Jake's First 6 Months: In Pictures

My baby boy has his first half birthday today, now I am aware this is not really 'a thing' but I thought I would share a few of my favourite family pictures (out of 1000's) of his first 6 months. 

How to get a Terrible Nights Sleep: A Step by Step Guide

Here's my step by step guide on how to ensure you get an utterly terrible nights sleep;

1) Have a baby
2) Become so sleep deprived that your body clock goes wappy (yes it's a word) that when the baby is sound asleep you can't sleep for love nor money. 
3) Become reliant on coffee to function
4) Be so full of caffeine you can't sleep
5) Lie in bed for hours tossing and turning
6) Check all social media accounts while lying in bed
7) Check the time every 5 minutes
8) Ensure your partner is on his 'snoring side' or breathing right in your face
9) Make sure you are either too hot or too cold, preferably both within 10 minutes
10) Eat dinner late so you are uncomfortably full in bed
11) Make mental lists of things you must do just before you go to bed
12) Have a nap late in the afternoon because you are so exhausted

To ensure maximum results do all of the above on the same day.

Comfort & Harmony Monkey Bouncer Chair - Review

We were bought this chair as a gift from my Mum before Jake was born. A bouncy chair is not something I had even considered, I was too wrapped up in Moses baskets, cots and hospital bags to think, but now I would not be without it. It's been absolutely fab! The shape of the chair allowed Jake to sit in it comfortably even when he was just a tiny newborn. Here's a couple of pictures of Jake enjoying his chair aged one week up to 5 months.

It is used multiple times a day and Jake loves it. He sits in it with his little legs crossed happy as Larry. It has also been used as a makeshift highchair when I was starting off giving Jake little tastes of baby rice and purées. It has a gentle vibrate setting and it plays 7 lovely songs. It has 2 volumes settings to choose from and the music cuts off after a while. The chair can be bounced and it's motion is quite gentle compared to some that I have seen. Jake used to take little naps in it and before he moved into his cot and always looked so comfy. Now he only sleeps in his cot or in the car. 

The chair has a detachable bar with 2 super cute soft toys, a tiger and a monkey, attached to it and has 4 colourful taggies on each side which Jake likes to flap about and pull on. The head rest part of the chair is easily altered to suit growing babies and can be removed. The whole material part of the chair can be removed and washed, which was a life saver when it was covered in baby rice/milk/sick. The instructions say to wash at 30 but I washed it on a cold wash and it came out looking brand new even though it was previously covered in carrot purée! 

I absolutely love this chair, it's bright, bold and colourful (my Mum knows me so well!) and Jake is always happy to sit and chill in it. He is now almost 6 months old and I think it's big enough to last him a couple more months (recommended max weight 9kgs). The only trouble I have had with the chair is trying to keep the bloody cat out of it!

What was your lifesaving product you could not live without when your kids were newborns? Let me know in the comments below!