1st Christmas!!!

11 months old

We spent Sienna's first Christmas up at my Mum and Dad's and had such a lovely time. Sienna was spoilt rotten and loved opening all her presents and stocking. I think I enjoyed it a bit more than her but still, she was at a lovely age to know that it was exciting.




Obviously being me, I had to dress her up as a little Santa. She didn't mind too much and of course she looked absolutely adorable!!

We came back and had a Christmas day with Dad's parents. Again, lots and lots of pressies and lots of yummy food too!

Sienna tucked into everything, including her first taste of chocolate cake! Yummy!!



This time last year, we had lots of snow over Christmas time when I was pregnant. I remember thinking how lovely it will be next year when we have our little baby around! Unfortunately no snow this year!

We had the first appearance of Sienna's first tooth, woo hoo!!!! She handled it so well, a bit grizzly but not too bad and certainly not as bad as I imagined. Saying that, it's only one tooth so far so we will see what happens with the next......

Visit to Santa!

Sienna's first visit to Santa was hilarious! We went along to Woodcote Nursery with Iyla and Lucas and as we were walking through the grotto she was all fine and loving looking at the aminated reindeers etc. When we met Santa she was still happy until I popped her on his lap to have a photo and she just screamed! The photo we got was hilarious! I think it must have been his big beard and only being able to see his eyes through his glasses. Bless her!

Iyla also cried bless her! It's funny how kiddies this young don't like Santa and then they get older and just love him. Hehe, so funny!

I took Sienna up to the City as Dan had a work Christmas Carol service for children. Dan's colleague Emma was there with her hubby and kiddies so Sienna loved looking around and loved the singing too. We went for a pizza afterwards and then saw another Santa at Dan's office! What a lucky little girl!!

Christmas is coming!!! Woo hoo, how exciting!

Growing up so quickly!

10 months old

It's been just over 10 months since Sienna joined our little family! I can't believe how quickly it has gone and also how big she has got too. She is turning into a proper little girl now with her personality coming out!

With her crawling, she is everywhere.... in bags, in cupboard (pulling all the stuff out of kitchen cabinets!), literally anywhere she can get, she will go!! Her favourite game at the moment is 'I'm coming to get you....', then you chase her whilst crawling! Sh absolutely loves it!!

Sienna's favourite TV show.... Yep, 'In The Night Garden'. I bought her the musical Igglepiggle that Iyla had in Spain. She loves it and loves chewing it's nose off.... weird!

She is able to hold her own bottle now. We still have to lean her back as she hasn't worked out how to put her head back but she is getting there. It makes my life so much easier, as I can pop her pushchair down flat whilst we are out and she can guzzle her milk back. Awesome and such a clever little girl!

Went into work this week for the last time before Christmas and my boss Steven told Kimberley and I that one of us had to be made redundant.... Kimberley took it (I was gutted to begin with as I wouldn't have minded leaving with a large cheque) but in hindsight, I get a promotion with it and at least I have a job. Especially if we want to try and buy the house! Oh, the house.... we are currently having estate agents round to value and so far I think it may be out of our budget but we will see.... I think the landlord may want circa £435k which is more than we wanted to pay but fingers crossed he has a bit of flexibility as I would love to stay here as we have built a lovely home!

Halloween, Bonfire Night and first crawl!

9 1/2 months old

Of course, you guessed it..... I had to dress Sienna up on her first Halloween. She looked sooo cute!!!



I was up at the folks so Dad, mum and I did some pumpkin carving. Check how cool they look! We used a stencil kit from Waitrose, it was awesome and so easy to do. Of course Sienna is a little too young to understand what was going on but we still showed her some sparklers, flying lanterns and the pumpkins just to get her involved. She did love the sparklers!




It was the Halloween weekend when bubs started to crawl (or drag herself along really) but literally within a week she became so good at it. She is now crawling all over the place and we so need to baby proof the house big time!

Sienna still hasn't given us a good big baby belly laugh but she does giggle a fair bit. Usually when we are being big kids ourselves! It;s very cute and just gives you this gorgeous warm fuzzy feeling inside when she does.

She is eating so well, it's crazy. I haven't had her weighed in such a long time but I think when I do she must have put on so much weight. She eats so much and is now down to 2 milk feeds a day. Its so lovely to see her scoff her face with 'proper grub' and watch her enjoy it. Also lovely when we are out and she can sit at the table eating with us. I think she loves it too! We have to have a wipeable splash mat under her though to catch the dropped bits!

Nana and Grandad 60th weekend away

Isle of Wight

The Tucker/Hawkes/Platts headed to Isle of Wight to celebrate Frances and John's 60th birthday and little Sienna of course came with us. I think everyone was very excited about spending a weekend with the little one.

We had such a fab time although poor Sienna was not on her best form. We think it was teething (although we still don't have any teeth when I write this in November!) but she just didn't sleep at all. A nightmare for Dan and I as she was sharing our room. The Saturday night was the worst... we had a restaurant booked for all of us and we were hoping that we could get Sienna off to sleep and we could enjoy the meal... we spoke too soon!!! Poor thing just wouldn't stop crying and we had to take it in turns to go outside with her to try and get her down. In the end Auntie Fran came to the rescue and managed to get her to sleep in her arms in the living room of the restaurant owners. We did end up leaving the restaurant at about 9.30pm to get her back to bed. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night!

Finally eating and holiday in Spain

September 2011

We had the best time in Spain for 2 weeks with Nick, Zoe, Pete, Helen and the kids. The villa was incredible and the kids were as good as gold.

Sienna was fab on the plane. Had a little sleep but didn't cry at all so that was fab. I am sure it will change when she gets older though....


The biggest milestone for Sienna was her eating!!!! Literally, Sienna had not let anything past her lips until we stepped foot in Spain and she ate so much! I was trying BLW and spoon feeding (usually with porridge, yogurt etc) and she was loving it.

She moved from having 6 milk feeds a day to only 3. In only a couple of days. It was amazing.

Here's a pic of Iyla and Sienna munching on pineapple. So cute!

Iyla and Sienna were so cute playing together. They were sooo noisy though...both screaming, and not too good for us at 7am in the monring either! Poor little Alex was a bit young to get involved but I think he loved watching them.

8 month check

I took Sienna for her 8 month check with the health visitor. It's a standard check, basically just weighing them, checking their length and testing their gross and minor motor skills like standing on legs or being able to pick something up with their pincer fingers. All was good with everything.

Weight - 16 lb 1oz which is 25th percentile
Length- 70cm which is 75th percentile
Head circumference - 42cm which is 50th percentile

All was good! I also asked about Siennas weaning (or lack off) and she recommended I just stick with what I am doing and it will soon fall into place! Easier said than done but I'll keep going and hopefully she will start eating more soon.

We are off on holiday at the weekend (2 weeks I'm Spain) and I can't wait, it's gonna be so nice to get some sunshine!

Mummy and Daddy weekend away...

7 months old

I bought Dan a trip to Bruges for his birthday as I thought it would be great from us to get away on our own for a weekend. My Mum and Dad came down to have Sienna. Dan and I had a fabulous time, although we missed Sienna lots, it was so nice to just relax and not worry about being woken up early etc. We could just chill and do what we fancy and lie in which was a bonus! I think we will try and get away once a year so we will see.....

Sienna had a fab time with Grandma and Grandad and got spoilt rotten no doubt! Mum and Dad loved it too. Because they live quite far away, it's nice for them to send a few days with Sienna rather than in passing. She was a perfect little girl for them too so they were happy!

Sienna and I did catch an awful tummy bug before we went though. I was up at mum and dad's and was out with the old Claverdon lot and over the weekend we must have picked something up. I felt like death and I am so glad mum was around to help out with the little one! When Sienna was sick I didn't know what to do... I don't think I have ever seen so much sick come out of a little being, bless her! She doesn't seem to be bothered with being ill though. She is still a happy little bunny and I just finds she sleeps a lot!

Mum and Dad have got Sienna in a couple of weeks too for the weekend again as Dad has his first proper band gig/fancy dress night! It will be weired leaving her up at my parents and coming back without her but I am sure she will have a fab time!

Weaning is still moving forward slowly..... she has started taking a bit more food but still not amazing at accepting it! Patience I guess.....

Also, Sienna has got a mark they keeps popping up on the side of her face by her eye. It in an exact circle and a bit odd. Frances thought it may be ring worm which is a fungal infection. I took her to the doctor and they weren't too sure either so gave me some cream so hopefully that will clear it up. It's odd that it keeps disappearing and then coming back in the same spot and is an exact circle too! Odd!!

We have finally booked bubs into a nursery. We chose Amy Johnson which is next to St Elpheges's school. She starts one day a week from 6 October 2011 and I will be heading back into work for that day. I have almost run out of money now so desperate to get some wages coming back in. I will be sad to leave her but I think she will love it with all the other babies!

She's growing up fast.....

Oh..... she can also sit up unaided for a good length of time now too!! 7 months!!! It has made my life so much easier as I can sit her up and she'll play with her toys. She can roll off the bed now so no more of leaving her on there now....

Sat up for the first time!!!

6 months old!!

Woo hoo, so proud of my little one.... she sat up for the first time and exactly on her 6th month birthday!!! What a little star!


What else have we been up too.... Zoe lent us this awesome rubber ring thing which Sienna can sit in and play with her toys. It's brilliant and every little tot should have one. I pop her in it and she is happy for hours and so much better than having her 'flying' lying on her front which she gets so frustrated about!

The solid feeding is going ok but she still isn't too interested. I have started pureeing some foods now (sweet potato, peas, brocolli, swede etc) and I freeze it ready for each meal.

She seems hate the taste of it and never opens her mouth for the food. It's so frustrating especially as I have spent time making it all up but I guess she will start eating in her own time. I keep giving her finger foods too which we chucks about about sometimes a bit of food gets into her mouth. She's not quite swallowing it yet but more it goes into her mouth and she opens her mouth and sticks her tongue out in shock.... funny little thing! I am getting more confident with the 'baby-led' stage but will take it as it comes and I think I'll just end up doing a mixture of both puree and BLW.

I can't believe how much she is growing (although it's been quite a while since I got her weighed) but I can tell by her clothes. She already has stacks and stacks of clothes packed away in boxes in the loft. I must say she has a pretty impressive wardrobe already!


It was Aunty Vic's birthday a week ago and Sienna and I sent her this happy b'day pic (brought a tear to Aunty Vic's eyes!). I did take me quite a while to actually get a decent pic before Sienna chewed the paper....

Baptism!

When Sienna was just over 6 months old we had her Baptism. We had it at St Elpheges's church in Wallington and the party afterwards at Epsom Downs Golf Club, it was a fabulous day!

Frances did a amazing job organising and sorting everything out. We can't thank her enough. Check out the amazing cakes she whipped up... amazing!!!
She also arranged lovely like pink bags of sugared almonds with a note of Sienna's name and Baptism date for guests to take home as a keepsake. So lovely!




Sienna wore the Christening gown that Dan, Fran and Laurence all wore and was made from France's wedding dress. She looked so adorable and the image of Fran when she was Baptised. It was amazing how similar they looked!

Sienna was a very well behaved little girl and we didn't hear a peep out of her all day. She just loved every minute of the attention, and not even a cry when the water was poured onto her head!

We had 3 godparents, Victoria Cookson, Laurence Hawkes and Tony Crinion. I think they will all do a fab job and be great role models for our little princess!

Mum and Dad took her home from the party about 9ish as she just wasn't going to sleep. We had her travel cot but I think she has got to the age now where we can't take her out and she will just fall asleep. She is so noisy and just wants to look about all the time. It hasn't stopped us from taking her out for dinners though, we just keep her up and she't happy. She soon falls asleep in the pushchair or car home and usually sleeps a lot the next day, so not such a bad thing!

She got so many lovely presents from everyone and lots of money too (I think about £300 which is amazing!). It's all gone into her bank account so she can enjoy that when she gets older. Nana and Grandad Hawkes bought her a lovely child's garden bench (we saw them at the County Show and loved them). It's in the garden ready for when she is older and can sit on it. Mum and Dad bought her a gorgeous white toy box which we are waiting to be delivered. It will be perfect for all her toys!

Baby-Led Weaning

24 weeks (circa 6 months)

I put circa 6 months as I get very confused on whether to count in weeks or months now! Anyway, she is pretty much at the 6 month mark.


So there are so many mummy's I know that have started the 'weaning' stage. It's the talk about town at the moment, hehe. I am however gonna try Baby-Led Weaning which my friend Zoe suggested, she did it with her baby Iyla and it was amazing to see the things Iyla was eating when other babies were fighting with puree and the finger food stage. I've read the book but it is very scary laying out a load of food for Sienna and letting her pick at it. I haven't had a choking incident and hope I never do but I'm still quite nervous with it.

I think she is definitely ready for food as she watches and takes food from my plate but I'm just a bit nervous about her not having it as a puree. The book on the other hand explains that it is more natural for babies to feed themselves rather than shoving puree down their throats. It has only been 4 days and she has got a lot better so only time will tell.


I did puree up some spag bol sauce and spoon fed it to her, only for her to spit it back out and pick up a load of broccoli. I think she was telling me that she likes the baby-led way.....

I also gave Sienna a beaker for the first time. I couldn't believe my eyes.... she picked it straight up by both handles, took a sip, realised it was water (hated it) and then dropped it on the floor!! It was so funny and I just had to film it. I was very impressed with my little bubs though!

Poor little bubs has suffered from a couple of colds, although I think I have been feeling sorry for her more than she has felt ill. Her little nose has been running and sounds worse at night-time so I put a vapouriser in her room which smells so nice (I think I'll have to get one for myself!). She has been great though and hasn't been too grumpy. I guess it's good for her to build up her immune system.

I went to buy Sienna some sunnies (I can't even believe they make them for tiny babies) but Daddy said they looked ridiculous so I wasn't allowed ;0( but she looked so cute!

She is still rolling over back to front and I spend my day flipping her back over as she always starts crying as she can't do anything from there. I hope she soon learns to flip herself back. She looks hilarious though as her arms fling back and she looks like she's flying, so funny!

I went into work to discuss how flexible they will be on my return. Surprisingly, my boss was very flexible and said we can discuss it towards the end of the year about how it will work. I just need to decide whether I actually want to go back there now.... I think I will look for another job in October time and see if anything else comes up and then make my decision.

I've started looking around nurseries now and it's so hard but hopefully a good one will come along soon....

Staying over at Nana's

20 weeks old


Sienna has stayed over at Nana's a couple of nights now and it is a lovely break for Dan and I. Not that Sienna wakes in the night anyway but it's just nice to relax and not worry about waking up too early in the morning. The silly thing is though, when she stays with Nana, rather than Dan and I get a nice lie in we end up going out, getting drunk and waking up with the worst hangovers ever! This time was even worse because the next day happened
to be Father's Day and I was no way in a fit state to give Dan the nice father days I had planned..... whoops!! Luckily he forgave me but I should make it up next year.





I took Sienna strawberry picking and she loved having a little taste too!


Daddy taking Sienna out in the baby carrier. She loved looking about and got a lot of attention, especially from little old ladies!

Holiday in Cyrpus

18 weeks old (4.5 months)


Mum, Sienna and I headed off to Cyprus on our first holiday! I was a little worried about how Sienna would be on the plane so I dosed her up on Calpol and hoped for the best.... the flight was easy peasy, she pretty much slept the entire way. The airport on the other hand was a nightmare.... I didn't realise how much longer things take when you have a baby and buggy in tow. We almost missed our flight but luckily we just caught it.

Once we arrived Sienna was great in the heat. It was about 30 degrees, so not too bad but she took to it fine. She slept a lot more during the day but was happy to do that on a blanket under an umbrella by the pool whilst mum and I topped up our tans!!

We took her swimming every day. To begin with she cried a bit but on the second day she was loving it and happy to have her little dip. I think it cooled her down too. I did also dunk her too (ahhh), apparently babies are born with a reflex that blocks their airways when put under water.

I was really nervous beforehand but I couldn't believe how little fuss she made. I only held her under for a second but she came up, scrunched her eyes and then spat the water out! Not a cry in sight. AMAZING!!


She was a great little sleeper whilst we were away. Her bed time was a little later than at home as we took her out for dinner in her pushchair each night. She was happy just looking around rather than sleeping, so she was nodding off about 10pm. She didn't wake up in the night though and nor did she sleep in later in the morning, gutted! I was a bit worried that she wouldn't fall back into her usual routine once we got back but the first night home she was back to normal!

First Roll Over!

17 weeks old

Sienna has now finally rolled over back to front!! She has been practising for days now and has finally mastered it. She isn't the best at getting from her front to back but I am sure it will come.

I went up to mum and dad's for the weekend and it was Felix's 4th birthday party so we went along to that. I can't believe Felix is already 4!!!

He had a bouncy castle which we had a go on once all the kids had gone home. Felix and Josh were jumping about and Sienna was loving it! Check out that massive smile.













She is growing up so quickly and is doing really well at holding onto things. She has started having her favourite toys and teddies and grabs out for them.


I bought a McClaren pushchair on ebay and got a really good deal. I need one for our holiday to Cyprus with mum as it fits better on the plane and a lot more compact that my day to day one. I had to take a photo of Sienna in it as she looks so tiny in her 'grown up pushchair!'

This photo with Grandpa Hawkes doesn't really have a story but the photo really cracks me up! John playing Grandpa time.... hehehe!

Over the 3 month mark...

14 weeks old

So Sienna had her first Easter. A little too young to be scrabbling for easter egss but we at least

got her involved in our easter lunch. I can't wait for a few years and she will be so excited, as will I be no doubt...

We have started to think about getting her Baptised too. Dan and I have to start going to church each week so we can show that we are practising. It's quite nice really and very important for her to be baptised and also, lets be honest, it's a good excuse for a party!

No little bubs is getting a bit older, we bring her into our bed (only if she wakes us too early and we need a little bit more sleep!) but it is so cute having her in with us. When she is much older it will be so cute when she comes in for Saturday morning snuggles, adorable!

As with last year, we have had brilliant weather over April. It has actually been 'Summer' feeling weather and a good opportunity to get the summer clothes out. Although.... I still can't actually fit into myh summer clothes yet, god I need to shift some pounds (10 pounds to be exact!). I know it's not a great deal of weight but for someone who has never been on a diet in her life... it's a lot! I have a holiday with my mum in 4 weeks so it has to go by then... time to research the diets!

I have also started some exercise, it's called Legs, Bums and Mums... it's an exercise class in the local park and you take your baby and buggy along. After the first session I couldn't walk for 2 days, it was a nightmare. Now Easter has passed, I have signed up to 2 sessions a week, so I am hoping that will help me tone up!!!

Anyway... as the weather has become nice, it has been amazing being able to sit in the garden with Sienna and play. She has suddenly over the last 3 weeks changed from a baby not being able to do a thing to a little thing that likes to be played with and coos and smiles. It's so cute and really does make it all worth while! Poor Dan comes home from a hard day in the office to me and bubs in the garden sunning ourselves... hehe.

Sienna has also been taking tips on how mummy makes Pimms, hehe! This photos makes her look so interested... it actual fact I think her head just flopped to the side just as I took the photo but hey ho, she looks cute!

She has managed to roll from her front to her back and is now trying very hard to do back to front. I don't think it will be too long before she can.

Dan thinks she has begun teething, which I think is too soon but apparently some babies start as early as 3 months. She doesn't appear to be getting teeth but her cheeks keep going read, she is dribbling loads and she loves biting her hands... these are signs of teething but we will see.

8 weeks old

8 weeks old

We seem to have a very very good baby (so far...). She is sleeping through the night most nights - she has her bath at 6.30pm, then a bottle and the bed at 7ish and usually asleep by 8pm at the latest, she then sleeps all the way through until 6am. Amazing, our little alarm clock!

We have taken the moses basket out of the cot and this was the first night she slept through. She stretches her arms out so I think she just relaxes a bit more and doesn't hit her little arms on the side. She looks so adorable when fast asleep.

This is Sienna's first trip in a supermarket trolley. I usually just take the pushchair around or stick the car seat in a small trolley but no have worked out that she loves being in the actual trolley. I think she just loves seeing everything. She even had her first tantrum when I took her out of it too!

Dan and I think it's very important to try and continue our lives the best we can with little Sienna in it. We've taken her out to restaurants with friends and she just falls asleep in her car seat in the corner, not a peep out of her! Such a good little baby, it must have been all the racket she had around her when she was in my tummy. She must be use to the noise, and love her sleep of course!

There must be a downside to her seeping well at night and there is.... she very rarely sleeps during the day and LOVES being carried around constantly!! She screams when left to play on her own or even when I pop her down just so I can go to the loo! I am tried to wean her off it as there is no way I want her to become a clingy baby. I'm hoping it's just her age and she will soon learn to amuse herself.

One thing our little bubs just suffer with and that is a lot of boggies, especially in the morning. I put few drops on Olbus Oil on a flannel in her cot to try and help her sleep and this just keep it a little clear but doesn't get rid of them completely. We have to put a Sinus spray in her nose each morning, then suck the boggie out with a tube type thing. Dan telling me a friend at work mum sucks it out with her mouth.... rank!!! It does help and she feels so much better afterwards but she absolutely hates it at the time! Poor thing.

Mum and I took her for her first jabs at 8 weeks. Poor thing didn't know what was coming and then had two injections, one in each thigh. It was the first time I heard her scream with pain and it was so upsetting. She recovered after a couple of minutes but I am definitely not looking forward to the injections when she gets older.

Sleeping in her own room!

6 weeks old (the first milestone passed)

Dan and I made the decision to move Sienna into her own room at about 5 weeks. The nursery is right next to our room so not too far away and I think we will all sleep a bit better this way. Sienna is a noisy little thing in her sleep bless her, so being in her own room will allow her to make as much sleep noises as she wants without her waking mum and dad! We are hoping that with her in her own room she may sleep for longer at night as she will only wake us when she is really hungry rather than just stirring and waking us up then!

So far so good, she is sleeping like a little dream! She is also out of her swaddle and in a proper 'grown up' sleeping bag, which is very cute! The sleeping bags are awesome and so much easier to use, she can't kick her covers off either, which is fab!

We can't complain as she is a good little sleeper, she has her bath about 7pm ish, we have started waking her at around 10pm for a feed and then she tends to sleep through until about 4am ish! Our aim with the 10pm feed is for her to hopefully try to go until 7am. It will take time but hopefully will try and get her into the full night sleep routine soon!

Dan has had his second week of paternity leave which was lovely as he only gets to spend time with Sienna over the weekend. He gets home too late in the week so just sees her for her bath and last feed. I think it was a bit of an eye opener for him looking after Sienna for such a long time. I think he secretly always wondered why I never have time to do anything (have his dinner ready on the table when he got home) and when I say I was just busy looking after the little one he thought I was just sat cuddling her all day! hehe! She is such a good little thing but I don' t think anything can prepare you for having a baby.... all your free time of sitting watching TV or surfing the internet goes out the window as the little one pretty much needs 24/7 entertaining!!

She has started to enjoy playing on her little playmat which is fab. She only lasts about 10mins before getting bored and crying but it's nice to see that she has begun to play with things. We put a mobile above her changing table and she loves looking at it whilst we are changing her (she still screams her head off when we change her though.....).

I have started to notice over the last week that she is not a fan of entertaining herself..... she wants to be picked up and held pretty much at all times! It's lovely as cuddles are always good but when I am home alone and have things to do carrying her around all day is a nightmare! I am going to do a bit of reading up on how to wean her out of this 'needy' way. It might to too early at 6 weeks but I will see what I can find...

I went to stay up at my parents for a few days which was so lovely! It was the first time Dad has seen Sienna since she was born. I saw Nick, Abi and the boys which was cool too. Josh and Felix adore their little cousin and Felix was very cute with her, trying to be so gentle! I think Josh will be a fantastic older cousin looking out for her too!

I start my baby massage in a few weeks, which I can't wait for. At the moment she is not a fan of after bath time and tends to just cry when she is having her moisturiser done so I am hoping she starts to enjoy it once we do the little lessons.

Overall, the first 6 weeks has past and she has been great. We feel like she has been with us for a much longer time than that but we have finally got our head round her routine and having the little princess in our lives!

1st month with our beautiful little lady

We had a friend come round to take some photos of us and Sienna (we needed someone with a fancy camera rather than our rubbish iphone photos!).

Sienna was not camera shy at all, staying awake through out the whole thing. I think we got some adorable ones! Alex (the photographer) is going to come back and take some more when she is slightly older which will be fab. She will change so much in such a short space of time!

We have started giving Sienna a bath each evening when Dan gets home from work. She hated her first two baths, screaming the place down but now she absolutely loves it. It is a nice time for Sienna and Dan to have some Daddy time too. He always baths her and it's so cute!

Although it is probably wind at this stage but I swear she has started to smile a little (a very little). Especially when she is in the bath, her little eyes light up and lips create a tiny little smile. I am sure she will be smiling properly in no time!

My mum came down to stay for a week which was fab! She was so helpful with Sienna and loved every minute of it. It was so nice to spend time with mum properly and also fantastic to be able to wake up and have mum there to take Sienna for her morning feed after I was up in the night doing her night one.

That has been a little tough, with Dan being back at work and all I find I am doing is changing nappies and feeding. Sienna tends to take 1hr or so to feed, wind etc so by the time she has fed, you changed her nappy etc. She has a little nap and then it's all go again, crazy! I shouldn't complain mind because she is still feeding every 3 hours whereas many breast-feeding mums have to feed every 2 hrs!

This week Nana Hawkes has been on half term so Sienna has been spending some time with her which is fab. It gives me some time to myself, sort the house out (which I can't believe I don't get time to do, a baby takes up so much time even when they sleep so much) but also is lovely for Frances to spend some time with her too. It is so great to have grandparents around and especially so close for babysitting duties!

Little Sienna does have a tendency to fall asleep and stay asleep, sometimes going 5-6 hours without a feed. I wake her up sometimes but as I have always been told, 'NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY!' and I kind of figure, she will wake up when she is hungry. The system works for us so I'm sticking with it! She only falls asleep after 1oz if I wake her anyway!

Her sleeping is still very good, although mainly having her long sleep from 8pm - 3am so I am trying to wake her for a small feed at 11ish so she takes that long sleep after and hopefully learns to sleep through the night at some point.

It is such a minefield of what to do with babies, how to get them into a routine, which book/guide to read. It's crazy but I guess it will be like this with the first baby, once we have another one we will be more experienced.

She is becoming more and more alert each day. Today she lay on her playmat for 10 mins without crying, then 10 mins in her bouncy chair without crying! It's nice that she is becoming more awake, it will be so adorable when she starts responding more, I guess that will happen after month 2!

So, little Sienna has been with us for a month now, it feels a lot longer than that, I guess because I am with her 24/7 but she is adorable and such a good little girl, except for some moments but as I said before, we can't complain because so far she has been as good as gold (I hope I haven't spoken too soon!).

Dummy time - yep, we gave in and the dummy came out after 3.5 weeks! We felt like naughty school kids but one evening when she wasn't settling and we had done everything, the dummy popped in and she was quiet and out like a light! I knew she would love a dummy as she is a very sucky baby. A lot of the time when I feed her she is sucking for ages and I look at the bottle and she hasn't take any!!!! I think she just likes the calming feeling. The following day after the dummy was introduced, I felt so ill and had to have a bath to warm up. Dan wasn't back from work and the previous day we had discussed that we would only use the dummy in extreme circumstances, well my bath was one of those.... the moment I slipped in the bath, Sienna starts screaming so what did I do.... I slipped the dummy right in her little mouth = a lovely relaxing bath for mummy! My aim is for us to say goodbye to the dummy before the end of the year, if not sooner, so watch this space....