**** grr**** swaddle swaddle *****

And I continue to provide swaddle manufactures with work, by buying yet another swaddle :-(. After baby G not sleeping well I thought maybe it's because the swaddle she had was an arms up one, so maybe being able to put her hands in her mouth (through the fabric) meant she was waking herself up more. I decided to try the Halo sleepsack ($25), FAIL! Luckily I can use it as a sleep sack withbopen arms so it's not a complete waste of money. I put the swaddle on with her arms down and she HATED it, and by hated it meant she squirmed with a very angry face and a loud bellow. I immediately took it off and out the arms up one back on - she liked that one. I also hate that the halo is zipper up, which means that the head hole is closed so you have to put it on like a shirt. I refuse to buy anymore even though i would love to try the love to dream swaddle and her sleeping is still on/off, but to be honest I think a lot of it is my failure to establish day sleeping schedules which I've started to do ( I just let her sleep when she wanted). Look of the day for me is Dotti dress $59.95 - this is a button down dress, it was hard to breastfeed in, but it was doable. Look of the day for G is a Target sesame street onesie, it came in a pack of three. She just had her six week vaccinations in this photo so wasn't giving me any smiles!

Bumbo and activity centres

I bought baby a bumbo. A bumbo is a strange little chair that baby sits in. Its recommended for use four months and up, we have been using it since G was about 6 weeks as she had good head control. Now at 3 months old, I'm not sure how much longer it will last her as her chubby legs are getting stuck already! It is convenient when we are making dinner and I pop her on the table in her bumbo so she can interact with us (under strict supervision of course).

My mum had previously gave us some big toys, I had no idea what they were and was a bit worried about all this stuff she was giving us. We popped it away in storage and I kinda forgot about them. Fast forward to bubby being three months old, I saw my friends baby in an activity centre and realized I needed one of them! I started shopping around and realized they were actually quite expensive! Then I thought hang on a second I think my mum might of given us one - whoops :-), sure enough there was an activity centre. We popped her in it and she seems to like it, she is still a bit little for it though. It's such a shame that we don't live in a major city as when I checked gumtree, there are heaps that are so cheap: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-sydney/baby+activity+centre/k0l3003435.
If your looking to buy new, deals direct have a really wide selection:http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/c/baby-1/play-gyms-activity-centres/.
We also have a jolly jumper that was lent to us, these are relatively cheap - $50 and you put it up in a door Fran, you can buy the music may as well for $30. The JJ has a stand you can purchase so you don't have to use a door frame, but it's $100 so I would rather buy another activity centre then purchase that. Little G is still to little for the JJ but we will pop her in for little bits so she can have a go of it.

Bags and look of the day

I'm still not using any of my proper nappy bags, they are just so big and I don't need to lug around that much stuff still. I bought this Tote bag from Sportsgirl to act as a dual my bag/her bag. The colors are a lot more vibrant than they have showed up in the photo. It was $59.95 which is massively overpriced for a sportsgirl bag, but it actually sold out while I was waiting for it to go on sale so I had to order it in!

My look of the day for me is a tempt skirt $9.95, bonds bf singlet and Cotton on shirt $29.95. Im loving the pencil skirt look but am not entirely sure I can pull it off. Bubba G is wearing a Best and Less dress that I'm pretty sure was on sale for $9.95.

Baby friendly wardrobe

Trying to maintain my style in breastfeeding friendly clothing is a minor challenge. Add to that challenge is that I'm tired of the casualness of my wardrobe as well, I'm used to getting dressed up for work 5 days a week! This week I added two more breastfeeding friendly dresses to my wardrobe, bought from Dotti at full price ($109 for both), this is going to be the last of my clothing purchases for awhile as I am going to go through my wardrobe to discover what I already have in there! Look of the day is an Ally skirt and a Jay Jays shirt with a bonds breastfeeding singlet underneath - this outfit highlights my frustration at wearing my weekend wardrobe everyday. I'm also wearing a turquoise necklace, at the moment baby G hasn't mastered motor skills so doesn't grab at things, me thinks that once that happens my days of wearing jewellery may be limited! Look of the day for G is a white lace dress from Target with matching bloomers. I heart Target they have cute clothes at great prices and good quality as well! As you can see from this photo - baby G is starting to flash smiles :-) :-).

Fox in Flats recently blogged about accessorizing and breastfeeding:

Www.foxinflats.com.au/2012/02/accessorise-breastfeeding/.

I thought togs were bathing suits!

So the miracle swaddle blanket from Mothercare really wasn't for me or G. Though I will be taking it with me on holidays to keep G warm. I need things that zip up to hold my little bubba in. I did some research and Grobags have awesome reviews, they are not swaddles, just sleeping bags. They are also SO expensive! Babies R Us and Mothercare tend to have occasional sales but I paid full price $80 for mine. Also turns out you need to work out what 'tog' you need. Google it! For 20-24 Degrees I needed tog 1. However I also needed a swaddle for those tough nights when G needs some more comfort. Again the ErgoCocoon got awesome reviews and I got one on sale from Babies R Us- this isn't a 'proper' swaddle, she is able to move her arms and hands quite a bit so she is able to self soothe. Bad news is at 6 months we have to move up a size in both so more $$$!
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Valentines day and Go the **** to sleep

Here is my Valentine :-). Bubba actually hadn't been as sweet as she looks in this photo as she has mild reflux and is going through a growth spurt. Being six weeks new to the world she sometimes is very upset about all the new sensations! Bloomers are from eBay $9.95 and singlet is from best and less $2.99. I am on the lookout for similar cute singlets that are better quality but still inexpensive.

The lack of sleep this week cause by G's general crankiness inspired me to read the book 'Go the F*** to sleep, I borrowed it from the library. Its very funny and very true, a timely reminder for me that every parent in the world goes through this!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_the_Fuck_to_Sleep.

I also bought the 'Wonder Weeks' book from the Book Depository. I have the app on my phone but it only has limited info on it. The Wonder Weeks outlines when babies are expected to experience a developmental leap and the behavior that accompanies it.

Swaddle me this.

A take on the Jokers 'riddle me this'. Swaddling is kind of a joke, but they do seem to work in Baby G when she is really cranky. I bought a swaddle me from Big W which has velcro, but to be honest it hasn't been worth the $$ for me, she could get out of it as easy as a muslin wrap. At 5 and half weeks she has started being a bit more unsettled at night which is a bit poo, but I've noticed it seems to be related to her arms making more movements waking her up. So I bought a swaddle sleep bag from Mothercare, I'm yet to use it so I will report back how it goes. Note that it's only recommended that you swaddle up to 14 weeks apparently.

Look of the day - baby g is wearing the $9.95 ruffle leopard bloomers with a bow on the back. Bought from EBay they are a for up to a year old - they have an expandable elastic belt in them. Singlet from Best and Less.