Unbelievably, I am here yet again to give you another baby and mama update.

The weeks really are whizzing by and I know I keep saying it, but I really just cannot get my head around the fact that Leo is now eight months old already. Bonkers. He’ll be one year old before I know it!

It’s been a wonderful couple of months for us a family. Leo was christened a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been on our first family holiday as a four (to a scorching hot Mallorca!) and I’ve just won a blogging award (which I really wasn’t expecting!). But here’s a little more detailed information about how Leo and I are getting on, right now. (And yep, he’s still as amazing as ever. Just look at him…)

LITTLE LEO

Is coming on a treat! At eight months old, his character is really beginning to shine through and although he’s still an incredibly chilled out little soul, there’s also plenty of mischief in his big brown eyes which makes me smile.

He’s become more vocal recently and likes to make his feelings very well known! He squeals at the top of his lungs – particularly when he sees our cat Caesar whom he’s more than a little besotted with – and chuckles whenever he finds something amusing. He’s also just managed his first wave which is incredibly cute, although you do have to wave at him like a maniac for a good few seconds first to get him to return the favour!

Food wise, weaning is going really well so far, thank goodness. I’m doing both baby led weaning and the traditional puree approach with Leo (depending on where we are and what’s for dinner!) and his favourite foods so far include toast, strawberries and banana. He’s also partial to a bit of spaghetti bolognese too. Leo loves feeding himself, that’s his much preferred option and although when he chews food, it makes me so incredibly nervous (I think you’ve got to have nerves of steel for this baby led weaning lark!) it’s working well so far with a few pureed meals thrown in for good measure.

We’re still breastfeeding (I’m pretty proud of this) and Leo still feeds many times a day including during the night, so there’s no sign of him sleeping through as of yet, but I’m remaining hopeful!

Movement wise, Leo can now sit up on his own and remain steady and he’s very close to crawling too! He keeps getting frustrated with being stuck on his front, knowing there is a way to move forward but not quite figuring it out yet,  so I think – although may be wrong – that we’re only a few weeks away from him being on the move! Yikes. With that in mind, I’m enjoying the ‘popping him in one place and him remaining there‘ times while I can as I think my days are numbered. (If anyone can recommend a decent play pen for him, please do holler!)

And so there we have it. My baby boy is growing up and becoming more independent and remarkable by the day. Still no sign of teeth though…when will his little nashers come through?

ME

As for me, well I’m doing great, I think. I’m still very tired most days thanks to the endless sleepless nights, but it never fails to amaze me how us mums battle on with work and life and childcare, even when we can barely open our eyes first thing in the morning.So yep, as always, more sleep or better sleep would be a treat, but on the whole the sleep deprivation is proving kind of manageable.

I’m still enjoying breastfeeding although beginning to think of when I might wean Leo off my breasts! Ideally, I’d like to try and get him to the 12 month mark before I quit, but we will see. I’m not putting any pressure on myself. When the time is right, I guess I’ll know. Truth be told, I’m really going to miss breastfeeding him, particularly as Leo may well be our last baby. The thought alone, is enough to make me a little tearful.

So… moving on, my post partum hair loss is still ongoing but definitely easing which is something to be grateful for, although I now do have the weirdest patches of hair growth. Thank goodness for my fringe.

Body image wise, I’m still not quite where I’d like to be in an ideal world as I’m still about a size bigger than I was pre pregnancy but…I refuse to feel bad about it or shame my body. I still love it, it’s still doing a bloody remarkable job and when I’m ready and when I can find the time, I will give my body more of the healthy attention it deserves. I feel so strongly about loving the skin we’re in, so when those negative thoughts ever pop into my head or when my skinny jeans are feeling a bit snug, I give myself a really good talking to.

Life and work wise, things are going well. Elsie is now back at school which means I get a small amount of time each day to myself when Leo naps, which helps things and certainly makes life feel much more manageable! My blog has been somewhat neglected on occasion, since Leo’s arrival and because of other work commitments but my blog award win hasn’t half perked me up and spurred me on, to just keep on keeping on.

So all in all, life is sweet, Leo is doing really great and I feel incredibly fortunate. I still need to work on ‘mama self care’ (I so suck at this but don’t we all?!) and I still have days when life feels a bit impossible, but on the whole life has never been sweeter. I’m a very lucky woman.