Naps - a Mother's challenge.

Wow, babies really like to mix things up a bit!  Chloe hasn't had brilliant afternoon naps the last few days but I figured it was because we were out and about and just not keeping to much of a schedule so she'd just end up cat-napping on the go.  So there I was this morning telling Alex how I'm really going to concentrate on her naps this week and make sure she was well rested during the day to hopefully help with her sleep at night.  There I was this morning, feeling in control and being all naive, you know, like I had any say in the matter.  Well today Chloe decided that afternoon naps are for SUCKERS!

I mean, she seemed pretty perky at 12:30pm despite having been up since 10:15am, but she had to be tired, didn't she?  The crying, back arching and throwing away of the dummy whilst I tried to gently ease her into sleep seemed to contradict my opinion on the matter.  I gave up, we had some lunch, I let her play a bit more then decided that she'd probably nap if I put her on my back in a sling, so up she went secured on my back in a Double Hammock, and she did eventually succumb after some general fussing, pulling of my hair and yet more bouncing on the exercise ball.  So she's there, she's asleep (ish) and I figure that now that she is settled I should be able to gently ease her off my back and into bed, and even if she does wake up a bit surely I can just bundle her up in a blanket and bounce her a few times and back to sleep she will go.  The words plan, men, best-laid, and mice are twirling around somewhere in my head at this point but I forge onwards.  I think you can see where I am going with this...A little more rocking of, singing to and bouncing of the very awake baby ensued.  She eventually humoured me be shutting her eyes and feigning sleep for all of 10 minutes before she was once again wide awake.  Okaaay....there followed some more playing, another jaunt on my back for a trip to the supermarket hoping some extra stimulation would tire her out.  No joy.  Maybe she's hungry?  Hunger resolved, eyes wide open.  Right.  It's 3:30pm now, there's no way she cannot be tired at this point despite her protestations.  So I end up feeling like a very mean mummy cause in the end I just held her tight while she wriggled, cried and back arched.  I replaced the dummy every time she threw it away and I just kept bouncing til she gave in to sleep.  So, there she is, finally asleep.  Will she stay that way?  Who bloody knows?  I know I'm exhausted by it all now!

Seriously Chloe? Really?  A measly thirty minutes is all you give me for my efforts?  Good God!

Chloe's new favourite past-time: standing up on anything she can pull herself on to.  Usually followed shortly thereafter by falling over as she lets go kamikaze-style.

I'm learning

I've been taking lots of pictures of Chloe - what parent doesn't take a billion pics of their own child?  I feel like I'm slowly improving, getting those sharp images isn't always easy with a moving target but more and more often I feel like I'm capturing some great images.  I just love her eyes, those big Baby Blues.  Luckily she's quite happy to look towards the camera most of the time, I think she likes it when she sees her reflection in the lens, however she also loves eating my camera strap.  Try getting enough focal distance with a tiny monkey pulling your camera towards itself!

I took some photographs of Chloe and Margaret together when she was visiting and I really like how this portrait has turned out.  

She's so inquisitive now and is getting to the age where everything is interesting.   She really loves interactive books now, be they of the Pop-Up or the textured variety.  I'm learning that getting down to her level is essential if I want good baby pics - spending a lot of time on my belly!

Ever Changing

Six and a half months have gone by already.  Getting time for another "baby-in-a-bag" photo soon!  Time is passing faster than I'd like and I am so thankful that I have this time with her.  I don't know how other women  go back to work.  I guess we all feel differently, and I know some women look forward to getting back the adult world but I'm not one of them.  She's growing and changing so quickly that I couldn't bear to miss any of it.  I just love her to death and as much of a cliche as it is, I don't think anyone can truly understand how much their parents love them until they become parents and have children of their own.  It is indescribable.  

She's moving all over the place now, commando-style but also starting to get her knees up under her.  It's so cute watching her:  stretch out arms.....palms on the floor.....haul chest over hands.....raise bum into the air to get on knees......concentrate.....hold position......slide back onto tummy as knees slip out from under her.  And repeat.  We went over to Jess's yesterday for a Baby Shiatsu course.  Trying to massage a moving target is no easy task.  Come to think of it, even doing basic things like trying to change her nappy is a struggle these days.  As soon as she's put down on her back all she does is roll onto her front then try to crawl towards the most interesting thing in her line of vision and chew on it.  Usually the plastic nappy bag - she definitely doesn't know that children shouldn't play with plastic bags.

Thankfully she's learned how to sleep again as well.  It was tough for a while there.  Her sleeping just got worse and worse from 4 months onwards and at it's worst I think she was awake 10 times in one night.  It was exhausting and mentally draining cause we just didn't know the reason for it or what we could do to make things better.  I'll admit tears were shed - mostly by me because I will not just leave her to "cry it out".  As often as it was suggested to me, it isn't a parenting choice I wanted to make and I am so glad that we've come out the other side without resorting to it.  It was a long two months but I'm so lucky to have a husband like Alex who was willing to support me and wake up early and take Chloe so I could get a few more hours of much needed rest.  She doesn't sleep through, but I don't expect her to at this age and I'm quite happy with the sleeping situation, though I'll admit that 5:30am is a little bit early to be getting up most mornings.  Try telling that to Chloe though. 

The weaning is coming along slowly.  We tried giving her some purees and some baby porridge to mix in with the BLW but it seemed to put her off food completely.  She really dislikes being spoon fed - I think having medications syringed into her mouth several times a day has given her a dislike of having anything put into her mouth by anyone other than herself.  We've found that sitting across from her trying to spoon stuff in just make sher upset and fussy.  If we sit her in her chair with some things in front of her to pick at and either entertain her a bit or let her get on with it herself while we eat our meal tends to result in more food going into her mouth.  A fair bit (in fact most of it) still ends up on the floor but she's experiencing new tastes and textures.  Tonight it was felafel with some humous and some cucumber.  It is a slow process but I'm happy to continue breastfeeding her so I'm going to let her go at her own pace and try not to worry.  

We've also had a very special custom-made carrier arrive.  I had it made from our first wrap at it has turned out beautifully.  Hopefully it will allow us to keep using it for a long time to come.

Our new Chicago Ocah

Another milestone this week:  Chloe moved forwards.  For the last couple of weeks she's been doing plenty of rolling side to side, twisting and turning and even pushing herself backwards but no forward momentum until yesterday.  I put her down with some new toys to play with - some wooden rattles which she definitely took an interest in, her interest mainly involving bashing them on the wooden floor!  She bashed them about a bit and when they flew out of her reach she stretched her hands out, hoiked herself up and pulled herself up over them.  The good old baby-commando-crawl move.  Nothing is safe any more!  Gone are the days when I could just put her down and go off and make a coffee, now I'm likely to return to find her across the other side of the room chewing on some cable.  Honestly, she's worse than a rabbit.

Looking proud of her recent accomplishment

A little roast butternut squash

Linda Blair, You've Got Nothing on Chloe!

Really, considering her small stature, the distance and volume of vomit she projected last night was pretty impressive.  Not only once, not twice, not....thrice?.....but FOUR times.  I mean, to be fair, she hasn't spat up or vomited on me for quite some time so I guess she was pretty determined to address that after having lulled me into a false sense of security.  Her first attempt was only partially successful and she covered the (newly laundered) bedsheets more than she did me.  After a thorough clean up and stripping (of her and the bed, not me) I sat with her in the living room keeping her upright for a while cause she was unhappy lying down.  She obviously wasn't that happy being upright either cause after a few minutes she turned ot her right and vomited all over the blanket on one side of me, turned to her left and vomited all over the pillow on the other side then turned to face me and vomited all over me.  And we aren't talking a paltry amount here ladies and gentlemen, we are  talking significant volume.  Having thoroughly gotten mommy Chloe then happily settled down for a sleep on Daddy's chest while I took myself off to the shower (yes, there was so much it was necessary) and did about 2 loads of laundry covered in sour milk baby-vomit.  

No idea what caused it, really hoping it never happens again.  Not naive enough to think that it wont though. 

Fog and Reflections

We headed out of the city to the Pentlands this afternoon for a bit of fresh air.  Considering they are right on our doorstep we really don't get out for walks on them often enough!  Alex and I have actually done this walk once before, however that time it was blowing a gale (according to me), or just a tad windy (if Alex is to be believed) and I pulled a hissy fit after the first little hill and insisted we take a short-cut back rather than complete the walk.  Not my hardiest moment.  I'm pleased to say that today the weather was calm, if not fair, and we actually managed to complete the walk.  I had fun playing with my new camera lense and Alex, Chris (&Chloe) were pretty patient waiting for me to catch up from all my time spent snapping.  Judging from the occasional bead of sweat I noticed on a forehead I think they were secretly more than happy to have an excuse to stop for a breather.  My lack of fitness was made very obvious to me, my thighs burned on the uphill slogs and I was the proverbial tortoise, slow and steady.  What more can I expect after about a year of no exercise?  Chloe spent most of the walk sleeping on Alex's back, alternating between snoring and inhaling in shock at any gust of cold wind.  Well, we have to get her used to the frigid winter temperatures in Frozen Britain.

Oh yes, there will be mess!

We have started down the road of Baby Led Weaning (BLW).  For those unfamiliar with the term here is a summary written about BLW:

Baby Led Weaning is just that. Led by baby. The idea is that they are completely in control of what and how much goes into their mouth and belly. Eating is a sensory and educational experience, where they explores textures and tastes themselves. They are active participants in eating right from the beginning. Rather than passively opening their mouths to receive food, they learn to feed themselves. Each day a  selection of food from all the food groups is offered. As parents we learn to trust that they know what and how much they need, we learn to let go of expectations and emotions attached to food (like they 'should' eat this much or, its 'good' to eat that). Research shows that over a period of time, when given the choice, infants will instinctively choose foods that meet their nutritional requirements. As they are in control they will know when they are full.  Rather than being encouraged to take 'just one more mouthful' they will listen to their body and stop when they are full. As parents we listen to their cues and respect that they are in tune with their needs. Hopefully with this approach we will have a child who grows up remaining in tune with their instincts, who has healthy eating habits and attitudes, and who is open to new foods and tastes.

Now, while this is all very lovely it is imperative that anyone embarking on BLW is well and truly prepared for the mess!  We started our journey with a trip to IKEA to buy a cheap-and-cheerful (and able to be hosed down easily in the shower) high-chair and many, many bibs.  We started off by offering banana, which can turn into a slippery little customer pretty quickly.  We've since offered roasted butternut squash, broccoli, toast, honeydew melon, steamed carrot sticks and the crust from my pizza today.  So far the only "evidence" tells us that broccoli has been ingested, not sure about anything else though!  She has also had a sip of water from a sippy cup, and while she LOVES to suck on the sippy cup she seemed rather startled to find a cold liquid coming out of it.

A slippery little customer by the end of it all.