Luka Anya - 11 months old

I'm very late with this one sorry!
I've been flat stick the last month and a half with birthday prep :-)
Plenty of DIY projects that have turned out amazingly! (if you follow my instagram @shaleyabrett you'll see the amazing piñatas Andrei and I made)

Luka's growth this last month has amazed me. She's started walking!
At first she would only stand in one spot for short periods; then longer periods until one day she took a few steps and fell on her bum hehe :D
Since then it has been more and more steps taken and I love it when she walks over to me, Andrei and my mum plus anyone else who asks her to walk over.

Summer is finally here in NZ and I couldn't be happier!
The long sunny days just make me so happy (apart from the humidity). Last Summer I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I was heavily pregnant, hot, exhausted, nesting and couldn't walk far as I either needed to pee or it was just uncomfortable.
Plus with Luka being born on the 27th I spent most of our days inside as I was a little cautious/scared being a first time mum.
So this Summer I plan to go out and about with my baby as much as possible and get her experiencing the beach and swimming and so many fun activities :-)
We went to a local farm yesterday for a picnic where she got to see the usual suspects (horses, sheep, cows, goats etc); it was very successful!

Hmmm mentioning that Luka's birthday is two days after Christmas I decided that the 25th will spent differently.
Instead of celebrating with tons of food and gift giving, this year I'll be going to donate a small part of my day visiting those in need, lonely, disabled and/or elderly.
Christmas is considered the most loneliest time of the year for some so I feel more than happy to contribute some time to the community.
I feel having two big celebrations in one month and so close together wont be very good for Luka growing up as she may start to expect the gifts only rather than the company that follows. So I'm going to try and teach her the art of giving back and paying it forward :-)
I'm not too keen on raising a spoilt brat if you know what I mean.

So anyway, here is an update of Luka :-)

A very rare smile photo of Luka from her preschool photo day

"Why so serious?"

 

Weight: We weighed Luka a few weeks ago and she tallied in at around 8kgs!
She's filling in size 1 clothes and shoes and is still in crawler diapers.

Sleep: She's still waking twice, sometimes more, a night mainly for comfort. And around 4 or 5 am she comes into bed with Andrei and I for another hour or so of sleep.
The other night she had one of those night terrors, so I just had to keep holding her and talking to her until she stopped screaming. It was so sad and the first time that had ever happened, there's not much you can do apart from cuddling them and talking to them softly.
I'm still looking forward to a full nights sleep eventually...

Diet: Luka is pretty much on a normal human being diet, apart from drinking cows milk.
She barely touches the bottled or pouched baby food so she has what we're having, and it works!
Her faves at the moment are cucumber and cheese sticks, strawberry and banana yonanas, strawberries, pineapple, the fluffy part of popcorn (I bite of the choke hazards), broccoli and gravy or cheese sauce and loads more!
She drinks water, sometimes fruit juice, and is still having breast and bottle.
I'll be thinking of weaning her off the breast completely next month as I don't have much of a milk supply anymore.



Love sucking on wet flannels!

Mmmm strawberry!

Strawberry ice cream om nom nom!!!

Social: Luka is still attending pre school and loves it still. I've heard she's quite an independent playtimer and likes to do her own thing. In saying that she loves playing with other kids as per the below pics of her and my friends 1year old boy Lucas :-)
She also loves to be 'shy' around people when we're approached on outings.

Kisses for Lucas awww!!!!

Cuddles :-)

Likes:

Get into EVERYTHING

Standing up and walking around

Morning snuggles with mum and dad

Being naked

Outdoors

Splashing in the water (haven't taken her swimming yet but we have set up her paddle pool a few times)

Putting strange things in her mouth I.E. rocks!

Having her neck tickled

Preschool :-)

Playing peek a boo

Watching Sticky T.V and Sesame Street

Andrei getting stuck in with the heart shaped piñata!

We made an extra, a diamond, just because. Aren't they pretty?!

Milestones: WALKING! That seems to be the biggest one at the moment :-)

Postpartum: With my milk supply bringing in pretty much nothing now it has made me put on a bit of weight.
But like I said in my last post, I won't be really focusing on that till next year when I have all these birthdays and trips out of the way (I have Luka's, my sisters and mums as well my own birthday just days after each other, Capricorn's, and as well as our trip to Brisbane) but I'm going to start slowly by changing my eating which hasn't been great as of late. I've been eating a lot of chocolate....woops!
And with Andrei and I doing the birthday DIY late at night after Luka goes to sleep we need a little pick me up, and I don't drink coffee, so chocolate it is!
Obviously like I've mentioned my milk supply is almost no more, which I'm ok with. I've done a year of breastfeeding almost and I couldn't be more proud of myself!
I also went out a few weeks ago to my work Christmas party, it was so much fun! Great food, company and it was Alice in Wonderland themed, I went as a toned down Queen of hearts :-)

Some silly selfies before heading off to my party
 

One more thing before I go.
After our trip to Brisbane has been and been blogged about I have decided to stop blogging.
It takes a lot of time and energy to do it and it's a lot of time and energy I'd rather put elsewhere.
It has been great to use this as documenting my pregnancy and my first steps and experiences as a mother, and who knows I may come back when I'm pregnant again!
So after all that I'll be printing off the pages I've written and will leave to Luka until she's older :-)

Until next time!

XOXOX

Luka Anya - 10 months old

Her first Halloween dressed up as a princess

This post a wee bit late sorry!
Bad time management on my behalf, the last month went by way too quickly for me as I was only beginning to think about getting things together for the big First Birthday in December.

Now next week I'm going to start putting things together and buying the things stored away in my shopping cart on Etsy.

The only things I have stored away are 8 wooden maracas for the kids attending to paint themselves and obviously keep as a nice little keepsake, a 32" number 1 balloon as well as 3 17" balloons which are pink, blue and yellow.
I had no specific theme in mind as Luka is too young to know what's going on, but I really liked the idea of a garden party, so we're having Luka's birthday at a local park. {you can read more about my birthday ideas for her here }
I have changed a few of the ideas on there such as the block numbers, I'm now going to do a chalk board sign.
The cake is now going to be made by a friend of mine who is an incredible cake maker! The design is now a large cupcake smash cake :-)

I can't wait to post more on her birthday after it's all over, December is just around the corner as well as January for our big trip to Australia.
I can hardly wait!



Waiting to go to preschool

Her first photo day at preschool wearing my old baby dress. She looked so sweet
even with her spiked up!

Weight: She hasn't been weighed since her 9 month visit from Plunket and won't be weighed again till the end of December.
I'm guesstimating that she'll be around 7kgs now.
She's filling in size 0 clothes and size 1 shoes. Still teeny tiny.

Sleep: Sleep is relatively better this month! She's waking twice a night but doesn't scream as bad when she wakes which makes getting through the night way easier.

Diet: Luka pretty much eats anything now, she doesn't like most of those jarred baby foods we used to feed her and loves what I cook up for dinner instead. Feeding her, though, can be trial and error as she'll either eat or she won't which can be frustrating, but I just go back to things I've read about babies and that is that they won't starve themselves and babies will eat when they're hungry.
She's still 50/50 on breast and bottle, she drinks water and the rest takes care of itself.

Social: She really is a social wee thing! But lately she gets quite shy around new people, looking at them then burying her head into my neck, sooo cute! Then she looks back at people, smiles and buries her head again until she really warms up to you then she just babbles and smiles away as normal.

Likes: She loves music and has started bopping along to sounds she likes, she loves playing peek a boo and being chased by Andrei and I. She recently started using her walker and we go for walks outside with it, she loves bath time, playing in the garden, playing with her musical toy, she loves Sesame Street and so much more!

Milestones:

• Luka started using her walker! 
• Becoming quite confident with standing by herself, even if it's only for a few seconds.
• She's also started using the handles and feeding herself her bottles now :-)
• She's finally said "MA MA"
• She has 4 teeth!

Postpartum: Things have been great the last month, I finally have my own car! It's a little 2005 Nissan Note, and even though I can't drive by myself yet until I get my license it's still great knowing I can take Luka up to preschool in the car when it rains, she's adapting well to being in her carseat too :-)
Self wise, I've given up focusing on losing weight till next year after Luka's Birthday, New Years, our holiday and my Birthday's out of the way. Even though I'm still not happy with how I look and how my health and fitness is at the moment, it's really not a big deal yet.
I always find that time of the year most expensive too as there is so much happening. So getting a gym membership will be a no no for a while yet which I'm finally OK with.
This year has been the hardest financially and has taught me so much about being more frugal with money, I used to spend money as soon as I earnt it, but I didn't spend it wisely thus ending up in debt with bills and having clothes and items I didn't use.
Now I use and recycle EVERYTHING! I haven't brought myself anything new since the beginning of the year (I recently purchased this dress from ASOS last night for a work xmas party, it's Alice in Wonderland themed and I'll be going as the Queen of Hearts which I know I'll wear again) I pay my bills first and foremost then whatever I have left goes into the house or into savings, hence why I have nothing to spend on myself but it's been a great lesson. I do a lot of window shopping and see so many things I want, but I find myself not at all tempted to buy as I used to be which makes me excited to instil those values onto Luka as she grows up and to save hard for what she wants which is what Andrei and I have been doing.
Although I'm running out of makeup I.E. my fave Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow powder I keep reminding myself that were going to Australia soon, and there's duty-free!!!!

Until next time!

XOXOX

 

Mumma and baby foot prints xx



Luka Anya | 9 months old

Seriously cannot get over that Luka is now as old as the length I carried her for!
She's done amazingly in the big wide world, becoming her own little person, I just can't believe in a matter of months she'll be a year old and heading into 'toddlerhood'.
I've been trying to consume and store away each moment I have with her in my mind as well as with my phone. It's so hard when she moves around so much so I pretty much have my camera on standby.

I can breathe a huge sigh of relief that Spring has finally arrived to little New Zealand!

This last Winter, I must say, went rather quickly I think due to having Luka take all my attention.
But I'm glad it's over, I hate rain (not so much at night) and I'm not fond of the cold which makes me question my decision to want to make a trip to Queenstown in the next two winter's....

I've already started getting all summery and am wearing my maxi skirts and dresses, sandals.
Luka has outgrown all her summer clothing obviously from when she was new so I have a small list of dresses, skirts, tops, frilly bottoms and sandals.
I'll try and restrain myself and get as much recycling out our clothes as possible due to Andrei, Luka and myself going to Brisbane early next year!

My lovely mother in law is shouting us over for Luka's Birthday. It's my first time out of the country and I couldn't be more excited, I have places I want to see and plenty of spots to shop at :-)

In the last month since her last monthly update Luka has started cutting through her upper teeth. The L hand side seems to be showing more and I'm taking in every moment of what will be the last time she'll have her gummy smiles.
She's standing up more and even venturing into standing unsupported!
Talking, babbling which I'll update you on further down the list of photos :-)
Andrei and I also took liberty in changing her from her cot into the port-a-cot, her other cot was just too narrow and she kept banging into the wooden bars; the port-a-cot has been so much better as it's more wider, shorter in length and the sides are material so she just moulds into it than hurts herself.

Mandatory sleep photo

We've been taking a lot of trips to the library which she's enjoyed!

In the big girl seat when we go grocery shopping.

Weight: She was weighed in the other day at 6.76kg from her last weigh in two months ago at 6.11kg. So she's gained a tiny bit but not much. I blame that on her teething plus getting two really bad colds in that time frame. She's grown length wise and our Plunket nurse said she is very healthy and shows no signs of malnutrition, and she's always been a petite baby so no worries :-)

Sleep: She's been waking 3-4 times a night again due to her upper teeth cutting through. Otherwise, I know when all of that will be over it'll be back to her waking 1-2 times a night. It can't come fast enough!

Diet: I've been lenient with Luka's diet as she's able to eat more proper foods now, she joins Andrei and I for dinner at the table and eats what we eat, she drinks water from her sippy cup, she's still on 50/50 b/milk and formula (she's even trying to hold the bottle on her own) but yeah she just eats whatever these days. I really can't be specific, her faves at the moment are kiwifruit, plain biscuits, frozen yoghurt, berries, bananas, apples etc. She's got a sweet tooth but still loves her veges :-)
I'm so glad we're heading into Summer so she can try more summery foods like pineapple, strawberries, watermelon etc.

The dangerous side she standing is that she reaches for EVERYTHING!

Happy bub at my work

Love this pic of her and daddy's hands, Andrei's face though!

Social: Luka really is a social butterfly, she does have a sense of stranger danger and cries when I leave her in a room with people she's not familiar with but otherwise she smiles, talks and plays with people. She has the most cutest, scrunchiest teefy smile that just makes me laugh! I have to thank pre school for her amazing social development, she loves kids and is a real honey :-)

Likes:  

• Playing in the mud (a recent one! I think it's great to let kids be kids)
• Playing with cooking utensils while I'm cooking/doing dishes in the kitchen
• Get into EVERYTHING
• Standing up
• Morning snuggles with mum and dad
• Banging things
• Chucking things
• Outdoors
• Splashing in the water (haven't taken her swimming yet)
• Climbing up the stairs at her nana's new house
• Making clicking sounds
• Preschool :-)
• Crawling
• Playing peek a boo

Milestones: Luka said "Daddy" the other morning! Since then she's added "DA" and "GA" to her baby vocab.
I'd have to say as well with her cutting her top teeth, she's also slowly learning how to wave "bye, bye".
She knows her own name (she's known it for a few months now) and that's pretty much it for now, I'm waiting to see her walk now.

Postpartum: It's been a month of highs and lows for me. I had a terrible acne breakout from getting sick and just feeling overtired (I also think it'll be my hormones regulating), I started to feel like I was storing water too and both of those things haven't helped with my self esteem.

My acne has since slowly begun to clear but I'm still not happy with how my body looks. I'm still adamant on the idea of getting my post preg body back next year and getting fit and feeling full of energy again. I just get so out of breath now which has been years since that's happened when I haven't done anything strenuous at all!

I had a big fat cry the other week when I was trying to get into clothes that hung off me and now I can't get into them!

As I always say though, first world problems, Luka and Andrei don't care how I look, but I would love to feel good about myself again.

New Years resolution me thinks!

Work has been slow, we always hit these stages in the middle of our new season stock, but on the plus side on the 13th it'll be my second year working with Overland :-)

So that's really it for now.

I'll be sending Luka's First Birthday Invites out in the next few weeks, well actually I've decided to create a group on Facebook for those that Andrei and I have decided to attend rather than spend money on postage. I have decorations and party favours stored on my Etsy account which I'll be purchasing too and I really can't wait to get things going, December is right around the corner and Andrei and I are so excited, it is such a big milestone that we can't wait share with our close family and friends :-)

Until next time!

XOXOX

She is just the light of my life!



Luka Anya - 8 months old!

Wow I would've blinked and missed this one!

Luka and I have been sick as of late and all my time has been focused on getting ourselves better.
We both have a bad cold, runny noses, chesty coughs and poor Luka hasn't been eating much (or nil) solids and has been vomiting up mucus (which is kinda good, gets more of that bug out of her system).
Nights have been hard because Luka goes into bad coughing fits, then I use that time to comfort her, give her fluids, wipe her nose (and mine! I actually fell asleep with a tissue in my hand the other night) and give her pain relief. She's still getting up and down temps poor thing, I really hope this is over soon!

Downside to being sick is that we may be missing Luka's first concert at her daycare this Friday and quite possibly our friends baby boys first birthday if there is no sign of improvement (sharing's not caring) :-(
Also she hasn't been eating much or at all. Happy to say though she had a small bowl of food this morning and managed to hold it down. I'm hoping this is the start of her healing.
On the plus side, it's the first time I've been sick all year, I think this is also Luka's 4th or 5th cold this year too so that'll be good for her developing immune system!
Also Spring is literally around the corner, I am over Winter and ready for Summer. This year we are definitely hitting the beach, last Summer we didn't get a chance because I was so close to giving birth and Luka was too small.

Anyway, apart from sicknesses this has been quite the month!
A huge milestone has been met, you can keep scrolling down for that one :D

Starting to get more hair!



We made a trip into town last weekend and got some ice cream, Luka had a small taste and loved it!
Like mother like daughter :D

Dream car! Luka crawling towards a Merc that was on display for New Zealand Fashion Week

Weight: Luka had a trip to the doctors the other day for her cold and I think weighed in at 7.11kgs?
I can't quite remember, but her last weigh in was at around 7months and she was 7.1kg. She's filling in 00 clothing comfortably and I think we'll be moving her to 0 soon enough.

Sleep: Since she's been so sick lately, and teething, she hasn't slept a whole night. Since she was born she's only had 2-3 nights of uninterrupted sleep.
I really hope this improves, I know it's something that were not doing because she has a good routine down and gets plenty of food and stimulation during the day.
I guess it'll just be something she'll grow out of. Eventually.

Diet: Luka is now on Stage 3 solid baby foods which are less pureed and more chunky etc consistencies. We like her try different foods and have her even eating from our plates sometimes so that her taste buds develop. It's still very healthy, wholesome foods, she only has a small to nil amount of processed food once a week to try I.E. a small taste of ice cream but other than that it's all natural :-)
At dinner time I like to cut up kumara, carrot and potato into cubes, boil them and then serve them to her dipped in some sauce from her baby food jars. She loves it and it teaches her some kind of self sufficiency.

Routine: I've changed Luka's old routine from every 2.5hour wake cycle then a nap to every 3hour wake cycle then a nap so she's getting the most out of her day. It does change while were out cause she does tire more quickly and with her being sick she only stays awake 1.5hours and sleeps for maybe 2hours which doesn't bother me as she's healing.

Social: Luka is very sociable! She still tends to give people the 'I'm still sussing you out' stare, but once she's been around you long enough she lets her personality shine :-)

Likes:

• avocados, bananas and sliced up apples for breakfast
• putting pretty much anything she can grab into her mouth
• her bottle
• my water bottle
• going outside
• crawling into the kitchen to see what I'm up to
• looking at herself in the mirror (uh oh!)
• Baths!
• Having rides on mine or Andrei's shoulders

Milestones: The day that I posted her 7months update, later that night she started sitting up all by herself!
Then the other week she started crawling :D It was after I finished vacuuming the house and she crawled right up to it, it was amazing. She started off doing the whole grasshopper crawling movements and now just goes for it.
Plus, she's been pulling herself up on objects such as her cot, on us, the coffee table etc. She's had a few slips and bumps to the head but she's so determined and I've noticed her feet starting to flatten towards the ground from her usual tippy toe stand.
I think she'll be walking or just starting to by her first birthday :-)
She now visible two bottom teeth, they're so cute especially when she smiles cause she kinda scrunches up her face aww! But man are they sharp! She's always chewing on my shoulders and neck and has given me a few hickeys LOL!
I think her top teeth are starting to come through too which has been adding to the stress of her current sickness, she's been handling it well. I can't wait to see them pop out :-)

She's so curious of everything.

Postpartum: Nothing new for me I'm afraid apart from starting to go for jogs with Luka (it's on hold at the mo because of being sick) as I've noticed my belly starting to sag so I've started working on my abdomen muscles to stop that. I can't wait to start taking Luka swimming so I can start to tone that area back up.
But as I mentioned in her 7month update I wont really start focusing on getting my body back till the new year once I start getting more shifts in at work and from there I can increase Luka's time at daycare.
Work has been amazing, I'm getting back into my old mojo before I fell pregnant and I'm meeting all my selling stats plus have picked up a few extra shifts, I'm really looking forward to my next bonus at this rate which I'll put towards Luka's birthday and maybe some pampering for myself and of course storing some away for savings :-)
Breastfeeding is starting to become less and less. After I had my pump fixed I never really got back into having the breastfeeding teas and getting into a routine so Luka only has about 2 beastfeeds a  day now and is mostly taking the bottle. I hardly have any let downs anymore so I'm coming to terms with the fact that my breastfeeding journey will be over soon (sigh).

Until next time!

XOXOX

Maternity Photo's

This is way waaay late but Andrei finally found a photo converting app so we could see our shots taken by my dad just weeks before Luka was due in December.

Here are my faves :-)

Feeling impatient with my dad, it was extremely hot in my room too. Take note pregnant women + heat = not good

But I managed to keep face!

 

 

It was  a gorgeous hot summer day!
Although getting photos in our room with the empty bassinet was quite frustrating due to it being so hot inside, we did capture some nice pics, but I was very relieved to get outside!
 

Andrei and I in a nutshell!

He's too cute!

My dad used his Sony NEX5 to take our photos as well.
He's a pro/hobby photographer so I knew he'd get some swell pics of us and my burgeoning bump

I know Andrei is kinda cut out of this pic but I like this one of me!!!

Yes, we are ridiculous!

Dress // ASOS Maternity
Gold earrings // gift
Middle finger ring // sisters (woops!)
Ring finger ring // Pandora

I'm so rapt with our pics and it was so good that my dad got to them, it gives them that sentimental value that family were so close to getting them as well as saving us some money!

Looking back on these I can remember the anxiety and exhaustion of waiting to pop but loving every minute of my last few weeks with my baby in my tummy.
I remember being told that it goes so quickly and never believing it because it felt sooo long!

But it did go very quickly and I'm looking forward to giving Luka a sibling in another few years.

It's honestly the best feeling and I would fully recommend getting pregnant, obviously for those that want to do it!

Hope you enjoyed my latest!
I swear I'll post things up that aren't baby related, as soon as I have an individual life again haha!

XOXOX

<3