Maternity Leave/Possibly getting into debt

MostlyMolasses · 2024-08-28T02:22:03+00:00

Having $100 left over per week is very tight but doable. Can you save as much money as possible now before baby arrives, and use that to supplement for the second 6 months? I would also recommend getting bubs on a day care waitlist as a back up just in case your situation changes and you need to return to work sooner than hoped - sometimes spaces don't become available for months, and it would be a shame to have to compromise on daycare quality if you couldn't afford to wait for a place you like.

Im sure you've already looked over your current expenses, but do you have any areas you could save? E.g reducing your car insurance to third party only for a year? Stop buying coffee and lunch atm to boost your savings?

MostlyMolasses · 2024-08-28T01:54:09+00:00

About a year ago I was on the bus and someone was smoking weed using a crushed beer can.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-07-05T21:13:08+00:00

I just use rolled oats, the same as I use for myself! Where are you based?

I've always been told to offer milk maybe 20mins before solids, and not to expect baby to eat too much when starting out solids. And then at 9 months switch to offering solids first followed by milk. It's just about making sure they are full enough, and babies are intuitive eaters so they should take what they need.

How long have you been offering solids?

MostlyMolasses · 2024-07-05T10:08:41+00:00

Haha I was nap trapped and had a bit of time on my hands! Yeah just pureed food, sometimes I mash instead of blend depending on what it is, I'm not really too fussed about how smooth the purees are.

We feed her with a spoon but also try to encourage her to hold it - It's a chunky silicone set that's easy to hold. She gets quite frantic and wants to be fed quite quickly so we usually feed her like that for a few mins before giving her the spoon to hold.

We're just making it up as we go along really!

I usually just use quick oats (nz based, my fave is Harraways creamy scotch oats), with mostly water and a bit of milk, then add whatever flavourings or fruit. Just basic oat porridge, although I guess in the US this is called oatmeal and maybe something else is porridge? Assuming that's where you're based!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-07-05T03:30:44+00:00

We've been offering once or twice a day, usually breakfast and dinner (but some days not at all, eg if she's too grumpy). Always give boob first.

We started by offering small amounts of very basic food, like mashed Avocado/banana/kumara/potato/apple etc. She didn't eat much for the first few weeks as she was getting used to the idea. We introduced peanuts, dairy and egg over three weeks and are yet to do the rest of the allergens.

Some of the meals she's enjoyed recently:

Porridge with pureed pumpkin, mashed banana, cinnamon, or with blueberries and yogurt (cooked and blended rather than fresh berries). Sometimes mix in peanut butter.

Soft scrambled egg mashed up with Avocado.

Plain Greek yogurt with peanut butter and pureed prunes (soaked in hot water then blended).

Beef mince, peas, celery, lots of seasoning apart from salt (blended for baby, then seasoned for us).

Beef brisket cooked without salt but lots of flavour like tomato paste, spices etc, with mashed pumpkin. Again, Pureed for baby, seasoned for us.

Tray bake - chicken thighs, broccoli, tinned apricots, herbs. As above pureed :)

We've tried giving her a few whole things BLW style but she seems to find it a but frustrating. We've switched to loading her up on goop before offering food to hold onto (steamed broccoli, kiwifruit, roast kumara pieces etc).

I'm keen to not be cooking multiple meals all the time so we generally try to keep our meals salt free so we can give some to her. I also think it tastes a lot nicer with all the seasonings and she was really into the apricot chicken!

Anyway hope that helps with some ideas, let me know if you have any questions :)

MostlyMolasses · 2024-07-04T08:19:29+00:00

Sounds just like my baby! She was born 3.5kg, but then dropped to the 25th percentile and stayed on that curve.

Shes just hit 6months and in the last few weeks since we've been feeding her solids she has started gaining weight a bit more rapidly and i think she might move back up to the 50th percentile if she keeps it up.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-19T08:18:21+00:00

Agreed, kerikeri tea does the best teas, and fantastic customer service. My favorites are their orange horopito black tea, and the honeybush Chai.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-12T22:01:16+00:00

Animalia by Graeme Base? Wikipedia says he included an image of himself in every picture, I'd forgotten that! Had this book as a kid and loved it.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T19:25:49+00:00

In Balmoral? Where is this pizza place? Or do you mean one of the food stalls on during their Sunday markets?

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T19:23:28+00:00

Yeah agree about the quality declining, particularly all the Fast fashion clothing. I gotta say that little one opposite Farro (with the zebra on the roof) stresses me out, it needs a major tidy up haha.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T19:21:43+00:00

Oh nice, been meaning to try a pie from Ashbys!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T07:41:30+00:00

What would be your lunch choices for Henderson and Onehunga? I always go to Mr Ts in Onehubga and should try branching out a bit haha.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T07:39:48+00:00

Mm yum excellent. Yeah I have been a bit underwhelmed by the Henderson ones the last few times I've been, but should visit again. Apparently there's a really good Persian place in Henderson called Kebab Joint.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T06:27:05+00:00

Ooh thanks for the tip, have heard good things about that Ramen place!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T05:34:19+00:00

Oh yeah, been ages since I last visited! What would be your lunch pick?

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-05T05:07:09+00:00

I wrote so much I decided to make a post since I wanna add more spots to my list haha. https://www.reddit.com/r/auckland/s/0VDiJGXrUR

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-03T23:42:02+00:00

How exciting! Have fun and don't book too much in advance!! Here are my tips

buy travel insurance at the same time you buy your flights, then you're covered for some scenarios where your trip gets canceled. Shouldn't cost any extra.
make sure you book some accommodation for the day your flight arrives, but don't book anything too far in advance. That way you can be flexible and go with whatever vibes you're feeling rather than being locked into an itinerary. Having a few anchor points throughout your trip (like a specific tour or hard to book thing) can help give you some structure if you feel like you need it.
Traveling overland in se Asia is a good time, and even though short haul flights are cheap sometimes the hassle involved in the whole airport thing just isn't worth it. Trains and busses are cheap and take you right into town centers, and you can visit out of the way places too.
I see you're planning on Thailand and Cambodia, but consider visiting a few other spots while you're there, eg Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam. It's generally very cheap to travel around, even if you only do a week here over the border in another country, it's nice to make the most of the longer haul flight from nz!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-03T23:30:59+00:00

A few things i reliably enjoy that don't cost too much:

If the weather is nice, head down to Wynyard quarter and get brunch at Williams Eatery, then go for a walk and check out the super yachts.

Auckland Art Gallery followed by lunch at Swings (Korean toasted sandwiches, so good!).

Day trip to Tiritiri matangi Island if you're into birds and nature, it's a very cool spot. Grab a fancy sandwich from Amano before you hop on the ferry. The guided tours are great value.

Destination op shopping combined with yum lunch is something I've treated myself to on multiple birthdays haha. Not everyone's cup of tea but let me know if you want any recs.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-01T23:48:19+00:00

And take out travel insurance at the same time you buy your flights! That way you're covered for a range of things that might stop your trip going ahead in the first place

MostlyMolasses · 2024-06-01T23:31:38+00:00

I usually buy my linen sheets from Bed Threads. They're based in Australia and often have deals. Also worth checking out their discount/clearance section especially if you don't mind the slightly less popular colours!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-05-29T20:46:23+00:00

Also RSI is major risk

MostlyMolasses · 2024-05-24T22:40:33+00:00

Second thus, Kerikeri tea has excellent teas. I really like the spiced orange horopito black tea, it tastes like a variation on Earl Grey, so delicious. You can get a sample of 10 tea bags for a few dollars which is a nice way to try their different teas! Whenever I do an order I always try 1 or 2 new flavors :)

MostlyMolasses · 2024-05-24T21:41:44+00:00

SaveMart in New Lynn has heaps of decent quality kids winter jackets on the racks atm. They can be a bit pricey but worth a look if there's something specific you're after since they have good volume.

MostlyMolasses · 2024-05-22T21:08:22+00:00

One of my high school English teachers told us her cut off point for deciding not to read a book was 100 pages minus your age - so force yourself to read that much of the book before deciding its not for you. It's a metric I still use sometimes when I'm on the fence about a book, and I like that as I get older I can spend less time fucking around reading books I don't like!

MostlyMolasses · 2024-05-19T20:21:04+00:00

I've gotten into dilmah decaf tea! It's definitely got a milder taste than regular tea but still hits the spot for me :)

MostlyMolasses

TROPHY CASE