I haven’t done a Life Update post since the start of July, so I thought I’d do another one, as there have been lots of changes around here!
The most obvious one is our little man, who is now six weeks old. I’ll be honest, I cannot remember time before him now as he has completely taken over our lives, in a good way. In fact, I can’t believe how I used to waste my time before; what an earth did I do with all that free time?! We did have a bit of a bumpy start with two hospital re-admissions within the first four weeks, but everything seems to be fine now, fingers crossed. He’s definitely growing lots; he’s already lost his newborn look and is getting a personality – he’s going to be a cheeky chap, no doubt about that!
I’m also quite pleased with how our finances are at the moment; so many people commented on how expensive having children are and that we’d never have any money once our baby arrived, but, in all honesty, I’ve not really left our house apart from the hospital stays since he has arrived. I’m quite happy staying at home and enjoying our time together as I know I need to make the most of this time. The only things we’ve really spent money on this month are food, special baby formula and a couple of other baby related items we didn’t purchase before, such as a play mat and a monitor. But, we’ve searched for the best offers and used TopCashback so we’ll get a little something back from that too. I’m secretly looking forward to doing the money shuffle at the end of the month (how sad am I?!) and see how we’re doing; my income is decreasing rapidly but for now, we’re plodding along nicely.
Related article: How To Save Money When You Have A Baby
Another aspect of planning that I’m pleased about how it’s working out is the freezer meals that I prepared beforehand. I made batches of chilli, spaghetti bol sauce, beef stew and two banana and peanut butter loaves for the freezer. I portioned up the meals so that each portion would feed me and Mr FC and it has honesty made life and eating so much easier. It’s so easy to take out a portion to defrost during the day, then just reheat and make either the spaghetti/rice/mash as appropriate. I think that this has definitely helped with keeping spends down, as we are eating lots of meals from the freezer or cupboards, so our weekly grocery shop spends have reduced. If you are having a baby, or know that for whatever reason time might be an issue and you know in advance, I definitely recommend batch cooking and stocking up your freezer and cupboards with food!
Related articles: How To Start A Stockpile and How To Organise Your Stockpile
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is whether or not to join our local gym so that I can go swimming and do some exercise. The one closest to us has a nice swimming pool with a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room which I think could be nice and relaxing on an evening. But, as always, the only sticking point is the cost of the membership every month. Would I really get the best use out of it? I’d also need to buy some new gym wear, as I don’t own any after having a declutter of clothes. I’ve been looking on Only Sports Gear which seem to offer a good range of options.
Lastly, I’m really looking forward to the colder weather and dark nights. Winter is definitely my favourite season and I’m looking forward to spending time at home with our little family when it’s cold and dark outside. In fact, I’m secretly hoping for some snow, as I don’t have to travel to work in it this year so I wouldn’t mind! However, I’m sure most people don’t want a cold winter and it will make heating costs rise, but either way, I’m looking forward to it. Dare I mention Christmas too?! I’ve started to think about presents and how we’re going to do it this year, though it still seems a bit early to talk about it too much 😉 I’m looking forward to lots of homemade soups and stews with crusty bread, hot chocolate and candles burning. It’s the simple things that are the best, they really are.
So there you have it; an update on me! What’s your favourite season? Do you like the colder months?
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So glad things are now going well, and hope there are no more hospital stays! How wonderful it must be with your cheeky little man! 🙂 I love the winter, too — fires in the woodstove, warm meals and… skiing!
Fires in a woodstove and warm meals sound like perfect evenings to me 🙂 and skiing! How exciting! Are you good at it?
Yay for life updates! Your life has changed drastically since the last one. Freezer meals are a lifesaver with a baby. And I even found that I would love to take a Saturday when my husband was home to refill those first few months. I wouldn’t say winter is my favorite holiday, but I do look forward to cozy time inside and a break from the hustle and bustle of summer. And it’s never too early to talk about Christmas presents! I’m nearly done with mine… I just have one brother and sister-in-law that I have no plans for yet. They are a bit of an enigma.
Wow, that’s organised! I wish I could say I was almost done with getting presents; we’ve yet to properly get started.
Nice update! I really like babies. When my kid was just a baby, I spent almost the whole day every weekend taking care of him. It was like one of the greatest moments of being a father and the time I wondered how and what he would be in the future. Lots of plans for him.
I keep thinking about what he might be in the future, what might have changed by then and all the steps we’ve to cherish along the way 🙂
Congratulations on your little one, it’s great to see hear you are doing well and coping financially, babies are incredibly expensive, but if you plan ahead and use the sites like you have suggested, it does make things easier. I can’t believe it is almost winter already, there’s nothing better than hot chocolate on a dark night.
Thank you; he isn’t costing too much at the moment but I’m sure he’ll make up for that when he gets older 😉 and having a hot chocolate on a dark evening is one of the best things about winter 🙂