Florence at 5 months Old

Can you believe that Florence turned 5 months on the 11th of April folks-5?!

Now, on the one hand, the past 5 months have whizzed by in a blink of (tired, blurry) eye, yet on another, I feel like I’ve not missed a minute. Intentionally slowing down to focus solely on family (limiting work), this has been an intense (in the best way possible) love-filled, life-affirming time. Tiring, yes, back breakingly stressful some days? Undoubtedly. But magical and grounding too. Nothing makes you prioritise what and whom matters more, than having a baby because your time and energy is so limited and that’s been a silver lining here as I’ve stopped sweating the small stuff and focused on my own wellbeing so I can be as strong as possible for my family.

Being my third rodeo now means knowing all too well how precious and fletting the first year is so I’m lapping it up, breathing in that honey-scented skin and having fun with my little brood.

Argh, what a blessing our sweetpea Flo is: a happy, bright, warm soul, we love to hear her shriek with excitement (her new favourite way of expressing herself) or watch as her vibrant eyes brim with love for us. I live for her husky little laugh too, more suited to a grandma on 20 a day than a little baby!

Like many pandemic babies, who’ve had more one-on-one attention than any other generation it seems with most of us being more house-bound, she’s zoomed past milestones so far and seems older than her age.

Her doting brothers might also have something to do with that as she tries to copy their every move (and eat their food)! Weaning has now tentatively and messily begun!

Stuck to me 24/7 she’s my teeny tiny bestie and this family’s dream come true.

Everywhere we go, Florence spreads her special sunny magic with supermarket trips taking twice as long as kind strangers stop us to compliment her, most in disbelief at quite how long her locks are for such a tiny bubs.

Her ever-changing brown to blue to grey to green eyes seem to have settled at green with flecks of amber but might well change again.

Eye colour-aside, according to my Mum, Florence is my double, and flicking through old photos of me as a baby, it really is hard to tell us apart. She’s taken after me with her bold personality too, knowing her own mind, pushing her bottle and food away when she’s full and making it known when she’s unhappy!

Oliver is still as hands on as ever, a protective and capable big brother who helps me care for Florence while Xander continues in his role as the entertainer, the one who makes her laugh and invents creative games to keep her happy. He’s growing up quickly though and tonight marked a turning point for him as he pushed the trolley round the supermarket for me, selecting the food her wanted and then stopping Florence from crying whilst I packed our goods. My darling baby boy is meeting his own milestones as a big brother and middle child.

Florence’s next chapter will be moving into her own room as the nursery is taking shape ready for her slow transition into there, if I can cope!

She’s started to take naps there and even in just those short bursts, I miss her madly and feel like she’s growing up too quickly. I’ll give you all a tour of it when it’s ready.

Until next time x