This is a very hot topic out there, so I am just sharing my experiences and thoughts on it...

Right from the word 'go', I was pro-vaccination.  There is so much disease and illness out there that can be prevented by vaccinating. It is important to me that my child is protected from those awful diseases that can cause so many life-long problems and even death.  It just is not worth the risk of that happening to my little baby.  I'm a nurse and I see so many illnesses that can't be prevented by vaccination, that it just makes sense to protect myself and my family from a disease or illness when I can.

Bub had his very first shots on the day he was born (I was in theatre when he was given his check, weigh & shots), but my midwife knew (and I had signed the forms) that he was to get them.  He had no ill-effect from them.  Next lot were at 8 weeks, and yes, he screamed when he was injected, but after a cuddle and a breastfeed he settled and again, no problems.  12 weeks were the worst - bub would not settle and couldn't be comforted for long for the whole weekend (he had them on a Fri am, didn't settle until the Sun night).  He had a little lump in his thigh from one injection (a common, normal side-effect) which didn't seem to affect him when it was touched/palpated.  It went away with no issues.  He's now had his 6mth vaccinations. He screamed when they went in, but was fine once it was over. Again, a bit of a breastfeed and he settled fine.  Absolutely no complications for us.

I do understand that there are people out there who honestly believe that their child was affected by the immunisations.  I'm not here to debate their opinions.  My husband occasionally wonders if the immunisations will have an affect on our son, but I'm 99% certain that there has been/will be no worries with his capacity and ability to learn and behave in a "normal" manner.  And you know what? Even if he does have behavioural issues years down the track, I still would have trouble pinning it to his early immunisations.  We will have to see what the future holds.  I believe my son is smart and clever and I will always tell him how much he is loved and how clever I believe he is. He will believe that he is capable of anything and everything he puts his mind to, whether or not issues arise.

I know my own mum struggled with whether or not to immunisation my sister and I.  In the end, she did, and I'm forever grateful that she did. I'm healthy, happy, and have always known that my mum made the right choices for her babies.

As mums, all we can do is to make decisions that we believe is the right thing to do for our children.  We all just want the best for our babies, and try to bring them up to be a loving positive influence on society and the people around them.  I believe that one of the first decisions we have to make for our babies is to decide to immunise them against those nasty diseases of the past that are now starting to make a comeback because children are not being immunised against them. 

- BM

I've just taken bub on his very first big trip... We travelled for 2hrs in the car (done before), but then we sat at the airport for 2hrs, flew to NZ for 3hrs, then drove for 2.5hrs. All in one day. Massive day for a little bubba!  I can't believe how good he was!  He may have only had a couple of little sleeps all day, but he didn't cry or get cranky like he usually does when he's overtired!!!  So proud of my little pumpkin-pie! 

We've come over to see my dad and his family for a week, and so far, bub has been quite good. I still wish he would sleep better at night, but the time difference and the travel hasn't really played too much havoc with his internal clock... He's still doing things at the time he would do them at home (but in NZ time, if that makes any sense!!!)

My dad and family over here are loving having him around and having a chance to have cuddles and catch up with me too.  It's great to see my cousins (and my dad!) and catching up with them and their little ones too.

We miss hubby as he had to stay home to work, but it's nice to be somewhere different, out of my 4 walls...  It is a lot colder here than back home, but glad I brought what I did so that I can layer us both up to keep warm!!!  Dad laughed at how full my case was - stuffed with mine and bub's stuff!  Using it all... :-)

I'm so glad that my cousin has kids too, I've been able to borrow so much from her! Pram, high chair, toys, baby bath (dad doesn't have a bath in his house!), car seat.  Also using my aunty's car which is a bonus for some independence. :-)

I think I might have a quick cup of tea while bub continues the best sleep he's had in weeks...  :-) 

- BM

Sleep no more
Long gone it is
Enjoy it when you can
Endless is the night
Please child, sleep!

Really need to find a solution to my son's horrible night sleeping!  So thankful to my sister-in-law who took bub one night over the weekend so we could get a full night's sleep!  I couldn't believe it when hubby said it was 9am when we woke up - that hasn't happened since about 7months pregnant!!!  I had a full 10hrs sleep.  Felt so good! :) 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

- BM

Our journey to be a mummy is like a jigsaw puzzle - lots of experiences, physical and emotional marks, but the big picture at the end is our beautiful little being who makes our family a whole...

For me, my puzzle pieces included waiting for the "right" man to come along, getting married/waiting for our relationship to be established and rock-solid, agreeing it was time to go off the pill and start trying. I was 'very lucky' not to get stretch marks on my abdomen, but I have deeper stretch marks on my hips and thighs. I continue to get nose bleeds months after bub's birth (normal during pregnancy - but need to ask doc about continual!). I have stretch marks on my breasts. I broke my coccyx during birth, and got a big bad tear that needed stitching in theatre (and I won't be able to have another vaginal birth). I had pain issues for months post-birth. I suffered from morning sickness (all-day sickness!), fatigue, and back pain.  I'm sure there are many more things I could list that would form part of my puzzle!

I love my husband. I love my dog. I love my son. I LOVE MY FAMILY. They are my everything, my whole being.

- BM

Watching my little boy feed, I am reminded how lucky I am to be a mum.  To be able to fall pregnant.  To grow a little life inside of me, near to my heart.  To able to give birth to a healthy little baby.  To be able to hold him in my arms as soon as he was born.  To be able to breastfeed with minimal problems.  To breathe in his little baby scent.  To watch his little expressions of satisfaction as he drinks his mummy milk. To turn his tears into smiles and giggles.  To know that he loves me unconditionally and will always need his mummy.  To just look at him and know he is mine for life.  

Wow, how the ideal of sleep has changed since having a baby!

I used to be the kind of person that needed a good solid 9hrs sleep a night, and be grumpy if I got woken up in the middle of the night or earlier than needed...

Now, I'm extremely happy if I get 4 hours straight in the night!  Sure, I'm tired when I first get up - bub is awake between 6-630am for the day... But when he goes back to bed for sleeptime at 8am I get to have breakfast and a cuppa and I'm awake for the day too!

Bub has settled himself into somewhat of a routine at 4 1/2 months:
6-630am - awake, feed, nappy change, play, 'breakfast'
8am - sleeptime - can sleep til anywhere between 9am and 12md!
When he wakes, it's feed, play, sleep.  And only awake for 1 1/2hrs at a time, or he gets grumpy and harder to get to go to sleep.
5pm - feed, 'dinner'
530pm - bath/shower
6pm - feed
615-630pm - bed
8pm - feed
9-10pm - dreamfeed
1230-1am - feed
3-4am - feed

and then our day starts all over again!

- BM

I've found it so hard to make a decent dinner every night as bub does his going to bed routine from 5 til 6 or 630... I just don't have the energy to think of what to do each night... I do have a slowcooker, that I think would be good to use more often, but with bub only sleeping long enough for me to eat a bowl of porridge and have half a cup of tea for his first sleep and then about half an hour for second sleep before lunchtime... I need to learn to use time a bit more effectively!  It might get easier as he is able to amuse himself for short periods of time too - I can do a short job, then play with him, then do another little job... Maybe then the house will stop looking like a shambles and more like a home! LOL!

Urgh, I hate the pain of growth spurts! My poor little man seems to be going through another one this past weekend... Minimal day sleeps, screaming for no discernable reason, very difficult to settle!

Lots of cuddles and booby feeds seem to be the only things that help... And some warm showers with mummy or daddy... 

Regardless, it is all worth it when I get a little smile or giggle when he is feeling good! I love his little smiles and giggles (well, more like a chuckle!)... I also love when he snuggles into my shoulder or armpit when he does settle...  Ah, I love my little boy!  xoxoxoxoxoxo

- BM

I didn't want to start solids before 6mths, but... 

Because my little 4.5mth old won't take his eyes off me eating, and even stops feeding to watch me eat, I decided to start giving him a little bit of farex... Well, he loves it so much that he's gone from 1tsp to about 5tsp in one sitting, and this is after he's had a boob feed!  He gets so excited and has even learnt that his hand has to be out of his mouth so the spoon can go in!  So many big smiles and giggles to go with each mouthful - it's just so cute!

I've pureed some chokos that I have had sitting in the fridge, and some apples that I've been meaning to stew for awhile anyways - I now have a healthy stock of purees in the freezer that I can start to give him to vary the farex. 

It's scary that my little man is getting big enough to have some solids, but just glad that he still loves "his boobie"!

- BM

I found out I was pregnant about 4 weeks after I started a new job, which was also about 6 weeks after my wedding.  We really weren't prepared for me to fall pregnant so quickly, as we had expected it to take us up to 12 months after 
I went off the pill (a week before the wedding). However, I was super-excited as I have been waiting for a long time for the right time to have a bub.  For me, the right time is a secure relationship with a solid commitment and being old enough and mature enough to handle all the challenges that come with babies and being a parent.  (The right time for someone else may very well be different.)
 
I was unsure how being pregnant would be... I was very annoyed at the morning sickness lasting until week 21 (and only then a month of maxalon helped it to stop - thank goodness!) For about 3 weeks all I could really stomach was raspberry slushies and plain bread rolls!  My poor hubby - he had to fend for himself for dinner! 
 
This is a list I made while pregnant of the different things my body and baby was doing:
* slowly expanding belly
* discharge & excoriations
* expanding breasts - 10B to 12D!
* exhaustion
* sore back from 29wks
* heavy, tight belly
* + 5kg in 33wks
* muscle & ligament stretching (painful!)
* quickly puffed from decrease in lung capacity
* can't sleep on left side (bub won't let me!)
* generally unable to get comfy to sleep (from approx.  31wks)
* head down at 34wks
* swelling in hands and feet at 35wks
 
I did have some interesting cravings, but the biggest one was peanut satay noodles & coconut rice from the Thai takeaway - I could eat this for lunch and dinner most days! And I went off chicken completely, and only started eating it again when bub was about 3 months old.

Craved:
* raspberry slushies
* plain bread rolls
* coconut rice & peanut satay noodles
* KFC chips
* milk
* zooper doopers
 
Detested:
* chicken
* smell of alco hand gel

The first movements I felt were nebulous little flutters, but very quickly turned into a sensation of baby swimming around.  My poor little bub was referred to as practicing many different sports, including Swimmer, Gymnast, and Boxer.  
He just wouldn't stop moving around, my super-active little bubba!

Towards the end of my pregnancy, my belly felt so tight that there just wasn't any room for bub to keep growing.  
I had some of the 'normal' pregnancy ailments including swollen feet and ankles, fatigue, inability to sleep well or get comfortable in bed, and the for the last 2 weeks I was having heartburn any time I tried to flatten out/lie down 
lower than 45 degrees!  Quickeze and a glass of milk became a necessity at bedtime (and sometimes through the day).
 
Bub just did not stop moving until he was born, and even then, he still has not stopped kicking and wiggling around!  
And in the end, it did turn out there was no room left - bub decided 10 days before my due date that it was time to join the world, and quickly!
 
While pregnancy wasn't all I thought it would be, I wouldn't trade all those feelings of my baby growing inside me for anything else in the world.  And one day, I will do it again! 

- BM