Dream Big Little One - Free Nursery Printable

Even before I fell pregnant, I knew I wanted a yellow and grey theme for our nursery. This was mostly so that I could get started right away before we even found out the gender of our baby haha. I decided to have a play around and design my own wall art for the nursery and just love how they turned out. We often get asked where we got the prints from so I figured I would share the PDF with you all so that you can print a copy for your own yellow and grey nursery. Click here or the image below to grab a copy.

Tips for photographing your newborn

Long before Lilly was born, I ran my own photography business and loved to photograph newborns. It took me a while to get the whole newborn thing down pat and now that I've had my own newborn, I can offer a few tips and tricks for getting that perfect photo!

#1 Prepare Your Camera

Whether you're using your mobile, a digital camera or am SLR, make sure you know how to use it! Before baby is born, take the time to learn how to use your camera using the manual modes. I use a Canon 7D Digital SLR camera and have spent many years perfecting the manual settings. I shoot my newborns using a 50mm 1.4 lens usually at around f2.8 to f1.8 depending on light. If you're using your phone or digital camera, turn the flash off! I promise your photographs will turn out much nicer.

#2 Happy Baby

Prepare your baby! Make sure they are well fed, had their nappy changed and are nice and warm. I use a space heater to make sure the space we are using is warm so that baby is comfortable and sleepy - this is really important. If the room is too cool, they will be very uncomfortable but take care not to face the heater directly onto the baby. If taking nakie photos, I make sure I loosen the nappy about an hour beforehand so that there aren't any creases on their skin. I also use a white noise app on my phone to remind the baby of the womb - it's very relaxing for all involved!

#3 Perfect Space

You want to take your photographs in a nice bright room, preferably near a big window or door. I have a newborn posing beanbag and backdrop stand which I use but these can both be made from everyday household objects. I used to use a beanbag that I firmed up using a rubber band underneath and a blanket draped over the back of two chairs. It also pays to have a quick clean up of anything in the background if you are aiming for more journalistic looking photographs.

While this photograph isn't perfect, it shows that a quick clean up of your area can make a world of difference. I also like to run a few actions over my photographs before I save them into my 'keep' folder on my computer.

#4 Keep it Simple

I prefer to use less props and focus more on the baby. I try to use neutral coloured blankets to drape over the beanbag so that the photographs will work in any room no matter what the colour scheme is. I also prefer simple, natural poses. I am starting to enjoy documentary styled newborn photographs more than posed ones. I also love the timeless look you get from black and white photographs, especially if your background is a bit cluttered or busy - it takes the focus away from that and back to the baby.

 #5 Play it Safe

Try to take your photographs when you have somebody around to help you. Always pose your baby safely and never leave the baby alone. A lot of fancy newborn photographs involve composite shots where the photographer takes two photographs and merges them together. Never hang a baby and always research those cute poses that look too easy to be true - they generally have hands Photoshopped out to keep the baby safe.

Top 10 newborn products

1. Boori Urbane Bassinet - We use this every single day for Lilly's daytime sleeps. I love that I can put her down and wheel her into whatever room I'm in! It's nice and long so she'll be able to use it for quite some time before we transition into her big cot.

2. JJ Cole Nappy Bag - I loooove this bag! It's cute and stylish and big enough to fit lots of baby essentials inside. You can read my review of this bag here.

3. Belkin Netcam - This baby monitor runs through your wifi and is compltely safe with password protection. You simply download the app to your smartphone and then log on through your phone. After Lilly's 6/7/8am feed, I put her back down either in my bed or her cosleeper and watch/listen to her through my phone while I have breakfast and express in the living room.

4. Tetra Snuggle Bed - This is probably my favourite newborn purchase ever! Lilly sleeps in this every single night next to me in our bed. I love that she's so close to me so I can hear her when she starts to stir before she starts screaming the house down hungry for food. It's not the cosleeper I had planned to buy and was a bit disappointed when my husband brought it home but it's seriously the best thing ever!!

5. Bonds Wondersuits - Lilly sleeps in these every night! She is a winter baby so I like having her in something nice and thick that I know will keep her warm all night...and there's nothing cuter than a newborn in a wondersuit!

6. Medela Swing Pump - I use this thing several times a day as an exclusive pumper. I love that it's portable - I can pop some rechargeable batteries in and I can take it out with me wherever I go. I do wish I had of gotten a double pump though so save time but this pump has been an absolute lifesaver.

7. Flannelette Wraps - We were given this beautiful set of flannelette wraps from Target and we use them every single day as well. They are squares so they are perfect for wrapping Lilly in and they keep her nice and warm. I loved them so much that I went and got the yellow and grey pack as well. We sometimes use them as a liner for her bassinet as well and use them as blankets when we're out and about.

8. Hugabub Ring Sling - Best invention ever! Lilly loves snuggling up to me in her sling when we're out and about. Sometimes I even wear her at home when she's having an unsettled day so that I can do housework hands free. It's especially handy when we hit the busy markets where there isn't enough room for our big pram.

9. Steelcraft Capsule - We love using our capsule - we can put Lilly in the car in the capsule and she almost always falls asleep. When we reach our destination, we take the capsule out and attach it to our pram without having to wake her. When we get home, I leave her to sleep in her capsule until her next feed. So handy!

10. Nappy Wallet by Bags by Meg - LOVE this nappy wallet and matching change mat. It fits perfectly in my nappy bag and I can fit 4 newborn nappies, wipes, disposable nappy bags and cream inside too.

What products can you absolutely not live without?

What's in my nappy bag

I have an amazing collection of nappy bags because I may just have a slight addiction to pretty things. I have normal bags that double as nappy bags, camera bags with room for nappies and bags designed specifically for carrying all your baby things. A few weeks ago I was trawling the isles of Babies R Us and found this beautiful JJ Totes nappy bag and I fell.in.love!

It is the perfect size for all of my mummy essentials and I can even fit my camera inside safely which is always a bonus. It also comes with these neat little straps that attach the bag to the back of my pram. This is awesome because the little basket under my pram is too small to fit any of my bags in it.

My nappy bag is full of the following essentials:

• My handbag essentials - wallet, phone and car keys
• Health kit (panadol, hand santiser, thermometre, scissors, nose doodad, lip balm)
• Spare wrap
• Wet bag with change of clothes
• Spit rag
• Pump and bottle with teat. I also have my nipple shields packed in this bag (not pictured)
• Diary, pen, deoderant, tissues
• Nappy wallet with 4 nappies, wipes, nappy bags and change mat
• My 7D camera with 17-50mm lens attached
• Dummy (which is usually sitting in the capsule with her)
• Bottle of water for cleaning my pump and/or drinking
• Lilly's little red health book just in case we need to go to the doctors unexpectedly

What do you have in your nappy bag?

My nappy changing caddy

I have an awesome nappy changing station set up in our nursery but sometimes I don't feel like walking all the way into the nursery to change Lilly - especially late at night! I decided to put together a little nappy changing caddy which I move around the house depending on where we are.

Sometimes I put it at the top of Lilly's bassinet which we wheel around the house, but most of the time it lives on our couch - easy access throughout the day! We have honestly only changed Lilly maybe 5 times in her nursery haha. I also bring this into our bedroom at night so that I can change her on the bed without even having to get out from under the sheets - bliss!

So what do I have in the caddy?

• 5-10 huggies nappies
• Unscented huggies wipes
• Pink vinyl changing mat
• Am-o-lin nappy rash cream
• Hand sanitiser
• Nappy sacks
• Singlet and onesie just in case there's a poo explosion! 

This caddy makes life just a little bit easier - I'd love to know what neat little things you do to make life a little easier with a little baby in the house?

Lilly is smiling!

Lilly is smiling and it's just about the cutest thing I have EVER seen! She has been smiling for a few weeks now but she has just started this big toothless grins that absolutely melt my heart. My sleepy, cuddly newborn is slipping away and my crazy, babbling baby is approaching very quickly!

Mummy guilt and the lies I've been telling myself

Before I fell pregnant, I knew I was going to breastfeed my babies. I didn't think there was any other option, that I would power through any issues we had and come out the other end successfully breastfeeding my baby. When my husband and I fell pregnant, I started researching and learning everything I could to make sure that I nailed feeding for our precious little bubba. I joined the Australian Breastfeeding Association and read their book from front to back. I signed up for their class but unfortunately couldn't make it because I got very sick towards the end of my pregnancy (due to pre-eclampsia). I was so determined to breastfeed.

But then Lilly was born prematurely at 33+6 weeks very quickly and very unexpectedly (which you can read about here). Suddenly everything I had learnt about breastfeeding went out the window. I couldn't have skin to skin with her immediately after she was born because she was rushed off to the Special Care Nursery and I wasn't awake for her birth. When I woke up from the surgery, my husband started collecting my colostrum with syringes with some assistance from my nurse. The following day, I started expressing using the hospital grade Medela pumps. I couldn't wait to start trying to breastfeed Lilly but she just wasn't strong enough yet.

Fast forward a week and we begun skin to skin. The nurses said that Lilly would find my nipple on her own but nothing happened. She just wasn't interested. I even tried putting my nipple in her mouth when she yawned and took our first fake breastfeeding photo to try and make myself feel better about our lack of breastfeeding. I told everyone we had started breastfeeding and how amazing it was and how clever Lilly was...I was such a liar!!

When Lilly was two and a half weeks old, we were finally able to get Lilly to attach and suck momentarily and things started improving. Each day she would suck just a little bit more and she would just have a top up through her feeding tube. Eventually we got one whole breastfeed and I was over the moon. I finally felt like I was a real mum! Her progress was quick and before we knew it, she was having 2 feeds a day with no top up! At the time, I felt like it was all taking too long but she really did get the hang of it pretty quickly, she just needed to build up her strength.

And then it happened. Lilly graduated from the Special Care Nursery and we were able to wheel her out into Maternity and room in together for the very first time in her four and a half weeks Earth side. I was so excited to begin our breastfeeding journey for real. But that's when it all fell apart. We got through the day no problems but by the time we got to her 5th feed of the day (she was on 3 hourly feeds) she was absolutely exhausted and wasn't latching or sucking correctly. We spent our 48 hours in maternity not sleeping and trying our best to breastfeed but with limited success. Whenever the nurses came to check, I lied to myself and the nurses when I told them what a great job she was doing. I guess I thought that if I told them I was doing great, we would do great...but I really just didn't want to lose her again...I just wanted to get her home.


Finally our 48 hours was up and the pediatrician did her release check-up...but she had lost a whole 100g in just 48 hours. They wanted us to stay but ended up letting us go home on the condition that we have her weighed again in another 48 hours and came back if there was no improvement. In hindsight, we should have stayed. We should have told them we were struggling but we didn't. We wrapped up our precious baby girl and left that hospital as fast as humanly possible. I kept telling myself it would be okay, we just needed to get away from it all.

When we got home, I relaxed a little but we were still struggling - I was so stressed that my milk almost completely dried up - I went from expressing over 200mls per 20 minute session to a terrifying 10mls. I saw my GP and started on some medication to help boost my supply (which worked practically instantly!) and I decided to give Lilly an expressed milk bottle...or two...or three. We started trying a breastfeed then topping up with my expressed milk. I felt better, Lilly went back to sleeping like an angel and life with a not-so-newborn was amazing....but I felt all this guilt. I felt like a failure for not being able to breastfeed her exclusively. I felt like after our shitty birth experience that I needed to be better and I needed to breastfeed.  I continued telling everyone what an awesome job we were doing breastfeeding and that she was a breastfed baby but I was a big fat liar. We were lucky if we did two full breastfeeds a day - that's not a breastfed baby at all!

Fast forward 5 weeks and we are still expressing and bottle feeding. I have since got my hands on some amazing Medela nipple shields and we usually try two breastfeeds a day and Lilly seriously kicks butt with them...but she takes an hour to feed which my lactation consultant says is too long for a little preemie with little energy. So at around 10am, we have one super long breastfeed and then we rock the bottle for the rest of the day. I am finally feeling at peace with our feeding and I no longer feel like a failure. When someone asks if we breastfeed, I still say yes but now I fill them in on the details. I think that lying about it just made me feel worse....I feel like everybody else either breastfeeds or they formula feed but there's a whole other breed of mummies out there just like me who express and bottle feed. 

I must say, I really love the connection Lilly and I share during a breastfeed and the way she pokes and prods at my boob to stimulate the milk..there's really no words to describe how amazing it feels and I can't wait for the day when she is much stronger and able to breastfeed exclusively....but for now I am loving the way she looks up at me when she's having a bottle...right into my eyes as if she's saying, "I know it's not what you wanted Mummy, but thank you for not giving up on the boobie milk...I love you" and that makes it all so worthwhile.

Lilly's first week at home

Our first week at home has been an absolute dream! Lilly has been sleeping really well and has even given us a few nights of 5 hour blocks which I'm told is counted as 'sleeping through' so hubby and I are feeling quite well rested. We were a bit worried that she would hate bath time - she absolutely loved it in hospital so we were kind of expecting her to absolutely hate it once we got home...nope, she still loves it! It's actually my favourite part of the day and hubby and I share the bath time jobs. He usually fills the tub and holds her then we take turns washing her and drying her...you wouldn't think something so simple could be so fun haha!

We also had our very first outing! First we drove over to my Mums house and then we followed her, my siblings, aunty, cousins and grandparents up to Maleny for morning tea! This was the first time my aunty and cousins met Lilly and also my Grandad's first cuddle. I love that we have all of these special moments caught on camera!

 

Overall, our first week at home was fantastic. I still can't believe what a good baby Lilly is - we can only hope she stays this content and happy! Though I think everyone is pretty excited to see her when her eyes are open when they visit!

Lilly's newborn photos

The day after we brought Lilly home, I set up my props in her nursery and took her newborn photographs. Of course the little monkey decided she didn't want to sleep and was wide awake for the entire shoot. I love how her little personality is shining through though!! I think I'll set it up again soon though and get some of those cute squishy newborn goodness photographs.

Newborns are HARD but home time yay!

We have spent the last two nights 'rooming in' at the hospital and I won't lie...it has been really really hard. I guess you could say that I was a little naive. In the nursery, Lilly was being breastfed 4 times a day and tube feed for her other 4 feeds. I figured she was in such an awesome routine that it would be easy to move out into the ward and continue on with this awesome fairytale routine where Lilly woke 3 hourly for a feed and went back to sleep. Boy was I WRONG! But doesn't she look like a little angel here?

Problem 1: Lilly refused to sleep at night and I fell asleep with her either screaming herself to sleep on my chest or sleeping contently beside me in the bed...which was a big no-no in the hospital. 

Problem 2: She refused to stay latched to my boob for any longer than 5 sucks in a row. And then she would scream after coming on and off a few times and I'd have to put her to sleep with me in the bed and start the vicious circle again.

This crazy dance of scream-try to feed-scream again continued all night for both of the nights we roomed in. I spent a lot of the night sitting rocking her back and forth with tears streaming down my face...it was hard. So very hard. At 4am the first morning, I messaged my husband with a river practically flowing down my face, chest and into my lap telling him that he needed to take the day off and come in and help me or I'd have a mental breakdown. Of course he obliged and of course Lilly was a little angel as soon as Daddy got there...but we were still struggling with the feeding. I didn't tell any of the nurses because I just wanted to get her home with us where she belonged. Looking back at it now, I should have asked for help but I was just too damn scared. 

We finally finished our mandatory 48 hours of rooming in and just had to wait for the pediatrician to come in and discharge us. He took what seemed like the entire day...and when he finally got there and weighed Lilly, she had lost a whopping 100g in two days. We then had to wait for another pediatrician who wanted us to stay another night...but we declined and took her home anyway and looking back now, we definitely made the right decision! The hospital wasn't a nice place to start bonding with our baby and I found it so hard being away from my husband. We packed Lilly up and drove very carefully home.

When we got home, we introduced the fur babies to our human baby and they have pretty much stayed clear from Lilly since! They have found it really hard not sleeping in our bedroom with us and I really miss their warm cuddles but now I have Lilly to cuddle! I must say, being at home feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulder - I just wish we could sort out these damn breastfeeding issues...but that's a whole other post!

Family time in the hospital

Miss Lilly is doing so well in hospital! Since my last post, she has begun breastfeeding and we have had so many cuddles with her - she's even had her first bath! We have basically been living at the hospital trying to get Lilly to feed for 4 of her 8 feeds in a day so that we can board in at the hospital and come home. I won't lie, it's getting so hard to leave her there at the end of our visit and it's becoming very frustrating that she's so tiny and not able to feed as well as some of the other babies...but we will get there. Today I'll just share a few pics from our last week in the SCN.

 

 

 

 

First cuddles + a hospital update

What a crazy two weeks it has been! I am finally out of the hospital but Lilly is still in the Special Care Nursery (SCU) getting stronger and stronger. We haven't been able to start breastfeeding yet but once she gets the hang of it, we should be able to bring her home - she's doing so incredibly well!

I had my very first cuddles (and usually get to have a cuddle each day when I visit) and we also took our very first family selfie haha - we're all looking very tired but we're battling on! Kurtis and I have been spending lots of time in the nursery getting to know our baby girl. We're hoping to give her her very first bath tomorrow! Kurtis still hasn't had a cuddle yet though but he should get one tomorrow when we give her a bath - so exciting!

 

Our gorgeous nursery

My husband and I had been working on Lilly's nursery from when I was about 8 weeks pregnant. Some may say that starting so early is bad luck but we couldn't contain our excitement. When the beautiful chest of drawers went on sale at IKEA for almost 50% off, we couldn't pass it up so the nursery preparation began! 

By the time I got to about 25 weeks, the nursery was practically finished. We were just waiting on our beautiful wall decal to arrive and of course it arrived while I was in hospital with Lilly so my amazing husband put it all up one night after visiting us. I will never forget the feeling when I walked into the nursery the night I got home from hospital - it's such an amazing and relaxing space that I know Lilly will love growing up in!

The beautiful yellow and grey stuffed naimals in her cot were made by my very crafty Aunty for my baby shower! I designed the 'dream big little one' prints myself and printed them off at officeworks. The gorgeous chevron change pad cover was made by my very clever Mum and the yellow and grey knitted blanket drapped over our chair was made by my clever Mother in Law. Lilly's room is filled with handmade goodies by some of the people that love her the most - isn't she lucky? I can't wait to bring her home and into her nursery!!!