So in some strange twist of fate and time

Our beautiful Edith Mabel

Is now four weeks old

I am not entirely sure how we have come so far

So very fast

But we have

She has

And here we are

I am certain I have lost a week somehow

Somewhere

I am blaming baby brain

As I write this Edie Mae

Is 4 weeks and 2 days old

Here is a summary of how we are all doing

Edie Mae
Edie is doing well

She is gaining weight well

I almost burst into tears today

As the Health Visitor told me

She is now over 10lbs

She is not going to fit into

Her beautiful newborn clothes

For much longer

I need to take more time to cherish this tiny baby

As she grows

She is a long baby

And that is becoming more apparent

As she uncurls

She was 56cm long

A couple of weeks ago

And so must be even longer now

Edie still sleeps for much of the time

But when she is awake

She is definitely more alert

And starting to take an interest in the world

She has such a beautiful face

Is very expressive

And loves to stare at faces

Real and in her soft baby books

When asleep

She is still mostly on me

And for the moment I am happy with that

She is so little and light

And easy to carry around

Even when sleeping or feeding

Edie is relaxed

The only time she really cries

Is when she is being changed

Though she is getting more used to being undressed now

I am so in love with Edie

The days are racing by

And I crave some time to be just me and her

To watch her

Smell her

Memorise her

Before this newborn phase is gone

Edie has had lots of checks since her birth

And the results have all been clear

Last week she had her newborn hearing screen

Which she passed with flying colours

The midwives and health visitors who have met Edie

Have all been very pleased with her and me

And always comment on how wonderfully alert she is

They also say what a strong bond I clearly have with Edie

Which is such a lovely thing to hear

Edie has developed baby acne

Which is caused by hormones

And will go as quickly as it came

But I think it has been aggravated by the heat

It is very red and angry

She also has a sore biit of broken skin under one armpit

That we are keeping an eye on

Again I think this has been made worse by the heat

On the whole though

Edie has had a healthy first four weeks

She is feeding well

Has regular wet and dirty nappies

Sleeps well

And is alert when awake

She is simply adorable

Lovely

And we could not dote on her more than we do

Mummy
I am doing okay

I have just finished a 7 day course of antibiotics for mastitis

The weather was hot over the bank holiday weekend

And I did not realise straight away

That I had a fever

By the time I did the mastitis was quite severe

And I needed tablets to fight it off

Mastitis is awful

And as I was still really recovering from birth

It totally wiped me out for about three days

The bank holiday weekend was wasted on me

As I was a hot, sweaty, milky mess

Feeding Edie as much as I could

Drinking gallons of water and squash

Taking probiotics

And trying to flush out the infection

And avoid thrush

All the glamour of these early postpartum weeks

Before being struck down with illness

I had been feeling really good in myself

Enjoying the lovely weather

Making the most of having David at home

I had ventured out with a friend

We have been out a few times as a family

Edie and I have started taking the older children to classes

I have felt good in myself

And have been pleased with the way i look

Especially with the help of a little mascara

And some Weleda Lip Balm

I have also been wearing dresses

With flattering cuts and pretty prints

Like this beauty from Tiffany Rose

4 weeks postpartum I still have a definite bump

I weigh around 10 stone 5 pounds

So have a little over a stone to lose

To get back to my pre pregnancy weight

Though I am currently in no hurry to do this

I survive most days on cereal bars, biscuits and cake!

Breastfeeding is tiring work

And I enjoy my extra 500 calories

Family
As a family things are tough

David is very stressed with work

Very busy with work

The children are all very emotional

Esther and William are happy enough

With day to day life

William is engrossed with Top Trumps

Esther loses herself in imaginary play

But they are also tearful

A bit unsure

Very cuddly

They got used to having lots of visitors

Over a short space of time

And so now are keen to have visitors all the time

We need to find our new normal

Our new rhythm and routine

Now that Edie is here

And that is going to take some effort and some time

I am feeling all the mum guilt

For not being able to be

All things to all our children

All of the time

I feel like I spend most of my time

Telling the children off

As I am the one home with them most of the time

Trying to do things with them

While running the house

At the same time as meeting the newborn needs of Edie

And the toddler needs of Bea

Bea is struggling with Edie

She is finding it hard to share mummy I think

She is used to being the baby

And it is hard to now be seen as a big sister

We try very hard with her

But sometimes she loses control of her emotions

And this makes life very difficult for all of us

She has always been very strong willed

She is a character

We all adore her

But my goodness she can be hard work

This week she has also started struggling at night

Screaming and crying out

We thought perhaps night terrors

Or poorliness

But there is also a big chance

That she knows this is a sure way to get our attention

It is hard to know how to handle some scenarios for the best

Especially when you try so hard to please her

Soothe her

And nothing seems to be right

It is hard not to get cross

And then we wonder sometimes

If cross is what she needs

We have good days and bad days

The one consistent problem

Is how rough and heavy handed Bea is

With everyone

But especially with Edie

We have to be on guard with her all the time

Any tips for dealing with rough handling of baby siblings

Would be much appreciated

I am looking forward to this phase being over

So that we can settle into life as our new larger family

Products
So Edie will soon have been with us

One whole month

Here are the products

That we have used over the last 4 weeks

Shnuggle Bath, Towel and Wash Cloths
We did not bath Edie until her second week

Her cord fell off on day 5

But we waited a little longer to bath her

Her first bath was not a great success

We tried to involve all the children

But it was just too much

The second time it was just Edie

With David and I

It was much calmer

A Shnuggle success

And now she loves her bath

Her last bath we got Esther involved

And she absolutely loved helping

When bathing Edie

I make sure that we have everything we need

Close at hand

We fill the Shnuggle Bath

To the fill line

And lower Edie in

The Shnuggle Bath keeps the water warm

The innovative bum bump

Helps baby to feel safe and secure

The foam backrest is warm against baby’s skin

We give Edie a thorough wash

Using super soft Shnuggle wash cloths

These cotton and bamboo cloths

Are also great for mopping up milk spit

And make great breast compresses

To soothe full, tender, sore breasts

After the bath

We wrap Edie in her Shnuggle towel

The hooded wrap towel

Is soft against Edie’s skin

And keeps her lovely and warm

When she comes out of the water

Shnuggle are selling bath time bundles on their website

Which offer great value for money

On their range of clever baby products

Designed to make bath time stress free

I cannot recommend their products highly enough

Shnuggle Blanket
Once Edie is dry and dressed

I wrap her in her grey chevron blanket

From Shnuggle

This luxury knitted blanket

Is 100% super soft cotton

This Shnuggle blanket

Is both practical and pretty

It would make a great new baby present

Purflo Breathable Nest
At the moment Edie sleeps with me

She has a Purflo nest on our bed

Where I can leave her for a few minutes

To snooze or gaze around

While I pop to the loo

Clean my teeth

Get dressed

That kind of thing

Soon the breathable nest will be moved

Into Edie’s SnuzPod

Where

The plan is

She will sleep over night

All materials used in the Purflo nest

Are fully air permeable, anti-bacterial and naturally flame retardant

Providing Edie with an entirely non-toxic, chemical free, safe place to rest

And she seems to feel safe and comfortable in it

GroSnug
When sleeping Edie wears her GroSnug

I have never been able to swaddle babies

And I am so grateful to The Gro Company

For inventing the GroSnug

This is a modern alternative to the swaddle blanket

No wrapping required

Poppers allow babies to be swaddled

With their arms in or out

The Snug helps young babies transition

From swaddle to sleeping bag

GroSnug to GroBag

Edie loves hers

She has three

And always sleeps well

When snuggled in it

Meelight
I have not slept in the dark

Since Matilda Mae died

I like to have a light on

And especially when sleeping with little people

I need to be able to see them breathe

With David rooming in with Bea at the moment

The Meelight has been my friend at night

I keep it on all night

On the dimmest setting

Making the light brighter

To latch Edie on for feeds

Check her breathing

And change her nappy

This is an excellent invention

A wearable night light

That seems to take the loneliness

Out of long nights with newborns

Reassurance without disturbance

Comfort without disruption

A little light on a dark night

The Meelight

Kit and Kin Nappies
How cute are these nappies?

Kit and Kin nappies are amazing

Super absorbent so no leaks

Hypo allergenic

Kind to Edie’s skin

Well designed

A good fit

Fun character prints

And they are environmentally friendly too

They are also not as expensive as you might think

I am fairly certain these are going to be

Our nappies of choice from now on

We are super impressed with them so far

Giant Muslin Swaddles
What can you not use a giant muslin swaddle for?

We have a lovely collection from Aden + Anais

And these pretty clouds from Mama Designs

These are great for swaddling

A light blanket

A sun shade

And as a sheet for a moses basket or pram

They are large and soft

They wash well

Are incredibly pretty to look at

And have so many practical uses

Skip Hop Camping Cubs Tipi Activity Mat
Edie is starting to be more and more alert when she is awake

She loves to look at faces, patterns and pictures

She is starting to spend some time on her playmat

Which is fun for her and her older siblings

The Camping Cubs Tipi is also a stunning addition to our home

And everybody comments on it as they enter the lounge

The soft mat is perfect for tummy time

As well as being used as a traditional baby gym

The light shines through the tipi netting

And Edie loves to watch the natural light show

She loves to snuggle up to the bear cushion

And she is just now starting to try and reach out to the hanging toys

We have had lots of baby play things over the years

And this one is a firm favourite

Even with Daddy

Who does not often pass comment on these things

Fisher Price Swing
Another place that Edie enjoys

Is her Fisher Price swing

This was Bea’s

She also liked to doze and swing

The swing gives me just enough to time

To have a wee

Make tea

Or make lunch

It also means I can eat a meal

Or do an activity with the other children

It takes up a lot of floor space in our home

And is not that pretty to look at

But it buys me much needed time

So it is something that we would not be without

Jane Trider with Matrix Light 2
The Jane Trider with Matrix Light 2 Car Seat

Is really making life easier

Especially getting out and about

It is so easy to get Edie in and out of the car

When we went for her newborn hearing screen

I was able to do the whole thing without waking her up

The Health Visitor was very impressed with the travel system

I am going to make a video telling you all about our Jane products

But finding the time to film and edit with four little people at home all the time

Is trickier than I anticipated

But I have blogged our initial thoughts here and here

These four weeks have passed so quickly

I am so proud or our growing family

And the progress we have made this past month

I am also so sad that Edie most likely is our last baby

(I cannot bring myself to say definitely)

And the newborn phase is almost gone

It really does all go too quickly

Cherish every moment

Every single one!

This post includes some products that we were sent to review