As we come up to almost 2 years since Raise a Bundle kicked off that means our Raise a Bundle babies are turning 2 years old next month

This month Raise a Bundle has a chat to young mum of two Tara Taras youngest Arlo who is coming up to 2 years old is a gorgeous wee boy with quick learning and growing skills Tara talks highly about the resources offered to her through Plunket and what her top tip parent to parent is

Read below for more

Plunket How have the first 700 days been for your baby and your family

Tara Its been a very challenging change to our lives but great nonetheless One of the hardest things for us having Arlo who is our second child is just having two children instead of one My first child was very jealous of someone taking the attention from her so its been a struggling transition We have tried our hardest having our oldest child there for as much as the pregnancy as possible so she doesnt miss out on anything she was even there for the birth Its good to have her involved in as many ways as possible Now even though they fight they get along really well most of the time Ive learnt a lot more and feel more confident in a lot of things such as sleeping now with my second child which has been really helpful it helps to have a routine for everything

Plunket What was the most surprising or unexpected things you experienced in the first 500 days

Tara Already having an older daughter than Arlo I was surprised with how different they are For example Arlo was much more physical he started crawling at 5 months and walking by 8 months which was almost double as fast as my daughter Seeing the difference between each of them really highlights how every baby is different and unique I think Arlo learnt from his sister which pushed him to learn faster as he wanted to keep up with her

Plunket For you what has been the biggest value of having Plunket available

Tara The biggest value from Plunket in my opinion is just knowing that youre on the right track and being able to ask questions that you might be confused or unsure about Its the simple things for example Arlo was a big snorer and our Plunket nurse helped me to understand what is okay to give him to settle this Our doctor didnt know how to manage this but our Plunket nurse did which was a huge value to us as parents Its so great having different resources from Plunket and especially having the reassurance they give which makes me feel so much more at ease about parenting

Plunket What other services have you used that Plunket provide And how did this help you

Tara With my first child we used PlunketLine a lot which was really helpful but once I had Arlo I was a lot more confident in my parentings One thing I do use a lot which I get from Plunket is the recourses and booklets they give out at clinics I follow a lot of the guidelines found in brochures from my local clinic such as feeding and meals etc

Plunket How has the support from Plunket positively enhanced your baby experience

Tara Again it was for me about having the reassurance and knowledge of someone professional and helpful It was also having the communication I got from Plunket not only through Plunket nurses and staff but through the other parents and families I met When youre a parent you can feel very isolated and its so nice having other parents and likeminded people around you to support you Having someone who I can relate to who is in the same point of your life as you are is such an awesome thing to have The Plunket nurses have positively enhanced my baby experience because they have worked with such a broad range of people so they can relate to so much It makes me feel very comfortable knowing I have access to these people through Plunket when I need it

Plunket Whats one tip parent to parent you see as being the most valuable or something you would like to pass on

Tara Sleep when theyre sleeping and look after yourself It can be very hard to find time for yourself with a young child so you tend to stay awake when theyre sleeping but it just makes you more tired Look after yourself and listen to yourself

Thanks for your time Tara and Arlo we look forward to celebrating your 2nd birthday together