baby : 8 weeks

Just when I think I know all about babies I realise that I don't. This little lady must have read the posts where I described her as contented and mentioned her lovely long sleeping and decided she didn't want to be labelled.

That gorgeous baby that slept for 6-11 hours? Gone. Replaced by this still gorgeous baby who sleeps for 3+ hours. (I'm emphasising the + with hope.)

What have I learnt from this? As the man said, we just have to go with it.

It being the unpredictability of baby ways and all the outside activities that come with family life and three kiddos.

The teen has his pre-season basketball trials (the child is obsessed, I tell you) which means we travel hither and yon to all the games. Family life. It is exhausting but it's also so beautiful. Someone asked if I have help? Definitely not! And I really felt it this week.

The lady herself: this week she's been trying out her little mewing conversations on me and gave her first chuckle-like-coo to the preschooler when he was making big smiley faces at her. So sweet! We've brought out the animal cards, procured a play gym and as soon as I can stay awake for long enough I'm going to wash the preschooler's old baby toys for her.

Have you had a baby that has been a big sleeper then suddenly turned around? How did you get through the sleep-deprived days of early babyhood? I'd love to hear!

{dress gifted to her by her aunt. animal cards by wee gallery gifted to her by her uncle's mum and creator of this lovely space.}

my favourite and my best : koukku teethers

Are these the cutest teethers you ever did see?

Made in Finland from untreated natural maple with crocheted cotton, Koukku teethers come in rings, necklaces for mamas or kids and teething carrots.

I spotted one on Instagram being played with by this sweet baby and promptly sought one out for our wee lady. I also treated myself to the rainbow necklace for mamas so I can accessorise a bit without worrying that the lady is going to break it or choke on it. Win, win.

AND for February Koukku are offering free worldwide shipping. Hoorah!

Koukku teethers are available on Etsy from approx $9.60 AUD.

baby : 7 weeks

7 weeks! It's been a week of firsts for miss baby here. First immunisations (ouch), first Valentine's Day and train ride to the city (lunch date with the dad man), first dinner out (sushi!), first time meeting a wee chap whom I'm sure will be her lovely little friend (his mama and I have known each other since high school and were pregnant at the same time :) and first car accident (boo). Apart from her sleeping pattern being a bit thrown out by the dinner and the needle, this little lady has been smiling, staring and mewing along sweetly. Her little coos sound like tiny kitten mews.

It took four days to get her sleeping pattern back to normal. I've been asked to expand on her settling routine so I'm planning a post where I'll do just that :)

For now I can say that she is one contented little lady. We are super, super lucky and feel so grateful. Every day.

{pink cotton jumpsuit from cotton on kids, similar one here. handmade quilt by tina magee sews. toy cupcake belonging to the preschooler.}

p.s The car accident wasn't bad but it was scary. I cried.

fun stuff : get your fort on

Really need to do this with the preschooler.

happy love day

Whoever has your heart, I hope they're good to you today, and every day.

Love day last year.

image: lovely, love my family print from tuesday morning on etsy.

baby : 6 weeks

My baby can talk! Not really. But she has started making tiny squawking and cooing noises. And the big one -- she has started to smile. Be still my already mooshy mama heart.

She makes you work for it though. On any given hour I can be caught grinning madly at her saying 'hello' over and over again like a demented parrot. And if she's been fed and is rested and in the right mood she'll reward you with a round face of crescent moons or a lopsided smirk. I love her.

But can I tell you something? Sometimes I feel like I'm missing her infancy. Sometimes I feel like I miss her even when she's right there. Crazy, right?

When Monday morning rolls around I get so excited because the boys head off to work and school and it's just the two of us. Sorry boys. I love you too! But I spend so much of my energy thinking about and caring for them...to be left just the two of us? It's such a relief.

This week she'll get her first immunisations. Even though I hate seeing those ginormous needles go into those teeny fat thighs I'll be glad not to have the thought of whooping cough at the back of my mind. I'll also be glad to stop acting like a loony germaphobe towards anyone that so much as sniffles in her direction.

And we're working towards getting a semblance of a routine in place. Right now she sleeps for 1-2 blocks at night and catnaps during the day. I'm trying to pat her to sleep in her hammock instead of having her fall asleep in my arms so we can lay the foundations for her to self settle. Boring but necessary.

Oh, and that little dog? It usually lives by her change mat. She loves staring at the pattern on its behind. I call it Daisy Dog because of the awesome vintage flowered fabric on its reverse side. The preschooler calls it Mrs Dawg.

Preschooler tangent: he's also started calling things 'awrd' which makes us laugh, e.g: 'that's an awrd dawg, mama.'

{cotton jumpsuit in oatmeal from cotton on kids. woollen booties made by a little old lady in Milan and gifted to her by her grandad and step grandma. plushie dog by junecraft.}

room for baby : sooki stripes

baby space's Belinda from Nest Design Studio gave her son Charles' room a gorgeous modern makeover.

The white framed gallery above Charles' cot displays images in keeping with the cool tones of the space.

Junior sized replica Eames table and chair set complete the modern feel.

vibe
Modern with an 'around the world' theme.

who lives here?
Charles, 1 year-old in Victoria, Australia.

decor
Many of the items in Charlie’s room were made by me, however Etsy is always a favourite starting point when I’m looking for interesting and unique finds, particularly for his gallery wall. The world map and the ‘stash print are from My Sweet Prints, the soldier and bus print are from The House Sparrow,the Sweet Dreams print is from Elissa Hudson, the Welcome to the World Little One is a card I purchased from Milt & Joe, and I made his footprint.

walls
I painted the striped feature wall (yes, me at 35 weeks pregnant with a 10 pound baby – that was fun trying to reach the bottom stripes!) which was inspired by both a room designed by Samantha Pynn and also a onesie by Sooki Baby that Hugh (my eldest son) had from when he was a baby. In fact, the paints were colour matched and scaled from the onesie.

furniture
My beautiful egg chair fits this room beautifully and was a gift from my dad when I was pregnant with Hugh. The side table was a junk shop find that I sanded and painted a high gloss red, and the bookshelf is from Officeworks and I added the blue backing to it.

diy
My favourite DIY project in Charles' room is the atlas mobile. It was really simple to make and each globe features an important country/town/place to us, including the towns we were born, where we went on our honeymoon etc. I also love his reading corner, which I made all the cushions for.

best buys
I can’t go past the Ikea spice racks. I have one above his change table which holds all the everyday creams we use, but also books and toys for keeping the boys occupied whilst changing them.

top tip
Don’t be afraid of using red in a nursery or child’s room. It’s not a colour you should use in bucket loads, but little touches really make a room pop!

Feel free to pop over to my blog to get the details on everything.

By Belinda from Nest Design Studio.

the bump : the baby

Remember this picture?

4 weeks pregnant, 39 weeks pregnant and 4 weeks new.

fun stuff : lucky ducks

Yay for fun mail! We received this packet of fabulous wall decals by missy minzy.

The preschooler decided each duck was a member of our family. Guess who got to be the biggest, most colourful duck? That's right, mama. And the tiny ducks? They were the teen, the baby and the man. Gotta love a preschooler's perspective.

These pictures don't really do these little fellows justice, their colours are so bright and luscious -- they're going to be such a cheerful addition to the baby space nursery. Thanks for your kind gift, Irene!

baby : 5 weeks

'Are you used to having a daughter?'

Was the question one of my closest friends asked me last week. No, I'm not used to it. Not just the part where I have a girl, which doesn't make much difference yet (except for the whole frilly dress thing ;) but the part where I have three kiddos. Three! Three feels like a lot. Especially when they're at such different stages of their little lives. Grunty teen to the left, cuddly newborn to the right and spirited preschooler in the middle.

But there's something else different too. When the teen and the preschooler were born I felt almost immediately like they had always been with me.

But with this little lady, I still can't quite believe she's here.

And can a baby be polite? I feel like even her cry is unobtrusive.

Remember her kickboxing moves in my belly? I thought for sure she would be Miss Activity (well, Mr Activity) but so far she is one cool customer. Loves her feeds and cuddles during the day and her sleep at night. She slept for eleven hours last night. Oh my.

Used to her? No.

Feeling super, super lucky and in love? Absolutely.

So, I'm curious. If you have multiple kiddos did you feel like your relationship with each of them was different right from birth? I'd love to hear!

p.s the preschooler was not going to let the five week photos happen without him:

p.p.s I just know the man is going to see this post and ask me why I put a doily on our child's head. What are your thoughts on head accessories for infants? Cute? Weird? You can tell me :)

{dress and bloomers by bebe for minihaha, gifted to her by her aunt and uncle. you can find similar items on sale here. crochet headpiece thingo from quick brown fox in newtown.}

room for baby : in the green room

The lovely Nicole created this space for a tiny newborn girl.

Bright orange and pink accent colours compliment the soft green backdrop of the client's rented abode.

vibe
I went for a modern, bold and eclectic feel for a Mum who didn't want anything 'too girlie'.

who lives here? 

Baby Giselle, 6 weeks. 

decor

As this was a rental property we had to work around the green wall colour which in the end was super fun and really turned out to be a great backdrop for all the other pieces I sourced. I love this eclectic mix of colours and also the modern mixed in with the traditional. The freckle rug really pulled together all the colours I used around the room and made the whole room look very inviting and effortlessly coordinated. For the accent colours I focused on orange and pink which are such vibrant, fun shades.

furniture

The client already had the gorgeous Leander cot and I got this change table made up to match. I actually got the freckle rug sent over from India and the large 'G' canvas I also got custom made. The princess and the pea set on the change table was a gift and was given (by moi!) pride of place in the room because it's so cute -- all other soft toys were banished.

best buys

The alphabet decal for $36.00 AUD. It's large and packs a punch on this large wall.

nicole's fave

I love the freckle rug and also the paper chandelier.

top tip

I think mixing bold colours is always fun and gives a baby's room an edgier feel. Make sure if you are going for this look you really go for it will all the pieces you are buying in terms of colour and have fun!

By Nicole from Little Liberty.