#alya ryan

We’re Six Months Old!

Love,

JJ’s First Day of Daycare!

Today JJ went to Daycare for the first time. Milena has been going to daycare since her first birthday and she loves it. She has so many little friends at daycare. There were two reasons that JJ has started daycare; one, he needs social interaction with other babies and two, I’m going back to work part time. 

Before I fell pregnant with Milena I worked as trainee estate agent. I went on maternity leave and intended to return when Milena was between 6 and 12 months but I fell pregnant very quickly after giving birth so I never returned. JJ is seven months old now and I feel ready to go back to work. I’m only going to be working two and half days a week so I’ll still be spending plenty of quality time with my babies.

This morning was pretty eventful, what with getting three babies ready for daycare. Sean had already left for work so it was just me and it was a real show! Milena decided to strut around naked after deciding she didn’t want her clothes on. When I say naked she did have a pacifier in her mouth, and for some reason one of JJ’s socks on her left hand. I don’t even know where she got it from. Evelyn was grouchy and pooped, and when I say pooped I mean she poured chicken curry sauce out of her bottom as I was changing her. And JJ, well he was busy with his teethers and wouldn’t put them down or give them to me. Oh and he kept throwing banana round the kitchen table. For a seven month old he is a pretty good thrower. I’m not sure how many banana slices he actually ate.

After what felt like forever they were finally ready. Milena just kept wandering around, I’m not even sure she knew what was wandering around for. She did keep picking up random toys and asking is she could take them to daycare with her. She must’ve asked me if she could bring nearly twenty different toys! I eventually allowed her to take her plushy elephant. Evelyn meanwhile, the moment I put her in her car seat she fell asleep. JJ had finally put down his teethers and let me get his coat on. He was also very smiley for the camera.

We managed to get out of the house at about 8:30, I had hoped to leave at 8:00 but with three little ones half an hour isn’t too bad.

When arrived at daycare Milena was happy to be parted with me, JJ wasn’t quite so sure and Evelyn was still sound asleep in her carrier. I gave JJ a cuddle and kiss on the forehead before leaving him. I hated leaving him. I hated leaving Milena the first time, she screamed so hard when I left. It made me feel awful. Thankfully JJ didn’t scream like his big sister and I was able to slip away.

I returned to daycare centre at five o’clock to pick them up. Milena ran into my arms and gave me a cuddle. JJ was playing on the mat with some other babies, they were enjoying themselves. Evelyn was with one of the daycare nurses, having her diaper changed. I scooped JJ up in my arms and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He recognised me and nuzzled into me, I love that.

The daycare nurse informed me he’d had a one hour nap during the morning and one and half hour nap during the afternoon. He’d eaten most of the sweet potato puree i sent with him and a little yogurt. Evelyn had had two, two hour naps, plus 16oz of formula in total. Milena had had two, one hour naps plus eaten two little triangle sandwiches, three cucumber slices and a yogurt.

Back home I had three very alert babies. Milena was playing with her plushy elephant, Evelyn was in her Mamaroo and JJ was practising his crawling.

My semi-pro crawler

So that was JJ and Evelyn’s first day of daycare. I think they liked it.

Thank you!

Love,

Six Month Old Update!

How are these two little ones six months old already? I feel like they were only born yesterday. Time goes by way too fast, but without further ado, their six month old update.

Sleeping - Getting better, we’re getting there. Amelia is definitely the better sleeper out of the two, especially at night. During the day they still nap pretty much when they want but we’re working towards a three-naps-a-day schedule. Their bedtime is between 7-7:30pm then they wake for a dream feed at about 11pm. After their dream feed Amelia will pretty often sleep through until about 6-7am, very occasionally she’ll wake for another feed. Alessia often still wakes around 3am for another feed. They’re cots are still our bedroom, but I feel we’ll be moving them soon.

Feeding - They’re still breastfed and we’ve just started weaning them! Of course at the moment they’re still most of their nutrients from breastmilk as they’re only having small amounts of pureed and soft cooked vegetables and fruits. They both seem to really be enjoying trying all these new tastes. Amelia prefers to be spoon fed whereas Alessia prefers finger foods and feeding herself

Growth and Development - Alessia weighs 16lbs and Amelia weighs 15lb 12oz. They currently wear 3-6 month clothing but we’ve got plenty of 6-9 month pieces all ready to go. They still wear size 3 nappies, but will probably moving up to the next size soon.

They’re both rolling back to front and front to back now and they spend half their waking hours doing just that! They’re both getting to be quite steady sitters now and their heads don’t bobble about too much anymore. They’re getting to be pros at passing an object from one hand to other now too. Alessia has learnt if holds her arms up in the air somebody will pick her up and cuddle so she spends a lot of time with her hands up in the air. Amelia has been watching her and has started to copy.

At 6 Months We Can:

Roll front to back and back to front

Make vowel sounds at different pitches and of one or two syllables

Recognise mummy and daddy’s voices

Pass objects between our hands

Search for toys we’ve dropped

We Like:

Playing peekaboo

Rolling around the floor

Being cuddled, especially by mummy

The boob

We Don’t Like

Not getting the boob when we demand it

Being still

And that’s Amelia and Alessia at six months old!

Love,

Talking About It

OK, So I’ve never talked about this before on here but now I’ve decided I want to share this with you all. It’s nothing massively personal or private, just something that affects our life in a way. As you can see the picture that is going with this post is of me and Harley. So, yes this is all about Harley, my little bundle of energy. When Harley was 8 months old he was diagnosed with epilepsy and so of course we’ve had to adjust our lives a little to cope with living with his condition. Let me talk you through it all.

Harley was born in November and so by the time it was warm again, he was about six months old. The June of 2017 was extremely hot and one night I was woken by the sound of banging on the side of Harley’s cot. Of course I leapt out of bed and went to check on him. To my horror his little body was thrashing about in his cot. Having done an infant first aid course I knew not to touch him but I was panicking. I woke Sean and he rang my parents to come and watch the kids so we could take Harley to the hospital. Once his little body stopped thrashing about I lifted him out of this cot and checked his airways. Thankfully they were clear. I let him latch on for a feed while Sean got dressed. My parents arrived quite quickly and we rushed off to the hospital.

At the hospital we were quickly seen. The paediatric doctor said Harley had a fever and the seizure was a result of a spike in his temperature and was what is known as a febrile seizure, something that occurs in infants between six months and 3 years. They gave him fluids and kept him overnight and discharged him the following afternoon.

Several days he had a second seizure, this time we called 111, the NHS non emergency helpline and we were advised to keep him hydrated and keep an eye on him. After a few days he was back to his normal self, rolling about the floor, trying to crawl, and his temperature was back to normal. Several weeks later he was playing with his toys when his body when stiff and he started to convulse. Once again we called 111 were advised to keep an eye on him. But about a week later he had another seizure, which lasted almost 10 minutes. Concerned I called Sean at work and agreed to meet him at the hospital. On the way I dropped the older children off with my mum.

At the hospital we were seen by a paediatrician who decided to refer us to a specialist. We were asked a lot of questions and after a long discussion she decided to book him in for a blood test, MRI and electroencephalogram (EEG). Several days later he underwent the test and week later we were back to discuss the results. She explained that the results showed Harley did indeed have epilepsy, and diagnosed him with Generalised seizures. She explained that tests showed no cause, so we don’t know what the cause for his epilepsy is. Initially she didn’t prescribe any medications gave us lots of information and leaflets. Over the next few months he had several more seizures. After another checkup and discussion of his behaviours she prescribed a medicine regime to keep his epilepsy under control.

We had to try several different medications before we finally find the correct one. He had an allergic reaction to the first two and the third didn’t work at all. He is currently on clonazepam, which is currently effective. Since being on medication he has had several more seizures, but the specialist said as they happen so rarely the medication is working. As he’s gotten older we’ve learned his triggers. Bright flashing lights and loud noises, like loud bangs are included in those triggers. Not all of his seizures have been tonic-clonic, his last two seizures were absence seizures, during which a sufferer appears disconnected from those around them and stares in space.

Despite having epilepsy, he is developing as well as could be expected for his age and his very bright. He speaks so well, and he never stops talking! He loves learning new things and exploring. Of course there are things that we have to be careful when doing, like being around water, climbing and riding a bike. But we’re positive we won’t let his epilepsy hold him back at all.

Love,

Just Some Snaps of Our Weekend!

Love,

Alessia and Amelia - Two Months!

Jesus, how are these two little ones 2 months old already? I don’t know where the times goes. I didn’t get around to doing a one month update because things were so hectic at the times so this is their first official update.

Feeding

The girls are exclusively breastfed and have been since they were born. They’re both good feeders. They still feed pretty much on demand, which can be up to 8 times 8 day! Most times they feed together but sometimes they feed separately. I have a twin nursing pillow, so I prop them up on it so I can feed them at the same time. They always let me know where they’re hungry by making little sucking motions, whimpering or sometimes they’ll put their hands to their mouths. They always feed after naps and before bed. They tend to have a dream feed around 11pm and sometimes they have nighttime feeds but that varies from night to night.

Sleeping

They usually sleep up to 16 hours a day including naps and nighttime sleep. Alessia and Amelia are very different sleepers. At night Amelia can sleep five to six hour stretches whereas Alessia usually only does 2-3 hour stretches before waking up and wanting a feed or a nappy change. So long stretches of sleep for mum and dad are out of the question but hey that’s what having little babies is all about. I do express so Sean does some of the night feeds, which he loves doing.

During the day they have three naps which are usually about 1.5-2.2 hours, depending on the time of the day. They nap in their cribs in our bedroom for their naps as well as during the night. Sometimes they nap rock’n’plays but we try to do their naps in their cribs in our bedroom as much as possible. During the night we swaddle the girls but during the day we tend not to swaddle as it seems to help define bedtime and daytime.

Growth and Development

The girls are growing really, gaining weight at a perfect rate. Amelia weighs in at 10lbs 8oz and is roughly 20 inches long and Alessia weighs in at 11lbs 1oz and is roughly 21 inches long. They’re now in size two diapers, they moved up just this week! They’re still in 0-3 month clothing but I’ve started to buy a few pieces in 3-6 months size!

They love tummy time and are starting to, well trying to, lift their shoulders off the ground. They both love kicking their legs about and are often waving their little hands about all over the place. They make some sounds and love it when we say those sounds back to them.

Amelia has started to lose her grasping reflex but Alessia’s is still in fully swing and she loves grabbing a hold of my hair. They’re both getting really good a following objects, especially bright coloured objects, with their eyes. They turn their heads towards objects and towards us, and I think they’re definitely starting to recognise me and Sean as their primary caregivers.

And today Amelia smiled properly for the very first time but unfortunately I didn’t get the moment on camera. But I’m sure there will be many more chances to catch that beautiful smile!

Love,

Its The Summer Holidays!

So the kids have officially finished school until September which means its time to have some fun! We have a few plans to keep them entertained over the next six weeks. Of course Sean does have to work but he has a fair bit of holiday owed to him.

We are planning on going camping, probably Cornwall, Devon or Somerset as we love the Southwest coast. We have camped down there before and the kids. We had thought about going abroad but in the end we plumped for a staycation! We have two six month old babies and flying with babies can be a struggle! We travelled with Milena, JJ and Evelyn when they were all babies and the flying was just a nightmare to be honest. Firstly there’s the struggling round the airport with all the bags and the prams. Just getting to the checkout desk with so much stuff is a pain. Then there’s the actual flight, and keeping little ones entertained in such a small space is not fun, cause at that age they just want to move around! So after considering all this we decided to go camping in the Southwest. At least when you’re driving you can pull over and let the kids run around when they need to and you can take more stuff (not always a bonus though).

We’re also planning on taking the older four kids to Legoland and staying in the hotel at the resort. The twins are going to spend the night with my parents as it just seems kind of unfair to drag them round the park in the buggy for hours. And it means we’ll both be able to ride the rides with kids without having to worry about who’ll stay with the twins. JJ and Harley are just so excited, its all they talk about! JJ’s favourite film is the Lego Movie, so!

We’ll probably visit some farms and zoos as the kids love visiting those places and of course we’re going have a massive family barbecue at some point too! We’ll just see what the next few weeks bring!

Love,

Get To Know Me!

Basic Info

Full Name: Alya Marie Ryman (nee Ryan)

Nicknames: I don’t have any

Born: 28th April 1990, Essex, England

Age: 30

Eye Colour: Brown

Relationship Status: Married

Sexuality: Heterosexual 

Favourites!

Food: Lasagne

Drink: Malibu and Coke

Colour: Purple

Animal: Cat

Film: Marley and Me

TV Show: Holby City

Book: The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon

Song: Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson

Likes

Having a lie in (but those are so rare these days!)

Reading in bed

Long walks

Going to the beach (and sunbathing)

Spending one on one time with each of my children

Dislikes

Being late for anything

Leaving work unfinished before I go home

Dealing with extremely fussy people at work!

Love,