Celebrating seven months of being a mum of two and getting through my baby boy’s first horrible cold and proper spell of teething. It’s been a hard month. When babies get colds they take such a long time to recover. He was full of snuffles, sniffles and snot. He was teething, he was trying to crawl and it was all just a very chaotic month. I’m glad he’s much better now.
Speech
Felix is often chatting to his toys, whilst he’s playing, to us in the morning and to Evie whenever she comes in the room. He is making lots of different sounds and really sounds like he’s saying “Mummmmm” when he’s sad or wants a change. He often shouts out for attention with a short, loud vowel sound which is quite funny and it’s often followed by a smile from him. He has a lot of whines, cries and moans too. He blows a lot of spit bubbles and raspberries and is just getting used to moving his mouth. His laugh is infectious and very throaty, it makes us all laugh!
Physical Development
At seven months Felix can not sit unaided and has no interest in trying. He will pull himself into more of a sitting position on my lap to look around or look on the floor if he drops something. He loves bouncing in his jumperoo and if he gets bored he has started putting his arms to me to get out. He will bounce when being held up too.
He is constantly flipping onto his front now and is moving about on the floor with a sort of belly shuffle. He will try and reach out and move towards a toy he wants and is very determined. He will do little baby push ups and get onto his hands and then onto his knees and moves them as if he wants to crawl but hasn’t quite got the movement coordinated yet. It’s great seeing him change so much though.
Feeding
We have sort of adopted a bit of a weird weaning method which has leaned towards traditional weaning more. Felix is quite lazy when it comes to food and does seem to enjoy being fed from a spoon more so we have been using purees however in the last week or so he has been copying us more so we are going to introduce more finger foods and start giving him more of what we are having. He now has two meals a day but they’re not really in any routine and he’s having around five bottles of 5 or 6 ounces. He is not a hungry baby – not compared to Evangeline, who was drinking 8 ounces and quickly loved food. He does seem very content though!
So far we’ve stuck to fruit and veg. He’s had some dairy from yoghurt and cheese which he hasn’t seemed too fussed about. He doesn’t like things to be too cold unless he’s teething then a bit of pear has worked really well for him to chomp on. He will steal food and is much more interested in trying what we have. I had avocado on toast the other day which he took from my hands and every time I picked up a new piece he wanted what I had so I think we will have great success eating side by side with him.
Sleeping
His day time sleep is very broken and there isn’t as much as a routine anymore. Sometimes he needs four naps a day, sometimes just two. He is going longer between naps and can usually cope with about three hours of awake time before needing a rest. He will go down for the night anytime from 6.30-7pm and awake around 5.30 am. He is very much an early riser. I’m very glad he sleeps through with just a few wake ups every now and then at the moment but the lack of sleep during the day sometimes make it quite hard to get things done.
Probably contains spoilers so don’t read on if you haven’t watched or don’t care. If you’re one of the apparently small percentage of people that HAVENEVER SEEN A SINGLE EPISODE OF GAME OF THRONES then this is not a post for you. From now I can assume most people have watched that episode of Game of Thrones and I’ve seen so many reactions to it across social media and from friends and family. As a casual viewer or fan of the show alone I completely see how epic it was and I agree, but part of me is actually a little bit disappointed by the storyline and here’s why.
Firstly, I am not just a casual fan, my knowledge of Game of Thrones doesn’t just span the TV show but the books, the world, the extras and so on. I love the world that George R.R. Martin has created and I am very hopeful that the remaining books will come out and there will be a more complete picture. So I can look at Season 8 Episode 3 through two sets of eyes I suppose. The first as someone that just appreciates the show that has been created by some fantastic writers and the second from someone that is a huge fan of A Song and Ice and Fire (the book series). But it’s not just a currently 5 (actually 7) book saga because there is so much more. And I have read a good portion of them. So, I like to think I know my stuff.
As someone that enjoys the show, I can not dispute that it was epic. The acting throughout was absolutely outstanding. Every sequence was gripping, the cinematography was stunning. There was amazing camera shots, in the thick of it action and fighting shots and the entire time you were thrown from character to character the episode kept you going. It was full of ups and downs. It was insane and no wonder it was the biggest battle ever shown in TV History. I’ve watched the making of the episode and I give real credit and thanks to the people that worked on it and made it so amazing. They delivered something that surpasses all other fights on the show.
But…and they say everything you say before you say But isn’t really important. It’s like I’m just buttering people up really isn’t it? Honestly, the episode I can not fault. As a standalone episode it was brilliant, shocking and surprising but here’s where I do find fault
Arya…Really?
Looking back it does make sense that what Arya was doing throughout lead you to see she would be the one to kill the Night King. Melisandre knew she was vital, Bran knew she would need the Valyrian steel dagger, Melisandre reminded her again of what she had to do and it clicked. The move she used to kill the Night King was brilliant. It was shocking and unexpected. I have to give credit to Maisie Williams too who has played Arya so well. She is my favourite character in the book by far. But Arya wasn’t the prince that was promised so part of me doesn’t really get why it was her.
The Prince Who?
Looking from the book there has been a Night’s King but the Night King we see in the show, the king of the Wight Walkers, hasn’t yet been introduced – if he will be – but the prophecy of Azor Ahai reborn is a really strong theme in the book – the one that will end The Long Night. Arya doesn’t really fit that prophecy. We don’t really know who The Prince that Was Promised (or Princess as the translation is Gender Neutral) but it has pretty much always been assumed it was Jon or Dany. Arya might be considered a “Princess of the North” if Jon was still King of the North – although she isn’t because she’s Jon’s cousin, not brother, and Jon bent the knee. So I don’t know.
I kind of feel what was the point really in introducing the prophecy because it was never about who would sit on the Iron Throne. I feel like I still have questions and I was hoping episode 3 of season 8 on Game of Thrones would answer more of my questions.
The Night King is no more…
He died quickly. Too quickly. I felt like it was done right, I just question why Arya was the one to do it. She’s trained to be a Faceless Man, an assasin, so I get why she was trained to kill but what I don’t get is how that makes her the right one to kill the Night King. I wonder if it will even happen in the books the same way, if it does, because I sort of felt Arya was chosen to do it because the writers wanted a young girl to be the real heroine. We also saw that in Lyanna Morments final moments I think.
But most frustratingly there isn’t a moment in the episode where you find out why. Why did the Night King do what he did, who was he, and why was Bran his target? I don’t know what will happen in the remaining three episodes but I really hope some of those questions are tied up and answered.
Is Cersei REALLY end boss? Really?
I don’t get it that Cersei is the big finale bad guy. I don’t believe she’s actually pregnant and if she is I think we may see a repeat death from the Red Wedding. Euron is just annoying. I don’t see him as being a big threat. He is nothing compared to Ramsay Bolton, or even Joffery to be honest. I know she’s going to die, I am pretty confident Jamie will be the one to kill her and I think it will end a little Romeo and Juliet. But she’s just locked up in her keep with a big army. The next big battle is just not even going to compare to The Long Night.
Where is Bronn?
Bronn is apparently on his way to Winterfell to kill Jamie and Tyrion. I don’t think he’ll do it to be honest. I’ll be surprised if he does. I think we’ll find out what’s going on there in the next episode to be honest.
The Best Moments from The Long Night
There were quite a few stand out moments for me. Firstly, the scene where you see the lights go out from the Dothraki was epic. It just went to show how horrible and huge this fight was going to be. The fighting with Jamie and Briene was a fantastic echo to their first fight on the bridge in season 3. They’re together fighting side by side and helping each other up when the other gets overwhelmed. I think we all realised just how hard the Night King was prepared to fight was during his little showdown with Jon and he raised all the dead back up. It could have been a devastating, never ending Long Night. The moment between Sansa and Tyrion was incredibly touching in the Crypt too.
The Deaths from The Long Night
I honestly expected more big character death’s in this episode. How Grey Worm is still alive I can not even say. I’m currently taking it that if I didn’t see them die then they’re fine so fingers crossed Tormund and Pod are still alive. Sam should be dead the amount of times he was overwhelmed but I think he’s got the protection of plot armor. Ed’s death was expected, and I’m glad it was a quick kill. I also correctly predicted the death of Lyanna Morment and I actually liked her scene with the giant. I also had a feeling we would be saying goodbye to Theon from the moment he said he’d protect Bran in the Godswood. The only one I didn’t expect was Jorah, and that really did get me feeling all the emotions. Particularly when Drogon comes back and curls around them both.
How I’d Love To See it End
Honestly, I think we’re going to say goodbye to Dany and the dragons, I can’t see her being queen after all this. It would almost be too perfect as she’s had so many “wins” that giving her the final win would be overkill. However, it could happen.
But I’d actually like to see Gendry on the throne and Jon remaining king in the north. Two kings bringing peace between Baratheon (because Jon could actually name Gendry as the last living male of the Baratheon line as technically, he is the rightful king) and Targaryen after a rebellion that started it all in the very begining when Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark betraying Robert Baratheon in the very beginning, ran off together to get married in secret.
For #RealNappyWeek I am going to talk about how easy it is to get started with cloth nappies and give you some affiliate links on the things you can find and buy to make your experience using cloth nappies simple and easy. I want to stress that if you don’t know where to start with real nappies, it does not have to be all or nothing from day dot. You can slowly build up a collection. Just swapping one disposable a day for a cloth nappy will help save around 900 single use plastics going to landfill and that is amazing.
Find Out About Real Nappies
First thing I would say is to visit The Nappy Lady website where you can find out loads of useful information including a questionnaire on what nappy’s you might want to try first. It’s also got lots of instructional videos, advice, how to’s and benefits of using cloth.
Visit A Nappy Library
This is usually in places like children centres so it’s worth looking to see if there is a real nappy library in your area or close by. These often give out trial kits for you to try before you buy. It’s a great way to see them in use, get a feel for them. A quick search online or asking a local social media page might be a good place to start.
Check if your Local Authority offers a Real Nappy Incentive
If it does, this is great. It is usually a discount voucher, real nappy kit or subsidised voucher to help parents get started with cloth nappies. Some councils offer it as you will be naturally reducing or not putting out as much waste when using cloth.
Check Pre Loved, NCT, Selling Pages & Ebay for deals
Cloth nappies have an excellent resell value and buying them second hand can really help you build up a collection quickly for a fraction of the cost. I was able to get a bundle of all in ones, pockets, two parts and liners for just £15 on a local selling page in a variety of sizes which has massively helped with my son. You can strip them and give them a wash before storing them. When you’re done with them sell them on to make more space in your changing unit.
Check Local Supermarkets
Some supermarkets sell reusable nappies so to help you build up your stash you could consider adding one or two to your weekly or monthly shop to spread the cost if you want to buy new. Or you could consider just buying one or two a month when you can afford it from different providers until you find the right nappies for you.
Potty Training with Reusable Nappies
There are potty training pants available too for older toddlers that want to be constantly on the move. I know you might be thinking, why not just move to normal pants? If they’re reusable they’re going to wash better and hold accidents better as well as feel a bit more grown up for little ones. It also means not having to buy proper pants until they’re truly dry through the day. I remember potty training with Evie and we threw so many pairs of knickers away following accidents before going back to pull ups!
Reusable Swim Nappies
If you swim a lot with your baby you can spend a small fortune in disposable swim nappies. The designs on cloth swim nappies are super cute and will probably end up saving you money in the long run. Again I’ve seen this in supermarkets as well as online so they’re very accessible.
We have been attempting to make lots of eco friendly changes to our family lifestyle and one of those has been using more Cloth nappies. Reusable nappies are so much easier to use than they used to be and we are still finding our feet with which works best when we’re at home, out and about and during the nighttime. We have now, however, built up a bit of a collection in various all-in-ones and pocket cloth nappies.
I’ve written about our changing table set up here. We’re using bamboo boosters and fleece liners alongside the nappies and they’re very easy to clean! You can use bamboo liners if you want which you should throw away and not flush despite many of them saying they’re flushable. A better way to deal with poop in cloth nappies is to simply hold them against the flush and sluice them off into the toilet before washing them.
There are so many great prints available too which makes cloth nappies really cute and actually quite lovely to see on a baby. I know when we’re n holiday or experiencing warmer weather letting Felix wonder around with a cloth bum is going to be a little cuter than the regular nappies and honestly it feels good to do something that I know is going to benefit the environment.
I know a lot of parents are concerned about the amount of washing when it comes to reusable nappies but it honestly hasn’t been a problem for us and usually do a wash of cloth nappies every three days or so. We are also using reusable wipes and I’m using cloth sanitary protection too so it makes sense to wash these all together and makes me feel like I’m not just putting on an extra load. Every other nappy wash we use the Dettol Laundry Cleanser just to give them a good clean and we always air dry our cloth nappies. Tumble Drying can affect the absorbency of them.
Most cloth nappies are best for babies around 8lb+ however there are plenty of companies that offer smaller, newborn sized nappies which are ideal for babies between 5lb-10lbs. We had a lovely set of these for Felix but as he was born at 9lb-9oz we didn’t get as much use out of them as we would have liked! The designs really grab me though I have to say, they’re so colourful! Tots Bots have a set of All In One nappies for smaller babies which are a great addition to hospital bags for those that want to cloth from day one.
There are lots of wonderful companies around featuring cloth nappies and I really recommend visiting a local nappy library to see if they offer any trials so you can find a good fit for you and your baby. It can get a little overwhelming at times. There are ones with velcro which are lovely and snug but as babies get older and they can undo the velcro they might not work as well. There are also nappies with poppers which I personally find a bit fiddly at times to get the right shape but they are fully versatile and will, hopefully, be harder for little ones to pop off when they get bigger.
Affiliate Link for Tots Bots Reusable Nappy Kit Below:
No. You’re not. You really don’t need to keep asking every year when a new series comes on. But don’t worry! This is the last season of Game of Thrones! Loads of people it seems from my social media claim they “haven’t seen a single minute” of the HBO show Game of Thrones and do you know what? No one cares. The fans of the show don’t care that you haven’t seen it, nor do the actors, directors, writers or anyone involved in the show. No one cares that you haven’t seen it. Finally, your question has been answered!
However, every time I see this I can’t help but feel those that aren’t fans are trying to get the upper hand for something. It’s like being at school, when you like something and then it becomes “mainstream” so it’s much more edgy and cool to say how much you fundamentally disagree with something that a lot of people like. It feels a bit juvenile. A bit like you’re trying to make fun of the fans of the show. A bit like it’s way too geeky or nerdy for you. You don’t have to like it. No one is forcing you to like it. No one is coming up to you and holding your eyes open and face directly in front of the screen to make you watch something that is not your thing. So you really don’t need to keep asking if you’re the only one. I’m sure there are many, many more people that have never seen an episode or read one of the books. They just don’t feel the need to imply that they are above everyone else that enjoys it. Because that is exactly how it comes across.
I could go on and on about how much I don’t enjoy daytime TV, any reality celebrity programme, most chart music, prawns, sitting at a table with my back facing the restaurant but it’s such mundane, irrelevant stuff that no one really cares about.
I’ll admit that this probably comes across as a bit like I do care and need your approval for the type of things I enjoy watching but since I woke up this morning all I’ve read is people saying “Is it just me that has never and will never, ever watch Game of Thrones?” that it’s just got on my nerves and made me feel a bit belittled for enjoying a TV show. It’s just too much negativity for an early Monday morning in the Easter holidays. I totally understand that if annoyed or angry or frustrated you are eight times more likely to complain or talk about something than if you enjoy it. But I don’t get it. I don’t get this sort of weird dislike for show that people who haven’t watched it, and never plan to watch it, want to keep banging on about how they “MUST be the only person that has never seen a second of Game of Thrones.”
So for those of you that haven’t seen it, that’s fine. You do you and enjoy whatever you like watching. But the snide comments are really not needed to make those that like and enjoy the really successful show are so unnecessary.
To clear a few misconceptions though – because there are PLENTY of misconceptions about a fantasy drama show – it’s not all boobs and sex and blood and dragons. It’s actually a lot of very good writing. It is fantasy, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, you’re probably not going to enjoy it. But it also really digs deep into relationships between families, people, the underdog coming through, expectations, class divides and war. It is emotionally driven and there are a lot of scenes and episodes that bring all the feels. It isn’t afraid to do the unexpected – which happens frequently but especially every penultimate episode. Episode 9 of the first six series has always been a hard hitting, shocking and emotional episode. It’s also acted really well and there are some beautiful filming locations.
And I really am a mega fan too. I’ve read the books, I have the audiobooks (although the voice acting is questionable), I have the extra books that talk through the history of the world George R.R. Martin has created. I hope, one day, I’ll get to read how it ended as well as watching and as much as I wish I had been able to read all of the books first, I’m looking forward to diving back into that world again. I’ve scoured fan theory reddit forums and watched fan made prediction videos on YouTube. My family have actual in depth conversations about the episodes, what we think is to come and discussing theories and possibilities.
We are going through a bit of a shit time in the world right now with the Tories, Brexit, low employment rates, the crisis and shambles of the NHS, cuts in schools, poverty, a million families using food banks to feed their families, all of the issues with Universal credit, global warming, plastic in the ocean and that’s just a scratch on the surface of the fundamental global problems that are existing right now. So maybe having a little bit of escapism in a world that (isn’t real) is going through a worse crisis than we are (an army of the dead coming to kill them all lead by a king that can raise more dead as he kills and rides a dead dragon) isn’t such a bad thing is it? If it gives us 60 odd minutes of enjoyment once a week until the middle of May to make us feel a little bit better about what’s actually going on outside, then I am all for it.
