Month 9 With Ash x

What the heck.. Month 9!

Easter!! What a lovely First Easter with my little Family. We celebrated with Lunch at Nan’s! Easter is not a huge deal in our Family but I wanted to keep it going for Ash! I ordered him an outfit. He had an Easter bib, ears and even a cute little Easter bag. He enjoyed his first try of A white chocolate Fredo Frog from Auntie Bobby. He enjoyed it a little to much that he wasn’t very happy when mumma took it away from him!! As usual Baby Ash was A very spoilt little boy and had a very happy Easter weekend.

Ash is crawling around the whole house now and doesn’t he love checking everything out! A few of his favorites include:

• Watching the dryer

• Slapping his hands on the tiles

• Looking at himself in the refection of the fridge, squealing and dancing at himself

• Watching the music channel

• Making music

It is just crazy how fast my little babe is growing up. He is wanting to eat everything now! At nine months we have started to give him finger foods so he can also feed himself. He LOVES doing it! It freaks me out a little but I have to let him go he enjoys it so much. I think it helps alot with teething, him being able to rub the foods up along his top gum! Ash has finally cut a top tooth! His top right tooth popped though only a few days ago!

I don’t know if it was due to teething or not and because our little man has asthma it makes it alot worse, he got sick! Just a very runny nose and a bad cough but he had to have some medicine for 5 days to stop the mucous bill up and he also had to have antibiotics. Ontop in that he has a floppy larynx so he does sound like he is really struggling when he gets abit of a build up like that. He was cleared up within no time though, Thank gosh. It’s awful seeing your babe sick!

Since getting into an amazing right sleep routine Ash started holding his own bottle. Declan put Ash to bed one night, gave him his bottle and left the room. We watched in the monitor Ash drinking his bottle all hy himself and then he rolled over and put him self to sleep! Ahhhh, it just gets better.
I couldn’t believe it, my baby that we have rocked to sleep for 10 months just self soothed and fell to sleep own his own!!! Unbelievable. (Not every single night, but it’s still so worth bragging about!)

Well as I post this Ash is 10 months old today! I can not believe he will be one in only a few short months. It is funny hey, you feel like this little person has been in your life FOREVER and then when you think about the time you have had with them you can’t comprehend that is has nearly been a year! Weird I know, but you wouldn’t have it any other way! Would you? Haha…

Dakoda xxx

Sawyer Bear Baby Blends

Not just a coincidence?…

“Sleepy Bear”

Ash has always been a great sleeper until about 6 months old.

From 6 weeks old (roughly) he slept all night. From what a can remember I think month 4 and 5 was the best. He would sleep from 6 untill 6. WHAT A DREAM.

I should probaly note, Ash wore love to dream swaddles up until he started rolling at around six months. We transitioned him into sleeveless sleeping bags. He was unsettled for maybe the first two nights and then started sleeping okay again. (For a few weeks!)

By about month Seven, Ash was struggling to go down and sleep all night. I know alot of people say “that’s just what babies do” but in my case we had a baby that had slept all night for a long time and it was quite a shock! We would have to settle him a few hours after he went down, at about 1am he would wake and most of the time his dad or I would go sleep with him in the spare bed because he just would not settle to go back in his cot. He would then wake for the day no later than 5-5.30. It was starting to take it’s toll, we were all tired!

One of my good friends Kursti told me she had ordered “sleepy bear” a blend of essential oils to help her bub go to sleep. I couldn’t get my head around it, “what an oil that you can put on your baby and it helps you sleep” I kept thinking. I HAVE TO TRY SOME.

I jumped onto @sawyerbearblends and had a look through and read about the Sleepy bear and seen there was also Teethy Bear and Rashy Bear. I then had a look for the Mumma bears and seen motivate and calm. Lucky enough there is a bundle where you can get 5 oils for $65! Bundle and save, thats my type of shopping!! HAHA.

So I put in our order and I messaged Nikita off my Son’s Instagram page to let her know it was us that had just placed the order! No word of a lie, I think it was within minutes she replied and said that she was already making up our order now! I could not believe it. Within half a day of me ordering my 5 oil blends, they were made and in the post on the way to us!

We eagerly awaited the arrival of our oils that took no longer than a few days to get here!

I could not wait to try them out. Sleepy Bear was my priority.

We had our normal night routine. Tea, bath and bed. As I was getting Ash dressed I would rub the oil onto the souls of feet and then I put socks straight on.

The blend is to promote a longer and deeper sleep and to be applied at least 15 minutes before bed.

Within three nights Ash was sleeping through again!!

We haven’t had to go in and re-settle him once he is asleep. He has been sleeping from roughly 7.30pm untill 6am. That is just perfect baby!

I really do not think this is a coincidence, this stuff really works!!

 

 

If you enjoyed something a little different, please leave a comment and let me know! Dakoda xox.

Month 8!

It’s like every time I write a blog I can not believe that our baby is another month older it is just crazy!

Dad is the all time favourite word of the moment. Now he can say it, it is non stop! Baby Ash is clapping when he thinks he has done something pretty cool or when you clap to him. It is just amazing how fast and how much our little babes develop! Oh and he can wave as well!

Ash is now on the move! It did take him about a week to get going but now there is no stopping him! He went backwards for so long and then he finally did it and I am so glad I was with him to see it. Everyone said “oh you wont be able to stop him once he starts” but he was really funny when he did start crawling, it was like he was in shock that he could finally move. I would walk away and he would sook but them remember he could actually make his own way over to me. So so cute!

Bath time would have to be his all time favourite time of the day. I walk up to the bathroom and as soon as the lights and fan are on he is straight up the hallway ready to get in! He sits up in the bath and just loves having a splash about! He is also still really enjoying swimming and can now blow bubbles in the water.

I actually left the state and went to Melbourne only from Tasmania (it takes about 45 minutes on a plane) to go over and see Ed Sheeran. Ash went and stayed with Nanny one night and then Daddy had him the next. I wasn’t to worried about leaving Ash for two nights as I always know he is fine with my Mum and his Dad/My partner Declan, is a great Daddy. I did miss him so much  though!

We have still been LOVING catching up with our friends and bubs all the time. We have been looking around the coast at places that are baby friendly that we can all go and have lunch, the kids can play and just hang out. We have found a few different spots that we can go to, it’s really great!

This month has been a big one! Dakoda xxx

 

Month Seven!

Seven months in and our little babe is just non stop talking! He’s saying everything from mum, bub, hello and yeah. We are sure we even heard dad a few times too!

He also squeals non stop to get as much attention as possible. The little noises he makes are just the best, I could sit here and listen to him all day!

We had Our first swim at the pool and Ash just loved it. We went with a group of ladies and their bubs that we meet up with though a group, one of my good friends and I have made on facebook! “Mamas gotta stick together.” We made the page for mum’s on the North-West Coast of Tasmania, to ask each other advice on anything and everything! We also have a Catch up (Weekly-Fortnightly) where we get together for the kids to play and for some Mum time, it is great! It really has been awesome getting out and meeting other mum’s and bub’s.

Now we have started swimming lessons every Saturday morning in half an hour sessions, Ash just LOVES it! Declan dunked him under on his first day…. Yes, I did have a heart attack but Ash was just fine. He really loves the water!

Ash is moving all around the lounge now. Not crawling but rolling and going backwards. I don’t think we are far away from crawling at all! I have felt bad watching him get so mad at himself, his legs go but his arms aren’t sure how to get moving at the same time yet!!

On Saturday the 3rd of Febuary Baby Ash FINALLY cut his first tooth! I noticed that he was doing a really strange face and thought it looked like he was feeling something so I put my little finger and rubbed it along his bottom gum and felt his front left tooth finally here! We were so excited, but I couldn’t get a photo because it was so tiny! A short time after that his bottom right tooth cut though as well. How cute does he look now?!

Baby Ash is making everyone’s hearts and lives full. When we are walking down the street people stop me to talk to him because as we are walking he is grinning his head off at them. What a little con.. haha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I upload this blog Ash is over nine months old! So be ready to be hit with a few blogs in a row as I have been writing!

Dakoda xox

 

 

 

Month 6 with Baby Ash!

Baby Ash was 6 months old on Christmas day 2017. What a day! We celebrated Ash’s first Christmas with breakfast at home, lunch with my family and then tea with Declan’s family! Ash was showered with the most gorgeous gifts from everyone. We even ended Christmas with a pet giraffe… haha, thanks grandma and grandpa!

We had another mini holiday booked for New Years Eve! We went down to Smithton to visit Ash’s Auntie Steve. We love little get aways!

Six month needles… DONE! Thank god. We were a week late due to bad eczema and dribble rash but we got there. Let me tell you, nothing goes smoothly!! Haha.

Ash is just crazy about his toes! I always knew that babies “found their feet” but it’s so amusing watching him and he can even sit by himself now! Awhhh, it’s just so cute the things they start doing! He is laughing full time, at anything really! Mostly my face for some reason, LOL.

On the 11th of January 2018 baby Ash had his first night in the cot. It is so bittersweet, I am happy he is in his room in his own bed but I am sooo sad that the journey of him sleeping in our room has come to an end. He went down without an issue at all and slept the entire night in there! The second night he went down without any trouble again. Thank gosh!

Baby Ash was saying mum and bub so clearly by this stage and it’s just the cutest thing in the world. I can not believe my baby can already talk! Since the day he said both clearly he hasn’t stopped! He wakes up now saying “bub bub bub” it is just gorgeous.

We had Ash’s 6 month check and my big hunk weighed a massive 9.5 KGS! He is getting so big. He fills out a size 0 and I swear he only just went into them! Ahhhh.

We had a big month again, with Ash now eating 3 meals a day. Breakfast, lunch and tea. He does not stop talking and he is still always smiling! No teeth as of yet but hopefully the next blog will be a differnt story! Ash can sit up for long periods of time now and we have just had to get out of our love to dream swaddles as Ash started rolling in his cot! So we are trying out a best and less sleeping bag tonight for the first time, I am hoping it doesn’t ruin our full nights sleep!

Untill next time guys, Dakoda xo

 

 

 

 

Month 5 with Our babe x

Month 5!

I can not belive my baby is five months old! People always say that time flys but I dont think you really understand the meaning untill you have a little one growing uncontrollably in front of your face! It it seriously amazing what these little ones learn in such a small amount of time. Slow down please baby Ash…

Month five has probally been the hardest, due to teething! Oh my, the poor little babes. We have found that the silicone teethers are the best! Two of our favourites off the top of my head would have to be:

One chew three
Logan and Alice

Our instagram has taken off this month! We have gained a few more followers and have been working hard to get ourselves a brand rep gig, now with the help of @Ausbrandrepsearches! The women behind this page are just down right amazing! We have been working hard on our photos and we have been taking a lot of photos of decor! We love being in the nursey but baby Ash just wanted to add that he only loves it during the day… haha. The possibilities on instagram and taking photos are just endless and we are still trying to find our feet and work out what sort of “feed style” we are trying to have. We will probably change 100 times, but hey! We are a brand enthusiast for Four Small Businesses! How amazing is that. We LOVE supporting small.

We are giving Ash solids at least once a day now! At around 5 PM he will have sweet potato, pumpkin, and sometimes carrot. We often mix it up and add a little bit of sweed or potato (all blended) but we have just been trying to keep it very plain and simple untill we hit the six month mark!

With Ash having the floppy laranix, his breathing can be quite weezy. However, on a certain day it sounded a little different, more husky than usual. I managed to get him into the doctor straight away and it resulted in my little man needing an Asthma puffer now! Hopefully it will be something he will grow out of, but it’s still scary having a bub that has asthma. As I write this I feel funny saying that, because one doctor told me Ash has Asthma but another doctor told me that there is no way he could have asthma at such a young age… you can never win! Haha.

All round (as I say every time) we have a happy baby who has definitely found his voice, loves playing, loves eating, and is smiling basically ALL the time! I think daddy is his favourite person at the moment, but in saying that, daddy does think he heard baby Ash saying “mummy” a few times.. yay!

Ash with his little twin friend Austin. x

Dakoda xo.

 

 

Month Four with baby Ash x

Month four was huge for our little family! Ash had his appointment at the Ears, Throat and Nose Specialist which resulted in the diagnosis of laryngomalacia. Ash has floppy tissue over his voice box, so basically he is the nosiest breather and sleeper out! Aleep or awake you can hear him from a mile away! My poor baby had to have a camera down his nose to confirm that it was laryngomalacia and poor Daddy had to hold him down.

So, the good news is he will just grow out of it by the time he is two! (Fingers crossed).
We were booked in to get Ash’s Ties cut on a Monday Morning in Hobart (literally the other end of Tassie!) so we though we may as well make the most of it and head down to the Great Lake the night before so that way, we only have a two hour drive from there!

Monday came and we went into Mouthworks in Hobart. The man could not believe his eyes when he seen Ash breathe and it got even worse when he watched him drink! The man was basically in shock that baby Ash was in such great condition. He said to Dec and I “He is struggling so so much to drink his bottle. He is doing such a good job” I felt so bad! I had no idea that it was this bad. With the Laryngomalacia and the ties put together they couldn’t believe we still had a healthy bub! Dad had to hold Ash down to get his tie cut, and as bad as it is, Ash done a really good job and only cried for about two minutes. THANKGOD. We then had follow up appointments over the phone which was amazing, and overall, Mouthworks was really great to deal with!

Around this time was when I first started Ash’s Instagram page. At this stage, I was wanting to enter into brandreps, being very active and posting lots about my blog, so I decided that instead of plastering it all over my own personal account, why not make Ash his own? It was the best decision I made! We are now brand enthusiasts for three small businesses and love being apart of the Insta families!
There will be more about that next blog…

 

 

By FOUR months Ash was laughing alot, rolling over, cying when I walked out of the room, lifting his head up, starting solids towards the end of four months and just genuinely a happy healthy baby!

 

We would love for you to follow us on Instagram! Ashtheo_

Love always Dakoda x

Months Two and Three with Baby Ash x

By 6 weeks baby Ash was smiling, gaining a lot of weight and just acting like an all-round relaxed baby! His favourite things at this age were… the Little Lamb Cradle and Swing, Love to Dream Swaddles, his dummy (that he is not too keen on anymore) and lots of cuddles!

Ash has been showering with us for a while now! Sometimes it is so much easier! I remember his first shower, I said to Dec “you have to hold him! I can’t! OMG if you drop him I will kill you” I think I repeated myself about 100 times… Poor Dec… Lol.
What a stressful time that first shower was!

Ash had already met his two little best friends. Amellia and Austin. It melts my heart having photos of them growing up together. I cannot wait to show them when they are older! Keep posted for updates on photo’s of them! They are all so cute and growing way to fast!

Ash and Milzy’s First proper visit at home x Instead of the cafe! Ash 4 weeks old on the left. Milzy is Two on the right. xx

First Time Meeting. Austin 12 weeks on the Left. Ash 6 weeks on the right. x

Around this time would have been the stage that Ash slept with us for a week or so! It was more our fault, sleep deprived and he wanted to be with us, so we let him.
We didn’t make a habit out of it though! He sleeps all night long, in our room now, but in his bassinet.

Ash had his first sleepover at his Nan’s! Declan and I just slept all night! I reckon we could have slept the whole weekend…
We are so lucky with Ash staying at mums. She has the exact same bassinet and he has never had a problem going to stay there! Well why would you when you have three girls fighting over you the whole time…

All this time Ash was still not right. I thought I’d give the heath care nurse a try and see if she knows what is going on. Soon enough Ash had an appointment and we were informed that he had a very thick tongue tie and a lip tie! I was soo upset. Babies that had been born weeks after Ash had already had their ties cut! That’s the first time I think I felt like I had really let Ash down. The heath care nurse referred us to speech pathology and we went from there…

10 weeks old and it was Father’s Day. What a special time that was!
Ash treated Daddy with A personalised “My Daddy” book, a gorgeous little suit! And a “you’re way cooler than all the other dads” beer glass. The most treasured gift was our first night away together as a family! That to me was so exciting! We got to take our baby away for the weekend to a gorgeous little cottage and just have a relaxing time! How gorgeous!

Stanley x

Daddy’s First Father’s Day x

Stanley Lake Side Spa Cabins, Tasmania x

As I am writing this blog baby Ash is 5 months old. I am nearly up to where we are at! I am so excited to be up to date with my blogs and be able to more regularly share adventures.

Ash and I would love to do a Question and Answer Blog! So, if you have ANY question about my life, being a mum or just anything. here is your chance!
Please leave a comment, down below or direct message me via social media. We cannot wait to hear from you.

Dakoda x

The First Month With Baby Ash x

I want to be able to catch up to where we are, but it’s sooo hard going back though and trying to think of everything that’s happened even though it was only 4 months ago!
All that comes to mind is lack of SLEEP! OH MY GOD. Coming from someone who previously SLEPT no less than 9 hours a night, now I cope with 4 hour. (JUST…) I do want to write a blog on sleeping, so I won’t go too much into it!
Ash failed his right ear test in hospital, but he was only 12 hours old when it was done. We had to go get him re-tested! Lucky all was fine there.
I noticed our babe was very “mucusy” still, so we thought we should get him checked out. We were reassured by the GP that everything was okay and it was just lingering from birth, and we were told “come back in a week”.
A week goes by and there’s still no improvement.
“It’s still from birth everything else seems to be fine. We will make another appointment to come back next week. How about this I’ll just go grab another doctor to take a look over him” the second doctor then said that she was happy with the way he was presenting.
“Maybe try changing his formula” said second the doctor. Ash was checked over AGAIN and we were sent on our way.
Everyone told me ” always listen to your motherly instincts”… me being me just thought I was over reacting and he just was still trying to get everything up. We changed his formula and bottles because we had had an iffy feeling about the ones we were using.
We went out and spent $250 on new bottles, brushes, dummies and a sterilizer. We got home and I was so excited I felt like I had a new car! I went to get the bottles out to sterilize in the microwave and guess what … The sterilizer didn’t fit in the bloody microwave did it… Nothing ever goes right…. Off Declan went to buy a new microwave. Yep, you read that right.
In between all of this, I was suffering with the worst after birth pains like F**K!? What is going on?!? I thought I must have had an infection!!!! I literally could hardly sit on my own ass. I remember going to the toilet and being in so much pain that I couldn’t sit down on the bloody toilet seat. It honestly felt like my vagina was being ripped apart. I would sit in a ball on my bed taking all pressure of my ass and pressing it onto my stomach!! I don’t know if it was because I had an intense back labour, but holy shit it was like I was getting ready to push another one out. I swear!! Lol..
Around 4 weeks we bought a “my little lamb cradle swing” as one of my good friends says it’s the BEST babysitter!
Ash had his 6 week needles! Oh that was soo horrible. He held his breath for what felt like forever!! I sat him up and just hugged him as tight as I could to let him know that everything was okay and that it’ll be all over soon.

Sorry about how quite we have been! We are brand reps for some amazing small business on Instagram now! Our Instagram, ashtheo_ ! Thankyou so much for reading and just hit the button to subscribe to get an Email for when we post!

Thankyou again! Dakoda x

The First Week!

What a rollercoaster that was. I hadn’t slept for three days, and it’s not like you can just come home now and have a rest. Dec and I were busy trying to work out a routine to clean and make Ash’s bottles, in the best way possible. For two people that had no idea, we have done alright!

Because I didn’t stay in hospital long enough to have visitors, everyone came over to the house, to visit! We had a house full of people for a few weeks, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! It’s so amazing to see the amount of love the people around you have for your little person! I think he got enough presents to fill a shop!

Declan’s first nappy change must have been the night we got home! Mumma must have been asleep, and he got up with Ash. I remember talking the nappy off, and it was back to front, and I laughed and said, “Oh you put it on back to front!” And his response
was, “Well I have never changed a nappy before?!”

Day 3… what a bloody mess! Everyone says, ‘Look you’re going to have one day with the baby blues.’ I just thought yeah na I’ll be fine! Won’t happen to me! BOY was I wrong! I cried for most of the day! Not sad tears just WHY THE F**K AM I CRYING TEARS.
Apparently, it’s normal. Like come on haven’t we gone through enough!

My good friend Kursti messaged me around day 4, and I was getting out of the house! She said, “How are you feeling?” (She said more than that lol)… “Yeah no, I’m fine! Can’t believe I have eight stitches!” To which she replied, “I’m only trying to warn you, but in a week you are going to want to rip your vagina off!” Me thinking surely I would already be sore, hoping that it wouldn’t be that bad!

Hahaha, thanks for the warning babe!!! (I’ll leave that for next time!)

Declan held a baby for the first time a few weeks before we had Ash! He’s done a bloody fantastic job! Dec had two weeks off work when Ash was born, and I wish we could do it all over again, it’s so beautiful just having your little family.

Ash now feeds every 3 to 4 hours. When he was first born, we recorded every single feed for weeks. It is so funny looking back and seeing how little he drank and how far he has come it’s amazing!

Day 1 at home.

Day 2 at home.

I think people thought we were crazy but lucky we did persist with his feeding!

We have recently just found out, or poor baby has laryngomalacia!

English, please…