My baby is one!

Olivia is now a whole one years old! I just can't believe it,where does the time go? It doesn't seem a whole year ago that she was a day old and we were having cuggles on the sofa.Now she is a proper little cheeky chops who never ceases to amaze me!.
On Saturday we had a party and a bbq for her,with a whopping 20+ guests.Liv was spoiled rotten and loved every minute.She especially loved her cake.







It's sometimes hard to believe how fast they grow up.



And we made it to the one year breastfeeding milestone! I have decided to carry on and see how things go as of the past 4 nights she has slept through which was the only reason i would consider giving up,but if she is sleeping then i don't see the need.

Ahh love my little family.

Where does time go?

This time last year it was my due date! I 100% knew Liv wouldn't be an early bird as her sister arrived 3 days late too.I can't believe how fast that has gone and in 5 days she will be ONE! She took her first steps two weeks away,two little wobbly ones but has since decided that is enough lol and has only took two more since haha,we have nicknamed her Nev after the little puppet on CbbC as all she says at the moment is "yeah".Olivia has also started giving kisses too which is just too cute,eeek she won't be a baby for much longer :(.
We are having a party which has turned out to be quite a big celebration but hey your only one once.We have everything ready now and just need to get the final touches,i can't wait,i think i'm more excited than Madison who has decided she wants to dress up as a princess-bless.
Then on the 10th September we are going away for a week in a lovely private cottage,just what we needed after this very up and down year.I can't wait to sink in the hot tub after a day out whilst the kids are in bed and just relax!

Oh blog how neglected you have been.I am sorry.

Whoa an update is LONG overdue!
Major milestones that have happened since the last update-Olivia is now crawling! and a right little speed demon she is too,she also is starting to pull to stand and has four teeth!.She is so different to Madison who didn't start doing this till 11 months.I'm not used to such a small baby crawling around lol.She also says "mummuma,dadada,iiiyaaa and nanana".
Liv also had her 8-12 month check on Tuesday and all is well although her weight gain is a bit slow i'm not concerned she is meeting development milestones and still getting mummy milk plus she eats for England so i imagine she just burns alot off lol.
Madison is doing great also although she doesn't like sleeping in her own room at the moment as she thinks there are monsters in there-bless! So she has been sleeping in our room something we are going to tackle tomorrow-wish me luck! lol.Madison's speech has always been good but now it is amazing,i love our little conversations and sing alongs,her favourite song at the moment is ba ba black sheep :) she sings this word for word and even says "one for incy spider"-too cute!
Here are my beautiful girls doing row row row your boat together



Now myself i'm doing good,i try not to let my job get me own but it's so hard when it is the most boring job going and you have someone lurking over your back to see if you have got your sales for the day.I did get a job offer from a care company but they operate on a zero hours contract which is useless so i am only doing bank work for them.I need to do an unpaid training course with them then i can start but they rang me the other day saying they couldn't get a reference from one of my previous jobs and could i chase it up.Eh? that is what your paid for!
I think for the moment being i am going to concentrate on doing my driving lessons,i just need to do something proactive.I feel such a failure i am no where near what i want to be and i want my girls to be proud of me.

Where to begin?

I am now back at work,i had to do 2.5 weeks of training which was sheer hell,thankfully it has been done now and i got 97% in my home insurance regulations exam and 100% in my financial services license exam :).Nothing at work changes except the faces as the place has such a high turnover rate,they are not too happy that i am back at work a breastfeeding mama,i even had to go home on day 1 as they had no where for me to express,even had the cheek to suggest the toilet!!! Since then they have upped their game and booked a meeting room for me every day.I love finishing at 8pm going home then feeding my Liv she's usually asleep but i wake her up as she doesn't have much milk at the childminders usually 2-3oz.

Update on the kids.
Olivia has got her FIRST tooth,it is so cute! and took what seems like forever to come through seeing as Madison had a couple at this stage.You can just see it on this picture,it's her bottom front left one.


Olivia is still trying her hardest to crawl,she gets on all fours,starts rocking but has one foot stuck and just can't fathom it out.She will do it in her own time.

Madison is a nightmare at the moment,she really has got the terrible 2s.Everynight for the past i'd say four weeks she has woken up only one to two hours after going to bed screaming and moaning to come down or go into our bed.She then has taken a good 45 minutes to put back to sleep.It's either this or she will be a nightmare to put to sleep,last night read her 7 stories,yes 7 and she wanted more,i said "no" and went out of the room and she went CRAZY! The only thing that got her back into bed was me telling her i was going to take her beloved "bun bun" away which i feel mean for saying but it worked!
Her speech is coming on more and more,earlier in the bath she got on all fours and said "Look mummy i am swimming like a fish" hehe so cute.
This was her the other day at the park,they've just put loads of new stuff in including 3 slides,she loves it!

Growing up so quick.

Olivia will be 7 months old next week,and has mastered sitting unaided for a good 5 minutes that is until she loses her balance lol.
I am also 22 next week eek,i feel old! Plans for my birthday have been left in ruin due to Paul's work being arseholes (excuse my french).Thankfully the lovely lady who owns the cottage has said we can go later in the year.So instead I'm getting my septum pierced and going out for a meal with friends,god knows how Olivia will be.A complete nightmare i imagine but Paul will have to manage haha.

Bleurgh.

That is one word to describe exactly how i am feeling at the moment.Ill and sleep deprived!
I've had a cold for the past few days and it's left me with a horrible tickly cough,i haven't had a cold in nearly a year though so have done quite well lol.Hopefully i will be feeling better later as were going to the park and letting Madison fly a kite,she's so excited,let's hope theres enough wind,although i think Olivia could create some haha.
Madison is so cute at the moment she sang all of twinkle twinkle little star then added her own bit at the end "one step and TICKLE" then ran over and tickled Paul.I recorded her so will have to add it :).She also sings row,row your boat and incy wincy spider.Incy wincy spider just consists of "Incy Spider-arrrggggh!" then she proceeds to chase you whilst doing spider motions haha.
Right i am off to have another brew,horrendous sleep last night thanks to feeling thirsty and Olivia wanting feeding and me not being able to get comfy.
Bye all.
I shall leave you with a picture of the gorgeous Olivia.

Babbling

Olivia is babbling!!!
It is so cute,in the past week she has been attempting to babble but nothing has been coming out she has just been moving her lips as if she was talking but in the last two days she has mastered it,it is so cute.
Ahh she is growing up so quick.

Weaning

We have begun!
Olivia is now 6 months old-how FAST has that gone? Only seems like yesterday that i was in shock at having delivered her in the living room with no midwife lol
Look how much she has changed-
Birth


six months




I'm glad i waited till 6 months to properly start weaning as she seems so ready for it.
So far we've tried banana,nectarine,rice cakes,broccoli and toast.I must say toast is her favourite at the moment,she had TWO pieces this morning.I sat her in her bebepod and plonked them in front of her,she picked a piece up straight away and started gumming it,a little bit of gagging but nothing major,I read a good tip that says count to ten when they start gagging,Olivia has cleared it herself by number 3.
At the moment she is happily squeaking away and rolling over lol.
Ah weaning is so fun and messy,i love it!!!

Tantrums

Madison definitely has the terrible two's!.She screamed ALL the way around Asda because i wouldn't let her have this "spider" toy.I was going to buy it her but she just kept throwing it out of the pram on purpose so i took it off her and said no which she wasn't too happy about.She has been in a grumpy mood the majority of the day until she.seen my dad aka "gandad" lol he kept calling her a lemon so she called him a "strawbey" bless.I love toddler speak!
Olivia is doing good she's now 15lb 5oz which isn't much of a gain but she's happy and healthy,that's what matters the most not where abouts she is on a graph.I only got her weighed to write it in her memory book lol.
I can't believe it's March already,i can't wait till our holiday at the end of the month!
I think we all need it.

One Thing After Another.

My poorly baby Olivia has an ear infection in both ears i suspect,so were off to the doctors at 11.50am,hopefully they will give her some drops to clear it up,must be awful.Madison has never had an ear infection! I think Olivia will be the "sicky" baby of the two lol.
Sleep update-Madison sleeps really well she's thankfully not on her 5/5.30am wakeups anymore,last night she slept 6.30pm till 7am! Olivia on the other hand is a nightmare,last night was reasonably okay she slept 8pm-11pm then 11-12pm then i lost count of the wakeups so she ended up sleeping on me eek!
I don't think i would get any "quality" sleep otherwise.
I can't believe she is six months old this week! How fast has that gone?!? She now can sit unaided for a few seconds,which is becoming more each day,she is so different to Madison who started sitting up unaided around 7/8 months.
Ahh i love my girls!
Madisons cheeky saying of this week is to call everyone "bobby geldof" haha as Paul was watching a video,I asked who it was and Madison thought it was hilarious so thats what we are getting called this week,either that or she will point at you and go "you pudding!" haha.
I just LOVE what kids come out with,I definately prefer the "toddler" age to the "baby" age as they can tell you what they want lol makes things so much easier,Olivia is still very much a mummys girl,and its hit or miss at whether she will take a bottle **sigh**.I just have to keep telling myself it's not forever and its obviously better to have milk "on tap" lol.

We went to the park yesterday,Madison loves just walking around and exploring.There were alot of dogs there too,one came upto her and she went "smelly doggy" lol
Here are some photos-

And a recent picture of Olivia,she i so cheeky,she was leaning out of her bouncer yesterday! She is so strong,it scared the life out of me lol.

First tastes

Olivia is 21 weeks old now and had a mushed up banana today! We just put some on a spoon,gave it her and she put it straight to her mouth and wolfed it down! This was after a full milk feed too,she was still crying as if she was hungry and she was!

I don't know whether to do a few homemade purees for a few weeks or to jump straight into BLW?.She can sit up well when supported and has extremely good head control.I think ill try her with a piece of brocholli and take it from there,see how she gets on.

Sleep is still not going well,we had 6+ wakeups for milk last night and also a 4.30am poop! Yuck i wasn't expecting that lol.Bath,milky,bed seems to be working on settling Olivia shes asleep now in my arms.Wish me luck on attempt #1 on putting her in her cot lol.

Our House

Our house is haunted! There is no doubt about it.I know there are alot of non believers but if you spent a night here trust me you would be a believer by the morning!
I just love this quote,it sums up our house a treat-
"When all logical theories have been exhausted...all that is left is the illogical or the paranormal."

We have decided to get a paranormal investigation team in,now i don't know if this is a good thing or not,I am intrigued but at the same time terrified that this might make things worse.
Something needs to be done about it though,the bedroom is so eerie you just get the feeling that your not alone in there!

I mean how do you explain a doorbell going off that has NO batteries in! TWICE! Pauls an electrician and couldn't explain that one,then the other day i heard a light tapping,as did Paul a few nights before,but you just can't figure out where it is coming from.It's so very strange.

The scariest thing of all is that Paul seen a ghost,now he thinks it was his Nanna but can't be 100% sure,I hope it is his Nanna or my Grandad!
ARRGH! I think i freak myself out sometimes lol,I will update on this once the investigation has taken place.

On another happy note my Olivia Magoo is 5 months old today!! This time 5 months ago she wasn't even born and i wasn't even in labour haha.I can actually feel the bumps of her teeth now,she hasn't been half as grumpy although her sleep is doing my head in.I think a growth spurt combined with clingyness has sent her sleeping patterns off the rails,we are still doing bath,milky,bed which seems to settle her off to sleep but she just doesn't stay asleep!
Were talking a maximum of one hour,she will only sleep longer if she is with me and to be honest the last few nights she has slept on my chest so i can at least get a few hours and be less zombiefied in the morning.I know it's not going to be forever,Madison was exactly the same and when she went on forumla she was alot less clingier but i'm determined to breastfeed Olivia till she's at least one year old.

Right i best be off seeing as someone is doing me a little present haha oh the joys!

Awake but sleeping

I am so tired it is unreal.Olivia will just NOT sleep unless i am holding or nursing her.I remember Madison being like this-clingy but she wasn't half as bad as Olivia is,she won't even let Paul hold her.Olivia is asleep in my arms now,doing little sleepy smiles,she is unbelievably cute but oh how i wish she would sleep.I am going to attempt to put her in her cot again soon,this will be attempt 4/5,I've even put my top in there so she can smell my scent but nothings working,she just wants ME! which flattering it may be is wearing me out,I feel as if i'm running on empty.
Here goes to another attempt and a sleepless night.I forgot how hard they were even more harder with a toddler.I take my hat off to anyone with more than two kids.
When your a mum the nights are short,days are long,tiring,and hardwork but i wouldn't change it for the world as when i get my "big smacker" (kiss) off Madison or a gummy smile off Olivia i know its all worth it.

Bath,Milky,Bed

I have finally started getting Olivia into a routine,night two was last night,she had her bath and fell asleep on the sofa afterwards haha so i gave her a sleepy feed and she was asleep in her cot at 7.30pm! she then slept till 10pm had another feed slept till 12.30am had a feed then slept till 3am.Can you see the pattern? Every 2 and a half hours.I am so tired but thankfully Madison had a lie in this morning which is very unusual i actually got worried! She woke up at 7am instead of 6am.
I can't believe its February already,I bet this year will fly by.My maternity pay runs out in May so i'm hoping to get a new job around then,I can't face going back to my old job,yes the hours were good but the actual work was horrid and so were the majority of the people who worked there and you just know when your face doesn't fit.I'm hoping to get into care work in the evening so Paul can look after the kids,although we do still have the problem of Olivia not taking a bottle! We tried again the other night and she just messed with the teat,had a few sucks then got angry and would only feed off me.It's nice in a way that she only wants me but on the other hand when am i going to have a break?? I wanted to have a good few beers for my birthday in April but i won't be able to now lol good job i love you Olivia! And i wanted to breastfeed for a year anyway lol
Plan of action for today is to go playgroup with the girls then have a bit of shop,come home and relax ahhh,I best go and get my gorgeous girls ready.

Well,Well,Well.

Olivia has put on 11oz in 14 days! The little chunk,she is back to being on the 50th percentile now,but i think that is the last time i am going to get her weighed.I can see shes healthy and shes meeting milestones etc,the worry over her weight just give me unnecessary stress.
I really love breastfeeding at the moment,i am so glad i perserved with it with both girls.I can't imagine making bottles at daft o clock lol! but not just that i love the bond that it gives me and Olivia,the bond that only we as mother and daughter have.It's such a shame that some people don't even try,at the clinic today which is in chav central near my nans,there was only me breastfeeding out of what must of been around 10 mums! Shocking :(

Madison went to bed at 6pm tonight bless her cottons,she hasn't had a nap all day! but has had a very busy day,went to nannys and did some "cooking" lol,i'm just hoping this early night doesnt induce a 5am wakeup eek!

I sometimes wonder if i have any "real" friends,seeing as someone i let be at the birth of my child decides to go out with someone else when we have made plans then lie and go out with someone else instead of me and not even let me know really upset me **sigh**..ahh you know what..fook her as she just isn't worthy of my friendship,i am better than let this get me down! Id love a friend who i could speak to everyday and see all the time and you known just do girly things with,but they seem so hard to find! :( I am in a rather sad mood tonight,i think it is time for a brew and a film on my own.

What a life i lead.If it wasn't for my family i don't think id bother! The thought of us all moving away and starting anew is seeming more and more appealing day by day.

I am surprised

I am surprised at how different Olivia is to Madison.Olivia is now rolling over! Madison didn't roll over until at least 6/7 months,that being said Olivia has been able to hold her own head up from birth,the midwife said she had never seen such a strong baby and that she was more like a one month old than a newborn.
We are now hearing more and more noises too,Olivia sounds so squeaky bless,she makes me giggle when i see her trying to get her toy frog whilst holding onto her feet lol.
I have just weighed her on my digital scales and she has put on approx 3oz in two weeks eek,I know what to expect tomorrow the "weaning" word.I will not be weaning her though as she is satisfied with milk.If she was like Madison at her age who was on horrible baby rice,(I know so much more than i did then!),I'd think she was ready for weaning as Madison used to feed every hour even through the night whereas Olivia feeds every 2/3 hours.
Nap time now yippee,hopefully we will have around two hours,you know your a mum when you get excited about nap time haha.
Pointless post really but i just want to keep date of Olivias milestones!
Hopefully will be updating with some toothy grins soon lol

Nearly the end of January.

Well end of January nearly,I can't believe that by the end of this year i will be a mother to a 3 year old and a one year old.Crazy.I saying in school i would never have kids.Mad how things change,I wouldn't be without my girls now!

As i sit hear now i can hear Olivia gurgling away on her playmat whilst Madison is laughing her head off at her,melts my heart seeing them so being so sweet together.Although Madison did throw a snow globe at Olivias head the other day ouch.On the whole she is a brilliant big sister :)
I am so not used to having such a loud baby,Olivia squeaks her little head off and gurgles all day long when she is not having a bad teething moment that is.Oh the blood curdling screams i will never forget them argh.

At the moment Olivias new thing is trying to eat her feet she trys her hardest bless.


Check out those so called underweight legs! haha
I shall have to go as Livi is crying now,I think the playmat has took it out of her lol
x

The Big Bed Transition

Madison finally went into her big bed on Saturday night,it only took two attempts of getting her in there,which is alot less than i thought then she was fast asleep.Although she did wake up at 5am,I hate 5am wake ups! I am quite surprised that she hasn't started running around her room in the morning,she just sits in the bed with her Louie lamb bless.My little girl is not so little anymore!

My littlest Magoo Olivia is teething so badly i really feel for her,her bottom gums are red raw and two little white teeth are trying to poke through.Madison keeps saying "babies peggys coming" lol.Teething gel does work to a point but last night she was hysterical with them,usually putting her on the boob will settle her but she wouldn't even have that.Sometimes i just think that i would like a break,is that bad?
I don't seem to have time to even go to the loo in peace anymore.I love Olivia but i just need sleep,I do more a less all the caring of Olivia,is it any wonder I'm starting to feel burnt out?
Hopefully our little holiday in 2 months time and Olivia starting solids will make things a little better.
**sigh**

The smallest magoo

is underweight apparently as at 18 weeks she is 14lbs exactly,I'm not worried to be honest i am more annoyed than anything else.They as in the "HVs" want me to take her back to the clinic in two weeks to see if she has put weight on.I think if she hasn't put alot on they will be mentioning weaning even though after looking around on the net i have found that breastfed babies start to gain weight slower after the 4 month mark and infact it is the forumla fed baby that is growing too quickly! Makes sense really seeing as a breastfed infant can regulate how much food they want.

As for Madison and her "big bed" we are still yet to try it lol,she woke at 5am yesterday and didn't have a nap so it was a very LONG day to say the least although she did go to bed at 6.30pm and stayed asleep till 6am.The "big bed" transition will be taking place at weekend now.

I have just watched the programme one born every minute and cannot believe the woman who was in the first episode.What a drama queen,yes labour is painful that why it is called labour.She was screaming and being hysterical,probably didnt help that she was strapped to the bed unable to walk around and let gravity help with the birthing process but still.**sigh**

What a kerfuffle!

Well last night did not go to plan at all.
Paul went and picked up the toddler bed with Steve his step dad and on the way back the they must of gone over a bump or something and the bed has smashed the back window eek!
Steve was not impressed to say the least but it's not Paul's fault its just one of those things.So Madison did not end up in her big bed last night she just decided to bounce all over the mattress lol were are going for attempt number 2 tonight!
Plans for today are to sort the washing out which i have nearly finished,apply for a cleaning job,its only four hours a week and a bit of extra cash for us,go up to my Mum and Nans and get Olivia weighed.Olivia hasn't been weighed for more than 7 weeks now and at her last weigh in was 12lb 12oz! Shes such a chunky baby with chunky legs,I love them lol I think she will be around the 14lb/15lb mark now as i did weigh her on my scales and it said she was more than a stone.We shall see!
She had her injections yesterday too poor baby,I've never heard her sob like that before she was struggling to get her breath as she got herself so worked up! But thankfully she is in a better mood today :)
Hopefully tomorrow i will be able to update on how Madison's first night in the big bed worked out lol
And just a picture of Madison i LOVE!
She is such a cutie.