Rolling!

My little frog is rolling! She's been able to get herself onto her side almost since birth but since Friday she's been able to flip herself right over from her back to her tummy.....and then squawks as she's stuck with her arm underneath her.

I can't believe she's doing it already. It's probably not that early at 17wks but Noah was 21wks when he rolled and in most other ways he's been more ahead of her in their development.

She also scoots along on her back although unintentionally! She'll be in her cot or on her gym and all of a sudden she has her head pressed against the bars or rubbing on the carpet!!

Bumbo time...

Freya's such a beast, she really is. She won't sit in her bouncy chair anymore as it lays too far back. Whenever she's in it she's pulling herself up and leaning forwards! She gets so cranky that she's not sitting up! She doesn't mind laying back in the swing chair but can't at the moment as the batteries have run out and I've stupidly packed the screwdrivers already so can't replace them!

We got the Bumbo out of the shed yesterday but some plank (*cough*SIMON*cough*) put a load of stuff on top of it and it's all squashed and out of shape. I'm really cross as I'd planned on selling it on eventually as they fetch a pretty good price on ebay still. Luckily a friend has said we can borrow hers.

I don't think she'll be able to spend long in it though as although she's very good at holding her head up she still gets tired and wobbly after a while!! And she's still so diddy......

Freya's day without boobies!

The girly survived on bottles of expressed milk all day (just!) while her big brother was in hospital having an operation!

I gave her a last feed at 11.30 am before we left for the hospital. She drank 3oz straight from the bottle a couple of hours later and cried for more so had another oz. She had 3oz another couple of hours later and cried with hunger again later on but refused the bottle, lol. Luckily this was just as we arrived to collect her so I was able to feed her! She did really well seeing as I was gone 6 hours!

She didn't miss her Mummy at all apart from that. She's not really old enough to really although I did get lots of smiles and coos when she saw me.

I took my breast-pump with me but didn't use it...I think my boobs are ok, lol. The only time they actually leaked all day was when I was cuddling Noah after his op! He must smell like Freya, lol! Funny old things, bodies!

Weight update

I took Freya to get weighed just now as we haven't been for over a month. Her weight has slowed down a bit now. Last time I took her she'd almost jumped up a centile line in a fortnight! She's now back down to the 25th centile where she always was weighing in at a healthy 12lb 8oz. I expected it to be more - she seems so porky with her cheeks and her thighs (as can be seen in the picture below taken of Freya and big brother Noah at our Toddler group a couple of weeks ago!)!!

Two down, one to go!

Freya eventually had her 2nd lot of jabs today. 2 weeks later than they were due. Cried lots again but only after the 2nd one although doesn't seem so miserable in herself afterwards this time round.One more lot to go and then she'll get a rest for a few months!

Breakthrough!

Freya has successfully taken 2oz of expressed breast milk from a bottle!!!!!! Yaaaaayyy!!

She fed CONSTANTLY yesterday evening - literally every half an hour and I was getting really tired and stroppy, lol, so I thawed some milk out and let Simon take over the next time she cried!

There was 3oz in the bottle at the start and the first oz was wasted with her chomping on the teat and spitting it out etc. I took her off Sy as he was getting frustrated that he wasn't being the King of making her be able to do it, lol, and as soon as I got the teat back in her mouth she suddenly got a good suck on and guzzled the rest!! As a reward, she was allowed some more boob, lol!!

Such a big step! Think I'll try her every evening now (especially now I have a lovely electric pump and am getting lots of extra milk out!!) and hopefully Freya will be much more confident by next Friday when she's away from me for the first time while Noah has his operation!

3 months old!

My baby girl is growing far too fast. I have no idea how much she weighs as I've not been to clinic for ages must go on Tuesday as I'm curious! She's on her way out of her 0-3month clothes now and some size 2 nappies are getting a bit tight (they go up to about 13lbs roughly).

She is starting to grab onto things (other than clothing and hair which she's been doing for a while). Baby toys with small, narrow rings and bars...that kind of thing although it's all very un-coordinated! Anything she does get hold of is straight in her mouth although not for long as she still much prefers her hands to be in there than anything else. She's not really found her thumb yet but a few times has stuck her fore-finger in and been really pleased with herself!

She's really enjoying toys at the moment too - her gym and mobile and the things she can hold etc. Staring at them, talking to them and generally finding it all so amazing that her big brown eyes look like they'll pop out of their sockets!

She also looks like she's trying to roll which is a bit scary. She's been able to get herslef onto her side for a good few weeks now but I don't think it's intentional! Just happens when she's being nosey! She'll arch her back, tilt her head right back and kick and push with her feet and has actually turned herself 180degrees a few times in doing so (I'm already finding her upside down in her cot...needless to say blankets have now been ditched!).

Freya is also now giggling lots. Up until recently she's only done those diddy little huccup laughts when being spoken to in a funny voice or wwhen watching Noah. Now she will do a short little giggle when tickled...it's completely adorable! Add that to her little chatty noises that come out more and more and it's just yummy!

I'm sure she's going through another growth spurt as the past 2 or 3 days the feeds have been almost hourly again...and a couple of times during the night. Just when she'd settled down a bit and was going up to 3 hours on occasion during the day!! Typical. I'm exhausted...my boobies have lost the will to live, lol. Deb - I've not really had much of a chance to try out the pump yet because of this (and being ill) but promise I will have a proper play soon - I need to have a good supply for a couple of weeks time ayway!

We're moving house at the end of July and I've had a great time buying some pink things for her new bedroom! I really didn't think I'd be the type to go down the whole pink and fluffy route with her as I'm not like it myself but I just can't help myself. She's got some beautiful curtains and some pink drawers like Noah's blue ones....just need a couple of blankets, lol! She won't be in her room straight away so I'll have a month or so to sort it all out and get some pictures and pretty lights and such up...can't wait!

10wks 4days old

I've just been to get Freya weighed and she's now a healthy 11lb 2oz. Still hovering between the 25th and 50th centile so gaining steadily.

She's awake so much more during the day now and rotates between her bouncy chair, swing chair, play gym and cuddles and chat. She's usually very content and just watches the world go by...or watches Noah play and laughs and smiles at him. Occasionally she gets fed up and you're not quite sure what to do with her. This tends to be when she's getting tired but is fighting sleep! She's such a nosey girl! Yesterday she got really cross and the only thing that soothed her in the end was a cool bath - she was obviously feeling a bit hot!

She has found her hands in a big way and whenever she's awake she has her fists in her mouth. One hand will find it's way to her mouth and the other hand will come up to hold it in place! There's this permanent slurping/sucking noise going on! I'd be very surprised if she doesn't end up a thumb sucker once she gains more control of her limbs! She's also into grabbing things - not toys yet, obviously, but hair and a bit of my top when she's feeding/being carried etc. She's such a sweetie.

I was eventually able to dig out the 0-3 months clothes a week or so ago. We're going to have to do a shop when she goes into 3-6m as before she was born I assumed she'd be in that size for the summer so it's mostly summer stuff. Unless she has a major growth spurt I think it'll be too cool for her to wear them when they fit!

She smiles ALL the time now if she can see/hear somebody. And she does these adorable gaspy little laughs! She's certainly got a temper on her though when she gets bored or wants something.

I'm sure I've said a lot of this stuff before...I can just never remember!

She's growing so fast and it's making me sad. I'm really enjoying being Mummy to a little girly...and Mummy to two..most of the time !!

Sleeping in her cot!

Freya slept in the cot for the first time last week On her 2 month birthday, lol! She'd never even led in it before as, since I put it up before she was born, it's been where I've stored all the clean laundry that's waiting to be ironed/put away!!

I'd had a big tidy up in the bedroom that day and was so fed up of not having any space my side of the bed (I have the cot and the Moses basket between me and the wall!) that I ironed and put away all those clothes, moved the basket into the living room for daytime naps and made the cot up for the girly!

She actually went to sleep in her basket in the living room with us at 9pm but when I went to bed a few hours later I transferred her into the cot. She was fine. Slept as well as usual and didn't protest about being put somewhere strange after her 5am feed. It's a bit sad as she's still so diddy!

We've had no problem at all since then either. Freya's a star at bedtimes, she really is. Has her last feed at around 8pm, gets put into the cot where she settles herself to sleep by 9pm and then sleeps right through without a peep until 5am when she feeds and goes back to sleep for another couple of hours.

Last night she slept right through. What I consider right through anyway! To me, any time before 6am is the middle of the night!! 6am is the earliest I'd dare to call morning, lol and 6am is when Freya woke up this morning! I've been really awful at getting to bed myself recently (am often up until 1am finishing my jobs and fiddling about on the computer!) Last night I got to bed at 11pm and it was sooo lovely to have a solid 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep!


(P.S - for those of you who haven't heard the name Freya before it's pronounced Fray-ya as opposed to Free-ya!! Thanks 'Canada Jen' for pointing out it's not a common name that side of the pond!)

One down, two to go!

Freya had her first lot of jabs today and boy was she upset!

She was asleep in my arms when we went in to the nurse's room (after having some boob due to being cranky while we waited). When she woke up she was cross! Cross that I'd put her down and led her on a strange hard bed and cross because some nasty lady stuck something sharp in each of her legs!!

She cried and cried and it was such a sad little warbling cry. She really sticks her bottom lip out when she's upset - it's going to cause Daddy to buy her lots of things when she's older! It made me a little choked up as I knew she was genuinely upset - not just being bad-tempered and Noah had hardly cried at all with any of his jabs!

It took a good 5 mins to console her and ended up with her doing those involuntary gaspy sobs for a while! She bled a fair bit (on my top) and already has a bruise on one leg.

She's been a grouch this evening too so I actually gave her 2mls of Calpol and she's now asleep in her swing chair. Hope she doesn't have too bad a night.

8 weeks old!

My baby girl gets more beautiful every day!

Poorly Girl

Freya's got another cold. Her 2nd one. I guess she's getting more than Noah had at her age as he didn't have an older sibling to pass them onto him. And we didn't go to toddler groups when Noah was this diddy.

Freya had been ok with the cold at first. Sleeping a lot in the day (tilted up on my bed on the v-pillow) and then waking, having a sob, struggling through a feed before going back to sleep. The worst way it was affecting her was how snuffly and snotty she was...she kept over-feeding to make herself sick to bring all the mucus up. Nice.


Last night she was 'orrible!!

It took her ages to settle to sleep - got there at about 10pm in the end after lots of 'little bit' feeds.

She woke up at 2am, which is unheard of, had a feed and then cried and cried and cried and cried until 6.50am when she eventually fell asleep. Noah woke up at 7!

I think she was just feeling so rotten. She was warm to touch and sniffling and grunting and mucussy. Plus I think she had awful wind cause by all the gulping she does when she feeds. It was a a hard night with lots of tears from both of us!!

Typically, she's happy as Larry today and hasn't even wanted to catch up on her missed sleep like I do!

I've NEVER had to pull an all-nighter with a screaming baby before (apart from that almost bad night a few weeks ago)- such a shock to the system!

Weight Update

Birth weight: 6lb 13oz
5days old: 6lb 9oz (-4oz)
11days old: 7lb 2oz (+9oz)
2wks 3days old: 7lb 9.5oz (+7.5oz)
3wks 4days old: 8lb 3oz (+9.5oz)
5wks 4days old: 9lb 1oz (+ 14oz)
Today (7wks 4days old): 10lb 3oz (+1lb 2oz!)

Trouble with bottles...

6wks 5days

She hates them! Well the two types I've tried her with anyway - Avent and MAM - bought one of each as 'just in case' supplies before she was born.

I've been expressing milk every night for the past couple of weeks and freezing it should I ever need to not be with Freya for some reason (eg. the day Noah has his operation - wouldn't want to bring poor Freya to the hosptial all day and would want to give Noah my undivided attention!).

I pumped last night and left it in the fridge as I knew I was going to be out for a while rejoining Weight Watchers tonight and wanted to have some milk available for Sy to give her should she be desperate for some while I was gone. He didn't need it in the end as I wasn't gone long but I didn't want to waste the milk!

When Freya needed feeding I tried her with the bottle and she just coughed and spluttered and choked. The teat made her gag (she has the same reaction to dummies!). Just in case it was because she was with me and knew boob was nearby, Simon tried but she was the same.

I think I might try and give her a bottle of expressed milk once a week just to get her used to bottles otherwise it might make life harder in the long run. She's only had my milk from a bottle once before but that was in the early days when my milk first came in and I'd expressed because I was so engorged and she hadn't yet developed such a strong 'nipple' sucking action - toally different to how to suck a teat! She just doesnt get it!

I'm not trying her on bottles because I want to stop BF as it's going so well and I'm really loving it but I do want to get her used to having a bottle with my milk in so I can go to WW once a week and not have to worry she's at home screaming and starving! Until she's happy to drink my milk from a bottle I won't stay for the meetings after the weigh-in though - will come straight home to feed her.

Am going to buy a Tommee Tippee bottle as they look really booby like! I think it's going to be a case of trial and error for a while...

Happy girl!

Freya's been in a super-smiley mood today so I managed, at last, to capture it on camera!

I think her new swing chair has made her happy. It's made me happy, lol as it keeps her occupied for a few extra minutes so I can get jobs done and give Noah a bit of time. She's awake so much that she gets bored really easily but she likes to be in her chair! Glad we finally got round to getting one (good old ebay sales helped us afford one!).



These photos really show how much she's filling out too! She's going to be a chubby one!

6 weeks old!

Freya had her 6 week developmental review at the Doctor's surgery yesterday. The appointment only took 5 minutes...which is great as we'd been waiting half an hour in a hot, stuffy waiting room and both Noah and I were feeling a bit hot, bothered and fed up!

Freya now weighs 9lb 3oz (she was 9lbs 1oz two days before!). She is now 53cm long - so has only grown 2cm! Noah was 58cm at his 6wk review - they were both the same length at birth! Her head circumference is 38cm - 6cm more than birth. Hips, reflexes and the rest of it all passed with flying colours too.

She's now fitting perfectly into her 'Newborn' clothes at last! Although I'm sure she'll only be in them for a couple of weeks at the rate she's piling on the pounds and I'll soon be digging all the 0-3months stuff out! She's been ravenously hungry the past 2 or 3 days so I think she's got a growth spurt on!

Also, the Health Visitor kept prodding her naked flesh while we were there and exclaimed - 'I think she's just a dark-skinned baby, you know!'. Duh. I knew she was looking for signs of remaining jaundice but it's definitely all gone. She's going to be a lucky girly when she grows up as she has the kind of skin that tans well, lol!

Freya's a lovely little girl and fairly content most of the time although she does love to be cuddled and also prefers to be on the move! We've just invested in one of those swing chairs to hopefully keep her settled for a bit longer! She is so alert when awake and her little eyes dart about as she tries to find the noises and voices she hears!

She's still only waking once during most nights (sleeping from 8pm until 4am and then until 8am after she's fed). The breast-feeding is going really well. I'm finding it much easier this time round. I enjoyed feeding Noah but he was one of those constant feeders - very close together and for a long time! Freya still feeds every 2 hours roughly during the day but only for ten minutes or so. Being confident enough to feed her in public has made it that much easier too. I'm hoping she continues to be such an efficient feeder and I can keep it up until she's at least 6 months.

We've been enjoying the sunshine this week and time with family and it's been great. The first six weeks of a new baby are supposed to be the hardest but just like her brother, Freya has been a real joy. We're so lucky!

Bubbles in her tummy :(

Yesterday was horrible. From 3pm until about 1am Freya was having a really hard time and pretty much cried the whole time, sleeping a few minutes every now and then when the crying wore her out and feeding a little only a couple of times and for only a minute or two before she remembered her pain. It's the first experience I've ever had of a baby that cries like that! Hats off to the women who have babies that scream 24/7!

I think she had trapped wind. It was such a sad little cry. Surprisingly it didn't stress me out at all - it wasn't a high pitched wail - just constant sobbing. Bless her. Nothing would settle her especially as she was in too much discomfort to really feed. I think the wind was caused by her snuffly little nose and having to gulp a bit when she feeds. She certainly wasn't happy.

She finally drifted off properly just after 1 this morning and woke up at 4am for a feed back to her usual self. She fed again at 6.30am and since then has probably been the happiest I've ever known her to be! Hasn't grumbled once - led on my bed awake for an hour without making a sound while I slept a little more after her 6.30am feed, sat for ages in her bouncy chair and has been happy and alert with less than an hours sleeps since she first got up this morning! She's been a real joy!

I hope we don't get too many repeats of yesterday.

Comparing...

Noah: 2yrs 4mnths
Freya: 5 wks

I don't know whether it's a boy/girl thing or a 1st/2nd baby thing but already I am seeing complete difference between my two!

Noah was soo laid back as a baby. Never really grumbled - happily led and watched the world go by. Fed constantly for long times with short intervals.

Freya gets really bored when she's awake and makes bossy little noises at us until we entertain/cuddle her. She's an efficient feeder and although still feeds fairly frequently is done in 5/10 minutes and is then content.

Neither of them have been babies that cry and cry, thanks goodness. Also, even though Noah happily laid awake without being entertained at Freya's age, he did already have a dummy by then so I think that made a difference. Both have been happy little souls - Freya just seems to have a shorter attention span and likes to have her own way! I think she's going to be bossing Noah about before long!

Both have been fiercely determined to lift their heads from a very early age (one or two days old). Both did their first smiles at 4weeks although Noah's then came all the time whereas Freya is not so generous. She did her first full 'eyes and all' beam at me today - was heart-warming. Until now all she's done is two or three little 'smirky' smiles!

Noah is and always has been a skinny little mite. I think Freya's going to be a bit of a podge. Her face has really filled out and you can see her little thighs thickening up a bit (yay! I need some chunky thighs to squeeze).

The main thing is that they are just so different to look at! Noah is definitely mainly a Spayes. He's just like the men on my side of the family - fair hair, blue eyes, fair skinned. Freya is becoming more and more like a mini-me of Simon every day! She has dark hair (what's left!) and eyes and olive-skin. They're going to be one of those brother/sister's that you wouldn't know were brother and sister by looking at them I reckon. Funny, as they were so similar at birth. You do see a look of the other one in them occasionally but not often at all. Here they both are at around 4 weeks old:



They really are two such individual little people and it's lovely to be able to experience all sorts of characterisitcs and behaviour from the two of them. Can't wait to see how they both develop and grow as brother and sister and as individuals!

Snotty

Freya's got her first proper cold, bless her. Noah's got one too. It's something I failed to think about when having two children - that they'll pass on all their lurgies to each other!

Poor Freya is so snuffly and her nose is really running. She gets really cross when I wipe it though! I've never seen such a little baby with a proper runny nose! She's found it really hard to feed as she can't breathe. Yet she's still seemed fairly satisfied after even just a short feed - she's obviously not feeling particularly hungry.

It's so horrible when you can't give them anything.

Smiles!

4 weeks today

Freya did her first smile two days ago! She did one yesterday too but has been in far too serious a mood and frowning lots as usual to do one today! It took a lot of talking in a silly voice and raspberry blowing from me but it was definitely a proper smile!

It was nice to see her happy as he's quite often cranky when she's awake! If she's just left in the chair/moses basket/gym for more than 5 minutes, anyway. She likes to be cuddled and entertained far more than laid-back Noah ever did. She's not a crier at all but she doesn't half grunt at you in her bossy little way until she gets some attention.

Also, she is really determined to lift her head. When laying on her tummy on my chest etc. she can lift it almost upright for a fair few seconds. She's just so nosey - has to know exactly what's going on and be involved in it all! It's the same reason she gets cranky when left alone when awake I think!

Just need to catch it on camera now!

Weight update

Birth weight: 6lb 13oz
Day 5: 6lb 9oz
Day 11: 7lb 2oz
Day 17: 7lb 9.5oz
Today (Day 25): 8lb 3oz

Oh, and remind me not to ever gloat again about how good Freya is at night. She was hideous last night! I didn't get to bed until gone twelve last night after fiddling about online and getting stuff done. When I came to bed Freya was wide awake and cooing in her basket so I thought I'd have a quick chat - she was so close to smiling! Anyway once I'd started talking to her I wasn't allowed to leave. She cried, fed, burped, puked, pood, fell asleep, cried, fed, burped, puked, pood, fell asleep again and again until half three!! I was wondering what to do by that point as she'd polished off both my boobs and still wasn't settling but luckily she did one really big screech, which made her do a rather rude and loud noise at the other end and then she was fine! Needless to say I've been reeeeeaally tired today! Hope she's back to her usual self tonight! And I've certainly learnt not to chat to her in the night!

Week 3

My little frog is well and truly part of the furniture now. She certainly has attitude when she's cross about something but is easy to please once you suss out what the problem is! Some of the looks she 'gives you' when she's having a strop make me worry what we'll face in her teenage years!!

Generally, she's still very good natured. She's incredibly alert and pays particular attention to Noah's voice! She likes her bouncy chair and the odd spell on her gym but more than anything likes a cuddle! Oh, and some boob!

Her feeding's much the same as it's been since day dot. Feeds hourly for the first and last 3 hours of the day and only once or twice in between. Have got the 'doing it in public discreetly' thing almost sorted but just can't bring myself to do it in front of my Dad still - have to disappear upstairs! She has her last big feed at about 8pm (both boobs!) and by the time she's finished, has thrown up a bit and got her jammies on it's 9ish and she's nods straight off when put in her basket. I don't usually hear a peep put of her then until 5am ish. Maybe one night a week she decides she wants to feed an extra time or two.

Tonight was the first time she didn't scream blue murder while being bathed. I dreaded bathing her as she absolutely howls the place down - so much so it actually frightens Noah (who now doesn't take any notice of her crying) and gets me all stressed out. Tonight I made the water warmer and she was fine. She's just like her brother was. Make the bath water the temperature those baby thermometers say it should be and it's no good. Make it 'Too Hot' and baby is happy! I'm sure she'd soon let me know if it really was too hot for her.

She's quite a pukey little thing. There doesn't seem to be any pain when she does it so I don't think it's reflux. Just milk that gets stuck above a bubble of air while she's guzzling. The number of muslins I get through! She can get quite grouchy with wind at times too and thinks she wants more boob when all she needs is a good slap on the back!

She's just starting to try and 'talk'. You can hear proper little vocal noises in her throat now rather than just grunts and squeaks. It's really cute!

Also she's going a bit bald on top!! THe long hair at the back and on the sides is fine but the fine, short stuff on top has been slowly falling out! She's beginning to look a bit like a Grandad! I keep finding soft fuzzy hair in her coat hoods and inside her hats! What with that and the spots she has on her cheeks from laying on damp milk/old puke/sweat!! So attractive...!!

Hmm...think that's it! Going to get her weighed at clinic tomorrow. I love trying to guess what they'll be beforehand! I wonder if she's piggy enough to have hit the 8lb mark yet or if her weight gain has settled a bit and she'll only be a few oz more!

Doing fine!

The Health Visitor came this morning - she's happy with Freya's colour now and says her eyes are ok. She also weighed her again. She's now 7lb 9.5oz!!!!! That's 7.5oz in 6 days this time. A whole pound in less than two weeks! Although still spot on the 25th centile. Greedy little toad!

No more home visits now. Everything is as it should be with my Baby Girl and now we can be left to get on with being a family.

Two weeks old!

I really feel like we're settling now. It's all still very new and we're still working our way round what works and what doesn't but it feels like my gorgeous girly has always been here and it's just all feels so 'normal' now.

Freya's doing well. She's not AS laid back as Noah was (he was just frighteningly placid!) but she's still extremely easy-going.

Her feeding has changed a bit. She goes longer at night now (only waking once during the 10-12 straight hours sleep she has). Because of this she has a bit of a top-up session when she wakes and just before she goes to bed and feeds a bit more often and for longer during the day. Totally bearable though as she sleeps so well at night!

She only lost 4oz in the first 5 days, going down to 6lb 9oz and when the HV weighed her on Monday she'd gone all the way up to 7lb 2oz! 9oz in 6 days! The Health Visitor is coming again next Monday to weigh her as she still quite jaundiced and wants to make sure it's not affecting her.

Her eyes have already turned a muddy brown colour. What with that and her dark head of hair, I think she's going to be the complete opposite of Noah in looks.

She's had her Guthrie test and her newborn hearing screening test (passed with flying colours) and we've registered her birth.

One of her eyes is still a bit gunky - will take her to the Doctor next week when Daddy is off if it doesn't clear up over the weekend.

She loves the hoover! She was having a snuffle and grunt and strop this morning but I've been trying to make a point of not running to her as she often settles if left to get over it! If she ends up crying properly you know she needs feeding/winding/changing etc. Anyway....she was moody this morning but as soon as I turned the hoover on she stopped grumbling and paid lots of attention to where the noise was coming from before drifting off to sleep. I remember Noah being the same. Nice to know something settles her..not that I'm going to have the hoover on every time she grumbles!!

I also have to confess that I'm a terrible Mummy and will put her on her tummy to sleep at times during the day. Only during the day so I can keep an eye on her but she rests better that way as I'm sure she feels more secure like being held against my chest.

She's now awake a bit more during the day and I feel I should be talking to her and stimulating her in some way...it must be very boring being a baby! This is what I've found quite hard. I feel a bit torn trying to share my time between her and Noah! When she slept a bit more I had time to be with Noah and keep on top of the housework etc. Now sometimes I feel I'm not giving Noah as much attention as I'd like (or as much as he's used to but that's something he'll have to learn to adapt to). I also feel like Freya's not getting as much quality time as Noah had as a baby but she doesn't know this so it's only me feeling bad!

Anyway, we're all happy and getting on well. Already I can't remember what it was like before Freya arrived. It's amazing how quickly the second one slots in - even more so than the first as you have a vague idea of what you're doing!

Settling in as a family of four!

Or family of three as it feels like as Simon doesn't start his time off until next weekend so I've kind of been thrown in at the deep end! He was off on Friday and Saturday when Freya was born but I didn't come home from hospital until the Saturday afternoon so didn't really get to see much of him!

It's not been so bad though. Been a great way to get yourself into some sort of vague 'routine' that goes something like: I get the next days clothes for myself and the kids all laid out the night before etc. and as soon as I hear Noah is awake in the morning will go and put some toast in and then go and get him up and dressed and started on his toast so he's busy while I feed/dress Freya etc. He then has his cereal while I get myself ready! When they're both fed and clean and happy then I squeeze my breakfast in!

Doesn't always work like that though! On Wednesday Noah woke up at the same time Freya wanted feeding. I went into him and his face, hands, pyjamas and bedding were covered in blood! I think he'd just had a good pick of his nose - he wasn't crying - but it totally messed up my system!!! I had to bath him and strip his bed-clothes and get them in the machine while poor Freya was screaming for boob! Talk about throwing a spanner in the works!

It's been a fairly laid-back week though. Freya is a very good baby. She feeds 2-3hourly during the day and at night she'll usually go 6 hours and then 4 (feeding at roughly 10pm, 4am, 8am etc.). It's completely bearable and I'm getting a good amount of sleep which helps no end. She's a very good breast-feeder although has her moments when she messes about and won't suck properly, popping on and off the breast. If my boobs are really full and the milk flows on it's own she'll just lay under the nipple poking her tongue out to lap it up! Might have to start expressing the first bit off! Last night was a nightmare. I was really tired and she wouldn't suck properly but was crying cos she was hungry and I ended up crying and telling her she could starve!! Simon was telling me off and telling me to give her the other boob and I'm sat sobbing on the toilet! She definitely prefers one boob to the other but I'm not going to let her have her way! She was much better this morning though and is back to feeding nicely.

She has been fairly jaundiced for the last week and it's only now starting to fade but she's bright and alert, doing lots of wees and poos (we had a projectile poo across the bed and all over me during the night last night when I was changing her!). Her eyes are a bit gunky but cooled boiled water seems to be keeping it from getting horrible.

Have only seen a Midwife 4 times since coming home. Obviously a bit more laid back second time round. Seeing one for the last time tomorrow. I'm all healed and comfortable and the bleeding has practically stopped. I'm a bit weepy, especially in the evenings when I'm tired and starting to think about Simon leaving me again in the morning but not worryingly so.

Noah has been an absolute star! He's been such a good boy. Maybe gets stressed out a little easier when he gets a bit wound up or tired and a bit more cuddly but he's definitely happy. He helps me bath and change Freya and runs to her when she cries. He's forever stroking, kissing and talking to her in a high-pitched baby voice! He'll put his muslin and teddies in her moses basket and is desperate to share his food with her - she's already tasted toast and cheese! His sleep pattern and behaviour don't seem to have been affected at all so far. I'm really proud of my little man (who suddenly seems enormous!).

I'm loving being a Mummy to two although I am tired and can't wait for Simon to have some time off with us. I feel sorry for him as he's missing out on these amazing early days but at least by the time he's off I'll know what works and what doesn't and we'll be able to enjoy our time together without getting too stressed hopefully!