4 month baby update

You're going to be turning 4 months old on boxing day and I expect we'll be a bit busy that day so I'm writing this update a couple of days early this month.

Sleeping

At the moment I think you're probably going through a little growth spurt, you're eating more (more on that later) and waking up a little bit earlier. Don't get me wrong we are still absolutely spoilt, the very earliest you've woken up is about half 7 which is still amazing for a 4 month old baby but you were sleeping til 8 or 9 (sometimes even 10!) a couple of weeks ago. We had your last lot of injections last week so that disrupted you a little bit and you woke up once in the night for a couple of nights but we don't mind. You're so good normally, we know if you wake up it's because something is the matter.
You still nap a lot! Usually at least 2 or 3 a day. If I let you sleep on me sometimes you'll sleep for 3-4 hours but we usually try to put you down for a nap in your big girls cot now when we notice you start to get grumpy, or you sleep whenever we're out and about - especially in the new car!
You're still in your crib in mummy and daddy's bedroom at the moment but I think we'll look at putting you in your own room in the New Year maybe. You love your bedroom, we always get changed in there and you have your naps there now. I'd feel better if you could roll so I know you won't get stuck on your front!

Feeding

You're up to 8oz bottles now and you polish them off no problem. You're not sick very often anymore which is much better and you're obviously keeping more milk in you're tummy. You normally have between 4-6 bottles a day depending on how much you've napped during the daytime but you wake up earlier if you haven't had much milk in the day. If you're awake you don't like to go as long between bottles now, you scream every 3 hours whereas last month you'd happily go 4, as I said I think you're having a little growth spurt.

Weight

14lb 6oz when we got weighed this morning (Wednesday)....a whole stone already! That's crazy. It won't be long and you'll be double your birth weight.
Still on the 50th percentile as well.

Development

You absolutely love the sound of your own voice! You just constantly chat & smile the whole time you are awake which is so funny and you are so cute! 
The two main developmental things we are really waiting for you to do this month are rolling and laughing. Both of which you have sooo nearly got!
We practice you're rolling everyday with lots of tummy time but you hate it. You like you lie on your back and wiggle, or kick everything. You can lift your hips up & sort of get half way into a roll but I have to give you a helping hand for the last little bit! haha
You do laugh a little bit now, mostly at yourself or when I pull your vests up over your head but it's adorable and I can't wait for it to be a more regular thing.
You want to sit up all the time now. You get upset if you have to lie down, apart from for a nap of course. You've started to enjoy sitting in your bumbo seat and hardly need any support at all.

Clothes
You're still in 0-3 month clothes but I'm going to get the 3-6 bits out soon because I'm sure it won't be long. You seem to be a month behind when going into bigger size clothes so far. 
We're literally on our last couple of size 2 nappies just using up what we've got left and then you'll be in size 3! How did that happen already? I had to exchange a load of size 2s because I'd stocked up so much when you were pregnant and didn't expect you to grow this quickly!

XOXO

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Lots of love,

Squishy, G and Me

XOXO

First visit to see Santa

Last Wednesday was a very special day...... it was Brooke's first trip to go & see Santa!
I know it's crazy and everybody says don't bother the first year because obviously she has no idea about Santa, or even what's going on at all, but I love Christmas and was determined to get little B in on the action as soon as we could.

We booked to go on the 16th for a couple of reasons. Firstly I thought it would be near enough to Christmas that the atmosphere would be good, but not near enough that it would be crazy busy with all the kids broken up from school. Secondly it was that exact day last year that we did a pregnancy test and found out we were having a baby so being the silly sentimental girl that I am I thought it would be nice to take our baby girl somewhere exciting on that day to sort of mark the occasion.

We went to a garden centre not too far from where we live which I booked a couple of weeks beforehand. I didn't fancy going to a busy shopping centre grotto so this was ideal for a quiet mid-week visit for us.

The grotto area was separate from the main garden centre and had a nice little walkway lined with Christmas trees leading up to it. About 5 other kids came in at the same time as us which was a lovely small group.

We went into a large room with decorations all around it, benches in the middle for us to sit on and Santa in a little stage type area at the front. We all sat down and Santa told all the kids a story which was really sweet and made sure he interacted with each one and asked them questions. Then each child got to go up and see Santa individually, have a chat about what they wanted for Christmas (of course!) and have some photos taken.

We were allowed to take our own photos in the grotto as well which I loved. It's definitely a nice touch and means you don't have to fork out for the pricey professional photos if you don't want to. Obviously with it being Brooke's first Christmas they were obligatory for us!

We were over the moon that Brooke actually seemed to really enjoy herself. She loves all the twinkly lights and Christmas music and was just in the best mood for the entire morning which I was so pleased about. I was a little bit worried she'd be too young and find it all overwhelming and get upset but it was the total opposite. She wasn't too sure what to make of Santa so wasn't her usual smiley self but she wasn't upset about it either. While Santa was telling his story she sat there good as gold, cooing away and seemed quite interested in what was going on! haha 

After we came out of the grotto she was squealing with happiness all the way round the garden centre and shouting chatting at everybody we saw. Strangers always comment on how vocal she is it's so funny, she gets really loud!! 

It was G's birthday last week as well so we ended the day with a trip to Toby Carvery as a treat and B slept the entire time AND the whole way home so all the excitement must have worn her out!

Did you take your little one to see Santa when they were small? We'd love to hear about your experience.

XOXO

Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Tan Lotion - Review

I've always been a huge Palmers fan and absolutely love their body butter products and have been using them for years! I've even got my boyfriend hooked on their good old cocoa butter.

 Cocoa butter is without a doubt one of my favourite scents when looking for new products and definitely one I am always drawn too.

I am also a serial fake tanner!! Being a natural redhead (but my hair has darkened somewhat over the years) I obviously have your typical ginger skin - annoyingly freckly and pale. There is nothing I love more than laying out in the sun for 2 weeks solid, somewhere exotic and hot on our summer holidays trying to tan, but I really do just have to accept that even though I love the sun....it DEFINITELY does not love me back!! *sniffsniff*.

There probably aren't many brands of fake tan I haven't tried and tested over the years and I do 100% have my favourites (Fake Bake & Laurens Way I'm looking at you!!) but every now and then I like to mix it up a bit.

I've got to be honest gradual tanners aren't a product I am usually a fan of. I definitely started out with them at the beginning of my tanning experience (to ease myself in gently...or so I thought at the time!) but I'm often left thinking why bother tanning at all if you're not going to tan properly! I like it to be noticeable not barely there. However loving Palmers like I do I thought I'd pick up Natural Bronze Tan Lotion when I saw it on offer in Boots.

Image: Superdrug

I have to say I am really really impressed. Sometimes when I'm not planning any nights out in a while, or getting my legs out and generally being a bit lazy, I can't be bothered to properly fake tan - yes you heard it hear first, never thought id be saying that - so a gradual tan lotion is perfect for maintaining a slight glow but also only needs minimal effort.
Natural Bronze Glow is a moisturiser that develops into a subtle tan and can be built up over x number of days. Firstly unlike actual fake tan products gradual tanner tends to be white in colour, which makes it seem much more like a regular moisturiser. It also doesn't have your typical fake tan smell. Natural Bronze Glow does have a slight scent to it, certainly more than the regular cocoa butter product but equally its not unpleasant in the slightest. My boyfriend kept telling me i smelt like chocolate if that makes you feel better about the smell? ha! And you can definitely smell the cocoa butter running through it which also leaves a really pleasant smell.
Now I've just been slapping this on willy nilly after my daily showers, not thinking too much about it. I can't remember exactly how long I've been using it now, maybe a fortnight on and off but not once have i had any sort of streak. Each day I notice I am getting browner and browner, subtly and naturally. The colour is long lasting and fades very evenly. I've only needed to exfoliate a little around my ankles and elbows.

The top picture is after using Natural Bronze for a couple of days and the bottom picture is after a week. I think you can build up a really nice and natural, but definitely worthwhile, tan with little effort or maintenance. Maybe a winner?

Palmers Natural Bronze Tan Lotion retails at £5.35

Have any of you tried Natural Bronze Tan? I'd love to hear your opinion on it?

XOXO

** this post first appeared on my original blog Sparkle Bug which you can read here **

Youngsies Monkey Onesie - Review

Last week we received a little pre-Christmas treat from the lovely people at Youngsies, one of their baby monkey onesie costumes* for Brooke to try out.

Youngsies are a company specialising in animal onesies and towels for babies and toddlers. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 0-36 months.

We absolutely love the monkey onesie! Is is so cute, cheeky and totally unisex.

- It is hand & footless

- Has an attached hood

- Is costume style

- Very soft & fluffy

- Thickly padded

- Has both zip & popper openings

- Machine washable

This honestly is one of the thickest, most snuggly and padded onesies that Brooke has, and she has quite a few! We've found 0-3 months to be an awkward stage where shops don't really offer coats yet for babies so small, so onesies and pramsuits are our go to outfit on a cold day.

The monkey onesie is size 0-6 months so as Brooke is coming up 4 months there was still plenty of room for her to grow further and I expect it will fit her for a good while yet. Being handless and footless in a romper style (if you chose to open the poppers) definitely means the onesie will fit for longer because often clothes become too short in the leg for Brooke before they're too small in the body.

Everytime Brooke has worn the onesie she has seemed really comfortable. She's had it on for hours at a time if we've been out in her pram and has fallen asleep all cosy everytime so it's definitely a hit with her.
A lot of all-in-one snowsuit type outfits we've used make her too hot and she's gets all upset and sweaty, especially considering how warm winter has been so far. Somehow the monkey onesie doesn't have the same effect. Brooke has never seemed uncomfortable or too hot, which surprised me considering how warm and thick the onesie is.

We've already washed the monkey onesie and it came back out of the machine just as soft and cosy as when it went in. No bobbles or loose threads, it's honestly such great quality.

The only negative I can think of is that Brooke probably wouldn't be able to wear it as the weather starts to get warmer because it is really thick and padded but that definitely isn't a concern at the moment. The monkey onesie is going to be perfect for the next few months and lets be honest you probably wouldn't be looking to buy onesies in the summer anyway would you?

We absolutely love our monkey onesie and will definitely be purchasing some more of the animal onesie range. Now I've seen how soft the onesie's are I'm dying to try out one of Youngsie's baby towels!

The baby monkey costume onesie retails at £17.99 and you can find it on Youngsies website here, along with plenty of other fab animal styles to chose from (the duck onesie is just tooo cute!)

Does your baby have any animal outfits? We'd love to see pictures!
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XOXO

Mummy and Me - November 2015

I've just realised I never posted our Mummy & Me post for November! Ooooops. Only half a month behind...

Last month I had two favourite pictures

11.11.15 (11 weeks old)

Brooke first time swimming. We started swimming lessons with Turtle Tots last month so G and I wanted to take Brooke swimming together for the very first time so that neither of us missed out. She loved it! (Despite her face saying otherwise!) 

19.11.15 (12 weeks old)

Poor B! This was sitting in the waiting room of the doctors waiting for the nurse to call us in for her second lot of injections. This little hat is my favourite!! We were wrapped up all warm to go and watch the Christmas lights be turned on afterwards.

XOXO