6 Ways Of Using A Swaddle Blanket

 Hello Everyone ! 

Aren't swaddle blankets the best ? 

They help keep your little one snug and comfy, and you can be trendy with the designs.

 So my post today is all about them! 

 

 

Here are my top 6 uses of a swaddle blanket.

1. A Basic Swaddle 

Well, that's what the blanket is for! So one way to use it is to swaddle the baby. Swaddling a newborn creates that snug feeling of still being in their mother's womb. It also helps against baby getting jittery and getting up at night. Elena slept like a breeze when swaddled during those early days. But she quickly (by about 8 weeks) grew aware of it and started pushing her hands out. 

And that's here trying to push her hands out. 

2.  Photo Background

This is one of my most favorite uses of a swaddle. I love photographing Elena whenever I can. You will probably doing this a lot too. I try and take pictures on my phone and my digital SLR.one after the other. So that i have something on my phone to share quickly with my friends and the Hi res images from the DSLR go into my laptop later for editing if needed.
unfortunately during my first few weeks with my daughter, I wasn't able to capture pictures of her on my SLR as she was really sensitive to lighting. She would just wake up if I turn the light on or keep her near the window. So I worked with my phone for any pictures possible. It's not visible here due to some filtering that I did while capturing this picture, but there are pin stripes on the blanket in baby pink.

3. Summer Blanket

This is another use of a swaddle blanket. No matter if it is a angular swaddle or a rectangular one, they always make great summer blankets because they are light and airy. If you are using a muslin one, that's even better! There are so many options available these days its just amazing.

4. Tummy Time Blanket

It is recommended to give your baby tummy time after about 3 months. I wasn't very keen on it but the good effects of tummy time made it totally worth the effort (more on that later).

So using your swaddle blanket for tummy time is great. They are light and if baby drools or brings out a bit of milk, that would totally save ur carpets and floors from getting messy and it will give a soft base for the baby to rest on. 

5. Pram / Car Seat Canopy

During those sunny days you will probably need a little canopy to save baby from direct sunlight on their face or body. You can easily use ur swaddle for covering your pram or car seat to stop the direct sun. It's breathable and if you leave some room to the sides for air to pass through it's even better.

6. Nursing cover

In an emergency, when you have forgotten your actual nursing cover and need to feed, swaddle blankets can be used as make shift nursing covers. I have done it, its not the best of things but it is good enough.

So that's the end of my list ! If you have any more suggestions I would love to hear them. 
For now, that's it from me. 

Namaste 🙏🏻 

Xo

PJ 

Documenting Your pregnancy !

Hello everyone! Hurray to the fact that I finally managed to find some time to blog uninterrupted! 

Baby girl is asleep, so is her daddy... such bliss ! 

Today i have decided to share a little post promoting documentation of your pregnancy ! 

 Having experienced being pregnant , I think its always a great thing to keep documenting you pregnancy. I always thought i will be really creative and will give it all about documenting it but somehow between moving house, my job, crafting commitments and running an Indian kitchen at home, made me so busy that i now feel i have not done a very good job on documenting my 9 month journey.

In retrospect here are some things that I did manage to do and some I missed that you can maybe do.

 1. Taking pictures of your bump aka Bumpfies ! 

As a pregnant lady, you will catch yourself looking in the mirror a lot for any sign of that belly.
I did it a lot, and I totally enjoyed taking pictures of my bump in the mirror or bumpfies (Selfie of a bump) not sure if that's even a word.
As busy as I was, I think I now regret not taking a picture every week!
If i were to do it again, I would take picture every week in the same spot and in the same clothing to show the substantial growth and It would have been a great idea for a time lapse video!
But here are some pictures I did manage to take while i could.
From 21st week onward I started looking really preggers !

 

2. Scrapbook 

Being a crafter, I can totally recommend scrapbooking ! If you have time on hand (apart from sleeping and eating ) do this to satisfy your creative side !

I didn't do conventional pages, but here is an example.

3. Project Life 

Well this is another form of scrapping but this can be used by everyone ! You just have to slide in pictures in pockets and journal on some cards from the project life kit. Beware that it can get a bit expensive to buy a lot of kits. Another alternative is to buy scrapbooking paper pads and cut them to the size that fit your pockets !

4. Digital Scrapbooking 

This is an option if you cant really do arts and crafts ! You can do it in minutes and will be much cost effective. Imagine doing this on your way to work in the train or a taxi ! There are many apps available for this but i picked the project life app , great free packs and you can buy some if you wish.

5. Ultrasound pictures 

It is always a good idea to get as many ultrasound pictures as you can. I bought about 3 every visit. 

I still love to look at them sometimes. And when you are pregnant those pictures make it more real. If you are anything like me, who had a bit of a hard time connecting to my baby in the belly at first. This will make it all real and give you something to imagine when you think about and talk to your baby. So go ahead ! get as many as you can ! I cant wait to show it to my baby girl when she is a bit older.

6. Write a baby Journal 

I didn't do this but it sounds like a great idea to pen down things and feelings throughout your pregnancy, with baby brain kicking in , it would be such a nice thing to read later... and you could go like - "Oh yeah, and there was this day". It should be a fun read for your partner as well. 

7. Maternity Photo shoot

Having a maternity photo shoot done is a big rage at the moment. As much as i love getting a picture taken, I didn't want to hire a professional photographer for the sole reason that its super expensive (At least where I live) But later on , wondered if I would regret not doing this. So i decide to do some DIY photography and managed to get some beautiful done. (More on that later) 

8. Blogging 

This is another way of documenting your experience, if you don't mind it sharing with the world. 

I am having fun doing this now (better late than never! ), although I am not comfortable sharing every single detail of my pregnancy, its always great to keep a record of things and ideas for next time :D isn't it ? And if it helps someone else in the process even better! 

9. Belly Casting 

I have seen a lot of beautiful belly casts and then babies getting photographed later in those. Although I am not comfortable getting one done, it is another great way of actually getting a feeling of how big you were. It is best to be done in the last few weeks of your pregnancy. 

 10. Writing letters to your baby 

This is one idea i recently heard someone say they did and i absolutely loved it ! I am bummed that i didn't think of this myself but imagine handing over letters you wrote to your baby few years down the line. So exciting ! And if you have the patience they would make really sentimental wedding gifts specially if you have a daughter.

11. Writing a Planner 

A really good friend of mine is crazy about planners and she plans every aspect of her life ! I suspect she has a list for all her lists as well !! If you are someone like her go for a baby planner ! Record the minutest detail of your day , it is quite beneficial to keep up with your water targets for the day and remembering to take your pills and stuff like that. The great thing about that there are so many amazing options for getting a planner these days its like a major art thing ! There is always a planner to go with your style. 

No matter what option you choose, definitely go for documenting your pregnancy. Because memories are all we will have. 

Until next time 

xx

PJ

Scan time !

Hello readers ! 

This is like a little virtual diary that I am keeping ... Feels so amazing to be able to write these little things down :) (well type technically) 

I remember I stopped writing a diary when I was in collage just coz my brother had read it once and it irritated the hell out of me. But now it's a different story :) 

It feels like a release more than anything ! 

Yes ! being a new mom can be stressful at times. 

How do I find time to write a post ? Well I don't I am just making use of my time ;) while my lil one sleeps and I don't feel like sleeping ! 

Today I am thinking back at my 20 weeks scan ! The time when I find out about the sex of the baby. 

Oh what an exciting day it was ! We both had taken a day off from work ,got up nice and early ,went to the hospital and while we were waiting to be called in I said to Mr K (hubby) that it's absolutely gonna be a boy! He asked me y is that ?  

I said - "because i want a girl "

He smiled and said "what ever it is it's gonna be perfect". 

I thought to myself "well of course it's gonna be perfect " 

Some of you may find it weird that Iam addressing my baby as "it ", but it's in that moment when you know the gender you start feeling even more attached to your baby and because now you know what it is , it's now a he or a she. 

Once we went inside and the scan lady told me it was a very active baby girl ... I quite literally jumped with joy !!  

It was happening ! ☺️ 

Here are some pictures 

It was the craziest happy feeling I have ever felt in my entire life to see little Elena move and kick so much in my belly ☺️! 

Bless the person who invented ultrasound machines ! Millions of moms all over the world are feeling the joy because of it 😃 

Even if it would have been a boy I would have been equally happy just having a baby girl first was my wish .. I don't know why but it was. 

Anyway back to the present ! Time to attend to a crying baby ! 

Cya until next time !! 

Xx

Pj