WHY WE LOVE OUR DIONO RADIAN RXT CARSEAT

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I received this car seat c/o Diono but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

I often get asked about the baby gear I have purchased for my babies. I have lists on lists on lists of things because let's be honest, babies need ALL THE THINGS. But one of the MOST IMPORTANT items you can purchase for your babe, is the carseat! In my city, they won't let you leave the hospital without one!

We used a bucket seat for the first 6 months. I love starting out with the bucket seat because you can take your sleeping baby everywhere but after about 6 months, it starts getting HEAVY and by 6 months, both of our kiddos hated the bucket seat. For Luca, we toughed it out until he was almost a year but for London, I knew I didn't want to suffer through those carseat meltdowns so at 6 months we graduated her to the Diono Radian RXT. 

And we've been absolutely loving it!

Here are five reasons why we love our Diono Radian RXT carseat:

1. LONGEVITY

A child can be rear facing in the seat from 5lbs to 45lbs, forward facing in the five point harness up to 65lbs and then it converts to a booster and can be used from 50lbs to 120lbs! The carseat is also good for TEN years so chances are you can use it on your next babe!

2. SAFETY

When we took the carseat out of the box, both James and I commented on how strong it felt! The frame is made of steel and the sidewalls are reinforced with aluminum. It is one STRONG carseat.

3. STYLE

We went with the Midnight (all black) seat and it looks great in our SUV. It's so sleek as well! But that sleekness isn't just for good looks, it's sleek enough to fit THREE carseats across a single row...(can someone please tell my hubby if we have another baby we won't need to buy a minivan, ha!)

4. COMFORT

It's such a comfortable seat! London just loves it and actually fell asleep in it the other day!! (She stopped falling asleep in her bucket seat at 3 months old!!)

5. EASE OF USE

One of my favourite features of the Diono Radian RXT carseat is it folds flat and can be worn as a backpack. That my friends, will make air travel a BREEZE! It also is super easy to install and the whole cover is machine washable...I unfortunately had to find that out after London got sick all over it :( Thank goodness it all went in the wash and I was able to easily attach the fabric back to the seat.

Visit Diono's website to purchase your seat or learn more about it. Our family HIGHLY recommends it!

XO, Laura

LONDON ROSE // 9 MONTH UPDATE

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LONDON AT NINE MONTHS

I cannot believe sweet London Rose is NINE MONTHS!! This is hands down my favourite age of the first year. She is sweet as can be and her little (or should I say BIG) personality is coming out!
 

Here's the London's 9 month update:

WEIGHT: 20lbs 9oz
London had some great gains the past 3 months, ha! She's now in the 85th percentile for weight

HEIGHT: 27.5 inches
Her height went down to the 50th percentile but that's totally normal that it goes up and down the first year!

WEARS: I know I've said it a number a times but dressing a baby girl in the summer is SO FUN! She wears lots of dresses, rompers and shorty-shorts! She's mostly in 6-12 month clothing.

SLEEPS: Her sleep has gotten MUCH better. She usually sleeps through the night but sometimes has a feeding around 5 and then I have to wake her around 7! She is a champion napper and NEVER skips her naps. I mostly always have to wake her up from both of them. She's still on two naps and will probably be until about 15 months.

EATS: She eats EVERYTHING! We're pretty much off purees (unless it's a pouch on the go). She finally cut her first tooth but without them, she's been a champion eater! Honestly, she sometimes eats more than Luca!! She's still nursing. Luca weaned around this age but I don't see her weaning anytime soon. (Praying she doesn't bite me!!!) She nurses about 6x a day but only for about 5 minutes and then has about 6oz of formula before bed.

PLAYS: She's been crawling for the past month and it is crazy! She's soo fast and gets into everything!! She constantly tries to open the fireplace and has gotten into our avocado plant, ha. I took her to Bumble and Hive (a local play centre) and she loves it now that she's crawling! She's sooo close to pulling herself up on things.

HIGHS: Reading with her before naps and bed is my absolute favourite. She loves books, especially with lots of colourful pictures. She's also giving the BEST open mouth kisses.. Love my sweet girl so much. 

LOWS: Last month she got a bad GI bug so that was not fun....and then came teething, a few days of a lot of crying. But she's honestly such a happy and easy baby.

PARENTING: Oh man, if you've seen my latest IG post, parenting a TWO year old has been so hard lately! But I've been reading this book and it's already been so insightful. London is a breeze right now (aside from the pic below, ha!!) 

Taking them out by myself is a bit of an adventure as Luca likes to run and she likes to be on the move and then put everything in her mouth. But thankfully if I bring LOTS of snacks, it will occupy her or bribe him, ha.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Summer is hard because James works long days BUT we're living for the weekend. Lots of family time is my favourite!! Oh and I'm also looking forward to going to Van next month to see my bestie. TWO nights BABY FREE!!! I love my babies but I am SOOOO looking forward to some personal space LOLS!

Love ya!

Laura

HOW WE GOT OUR BABIES SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (PART ONE)

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Disclaimer: I am not a certified sleep consultant. I understand sleep training can be a touchy subject. Sleep training is not for every family but it worked for us. You do you. That's the magic of motherhood, different methods but the same heart. Just love please!!! This post contains affiliate links.

It has taken me forever to write this post but if you follow me on Instagram you know I'm a huge believer in schedules and sleep training for babies. Because I have a lot to say on this subject, I'm splitting it up into 3 posts...introduction, 0-3 month sleep and 3+ month sleep.
 

Before I had kids, I thought, I'm going to be that mama who takes her babies everywhere...my babies will be able to sleep in anyone's arms, on church pews, on blankets outside, in car rides...my babies will not dictate my schedule....

And then I actually had a baby...HA!

It took me almost 30 years to realize, I am NOT a "go with the flow" type of person. I like organization, I like schedules, I like routine. I'm okay with change (probably mainly because of all that positivity that's deeply engrained in me, ha) but it takes me awhile to adjust to it...so when I became a mama, I desperately needed to figure out a routine...especially one that involves sleeping at night!!

When I was pregnant with Luca I read the Sleepsense Guide. I'm a BIG BIG fan of sleep so I knew trying to get my baby to sleep would be a priority for me. It's very helpful. The layout isn't the easiest to follow (it's very wordy) but it helped us a lot.

And then Luca was born and IT WAS BANANAS. He was jaundice so for the first few days I nursed him around the clock which meant he fed every 2 hours. A typical night would be: 11pm wake him up, change diaper, nurse 15 mins each side while also trying to keep him awake (jaundice babes are very sleepy so you need to keep them awake while feeding), burp, change diaper, swaddle, back to sleep, set alarm for 1am. After gaining 5oz in 3 days my doc said I could go to every 4 hours at night (HALLELUJAH!)

Like I said, IT WAS BANANAS. But it also gave me a lot of time to be on my phone and google things. The #1 thing I googled was "when can babies sleep through the night". Obviously I knew a baby had to be older and a healthy weight to sleep through the night but I wanted to know anything I could to help make that happen!

So I followed Sleepsense, and the blogs: Precious Little Sleep and A Mother Far From Home. At 7 weeks Luca went into his own room and at 8 weeks he started sleeping 10 hour stretches! He slept great and didn't go through any 4 month regression. I did have to re-nap train him after we went to Cali (because all his naps were on the go or nursed to sleep) but he started doing 7-7 straight around 6 months and today is still an amazing sleeper.

I did wonder that maybe Luca was just naturally a good sleeper but then I had London. I followed the exact same things and realized, nope, they just needed to be taught how to sleep and this my friends, is why I believe in sleep training...sleep training is essentially teaching your child how to go to sleep on their own. 

It's not neglecting your child or letting you child cry for hours on end..it's also not not feeding them. Sometimes London sleeps 11-12 hours straight but sometimes she wakes around 5:30am for a feed. I could night wean her but I don't really mind that feed as it's only once in awhile.
Since writing this London has slept consistently 12 hours straight for the past few months! I can't remember the last time she has woken up in the night!

photo by Rachael Alexandra Co.

Sleep Training Supplies

If you're planning on sleep training here are a few things that I HIGHLY recommend:

• Video Monitor (Some ppl swear by audio but video is such a life saver...it's amazing to see your babe get the hang of falling asleep. I recommend getting one with night vision which will save your sanity when your baby starts rolling over in their crib!!)
• Velcro Swaddles (for 0-4 month stage)
• Continuous White Noise (I'll talk about the importance of this in the 3 months + sleep post!)
• Black Out Curtain
• Sleep Sack (for 4 months and up)

I'm sure I'm missing some supply but there you have it for now! I'll be back with part 2 + 3 very soon!!

XO,
Laura

LONDON ROSE // SEVEN MONTHS

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Man oh man, how is London SEVEN MONTHS old. She's creeping up on her ONE year birthday and it makes me want to crrrry. I was looking at little toddler shoes last night and seriously wanted to cry thinking about her walking around, I just can't imagine it...please stay little a little bit longer my love.

 

LONDON AT SEVEN MONTHS

WEIGHT: I haven't weighed her since her 6 month doctor's appt at and she won't be weighed until the next one at 9 months so I have noo idea, ha. I'm guessing she's around 18/19lbs! She eats a TON of solids and has the sweetest thigh/arm/wrist rolls!

HEIGHT: Same as weight, I guess I could measure her but it takes too much effort, ha.

WEARS: She's in size 6-12 month clothing! I seriously can't get enough of her in rompers, dresses, bloomers and little tanks! How adorable is this gingham romper!? 

SLEEPS: She usually sleeps 11 hours straight from 7-6am, I then feed her and try to get her back to sleep for another hour but lately that has been hard, ha! I like it when she wakes me up at 6 because then I get some quiet time to myself BUT I don't want the whole gang waking up at 6am. Soooo I'm really hoping she'll just start sleeping that extra hour!

Here's her sleep schedule:
7am wake up nurse play eat breakfast
9am nap 1 (1-1.15 hours)
10:15am wake up nurse play go out eat lunch
1:00pm nap 2 (2 hours)
3:00pm wake up nurse play go out
5:00pm nurse dinner play
6:30pm bottle then bedtime routine
7pm bed

She's still napping like a champ! I shorten her morning nap so I can get some double nap action in the afternoon. Those two hours to myself are GLORIOUS!

HIGHS: Taking her to NYC was so memorable. It was seriously so special to have that one on one time with her. We experienced so much of the city together and it was so nice to spend some time with my brother and sister in law!!!

I also love her sweet personality. She's starting to babble more (still won't say dada, poor James!) And she's not afraid to tell you when she's happy or mad (just like her mama!)

Her and Luca's relationship is developing more and more and it is just the sweetest. He makes her laugh more than anyone else. Can't wait to see it grow even more. 

LOWS: Her sleep wasn't the greatest in NYC. We did not follow her normal schedule and she was napping on the go a lot so she woke up a couple times in the night. It made for one tired mama but other than that she's been a dream.

PARENTING: Like I said before, going to NYC with just London was such a treat. Obviously we missed Luca but we so appreciated the one on one time...especially James. It was so sweet to see them bonding so much. When you have older kids, it's pretty much impossible to give the babe 100% of your attention (because I need to be making sure Luca isn't falling into the ditches on our property or trying to escape through our hedges!!) 

POSTPARTUM: Still haven't gotten back on BBG :(  But I'm hoping to start this week. I have it all scheduled in so please keep me accountable! I'm a couple pounds lighter but I think it's from all the stress from our perimeter drains being redone and Luca catching HFM :/ 

LOOKING FORWARD TO: Our family shoot booked in June! We've hired our fave photog in Victoria, Rachael Alexandra and we're going to get some special photos of London and I. She's at the same age when I had these photos done with Luca so it will be so nice to have some of London and I!

XOXO,
Laura

LONDON ROSE // SIX MONTHS

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Baby girl is officially half a year old!!! I really, truly cannot believe it. The past six months have been a complete whirlwind and I'm really hoping time will slow down so I can enjoy some time with my baby before she turns ONE!

LONDON AT SIX MONTHS

WEIGHT: 17lbs 8oz....baby girl gained almost 3lbs since her last weigh in at 4 months! Her thigh rolls are seriously amazing!
We started her on solids at 5 months and she has fallen in love with food! 
I looked back on Luca's 6 month chart and he weighed 17.7..almost exactly the same!

HEIGHT: 26.5 inches...grew about two inches over the past two months. She's in the 85th % for height, so she's on the taller side but she has tiny feet!

WEARS: She's just started to grow out of her 3-6 month clothing...so sad :( But I have a lot of fun 6-12 numbers! I cannot wait for warmer weather to dress her in all her cute little dresses and rompers. How darling is the little romper she's wearing above? And how gorgeous is this little white dress? Shopping for a baby girl is seriously addicting!!

SLEEPS: Okay so from month 4-6 she was still waking up 1x a night somewhere between 4-6am...and some nights she would wake up twice (when dada forgot to put her in a night time diaper...) BUT last night she slept 6:45pm-6:45am STRAIGHT!!! So I'm realllly hoping she will continue that 12 hour straight thang and we won't have to night wean her. 

She is still fully sleep trained (goes down wide awake and puts herself to sleep) and we started to do a bottle before bed so she wouldn't be dependant on mama to put her to sleep. She finally started taking the bottle like a champ last month! She obvs prefers mama but she will drink some expressed milk/formula (between 2-4oz)...which makes me so happy because I can go out and not worry!

She loves THIS bottle best but still uses this one too.

She is a champion napper. In the past two months the only nap she has refused has been the last cat nap so we dropped that one. She sleeps for at least an hour for her morning and 1.5 hours for her afternoon nap. Honestly, I am soooo thankful she's been such a great napper. I've managed to overlap her and Luca's nap so I usually get about 1.5 hours to myself in the afternoon...which is GLORIOUS!!!!!!! 

Here's her new sleep schedule:
7am wake up nurse play eat breakfast
8:45am nap 1 (1-1.5 hours)
10:15am wake up nurse play go out eat lunch
12:45pm nap 2 (1.5-2.15 hours)
3:00pm wake up nurse play go out
5:00pm nurse dinner play
6:20pm bottle then bedtime routine
6:45/7pm bed

She's actually doing pretty well with the four hour wake time before bed! My goal is to stretch her a bit more during lunch to a 3 hour wake time.

HIGHS: Oh man, so many! Feeding her food for the first time was so awesome. She devoured it, just like her big bro did when he first had it! I guess we make good eaters, ha. She still lights up whenever Luca glances at her. He is her absolute favourite person (despite him trying to push her :( 

LOWS: The only low for me has been getting up to night feed her but honestly it's not that bad! She is such a happy baby. I was just telling my bestie tonight how full of joy she is. She rarely cries. She screams when we don't feed her fast enough and when she wakes up but it's more like HEY MA COME GET ME! 

PARENTING: She's such an easy baby if I stick with her schedule! She needs food, sleep and cuddles which sounds like the good life!! She's now sitting up and when she's on her tummy, she's starting to push her bum up...I'm not ready for her to start crawling!!! Our house is 100% baby proof but now I gotta watch for tiny things Luca leaves around!

Speaking of Luca, he's reallllllly testing my patience these days. All of a sudden he started pushing London :( He was so good with her, and I know it could be a phase but please send me your toddler tips!!! It just breaks my heart because she just ADORES him.

POSTPARTUM: Well I started BBG strong but then had a number of days where James was either working alot or working on church album or both which meant by the end of the night I was just tooo tired to function! I've cut sweets out until NYC and that has made a difference (down 3lbs) BUT I still want to get back on BBG next week when things aren't as hectic!

LOOKING FORWARD TO: NYC IN MAY!!!!! I honestly get giddy just thinking about the adventures we'll have....and only taking care of one child for 5 days, lols. Obviously we will miss Luca soooo much but we're very excited to create special memories with London, where she will have our full attention. This trip is going to be such a blessing!! And obvs can't wait to see my bro and sis in law!! Send us your NYC recommendations please!

I just adore you my London girl.

XOXO,
Laura