8 months!

Another month down and Lily is now 8 months old.  I know I say this in almost all my posts, but honestly, the time just seems to be going so quickly.  My parents were recently visiting and we were reminiscing over Lily's photo album - we coo'd and aah'd over her first few days and weeks - she was so tiny with such dark hair.  Like I've said before, I don't remember her being so tiny and have been trying very hard to recollect those incredibly small hands and tiny fingers.  Size 1 nappies look far too tiny, newborn baby grows look way too small...

Today Lily is 8 months old and it's also her first day in size 4 nappies.  They're still a little too big, but they do the trick, so back to Baby City I go with the two packs of size 3 nappies that she no longer needs.  It's an emotional thing moving her into a bigger size nappy.  Who knew!

Lily is now lifting herself onto her knees and hands and instead of crawling just yet, she is rocking backwards and forwards.  I'm sure crawling isn't far off.  The "reverse slide" is still her ride of choice along with a few frustrated moments when a foot gets entangled or she can't reach the toys in front of her due to her going backwards instead of in the desired direction.

These past 8 months have been indescribable.  Nothing compares to being a mother and no-one will ever understand until they have become a mother themselves.  Joy, abundant love, bliss, constant concern, extreme happiness... some of those words are definitely suitable, but still don't do justice to the world of being a mother.

Lily - you are my life.  I cannot begin to imagine my life without you in it.  I miss you when I put you to sleep at night and I can't wait to see your smiling face when I wake up in the morning (granted, sometimes I'm happy for bed time when you've been busy all day and I can wait a few extra minutes in the morning when you haven't had a good night!).  You constantly amaze me and fill my heart with so much love and pride.  You are the most beautiful little girl I have ever laid my eyes on with your huge blue eyes, long eyelashes, perfectly shaped little eyebrows and crazy curly hair.  Not a day goes by without us sharing a giggle, kisses and tender moments - you are one truly happy little baby.  My life is forever changed now that you are in it and I look forward to every single new day we share together. xxx

Sleep is evil & must be fought!

I suppose I must be grateful that I have a baby who sleeps well 95% of the time at night.  Her routine is still the same - supper at 5pm, bath at 5:30pm and down for the night by 6pm.  I'm then usually only woken up at 4am for a feed after which she goes down for a short nap and wakes up anywhere between 5am and 6am.  I'm lucky that I've never had to battle to get Lily to go down again at night - she literally has a feed and then when I put her back into her cot, she self soothes and I can go back to sleep.

However, day time sleep is evil and must be fought!  Her morning sleeps used to be relatively easy - put her on the boob, she would fall asleep and I would put her in her cot.  As of the last week, this is now not working and I'm finding it hard to be patient.  Don't get me wrong, I don't get impatient with Lily, but I would rather give up and leave her to stay awake, but that just spells disaster for the rest of the day, and needless to say for myself so she definitely still needs her morning naps.  So I am now resorting to rocking her in my arms shushing her to sleep with her bunny snuggled into her arms and face.  It takes a little more effort than just breastfeeding which I'm having to get used to, but I'm adamant that she needs her morning sleep.

The reason I'm so adamant about this is that Lily does not like afternoon naps.  No matter how much rocking, shushing, breastfeeding or singing I do, she will turn around, give me a huge smile and kick her legs to keep herself from going to la la land!  I seriously think my child suffers from a condition called "FOMO" - Fear of Missing Out - so sleep must be fought and will not win!

As I type this, I have spent a hard-working 20 minute session trying to get Lily to sleep.  Finally both sleep and I won a very well fought battle!  Mom can now have some time out to enjoy a well-deserved cup of coffee!

Developments

It still astounds me how very quickly our precious little babies develop.  One day they appear to be nowhere near to achieving a new milestone and the next day they are mastering the skill.  Scary.

I've been in two minds about Lily crawling.  First thought:  I can't wait for her to start crawling and to begin exploring her surroundings.  Reaching this milestone also proves to this sometimes anxious first time parent that yes, my child is normal!  Second thoughts:  I'm also quite patient to wait for the crawling to begin as it's easier this way.  I can leave Lily for a few moments happily playing on her mat and when I return, I'm at peace with the knowledge that she will still be in the same spot.

As of yesterday, I was convinced that Lily was nowhere near ready to start crawling.  Much like her dad who can be a little "lazy" at times (said with much love I assure you!), she would reach for items and if they were out of her grasp, she would merely put her head down to rest on the mat as if to say, if I just lie here, mom, or someone will eventually bring this toy to me!  Of course she has me wrapped around her little finger and the lying down gesture just simply melts my heart, so naturally she was right and the toys did miraculously land up in her grasp anyway!

Having said that, I have been trying to encourage her to shift, move, slide... whatever movement actually just to get her moving, but as of yesterday, nothing!  Well, today is a different story.  Lily has started to crawl, or should I say, shift backwards.  I've been told that moving backwards is the start of crawling so I'm sure that this is the beginning!  So at this moment I can still leave her happily playing on her mat in one spot, but when I return, she will still be on the mat, but in a slightly different position or at a different angle.  Things are progressing!

Another milestone Lily (almost) achieved today happened at her cousin's house.  Their baby cot is on its lower level due to Lily's cousin being that bit older.  We put both Lily and her cousin into the cot to play and Lily started pulling herself up holding onto the sides!  She was progressing quite astonishingly well and I'm sure had we given her more time (we were in a rush to head home), she would have achieved her goal!  I couldn't believe what I was seeing!  I'm now grateful for the fact that our pool net has been fitted and am giving myself another week to get some gates for our stairs and chicken mesh for our railings!  Tomorrow my hubby must lower our cot down as well - I most certainly don't want her suddenly pulling herself up and landing on the floor!

So today was an exciting day.  I suppose I should make hay while the sun shines and take advantage of the few weeks, or perhaps even days, that I have to "relax" slightly where I can just put Lily on her mat and entertain her in a stationery position.  I'm also going to enjoy wearing my high heels as I know I'm going to have to trade them in for flat, comfortable "run after baby" shoes in the very near future!

7 month clinic visit

Being a mommy, I am always concerned about whether I'm doing things properly so I was relieved that the time finally arrived for your 7 and a half month check at the clinic.  I was so happy that we got to see Sister Barbara, an elderly, but highly experienced nursing sister, who is always so insightful and has the ability to put this concerned mom's mind at ease.

I was debating how much weight Lily had gained and was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't actually gained as much as I had thought.  At 7.5 months, she weighs 7.5kg (how coincidental!), her length is 67cm and her head circumference is 45.2cm.  To think that when she was 1 week old, she was 2.8kg, 50cm tall and her little head was only 35cm.  My baby is getting so big!

I asked Sister Barbara if I am feeding Lily too much as she doesn't often turn her head away and seems to have a very healthy (sometimes overly so!) appetite. To my relief the answer was no and that Lily looks perfectly healthy and happy.  Sister Barbara was also very impressed with the fact that I am still breastfeeding and doesn't disagree at all with the fact that I use the boob to get Lily to sleep - in fact, she said that mother's milk is the best sleep aid.  Perfect, another thing that I'm doing right!  And lastly, she recommended for mommy that I get some Floradix Liquid Iron to get my energy levels up so that I'm not so tired at night and can be a better wife to my desperate husband!  So all in all, we had a great check at the clinic and we all left very happy!

Our next visit is at the end of January for Lily's 9 month check and an immunisation.  As much as I look forward to the clinic visits so I can get my questions answered and Lily weighed, I'm really not looking forward to them sticking that nasty needle into my precious baby's leg.  It just breaks my heart.  I'm thinking of telling hubby that this visit is his turn to do!

Summer is here

Finally the weather in Cape Town seems to be catching up with the rest of South Africa and it has realised that yes, it is Summer!  With this brings my excitement of putting aside Lily's 3-6 month winter outfits and hanging up all her new 6-9 and 6-12 month clothes.  However, this exciting moment also brings about a sad moment where the clothes get packed away ever too soon.  Some items she never even got to wear... Yet again, time is flying too quickly and it's yet another reminder to savour every single second during this precious time. 

But back to the point... Besides the emergence of the Summer wardrobe, the warmer weather also means it is time for the swimming pool.

Two days ago, we had a lovely hot day which warmed up the solar panels which ultimately warm up our pool.  My husband is a bit of a "princess" when it comes to water temperature and he will not venture into anything cooler than 27 degrees, hence almost our entire roof is covered in solar panels!  Be that as it may, the numerous panels worked together to heat up our pool to a bath temperature of 30 degrees - it was time to introduce Lily and this was the result:

This is so much fun dad!

I'm looking forward to introducing both dad and Lily to swimming lessons in the new year seeing she loves being in the water with her daddy so much!

First Chrismukkah!

Chrismukkah, as explained by our dear friend Wikipedia, is a pop-culture neologism referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah.  Now, being Jewish, we do not celebrate Christmas, but are not adverse to sharing in the annual celebrations that are typically associated with this time of year.  Having said that, my group of friends belonging to the weekly Mother's Group, decided to throw a "Baby's first Christmas party".  Not one to be left out of any sort of celebration, there was no doubt that we would be attending.  We didn't attend for the "Christmas" association, but for the mere festivities and gathering of friends.  I like to refer to it as our little Chrismukkah!

Lily was dressed up specially for the occasion (yes, those who know me, wouldn't be surprised by this statement), wearing a white dress, red shoes and a red clip to match.  She also wore her beautiful silver bracelet that granny and grampa bought for her which looked too precious!  See below:

Unfortunately hubby was "extremely ill" with "man flu" so wasn't able to join us, so Aunty Lou happily obliged to come along.  We had loads of fun with the other mommies and meeting all the husbands.  I found it incredible how I always thought a few of the babies looked exactly like their moms until I actually met the husbands!  I wonder what people would have thought had they been able to meet my husband - would they have thought Lily looked like him, me or neither of us?

After sitting down for lunch, which typically involves one partner hurriedly wolfing down their food while the other partner holds and entertains baby before doing a quick swap, Santa arrived!  Every baby had a turn to sit on Santa's lap and receive a gift.  I was praying with all my might that Lily would be happy on Santa's lap, or at least wouldn't cry, but no, she was NOT impressed and burst into tears!  So no happy Santa pictures for my little girl this year, but I think this is a "right of passage" - every baby will have one of these one year!

As soon as I took Lily off Santa's lap, she was her happy jolly self again.  This was one episode I couldn't blame on teething!  Lily was spoilt with a very cute present which included an adorable Christmas hat (below), beach toys and of course, Lily's signature hair clips!

And after a whole afternoon filled with loads of excitement, plenty of catching up, great food and awesome festivities, we headed home with an absolutely exhausted baby!

And that was our first of hopefully very many merry Chrismukkahs!

Reasons to be grateful

Someone asked on a forum I belong to what word we would like to use to reflect the new year ahead - 2011.  I thought about it for a while, wondering what word I would truly like to reflect the year and I suddenly realised how incredibly blessed and amazing my life is.  I've always known this, but actually thinking about it, I realised that I REALLY do have such an incredible life!  The word I chose was GRATEFUL.

I am grateful for:

• My incredible husband who is a wonderful provider so I can be a stay at home, full time mom to Lily.  He is loving, extremely kind and just incredibly funny! I'm also grateful for the many laughs I share with him on a daily basis.
• My beautiful, happy baby girl.  She has blessed and changed my life completely.  I never quite understood the profound life-changing experience having a child really is.  Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it.
• For my amazing family. We are all so very close and I'm grateful for the love we all share.  My mom, my best friend, who is constantly concerned for the happiness and health of us all and never stops running around us like a little busy bee; my dad who is just full of love for his "girls" and just seeing him with Lily melts my heart, he has the softest, kindest nature; my sister, also my best friend, go-to person and confidant, a truly amazing spiritual person - one of the most sincere people I know.
• For my beautiful house, relaxed lifestyle, my cute little black car, the food I like (but that's not necessarily quite good for the figure!) and for being able to have the nice things in life.

I'm grateful for so many things actually! Typing this just makes me realize that I have so much to be thankful for.  Life is good!

7 months today

Yet another month has passed in a blur and you are 7 months old.  I honestly cannot believe it and if I were granted one wish, I would wish for time to stand still for a moment.  Just a little moment so that I could fully enjoy the little person Lily is right at this very precise day in time.  I know I have said that I'm enjoying every age and stage Lily is at, but honestly, it just seems to be getting better and better.

A snapshot at this very moment in time:

• Rolling over from her back to her stomach!  This took quite a lot of coaxing and manipulating, but finally, we had a 100% roll over.  Finally!  This doesn't happen very often, but we can say it has definitely happened now.
• A very strong personality is emerging.  Lily knows what she wants and makes this very evident to both mommy and daddy.  Distraction works at times, but I think she is a little cleverer than we give her credit for.
• The dogs still provide momentous amounts of entertainment.  Harley, who was once hesitant and a little nervous of the new addition to our family, seems to quite enjoy Lily now giving her nudges, licks and sniffs much to Lily's absolute delight, resulting in high pitched screaches!
• I have started to introduce little bits of food from my plate and boy does Lily take well to it all.  I had sushi the other day and offered her some of the rice and she loved it!  I've also introduced small pieces of soft dried fruit as well as mince - all of which were eagerly moved around in her tiny mouth and then happily swallowed.
• Lily is sitting up like a champ now!  Very solid and fully supported.  How amazing that this happened almost overnight.
• My little girl could easily pass for a little boy at times as she loves being rough!  Daddy spins her around, turns her upside down, bounces her around and she just laps it all up with a huge grin and giggles.
• Lily is still quite petite and still fits into her size 3-6 month clothing although some of her 6-12 month items are fitting her much better now.  It's always fun moving into a new size so she can wear her new outfits.
• Her once thick mound of dark hair is now falling out to reveal much lighter, shorter new hair beneath.  The thicker hair on the top of her head seems to have escaped the migration so this hair is combed over the balding areas - not only do old balding men have comb-overs! :)
• Lily is truly a very happy child.  Our days are unindated with smiles, grins and giggles.  We are truly blessed.

Happy 7 months my angel child!  I love you more than you will ever know! xxx

Great day!

Yesterday, exactly one week before Lily turns 7 months, Lily said "Dada" for the first time!  I realise of course that she doesn't understand the meaning, but it was extremely exciting for us nevertheless.  I have persistently been saying "Dada, Dada" to her as I am adamant that it should be her first word so that when she needs or wants something, that's who she will call for : )  But all joking aside, it was very cute and the smile on hubby's face when he heard her was priceless.

And just a week ago, Lily also rolled over from her back to her stomach for the first time!  She really is meeting milestones at the moment.

Yesterday was also exciting because we got the photographs from our photoshoot.  An old family friend who now lives in Australia, happened to be visiting her parents in East London while we've been here and came around for coffee.  She is a brilliant photographer and came along with her camera!  We took some casual photo's and they are absolutely stunning, especially of precious little Lily Pie.  Here are a few that I just had to share:

My little family

So happy with my daddy

A tender moment with mommy

With my very special grandparents

Just can't get enough!

Lily is just too adorable at the moment!  I literally cannot get enough of her.  Every stage so far has been truly amazing, I feel absolutely blessed, however, this particular stage makes me want to squeeze her and just absorb every single second of it all.  The hysterical laughter and giggles, the scrunching up of her nose, the infatuation with the dogs, her love for all food presented to her, her little fat roll at the top of her leg, the cute dimples on her elbows (as Aunty Lou calls them, "Fat lady elbows"), her uncontrollable hair, the constant smile on her face... all of these things make me so grateful for what I have!

We are still on our road trip and Lily is still just taking it all in her stride.  You would swear we were still at home in our usual routine.  The only slight "niggle" is that I think her teeth are now starting to bother her a little.  Every now and then she seems a bit "unlike Lily" and I honestly think her pesky little bottom toofies are going to make an appearance soon.  Poor little nunu.  Other than that, she is truly taking this whole road trip in her stride.

We began our road trip at the beginning of November and started at the Breede River where we stayed for a week.  Our next stop was Tsitsikama where we stayed right over the ocean!  The view was amazing, but the weather unfortunately wasn't.  We managed only one walk along the beach and the rest of the time was spent entertaining Miss Lily inside.  After 4 nights there, we made our way to Cannon Rocks where we stayed in a lovely place, just minutes from the beach.  Unfortunately yet again, the weather didn't play along so we spent our days having leisurely family time together and going for drives to nearby places like Kenton-on-Sea.  We then made our way to East London where we have been for a week.  It has been great to spend time with the family and to have my mom's help - she truly is Superwoman in my eyes (cooking, cleaning, early mornings with Lily so mommy can sleep - the list is never ending)!  So tomorrow is our last day in East London and then we are heading towards Knysna on Monday.  I wish I could take my parents home with me :(

So unbeknown to Lily, she is in fact exploring quite a few places already at the tender age of 6.5 months!  I've taken numerous photographs for her so she can have a look at them when she is older.  Two of the photographs I took are actually so cute, I have to share them here.  Daddy was playing with Lily and his cap at granny and gampa's house on the bed.

Constant entertainer

Whilst in East London a few weeks ago, my mom and I watched an episode of Oprah where she interviewed the controversial "Octomom", the woman who famously had octuplets after she already had 6 children!  So now she has 14 children to take care of on her own with hardly any help at all.  I watched this programme with much sadness when she allowed Oprah's production crew into her life for 24 hours.  Those poor children were pleading for attention and love.  At once stage, one of the little octuplets literally fell alseep in his high chair and no-one even noticed.  Head slumped back in his chair in his own little happier dream land... heartbreaking to say the least.

A huge contrast to the Octomom's children, Lily requires constant entertainment.  My child isn't satisfied to be left to play on her own for too long, nor with only one particular toy or object.  Mom is her constant entertainment!  Perhaps she is too alert and, as I, biased mommy would like to think, too bright to be plonked down in one space playing on her own.  As a result, I often think of those 14 children who are so very desperate for that undivided attention and love and my heart breaks.  It reminds me how lucky Lily and I are to just be the 2 of us and how, even if I'm absolutely shattered from my constant entertaining or lack of sleep, I love playing and spending quality time with my angel.

Having said that, come 6pm, I'm happy to say goodnight and sweet dreams to Lily so I can try to recharge for my entertaining that starts bright and early the next morning!

Life's little joys

From a life that revolved entirely around myself for 30 years, I have realized what it is to feel complete. Not that I was unhappy on my own, I just knew that I always wanted a family. So when I met my husband, I knew that my life was forever changed. I just knew that he was 'the one' and that my life was getting that much closer to being perfect. Then of course, just over 6 months ago, my world was forever changed once again when our precious little Lily arrived. Who knew that the tiny little things she would do would bring us so much joy - the sort of joy people would pay millions to experience is happening in my life daily absolutely free of charge!

• I love the little smiles I get when I go into Lily's room when she has just woken up. No matter how early it may be, that smile literally squeezes my heart.
• The wheezing noise she has started making is too funny! I think she loves the new sound she is hearing so continues to suck in the air and make her wheezing noise!
• She is still doing her 'royalty' wave and once she spots her hand, she waves it even more. Absolutely the cutest gesture!
• Her sitting is coming along nicely although she still wobbles and topples over occasionally Watching her trying to master this new milestone fills my heart with pride.
• Lily's sleeping seems to be improving (touch wood) with bedtime at 6pm, one feed at 4am and her day starting at 6am. What a lucky mommy!
• She loves playing flying airplane, being hung upside down and generally just being a bit rough! Maybe I'm going to have a tomboy on my hands!
• Food is still going down really well with banana and papaya now being added to the mix. Yay for Lily being such a good little eater.  Her favourite veggies are sweet potatoes followed closely by gem squash and of course, all fruit goes down with excited anticipation with every spoonful.
• The dogs still provide endless moments of laughter and entertainment much to everyone's amusement. It's so amazing to hear her fits of laughter while she watches them!

Even though I spent 30 happy years of my life on my own, I now cannot begin to imagine going back to that time. My hubby and baby have completely changed my life, all for the better! Who knew that our precious baby would bring us so much joy. Such tiny little priceless gestures fill my day with so much happiness.

Road Trip

Yesterday we packed up the car and headed off on our very first "family of 3" road trip. Packing for this journey was of epic proportions - who knew such a little person would require so much. I think we literally packed up our whole house for these meager 3 weeks away. This was the first time I was truly grateful for our Venter Trailer! I used to be quite snobbish about using a trailer and always threatened wearing a balaclava when it was in tow, but now it is my best friend! With the trailer choca-bloc, the dogs in the boot, Lily strapped in, mom in the back and daddy driving all on his lonesome in the front like a taxi driver, we were on our way!

Lily was a super star! It's not easy for a little baby to be constantly happy facing the backseat for a 4 hour road trip. I wouldn't be happy if my only view was the back of a seat! But Lily truly astounded me and was very happy playing with her toys and laughing at mommy's strange faces and voices. We decided to break the trip up so Lily wasn't confined to her seat for too long and she enjoyed watching the dogs running about and looking at the new scenery. Lily still finds our Labrador hilarious and bursts into absolute fits of laughter when he is in sight.

I have to say I'm so lucky that Lily takes to new places really well. Staying in new beds, in new environments doesn't seem to bother her. She still maintains her bedtime routine much to mom's relief! So whether at home or in a new place, mommy only gets woken up once at around 3am and then Lily starts her day at 5am. Compared to other mommies, I am very lucky!

So today is day 2 of our road trip and I'm sure we have many adventures ahead of us. I'm so looking forward to spending this quality time away with my precious daughter and watching her discover more of herself and her little world.

Half a year!

I cannot believe that my precious little 3kg baby was placed in my arms 6 months ago!  Time is cruel and doesn't allow you to fully enjoy each little moment to its fullest.  I therefore try my hardest to treasure every single moment of Lily's "babyhood" to the fullest as she clearly isn't going to be a baby for too long. 

Lily truly has turned my life upside down and I mean that in the best way possible.  I cannot picture my life without her.  This tiny little human being has me wrapped around her teeny tiny finger.  She is my life and my reason for being.  I will do anything for her and I promise to always be the best mother possible.

Lily:  At 6 months you are so extremely cute!  I don't know how it's possible that you can get cuter by the day, but you do.  You are now sitting on your own, albeit a bit wobbly at times, but you're definitely able to support yourself.  You achieved this milestone a day before your 6 month "birthday"!  It's so amazing how you achieve these milestones though - 2 days before you turned 6 months, you couldn't hold yourself up while sitting, but the next day there you were fully supporting yourself and sitting!  Truly, truly astounding!

Sitting all on your own!

You are starting to realise more and more that I am your mom and that dad is your daddy.  You aren't that keen on going to strangers, although, having said that, sometimes you don't mind too much.  I love the fact that if you're in need of consoling, as soon as you're back in my arms you feel better.  I love that I can provide that comfort and security.

Some other info: 

• You are still fitting into your size 3-6 month clothing and I'm itching to get you into the next size as there are some seriously cute outfits waiting for you.  
• You are comfortable in your size 3 nappies.
• There are still no signs of any toofies making their appearance any time soon, but the drool is still very much there!
• You have finally found your feet and love holding onto them or putting them into your mouth.
• You are eating up a storm and take to everything that your proud mommy presents to you.  Fish has been your latest conquest and although the first mouthful received a frightful frown, you acquired the taste in no time.  I actually think it was the texture more than the taste that took you by surprise.
• You are a very smiley, happy baby and still scrunch up your nose when giving everyone who pays you attention the biggest grin.
• You have now been on a plane twice and passed with "flying" colours!  You played on mommy's lap, looked out the window, drank your milk and even fell asleep.  You didn't cry once!  The old man sitting behind us even told me what a good baby you were.  Proud, proud, proud (and relieved) mommy!

Thank you my angel for the most incredible 6 months.  I'm so looking forward to more incredible moments in our journey together.  I love you more than words will ever express.

Am I a feeder?

After being instructed by the paediatrician to start Lily on solids due to the fact that her weight was under what it should be for her height, I decided to take her advice and as you all know, the solid intro went well.  I have a perfect little eater who has so far accepted everything I have put in front of her.  Today she even took avocado, something I'm not fond of and thought she may not like.  The only downside of having a good eater is that I now have the worry of potentially over feeding my child!

I don't want to become a "feeder" - someone who constantly feeds another while they balloon in size.  Typically, motherhood just never seems to get easier.  We get all excited about the prospect of introducing solids and then we worry about quantities, the quality of the food you're giving them, what to introduce first, you monitor their bowel movements and watch out for allergic reactions.  Phew!

Luckily, after chatting to a few more "experienced" moms (moms with babies 6 months +), I'm apparently doing just fine and Lily's taking in the right amount of food.  What a relief!  However, being the A-type personality I am and wanting to do everything perfectly for my child, I think I'm going to invest in the new Feeding Sense book for some further guidelines.

Even though all of this brings about concerns and questions, it is a lot of fun.  To watch Lily eying out the spoonful of food coming her way, the way she opens her mouth widely in anticipation, when she sucks her lips when its something she really likes, how she tries to grab the spoon to feed herself or to touch and play with the food - all of these things just make me smile and my heart burst with love.

Another first!

On Thursday we are going on our first flight and official holiday with Lily.  I have mixed emotions about this task ahead - I am both excited and nervous.  I'm excited about the fact that we'll be visiting Lily's grandparents and old friends still living in East London who haven't yet met Miss Lily, but I'm nervous about all the packing, the flight and of course how Lily will adapt to sleeping in a strange environment.

Granny and Grampa have kindly bought Lily a camp cot which will live in East London for future visits so that is one thing that's taken care of and we can tick off what seems to be a never ending packing list (I am an A-type personality so have lists for everything!).  They also bought us a seat for the bath so bath time should be easy.  Granny is now armed with her own list (perhaps I get my list making from her) of things she needs to get in preparation for our grand arrival!

I always knew that traveling with a baby wasn't easy, but I didn't quite fully understand the grand scale packing ordeal that needs to take place!  Vests, bibs, clothes (a minimum of 2 outfits per day) nappies, bottles, spoons, food, ice packs, spoegdoeks, toys, bum cream, aqueous cream, shampoo, Calpol (just in case), syringe (for the "just in case" Calpol), teething necklace, iPod with sleep time music, docking station for the iPod, camera, camera charger...  The list just goes on and on!  I don't know how I'm going to pack all Lily's requirements, plus a few measly items to last mom for a week into a dismal 20kg baggage allowance!  Surely airlines should sympathise with mothers and allow at least 50kg?  I don't think airline CEO's have ever traveled with children as they would definitely change this ruling.

Luckily dad is accompanying us on our flight to East London, I have an additional pair of hands.  However, our flight home will be just the two of us as hubby is flying back earlier.  Firstly, I pray that Lily's ears are fine with the take-off and landing.  Secondly, I hope she is a happy baby for the duration of the flight.  I'm also pondering, how I'm going to manage a pram AND the trolley with our luggage on my own.  I may have to put on my flirty face and find some strong young man to help me!

I was telling a friend the other day that I strongly believe that when a baby starts growing inside us, women should simultaneously grow at least an extra arm and a pair of eyes at the back of our heads.  She has two children and said, "believe me, you actually DO grow these things. You can't see them, but you somehow manage like you have 3 arms and you do know what's going on behind you!"  It's strange, but I definitely believe her.  With my invisible third arm, I'm sure I'll manage on my own.

So, wish us luck as we embark on unventured territory... I hope it all goes smoothly!

First day at the beach

Yesterday was truly one of the most beautiful days in Cape Town.  The sea was like a lake, absolutely still.  So, hubby and I decided to take Lily for a walk along the beach in her pram.  It was the first time that it was actually warm enough to dress Lily in her more summery clothes so she was dressed in her cute little red shorts and white and red top from Granny Gail.  Too precious seeing her edible little legs and feet sticking out for a change.

Before heading off to the beach

We decided to stop at a secluded little bay and to take Lily down to the sea.  Now, living on the Atlantic Ocean side of the world, the sea is freezing, freezing cold so I didn't quite know what Lily's reaction would be to us dipping her feet into the water...  Well, it did NOT go well!  As her little toes touched down, out came a loud scream!  Daddy did the deed so he quickly walked back to me hoping she would stop crying and avert attention away from us again.  Luckily the crying didn't last too long.  So her first experience of the sea wasn't the greatest, but I'm sure in time to come this will change.

We didn't introduce Lily to the sand just yet as we don't have all the right equipment.  I'm going to buy her a beach tent this week so she will be more sheltered from the sun and we can therefore spend longer down at the beach.  I'm looking forward to it!

Here are some pictures from our day out:

Beautiful view of the ocean and Table Mountain

Please don't put my feet into the water again!

With my daddy!

I don't want to forget...

The primary aim of this blog is to record Lily (and hopefully her future sibling/s) and my journey so that one day we can both reflect on the "little moments" and the stories that, unless recorded, will otherwise be forgotten.  This is why I love the fact that I took the plunge and started this blog.  I don't mind who from the public reads my updates, but ultimately, it's merely here for a reminder, a reflection and a record of our new little family's journey.

There are so many cute things that Lily's doing at the moment.  They may seem trivial and insignificant to everyone else, but to me they're precious little moments in time that I want to capture.

• I don't know why or what Lily finds so amusing, but she finds Harley, our Labrador, absolutely hilarious!  If he comes within her gaze or sniffs at her, she bursts into the most precious bouts of laughter and giggles. Words cannot describe how that sound simply melts my heart.  If I didn't have ears, my smile would literally wrap right around my head!
• When she breast feeds, she twists and waves her hand like she's royalty waving at an audience.  It's the strangest, yet cutest little movement.  It only started 2 days ago so I'm not too sure what it's all about but I find it incredibly cute nevertheless.
• Lately people have been asking me if Lily has a cough and I have to explain that no, she doesn't have a cough at all - it's simply her way of saying "Hey, I'm trying to get your attention!"  It's almost like whenever she wants to communicate, out comes this forced coughing sound.  I haven't heard any other babies making that sound so it's definitely unique to my baby.
• Whenever Lily smiles at someone, she scrunches up her little nose and opens her mouth wide!  It looks like the cheekiest little grin and I could just eat her right up!
• Lily's slowly starting to notice when someone new is holding her.  Usually she's relatively happy going to strangers, but some days, she just wants her mom or her dad and no-one else.  I have to say I love the fact that she feels secure and wants her mommy.
• I'm so proud of the fact that Lily is still loving her veggies!  She took to gem squash straight away and has happily moved on to both pumpkin and baby marrow.  I'm looking forward to introducing carrot next.

And these are the milestones and little moments that fill our happy days!

Cheeky little grin!

Modeling experience

Well Lily's first modeling job was yesterday and it actually wasn't too bad.  I was a bit apprehensive about the distance with it being on the total opposite end of Cape Town from us, but we left with plenty of time and true to form, we arrived far too early.  I was so proud of Lily Pie as she didn't moan for 90% of the drive which was my primary concern.  I hate that her car seat is still rear facing and I have to play guessing games as to whether she's sleeping, playing, being quiet or is ready to have a little screaming episode!  Nevertheless, she only started to voice her aggravation about 10 minutes before we reached our destination - mission 1 accomplished!

Mission #2 was that she would be the perfect model and not cry when taken from me or required to perform.  So having arrived early, we had time to waste and to top it off, they didn't exactly stick to their estimated time line. We therefore waited for over an hour and a half before they needed Lily!  By this time, she was beyond her 2 hours awake time and starting to get rather agitated.  I tried to ignore the fact that she may not cooperate and hoped for the best!

As we walked into the room I noticed a stick thin, perfectly made up fake Lily mommy.  Now clearly this is why some mothers get depressed about their post-pregnancy weight when they read baby publications.  No-one with a baby has that kind of figure, her perfect hair, pristine make-up and stain-free clothing!  Anyway, besides being in awe of this early-20's youthful fake mom, I watched as they tried to tame Lily's hair.  Now for those of you who have been following my blog or who know my child, this is by no means an easy task!  It's actually impossible.  I know as I've been trying to tame it since the day she was born and am yet to succeed.

Anyway, they managed to get a few shots of Lily being held by her "perfect" mom before she realised that she didn't know that version of me and things weren't quite right.  Down went the lip and out came the tears!  Lily was then handed back to the real, more rounder mom who managed to calm her down before handing her back again.  The hair was still a problem so they attempted to wrap her in a blanket with it going over her head.  Unfortunately the comments then veered from "cute baby" to "she looks like Baby Jesus" so that was scrapped.  In the end it was suggested that Lily wear a little beanie or hat which is what they did.  They managed to get some incredibly cute pictures of Lily lying on a white bed with a bright red beanie staring right into the camera - PERFECT!  She was absolutely mesmerized by the flash and in the end, proved to be a perfect little model.  Mission # 2 accomplished!

Then we had to face the long, tedious drive home.  I was less concerned about our drive back as we weren't restricted by time constraints so I could stop if need be.  Luckily, due to the chaos of the morning, Lily was beyond exhausted and literally collapsed when I put her into her car seat and strapped her in.  As a result, our journey home was peaceful - final mission accomplished.

So I'm proud to say that my Lily Pie has completed her first job and did incredibly well.  We've opened up a bank account where her fees will be stored until she's old enough to enjoy it.  I'm not too sure how many of these castings and jobs I'll take her to as they are a little unpredictable and can mess with baby's schedule, but from this experience, I'll definitely be open to considering more job offers in future. 

Well done my little model baby, mommy's really proud of you!

Model Material

Being a proud mommy, I obviously think Lily is the most beautiful little girl in the world, however, I am fully aware how in many cases with new moms and their babies, that love truly can be blind!  Take for instance my mom.  She thought I was the most beautiful baby and decided to enter me into baby competitions.  When I didn't come anywhere in these competitions, she thought there must be something seriously wrong with the people in charge of judging.  Fast forward a few months, looking back at photographs of me, my mom suddenly realised that firstly, she should NEVER have entered me into baby competitions and secondly, she should have put a brown bag over my head when going out as I was in fact a rather ugly looking baby in those first few weeks!

Having been told this story, I made a mental note to not be overly confident in the fact that how I perceived my child was accurate.  Obviously from the moment I saw Lily I believed she was beautiful, but I was cautious about believing in what I was seeing!

When I started receiving compliments about my child, I started to wonder whether it was possible to believe that how I perceived Lily was in fact true!  The most common description I received from friends was that Lily looked like a "beautiful porcelain doll".  I was also complimented on her hair and beautiful long eyelashes.

So, believing my friends compliments and my own perceptions, I decided to sign Lily up with a modeling agency!  I sent some photographs to Infinity Models and my heart swelled with pride when they responded saying that she was cute and they would love to represent her.  I had a meeting with them and was told that I would have to organise a tax number for her (bless, a 5 month old paying tax!) as well as her own bank account.  The modeling agency would organise a work permit for her on our behalf.  All I had to do now was go to castings and wait and see...

Well, after only 2 castings, we got a call back saying Lily was chosen for a German clothing company!  I couldn't have been more proud!  It was like receiving that final confirmation that my perceptions were right - my child is beautiful! 

So I've thrown out my reluctant inner voice questioning whether my perceptions were completely misguided.  Lily clearly didn't inherit her newborn/infant looks from her mom who never won any baby competitions and shouldn't have left the house without a disguise!

Big Food!

Following Lily's red eye incident (see earlier post), we had a much-awaited-for paediatrician appointment.  We killed two birds with one stone as we had her eyes examined as well as had a chat to the doctor about starting her on solids.  It turns out she must have had a mild viral infection and her little eyes and nose were a little congested, red and swollen, but by the time the doctor saw us, all was on the mend so no meds necessary!

Then came the full examination.  For 5 months Lily is meeting all the milestones perfectly, much to the delight of this very proud mommy!  She is strong when lying on her tummy, she's almost ready to roll over from her back to her stomach and she was a very happy little thing while the doctor gave her the once over.  Her length was measured and she's now 65cm, she grew a whopping 3cm in just over 2 weeks!  She was then weighed and to my delight, she has finally doubled her birth weight.  Lily now weights 6.1kg.

However, the doctor compared her weight to her height and said that she should be weighing in the region of 6.6kg.  My child is by no means starving, but she is starting to become more active and perhaps a slow introduction to solids is necessary to give her that little bit more added energy.  I could always wait until 6 months like I had planned, but then the difference between her height and weight would be even bigger.  So after much consideration, I decided to introduce solids today at 5 months and 1 week old!

I must say I was rather apprehensive as I don't want solids to be a battle.  I really want Lily to love her veggies and be a good eater.  So I sent Daniel out to buy some gem squash, my veggie of choice (after chatting to Aunty Lou of course!) and I put my "puree-ing" skills to the test.  I think I did quite well as there were absolutely no signs of lumps or chunks which is saying quite a lot as I am by no means a domestic goddess!

Daniel had the video camera and camera ready while I prepared to give Lily the first teaspoon... And boy did she love it!  To be honest, I'm not quite sure whether she loved the spoon or the gem squash more, but she definitely sucked away at what was on offer.  I had to hold back on giving her too much as she seemed to just devour every spoonful we offered.

So we have now officially entered the new world of solids!  New tastes, textures and experiences to look forward to!

Red eye :(

On Tuesday I noticed that your little left eye was suddenly all red, swollen and watery.  I must say, I got quite a fright.  This was the first sign, at 5 months, of anything "wrong" with my perfect little angel and I didn't like it!  I don't know how I'm going to cope with high temperatures, blocked noses, coughs and colds as this was merely a little bit of a red eye.  Oh how us mothers worry!

I scrutinized this red eye - could it be a blocked duct, is Lily allergic to the changing seasons, is it Pink Eye?  It looks like it is clearing today but I must admit to constantly watching it.  I don't like it when my baby isn't 100% well and happy.  I wish I could take it away.  I would happily walk around with red swollen eyes in place of my daughter having them.

I suppose I have to be grateful that my first doctor's visit is only for red eyes and nothing more sinister.  So off we go this morning to get Lily back to 100% happy and healthy!

Bad Mommy

It has taken me 5 months, but I've finally realised that Lily cannot go for longer than 2.5 hours of "awake time".  She is such a happy little baby during her first 2 hours of so-called "awake time", but then things start to unravel we have a mini meltdown! 

Take today - happily out and about shopping with my sister (Aunty Lou) and Lily this afternoon.  Lily was loving facing the outside world in her Baby Bjorn, kicking, talking and giggling, but mom forgot to think about the time and the fact that Lily had gone way over her blissful 2 hours of awake time.  Right in the middle of a very busy Woolworths queue, my daughter decided to let the world know that she was fighting the overwhelming power of sleep!  Sleep is the enemy and must be fought.  I was getting a few inquisitive looks and stares so eventually rushed Aunty Lou to the car with Lily while I waited to pay for our groceries.  I was very tempted to leave the groceries and eat nothing for dinner tonight just to get out of the situation!

The same thing then happened this evening again (you would think I'd learned my lesson earlier) as I tried to push her to stay awake until bath time.  Loving her bath and happily playing with her floating green turtle, when out of nowhere, a scream erupted like someone was really hurting her!  I've never whipped her out of the bath so quickly.  We had to take a few moments to calm the mini meltdown so we could finally get dressed, fed and put into bed.

Lily, Mom has now learned her lesson and will be clock watching a little more closely from now on!  She's sorry it took her so long to figure out!  Yet another learning curve in the land of parenthood.

Milestones

Time is literally flying!  I was reminiscing through my photo album of Lily, the one I've created right from the day I got my positive pregnancy test result, and I cannot believe how things have changed!  From my growing belly, booking into hospital, seeing Lily for the first time to today - the precious almost-5-month-old who continues to amaze me!  She is changing on a daily basis and although it's amazing, it's also making me scared.  I want time to stand still for a while.  I can't remember how tiny she was, how much she slept, how much she cried... Those early memories are becoming a blur.  That's why I'm grateful for this blog - a go-to reminder of all the little milestones and our overall journey together.

Some milestones to remember at 5 months (well, 4 days before Lily's 5 month birthday):

• You've finally outgrown your #2 size nappies - hello #3's!
• I've packed away your size 0-3 vests even though size 3-6 months is still a little too big.
• You giggle at least a few times a day now and it makes mom's heart melt.
• You have rolled over from your tummy to your back a few times - we now await the rolling over from back to tummy.
• You're still sleeping well with one night feed which I'm truly grateful for!
• You're a drooling machine so mommy's constantly looking for signs of your first toofie - nothing yet.
• You're noticing the dogs and finding them very interesting!
• You've learned how to get angry!  You arch your back, your face goes bright red and you make a noise similar to the sound of someone who's constipated and desperately pushing!  I can't help but laugh.

You are the light of my life and I just LOVE waking up to your smile in the mornings.  It makes the middle of the night feeds and early mornings all worth while!

Realisations

Becoming a mother has made for some truly amazing realisations:

Firstly, my love and admiration for my own mom has grown even more than I thought possible.  I've always known how much she loves my sister and I, but only now do I fully comprehend how deep that love is.  It's an unconditional love, a love that will always be there - forever - no matter what the future holds.  Its unlike the love I have for my husband.  That love is conditional.  There are certain conditions on which our relationship is built.  No, a love for a child is something extraordinary and you'll only understand that once you've had a child of your own (just what my mom used to tell me when I was growing up!  Thanks mom, I now understand!).

Another realisation is how my life is now forever changed.  I will always worry and be concerned for the safety, health and happiness of Lily.  I will never be fully carefree again, with only "me" to think about.  I am now responsible for a whole new life!  The human being that my daughter ultimately becomes is as a result of my and my husband's parenting.  That is quite a responsibility to have and I hope that I do the best job possible - I will definitely strive to do so.

And finally, I never realised how much I would absolutely love a tiny little person only hours after meeting them.  The love I already had for her knew no limits and it only gets stronger every day.  Sometimes I get all teary just staring at our little creation and my heart just wants to burst. 

I am truly blessed.

Today's thoughts

Today I have 3 things on my mind… 

Thought #1:  My ailing mind.

I have to admit that I’m growing more and more concerned about my mental health.  They say you get “porridge brain” during pregnancy, but I have to say, even though I did say and do the odd occasional ditsy thing, I wasn’t affected too badly (although I’m sure my husband would disagree!).  The problem I believe, is actually POST pregnancy.  I am convinced that I delivered my common sense and short-term memory when I delivered Lily!  It is rather worrying as I don’t seem to retain much upstairs and seem to be living up to the colour of my hair!  I’m praying that my once intelligent mind returns and soon!

Thought #2:  My child’s bowel movements.

Who would have thought that bowel movements would consume your thoughts every 3-4 hours?  Well, that’s what’s been on my mind today and I’m sure 99% of new mommies have experienced this too.  Lily is breastfed and therefore shouldn’t have any problems in the “bowel moving” department.  They say a breastfed baby can go 8 times in 1 day or go once in 8 days… Having said that, she’s pretty regular so this new mommy needn’t worry, until today when  I suddenly realized that my daughter hadn’t had a poo nappy in over 3 days (today being day #4)!  So with every nappy change I was secretly praying that I would open up a nice, full brown nappy!

As luck would have it, I didn’t have to worry for too much longer as a nice big parcel was waiting for me just before bath time – I could have thrown a party I was so relieved!  Had anyone told me about this a year ago, I would never have believed that my days would be spent worrying about bowel movements!

Thought #3:  When to start baby on solids and how to feed baby solids.

Another thing I would never have thought possible is how very confusing feeding a baby is!  One person tells you to start baby on solids at 4 months and another says wait until 6 months.  One person says start them off on rice cereal and others say veggies.  As per usual with anything baby related, there are numerous differing opinions!  So I’ve decided to do what I feel I need to do with MY baby and ignore all the other opinions out there.  I have to do this for my own sanity!

And then another thing – what to feed your baby in when the inevitable first few spoonfuls are spat out!  Do you buy a highchair or a bumbo seat?  If you buy a highchair, what type of highchair do you buy?  There are just so many options out there that yet again, things just get far too confusing.  Although I’m grateful for the modern advances there are today, I sometimes wish it was as simple as it was for our parents when we were babies (except for the lack of car seats back in the day!).  So now I need to do my research and find a suitable abode for my little Lily to merrily eat her solids when that big day comes!  I must say, I’m really excited!

The Mullet

Wikipedia describes the Mullet as the following:

"The mullet is a hairstyle that is shorter at the front and sides, and long in the back.  Often ridiculed as a lowbrow and unappealing hairstyle, the mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s."

As you can see from the description above, the Mullet thankfully died a well-deserved death 30 years ago and hopefully it won't be returning any time soon.  Due to the fact that it is without doubt, one of the least appealing hairstyles around, I was starting to grow concerned when I noticed that my precious daughter's hair was starting to take on Mullet-like proportions!  I spoke to hubby and his reaction was "no, you can't cut her hair, she's too small" so I left it for a while longer, trying to brush the lengthy back pieces straight down into the nape of her neck so it would be hidden by her shirt or baby grow!

After chatting about my concern with some other baby mommies, they all agreed that cute little Lily couldn't possibly continue to go out in public with her Mullet and that it had to go!  So this morning I'm happy to say that I took the plunge and snipped it away.  I know Lily will thank me in years to come!

The Mullet prior to the snip!

 After the snip!

Mommy Body

Getting a belly or losing my figure were the least of my concerns when I got the 2 lines on the pregnancy test last year.  I so wanted to fall pregnant and start a family that if my body were to change, so be it.  Having said that, I am in absolute awe of what this body is capable of - of growing a perfect little human being and protecting her until she was ready to enter this world.

So now that Lily is here and 4 months have past, I'm now more critical of my post-pregnancy body.  I was never a 6 pack type of girl, but I was quite proud of my flat, relatively toned abs.  I suppose I am one of the lucky ones whose stomach went flat almost immediately after giving birth, however, I am definitely more "jiggly"(the most suitable word I can think of) in the abdominal and "muffin top" area!  The most apt way of describing it is like there is air underneath the skin - when sitting, rolls are now appearing where I never had them before!  This body has certainly taken on a life of its own!  I am now left pondering when (or even if) my body will go back to its former glory?

During pregnancy your hair and nails grow beautifully and probably attribute to the "glow" many pregnant women exhibit, however, no-one seems to mention the after birth hair loss!  I'm almost certain that at this rate my hairline is going to resemble my husband's very soon (who is almost completely bald)!  Surely there's a limit to how many hairs one can lose in a day?  I'm starting to worry...

And the final, most devastating thing is... my boobs!  I've always been well endowed in this area, but luckily pretty perky too, but today I did the "pencil test".  For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a way to test "droopage" by putting a pencil underneath your boobs and to pass this test, the pencil should fall out from underneath.  Unfortunately I failed dismally!  That pencil was going nowhere!

So my body has changed... But then again, I have changed.  There are more important things in my life now than my body and how it looks.  My husband still finds me attractive (thank goodness) and I have a beautiful baby girl to show for it which to me, is all that counts at the end of the day!

A mind of its own...

I've been told by a couple of moms on a few occasions that they have "hair envy" when they see Lily.  She was born with a mop of black hair which has continued to grow (except for the usual bald sleep spot at the back of the head) and I'm lucky enough to be able to play around with hair clips and garters.  It's cute and it's fun, however, lately, her hair seems to have gained a mind of its own and is now completely unruly!

No matter how much brushing I do during the day, her hair refuses to lie flat.  I cannot distinguish in which direction to even begin brushing it.  So for now I've decided to resign myself to the fact that I'm not going to win this one and will let nature do as it pleases.

See below for the evidence:

Exhaustion 101!

From as early as those precious few weeks at home, Lily was a good sleeper.  I've heard people describing the first 6 weeks with your newborn as challenging, exhausting, life-changing and scary.  Well, all I could agree with in my first 6 weeks is the most amazing life-changing emotions you're engulfed with as I was obviously one of the very few lucky ones who was blessed with an easy child...

Well, I shouldn't have held my breath at the thought, as now, at 4 months old, Lily has decided that she no longer enjoys her 6pm-6am sleep routine and she would like to show her mommy what other exhausted moms are going through!  I cannot begin to describe the absolute exhaustion I am currently feeling.  The last few nights have been extremely draining with Lily disturbing, but not actually waking up, just enough to get me out of bed, into her room to redeposit her dummy into her mouth.  This she is doing on an almost 2 hourly basis until she eventually wakes up for one early mid-morning feed with mom almost dozing off with her still attached to the boob!  She then goes back to sleep and is awake at 6am for a feed and to start her day, much to the shattered nerves of mom who's secretly hoping and praying that she'll go back to sleep for at least another hour... but no such luck!

So to all the other exhausted moms out there, I'm starting to comprehend how you are feeling.  I just hope that next season's new trends include dark bags... The ones you wear under your eyes!

New Mommy!

I had all great intentions to start a blog when I first found out I was pregnant, but for some reason, going totally against my organised personality, I never got around to starting one.  I wish I had.  I wish I had documented all the ups and downs of pregnancy (not that there were many "downs"), all the incredible "firsts" and of course, the indescribable, most amazing experience of finally meeting my precious daughter.  I never knew life could deal an individual such an incredible experience - an experience that words can never describe.  The absolute unconditional love you feel for this little person is truly out of this world.

So be it as it may, I am now going to try start this blog that I had so intended on doing about a year ago!

On the 28th April this year, I met my beautiful daughter Lily.  My husband and I hadn't found out the sex of our baby, but I think somewhere deep down I knew we were having a little girl.  If people asked me what gender I would have preferred for our first born I always said it didn't matter to us and that as long as our baby was healthy, we would be happy.  Of course that was the truth, but secretly, if I was given the choice of choosing a gender, I definitely leaned towards pink!

So out came Lily, a petite 3kg on the dot with a mop of black hair and the most perfectly shaped little eyebrows.  I couldn't stop staring at her perfect little features and how, even at a few hours old, she had the same big toe as her mom and granny - a feature I will have to apologise for passing on to her when she's a little older!

Today Lily is a couple of days over 4 months old and it truly has been the most incredible 4 months of my life.

Here is a picture of my cute little angel at 1 day old.