Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Jodi starts on Baby Led Weaning...

Iestyn at six months

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update from me as I should really be packing the suitcases ready for our first family holiday to Florida!

Iestyn has turned 6 months since I last wrote and I was surprised how emotional this ‘birthday’ left me. I really felt as if my little baby had gone and still can’t quite believe how fast it’s gone; yes there is a recurrent theme to all my blog entries but it’s true, time really has flown by!

So in the last month a couple of major events have occurred. The first is that Iestyn and I went to visit my sister abroad. I found the whole travelling alone with a baby experience very stressful whereas my little boy was impeccably behaved throughout the two hour coach trip, the four hours at the airport, the hour long flight and the hour long car journey! For me the stress came from needing to be three steps ahead of yourself at all times. Working out how many hands you would have free at any one time - especially when you have a tired and hungry baby, a pushchair and a large suitcase to contend with! Anyway we managed just fine and I’m sure it was all good practice for Florida although I wish it was another hour long flight instead of the 9.5 but at least I have Rhys to help me this time!

The other major milestone is that Iestyn is now eating solids! As I mentioned last time we have decided to skip the puree stage and go straight for the finger foods or the Baby Led Weaning method as it’s known. There are many supposed benefits of doing it this way; the child joins in with family mealtimes from the start, they are less likely to become fussy eaters later and basically as it’s a much more relaxed affair although it is very messy!

So, on the day before his 6 month birthday he was presented with a bowlful of steamed carrot sticks and broccoli florets. It took a while but eventually both hands went in and grabbed what they could and then shoved it into his mouth! Whilst not too much was actually eaten the first few times he certainly impressed us by knowing what he was supposed to do. He had the broccoli and carrot for the first three days, then roasted sweet potato and parsnip ‘chips’ for the next three days before being introduced to butternut squash and mango. So far I think that sweet potato is his favourite. It has been great fun for both of us so far although the change in nappies is an unpleasant side effect!

I’d best go and figure out how on earth I am going to fit everything in our flat, including the kitchen sink, into two suitcases. I’ll report back on whether or not it was relaxing holiday in a month’s time...

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Jodi's little boy is growing up fast...

Iestyn is 5 months old

Another month has passed by in a flash but it’s been a very busy one all the same.

Iestyn is now 5 months old and what is his major achievement this month? Well he rolled from his back to his front 3 times when he was 19 weeks old which I am led to believe is slightly early. Whilst Rhys and I were so proud the first time (we kept holding our breath every time he got close) but soon realised that a rolling baby would require slightly premature child proofing of the house and we were no longer quite so impressed! The ‘good’ news is that once he mastered the art he seemed to lose interest in doing it and 3 weeks later he’s not repeated the feat!

Up until the last few nights, for the last few weeks, the night feed has reappeared on the agenda. I’m not too surprised by this as he’s getting nearer to the time he’ll be wanting food and he is growing so fast so it’s not a surprise that he can’t go 12 hours without food any longer. I don’t mind this at all. I’d be bothered if he woke and wasn’t hungry but he drinks his night time feed a lot quicker than any other and always settles straight back to sleep be it 4am or 7am the few times I’ve chanced my luck! However the last 3 nights now he has woken between 1:30 and 3am and I’ve ignored him as I don’t think it’s hunger so early and my little angel has called out for 10 minutes but then settled back down again and gone on to sleep till 7am, Maybe he’s realised that his Mummy is more fun the next day when she doesn’t have to get out of bed in the night!

The other thing I have noticed when telling others - be it friends, relatives or my health visitor about the start of night feeds again - is that the immediate advice is to start weaning. This really gets me angry as I know my boy is not ready to be weaned yet and I’m not sure he will be by the 6 month guideline either. Even if weaning him now guaranteed that I got a full night's sleep, I still wouldn’t do it. This is about his development, what’s best for him and not at all about how much sleep I might get. He is not showing any interest in my food at the moment, as his milk intake has increased so has his weight gain and he can’t sit unaided. Just some of the things I am looking out for, along with my instinct, to tell me when he’s ready. It is such an emotive subject and I’m so glad I have done my research on it so that I feel equipped to challenge the doubters. I am also not going to wean him the traditional way with purees and instead go for Baby Led Weaning where it’s finger foods from the start but I will leave that topic for next month’s entry!

The other downside of having children has reared its head in the last week. Iestyn had his first ever cold. I think he’s done very well to avoid any of the awful winter bugs that have been doing the rounds and he actually came through his cold nice and quickly just like his Mum. Yes, I experienced being ill whilst looking after someone else for the first time and it wasn’t much fun. I used every technique I knew of to try and make things easier for him. Olbas Oil everywhere, raising his cot at the head end, nasal drops before each feed to clear his nose and a wet towel over his radiator at night. Whether any of these are responsible for him getting over it quickly and not being disturbed by it in the night, I don’t know but I’ll certainly be implementing them all next time round! However, just as I thought we were completely over it, he’s woken with a sticky eye today so I’m bathing it with cooled boiled water and see if I can clear it without a trip to the doctors.

Other than all of that, this month has been fantastic. He is getting funnier by the day. He loves the head shaking game at the moment. He shakes his head from side to side, looks at me and waits for me to do it back and then it’s his turn again! He is also loving his nursery rhymes although I’ve had to change the words a few times to make up for my lack of memory or his preferences. For example Old MacDonald no longer owns a farm, he instead runs kennels these days as Iestyn loves the dogs woofing! Every month I think that this is my favourite stage with him but every subsequent month is so much better than the one before. I love being a Mummy!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Jodi's little boy is growing up fast...

Iestyn is now 16 weeks old and the time is flying by at a rate of knots. I already question where my little baby has gone and when I see a tiny one out and about I struggle to remember him ever being that small!

He is on the whole a very contented soul. He grins at anyone and everyone and likes a good natter too! Unfortunately he has learned how to squeal at the top of his voice and he likes to practice this often which can be a bit painful after a couple of hours of it! Unfortunately saying “no” at this age doesn’t have any effect!

I’d say the last 6 weeks or so have been full of extreme highs and a few lows. We’ve had our first teething episode which I wasn’t expecting yet but unfortunately the 3 days it lasted didn’t result in the appearance of any teeth. He did seem to suffer quite badly bless him; he was very upset and for a baby that barely ever cried up until that point it was quite hard for me too. We tried the natural remedy of Ashton & Parsons powders which mum friends of mine have sworn by however they didn’t seem to have any effect on Iestyn. That might have been because I was trying them when he was already inconsolable so I will persevere the next time his toothies decide to say hello. We also tried teething gel to no great effect also and in the end it was Calpol that gave him the relief he needed to get some good sleep.

He has also developed eczema all over his face and head but fortunately the first anti-bacterial cream prescribed by the GP seems to be doing the trick and we are keeping on top of it at the moment with frequent applications. The best thing with babies is that they heal so quickly. Literally one day he had a raw, angry weeping face and just 2 days later, unless you were aware, you’d never have known he had eczema.

So that’s some of the bad times but that isn’t the reality of it, at all. He is a little treasure who seems to perfect a new skill each and every day. For example yesterday he started to bear weight on his legs which the day before he wasn’t interested in and his legs would collapse when you stood him up on your lap! He is now really interested in his toys. He still loves his Baby Gym and loves to grab all the toys and try to stuff them in his mouth! His hand-eye (mouth!) coordination is amazing. I also have to place a toy in his pram or carseat these days to keep him entertained when we are out. The purchase of the toys was an emergency shopping trip as one day he wasn’t interested in toys and the next he was grabbing at everything!



He is a fabulous sleeper, going 12 hours pretty much every night and having at least 2 naps a day. Unfortunately all the sleeping means there isn’t enough time in the day to get his milk in so he is somewhat below the recommended milk intake for a baby his age and is also dropping down the centiles on his weight chart. However I’m not in the slightest bit worried about him; he is certainly happy and healthy and he is not at all greedy; if he isn’t hungry he will not drink his milk.

In the next month or so I have probably got another growth spurt to look forward to, he may well start to roll which I am not looking forward to, and hopefully I will get even more laughs. These are few and far between at the moment (although I get more than my fair share of smiles) and I can’t wait till they are a regular part of our day.

Until the next time, look after yourselves and your lovely bumps and babies.

Friday, November 2, 2007 Jodi has a baby boy!

Jodi & Rhys are very proud to announce the arrival of their son Iestyn Rhys.

Iestyn (pronounced "yes tin") was born on Sunday October 14th at 00:32 following a 27 hour labour from start of contractions to birth.



He weighed 7lbs 15oz and was 20 inches long.

Unfortunately he was poorly after his birth and ended up in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for four days to received treatment for pneumonia. After five days of treatment he seemed to be fully recovered and finally, a week after his birth, we were able to go home.

So now our lives have been turned upside down and we are being held to ransom by a 19 day old baby! He's generally a pretty contented little boy but a few times a day we find that he won't settle (now being one of them, as I type this one-handed!). One thing I will find time to say today is that being a Mum is already, without a doubt, the best thing I have ever done. The love I feel for my little boy is like nothing I could ever have imagined; I am totally smitten.

I really hope to find some time soon to post my birth story as well as sharing with you my early experiences of motherhood but I can't promise anything as I'm not in charge anymore!

Jodi & Iestyn x

Monday, October 22, 2007 One week to go for Jodi...

One week till due date! I am definitely getting more achey and twingey and if I've been on my feet for a while I am certainly aware that there's a baby's head low down in there! I have definitely perfected the waddle that's for sure.

I've spent the week taking it fairly easy. I did go shopping with my Mum one day but after a couple of hours on my feet I was absolutely exhausted. I honestly felt like I'd walked from John O'Groats to Lands End, not just round the local shopping centre! Other than that I've been partaking of my current favourite activities of baking and cleaning. Our flat has never been so clean!

Without a doubt, the highlight of this week has been the arrival of our travel system! Finally after ordering it three and a half months ago it has arrived and both Rhys and I are over the moon with it. We spent many hours playing with it the first day it arrived which hopefully was a worthwhile exercise as we don't want to look stupid when we get it out the car and try and assemble it on our first family trip out in a few weeks time!

The new pram:




I also took delivery of a nursing cushion this week which I've read good things about. Anything that helps to make breast feeding easier is worth it as far as I'm concerned. I'm fairly laid back at the moment when it comes to most aspects of parenting, I'm of the thinking that I'll see what my instincts tell me when the time arrives. However I am determined to breast feed, that is really important to me and it's something I will really persevere with. Hopefully I'll have a baby that takes to it like a duck to water.

The new nursing cushion:



I wonder if I will be a Mum the next time I speak to you? I'm not expecting anything to happen early as most first time pregnancies go overdue but I imagine that my family and friends will start applying the pressure if baby doesn't appear by its due date!

Right, time to go and have another cup of raspberry leaf tea! Got to keep that uterus in tip top shape! Speak soon x x x

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Jodi is earning her 'Mummy stripes'...

Here I am at 38 weeks pregnant. How did I get here so fast? Sometimes I am very ready to meet my baby and not be pregnant anymore, but sometimes the prospect of being a Mummy is too daunting and I decide that being heavily pregnant isn’t that bad after all!

Last week I met up with a number of my friends, all of which have at least one child. The subject of stretch marks came up (as it does!) and I was proudly exclaiming how I had none and was praising my skin’s amazing stretching abilities. Well it appears as if I tempted fate, as this week they are rapidly appearing by the hour! I’m actually not that upset about it, I consider them my ‘Mummy stripes’ and will be a reminder that I achieved the amazing feat of growing a baby.

I am beginning to have aches and pains and twinges, all a sign that the end is in sight. To be honest, I think once you get to this stage, you can convince yourself that any niggle is the onset of labour! However I’ve been told by my midwife that the average date for a first baby to appear is eight days after the due date so I’ve probably got a few more weeks to go yet.

The best thing to have happened this week is that baby’s nursery is finally completed! As you may remember me saying, my Dad has been busy painting a couple of murals on the walls. These are now finished and despite me knowing that he’s a very talented man, even I am amazed at how brilliant they look. Thanks Dad!

So, it’s just the travel system to arrive now and then Rhys and I are ready for you to arrive, baby - I hope you are listening in there!



Here's some pictures of the newly decorated nursery:

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Jodi is now full-term

Another week’s gone by but this one is a particularly important one as I am now 37 weeks. This means that I am officially considered full-term and I am now able to have my baby at the local midwife led unit as long as I go into labour naturally and there are no complications. Hopefully as I haven’t had any complications thus far in my pregnancy, my good fortune will continue into labour as well!

I am definitely feeling physically ready to give birth now. I am really struggling to get comfortable, particularly in the evenings and when it comes to bed time. I have been told by my midwife that good posture is very important at this stage of pregnancy. I should try and sit upright, leaning forward a little, to stop baby going into the back-to-back position (where their back is against my back) as this can make labour a lot longer and more painful; definitely something I want to avoid! So I am trying to do this as often as possible but sometimes the lure of a lie down on the sofa is too hard to ignore!

I repacked my hospital bag this week as I needed to squeeze a couple of big towels in just in case I get my waterbirth. I also added the baby clothes to the baby’s bag now that these have all been washed and ironed. Thankfully it seems that both of my bags are like the Tardis - there is so much stuff to take, yet both bags zip up ok!

The contents of the bags should see both me and baby through the first couple of days. The unit I will hopefully give birth in encourage you to stay in until breast feeding is properly established (if that’s what you choose to do) so as long as I am getting some rest in the hospital I shall stay there for about 4 to 5 days. However I will be sharing a room with three other new mums and babies so I’m not sure how long I shall be able to cope with hearing their babies screaming in the middle of the night as well as coping with my own!

I’d love to stay and chat to you, it gets a little lonely being on your own every day, but the important task of my afternoon nap is calling! I very much expect I’ll be updating you next week when I’m 38 weeks as I don’t expect an imminent arrival of my little one.

Until then…

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Jodi has finally finished work!

Here I am at 36 weeks and a lady of leisure! I finished work last week and I can’t begin to tell you what a blessed relief that is! I don’t think it’s sunk in yet that I won’t be returning for a whole year!

So, maternity leave: those four weeks of freedom before I start my next job – that of being a Mummy. Well, I’d had it all planned out that I’d be here, there and everywhere: catching up with people, shopping, baking, cleaning galore but I fear the reality will be somewhat different. After my first day at home I was surprised at just how tired I get doing the smallest of things so perhaps one major task a day and plenty of relaxation is the way to go. After all, in a few weeks time, I’ll never be able to put my feet up again!

Rhys and I attended our first antenatal class week and it was all about the labour process. It was very informative and I think Rhys really benefited and now feels better prepared for when the time comes. I also have a waterbirth class this weekend, coupled with a tour of the hospital’s maternity unit. I’m really keen on having a waterbirth if my labour goes according to plan; fingers crossed!

Well, when I next speak to you I will be deemed full-term and no doubt imagining every twinge is the start of labour! Also I should have a fully decorated nursery by then which I am really looking forward to arranging and kitting out this weekend. I have also taken delivery of a Moses basket I am borrowing from a friend and the bedding is on the washing line as I type. Finally we seem to be getting properly organised!

Well, I guess I ought to get back to the washing and ironing of those cute little baby clothes as you never know quite how soon I will need them!

Speak to you next week x

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 Not long to go for Jodi...

Hello all, I am now 35 weeks, a mere fortnight away from full term....now that is very scary!

The good news if you read my last entry is that baby is no longer breech. Hoorah! I felt a big shift in there last week and thankfully baby is now head down. This was confirmed at my 34 week midwife appointment which was without a doubt my best appointment since being pregnant.

My usual midwife was on nights so I got to see a different lady. You know how sometimes you just click with someone? Well that was certainly the case here. She had the time to properly address my concerns and I came away feeling so reassured.

Currently I am down to have this baby at a midwife led unit (as long as there are no complications) and I had a number of fears as to what would happen if things started going wrong, or if I decided I wanted an epidural, and she managed to allay every one of them and I walked away feeling confident that I can do this!

I am also measuring spot on for my dates, my blood pressure is nice and low and my iron levels were quite frankly very impressive! All in all I am the class swot when it comes to having a healthy pregnancy and that's just the way I like it!

The other big achievement this week is that my hospital bag is packed, so I am ready to go! It's unbelievable quite how much stuff you need but I must admit I did rather enjoy washing the cute little babygros and sleep suits which my baby will be wearing in a few weeks time. Exciting!

Bag packed and ready to go:





The next priority is getting the nursery decorated. In the past week my partner and I have chosen the paint, it was rather amusing when we asked the staff in B&Q to mix up the gloss for us; they had to double check that we really did want bright orange and green! Don't worry, the walls are going to be white (hopefully with characters from the bedding painted on - thanks Dad!) so baby won't be too over stimulated!

It's been lovely chatting to you but I best get back to work. I am just heading into my final week now and the end can't come soon enough. Speak next week.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 At 34 weeks, Jodi is feeling the strain....

I can't believe I am 34 weeks pregnant! The time is flying by so fast that I'm worried I might blink and then find myself in labour! However I'm sure that if I get to 40 weeks I will find the opposite to be true.

I am just beginning my penultimate week at work and next Friday just cannot come quickly enough. I am finding sitting at my desk for 8 hours a day really uncomfortable and I'm also really tired. The lack of sleep is really becoming an issue now and I got quite upset when it dawned on me that I probably wont get another good night's sleep now until sometime in 2008.....if I'm lucky! I am only getting up go to the loo once a night so that doesn't bother me too much; it's the fact that I can't roll over without waking up and then taking at least ten movements, coupled with a serious amount of huffing and puffing, to get over to the other side!

Having said all that, I am really going to miss being pregnant. It's such a magical time. I feel very clever indeed that I have managed to grow a real life baby inside me for the past 34 weeks! Every antenatal appointment I have had so far has been very short and sweet as I am having a text book pregnancy. The only concern being that baby has been breech so far and has shown no interest in going head down. I have my next appointment on Wednesday so hopefully baby will have decided to behave by then. I’ll keep you posted!

I must admit my other concern at this stage is how big I am going to end up! Whilst my bump is still pretty neat and tidy and all out front, the same cannot be said for my thighs and derriere! With six weeks still to go I do sometimes worry how much more I will put on! I successfully lost a lot of weight before falling pregnant so I know I can do it again when the time is right; I'm certainly not going to push myself to lose my baby weight in X number of weeks as the celebrities do!

That's all I have time for now. Speak to you next week!