I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas with family. In the week leading up to Christmas, we got to visit Santa’s Wonderland SA held in the Adelaide Showground. I was fortunate enough to have received a PR invite as you would have seen on Instagram. But I wanted to share a review here on the blog as well. Thankfully, despite 2020's covid-19 whirlwind, Santa still came to visit. And we got to explore this wonderland.
2020 has certainly cancelled all our travel plans. The upside is that South Australia is a beautiful place to explore. I'm certainly grateful to call this state my home. After having such a wonderful experience at Big4 Renmark (check out that blog post), we thought another holiday park vacation would be lovely and easy. After the 3-day lockdown eased, we went off to a mini getaway at Victor Harbor. I found that NRMA had great online reviews and often ends up on top 10 lists for South Australia holiday parks. So I thought, let's do it! Read on.
5:26 PM
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Now that my 10-month-old has mastered her walking and has levelled up on her exploring, I'm constantly on the hunt for toddler-friendly parks. Plus points if they're only a very short drive away. So I thought it would be good to share our little adventures on the blog so I can always go back to them when I run out of ideas. On this day, we were off to visit family in Glandore so we checked out Jubilee Park so our little one can have some fun first.
4:05 PM
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I have called South Australia home for 5 years now and I finally made it to the Riverland for the first time. I don't know why I haven't visited before. This is certainly a destination my husband and I would consider visiting more frequently from here on out. We booked 2 nights at Big4 Renmark Riverfront Holiday Park. Spoiler alert: this was honestly the first time that my husband and I were truly impressed by an accommodation in South Australia. Yes, top CBD hotels included. Read on to find out why.
4:46 PM
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Back in July, we booked an overnight stay at Intercontinental Adelaide. It was hubby's birthday week, he was in dire need of a little holiday, pandemic restrictions were eased, I had about enough of being cooped up... and the hotel had a huge promo going on. So we thought, why not? I didn't know it then, but apparently we were literally their first customers on their first day opening post pandemic. No wonder why they had a huge discount going on!
3:33 PM
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The husband and I spontaneously decided to go out for an easy walk to take bub along on. After a quick google of "pram friendly walks in Adelaide/South Australia", we headed off towards Onkaparinga. Well after some miscommunication, Google led us to "turn left" where there was actually no road to turn left on. Oops. With a baby complaining about being on the road for too long, a quick detour led us here. Spoiler: it is NOT pram friendly. But boy was it beautiful.
Onkaparinga Chapel Hill Lookout Loop |
12:58 PM
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Several things have pushed me to declutter my wardrobe lately. My postpartum self has realised a couple things: 1. Those clothes that I haven't worn in the last 3 years - I surely won't be wearing them now. 2. The 'new me' has realised there are clothes that are no longer my style and I certainly won't be wearing those anymore either. So this collaboration has come at the perfect time as I am in the process of organazing my wardrobe. Read on for a few tips on decluttering and organizing.
Always,
Jeanne
Photo by Artem Beliaikin |
8:28 PM
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I recently started my baby on solids with the intention to start on purees and transition to solids sooner rather than later. As a first time mum, it's a little daunting to start to feed baby actual food. I mean, didn't I just figure out the caring-for-a-newborn thing? Now I'm tasked with feeding my baby with "real food". Where do I even begin? Thankfully, the answer is a lot easier than it feels for a first time mum.
1:46 PM
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First off, I hope wherever you are reading this, I hope you are well, healthy, and safe. There is a lot of things going on in the world right now and each one is going through different things and has her own story to tell. Today, I would like to keep things light, fun, and positive as we play with fashion. After all, these last couple months have had us all jumping into online shopping as well as missing playing dress up. I mean, who else is like me and put on "real clothes" just to grab takeaway? I know others have played dress up at home as well. Can't blame you at all! Anyway, Femme Luxe has so kindly sent over these pieces to feature so let's get started, shall we?
Femme Luxe outfits |
11:37 AM
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I'll admit it. I'm a clingy and paranoid mama. If my baby is sleeping in her cot while I do something, I like to frequently check on her. One night as my husband and I got to enjoy a movie night in the living room for what felt like the first time since she was born, I couldn't help asking to pause the movie here and there so I could run to check on baby. Yup. We needed a baby camera! Thankfully, the Lollipop Baby Monitor came into my life. Read on as I break down my favourite features.
9:44 PM
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I first heard about the Galt Playnest when it was recommended by a couple of popular mummy YouTubers. The toy really appealed to me so I was quite keen to get it for my baby. It describes itself as a fabric covered inflatable with 8 play activities. The box states that it's suitable from 0 months. By the time my online order arrived in Australia, baby is now 5-months-old. Read on to find out how she likes it.
My 5-and-a-half-month-old baby relaxing in the Galt Playnest |
3:50 PM
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Any first-time mum would be very excited to buy all sorts of clothes for baby's wardrobe. Most especially if you're having a girl. It can be tempting to buy tutu skirts, frilly blouses, every closet item in pink, and don't forget - all types of ribbons and headbands! Perhaps you would expect that I, a girl who likes to blog and take Instagram photos, would buy every single thing I can think of for my baby's closet. But that's not actually the case. I like to think I'm a lot more practical than that. So what do I actually look for when buying clothes for my baby? Read on.
11:30 AM
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I’m just like any other mum – a mum who’s on a budget but
still wants amazing stuff for her baby (toys included), and thus, a die-hard
Kmart fan. Before becoming a mum, I was already a Kmart fan because really,
fun, cute, cheap – yes, please! Now that I have a bub to entertain, yes yes
yes, Kmart, please!
With all the expenses that having a baby entails, you just
really got to look at your budget. If I’m already spending on car seats and
prams and feeding equipment, I’d like for the toys expenses to be kept low-key.
You know your baby is going to outgrow or get tired of her toys in no time so
affordability is a must.
When I look for toys, I like to ensure that they are
affordable, fun, but also educational. To babies, everything is new and
everything is fun to explore. They are just discovering the world and things
such as sounds, colours, and patterns can instantly entertain them and
stimulate their brains. If I can choose a toy that will also help my baby along
with her learning, then I would always choose to do so. Today I’m sharing with
your four toys that are not only affordable (read: super cheap), simple, but also
highly educational for your 3 to 5-month-old baby.
5:59 PM
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A play gym is a staple in any household with a baby and for
good reason. Play gyms not only entertain your baby but also stimulate
cognitive and motor development. Play gyms are fun, colourful, and educational.
The one we have is the Fisher Price Deluxe Kick And Play Piano Gym. My baby loves
this play gym so much and even though she plays with it on a daily basis, she
has not grown tired of it yet. Read on to find out why.
1:07 PM
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Planning our family trip for 2020 made me realise that I never got to blog about our Queenstown trip in New Zealand. That's a shame because Queenstown is absolutely beautiful and perhaps one of the most beautiful places you will ever get to visit. I believe some people visit New Zealand and stay in Queenstown only. Looking around Queenstown and around Lake Wakatipu makes you feel like you're in a postcard come to life. Every angle is picturesque. You could visit Queenstown and fulfil your thirst for adventure for the thrill-seekers, or take a much slower pace for the lovers. As for us, we were here as a family for our annual siblings-trip so this is a family-friendly itinerary. Read on to get some ideas on what to do on your Queenstown trip.
11:15 AM
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I went from producing only 1 ml of colostrum per day to exclusively breastfeeding.
As a first time mom, I had high hopes to exclusively breastfeed my baby. Imagine my worry when it was Day 5 postpartum and my milk still hadn't come in! My baby was a hungry baby who loves to eat from Day 1. The midwives had helped me start to mix-feed my baby with formula. But it is of my personal opinion and decision to aim to provide breast milk for my baby as I believe it is what is best for her.
Nobody ever really talked to me about how breastfeeding isn't always "natural" and sometimes the journey is actually a struggle. But I was determined to fight for it. I wasn't giving up just yet. People had mixed feedback. When I mention that it is Day 5 and my milk still hadn't come in, people (health care practitioners and mothers alike) would either A - roll their eyes and tell me to "let nature take its toll and it will come in, just wait" or B - give me large worried eyes and either tell me (or quietly think) that "Oh. Well... not everyone has milk supply. You can formula feed." Neither responses really helped me. So I chose to ignore them all and focus on doing everything I could to improve my breast milk supply. I was going to fight for my baby.
9:01 PM
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If you've been following this blog for a while, you'd know that I always write a year-in-review post. I always love to reflect on the year that has passed, look back on the things that have happened, check to see if I've achieved the goals that I've set for myself at the start of the year, and then create a new set of goals for the new year. 2019's reflection is a little bit different. Today, I'll be looking back on my pregnancy journey because really, 2019 was all about having my baby. In fact, my goals completely changed and all our travel plans got cancelled because I got so sick during the times when our travel plans were scheduled. But that's alright, baby is worth it all!
5:46 PM
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