Living with an infant: Sleeping update

I'm sure you all are wondering how I'm getting on with Jeremiah and his sleeping.

I'm happy to say it has improved tremendously. He still fights it from time to time, but it's not as long as before and he can doze off to sleep by himself. There's still times where he fights it so hard that I need to rock him in his car seat before he can start to doze.

He is weaned off me holding him so much.. I don't do it as much so the attachment isn't so strong. Jeremiah is a very cool, calm and collected baby and it started to change so I had to reverse that-- QUICKLY! 

But generally it is getting better and I'm not as tired as before thank God!

He still wakes up at night to breastfeed-- but he only wakes up about twice now-- it used to be a lot more-- which is also a dramatic improvement.

Not entirely sure when he will sleep solidly through the night but I am very happy with the improvement so far.

All I can say is praise God for the strength he has given me to do this and I can only pray for my son to continue to develop into a nice young gentlemen!

Amen! x

The blog makeover

So have you noticed anything different about the blog recently?
I had a moment of change...

New theme. New name. New description.

The way my blog looked before really did not reflect where I am at this present time. My blog before looked dark.. And even the title "visualized reality" which implies that I'm running away from reality.. I was at a very different point in my life.. But things have changed.. I've matured.. I've gone through certain experiences that have brought me to this very point.

So yeah.. I'll be posting some writing.. I want to introduce a new thing called 'flash fiction Fridays' so I'll post short quick stories every Friday.. As well as mommy related posts and inspirational/motivating stuff as well, and from time to time product reviews on things I've benefited or had a good (or bad) experience with

So stay tuned :)

Baby product review: Tried and tested

Throughout my baby's now 4 months of life, I've gone through a catalogue of products that I'd like to review and share my experience with them.

I know every baby is different and maybe you've had a worse or better experience with some of these products-- i'm just giving my personal view on them and my personal recommendations.

Pampers Premium Protection diapers

I used these nappies up until Jeremiah was just about to turn 3 months. The only issue I had with these diapers is every so often Jeremiah would leak out of them at random.. Not a pretty picture. Sometimes I would have to change Jeremiah in the middle of the night due to leaks.. Which isn't advisable. The upside to these diapers is the strip on the front that changes from yellow to blue which indicates that baby's diaper needs to be changed. I found that really handy.

Pampers baby dry diapers
These diapers. Yes. Yes. Someone gave me a pack as a gift and since then I've been on them like cheese on toast. They stand true to its name: baby dry. They really do keep baby dry! Since I started using them (since J turned 3 months) there have been no leaks-- and I'm not sure if you've seen the advert with the babies and the question pops up 'Where did all the wee go?' You do wonder, though. These diapers are on offer at Tesco.. Two packs for £18 where one pack is £14.

Huggies Newborn Baby wipes
These wipes were given to me as a gift and I fell in love with them. They're not too wet, but wet enough to do the job. No fragrance, and I believe they came at the right time for me to use on Jeremiah. I started to use wipes on him from when he was a month old and no reactions! Only downside is that I could only find these wipes at Asda.

Little ones baby wipes
This too also was a gift and also came at the right time! These wipes are very very wet and has quite a strong fragrance but at this point in time where Jeremiah's poo's are becoming very pungent and quite regular it clears up the mess very nicely and leaves his area smelling very nice.

Pampers sensitive baby wipes
These are similar to the huggies.. I like the no fragrant wipes but just enough moisture to do the trick.

Snufflebabe nasal drops and aspirator.
I needed to purchase this when Jeremiah got a little cold and cough and it really did help. Jeremiah has been a snuffly baby ever since he came out.. But when he had a little cold (around 2 months) these two worked hand in hand. The nasal drops softened up the mucus in his nose and every time I would use the aspirator to suck out the snot, a good amount came out. Then he eventually got over the cold! You can get these from Boots... or you can order online.

Child's farm sensitive hair and body wash
This was the first wash I used on Jeremiah and it was fine until I noticed he started to get a little rash.. And then I stopped using it. I used it on his hair and it washed it very well-- but I think it didn't agree with him. You can get this at Superdrug for £3.99 (Beautycard points!)

Burt's Bees baby bee bath
I bought this product based on all of the good reviews that I read.. But it wasn't good for Jeremiah-- at this point Jeremiah was getting patches of dry skin that started to look like eczema.. So I wanted to get a bath that would help make his skin soft.. And on the packaging it says it will leave baby's skin gentle and soft. But rather the bath is quite fragrant, and I think it exacerbated the problem with his skin. This bath is £10 from boots!

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Feeding Bottles

I've only been using these bottles for 2 weeks but Jeremiah adjusted very quickly to it. Originally I had purchased some Dr Brown's bottles based on the reviews but I really struggled.. Then I realised maybe he didn't like the bottle. But with these bottles the teats of the bottle are similar to nipples.. And Jeremiah loves his breast so I took a bottle from my breast pump and used it.. Whaddaya know! He loved it. So i'll be using Tommee Tippee bottles from now on. Weaning shall be a breeze!

Earth Friendly Products Baby Laundry Detergent- Chamomile and Lavender

I was really unsure to what to use to wash J's clothes-- as you know the skin of a baby is super sensitive-- so to use the detergent I use to wash my clothes was definitely a no no. With the good knowledge of a friend, I discovered this detergent and it has been a dream. It has done nothing to my son's skin-- it smells wonderful and it isn't too expensive. Also, it lasts a good amount of time (or depends how often you wash your baby's clothes. I tend to wash once a week.. twice a week if there have been accidents lol) A bottle of this is only £6.99, but it is only available at Whole Foods-- or you can order it online.

So far these are the products I have used for Jeremiah-- if I tend to venture on more I shall review them too! Leave a comment and let me know thoughts and recommendations!

Living with an infant: 4 months old today!

I am so grateful to God my son has made it to 4 months!!!
Thank you Jesus.

Before starting this post I literally googled 'What age is considered an infant' because I'm sure my boy has passed the newborn stage!
So what google told me was newborn is from birth to 2 months. An infant is from 3 months to 1 year old.. Then baby is considered a toddler.
So.. I've had to change my title from newborn to infant lol.

Anyway. What a month it has been. My son is changing and maturing and becoming a little mister. Throughout this month I have seen him develop.. He's becoming more interactive-- he's realizing the use of his hands.. Beginning to grip things-- he's making a lot more sounds now-- getting very vocal, smiling a lot more, he's doing this thing now that when he lies down he is lifting up his upper body to try and get up-- a very good sign! It means his muscles are getting stronger.
He's spending more time on his tummy... His neck is still a teeny bit wobbly but he can hold it up by himself.
A lot of changes in the past month and I can only thank God for continuing to be with us as he matures.

As for the sleeping.. It is getting a lot better. He still fights though. This boy did not want to sleep last night.. He was obviously tired but didn't decide to fall asleep until 2:30 this morning.
Like, really?!
I don't know what kids think they're missing when they fall asleep.. Honestly.
But he is continuing to self soothe.. Occasionally I need to rock him a bit until he gets drowsy.. Then I put him down and he falls asleep on his own.
I'm really hoping by the time he's 5 months the sleeping is mastered and he can sleep through the night. He still wakes up in the night to feed-- but that has decreased too-- he wakes up only twice.. Before it was at least 5 or 6.
So that's improving too thank God.

Since putting Jeremiah on the infant milk he has adjusted to the bottle so praise God weaning shouldn't be too hard now. And no reactions to the milk so that's good. I have a health visitor appointment in 3 weeks so we will see how his weight will be then.

I believe that is all! I can't wait to see how much he develops in this month-- the only thing I'm not looking forward to is his injections.. But the good side is after this lot of injections he won't have it again until he's 12 months.

God continue to be with us, amen.

Living with a not so newborn: The self soothing baby

So.
I've come to discover that my son is a little attached to me.
It's not a bad thing.. But it can be a bad thing for him later on in his life.
I don't want him to be too attached to me and be labelled a 'mama's boy'
I want my son to be independent.. Yes he can come to his mama for moral support, advice whatever... But not to be so attached to me that he's not able to function if i'm not around.
So this week I'm trying to wean him out of me always holding him.. If that means he has to cry it out.. Then so be it.
As long as he's been fed and his butt is clean there should be no other reason to cry for such a long period of time.

Also. The MAIN thing I want Jeremiah to master is being able to sleep without me holding him or rocking him to sleep.
It's already improving.. He has to cry a bit.. And then.. Wait for it... He puts his two fingers in his mouth and sucks it until he falls asleep.
I read a lot about babies who self soothe.. And it's a good practice for them because that means they can be very independent. And it's even better for me and my arms lol.
Right now he's asleep next to me after about 15-20 minutes of fussing before he soothed himself to sleep.
I just hope and pray he grows out of it and doesn't continue to suck his fingers when he's like 20. -__-

God forbid. Lol

But I pray before the week ends his fighting sleep will cease and when he's sleepy.. He'll just soothe himself and sleep.. And then gradually just fall asleep with so much ease.
But i'm glad he's found something that he finds comforting and isn't expecting me to rock him to sleep.

Please God let this boy come out of fighting sleep and let him be able to sleep peacefully.. And may that result in him sleeping through the night with no interruptions.
Amen :)

Living with a not so newborn: Milestones & Memories

It's Saturday morning.. Approximately 7:26am(after just settling Jeremiah back to sleep) and I'm lying here reminiscing and going through videos and photos of when he was born and so on..

Time goes so bloody fast! I have a short video of when J was one week old... And looking at him now at 15 weeks.. He has changed so much lawd Jesus!
But all I can do is praise God. Thank you Jesus for sustaining my boy up until now.. I pray for your constant protection over his life. Amen.

So. Every month babies reach development milestones, i.e holding their head up, smiling, responding to familiar voices, rolling, holding things, laughing...
Jeremiah smiles a lot, he can hold his head up, he's so active i'm not sure if he's trying to roll lol. But every baby is different and will reach milestones whenever-- but it is just so interesting to see. Just observing your own child and looking at them fascinated with the world around them. It's so nice to see.

I've also now started giving J formula milk because at my recent health visitor check his weight was short by a couple of ounces.. And it was like that the time before.. So just to get his weight up to scratch I top him up with a bottle of milk at night. It has been a struggle.. This boy enjoys his breast like no tomorrow.
I didn't want to.. But he will gain the weight with the extra milk and plus it will make weaning a lot easier too.. So it's a blessing in disguise.

Next thing I know Jeremiah will be 1 year old.. Walking.. Eating solid foods and being independent.

Time is surely flying.

Living with a newborn: You won't always get it right

Motherhood and taking care of a little one is a learning process.
Especially with being a new mom.. I've even surprised my own self with how I'm adjusting and how I'm taking care of Jeremiah.
I'm not saying that I didn't believe that I could-- but I didn't think I would be handling it so well.
I even underestimated myself!

But as I am on this new journey of motherhood; mistakes are allowed-- otherwise how do we learn?
A current example I can give.. I'm currently treating Jeremiah's extremely dry skin. I bought a product to bath him with that had really good reviews and what I thought would be good for his skin..
Turns out it wasn't good.. And it triggered his skin to be really dry.. It looks a little like eczema, but with moisturizing it everyday with shea butter it is improving a lot.
I know his skin is a result of the really cold weather too but I didn't help with using the product.. I should of stuck to just plain warm water.
But within this mistake it's also made me find out that his skin is a little sensitive so I need to be mindful when buying creams and baths. But who knows? He may even grow out of it.
The point is even though you make a mistake there is a reason for it.
So I haven't beaten myself up about it; but I've added it to my knowledge of my child so I know what to do and what to prevent so his skin doesn't get worse.
No one is perfect and I'm also learning to not be too hard on myself-- when you have a child you just want them to be perfect... Make sure nothing is wrong with them.. Make sure they're happy..
But I am enjoying this new journey of motherhood.. I always thank God for my son and pray that God will help me to raise him to be the great boy that he is.