges, but it's nowhere near as overwhelming as I expected. I'd like to think that third time around I am a lot more laid back than I have been in the past and so much more willing to go with the flow.

I've put together a little list of things that I have found really helpful. Whether you're expecting your first or third (or even your seventh!) hopefully you'll find these tips useful, even if they just remind you that you're not the only one with an unsettled baby or a hyperactive toddler!

Every Baby is Different - I cannot stress this one enough, every baby is different from the last. Seems obvious right? It wasn't for me. When Lincoln was born I totally expected him to have the same needs, habits and routines as Max had. When he didn't I went into total meltdown mode. Instead of working with what he wanted, I tried and tried to get him to be like Max. And when he wasn't I cried (and screamed) and resented the fact that he wasn't a 'perfect' baby. I don't recommend taking that approach! This time around I expected Elliot to be different from Max and Link, and he definitely is. Almost every thing I'm doing with him is different and that's totally ok.

Go With Whatever Works - I am a huge advocate of doing whatever works, as long as your baby is safe I see no harm in giving them exactly what they want in the early days. Before Max was born I had a whole set of rules outlined for myself. He would always fall asleep in his own cot, I wouldn't give him a dummy, he would breastfeed for 12 months, I wouldn't spoil him by holding him to much (!!), no sugar until he was three etc etc.  How totally naive was I?!! I learnt very quickly that you need to throw the rule book out the window each time you have a baby. Giving your baby what he wants is the kindest thing you can do and it also saves your sanity. Lincoln hated the swing and preferred to be put down to sleep in a dark, quiet room. Max liked to be swaddled up really tightly and loved his dummy. Lincoln refused a dummy, but learnt to self settle as soon as he was old enough to find his thumb. Elliot loves to be held and rocked, during the day he alternates between sleeping on my chest in a sling or in his Fisher Price swing. He loves noise and sleeps with a white noise app at night (which I personally love too, I have never slept better!). Lincoln woke to feed every night until he was 15 months and Max slept through the night from 12 weeks. You get the point... They all want and need different things... Just go with it!



Say YES When People Offer to Help - Any guesses what I said when help was offered with my first baby!! I thought that to be a successful parents Sean and I needed to be able to do every thing on our own. Don't get me wrong, we still had family come to stay, but I micro managed everything. The grandparents had to follow my 'parenting rules', I stressed out when the dishwasher was loaded 'wrong', I felt like a failure when they settled Max for me, I even refolded all the clean towels after my mother in law left because they weren't done 'perfectly'. I laugh about it now, but really I was so tightly strung back then. Elliot was born six weeks ago and so far I have spent a total of four days on my own with the boys. Between my mum and mother-in-law staying with us, Sean taking annual leave and us spending time up the coast with Sean's parents I have had help the entire time. And it has been the best thing ever!! For the first four weeks I didn't have to cook a single meal or even wash my own clothes. The best part was that Max and Link had lots of attention and I didn't have to worry that they were missing out because of their new baby brother. When help is offered accept it graciously!! You won't regret it.

Listen to Your Mum (and Your Mother-in-Law) - I don't quite know where I got the massive chip on my shoulder from, but first time around I was convinced that I knew better than our mums. It didn't matter that they had both successfully raised two kids each, I was sure I knew more about looking after a baby. Turns out though they both had invaluable advice and were actually quite good at looking after babies and kids. Who would have thought!! Provided you had a happy childhood I highly recommend listening to your parents :).

Enjoy Yourself - Last but certainly not least, have fun. Enjoy the little moments! Babies and kids grow up so quickly. In the blink of an eye I've gone from having one tiny little newborn to having a four year old, an almost two year old and another brand new baby. No matter what you do, time will keep on keeping on, so make the most of the little moments. Enjoy your babies, they are little bundles of joy (even when they're screaming as you try to get the perfect photo!).

This post is part of a Nuffnang native advertising series.

Having trouble during nappy change time with a wriggly baby? Try BabyLove Nappy Pants - with no tabs to contend with, the 360-degree stretchy waist allows you to pull them up quickly and easily, so your active toddler can get back to action in no time! Request a sample.

Elliot George Riley

If you follow me anywhere other than this (badly neglected) blog you might have heard that I had my third baby a little over a month ago. Elliot is seriously the sweetest thing ever and with his arrival I finally feel like my family is complete.

Elliot's birth was straight forward and uncomplicated, an elective c-section 3 days before my due date. He came out healthy and happy and started to feed while I was still in theatre. Just like with Max and Lincoln it was love at first sight for Sean and I, we couldn't believe how perfect he was! Towards the end of my pregnancy I was so sure that he was going to be much smaller than Lincoln and he definitely was. A tiny 7 pound 9 ounces (3.4kg). As soon as we saw him we knew he was little, but I think we were both surprised to see that he was less than 8 pounds!

  

Max and Lincoln came up to visit a few hours after he was born, something I was looking forward to so much. Max fell head over heels in love with him and has been amazing ever since. He loves talking to him, playing with him on his mat, tickling his little feet and singing to him when he cries. Such an amazing big brother! Elliot has started smiling back at Max in the last couple of days. My favourite thing ever!! 

Lincoln still hasn't quite turned two yet and I was really nervous about how he would react to Elliot's arrival. I don't think he really understood that there was a baby on the way or even that Elliot would be coming home from the hospital with us. When he first met Elliot, Link was surprised and curious, but if got too close to the baby he would yell out 'NO'. Although once we got home he got used to Elliot very quickly. Now he likes to kiss him goodnight, says 'hello bebe', pushes him in his swing and even tries to give him a dummy when he cries. Very cute!

The first few weeks at home were absolutely blissful, my Mum and Sean's Mum took turns staying with us for the first three and a half weeks and then Sean took 3 weeks leave so he could enjoy some family time too. Having the Mums here was exactly what I needed, I took heaps of naps, did barely any housework or cooking and was super happy knowing that Max and Link were getting plenty of attention. It was the best thing in the entire world.

These last couple of weeks Elliot has been having a bit more trouble settling both during the day and at night. He went from sleeping really well and only feeding once or twice per night to staying awake from midnight to 6am and fussing a lot during the day. We've invested in a sling and a baby swing and have also started using a white noise app at night time. It seems to be working and I'm happy to just keep going with the flow and switching things up as his needs change. All in all I am so happy with all three of my boys (and my sweet husband), being a mum is the greatest thing on earth and I am very lucky to have three gorgeously healthy boys.

Three Times the Charm

So the thing is, when you neglect your blog you may also neglect to share the most important news you've had all year. You may have already seen this seeing as I did post it on instagram and facebook, but just in case you missed it...

We're expecting baby number three!!

I'm 16 weeks along now and thankfully most of the first trimester symptoms have passed. To be fair though, the pregnancy itself has been a lot easier than last time. I think it's been more about having a baby and a preschooler to look after and a growing business to run that have left me super exhausted.

In the last couple of days I've started feeling the little peanut moving around, which I love so much! Each night when I go to bed I'll just lie there for a while hoping to feel it move. Oh and when typing that I automatically wrote 'him' and had to go back and change it to 'it'. Sean and I both automatically think of this one as another little boy, it's so hard to imagine anything else! A couple more weeks and we will know for sure though :).

Thinking it's a boy hasn't stopped me from daydreaming about decorating a girls room! I have so many ideas that if it is a girl I have no idea how I would actually narrow things done to one design! I'm sure I won't have to worry about that though, and with Sherry and Katie recently sharing two very gorgeous boys rooms I'm definitely not short of inspiration for another bouncing baby boy.

Max is excited about getting another brother (he refuses to believe that it could be a girl too!), part of the excitement comes from the fact that Link won't be the baby anymore because he can't wait for Lincoln to grow up enough to play with him. He asks me all the time when Link will stop being a baby and turn into a 'real kid'. Poor little Link has absolutely no idea what's going on. He will be about 21 months when the baby arrives and I'm not sure that he will really understand until he actually sees the baby come home with us. That's probably what I'm most nervous about, Link is still my baby and I don't want him to feel replaced.

All in all everything is great over here in the Riley household and I promise I will be back sooner rather than later with another post!

Welcome Evie Jayne

A little less than a week ago my best friend Erin gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl called Evie. I've only seen photos so far, but I already know that she is just about the sweetest thing in the entire world! I can't wait to actually meet her :).

I shared this Evie inspired mood board on facebook last week and as promised I'm back with the sources for each of the items I used.

Cot - Reese Cot from Incy Interiors
Chair - Peacock Chair from The Family Love Tree on Down That Little Lane
Yellow and Pink Blankets - Sticks and Stones on Etsy
Love Cushion - This one is by me :) - Max and Me Homewares on Etsy
Pom Pom Cushion - Limited Edition Cushion by Petite Vintage Interiors
Curtains - Ikea Sheer Curtains
Light - DIY by A Bubbly Life - Tutorial in Link
Bunny Wall Art - Chloe's Shop
Polka Dot Canvas - Nest Accessories on Down That Little Lane
Mouse Softie - from Cloth and Thread

Mummy Diaries

** Mummy Diaries - sponsored by Bepanthen and Nuffnang - All poo stories and opinions are 100% my own **

A little over a month ago you might have seen a photo on Instagram of me and two of my girlfriends sitting in my lounge room having a chat with Em Rusciano. I'm kind of a closet fan girl, so it was totally surreal! In fact the whole experience was completely crazy, in one moment I went from having a coffee with my neighbour Andrea while our boys played, to having a house filled with a film crew, producers, a make-up artist and a super star presenter. Crazy, but completely fun as well! 

(Long live the mummy uniform of jeans, ballet flats and a cardigan – Em must have missed the memo!)

The point of having everyone there was to film a segment for the Mummy Diaries, which have been put together by Bepanthen Ointment for nappy rash. They’ve been catching up with groups of mums all around the country to talk about all those things that you never really think about until you’re a mum. Andrea, Jacqui and I decided to talk about nappy rash, poo and all the fun that comes with that stuff, and considering that between us we have 6 boys it was quite fitting. I don’t have girls, so I don’t know for sure, but it sure seems like boys and all things messy and gross definitely go hand in hand.

The whole thing was so much fun to be a part of and I want to send a huge thank you to the team at Bepanthen for thinking up such a great idea. I’ve been using Bepanthen Ointment for quite a few months now and I absolutely love it. Lincoln tends to get really bad nappy rash and it’s so perfect for his delicate baby skin. It contains pro-vitamin B5 to gently soothe and actively heal, so I find that if he wakes up with a really red bottom I can have it cleared up by lunchtime. My hands down favourite thing about it though is that while it still forms a waterproof barrier, it doesn’t have that yucky zinc-like look and feel that some other creams have. I love it and definitely recommend it, in fact if I was going to rate it out of ten I would give it an eleven, that’s how well it works on Link.

Anyway back to the poo (because really, what could be more riveting!), I have had some epic poo moments with both of my boys… I will never, ever in all my years forget the time I went into Max’s room when he was about 14 months old to find that he had pooed, then taken off his nappy and smeared it all over himself and his cot. Lincoln helped me get payback a couple of months ago though, both boys were in the bath and Link let loose one of those huge yellow breast milk poos all through the bath and Max absolutely lost it. He was so cross at his baby brother!

Although those were seriously gross moments, Andrea tells a story in the video that is a serious contender for the grossest poo moment trophy! But then I think we probably all have at least one poo moment that was epically disgusting don’t we?

Anyway here’s the video, I would love for you to watch it even if it’s just to laugh at my ability to completely embarrass myself on a regular basis! (Oh and watch out for the Cooper cameos, he’s had his fair share of disgusting poo moments too, but I’ll save those for another day!)

xx Tamsyn

The Sleeping Saga

Lincoln is now 7 months old and still waking to feed 3 times a night. Nine times out of ten the reaction I get when I tell people this is shock and horror.

But is it really that uncommon for babies to still wake in the night at 7 months?

I've been given lots of advice, everyone from my real life and online friends (who's advice is always appreciated), to my hairdresser, beautician, shop assistants, the ladies at the post office, childless men (always my fave!) and complete strangers.

Most of the advice we've happily ignored - like starting solids early (this has been suggested to me by at least a dozen people starting when he was only 4 weeks old), supplementing his night feeds with formula (I have no problems with formula, Max drank it from 5 months but a lack of milk is not the problem) adding a few drops of rum to a bottle for him, and ignoring him outright when he cries during the night.

Some of it we've tried - waking him up to feed at 10pm before I go to bed, giving him solids at 6 months, moving him into his own room (which we did a couple of days ago) and picking him up when he cries, hugging him and then putting him back down.

It doesn't matter what we do he still wakes up in the night and wants to be fed.

The thing is, I'm totally ok with it. Sure I complain sometimes, especially after a night where he's decided to feed five times, but generally I don't mind.

I love breastfeeding Lincoln and those night feeds are so special to me. It's just me and him. During those feeds I am the only thing in the entire world that matters to him. And there is something so amazingly wonderful about that.

So next time someone asks me if he's sleeping through yet, I'm not going to let them offer me any more advice. I'll let them know that he doesn't sleep through the night, but that I don't mind at all. I'm sure he'll do it when he's ready.

xx Tamsyn

Lincoln's Half Birthday

My sweet little baby boy isn't a newborn anymore. He's 6 months old, full of beans and into everything!

Lincoln is such a happy little guy now that I almost forget how much of a rough start we got off to.

The first two weeks after he was born were absolutely beautiful. We spent 5 nights in hospital before coming home and whilst he screamed a lot and hated sleeping right from the start I was in that delicious newborn place where everything was perfect. I fell in love with him from the very moment that I laid eyes on him, and in those first two weeks I remember loving when he would wake up to feed in the night because it meant I got to spend time with him.

During those two weeks I was also filling orders for my shop and planing and throwing Max's party and I think I was running on pure adrenalin because the next four weeks were the hardest of my life. Lincoln wouldn't sleep at night, he would feed and then scream for almost two hours, then finally fall asleep only to wake up and hour later and do it all over again. Every single night. On top of that Max started waking up crying each time he heard Link screaming and the only thing he would want was for me to come and lie in his bed with him. So some nights I would leave Sean with a screaming, inconsolable baby and go sleep in Max's bed for half an hour at a time before feeding Lincoln again. It was hard. I took it all out on Sean and would get so angry with him. I think I did just as much screaming and yelling and crying as Lincoln! To his credit Sean took it all on the chin and just keep on trying to help me settle Lincoln, night after night after night.

I was also having a really hard time feeding Link, I had so much milk and it was coming out so fast. He was gulping down so much air with each feed and seemed to have really bad tummy pains. I hadn't been able to feed Max past the four week mark and really wanting things to be different this time, so Sean and I set the goal of making it through to 6 weeks of breastfeeding and then seeing how things were then.

At the six week mark everything seemed to change. My milk started to settle down and Link was finding feeding so much easier. He started to go straight back to sleep after each feed and started to have one four hour stretch of sleep each night. I made the decision to talk to my Dr about how depressed I was feeling and noticed that my outlook changed right from the minute I decided to talk about it. I started to fall in love with Lincoln again and was finally enjoying being a Mum of two.

Since then things have just been beautiful! Link teased us by sleeping through the night a couple of times when he was around ten weeks, but it didn't stick. He generally wakes up to feed 3 or 4 times each night, but he goes straight back to sleep afterwards so it really isn't too bad.

At about four and a half months he started trying to crawl, which was crazy!! It took him about 5 weeks to work it out and now he crawls around everywhere and gets into everything! He's also worked out how to sit up and he loves it. He will often just sit in the middle of the floor smiling his adorable gummy smile at everyone and everything. He's just started to pull up on furniture this week so I don't think he's got any plans to lie around and be a little baby.

He loves Max and Sean, but I am by far his favourite person in the world and that makes me so happy. We have this beautiful bond and I am so glad that those early stressful days are behind us.

xx Tamsyn