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!