4 months old

Rían out for his first family dinner :-)

Age: 4 months & 2weeks 

Clothes size: 3-6 months (just about fitting!!)

Sleep: roughly 12 hours a night! Waking a few times looking for his dummy! He has a few 30minute-1 hour naps during the day!

Feeding: 8oz bottles 5-6 times a day!! He also gets a few teaspoons of baby rice with his 10-11am bottle! We started that 4 days ago, as he was looking for his bottle every 2 hours!! Hungry baba! :) 

New things: Rían now has little fits of laughter! Especially if you hold him up in the air or tickle his tummy/under his chin!! It's the cutest thing ever! I love his little laugh! He also rolls over, from tummy to back a lot and he is much better on his tummy at tummy time than he used to be, now he can hold up his head and have a good look around for himself. :) 

My mom has also copped that he follows me around the room and is always watching what I'm doing! Even though I'm sure it's a mother few months before he will get attached and strange with people, he has clearly made a favourite in me yaaaayyy! :) 

He also loves to be held sitting up or standing up! He gets all excited! Thinks he's the shit haha! 

Things coming up in the next month: Rían has an appointment for his hips to be x-rayed as he was born with a clicky hip!! You used to be able to hear the click when changing his nappy or dressing him but I haven't heard it since he was about 2 months old, so hopefully it has all sorted itself out, which happens in a lot of cases! I'm hopeful that is what has happened with Rían as having a big cast on his legs or having to wear double nappies would be a dose! It's usually hereditary but no one on my side has had it and only a cousin on his dad's side had it! It can also happen if there is very limited room in the womb! And towards the end there was NO room! They were even worried about the fluid level left around him, so I think that was the cause! In that case it nearly always rectifies itself! :)

We also have Ríans new little cousins christening to go to soon! Haha! He's 3 months younger than Rían and already getting christened and we haven't even begun organising Ríans own christening! Which I think will be on in April! Hopefully the weather will have improved by then! If only a small bit! Easter is always a nice time to have a religious event anyway!! :P 

Having coffee in M&S with grandad! :)

MommaKatie xo.

OOTD

Cardigan/A-wear. 2 years ago

Top/ h&m

Shorts/DIY from old jeans :)

Shoes/Uggs (can't see them very well)

Just a casual look today! Going having some family time with my mom and Rían, I think we're going to Killarney for the day. :)

Nothing is more simple than shorts, tights, top & cardy :) and that kind of is my style; simple and comfy!! 

I love the colours in this cardigan! I don't wear it very often! Not sure why not really! It's such a shame Awear has closed down! I got this in a sale years ago for like 10euro, they always had great sales! 

My uggs are chocolate brown (they match our chocolate Labrador, Harley perfectly!!) :) I got them sent from Australia, where they are way more affordable!! I think they were like 80euro! My godmother lives there so it's handy! :) 

Jewellery was just my usual Alex and ani bangles and my other bracelets! I really need to get a nice necklace! Maybe a Dogeared one! :) 

On top- the colours of my cardigan!

On bottom- the bracelets I wore today! Mostly Alex and ani! 

My hair has been FULL of volume the last few days since my new routine. As I have blogged about before, my hair has gotten very thin and falls out in clumps now due to having a baby a few months ago.. (It's common!) 

I bought Aussie shampoo! The one for adding volume to fine and limp hair! I don't have fine hair at all but it's extremely flat! Ugh! I also got a heat styler wand to replace my normal hair dryer! Using one of these really adds volume to your hair too! :) I just got one for 25euro in Argos! A tresemme one! It does the job! Sometimes I think I have the courage to cut my hair short but nah.. It's such a security blanket for me! :) 

Talk soon! 

Apologies for the crap layout of my text.. Have to blog from my phone while the internet is down! The hurricane messed it up big time! Grr! 

MommaKatie xo.

Single Mother

Hi everyone! Here is my story! :)

My name is Katie Moynihan and I live in Cork in Ireland. I'm 20 years old and I have a 6 month old baby called Rian Andrew. (It's prenounced Ree-an) :)
I dont work right now and I dropped out of college after one year. I studied Herbal Science. (don't even ask.)
My days consist of spending 24/7 with my handsome baby boy and my family.
I've had huge changes in my life in the past year or so and dispite being really worried my life was going down the complete wrong path, I love how it has all turned out now.
I'm a single mom but my babies dad is always there if we need him and Rian spends a day a week, usually Saturday, with him and his family! We get along for the most part but just are not suited to eachother in a relationship!
I decided to set up a blog as something to keep my sanity haha! But really, I just want to document Rian growing up and the things I experince along the way.

I'm very brutally honest about everything and won't pretend to like something unless I do. 
I think I have a very laid back approach to parenting.. THAT SAID, I do get mini heart attacks if I think Rian isnt breathing anymore!! (It's a mother thing!haha)
I hope you enjoy reading about our lives :)

So.....

Let the journey begin!

MommaKatie xo.

Starting solids!

Nom nom :P 

So, I'm well aware that Rian is only 4 months and 1 week old, but he is a very VERY hungry little (not so little) baby! He has been getting 8oz every 2-3 hours during the day and sleeping 12 hours every night! yaaay!
The 8oz bottles so often was a big sign that Rian needed to start on solids! He also has been able to hold his head up on his own for a long time now and he has been showing a lot of interest in the food we have been eating with a few weeks now! :) That apparently is a sign that he is ready!

Yesterday I bought him Milupa Organic Baby Rice  He wont be on this for very long however, as I have heard from many sorces that it makes babies bloat up big time! (yucky!)
Well, he took to it like a duck to water! :) He loved it! I dont think I'll ever have a problem with Rian not wanting to eat though! He is a big grubber! Loves his bottles! :)
When giving him the rice, first I gave him half of his bottle (4oz) then a few teaspoons of the rice, followed by the rest of his bottle (3-4oz)! He was delighted with himself! :) I plan to give him a bit more tomorrow and more again the next day! As this was just a taster for him! And he was looking for a bottle 3.5 hours later! haha!
I have a book that contains a lot of first recipes for your baby called First Year Planner by Annabel Karmel (a great book for pregnancy and baby) and plan to get started on making those myself after Rian gets used to the whole eating situation! I want to stay away from the store ready made jars of baby food as I believe myself that homemade would be better for him!

MommaKatie xo.

The White House Teeth Whitening: REVIEW

Price : 195euro

Treatment time : 1 hour

Worth it? : No way!
Rate it : 0/10

So I started looking online for a place in Cork to get my teeth whitened a few months ago! My teeth arnt that bad really! Just a bit yellow from all the tea and coffee (many many many cups of coffee since Rían was born) and I felt they needed to be whitened a bit!! I quickly stumbled upon The White House.. They promise a 4-10 shades whiter difference! I was pretty excited getting it done! :)

So. Firstly. There online website is so confusing when picking a time! I selected 04:30 thinking that was 16:30 but later recieved an email stating my appointment was for 04:30am... So I said I better get onto them.. On a Dublin number I was told my appointment was for 12:30pm... I mean.. They need to get their shit together! I couldn't make that earlier appointment but got one for a later time!

When I arrived the place kind of looked like a pop up shop.. Like there was no homely feel about the place.. Looked like it could shut down any day.. Anyway.. This still didn't put me off.. I toddled on in to the treatment room! There was just a chair.. A sink and a counter... The specialist applied the "whitening gel" to my teeth and put the blue light infront of my teeth for 3 sessions of 15 minutes! I didn't feel a thing! Although I was fit to cry haven't to listen to the re-run of coronation street in the background!! :(

Anyway after all that good (ya right!) stuff the girl didn't even check to see how many shades it supposably lightened... Well.. I got the shock of my life when I looked in the mirror! My teeth were all shades of yellow and white!! I was in shock! The girl then said that this would calm down over the next hour! And she was right! It did.. But not before scaring the life out of me, my mom, dad and baby Rían!!!

After all that the results were terrible! My teeth are exactly the same colour as before! If maybe one shade lighter! I feel sick that I spent 195euro on this shockingly bad treatment! I have 2 more top up appointments free with that! Which I doubt I will go to! (I'm traumatised!) it was all valued at something like 350euro approx.. I would never ever ever value it originally at that price! I basically wasted a half of a day going in to get it done! And now my teeth are feeling more sensitive too! I'm really angry about it all! I wouldn't recommend it! I have very good healthy teeth so they have no excuse really... I think I'll be sending in a complaint.. To try get my money back!!!

Before & after..

As you can see there is no difference! They actually look WORSE that before! I'm gutted! :( 

Please leave a comment if you know of somewhere else in Cork that could sort this out for me! :) 

MommaKatie xo.

Postpartum body

Before pregnancy - 60kg

9 months pregnant - 68kg

4 months postpartum - 54kg

Me - 2 months postpartum

I was really blessed with my weight all through this pregnancy and afterwards on how it all just fell off with no effort at all really! About 2 months after Rian was born I was down to 57kg.. and now 4 months on I weigh 54kg.. The lightest I have been since I was about 17! (before my drinking days haha!) 

It really was shocking how little I had to do to get back to normal! I was however pretty sick for the first 5-6 weeks after I had Rian and I had zero appetite during that time! I was in agony with my pelvis and back! I felt crippled! Luckily all the pain just kind of disappeared one day! (phew!) I lost most of the weight during this time!

Granted I actually didnt gain very much while pregnant and Rian was a whopping 8lb 4ozs!!! He was most of the weight I gained! I dont exactly have a healthy diet and I rarely exercise! Although taking care of a new baby is major exercise! I do however feel I need to work on toning my stomach muscles! Which is to be expected after having a baby! I do also feel though that my back is still quite weak right now so I dont want to over do it too much and injure myself again! I am pretty happy with my body right now anyway :) 

My bra cup size went from 34B to 34DD when I was having Rian too but now they are smaller than ever at 34A!! :(  My advice to any pregnant women or new mothers is to not stress out about your weight! It's not the time for weight obsession when you bring home a new baby! :) There is plenty of time to work on yourself after settling in your baby first! :)

STRETCH MARKS!

I got absolutely NONE whatsoever on my stomach which I am so grateful for! I did however get a good few on my boobs! They started not long after I got pregnant! It is quite a mystery to me cause its not like my boobs got huge.. they just went up 2-3 cup sizes and that all happened quite gradually too! ugh! Anyway I try not to dwell on them. I do apply coconut oil sometimes when I even remember now! They are lightning up thank god! I do have very VERY pale white skin though, and this is meant to be a plus when getting stretch marks as they eventually fade to a white/silverish colour! :) I dont believe there is any way you can stop them, if they're going to happen, then they will happen! (sucks I know) I applied coconut oil (my fav moisturizer EVER!) since finding out I was pregnant and I dont think it prevented them from happening at all! Most women would agree that the products out there for stretch marks will not prevent them at all! I might however look into laser removal in a few years if they are still too noticable for me! :) 

MommaKatie xo.

OOTD & small baby haul

Cardigan - Penneys

Top - H&M

Jeans - Topshop

Shoes - Converse

Excuse the dodgy face and hair! Was literally out in a serious hurricane ahaha! Simple outfit for a day trip to Mahon Point with my gal pal Bridget! (I have most Saturdays off as Rian is with his dad then) The top from H&M is actually detailed on the back and falls off one shoulder.. I wore it when I was pregnant a lot haha! So yeah its very stretched! Converse are of course very appropriate for nearly every outfit! Got them in a sale after Christmas in Life Style sports I think! (again excuse the mess of my room!!! I'm a busy mom!) :P 

Skinnys from Topshop are a moss green colour. Got last year. I love the colour its very unusual yet goes with a lot! Best with other earthy tones! 

Bag - Topshop

Converse - Lifestyle Sports

This leather look bag from Topshop I got off my mom for Christmas is huge! Its perfect when popping out with Rian as I can shove a few nappies, wipes, change of clothes and bottle in and still have room for all my stuff! It is too big for casual use though! Perfect for stylish mommies though! :) 

Shoes - Next baby

Top - Next baby

Love you teddy - Easons

I have a big problem when I go out and bringing home something for Rian. I dont think I've ever gone to a shop that has done baby stuff and come home empty handed! He's there to be spoilt though! :) I LOVE Next's baby clothes they are by far the cutest and most stylish I've ever come across! He has so many tops that mention yours truely... ;) haha! I love them! Cause obviously, I am thee best at hugs! :P 

The little shoes are little leather-look shoes with a strap over with a little car detail! They are lined with fluffy material too! in size 6-12 months! Some people think it's stupid putting shoes on a baby that cant even walk yet, but they are great for keeping little toes toasty in this arctic weather! :) 

The teddy is a whole other story! ha! When I was small my mom used to always get me a valentines card and gift and pretend it was from ''a secret admirer'' :) Sooo cruel I know but I just cant wait to do it with Rian! Plus he does own all my heart! So the teddy will be put away until Valentines! I ordered his card off Asos last week it is yet to arrive! It was actually surprisingly hard to find an I Love You teddy that wasnt a girly me to you teddy! 

MommaKatie xo.

Vtech little friendies 2-in-1 baby gym REVIEW

The picture on the box. 

I bought this baby gym for Rian last week because I feel he needed more time on the ground and this would help keep him entertained too to give me a break! ha! He LOVES it! It comes with 4 detachable toys, a giant cow teddy, a baby mirror (he loves looking at himself! Vain baba!) and a giant light up sun that plays 24 different melodies! This can be detached also and tied to a cot or carseat for entertainment on the go! :) It says it teaches shapes and animals too! But Rian is too young to tell if it has any effect on his learning haha! 

I paid 31.99euro for this in Argos! I think it was on offer down from 70euro! Love a baby bargain! :) It is well worth that!  

The only thing I would say against this, is that you have to keep pressing the buttons on the sun to make it play 20 seconds worth of a song.. Which means you cant leave the room and have it play on! :/

Rian has a LOT of vtech stuff! And they are all great for keeping him entertained.. Mostly because they all make a racket and light up! Definetely not good to have about on a hungover Sunday morning let me tell you! :) 

Rian playing with his gym (big baba!)  :)

MommaKatie xo.

First Dinner Out

Momma Katie & baby Rian.

So today my mom retired from her job! We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate.. (shes very VERY happy) haha! All five of us, my mom, dad, brother, Rian and myself went out to Church Lane restaurant in Macroom! Such a lovely little place and the food was delish! :) It's so surreal that my mom will never have to go to work ever again! Which means she will be around the house 24/7 now.. Which I can see leading to a few fights (by a few I mean A LOT!) We just clash so much! Shes got such a wound up personality! Shes stubborn as hell too! And I'm just laid back and have a ''it can wait til tomorrow'' attitude which she HATES! haha!

 So on that note, I'm going to be looking for a place of my own to rent from now on! It will be tough because there is soo little properties for rent around Macroom town! But I'm confident I'll find somewhere nice in the end! We got my mom a fancy Canon camera for her retirement present! She's delighted with it as she plans to travel a lot over the next few years and loves taking pictures and up til now she was using her bad quality phone camera haha! 

Rian, all smiles while we had dinner. :) 

This was also Rian's first time out for dinner with us all as a family! There's 5 of us now! :) I always wanted a big family and hope one day to have a big family of my own! But for now me and Rian will do just fine! :P He was amazing as always he didnt cry once for the whole 2 hours we were out! One lady in the restaurant couldnt believe he was only 4 months old and commented on how ''settled'' he was for such a young baby! We're really blessed with him!

This is the camera we got my mom. 

Canon PowerShot SX170 IS 16x Zoom 16MP Digital Camera

119.99euro in Argos! Half price! :) 

MommaKatie xo.

Postpartum hair loss

BEFORE:

My hair at its longest and fullest! (found this on my phone and found it pretty hilarious) 

AFTER:

Excuse the wet hair.I have this bald patch on both sides of my head! :( 

Now this is a topic very close to my heart! Mostly because I am overly emotionally attached to my hair (crazy lady style) and everyone who knows me knows this! I have ALWAYS had long hair and rarely get it cut because I am always just an emotional MESS afterwards until it all grows back! haha!

Now before I was pregnant my hair was of normal thickness and well, what I considered normal for me! By the end of my pregnancy it was looking the fullest and shiniest it ever had! it was great! I also didnt dye it until just 3 weeks before I had Rian (needed to be glamorous giving birth), so that probably had something to do with its good condition too!
BUT now, just 3.5 months after I had Rian.. it seems like its all falling out around me! :( Its EVERYWHERE! Its disgusting! Of course its not ALL falling out but because hardly any fell out while I was pregnant it seems like soo much! I now have 2 pretty noticeable ''bald patches'' behind my hairline just above both temples! It makes a side parting look like I have a receeding hairline like some middle aged balding male! sob! (bald men freak me out, nothing personal, just love hair haha)

As a solution to this heartbreaking issue I have cut bangs into my hair and trimmed a good bit off my ends! (about 3-4 inches) and now it is very hard to tell I'm a balding mess at all! :) I am also putting coconut oil on my roots before having a shower cause I believe its miracle stuff! ha! If anything it makes your hair super shiny anyway! According to all my online investigating my hair should be back to normal by Rian's first birthday :D I'll be MILFing it up in no time!

MommaKatie xo

Tired Tuesdays

Snapchat this morning of Rian and I! Cutes! :) 

As I type Cork City is being flooded by high tides! uh oh! The weather is so cray cray the last while! Not that it matters much to me at the moment cause on most days it is a triumph to leave the confides of my house! I mean where would I be going anyway! I'm currently on a marathon PJ day.. its been TWO days now.. In my defense I am feeling pretty under the weather and so is Rian! He's not been himself! Not very chatty and not smiling half as much as his usual self! Normally you cant shut him up or stop his smiles! It's kind of a downer around the house really! As for me, I've had a headache since last night! Feeling very dehydrated as well! Anyway I hope Cork isnt Flooded too badly! Its awful for it's residents and peoples businesses and OH MY GOD I hope Penneys is OK! :O Also I have a major appointment on Saturday morning.. I am getting my teeth whitened by The White House in Cork City! My teeth have slowly been getting pretty discoloured so hopefully they'll be able to whiten them up a few shades for me! I mean, that is their job! Nothing like some blinding pearly whites! :)

MCM- man crush Monday

Robert Sheehan!                                       I mean he was the reason I watched misfits! Well.. It was a pretty kick ass show! But his beauty made it that little bit more amazing! I never got into Love Hate! And I doubt I'll have the time anytime soon to watch all the episodes cause yano.. When you become a mother your netflix very quickly becomes abandoned! Sob! There is no longer any time left to watch 20 episodes of The Only Way Is Essex in one night! But at the same time you don't really care! Although it is annoying when all your friends are talking about something and all you can remember is how to change a nappy in 3seconds! I look forward to the day I again have some time to share with my old buddy Netflix! 😌

OOTD

Top, skirt and cardigan - Penneys

Everything I'm wearing here is from Penneys (Primark). I am a HUGE Penneys fan! I love bargain clothing haha! But really, it normally is value for money! There stock changes so often too, its always up with the latest trends! I do have a few of my Alex and Ani bracelets on here too but you can barely see them. (Thank you bad flash!) I cant really open my blinds to let the ''daylight'' in cause Rian (that's my son's name) is sleeping! That and the fact it is like BLACKNESS outside! Worst weather ever! The throw on my bed is also Penneys! I've gotten a lot of compliments on it! (from my female friends and family) :P 

Alex and Ani Zodiac bangle in russian gold Cancer

I am so obsessed with Alex and Ani these days! This is my newest addition! It describes me down to a T! :P 

MommaKatie xo.

4 months in! oops!

So I'm only starting up this blog thing now 4 months into my sons life when I meant to start it soon after finding out about his soon to be existence! uh oh! just goes to show how little time you have for online life stuff whilst planning the birth and actually going through and obviously trying to get over the beautiful yet extremely traumatising (an hour worth of stitches and worried faces from midwives and doctors alike) entrance of my little boy into our world! I have been trying to find somewhere to set up an actual blog and this seems like the only place for it! I want to help other young mothers out there who maybe arnt finding this whole single young parenting thing as easy as I am.. I say easy but really theres nothing EASY about it. But I think my extremely laid back (horizontal) attitude and sense of humour (im funny) have made it a lot easier on me than for a lot of other young (and much younger, I am nearly 21) mothers of little farting, pooping, puking messes :)