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

Luka Anya - 6 Months old!

My girl is officially 6months old!

I never though she'd make it to this stage and begin filling the clothes she wears now and outgrowing the others, it's just too surreal!

The milestones she's achieved and how much she's bloomed since my last post on her 4months (sorry I skipped 5) have been a joy to watch :-)

She really has and always will be her own little person.

I love her like nothing else in this world, even if her wilful tendencies drive me a little crazy as well as her stubbornness and temper, but shes my baby and I am so proud of her!

I could only think back 6months and think that it'll be forever until she finally gets to this stage.

I just always saw her as my little newborn, but as the months went on and she improved with her colic, mobility, feeding, sleeping, sociability and overall independence I've changed my mind about each of my favourite ages of her and I'm slowly learning to accept to just love her as much as I do every single day and that no matter how old she is, she will always be mine and Andrei's baby.

Now that the 6month mark has been reached this makes me very excited to start pulling ideas together for her first birthday!

So far I've planned a summer garden party (as her birthdays in summer here in NZ to all my overseas readers) with a BBQ and plenty of DIY celebrated with those that closest to Luka I.E family and a handful of friends.

I can't wait to get started, first off I'll be doing the invites and I have this awesome app on my phone, Rhonna Designs, that I'm using to do the invitations.

I'll do a post of my birthday ideas for Luka later.

In the mean time, here's an update of Luka from the last two months :-)

Weight: When she was last weighed for her 5month vaccines she tallied in at 6.1kg! She wont be weighed again till her 7month check up with Plunket but she has been growing so quickly from filling in 000 clothing at 4months to now almost filling in 00!
Her hair is growing, it's so cute and fuzzy and oh so blonde :-) and she's getting much more stronger.

Sleep: So sleep has been all over the place the last few weeks from her waking up once during the night to waking up, say, 3 times.
My body's more well adjusted these days, but with it being winter now it sucks having to get out of a nice warm bed -_-
Oh well first world problems, I'll keep monitoring her sleeping patterns and hope it'll change soon or it could just be to put a new routine in place.

Diet: I'm very excited about this because Luka is now having a good balance of breast milk, formula and solids!
I've had to give her 50/50 of b/milk and formula because my b/milk supply has been running low, from pumping 4-6 ounces a day to barely an ounce and not many let downs; it is very disheartening but I have been trying to remind myself that I have done the best I can and Luka is so happy and healthy and that is more than I could ask for :-)

Even as much as I wanted to keep giving her my b/milk exclusively for her first year, there's just things in this world you can't change, I've never been opposed to formula (even though I'm strong believer in breast is best) but at the end of the day it is what's best for Luka and I sure as hell won't let her starve!

But in saying all that, I purchased a breastfeeding tea from Artemis (a natural remedy company in NZ) so to increase my b/milk supply.

And so far I have noticed a change :-)

It's my 4th day drinking 3cups each day and I feel my breasts filling up more and I've been pumping 2.5-3ounces and storing it away. You have no idea how elated I am!

I'll keep you up to date on that journey.
Otherwise, she's having either S-26 Gold or Heinz Nature Gold+ Formula and has been guzzling it back like a champ!

She's started to slowly take more solid foods than pureed and has a mix of of fruit, vege and meat baby foods.

And they all taste pretty good!

Routine: I've gone through two different routines suitable for Luka's age and how long she can stay up for.
In her 4th month she would awake for 1-2 hours and have 3-4 naps during the day.
Now it's awake for 3-4hours and 2-3 naps during the day.
She goes to bed around 7-8 and wakes up around 7 but is waking up 3-4 times during the night!
I think a new routine could be in order so I'm going to start getting her to bed by 7pm then she'll most likely wake around 5-6am and from there she'll have her breakfast, play time and then have her first nap, and then do her thing as the day goes on.
I'll be starting that as of tomorrow due to me working tonight so she'll be a little unsettled with me not at home.
Let's hope it works once I get started...

Social: Luka has surprised me with how sociable she is! She's also surprised me with just how much she's changed since going to daycare (yup she's been going for a month now), she's always happy and now smiles at people when before she would just stare at people, which she still does, but going to daycare and not relying on me I have noticed a huge improvement with keeping herself entertained too.
The kids at the daycare love her and always run up to the stroller and talk and play with her when we arrive and the same with when we leave.
Also when I go to pick her up she gives me the biggest yummy baby smiles and then gives me the biggest yummiest baby kisses. It's so worth it :-)
Her caregivers are amazing and adore her, she goes Monday's, Thursday's and Friday's from 8am to 12pm.
I'm thinking of increasing the time or adding in an extra day as I'm wanting to pick up extra shifts at work, but we'll see how we go.

Likes: Luka loves interaction with people, she loves her cuddles and loves it when I play with her I.E. rough and tumble, tickling her tummy, peek a boo etc. She has a laugh that just makes my heart swell :-)
She also loves her new Jumping Joey (similar to a Jolly Jumper) and squeals with delight when she's jumping around in it.
She loves floor time too as she's becoming more active and beginning to crawl and sit up by herself.
I've been taking her to the park a lot lately and she has a play on the swing and we go on the slide, she loves it :-)
She loves grabbing things and putting them in her mouth, which has made trying to read to her quite difficult because she literally wants to devour the book!
She loves daycare, having morning sleep in's and cuddles with me, making a mess during her meal times (hehe), shower time and yeah.

Milestones: She's starting to figure out how to crawl and sit up by herself!
I'm amazed at how mobile she's becoming, I leave her on her play mat one minute and when I come back she's at the other end of her play mat and completely around the other way!
She's funny wee thing and has started making this growling noise, Andrei and I do it back to her which puts a huge smile on her face.
She's rolling around...everywhere! She's really figured it out this time and it makes it so much fun for me when attempting to dress and unclothe her as well as trying to put her nappy on!
But she's happy, what more could I want?

Postpartum: I am back to work and the gym which has been bittersweet due to my b/milk production lacking. But like I stated in food, it's something to work on.
I found out that I only have 5kg till I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight (60kg) and boy, the trainers have me on this gruelling routine!
10mins on the treadmill with running intervals, 15mins on the crosstrainer at 10-12 intensity (or kg), 30kg squat lifts, 10kg lunges the list goes on!
But, I have noticed an improvement, not with my weight yet but with how I look, my arms are more sculpted and everything else is starting to tighten back in (yipee). I have this dress that I brought during pregnancy that doesn't look too great on at the moment so by the time Summer rolls around it'll fit like a glove, can't wait :-)
Being back at work has been good too, it feels amazing to be earning my own money again, even if it is only one shift a week and for 4hours. I missed my work colleagues and having new things to talk about, next month I'll be looking at increasing my shifts as I'm trying to save towards getting my own car.

Otherwise that's all I have to say for now.
I could go on but I want to have things for more blog posts, and try and blog more...

Hope you liked reading and you'll hear from me soon :-)
In the mean time, here's an adorable video of Luka having some play time with me and her daddy.
**please excuse my shit videoing skills and also the fact you can't hear the audio. It's still pretty cute ☺️

XOXOX

Our weekend in Dunedin Part 2

Heya!

So here's part 2 from the first post which you can read about HERE.

Now where was I? Ah yes, since we were lovingly woken up by L at 5am I was straight into action!
She had her feed, nappy change and a play while I used the time to have breakfast and get ready.
The wedding didn't start till 10 but having a small child makes getting ready in a certain time frame a huge mission, so I was kinda glad to be up at 5.

Here was my look..

I went for a simple/natural look with a light golden eye to bring out the hazel colour and a natural lip.
I used Benefit and M.A.C makeup to achieve this look.

And here are some pics taken of me, L and Andrei...

I wore my green ASOS maternity dress, a gold necklace and little gold earrings. 

It was a really gorgeous day, it really was!
The bride look beautiful, the groom very dashing (as did Andrei if I do say so myself) and everything was done to perfection!
The ceremony was a traditional Catholic setting, very heartfelt, and a lot of family input.
The reception was held at the gorgeous Glenfalloch Restaurants and the whole place is surrounded by beautiful gardens! I went for a few nice strolls with L, but she was sound asleep pretty much all day if not waking up for feeds and a bit of play time.
The reception was a wee bit noisy so I tried to stay in one spot the whole time, which made me feel bad for not socialising with the guests. I felt like a snob but I was trying to do best by my baby.
Otherwise it was a fantastic day! The food was great as well as the atmosphere and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't tear up because I so did! I've only been to one wedding before this one and I got there late, it was literally the end of the ceremony, so I didn't feel the celebration as much as I would've liked to so I was very happy to have been part of this one.
The bride and groom are so very much in love and I wish them the best :-)

The next two days after were very full on! Plenty of socialising and getting out and about around Dunedin.
There was one place I'd be dying to visit again since last time was Rob Roys Dairy!

Here's why...

I am a HUGE ice cream/dessert fanatic and there ice creams fit my appetite perfectly!
I think this two scoop serve only cost $3 but I can't remember :-(
Oh well, guess I'll have to make another trip to find out...and maybe buy another one...
Sad part about this pic is that the ice cream fell off while we were walking back to the hotel! But Drei was kind enough to give me his, I'm so lucky :-)

That day we had lunch at the Speights Ale House, said our good byes to guests and family, did touristy things like go see the Train Station, The First Church of Otago and before we knew it the day was over!

My dinner at the Ale House. Lamb shanks and in season veges mmmmm

On our last day L, Drei, my mother-in-law and Drei's aunt travelled out to Larnach Castle.
Due to it being summer I packed a dress and a light denim jacket thinking it'll be as warm in the South Island as it would be in the North.
Um, WRONG!
It was freezing outside as it was in.

It wasn't a dress kinda day...

The castle was beautiful, if not a little creepy.
It has a very sad history and you could feel it in the place.
I've had my fair share of spooks in the past (trying not to sound crazy here) and I could definitely feel eyes watching me around the place!
The castle was made beautifully though, very intricate and pieces that had taken years to design, the gardens from what I saw looked incredible but it was too cold for me to have a look around!

After our tour we had lunch in the castles cafe and headed back to the hotel to get ready to go home.

The flight home was good, Luka was completely over the trip and Andrei and I were pretty exhausted ourselves.
Overall it was worth it, it was a lot of fun and we got to see faces that we hadn't seen in years.

I can't wait to go back to Dunedin, and who knows, maybe the next wedding invites to be sent will be from me and Andrei......
Until next time!

XOXOX

My week in photos!

Mmmm chocolate bunnies!

Last week was a mix of busy and crazy!

There was so much going on I'm not at all surprised it went right past me 😱

At the start of the week Luka and I had a small catch up with the women from our antenatal classes and their new babies.

It was a lot of fun and great to talk to each other about our birthing and parenting experiences plus get the kids socialising which I think was more beneficial for Luka and melody as they were the oldest ones.

Sooo cute though!

Luka having a bit of 'nappy free' time. She loves being naked, I'm sure she'll be one of those babies that love to streak!

We'll be catching up again in a few weeks to go to a special 'mums with bubs' movie session. You can take you're baby with you into a movie and not have to worry about them screaming, win win right there!

The next day I took Luka to a local pre school that's literally around the corner from where I live. Due to her getting bored quite easily and being very hyperactive I finally decided to take a walk up to the pre school and get the 101 on the place.

So far I'm impressed! It's very education, tidy, clean, hygienic, lovely hands on staff and plenty of constructive stimulation for the kids!

Luka was so me mesmerised by everything that she fell asleep very quickly after spending an hour there.

I'm still having a look around though, and I still haven't gotten Luka back on the bottle yet, so I'm giving myself a month or two to get this underway.

I think this will be very beneficial for Luka, she needs stimulation and more social activity, I think more than anything she CRAVES it!

And as for me, I can have some time out ( i do at least 3 walks a day with her!) and focus on getting back to work and help to provide a good life for me and my family :-)

One of my fave shots of her this week. She's so beautiful!

By the middle of the week everything calmed down and was cruisy.

Friday night my mum and I went Easter egg shopping!

The department store we went to, The Warehouse, was packed! Luka didn't know where to look, and that tired her out so she had a little nap in the baby seat on out trolley while mum and I had a browse.

All wrapped up in mummy's jacket

Playing with the bunnies!

Saturday was a quick trip out with Andrei and finally Sunday was Easter!

Unfortunately Luka didn't get any chocolate this year but she will next time.

I want to be quite strict with what she consumes in her first year as it's the most vital year for her growth so I want no processed foods to be consumed.

I think it's fair and she gets a good wholesome diet and a good view on food, hopefully.

But anyway I managed to get some cute snaps of her with an Easter egg with the help of Andrei distracting her and getting some of her beautiful smiles!

Hope you had a great week everyone and happy resurrection of our saviour Jesus Christ!

XOXOX

Our weekend in Dunedin Part 1

The last time I went to Dunedin was almost two years ago on April 20th 2012 and that was for a getaway out of Auckland and out of the North Island, obviously.

This time around our trip was for a very very special occasion, Andrei's sisters wedding!
It was such a beautiful ceremony and everything was organised perfectly.
I really have to do this post in two parts as I have A LOT of pictures.

Luka was only 6weeks old when we made the trip and she was amazing the whole time!
She slept most of the time but was such an amazing little traveller, apart from the journey home but by that time we were all pretty tired and grumpy it was a full 4 days that we had!

The first day we arrived we headed to our hotel called Park Regis, we were given the master suite due to having Luka with us. It was a gorgeous room!!!
It was also used for some of the wedding photo's. you can keep an eye for a post about the wedding on Olesya's blog 'Hung Up On Makeup' .

Just two of the many silly photo's we took on the plane ride there. We were quite bored and Luka slept through the whole thing!

The lounge of our hotel room

Our room, Luka was also provided a port-a-cot

After getting settled in at the hotel we headed down to the hotels bar and I indulged in my fave beverage, Speights Apple Cider!
You can get it up in Auckland, but because it's made in Dunedin it tastes just that little bit better, more crisp and bubbly mmmmm :-)

After that Andrei, Luka and I headed out for a bite to eat and we ended up finding this cool Mexican Restaurant down a street of the main strip called Del Sol, and it is a funky place!
You have sombrero's at the table!!!

Couples selfie!

 

You can't see it properly but there is a bar in the middle of the restaurant

The place was packed and full of amazing energy, the food was pretty damn good too!

I ordered pulled pork tostadas, I can't remember what Drei ordered but I do remember trying it and it was pretty good too!

After that we went back to the hotel room, Luka woke up during our meal, so she could have a bit of play and then back for a nap then we went and saw Drei's dad, came back to the hotel again and saw Olesya one last time before her wedding the next day.

Luka was very unsettled after all the travelling we did that day and didn't go to sleep till about 12 or 1am!

No matter, we got some sleep eventually and then it was all go again at 5am and the day of the wedding :-)

I will update you on that next time...

XOXOX