Willow’s Autumn Capsule 2016

I have finally completed Willow’s Autumn Capsule wardrobe and just in time too. The weather turned significantly colder over the weekend and we needed to break out long sleeves, socks and jeans.

I’m really happy with how it turned out and I’m looking forward to the cool weather being a constant so that she can start wearing her clothes!

The basis of this wardrobe was the fact that she’s now at school. So she needed clothes that she can play in and be comfortable in. They also needed to be items I’m not overly attached to so they can get dirty and wash up well. I think we’ve nailed it.

Her colour palette is shades of pink and mint with grey, burgundy and black in the mix.

I also have a small collection of white onsies that are for layering purposes and not shown here. Also a large collection of socks from H&M and her shoes: a pair of navy mocassins with a white cat wearing a pink bow on them. (Also on a side note all the pink items I took photos of came out with a blue cast and I couldn’t fix it for the life of me. So just imagine those items are pink!)

So this is what Willow’s capsule wardrobe looks like:

 

Strawberry hoodie – H&M

Pink tshirt – Ackermans

Tulle dress – Bonds

Elephant knit – Pick n Pay

Swan knit – H&M

Cat knit – H&M

Heart tshirt – Woolworths

New York sweatshirt – Pick n Pay

White tshirt – Pick n pay

Happy tshirt – Woolworths

Tan bunny cardigan – H&M

Rock and Roll tshirt – Pick n Pay

Printed tshirt – Ackermans

Love onsie – Woolworths

Pink Aztec Onsie – Pick n Pay

Heart Onsie – Woolworths

Mint Aztec Onsie – Pick n Pay

Navy and white striped tunic – Ackermans

Grey quilted sweatshirt – Ackermans

Black jeggings – H&M

Blue jeans – Pick n Pay

Faded Jeans – Pick n pay

Pink Leggings – Pick n Pay

Printed leggigns – Pick n Pay

Navy and white stripe leggings – H&M

Star leggings – H&M

Khaki Chinos – H&M

Printed leggings – Bonds

Printed leggings – Bonds

Grey fleece leggings – Ackermans

Burgundy fleece leggings – Ackermans

Pink Tracksuit Pants -Woolworths

Grey tracksuit pants – Woolworths

Jeans – woolworths

Burgundy jeggings – Pick n Pay

Friday Favs

This week has been a lot of fun and has completely flown past.

I have been busier than ever and we have all been settling well into our new routines – especially Miss Willow who barely said goodbye to me this morning as she toddled off to go play with her friends.

Willow Bug has been walking more than ever and has now started refusing my help. If I hold out my hand to her she pushes it away and continues on her mission.

She has started to show a lot of sass. I called her to help me tidy up the other day and she shouted a sound that sounded a lot like ‘no!’ before she disappeared to investigate something. Yesterday, she was hell bent on putting the TV remote in the washing machine and no amount of distraction would deter her…#toddlerlife.

Product of the week: I have been obsessed with the Loreal True Match Foundation this week. I love the way it goes on, how it wears, the shade, the finish. It is just ticking all the boxes for me.

Song of the week: This week I’ve been kicking it old school. Fleetwood Mac has been on repeat – especially Dreams. That song is everything.

Best moment: I had an incredibly productive day on Tuesday and it felt so good! I really loved being busy and having things on the go. It made me incredibly happy.

Looking forward to: Seeing my parents this weekend. It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw them! I’m looking forward to them seeing Willow walking and I seriously need my mom’s help with a jersey I’m knitting.

 

 

Monthly Beauty Buys

This month I thought it would be fun to do a small post about the beauty products I’ve added to my routine and rediscoveries that I have been loving.

I will do my best to keep this short and sweet, but I do have a tendency to ramble about beauty products…

New In:

L’Oreal True Match Foundation in C3 Rose Beige – This is kind of new and kind of a rediscovery. I have used True Match before (as I think has most of the population) and while I enjoyed the application and coverage, I hated the packaging. The pour bottle was the worst thing in the world and I found I just never used it. So I chucked it.

L’Oreal recently relaunched the range with a new formulation and new packaging! I really like the new formula. This is quite a thin foundation, yet it really packs a punch in the coverage department. It goes on beautifully and gives a lovely dewy to satin finish. It looks sparkly in the bottle, but I found that wasn’t the case on the skin.

The best part is the pump. It makes application so much cleaner, more hygienic and less wasteful. C3 is a tiny bit dark for my face, but as my body is more tanned it works out to a perfect match.

Hask Mint Almond Oil Shampoo and Conditioner – I have been struggling with some post-partum hair loss which has left my hair limp and lifeless. On top of that it was getting greasy really quickly. As a result I was on the hunt for a new shampoo and conditioner that would shake things up.

After receiving a sample of this brand in a magazine in Jan I decided to investigate the rest of their products. That’s how I happened upon these two products. The range is recommended for fine, limp hair and it came with a root booster, which I didn’t buy.

I love this stuff! First off it is sulphate, phlalate and paraben free, which my scalp is grateful for! No more itchy, uncomfortable scalp – its life changing. Secondly, the smell is divine. It’s got a real peppermint hit which is so invigorating and yummy. I adore it. Thirdly, it leaves my hair soft and shiny, while still being clean. I do notice a difference in volume and my hair can go a few days between washes. So that’s all the boxes ticked. I’m in love.

Denman Shower Brush – This is another thing I’m crediting for y good hair days. This brush is used in the shower to comb through product and stimulate your scalp. The experience of using it is scrumptious. It feels like getting a scalp massage – divine.

But what I like most about it is that it helps to evenly distribute my conditioner so I’m not overloading my hair. This means it rinses out cleaner and my hair feels conditioned, but not weighed down.

I think this is the number one reason my hair is not getting so greasy anymore. I’m a convert.

Shop my stash:

LA Girl Face Palette in Glow – I remember mentioning this in a post ages ago, but for some reason I stopped using it. I picked it up recently because I found that in the fug of an early morning it was easier for me to use a product that had everything in one easy to find place – no more scratching around in my drawer for bronzer, blush and highlight.

Why did I stop using this? It’s brilliant. The bronzer is nicely pigmented, blends beautifully, looks really natural and is very hard to mess up. The two blushes are great as well – the lighter one has a beautiful satin finish that leaves a healthy flush and the darker one is matte and super pigmented (use a light hand here. I literally just dab the tip of my brush into the pan). Both leave the skin looking healthy and natural.

But the highlight! I love the highlight. Its got a beautiful golden glow – perfect for these final days of summer. It goes on quite light so you can overdo this one. But when uses sparingly you get this gorgeous glow. I use this everywhere – cheekbones, tip of the nose, Cupid’s bow, brow bone and inner corner of the eye.

Willow goes to school

One of the items I put on my list of goals for 2016 was to do more for myself. Part of achieving that goal was to work more.

After a lot of consideration, A and I decided that we would send her to a playgroup in the mornings. I would then get the time I needed to focus on my work at home without trying to squeeze it into nap times.

I spent a long time researching schools and playgroups in our area. The one that really stood out ticked all the right boxes. It was close to home, had a great facility, and accommodated children from a few months old right up to Grade R (which is the year before they go to big school). They also help out with potty training, development issues (they have occupational therapists and speech therapists on the premises!) as well as school readiness.

I went on a tour and, after seeing everything, I was sold. The hardest part was actually signing Willow up (which was all me and had nothing to do with the school!). But then I got a client that would have me busy every morning of the week and sending Willow to school became an urgent matter.

Thus, I found myself at the school gates early on Monday morning preparing to say goodbye to my baby for the whole morning! Willow handled it a lot better than I did. That first morning she went off with the teachers with barely a goodbye to me.

The rest of the week didn’t go as smoothly. Willow whines and cries at drop off, but stops as soon as I leave the room – it’s her tactic to get me to stay longer. We also have a few tears when I pick her up in the afternoon, but just as with the morning, these quickly subside.

She is still getting used to the school’s sleep schedule but we have had no impact on night time sleep. Her teachers tell me that she really enjoys painting and story time, but that she isn’t the biggest fan of outside play (which surprises me, as she constantly wants to go outside at home.)

All in all, I would say the first week went well. I have noticed that since going to school Willow has gotten even chattier. She babbles constantly and her teachers say the exact same thing. She is also a lot more affectionate, coming up to give me big hugs before she heads off to play again. Another thing I’ve noticed is that she’s acting a lot more child-like. The last of her baby-like behaviour is disappearing as she becomes a fully fledged toddler.

I know that she will settle down quickly into the new routine. I’m looking forward to admiring her artwork and hearing of her adventures in the future.

 

The toy rotation experiment

Willow got a lot of new toys for Christmas and her birthday! So much so I felt like we were drowning in a sea of plastic.

So after a lot of research I decided that we would give toy rotation a go.

What is toy rotation? Basically, you pack away the majority of the toys and only bring out a few at a time. When you see you child is starting to get bored you bring out a new selection of toys and stash the ones you were using away. This keeps your toys collection fresh and stimulating and the child feels like they’re getting new toys to play with.

We bought a selection of plastic bins to store the toys in and I packed away a lot of toys, leaving just a few for Willow to play with. Those toys I put in open boxes so she had easy access to them when she wanted to choose toys to play with.

The others I piled up against the wall in our lounge/play room. We are planning on getting a built in cupboard installed. I’m really looking forward to this as then I will be able to put the bins away and Willow won’t see them. She is very smart and knows that there are toys in the bins.

I also set up stations. She has a large carpeted area that has the majority of her toys, then there is a stash of toys outside for her to play with, as well as a set up on the coffee table. This way she has different places she can investigate during the day.

So far the system is working well with us. I feel like she’s not so overwhelmed anymore and the toys are actually getting played with. Also, the play area is much easier to tidy now and doesn’t look like a total disaster all the time (only half a disaster ;p).

All in all, I think toy rotation is definitely the way to go.

A tale about night weaning

December was a crazy month for us. We went on vacation, attended holiday parties, went away for Christmas, had guests over. And in amongst all of this Willow was teething. It seemed the madness would never end.

Despite all the craziness we managed to keep Willow’s brand new and rather delicate sleep routine intact. A feat for which I am really proud. The was an upset in the middle there, during the teething, when she struggled to fall asleep. But all-in-all she was a real trooper and I couldn’t be happier.

So when life returned to normal I knew the time had come for the next big challenge: Night Weaning.

Willow had settled into a good routine: 7/7.30pm bedtime, a quick feed at 10 or 11pm, a bigger feed at 2 or 3am and sleep ’til 7.30am. In the meantime, I had been researching night weaning and had devised a plan.

The most helpful article I found was this one on Precious Little Sleep (this whole website is brilliant if you have sleep issues btw!) and this was the plan I decided to follow. Basically, I would cut the time I spent nursing after bedtime by one minute per side every couple of days. Sounded simple enough.

The first time I seriously overestimated how long she spent nursing at night. I set the time for 9 minutes and she was done long before that. For the second feed I set the time for 8 minutes. Again she was done long before that.

So night two I decided to cut two minutes. It was the first time I had to break her latch but I slipped her into bed and she went back to sleep quite happily.

After that night, I cut a minute from the time every other night. Every night she went back to sleep with no issues.

I put a pause on the night weaning around her birthday party. We were down to four minutes a side, but we had a house full of guests and so much was happening during the day that I felt it would be too much for her.

The Monday after her birthday party, after all the guests had left we returned to the program.

She is now fully weaned. She hardly ever wakes in the night now and I have been clocking eight to nine hours of sleep! We have had blips here and there – generally when she’s sick or teething. But she has been really easy to settle down and normally she goes back to sleep quickly.

I’m so proud of her and how she handled the whole process. The method also totally works. My biggest piece of advice: wait until your child is ready to give up night feeds. Some may say I left it a little long with Willow, but it was the right thing to do for our situation. If feeding at night is working for you then keep going until it becomes unsustainable.

 

The end of our breastfeeding journey

Well, it’s official. Miss Willow is officially off the boob. This is both incredibly liberating and sad at the same time.

She had her last breastfeed last week Thursday and has been going quite happily since then. I’ve also been managing quite well with only slight discomfort.

I decided to take the slow and steady route to weaning. I started by focusing on night weaning which I have written about in a separate post. Basically, we used the progressive time method and it worked like a charm. She was fully night weaned just after her birthday.

I waited out her most recent bout of teething and for her one year check up in order to get the all clear for full cream milk from her doctor. Once she was settled and my milk production had slowed I moved into phase two. I started replacing her feeds at nap time with the bottle. I know that technically she doesn’t need this, but she is very routine-driven and battle to fall asleep without the ritual of a drink before bed. So instead of rocking the boat too much I decided to go for a straight forward replacement.

I started replacing her feeds at nap time with the bottle. I know that technically she doesn’t need this, but she is very routine-driven and battle to fall asleep without the ritual of a drink before bed. So instead of rocking the boat too much I decided to go for a straight forward replacement. It works for us and I will phase out the bottle later. (also I tried a cup, but Willow refuses to drink milk from it. Apparently milk can only be drunk from a bottle…)

The replacement method worked quite well and within a week, she was drinking milk from the bottle before both of her daytime naps. I left the night feed for last. I still had some formula left so I decided that we would use formula for the night time feed until this canister is used up, then I’ll go on to cow’s milk.

I’m glad I phased out feeds slowly. It worked out better emotionally for both of us. I feel like we were both ready to stopped and neither of us experienced trauma from the experience. Willow doesn’t ask for the breast anymore and has actually become a little more cuddly with both me and her father. She has learned that you can express your love and seek comfort in different ways. We also made a point to have more quite time i.e. reading books, sitting quietly and watching cartoons, having cuddles and giving lots of hugs and kisses in the weeks leading up to and during the phasing out process.

I have experienced very little discomfort so far. Don’t get me wrong, I am still quite swollen and it’s excruciating when an exuberant toddler jumps on my breasts, but I’ve managed to avoid serious engorgement so far.

My tips for survive sore boobs after quitting breast feeding:

1. Cold compresses – don’t dismiss the power of cold cabbage leaves. But if that doesn’t seem for you then the breast gel packs that can be warmed or cold are just as good. Stick them in the fridge then pop then in your bra when you’re feeling tender.
2. Ibuprofen! Anti-inflammatories are your friend. Now that you’re not feeding pop a painkiller or two when you’re very sore.
3. Wear a tight fitting bra – for me, that means a sports bra. The tightness gives extra support and goes a long way to making you feel better about life.
4. Don’t let hot water fall directly onto your breasts – this I learned the hard way. One shower and the hot water triggered let down in a major way. I was very uncomfortable after that. Rather have a bath and don’t let the water go over your breast or keep your back to the spray in the shower until you milk production has settled down.
5. Resist the urge to feed or pump – yes, the most effective way to relive the pain is to feed or pump, but that defeats the purpose as it will trigger your breasts to keep producing milk. If you must, rather hand express just enough to relieve the pressure, but know that this will make the process take a little longer.

When life gets in the way

Holy crap balls we have been busy lately. And not always in a good way. I’m so sorry my little blog has been neglected of late. I started out the year with such good intentions, but you know what they say about life and plans…

What have we been up to the past couple of weeks? Well, Willow decided to cut two more teeth at the end of January. We are up to 12 now (all her first molars are in). We had a couple of broken nights, tantrums and lots of drool and crying.

I though we’d get a bit of a break after that, but there’s no rest for the weary. My husband then got a bout of man-flu (which looked like it was going away and has now come back full force). He, of course, then infected Willow, who infected me so this house has been a real barrel of laughs lately.

And now Willow has decided to cut another tooth! Her first canine. Its crazy how fast this child is teething. I reckon we will have all 20 teeth by the time she’s 18 months old.

In more exciting news she has taken her first steps! She did it a little backwards really. We were playing in the kitchen and she walked a few steps from her grandmother to me. Only after that did she start standing on her own.

What really amazes me is that in just one weekend she went from only pulling up on people and furniture to standing on her own for 30 seconds or more. What’s more, if she loses balance and has to go to the ground, she will stand back up by herslef immediately. She’s even walking what I consider

She’s even walking what I consider large distances. On Wednesday evening, she walked from the gate at the top of the stairs to where I was sitting on the couch. That’s about 3 meters or so. Also, she wants to walk everywhere. She comes up to you, grabs your hand and then takes you where she wants to go. She has also become an expert at climbing the stairs and insists on going up and down by

She has also become an expert at climbing the stairs and insists on going up and down by herself. It was quite scary at first, but as ever I am amazed at what she can do!