lifestyle blog posts focusing on home, lifestyle, parenting, pregnancy, family life and home and style. Home decor and working at home, working at home as a self employed freelancer and blogger. Family lifestyle blog posts including family reviews, family products and saving money as a family. Being a more eco friendly family.
My baby boy is nine months old already. Time is absolutely flying by and his 8 to 9 month of life has brought plenty of changes. He now has his first two teeth and his top two are just there moving down about to break through. We can see them pretty clearly but they haven’t cut through the gum yet.
We have had our first holiday as a family of four where Felix enjoyed ice cream, the sand, the sea, bubbles and swimming. He was constantly crawling and cruising around the caravan and showing us how fast he can go. He’s a real climber and he is just starting to lower himself with some control back down to the floor.
He has been blowing kisses and waving a little bit recently although its more of a hand flop but he will imitate in his own way when we blow kisses and wave at him. Some of his sounds say like he’s saying hello and no but most of his babble is just funny baby speak. It seems he is starting to recognise Adam as dada and me as mumma. He’s also said a little bit of Nanana which is quite cute.
He is a pretty smiley baby and has his own little cackle although he doesn’t really laugh out loud very much. It’s more of a throaty growl noise to be honest which is pretty funny. He loves to kick his legs out when he’s happy. He follows us around a lot too and has a lot of distrust in the hoover.
Food wise he does seem to suffer with constipation from time to time, particularly with heavy fibrous foods like cereals so we are experimenting with getting the right amount of fibre and fruit for him. He is doing a lot more self feeding now too. He is still having around 5 bottles of 6oz milk a day at the moment. I know he will have a 9-12 month review with the health visitor so I will ask about this. We are planning on moving over to oat milk rather than cows milk at the age of 1 but we will see how that goes.
He is an early riser which I am really struggling with now. He is often awake around 5am and it just makes the day feel very, very long. It’s particularly hard on one of Adam’s work days because he is asleep most of the day and I feel like I’m parenting solo a lot of the time. It got to a point where I said that on some of his days off we need to swap so that he gets up with Felix and does the school run in the morning just so I can have a little bit of a break which does seem to help quite a lot.
Most mums would be returning to work around 9 months. I have been working on and off for the last nine months being self employed however I am going to try and put in a proper work type schedule over the next few months and hope to have a good working routine in place by the time he’s one.
A couple of months ago we purchased a new pushchair for Felix. We originally had a travel system which was great for the birth – six months bassinet type pram but when we flipped it to parent facing Felix looked uncomfortable, the straps were at odd angles and the soft cover foot muff didn’t really stay in place. Getting him in and out for the school runs was becoming an absolute nightmare. So I went back to Cosatto’s website and selected the absolutely beautiful Woosh XL in the Mister Fox design. Both Felix and I absolutely love it!
The Cosatto Woosh XL is lovely and slim. The design is beautiful and Felix fits in it like a dream. He’s a long but slender baby so having something on the narrow side has worked wonders for us as he has plenty of room. Opening the box the pushchair came with a cute Mister Fox soft toy, raincover, cup holder, generous under pram storage and a full hood with sun shade. We decided to purchase the additional reversible foot muff too for the colder weather.
Folding the Cosatto Woosh XL is simple and it folds up quite small compared to other brands we have used which is ideal for taking out and about and will be perfect for our holiday in July. You do need to make sure the shopping basket underneath isn’t extended out to fully fold down. Bringing back up is nice and simple too so we’re no longer stood outside the car in a busy car park setting up a pram for ten minutes.
I am really, really happy with our pram. It’s a great size, folds up well and Felix is comfortable in it.
Felix is now 8 months old. I have no idea what he weighs as I haven’t taken him to the clinic. Now we have a car we may do but he is growing, he’s eating well, he’s moving well, he’s sleeping well so I kind of feel weight shouldn’t be an issue. He is supposed to have the 9-12 month development check soon so I’m sure they will weigh him then.
He’s going to need to move into some of his 9-12 month clothes shortly as he’s just very long. He’s very slender though so things that fit him well over the bottom aren’t really good with the length. Still at least it’s summer now so he can wear a few less layers.
Physically
Felix is commando crawling everywhere now and occassionally gets up on his knees to crawl too. He is starting to take one hand off the floor to reach up to things and pull himself onto things but not quite pulling himself to standing. He now sleeps on his front because he flips onto it as soon as he’s ready to sleep. He sleeps better than when we tried to flip him back as he would just wake up and cry. We’ve also transitioned into a cot from his co-sleeper crib and he’s done brilliantly in there for the last week.
Socially
He is very vocal and chatty now saying mum ma mum ma, dadada and nanana amongst all the other little noises. He has a great cough-laugh which makes me laugh a lot. He likes to look in the mirror and he’s very smiley. He also whines and whinges a lot at this age to get our attention if he wants picking up. It’s different from the cry he would usually do.
Routine
He is now on three meals a day with a variety of purees and finger foods. We offer him water with his meals and he’s still having five bottles of 6oz of formula milk. He wakes up around 5.30 am and is usually ready for bed by 6.30pm. He likes a bit of a change of scenery from time to time but if we go out he can get a bit of FOMO and sometimes won’t nap which can lead to him becoming overtired. We had a night away in half term and he did really well with a different bed so hopefully when we’re on holiday next month he will do well sleeping there too.
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.
