Yesterday, during the early hours of the morning, I felt uncomfortable and started having cramps. When I eventually got up for the day, the cramping hadn't subsided and accompanying the worrying aches, was nausea. I was reluctant to give my doctor a call as I would hate to be perceived as an over anxious pregnant woman, but at my husband's persistence, I decided to give him a call. After asking about my symptoms, he said I was to go to his offices and he would fit me in. He needed to measure my cervix to determine if I was possibly going into pre-term labour.
Now pre-term labour isn't what you want to hear at any stage of your pregnancy, but especially not as early as 22 weeks! We quickly got ready and went to his offices. Luckily he only kept us waiting for about 15 minutes and then he took us in. After an internal scan, he said that my cervix was fine - I have never been so relieved to hear news about my cervix! He then did a quick external scan to check the baby's heartbeat and did a few measurements and everything is going according to schedule and looks healthy. What a relief!
He attributed the aches and cramps to ligament stretching and growth. I'm not sure what attributed to the nausea, perhaps it was coincidental. Nevertheless, I took it extremely easy yesterday, lying down when Lily went to sleep and just relaxing as much as is humanly possible with a busy toddler running about. Murphy's Law this would happen while my domestic worker is on leave so I had no-one to alleviate the busyness of a toddler!
Today I've experienced a cramp or two, but honestly feel so much better. Perhaps it was a sign to slow down a little and to realise that I am in fact pregnant. It is easy to forget when you are running around after your 19 month old and get swept away in the craziness of our daily routine. We have now extended our next scan by 2 weeks so will only see Baby Boy A mid-January... Can't wait!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Cutest thing!
Lily is truly the cutest little thing at the moment. She is like a sponge - copying everything we say and do and just absorbing it all. This morning she did the cutest little thing... She watched me pick up my bag and sunglasses for our little visit to the shops so she immediately said "glasses" and reached for her own little pair. I gave them to her and she promptly put them on and walked to the door!
Usually the glasses are on for a few seconds, but today, she wanted to officially wear them on our journey. I just had to take a photograph - it was too precious! Just loving this age! She is a true little character and I fall more and more in love with her every single day.
Usually the glasses are on for a few seconds, but today, she wanted to officially wear them on our journey. I just had to take a photograph - it was too precious! Just loving this age! She is a true little character and I fall more and more in love with her every single day.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Damn mosquitoes!
It is that time of year again when the wind, sunshine and heat arrives and along with all those weather elements, comes the dreaded mosquitoes. Last year Lily was bitten by mosquitoes and had horrendous outbreaks on her little face. Now, two days ago, she was bitten again and has come out in severe welts on both her little arms and her one leg! Poor baby looks terrible and so incredibly sore and itchy!
I took her to the doctor this morning and we got a prescription for a steroid syrup to alleviate the itchiness and to hopefully reduce the swelling. I also got an anti histamine to help with any discomfort. Luckily I haven't noticed her scratching too much, however, just before I put her down for her midday nap, I saw her scratching at the one welt on the bottom of her little leg. My heart just aches for her! I wish I could take it all away and have the mosquitoes biting me instead.
Needless to say, her mosquito net is now back over her cot, her insect repellent stickers are stuck on her cot's panels and I'm off to the shop to buy some more Target spray for the passage outside her room. I'm nuking these damn mosquitoes with a vengeance!
I took her to the doctor this morning and we got a prescription for a steroid syrup to alleviate the itchiness and to hopefully reduce the swelling. I also got an anti histamine to help with any discomfort. Luckily I haven't noticed her scratching too much, however, just before I put her down for her midday nap, I saw her scratching at the one welt on the bottom of her little leg. My heart just aches for her! I wish I could take it all away and have the mosquitoes biting me instead.
Needless to say, her mosquito net is now back over her cot, her insect repellent stickers are stuck on her cot's panels and I'm off to the shop to buy some more Target spray for the passage outside her room. I'm nuking these damn mosquitoes with a vengeance!
 | |
| Proof of the severe reaction my baby experienced :( |
Monday, December 5, 2011
My 2 pregnancies so far
I thought I would do a little comparison of my pregnancy with Lily and my pregnancy with her baby brother up to this stage:
The dreaded weight gain:
I started off heavier with Lily than I did with this pregnancy, however, I'm definitely putting on weight faster this time round. I essentially weighed 2kg less at the start of this pregnancy than I weighed at the start of my first pregnancy, but at almost 21 weeks, I weigh exactly the same as I did with Lily. To date I have gained a dreaded 6kg and hope it slows down! However, having said that, this is probably my last pregnancy so I kind of have the mindset of why not enjoy it, eat the delicious foods I usually avoid as I'm going to gain weight anyway! I can worry about it once the baby has arrived.
Maternity clothes:
With both pregnancies I have been relatively lucky in the fact that I've carried small. I think both of my babies like to lie in my bum area versus the traditional stomach, but as a result, I haven't had to wear maternity clothes too early in my pregnancy. With Lily my clothes started getting snug at around 22 weeks, however, the first time I wore any actual maternity clothes, I was 24 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy has found my clothes getting tighter much quicker at around the 19 week mark and today, just 2 days shy of 21 weeks, I am wearing my comfortable maternity jeans. I don't know what it is that makes me reluctant to relent and wear the more comfy pregnancy clothing - perhaps vanity? I have now realised I would rather be comfortable than walking around in this heat, pulling in a stomach that doesn't react to being pulled in and having to unbutton my pants every time I sit down!
Baby movement:
With Lily I only began to feel movement at around 18 weeks, whereas with this pregnancy, I felt the first flutters at about 16 weeks. They say that this is usually the case with the second pregnancy as you know what to feel for.
How I've been feeling:
With both my pregnancies I was exceptionally nauseous during the first trimester, although I didn't actually vomited. I also went off meat and chicken entirely and craved carbohydrates which my doctor said is best for the nausea. Obviously my body knew that! The nausea, if I remember correctly, seemed to last longer in my first pregnancy than my second, however, my second pregnancy has seen me being far more agitated and exhausted. Perhaps it is due to me looking after a toddler whereas I could relax and take things easy during my pregnancy with Lily. I also remember suffering from back pain during my first trimester with Lily - something I've gratefully been spared this time around. My hubby seems to think I'm far moodier this time round than I was with Lily... This is something I don't care to confirm or deny :)
Otherwise, I don't see too many distinct differences in these pregnancies despite the fact that I'm expecting a different sex this time round. I pray that this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and echoes my first pregnancy in terms of my health, the baby's health and my overall well being.
The dreaded weight gain:
I started off heavier with Lily than I did with this pregnancy, however, I'm definitely putting on weight faster this time round. I essentially weighed 2kg less at the start of this pregnancy than I weighed at the start of my first pregnancy, but at almost 21 weeks, I weigh exactly the same as I did with Lily. To date I have gained a dreaded 6kg and hope it slows down! However, having said that, this is probably my last pregnancy so I kind of have the mindset of why not enjoy it, eat the delicious foods I usually avoid as I'm going to gain weight anyway! I can worry about it once the baby has arrived.
Maternity clothes:
With both pregnancies I have been relatively lucky in the fact that I've carried small. I think both of my babies like to lie in my bum area versus the traditional stomach, but as a result, I haven't had to wear maternity clothes too early in my pregnancy. With Lily my clothes started getting snug at around 22 weeks, however, the first time I wore any actual maternity clothes, I was 24 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy has found my clothes getting tighter much quicker at around the 19 week mark and today, just 2 days shy of 21 weeks, I am wearing my comfortable maternity jeans. I don't know what it is that makes me reluctant to relent and wear the more comfy pregnancy clothing - perhaps vanity? I have now realised I would rather be comfortable than walking around in this heat, pulling in a stomach that doesn't react to being pulled in and having to unbutton my pants every time I sit down!
Baby movement:
With Lily I only began to feel movement at around 18 weeks, whereas with this pregnancy, I felt the first flutters at about 16 weeks. They say that this is usually the case with the second pregnancy as you know what to feel for.
How I've been feeling:
With both my pregnancies I was exceptionally nauseous during the first trimester, although I didn't actually vomited. I also went off meat and chicken entirely and craved carbohydrates which my doctor said is best for the nausea. Obviously my body knew that! The nausea, if I remember correctly, seemed to last longer in my first pregnancy than my second, however, my second pregnancy has seen me being far more agitated and exhausted. Perhaps it is due to me looking after a toddler whereas I could relax and take things easy during my pregnancy with Lily. I also remember suffering from back pain during my first trimester with Lily - something I've gratefully been spared this time around. My hubby seems to think I'm far moodier this time round than I was with Lily... This is something I don't care to confirm or deny :)
Otherwise, I don't see too many distinct differences in these pregnancies despite the fact that I'm expecting a different sex this time round. I pray that this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and echoes my first pregnancy in terms of my health, the baby's health and my overall well being.
Friday, December 2, 2011
20 week fetal assessment
So we are officially just over 20 weeks pregnant and had our 2nd fetal assessment scan this morning. Baby A #2 is still a boy by the look of things (STILL getting my head around this idea!) and he weighs 332g. We couldn't get a nice length measurement as he wasn't very cooperative and was lying with his back facing my stomach (he is facing my back) and then decided to do some gymnastics and was in all kinds of weird positions.
Everything looks normal with the pregnancy which is always such a relief. I've been going to the toilet far too much though so the doctor is sending my urine off for further testing just in case there is a UTI present. In the mean time, bless the doctor, he has prescribed some Aterax for me to help me sleep. Lately I haven't been sleeping well and I am not sure whether to attribute my lack of sleep to my hundred toilet visits or attribute my toilet visits to my lack of sleep (and me then thinking I need the toilet when in fact that's not really the case).
I had to laugh, the doctor said it MUST be a boy as he had his hand between his legs. Yes, the touching and fiddling in that area starts in utero!
I cannot believe that we are half way to meeting our little prince. I cannot even begin to imagine what he is going to look like and often try to picture his little face. I'm assuming he will have lots of dark hair like his sister and cousin Noa and of course he will be beautiful. The doctor reckons he has quite a long nose so we shall see.
I am still managing to fit into my normal clothes and have been avoiding my maternity clothes as much as possible, although the button on my jeans does get undone near the end of the day! I think it will be a matter of days before I relent and go for the more comfy clothes! Weight wise, I am gaining much faster than I did with Lily and although it is a relative concern, I also feel like this could possibly be my last pregnancy and why not enjoy eating the odd indulgence while I'm getting fat anyway! So I'm not going to stress too much and just let nature take its course. I'm now off to wolf down some lunch!
Everything looks normal with the pregnancy which is always such a relief. I've been going to the toilet far too much though so the doctor is sending my urine off for further testing just in case there is a UTI present. In the mean time, bless the doctor, he has prescribed some Aterax for me to help me sleep. Lately I haven't been sleeping well and I am not sure whether to attribute my lack of sleep to my hundred toilet visits or attribute my toilet visits to my lack of sleep (and me then thinking I need the toilet when in fact that's not really the case).
I had to laugh, the doctor said it MUST be a boy as he had his hand between his legs. Yes, the touching and fiddling in that area starts in utero!
I cannot believe that we are half way to meeting our little prince. I cannot even begin to imagine what he is going to look like and often try to picture his little face. I'm assuming he will have lots of dark hair like his sister and cousin Noa and of course he will be beautiful. The doctor reckons he has quite a long nose so we shall see.
I am still managing to fit into my normal clothes and have been avoiding my maternity clothes as much as possible, although the button on my jeans does get undone near the end of the day! I think it will be a matter of days before I relent and go for the more comfy clothes! Weight wise, I am gaining much faster than I did with Lily and although it is a relative concern, I also feel like this could possibly be my last pregnancy and why not enjoy eating the odd indulgence while I'm getting fat anyway! So I'm not going to stress too much and just let nature take its course. I'm now off to wolf down some lunch!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
19 months old
Today I watched my little angel playing at her Top Tots group with a sense of nostalgia... As I keep saying in almost every update I post, it was like yesterday that she was a floppy, helpless little being who required every second of my attention (when she wasn't sleeping of course) and now she is a determined, happy, entertaining, gorgeous little 19 month old!
Lily is really such a blessing and I look forward to seeing her smiling face every single morning. She is honestly a happy little thing who greets me as I open her door with a "morning" or "hello". Truly heart melting! As I've said before, her vocabulary increases by the day and it seems like I only have to tell her something once and she is like a sponge - soaks it all in AND retains the information as well. Such a proud mommy over here!
Some cute little things to note is that she battles to start a word with the letter "f". So a frog is a "rog" and a "phone" is a "wofe" for example. She also can't quite grasp the pronunciation of monkey. Instead Lily's version of the word is "monic"! I can't help but giggle every time I hear it.
I'm still battling with Lily's eating habits, making meal times a true challenge in terms of actually getting anything down as well as controlling my frustration levels. Vegetables are a no-no, but sometimes I manage to get her to eat a veggie finger or two and I've also resorted to making flapjacks with hidden pureed cauliflower and butternut in the mixture. She isn't a fan though - think she has cottoned on to the fact that they're not quite "legitimate" flapjacks. She does however love sausage, apples and cheese. Yoghurt used to be a favourite, something I could rely on, but sadly no longer... I'm really hoping that her eating habits improve soon so I can rest assured that my little angel is getting the nutrition she needs.
Sleep wise Lily is still a little super star giving mommy a much needed great night's sleep. She sleeps from 7:30pm to either 7am or 7:30am. I'm going to enjoy it for the next 5.5 months before baby #2 arrives! And as I type this, she has woken up from her midday nap, after only napping for half an hour!!! I don't know why, but better run...
Lily is really such a blessing and I look forward to seeing her smiling face every single morning. She is honestly a happy little thing who greets me as I open her door with a "morning" or "hello". Truly heart melting! As I've said before, her vocabulary increases by the day and it seems like I only have to tell her something once and she is like a sponge - soaks it all in AND retains the information as well. Such a proud mommy over here!
Some cute little things to note is that she battles to start a word with the letter "f". So a frog is a "rog" and a "phone" is a "wofe" for example. She also can't quite grasp the pronunciation of monkey. Instead Lily's version of the word is "monic"! I can't help but giggle every time I hear it.
I'm still battling with Lily's eating habits, making meal times a true challenge in terms of actually getting anything down as well as controlling my frustration levels. Vegetables are a no-no, but sometimes I manage to get her to eat a veggie finger or two and I've also resorted to making flapjacks with hidden pureed cauliflower and butternut in the mixture. She isn't a fan though - think she has cottoned on to the fact that they're not quite "legitimate" flapjacks. She does however love sausage, apples and cheese. Yoghurt used to be a favourite, something I could rely on, but sadly no longer... I'm really hoping that her eating habits improve soon so I can rest assured that my little angel is getting the nutrition she needs.
Sleep wise Lily is still a little super star giving mommy a much needed great night's sleep. She sleeps from 7:30pm to either 7am or 7:30am. I'm going to enjoy it for the next 5.5 months before baby #2 arrives! And as I type this, she has woken up from her midday nap, after only napping for half an hour!!! I don't know why, but better run...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Another overdue update
Wow, what a crazy last few weeks! Aunty Lou (or AunLou as Lily fondly calls her) had her precious baby girl 11 days early and my gorgeous, tiny niece, Noa, is here. She arrived on the 1st of November just before 9pm weighing 3.34kg. It goes without saying that there has been an abundance of excitement in the family as a result, and we have had Granny and Grandpa visiting from East London. Now that it is the 16th of November (AunLou's birthday!), things have quietened down and the grandparents have left... time for a little bit of an update.
Pregnancy update:
In 2 days time I will be 18 weeks pregnant. On the one hand, it seems like I have been pregnant for quite some time, whereas other days it feels like the 18 weeks have happened so extremely quickly. I can't be almost half way through this journey already can I? At my 16 week scan my doctor confirmed the Fetal Assessor's prediction that we are in fact still expecting a little boy. So the blue shopping and the name discussions can officially begin! At 17 weeks I started to feel movement and now I am definitely feeling an active little boy inside my tummy kicking and prodding away. Love it! Can't wait for the kicks to become more profound and identifiable. My next appointment is for my 20 week, 2nd fetal assessment scan. Looking forward to it.
Lily update:
Lily is quite a little munchkin! She is feisty, determined, knows what she wants, a true entertainer and loves being the center of attention. She makes me laugh on a daily basis (actually multiple times a day) and I often find myself staring at her in awe, wondering how she grew up so very quickly. There have been quite a few nostalgic moments of late comparing little Noa to Lily. They are so similar looking as newborns, but yet I can't remember Lily ever being that tiny... Time really has gone far too quickly.
Lily's vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds. I won't even begin to list the words she now says as we would be here for quite some time, but one of the funniest and cutest things to note is that she calls her Granny "Gig Gig" and her Grandpa "Gig Ga". I don't know where she gets those words from but obviously that's her pronunciation of her grandparents names. She also knows the dogs' names and calls them out perfectly - "Harley" and "Bella".
Lily was always such a great little eater and would ingest anything that came her way with much enthusiasm... Gone are those days! I find myself fighting with her just to get her to eat something nutritional. I have now resigned myself to the fact that this is a passing phase (here's hoping a phase that ends very soon) and that I just have to ensure she has her daily multivitamin to make up for the lack of nutrition she is consuming. Some days are better than others and some days are just plain frustrating. Luckily I can always rely on banana loaf (I kid myself into believing she is therefore getting her fruit quota), cheese and milk to fill her little belly for the moment.
On a positive note, her sleeping (touch wood) is truly amazing. She goes down perfectly for her afternoon and night time sleeps and she doesn't disturb in the night until the next morning when she wakes up at around 07h30. This morning she actually slept until after 08h30! I am going to enjoy these lie-ins as much as possible before baby #2 comes along! Long may it last.
So that's about it for this update. I will try to update sooner next time as there are so many cute, memory-worthy things going on in our household that it would be sad not to capture them before they're forgotten. After watching tiny little Noa, it is truly a harsh reminder at how quickly they grow up and how quickly we forget...
Pregnancy update:
In 2 days time I will be 18 weeks pregnant. On the one hand, it seems like I have been pregnant for quite some time, whereas other days it feels like the 18 weeks have happened so extremely quickly. I can't be almost half way through this journey already can I? At my 16 week scan my doctor confirmed the Fetal Assessor's prediction that we are in fact still expecting a little boy. So the blue shopping and the name discussions can officially begin! At 17 weeks I started to feel movement and now I am definitely feeling an active little boy inside my tummy kicking and prodding away. Love it! Can't wait for the kicks to become more profound and identifiable. My next appointment is for my 20 week, 2nd fetal assessment scan. Looking forward to it.
Lily update:
Lily is quite a little munchkin! She is feisty, determined, knows what she wants, a true entertainer and loves being the center of attention. She makes me laugh on a daily basis (actually multiple times a day) and I often find myself staring at her in awe, wondering how she grew up so very quickly. There have been quite a few nostalgic moments of late comparing little Noa to Lily. They are so similar looking as newborns, but yet I can't remember Lily ever being that tiny... Time really has gone far too quickly.
Lily's vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds. I won't even begin to list the words she now says as we would be here for quite some time, but one of the funniest and cutest things to note is that she calls her Granny "Gig Gig" and her Grandpa "Gig Ga". I don't know where she gets those words from but obviously that's her pronunciation of her grandparents names. She also knows the dogs' names and calls them out perfectly - "Harley" and "Bella".
Lily was always such a great little eater and would ingest anything that came her way with much enthusiasm... Gone are those days! I find myself fighting with her just to get her to eat something nutritional. I have now resigned myself to the fact that this is a passing phase (here's hoping a phase that ends very soon) and that I just have to ensure she has her daily multivitamin to make up for the lack of nutrition she is consuming. Some days are better than others and some days are just plain frustrating. Luckily I can always rely on banana loaf (I kid myself into believing she is therefore getting her fruit quota), cheese and milk to fill her little belly for the moment.
On a positive note, her sleeping (touch wood) is truly amazing. She goes down perfectly for her afternoon and night time sleeps and she doesn't disturb in the night until the next morning when she wakes up at around 07h30. This morning she actually slept until after 08h30! I am going to enjoy these lie-ins as much as possible before baby #2 comes along! Long may it last.
So that's about it for this update. I will try to update sooner next time as there are so many cute, memory-worthy things going on in our household that it would be sad not to capture them before they're forgotten. After watching tiny little Noa, it is truly a harsh reminder at how quickly they grow up and how quickly we forget...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Overdue update
With home decor being the primary goings-on in our lives at the moment, our computer was unplugged and moved to a new location. It has taken some time, but we are now reconnected and I am able to do a quick update on how things are going in the Aufrichtig household.
The sleep training worked like a dream! It was the best money I have spent in a very long time and Lily was back to being an angel sleeper within 5 days. It wasn't as difficult as I had imagined - I just stuck to the rules that Lynn Woods had given me without faltering once. I literally followed her instructions to the minute and didn't let Lily's cries deter my determination to succeed. It has been 2 weeks since we started with the sleep training and you would never say that we ever experienced any issues. Lily now happily goes down to have both her midday and evening naps without as much as a "boo". I don't hear a thing unless she decides she would like to have a little chat to herself which is just too precious to hear.
Lily now goes to sleep at 7:30pm and usually wakes up just after 7am without any night time wakings. PERFECT! This pregnant mommy can recuperate after her hectic days running after an extremely busy toddler. I no longer feel exhausted and in need of sleep - we are all very happy in our space right now. Holding thumbs it lasts as I have no doubt it was all due to teething. Lily finally, at the age of 17 months, sprouted her 3rd and 4th teeth and I can see another 3 teeth about to make their appearance. That is 5 teeth trying to come through at one time. No wonder my poor baby was suffering!
Lily is learning new words at an incredible rate. She now counts to 5, says "bicik" for biscuit, "sausage", "milk", "bunny", "see you" when she waves goodbye, "Bella" or "Chi Chi" for the dogs, "bubbles", "ball", "I la" for I love you... And the list is growing. It is quite amazing how the two of us now communicate - I can understand so much more of what she wants and needs which assists with the levels of frustration for the both of us!
On a pregnancy note, I'm now 15 weeks pregnant and still sporting a relatively flat stomach. I haven't yet felt any movement although you are supposed to be able to feel it earlier 2nd time round. So I'm just waiting for those amazing first flutters to make themselves known. My jeans, although still loose, are definitely not AS loose as they were prior to falling pregnant so I have a feeling I'm going to carry the same way I carried with Lily - ALL in my behind and not much in my stomach. I suppose time will tell when this bump will make itself known but with Lily, it was only around the 24 week mark if I remember correctly.
My next scan is in a week's time and I can't wait to see our little baba. I am also very excited to hear whether my gynae is going to confirm the fetal assessment's sighting that we are in fact having a little boy. Once I've heard from him, I will be 100% convinced. Looking forward to it!
So all is well and happy in our little home :)
The sleep training worked like a dream! It was the best money I have spent in a very long time and Lily was back to being an angel sleeper within 5 days. It wasn't as difficult as I had imagined - I just stuck to the rules that Lynn Woods had given me without faltering once. I literally followed her instructions to the minute and didn't let Lily's cries deter my determination to succeed. It has been 2 weeks since we started with the sleep training and you would never say that we ever experienced any issues. Lily now happily goes down to have both her midday and evening naps without as much as a "boo". I don't hear a thing unless she decides she would like to have a little chat to herself which is just too precious to hear.
Lily now goes to sleep at 7:30pm and usually wakes up just after 7am without any night time wakings. PERFECT! This pregnant mommy can recuperate after her hectic days running after an extremely busy toddler. I no longer feel exhausted and in need of sleep - we are all very happy in our space right now. Holding thumbs it lasts as I have no doubt it was all due to teething. Lily finally, at the age of 17 months, sprouted her 3rd and 4th teeth and I can see another 3 teeth about to make their appearance. That is 5 teeth trying to come through at one time. No wonder my poor baby was suffering!
Lily is learning new words at an incredible rate. She now counts to 5, says "bicik" for biscuit, "sausage", "milk", "bunny", "see you" when she waves goodbye, "Bella" or "Chi Chi" for the dogs, "bubbles", "ball", "I la" for I love you... And the list is growing. It is quite amazing how the two of us now communicate - I can understand so much more of what she wants and needs which assists with the levels of frustration for the both of us!
On a pregnancy note, I'm now 15 weeks pregnant and still sporting a relatively flat stomach. I haven't yet felt any movement although you are supposed to be able to feel it earlier 2nd time round. So I'm just waiting for those amazing first flutters to make themselves known. My jeans, although still loose, are definitely not AS loose as they were prior to falling pregnant so I have a feeling I'm going to carry the same way I carried with Lily - ALL in my behind and not much in my stomach. I suppose time will tell when this bump will make itself known but with Lily, it was only around the 24 week mark if I remember correctly.
My next scan is in a week's time and I can't wait to see our little baba. I am also very excited to hear whether my gynae is going to confirm the fetal assessment's sighting that we are in fact having a little boy. Once I've heard from him, I will be 100% convinced. Looking forward to it!
So all is well and happy in our little home :)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
It's a boy!
On Tuesday we had our Fetal Assessment Scan at the Fetal Assessment Center in Claremont. I was both anxious and excited to see our little "bean". I have been feeling great once again as the nausea and exhaustion subsided around week 11 so obviously I no longer had any "pregnancy" symptoms and wanted confirmation that all was still okay with the pregnancy. Besides confirmation that all was still going well, we had decided to find out the sex of our new baby. We didn't find out the sex when we were pregnant with Lily, but this time around, I just knew I wanted to find out.
My reasons for finding out were simple. I come from a family of girls, I have a daughter and felt 100% certain that this baby was going to be yet another girl. I only "know" girls and needed to know if I was in fact carrying a boy as I needed time to get my head around the notion. I would need a whole mind shift in fact! Not that I didn't want a boy, it is just so unknown to me...
The scan, as expected, was amazing. The intricate detail and in-depth view of our baby who is essentially only the size of half a banana, is truly astounding. The woman conducting the scan confirmed that there is very little risk of our baby having any developmental abnormalities and all looked perfect as far as she could see. She then asked whether we would like to know the sex of the baby and we both said yes...
She went to the groin area and as soon as she focused on it, she said with 100% certainty that our baby is in fact a boy! My heart skipped a beat... I couldn't believe it! I was so certain that Lily would be getting a sister, how could I be so incredibly wrong? I almost didn't hear what was being said next as I lay there in disbelief. I was smiling and excited, but truly shocked. But there was no denying that a winky was visible!
So I now need to get my head around the idea of our new little baby being a boy! I'm excited and nervous of the unknown, but know that this little person is going to complete our family perfectly. I have no doubt he is going to have me wrapped around his teeny tiny finger in no time. I'm looking forward to seeing him again at the end of the month for our 16 week scan. Again, it is truly amazing how blessed we are and I cannot wait for Lily to have a little brother.
My reasons for finding out were simple. I come from a family of girls, I have a daughter and felt 100% certain that this baby was going to be yet another girl. I only "know" girls and needed to know if I was in fact carrying a boy as I needed time to get my head around the notion. I would need a whole mind shift in fact! Not that I didn't want a boy, it is just so unknown to me...
The scan, as expected, was amazing. The intricate detail and in-depth view of our baby who is essentially only the size of half a banana, is truly astounding. The woman conducting the scan confirmed that there is very little risk of our baby having any developmental abnormalities and all looked perfect as far as she could see. She then asked whether we would like to know the sex of the baby and we both said yes...
She went to the groin area and as soon as she focused on it, she said with 100% certainty that our baby is in fact a boy! My heart skipped a beat... I couldn't believe it! I was so certain that Lily would be getting a sister, how could I be so incredibly wrong? I almost didn't hear what was being said next as I lay there in disbelief. I was smiling and excited, but truly shocked. But there was no denying that a winky was visible!
So I now need to get my head around the idea of our new little baby being a boy! I'm excited and nervous of the unknown, but know that this little person is going to complete our family perfectly. I have no doubt he is going to have me wrapped around his teeny tiny finger in no time. I'm looking forward to seeing him again at the end of the month for our 16 week scan. Again, it is truly amazing how blessed we are and I cannot wait for Lily to have a little brother.
A trying time
My precious little angel went from a relatively great sleeper who self soothed herself to sleep when I put her down for her midday and evening sleeps, to a feisty, determined little person who for some reason feared sleep and didn't want to be left alone in her cot. This started exactly two weeks ago and it truly has been a physically and emotionally draining and exhausting 14 days.
Initially we thought her reluctance to go to sleep was due to the fact that her granny and great granny were visiting and she didn't want to miss out on anything happening downstairs while she was being made to go to sleep. She definitely suffers from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) at times! However, after noticing how incredibly swollen her little gums were and then a few days later, the appearance of 2 pearly whites, made me realise that it must be that she is teething which is causing the upsets. She is so incredibly busy during the day I don't think she has time to register that she is uncomfortable, but perhaps when she is a little more quiet and subdued, the pressure, discomfort and pain, probably sets it.
Thankfully, our doctor confirmed that Lily wasn't ill so there was nothing to worry about medically. Unfortunately, he didn't hear my subtle pleas for drugs to help with her sleeping! However, our family GP in East London showed a little more sympathy and gave us a script for a miracle medicine which isn't habit forming and doesn't metabolise in the body so is completely safe. It has made a world of difference these last 5 nights enabling Lily (and us) to sleep through (touch wood it lasts!). Unfortunately it wasn't helping with the settling of her though prior to falling asleep so I decided to bite the bullet and consult a Baby Routine Specialist which I did this morning.
I left the specialist with 2 pages of notes on her diet and how to start sleep training. I decided that this was the perfect time to start (today is a Thursday) as my husband is away on a long weekend fishing trip and his reluctance to hear his child crying wouldn't affect my efforts. When I put Lily down for her midday nap, she cried as expected. I let her cry for 5 minutes, went inside, comforted her for about 10 seconds and then walked out. I then waited for another 10 minutes while she screamed and then went into her room again to comfort her. I was instructed to increase the length of time I was out of her bedroom for 5 minutes every time. Luckily I didn't have to go in a 3rd time as she fell asleep just before her next 15 minutes were up. So she essentially cried for just under 25 minutes in total - a very long and draining 25 minutes where I just sat staring at the clock on my phone and listening to her screams.
Luckily tonight was different. I gave her her miracle medicine at 18h30, she had her bath at 18h45 and got ready for bed at 19h10. We read 3 short stories and then I said goodnight, I love you and put her peacefully in her bed. I thought that she was rather docile and could possibly not protest, but as I closed her door she let out her signature scream and cried, however, this time I was pleasantly surprised that her crying only lasted 3 minutes and then silence! I'm not getting my hopes up for tomorrow's naps, but it could have been a lot worse.
Here's hoping that the sleep training works by the end of the weekend as the specialist suggested it would. I am going to be tough and stick to the rules and guidelines and if the specialist is as good as people say she is, Lily should be back to the angel sleeper she used to be by Sunday!
Initially we thought her reluctance to go to sleep was due to the fact that her granny and great granny were visiting and she didn't want to miss out on anything happening downstairs while she was being made to go to sleep. She definitely suffers from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) at times! However, after noticing how incredibly swollen her little gums were and then a few days later, the appearance of 2 pearly whites, made me realise that it must be that she is teething which is causing the upsets. She is so incredibly busy during the day I don't think she has time to register that she is uncomfortable, but perhaps when she is a little more quiet and subdued, the pressure, discomfort and pain, probably sets it.
Thankfully, our doctor confirmed that Lily wasn't ill so there was nothing to worry about medically. Unfortunately, he didn't hear my subtle pleas for drugs to help with her sleeping! However, our family GP in East London showed a little more sympathy and gave us a script for a miracle medicine which isn't habit forming and doesn't metabolise in the body so is completely safe. It has made a world of difference these last 5 nights enabling Lily (and us) to sleep through (touch wood it lasts!). Unfortunately it wasn't helping with the settling of her though prior to falling asleep so I decided to bite the bullet and consult a Baby Routine Specialist which I did this morning.
I left the specialist with 2 pages of notes on her diet and how to start sleep training. I decided that this was the perfect time to start (today is a Thursday) as my husband is away on a long weekend fishing trip and his reluctance to hear his child crying wouldn't affect my efforts. When I put Lily down for her midday nap, she cried as expected. I let her cry for 5 minutes, went inside, comforted her for about 10 seconds and then walked out. I then waited for another 10 minutes while she screamed and then went into her room again to comfort her. I was instructed to increase the length of time I was out of her bedroom for 5 minutes every time. Luckily I didn't have to go in a 3rd time as she fell asleep just before her next 15 minutes were up. So she essentially cried for just under 25 minutes in total - a very long and draining 25 minutes where I just sat staring at the clock on my phone and listening to her screams.
Luckily tonight was different. I gave her her miracle medicine at 18h30, she had her bath at 18h45 and got ready for bed at 19h10. We read 3 short stories and then I said goodnight, I love you and put her peacefully in her bed. I thought that she was rather docile and could possibly not protest, but as I closed her door she let out her signature scream and cried, however, this time I was pleasantly surprised that her crying only lasted 3 minutes and then silence! I'm not getting my hopes up for tomorrow's naps, but it could have been a lot worse.
Here's hoping that the sleep training works by the end of the weekend as the specialist suggested it would. I am going to be tough and stick to the rules and guidelines and if the specialist is as good as people say she is, Lily should be back to the angel sleeper she used to be by Sunday!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
17 months old
Our little madam is growing up so quickly. A friend of mine who hadn't seen Lily for about a month couldn't quite believe how she had grown in the short period of time that she didn't see her. She is now exceptionally steady on her feet and it would appear as if she had been walking for ages instead of only a month and a half. She is communicating beautifully and this mommy actually grasps what she is trying to say most of the time.
Her vocabulary is growing by the day and she now incorporate words such as "bless you", "morning" (said with much gusto and enthusiasm when walking into her room in the mornings), "roar" for what a lion says, "sssss" for what a snake says and "lights" (which she pronounces perfectly). There are others that I'm forgetting...
Unfortunately for me, Lily has figured out where we keep the biscuits, chips and household "yummies" and she seems to frequent this cupboard far too often during the day. She opens the cupboard door and reaches for what she is after, all the while saying "more, more, more" for mommy to give her something. I'm continuously going into the pantry and pulling her out from the grocery cupboard. I think a child proof lock is the only way I'm going to maintain my sanity!
Lily is a very independent little girl and doesn't really worry where her mommy is when out exploring. My sister and I went to Eden on the Bay the other day with our packed little picnic including a blanket, food, drinks, etc. Lily was having none of it and left the 2 of us to sit on the grass watching her wonder off. She would turn to us, give a wave and continue on her way. Luckily the area wasn't busy so we could watch her without having to move every few seconds, but it did take me almost an hour to finish my lunch with all the running about to fetch her and return her to our little spot. She wouldn't hang around for longer than a minute and off she would go again! I'm definitely being kept very busy.
One little concern that I have is how to ween her off her dummy though. She is far too attached for my liking. She insists on having it when we are in the car and will protest and scream if I don't give it to her. She also likes to suck on it when she is tired, going to bed or upset. So this mommy is going to have to bear with the protests and upsets and just refrain from giving it to her. Hopefully it isn't too much of a difficult process.
Otherwise, little madam continues to bring so much joy, laughter and huge smiles to our lives. She is a real little character who I love to absolute bits!
Her vocabulary is growing by the day and she now incorporate words such as "bless you", "morning" (said with much gusto and enthusiasm when walking into her room in the mornings), "roar" for what a lion says, "sssss" for what a snake says and "lights" (which she pronounces perfectly). There are others that I'm forgetting...
Unfortunately for me, Lily has figured out where we keep the biscuits, chips and household "yummies" and she seems to frequent this cupboard far too often during the day. She opens the cupboard door and reaches for what she is after, all the while saying "more, more, more" for mommy to give her something. I'm continuously going into the pantry and pulling her out from the grocery cupboard. I think a child proof lock is the only way I'm going to maintain my sanity!
Lily is a very independent little girl and doesn't really worry where her mommy is when out exploring. My sister and I went to Eden on the Bay the other day with our packed little picnic including a blanket, food, drinks, etc. Lily was having none of it and left the 2 of us to sit on the grass watching her wonder off. She would turn to us, give a wave and continue on her way. Luckily the area wasn't busy so we could watch her without having to move every few seconds, but it did take me almost an hour to finish my lunch with all the running about to fetch her and return her to our little spot. She wouldn't hang around for longer than a minute and off she would go again! I'm definitely being kept very busy.
One little concern that I have is how to ween her off her dummy though. She is far too attached for my liking. She insists on having it when we are in the car and will protest and scream if I don't give it to her. She also likes to suck on it when she is tired, going to bed or upset. So this mommy is going to have to bear with the protests and upsets and just refrain from giving it to her. Hopefully it isn't too much of a difficult process.
Otherwise, little madam continues to bring so much joy, laughter and huge smiles to our lives. She is a real little character who I love to absolute bits!
Friday, September 23, 2011
10 week scan
So we were off to the doctor yesterday for another look at our growing little baby. He/she is now just over 10 weeks. I was quite sad that due to hubby being in Australia, that he couldn't join me for a glimpse at this baby-to-be, but luckily I had my sister join me.
Surprisingly, after copious amounts of carbohydrate consumption, I actually lost a bit of weight, a big positive of my doctor's visit. Another positive was that this scan was an external scan versus the invasive internal that we are subjected to in the early stages of pregnancy. And there was our little baby - at 10 weeks we could already see it's little head, nasal bone, arms and legs. It was moving about quite nicely, kicking and bouncing. Its little heartbeat is strong and, thank goodness, all is going well.
Mommy is feeling a little less exhausted but still suffering from constant nausea. Some times are better than others, but I honestly cannot wait for the second trimester when hopefully this tiredness and nausea will be a thing of the past.
In 3 weeks time we are heading to Kingsbury Hospital for the in-depth Fetal Assessment, one of the more anxiety inducing yet amazing of all the scans. Once they have confirmed that there are no abnormalities, this scan is truly astounding and so exceptionally clear. It is amazing what you can see!
We didn't find out whether Lily was a girl or a boy and left it to be a surprise, but with this baby, we have decided to find out. I would like to know what it is like to go through a pregnancy knowing the gender of the baby as well as not knowing. In addition, from coming from a family of girls and having a daughter, I am definitely gravitating towards the feeling that this little baby is another girl. I am not sure whether this is "motherly instinct" or just what I'm used to and therefore instinctively relate to. If I am carrying a boy, I will be delighted, although having said that, it will require a whole mind shift as I know nothing about little winkys! So hopefully Baby A the 2nd will be lying in a perfect position on 11th October so we can see whether Lily will be getting a baby brother or a baby sister.
Surprisingly, after copious amounts of carbohydrate consumption, I actually lost a bit of weight, a big positive of my doctor's visit. Another positive was that this scan was an external scan versus the invasive internal that we are subjected to in the early stages of pregnancy. And there was our little baby - at 10 weeks we could already see it's little head, nasal bone, arms and legs. It was moving about quite nicely, kicking and bouncing. Its little heartbeat is strong and, thank goodness, all is going well.
Mommy is feeling a little less exhausted but still suffering from constant nausea. Some times are better than others, but I honestly cannot wait for the second trimester when hopefully this tiredness and nausea will be a thing of the past.
In 3 weeks time we are heading to Kingsbury Hospital for the in-depth Fetal Assessment, one of the more anxiety inducing yet amazing of all the scans. Once they have confirmed that there are no abnormalities, this scan is truly astounding and so exceptionally clear. It is amazing what you can see!
We didn't find out whether Lily was a girl or a boy and left it to be a surprise, but with this baby, we have decided to find out. I would like to know what it is like to go through a pregnancy knowing the gender of the baby as well as not knowing. In addition, from coming from a family of girls and having a daughter, I am definitely gravitating towards the feeling that this little baby is another girl. I am not sure whether this is "motherly instinct" or just what I'm used to and therefore instinctively relate to. If I am carrying a boy, I will be delighted, although having said that, it will require a whole mind shift as I know nothing about little winkys! So hopefully Baby A the 2nd will be lying in a perfect position on 11th October so we can see whether Lily will be getting a baby brother or a baby sister.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
1st trimester second time around
Wow, I am honestly really battling with this first trimester second time around. I don't remember feeling this exhausted and this nauseous with Lily. Maybe it's because I only had myself to look after when I was pregnant with Lily and this time, I cannot stop for a little time out on the couch. I have a little person in constant need of my attention when all I want to do is pass out on the couch, close my eyes for a few minutes and just relax.
Bread, crackers and ginger biscuits are my best friends. All I am craving is carbohydrates - not great for the waistline and hips, but great for calming the waves of nausea. I am now 9 weeks pregnant according to my doctor and just hope and pray that the nausea and extreme exhaustion diminishes by 12 weeks. At least I have peace in the knowledge that there is an end to the unpleasant part of pregnancy and soon I will be (hopefully) glowing in the spendour of the 2nd trimester!
Bread, crackers and ginger biscuits are my best friends. All I am craving is carbohydrates - not great for the waistline and hips, but great for calming the waves of nausea. I am now 9 weeks pregnant according to my doctor and just hope and pray that the nausea and extreme exhaustion diminishes by 12 weeks. At least I have peace in the knowledge that there is an end to the unpleasant part of pregnancy and soon I will be (hopefully) glowing in the spendour of the 2nd trimester!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Exciting news!
A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with CIN Lesions by my gynecologist and was told I needed an operation the following week to investigate and remove them if necessary. My gut instinct told me to perhaps just check that I wasn't in fact pregnant prior to going under anesthetic. Even though my hubby and I weren't actively trying to fall pregnant, we had decided not to "be careful" any more so therefore the possibility was there.
I went for blood tests 2 days before the scheduled operation and received a call from my doctor 2 hours after my blood test confirming that I was in fact pregnant! I was both shocked and ecstatic! Obviously the doctor could no longer operate but he is going to be keeping an eye on the lesion situation. If necessary, the operation will be done after the birth.
Today was our very first scan. I was nervous, apprehensive and excited. The first scan is always uncomfortable being an internal scan, but you get over that when you finally see that teeny tiny little bean's heartbeat on the monitor. It is so incredibly tiny - it is hard to believe that Lily was that little tiny creature so many months ago.
So the doctor confirmed that all looks healthy and normal. I am officially 6 weeks and 5 days along and due on the 19th April 2012, nine days before Lily's 2nd birthday. Here's to our April little angels! I can't believe that Lily is going to be an older sister! We are truly, truly blessed.
I went for blood tests 2 days before the scheduled operation and received a call from my doctor 2 hours after my blood test confirming that I was in fact pregnant! I was both shocked and ecstatic! Obviously the doctor could no longer operate but he is going to be keeping an eye on the lesion situation. If necessary, the operation will be done after the birth.
Today was our very first scan. I was nervous, apprehensive and excited. The first scan is always uncomfortable being an internal scan, but you get over that when you finally see that teeny tiny little bean's heartbeat on the monitor. It is so incredibly tiny - it is hard to believe that Lily was that little tiny creature so many months ago.
So the doctor confirmed that all looks healthy and normal. I am officially 6 weeks and 5 days along and due on the 19th April 2012, nine days before Lily's 2nd birthday. Here's to our April little angels! I can't believe that Lily is going to be an older sister! We are truly, truly blessed.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
16 months today
Happy 16 months my precious little Bug, the absolute light of my life! You are such a darling, perfect, beautiful little angel who constantly fills my life with love, laughter and excitement. Every day brings about new milestones, no matter how small and my heart wants to burst with pride and love.
You're now walking beautifully and rarely get down on all fours to crawl around. It is amazing how much bigger and taller you appear now that you're vertical instead of horizontal. I still have no idea where your little teeth are hiding as you still only have 2 little pearlers at the bottom front of your mouth. Never mind, I'm sure (well... hopeful!) that they are on their way.
At the moment life is a little exhausting for mommy as you're not sleeping perfectly like you had been for the last month. I am hoping it's your teeth bothering you so that as soon as they sprout you'll be sleeping like an angel again. Although I say you aren't sleeping perfectly, I honestly can't complain. There is usually only one wake up call during the night at around 2:30am when I have to hold you in my arms and rock you back to sleep for about 20 minutes and then the very early wake up time of around 5:30am. Murphy's Law however, this morning when it was daddy's turn to wake up with you so mommy could have a rare lie-in, you woke up after 7am!
Anyway, happy 16 months my angel. Mommy loves you to the moon and back! We are truly blessed to have such a gorgeous little family xxx
You're now walking beautifully and rarely get down on all fours to crawl around. It is amazing how much bigger and taller you appear now that you're vertical instead of horizontal. I still have no idea where your little teeth are hiding as you still only have 2 little pearlers at the bottom front of your mouth. Never mind, I'm sure (well... hopeful!) that they are on their way.
At the moment life is a little exhausting for mommy as you're not sleeping perfectly like you had been for the last month. I am hoping it's your teeth bothering you so that as soon as they sprout you'll be sleeping like an angel again. Although I say you aren't sleeping perfectly, I honestly can't complain. There is usually only one wake up call during the night at around 2:30am when I have to hold you in my arms and rock you back to sleep for about 20 minutes and then the very early wake up time of around 5:30am. Murphy's Law however, this morning when it was daddy's turn to wake up with you so mommy could have a rare lie-in, you woke up after 7am!
Anyway, happy 16 months my angel. Mommy loves you to the moon and back! We are truly blessed to have such a gorgeous little family xxx
Monday, August 15, 2011
Amazing developments!
Even though I have loved every single second, hour, day, week and month of my life with Lily in it, I must admit that this 16th month has truly been amazing. It has been amazing in the developments Lily has shown in just a matter of a few weeks. I am truly in awe of how such a little person can grasp so many things in such a short space of time. Just within the last 2 weeks since I last updated this blog, Lily is doing the following:
- WALKING! Lily has now fully grasped how to walk and is happily alternating between crawling and walking. She walks with a unique style consisting of both her arms up with her little hands in line with her head - simulating the feeling of walking while holding onto our hands.
- Her understanding of little body parts has expanded and she now knows where her head, nose, eyes and toes are. I think this is due to us singing "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" to her on a regular basis. It is too cute - when we start singing, she is used to us pointing at her correlating body parts so she then starts pointing, but randomly just pointing at her stomach in tune with our singing! However, when we say head, she does point to her head. Such a giggle watching her!
- She is starting to communicate a lot better with me which is making my understanding of what she wants or needs a lot easier. I've discovered that when she is finished drinking or eating, she says "ka". I couldn't quite work out what she meant initially, but have since realised she is trying to mimic "gone" which to her understanding means she is finished. So "ka" is often mentioned when I've made her bottle a little too full or when I'm trying to encourage vegetable consumption.
- Lily also says "da da" for her dummy. Whenever she wants it she asks for it. I presume "da da" originates from me saying "dum dum". We don't get confused between her wanting her dummy or her dad as dad is very accurately pronounced "daddy".
- Whenever the phone rings, she says "who's tha?" (without the "t" on the end of "that") and when we hand her the phone she confidently says "hello". Actually, whenever she hears a beep or ringing tune, no matter if we're at home or out shopping, she will put her hand to her ear and say "hello" as though she is in fact answering a real phone. Earlier today I was reading a book of words with accompanying pictures to her and showed her the telephone picture. I said "telephone, hello!". We then continued to the end of the book and then started all over again. When we got to the telephone, I said "what's that?" and she blurted out "hello!" and put her hand to her ears as though she were legitimately answering a telephone call!
- She has now learned and fully understands the word "no". She says it with pointed finger as well! Whenever the dogs bark, she sternly points her finger and shouts "no" at them. She also says no when she doesn't want something or gets annoyed. She says it sternly and with such conviction!
- Lily now also knows how to say "shhhh" and she does so with her finger over her lips. A few days ago, I was telling her not to climb on the coffee table. She turned around, looked at me, put her finger over her lips and said "shhhh"! It took all my strength not to start laughing - it was truly hilarious!
- Every night after I have given her a bath, I wrap her up snugly in her towel and we say bye bye to the baby in the mirror. Lily waves and says "bye bye"! We then walk from the bathroom to her bedroom and in between, Lily shouts "daddy!" for her dad to come up the stairs to kiss her goodnight. It is truly heartbreaking to hear her calling her daddy when daddy is still at work and isn't there to answer her calls.
- Other words in her vocabulary that I can remember at this moment are "wow", "wee" (whenever on a slide or swing or in a lift), "te te" (for Teletubbies), "mum mum" (for mom), "more" (when she wants something I'm eating or drinking), "baa" (for what a sheep says), "moo" (self explanatory), "birdy" and "copter" (helicopter). I'm sure I'm forgetting a few...
- While out shopping, she is such a friendly little character. She loves handing the tellers bits of shopping to scan and will happily chat away to them. When we leave, she says "bye bye" and gives them the cutest little wave. Then, while I still have her sitting in the trolley while I'm unpacking our grocery bags into the car, she waves excitedly at all the cars driving past. I love watching the surprised and touched faces of the passers and drivers by. I'm sure it must lighten their day... Well it most certainly lightens mine!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
First few steps
FINALLY, at 15 months and 3 days, Lily took her first few steps! It took a lot of coaxing from mom and dad, but she did it! We were so happy, screeching with glee and praise. Our little angel was so proud of herself beaming from behind her dummy.
Yesterday, without me really realising it, she walked from the couch to the coffee table which required about 4 or 5 steps all on her own. I wish she would do that more often, but we are still having to coax her and remind her to walk. Never mind, at least we are at the beginning of a new phase and soon she will be running around just like all her little friends.
Here's hoping that mommy will get a few cardio and toning sessions in during all the running about! Who needs the gym?
Yesterday, without me really realising it, she walked from the couch to the coffee table which required about 4 or 5 steps all on her own. I wish she would do that more often, but we are still having to coax her and remind her to walk. Never mind, at least we are at the beginning of a new phase and soon she will be running around just like all her little friends.
Here's hoping that mommy will get a few cardio and toning sessions in during all the running about! Who needs the gym?
Saturday, July 30, 2011
15 months old
Two days ago, my little angel turned 15 months old. Her vocabulary is growing by the day and so is her determination. She knows exactly what she wants and will definitely make her demands known which is both cute and frustrating at times. I suppose I just have to praise the cuteness and ignore the frustrations. Some new words include "goo ga" for good girl, "Beya" for Bella and "no" for nose (which she now points to as well). There are a few others but I can't think of them at the moment.
Lily is still not walking, however, her willingness to do so is improving. She now loves to grab onto my one hand and walk alongside me. Her balance is improving every day and I'm hoping that it will be during this month that she gains the confidence to take her first few unaided steps. In the mean time she is exceptionally speedy on her hands and knees.
I am starting to get a little more concerned with regards to her teeth, or should I say the lack thereof. Lily still only has 2 little bottom teeth with no signs of any others making their grand appearance. It has now been over 3 months since those first 2 arrived so I'm starting to wonder whether the others will ever sprout?
We received a lovely "monthday" present when we saw that Lily was chosen as the Kiabi baby model. Kiabi is a French clothing brand that Lily modeled for but we weren't sure whether they were going to use her pictures or the pictures of the other baby models. Anyway, here are 2 of the photographs currently displayed on their website - very proud mommy over here :)
Lily is still not walking, however, her willingness to do so is improving. She now loves to grab onto my one hand and walk alongside me. Her balance is improving every day and I'm hoping that it will be during this month that she gains the confidence to take her first few unaided steps. In the mean time she is exceptionally speedy on her hands and knees.
I am starting to get a little more concerned with regards to her teeth, or should I say the lack thereof. Lily still only has 2 little bottom teeth with no signs of any others making their grand appearance. It has now been over 3 months since those first 2 arrived so I'm starting to wonder whether the others will ever sprout?
We received a lovely "monthday" present when we saw that Lily was chosen as the Kiabi baby model. Kiabi is a French clothing brand that Lily modeled for but we weren't sure whether they were going to use her pictures or the pictures of the other baby models. Anyway, here are 2 of the photographs currently displayed on their website - very proud mommy over here :)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Lily's birth story
I belong to a forum that has really helped me along my life journey so far - with my wedding, my pregnancy and now my journey through motherhood. It is a group of woman, some who I have met and others I haven't, who share their stories, jokes, upsets and general goings-on with each other. Those of us who have gone through our pregnancies on the forum together, all post our birth stories once our angels have arrived. I recently found the story I posted and thought I would paste it here too:
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As you all know, I had to have a c-section at 40 weeks so I was scheduled for sometime late on Wednesday afternoon. I got to the hospital at 12h00 and was kept busy filling in forms, etc with the nurses until 1pm. Then we had to sit and wait! It felt like forever and the later it got, the more trips to the bathroom I had in anticipation! Eventually they told me it was time at about 4:15pm. I was wheeled down to theater, Daniel was given his scrubs and we met my anesthetist who was amazing. He explained everything that would happen and in we went. I didn't even realise that they'd started cutting it was so quick! The spinal isn't sore at all - it just felt strange not to be able to move my legs!
After about 3-5 minutes my baby was out! It was the most surreal, amazing moment ever! I looked over at Daniel and he was so teary - I've actually never seen him so emotional before, it was a beautiful moment! Little Lily was born weighing just over 3kg and has a mop of black hair, the cutest perfectly formed eyebrows and long eyelashes! I'm so in love with her it's beyond explanation!
The only downside of the whole experience was the morphine. After I was wheeled back to my room, I had about an hour of feeling normal and then all of a sudden it felt like I was on Mars! I was seriously taken to another planet. I couldn't keep my eyes open and couldn't converse with the new grandparents or family visiting. I was like that until they removed the morphine drip at 5am on Thursday! I felt like a terrible mother as they had to take Lily to the nursery that night - I was just so spaced out and drugged! They were even trying to get her to breastfeed while I lay with my head down falling asleep! I tried to stay awake but as I said, I was on another planet!
But luckily everything improved the next morning! As soon as I was lucid, they brought Lily to me and I was just madly in love all over again. Breastfeeding was difficult I have to admit! I got 2 hours of the Baby Blues on day 3 due to Lily not feeding and they had to top her up with formula. The Paed even suggested that I give up trying the breast and use a bottle due to my baby being very hungry! I felt terrible! But I was insistent and got the breastfeeding right and now both mom and baby are very happy!
Lily has been really good I have to say. She doesn't wake up at night so I've been waking her for feeding! My poor dad got such a fright the first night as he didn't hear the baby! He thought he'd be woken up by her cries at least once or twice. She is a very contented baby which I'm enjoying as I know that this may not always be the case.
Anyway, this is turning into a novel of an update! I just wanted to say hi and let you all know how we're doing. Thanks for all your wishes and messages - it has meant the world to us! xxx
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As you all know, I had to have a c-section at 40 weeks so I was scheduled for sometime late on Wednesday afternoon. I got to the hospital at 12h00 and was kept busy filling in forms, etc with the nurses until 1pm. Then we had to sit and wait! It felt like forever and the later it got, the more trips to the bathroom I had in anticipation! Eventually they told me it was time at about 4:15pm. I was wheeled down to theater, Daniel was given his scrubs and we met my anesthetist who was amazing. He explained everything that would happen and in we went. I didn't even realise that they'd started cutting it was so quick! The spinal isn't sore at all - it just felt strange not to be able to move my legs!
After about 3-5 minutes my baby was out! It was the most surreal, amazing moment ever! I looked over at Daniel and he was so teary - I've actually never seen him so emotional before, it was a beautiful moment! Little Lily was born weighing just over 3kg and has a mop of black hair, the cutest perfectly formed eyebrows and long eyelashes! I'm so in love with her it's beyond explanation!
The only downside of the whole experience was the morphine. After I was wheeled back to my room, I had about an hour of feeling normal and then all of a sudden it felt like I was on Mars! I was seriously taken to another planet. I couldn't keep my eyes open and couldn't converse with the new grandparents or family visiting. I was like that until they removed the morphine drip at 5am on Thursday! I felt like a terrible mother as they had to take Lily to the nursery that night - I was just so spaced out and drugged! They were even trying to get her to breastfeed while I lay with my head down falling asleep! I tried to stay awake but as I said, I was on another planet!
But luckily everything improved the next morning! As soon as I was lucid, they brought Lily to me and I was just madly in love all over again. Breastfeeding was difficult I have to admit! I got 2 hours of the Baby Blues on day 3 due to Lily not feeding and they had to top her up with formula. The Paed even suggested that I give up trying the breast and use a bottle due to my baby being very hungry! I felt terrible! But I was insistent and got the breastfeeding right and now both mom and baby are very happy!
Lily has been really good I have to say. She doesn't wake up at night so I've been waking her for feeding! My poor dad got such a fright the first night as he didn't hear the baby! He thought he'd be woken up by her cries at least once or twice. She is a very contented baby which I'm enjoying as I know that this may not always be the case.
Anyway, this is turning into a novel of an update! I just wanted to say hi and let you all know how we're doing. Thanks for all your wishes and messages - it has meant the world to us! xxx
Pustular Tonsillitis
My poor baby girl is sickies and really sick for the first time in her little life. After our visit to the doctor yesterday, he confirmed that the reason for her sleepless nights and her high temperatures, is because she has Pustular Tonsillitis. This form of tonsillitis presents itself as puss like areas on her little inflamed tonsils. Poor little baby... And even though she has a very sore throat and perhaps an achy body and headache, she continues to smile, chat, laugh and play. She is really such a happy little munchkin.
The doctor's prognosis explains why she hasn't been sleeping during the day and then waking up at night. The last 3 nights have been so incredibly tough. I suppose I have been lucky in the past with a baby that slept relatively well and never kept me up for hours at night, but now I know what some other mothers have to endure. She has been waking up at around 1am and due to me administering suppositories to relieve her fever, she wakes up completely and thinks it's time to chat and play. She has been doing so until around 4am when I eventually manage to get her back to sleep.
Today was the first time ever that I felt completely overwhelmed. As I was trying to rock her to sleep for her morning nap and she was simultaneously fighting me (although she was completely exhausted), the tears just rolled down my cheeks. I felt so frustrated and I could feel my heart beating faster at the idea of her not sleeping and me having to face yet another full day with her while I'm completely shattered from lack of sleep.
Sleep deprivation in my opinion, must be the worst form of torture known to man. It has made me realise how even as much as you love your child, when sleep deprived, your patience can be heavily tested, for which I feel extremely guilty. I know my child is sick and I know that she may not feel like sleeping or being apart from me, but I can't help but get frustrated at her unwillingness to go down for her morning sleep or for deciding to play at all hours of the morning. And it is this dilemma that makes the tears stream down my cheeks as I type - she is just an innocent little baby who is ill; she doesn't mean to frustrate me; yet my lack of sleep and utter exhaustion lead me to be impatient with her. I'm guilt-ridden and sad.
I honestly cannot wait for these antibiotics to kick in and for my little angel to be well again. The last few days have been terrible and I hope not to have too many of them in the near future. Seeing your little angel sick and helpless is truly heartbreaking.
The doctor's prognosis explains why she hasn't been sleeping during the day and then waking up at night. The last 3 nights have been so incredibly tough. I suppose I have been lucky in the past with a baby that slept relatively well and never kept me up for hours at night, but now I know what some other mothers have to endure. She has been waking up at around 1am and due to me administering suppositories to relieve her fever, she wakes up completely and thinks it's time to chat and play. She has been doing so until around 4am when I eventually manage to get her back to sleep.
Today was the first time ever that I felt completely overwhelmed. As I was trying to rock her to sleep for her morning nap and she was simultaneously fighting me (although she was completely exhausted), the tears just rolled down my cheeks. I felt so frustrated and I could feel my heart beating faster at the idea of her not sleeping and me having to face yet another full day with her while I'm completely shattered from lack of sleep.
Sleep deprivation in my opinion, must be the worst form of torture known to man. It has made me realise how even as much as you love your child, when sleep deprived, your patience can be heavily tested, for which I feel extremely guilty. I know my child is sick and I know that she may not feel like sleeping or being apart from me, but I can't help but get frustrated at her unwillingness to go down for her morning sleep or for deciding to play at all hours of the morning. And it is this dilemma that makes the tears stream down my cheeks as I type - she is just an innocent little baby who is ill; she doesn't mean to frustrate me; yet my lack of sleep and utter exhaustion lead me to be impatient with her. I'm guilt-ridden and sad.
I honestly cannot wait for these antibiotics to kick in and for my little angel to be well again. The last few days have been terrible and I hope not to have too many of them in the near future. Seeing your little angel sick and helpless is truly heartbreaking.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
New words!
Lily is beginning to copy what we say and to our absolute amazement, most of the time, gets it right! My mom was visiting last week and we went out for lunch along the beach with my sister and a friend. A helicopter kept on flying past so Lily kept on pointing at it. My mom said to her "helicopter" and to our absolute astonishment, out came "copter"! And she didn't only say it once, she said it a few times. We all looked at each other with our mouths open.
Also during the last few days, Lily has been looking up into the sky or out of the window and points at the birds flying past. We keep saying "birdy" to her, but her pronunciation is "birday". It is so sweet hearing her listen to what we say and then repeat it in her own way. My heart really does melt with pride.
Another thing she has been saying is "bless you" when someone sneezes and she also said our dog Bella's name perfectly. She pronounced the "B" and "L" sounds 100% correctly!
So although my little angel is 14.5 months old now and still isn't walking, she is definitely talking and doing far more verbalizing than her peers. I suppose you can't compare toddlers, they will develop in their own time and even though she is crawling along while her friends walk around her, she definitely has far more to say!
Also during the last few days, Lily has been looking up into the sky or out of the window and points at the birds flying past. We keep saying "birdy" to her, but her pronunciation is "birday". It is so sweet hearing her listen to what we say and then repeat it in her own way. My heart really does melt with pride.
Another thing she has been saying is "bless you" when someone sneezes and she also said our dog Bella's name perfectly. She pronounced the "B" and "L" sounds 100% correctly!
So although my little angel is 14.5 months old now and still isn't walking, she is definitely talking and doing far more verbalizing than her peers. I suppose you can't compare toddlers, they will develop in their own time and even though she is crawling along while her friends walk around her, she definitely has far more to say!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
First smack :(
With much guilt and heartache, I must admit to the fact that Lily received her very first smack yesterday. I regret having done it as I really want to try to discipline verbally and with a naughty space instead. However, after weeks of saying "NO" to her climbing onto the coffee table with her totally ignoring my raised voice, yesterday I firmly said no to her with my finger pointed at her and she angrily hit me in the face!
I was completely shocked and taken by surprise that my immediate response was to say "You do not hit mommy!" and I took her little hand and gave it a little smack. She then of course started to cry and after about 3 seconds, I gave her a reassuring love. My heart broke in that moment - my poor little baby so upset by something I had done to her. But as usual, Lily had forgotten about it within seconds and mommy was left to ponder over what she had done with so much guilt!
I am really looking forward to the Living and Loving seminar this month which is focused on discipline and self-esteem without tears. I think it will come in handy during the next few months and the supposed "terrible two's". Hopefully there will be some great tips and advice for this first time mommy who really wants to get it right!
I was completely shocked and taken by surprise that my immediate response was to say "You do not hit mommy!" and I took her little hand and gave it a little smack. She then of course started to cry and after about 3 seconds, I gave her a reassuring love. My heart broke in that moment - my poor little baby so upset by something I had done to her. But as usual, Lily had forgotten about it within seconds and mommy was left to ponder over what she had done with so much guilt!
I am really looking forward to the Living and Loving seminar this month which is focused on discipline and self-esteem without tears. I think it will come in handy during the next few months and the supposed "terrible two's". Hopefully there will be some great tips and advice for this first time mommy who really wants to get it right!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
14 months today!
Happy 14 months to my precious little angel baby! You are so extremely cute and fill my days with so much laughter and happiness. You grow more and more beautiful every day, so much so, that I can't quite believe that daddy and I could create such a gorgeous little person. I'm madly in love with you and wish you a very happy 14th month birthday xxx
What you're currently getting up to:
What you're currently getting up to:
- You say "daddy" perfectly and often! You no longer say the baby version of "dada" and you know exactly who your daddy is, much to your daddy's absolute delight! Now we wait for you to say "mommy" perfectly too.
- You just love the coffee table and climbing. Poor mommy hates having to scold you for climbing as you still don't understand the dangers that come along with your exploring and little adventures.
- You still only have 2 little toofies - where are those other ones hiding?
- You are showing no interest in walking yet and are quite happy to crawl everywhere or walk holding onto furniture or your walker. Those little leggies just need to be a little more steady and you need to gain a little more confidence.
- You still love Harley and often try to give him kisses. It is just too cute! Bella annoys you a little when she continuously tries to lick your face but you've learnt to wave your hands at her and to say "no"!
- You are now comfortably in your size 6-12 month clothes (although some of the leggings/pants are a little long) and are still wearing a size 2 shoe (although some size 3's are wearable).
- You can say quite a few words including "three" (sounds like "weeeeee) when we say "one, two..."; you say "baa" for the noise a sheep makes; you say "wow", "wee" and "tap" (for when you tap your little tummy). You also say "whoo whoo" for "woof woof" when the dogs bark and when a helicopter or plane fly overhead, you point your finger and make a gesturing sound. You say "hi" and "bye" and wave happily at everyone when you know we are leaving. When we are out shopping you wave at everyone walking past - I receive so many smiles from strangers who enjoy your friendly little gesture. I'm sure I've left some words off the list, but that's what I can remember this morning.
- You seem to have dropped down to only 1 nap a day which is usually any time from 10am-12pm. This morning you went down at 11am and are still sleeping soundly. So afternoon play dates and outings fill our days while we hang around together at home in the mornings.
- You love slides and swings and generally being a tomboy! Anything that throws you around or gives you a bit of a thrill you enjoy.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Totally in love
I really and truly am so totally and utterly in love with my little Lily Pie. She brightens up my day and just makes me laugh and smile so much more than I ever remember doing in the past. I look forward to seeing her in the mornings and miss her when she goes to bed at night. She is truly growing into such a cute, feisty, loving, friendly little character.
At a few days short of 14 months old, she still only has 2 bottom teeth and a very gummy smile. She is also totally uninterested in walking and happily crawls around to get from A to B. I bought her a walker which she is really enjoying so yes, I know she can move one leg in front of the other, but she still shows no interest in doing so unaided.
Although she is reluctant to walk, she is climbing onto things with ease - from the floor onto the coffee table, from the coffee table onto the TV stand and then proceeds to reach up to touch the TV screen, her ultimate goal! I have to be on constant watch to ensure her safety as she is climbing up at every chance she gets! And the look of achievement and pride that's evident on her cute little face is too adorable, even though I should be "cross" with her for being "naughty"!
Every day is truly a blessing and is filled with laughter, smiles and giggles. I love my little angel so very much and cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.
At a few days short of 14 months old, she still only has 2 bottom teeth and a very gummy smile. She is also totally uninterested in walking and happily crawls around to get from A to B. I bought her a walker which she is really enjoying so yes, I know she can move one leg in front of the other, but she still shows no interest in doing so unaided.
Although she is reluctant to walk, she is climbing onto things with ease - from the floor onto the coffee table, from the coffee table onto the TV stand and then proceeds to reach up to touch the TV screen, her ultimate goal! I have to be on constant watch to ensure her safety as she is climbing up at every chance she gets! And the look of achievement and pride that's evident on her cute little face is too adorable, even though I should be "cross" with her for being "naughty"!
Every day is truly a blessing and is filled with laughter, smiles and giggles. I love my little angel so very much and cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The busy-ness of life
As you can see from the date, I haven't posted in a while. Life has just been rather busy with a toddler who sometimes decides that an afternoon sleep is no longer required, hence my time at the PC is seriously limited. I have tried to use the computer with Lily present, only to have her climbing onto the desk, banging the keyboard keys and trying to touch the screen. If I then try to put her onto the floor, she cleverly finds the power button and with one magic push of a button, all my work disappears! So I have given up the idea of blogging while my little monkey is awake and I will try to update whenever possible.
While I type this, Lily is peacefully in dreamland. She has been going down for a morning nap quite early of late due to her incredibly early mornings. It is winter which means it is cold and dark in the early mornings - the only place you really want to be is in your bed and fast asleep, but no, Lily is having none of it and is starting her mornings at the shocking time of 4am! This morning was thankfully a little better with a wake up time of 5:15am. Who knew that I would EVER think that 5:15am was a "better wake up time"! I have tried everything from making a quick bottle in my bathroom (with boiled water in a flask from the night before)to whipping her out of her cot in lightening speed and rushing to the spare room... None of it has worked and Lily is quite frankly, wide awake.
Other than the early mornings, Lily is developing like a dream. Although she isn't yet walking (nor does she show any inclination to want to walk), she is talking and communicating so well. She understands when I say "A sheep says?" so she answers confidently with "Baaaaaaaa"! She is proficient with her "ta's" when giving and receiving things and she refers to the dogs as "Whoo whoos". If she sees a bird, she will point and make grunting gestures and she makes "aaah" sounds when she wants to cuddle or kiss. She also knows how to count to three. When I say "1", she often just looks at me, then I say "2" and she repeats with "doo" and then on "3" she puts her head back and says "eeeeeeeeee'. It is just too adorable and puts a huge smile on mommy's and daddy's faces. Lily also understands the word "dance" and will happily shake her head and her bum (her dance moves) and she also understands "tap" when she will pat her little tummy with her cute little fingers. She also loves remote controls and will happily point the TV remote at the TV and the airconditioner remote directly at the units on the walls. It's so rewarding to see and hear how well she is picking up on things and how she is beginning to understand the world around her.
With all these developments obviously comes the "not too great" things such as the opening of drawers and cupboards, the pushing of any visible buttons (the DVD player, the dishwasher) and the latest, climbing on top of things. She has now discovered she can master the coffee table and from there, climb up onto the rather high TV stand! My heart cannot take it - I'm constantly watching her like a hawk!
I'm absolutely loving the age she is at now, it's so incredibly cute and precious. I just adore watching my little creation exploring her little world. Such a proud mommy I am.
While I type this, Lily is peacefully in dreamland. She has been going down for a morning nap quite early of late due to her incredibly early mornings. It is winter which means it is cold and dark in the early mornings - the only place you really want to be is in your bed and fast asleep, but no, Lily is having none of it and is starting her mornings at the shocking time of 4am! This morning was thankfully a little better with a wake up time of 5:15am. Who knew that I would EVER think that 5:15am was a "better wake up time"! I have tried everything from making a quick bottle in my bathroom (with boiled water in a flask from the night before)to whipping her out of her cot in lightening speed and rushing to the spare room... None of it has worked and Lily is quite frankly, wide awake.
Other than the early mornings, Lily is developing like a dream. Although she isn't yet walking (nor does she show any inclination to want to walk), she is talking and communicating so well. She understands when I say "A sheep says?" so she answers confidently with "Baaaaaaaa"! She is proficient with her "ta's" when giving and receiving things and she refers to the dogs as "Whoo whoos". If she sees a bird, she will point and make grunting gestures and she makes "aaah" sounds when she wants to cuddle or kiss. She also knows how to count to three. When I say "1", she often just looks at me, then I say "2" and she repeats with "doo" and then on "3" she puts her head back and says "eeeeeeeeee'. It is just too adorable and puts a huge smile on mommy's and daddy's faces. Lily also understands the word "dance" and will happily shake her head and her bum (her dance moves) and she also understands "tap" when she will pat her little tummy with her cute little fingers. She also loves remote controls and will happily point the TV remote at the TV and the airconditioner remote directly at the units on the walls. It's so rewarding to see and hear how well she is picking up on things and how she is beginning to understand the world around her.
With all these developments obviously comes the "not too great" things such as the opening of drawers and cupboards, the pushing of any visible buttons (the DVD player, the dishwasher) and the latest, climbing on top of things. She has now discovered she can master the coffee table and from there, climb up onto the rather high TV stand! My heart cannot take it - I'm constantly watching her like a hawk!
I'm absolutely loving the age she is at now, it's so incredibly cute and precious. I just adore watching my little creation exploring her little world. Such a proud mommy I am.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The start of tantrums?
As of the last couple of days, Lily has been doing the "dying swan", a movement where she sits and just literally drops her head to the floor in utter displeasure. She is starting to, in no uncertain terms, communicate what she does or doesn't want to happen. If she wants to be up on my lap and not on the floor, she screeches and protests until I lift her up. If she is up on my lap and wants to be on the floor, she does the same thing. It is made very clear when she is unhappy with any situation.
So now begins the joyous repetition of the word "no". No to her wanting to touch buttons she shouldn't be touching, to her opening cupboards containing dangerous toxic materials, to her trying to climb up the stairs, to her trying to drink water out of the dogs' bowls, to wriggling about when I'm trying to change her nappy or get her dressed... The list is endless and I sometimes worry that Lily is going to think that her actual name is "No"!
Yesterday while trying to get Lily's nappy changed, she was wriggling about so much that I shouted out "no!", only for her to look right at me, point her finger and shout "Doh" (sounds like "no" with a "d"). I was horrified! Is my 12 month old talking back already? She really is a little independent thing with a mind of her own - something I really have to get used to.
Although we are dealing with a few difficult moments, as all mommies do, Lily is still the cutest, sweetest little girl. She has just learned how to blow kisses and I could just melt when she does it. She also randomly decides that she wants kisses from mommy or daddy and will lean forward, purse her little lips and make a "mwah" sound and come in for a nice slobbery kiss. It's honestly the most heart melting gesture and I could just burst with pride. So bring on the "doh's" with pointed finger as the cute moments far outweigh the difficult ones.
So now begins the joyous repetition of the word "no". No to her wanting to touch buttons she shouldn't be touching, to her opening cupboards containing dangerous toxic materials, to her trying to climb up the stairs, to her trying to drink water out of the dogs' bowls, to wriggling about when I'm trying to change her nappy or get her dressed... The list is endless and I sometimes worry that Lily is going to think that her actual name is "No"!
Yesterday while trying to get Lily's nappy changed, she was wriggling about so much that I shouted out "no!", only for her to look right at me, point her finger and shout "Doh" (sounds like "no" with a "d"). I was horrified! Is my 12 month old talking back already? She really is a little independent thing with a mind of her own - something I really have to get used to.
Although we are dealing with a few difficult moments, as all mommies do, Lily is still the cutest, sweetest little girl. She has just learned how to blow kisses and I could just melt when she does it. She also randomly decides that she wants kisses from mommy or daddy and will lean forward, purse her little lips and make a "mwah" sound and come in for a nice slobbery kiss. It's honestly the most heart melting gesture and I could just burst with pride. So bring on the "doh's" with pointed finger as the cute moments far outweigh the difficult ones.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Professional birthday photo's
I was in 2 minds whether to get a professional photographer to capture Lily's birthday or not. Was I going "OTT" or was it a lovely way to capture Lily's first birthday celebration? After chatting to my confidants, I decided that this was to be a very special day spent with very special family and friends and I wanted to capture all the moments I possibly could.
So on recommendation from a friend, I decided to book Tiffany Lumley from Shots of Tots and I am more than thrilled with how the photographs turned out. See a few below:
So on recommendation from a friend, I decided to book Tiffany Lumley from Shots of Tots and I am more than thrilled with how the photographs turned out. See a few below:
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Before I was a mom...
Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom...
Friday, May 6, 2011
Sleep changes... again!
The last 2 days have seen Lily refusing to go down for her morning nap. It appears that she believes that a morning sleep is now no longer required. So instead of fighting each other this morning - me fighting Lily to go to sleep and Lily fighting me to stay awake - I decided to let her stay awake and off we went to the shops. She seemed happy enough and not quite ready for a nap...
On our way home from the shops was a different story though. She started getting a little miserable so I gave her her dummy. No sooner was the dummy in her mouth and her eyes started to close. Now the last thing I wanted Lily to do was fall asleep in the car as once her eyes are closed, for no matter what length of time, she believes she has had her nap! So even a 10 second stint of eye closing equals the belief that she has had ample sleep. So we quickly headed home with mommy's window wide open and the music volume much higher and luckily we managed to keep Lily awake.
Once we were home, I made her a bottle and prayed for a little bit of a nap... And wow, she went down beautifully at midday and only woke up again at 2:15pm. I'm rather happy with this arrangement - more time to do things in the morning and a full 2 hour break in the afternoon. Finally, time for me to enjoy my lunch and have a bit more "me" time as well as more mommy and daughter time in the mornings. I quite like this arrangement actually... The next few days will tell whether this is the new routine or whether it's just a passing phase. Yet another change in the life of mommy and Lily!
On our way home from the shops was a different story though. She started getting a little miserable so I gave her her dummy. No sooner was the dummy in her mouth and her eyes started to close. Now the last thing I wanted Lily to do was fall asleep in the car as once her eyes are closed, for no matter what length of time, she believes she has had her nap! So even a 10 second stint of eye closing equals the belief that she has had ample sleep. So we quickly headed home with mommy's window wide open and the music volume much higher and luckily we managed to keep Lily awake.
Once we were home, I made her a bottle and prayed for a little bit of a nap... And wow, she went down beautifully at midday and only woke up again at 2:15pm. I'm rather happy with this arrangement - more time to do things in the morning and a full 2 hour break in the afternoon. Finally, time for me to enjoy my lunch and have a bit more "me" time as well as more mommy and daughter time in the mornings. I quite like this arrangement actually... The next few days will tell whether this is the new routine or whether it's just a passing phase. Yet another change in the life of mommy and Lily!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Toddler's Rules
I just LOVE this and had to share it. Something us moms need to remember while going through the toddler stages... It requires much patience I'm sure!
TODDLER’S RULES
1- If I want it, it's mine
2- If it's in my hand, it's mine
3- If I can take it away from you, it's mine
4- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5- If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way
6- If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine
7- If it just looks like mine, it's mine
8- If I think it's mine, it's mine
9- If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine
10- Once it's mine it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what
TODDLER’S RULES
1- If I want it, it's mine
2- If it's in my hand, it's mine
3- If I can take it away from you, it's mine
4- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5- If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way
6- If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine
7- If it just looks like mine, it's mine
8- If I think it's mine, it's mine
9- If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine
10- Once it's mine it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what
Butterfly 1st birthday party
On Saturday, 30th April at 2:30pm, we celebrated Lily's 1st birthday party. It was a really special day spent with family and friends and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. We were also blessed with superb weather, especially for this time of year and thankfully for this OCD mom, most of the babies spent their time walking and crawling outside instead of inside the house!
I braved myself for a chaotic day as we invited 18 of Lily's little friends. Obviously it isn't only babies who attend 1st birthday parties so we catered for 18 x 3 (for the parents as well). So our house was very festive indeed! The only downside to having so many invites was that I felt rather guilty not being able to speak to everyone there, but I'm sure they understand having gone through the same feeling when their little ones celebrated their big day.
So Lily's theme was butterflies - very girly and very pink! Lily was dressed in pink to match the theme as well as wearing little butterfly wings which she wasn't too fond of so they didn't last too long. She looked too adorable even if I say so myself. Here's a picture of her with her daddy before the guests started arriving:
We set up tables and chairs for all the babies along with butterfly themed cups, plates, party packs and blowouts. The poor little boys just had to deal with all the girlishness! I am still amazed at how these little people manage to sit so nicely at their little seats and gobble down what's on their plates (as well as throw carefully selected contents onto the floor).
Lily's cake and cupcakes turned out magnificently - I was so pleased. I ordered 50 cupcakes as well as a large butterfly cake which everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy, but as usual, I over catered so now we have a freezer full of cake! Oh well, I don't have to worry for the next few tea parties I host - we will all just be eating leftover cupcakes.
Everyone started leaving after 5pm which was a good indicator of how well everyone enjoyed themselves as the party was supposed to end at 4:30pm. My mom did an excellent job helping with the cleaning up, as did Lulu who had come in for the day to help us along. After all was tidied up, Lily opened up a few presents, but was so very tired, that we decided to leave the opening of presents to mom and dad a little later. Lily had a quick bath and then, to my utter astonishment, she fell asleep while I was putting her pyjamas on! She has never just fallen asleep like that! She was truly and utterly exhausted from her big day! Bless, it was really so very special.
Lily was very spoilt and received so many lovely gifts ranging from beautiful clothes, building blocks and puzzles to beauty sets, hair accessories and books. I have put some of them away for a later stage so she can enjoy each and every one of her presents individually.
So all-in-all Lily had a wonderful, special and amazing birthday celebration. I am so very proud of our little angel, she is truly the light of our lives and I look forward to throwing her many, many more happy birthdays in future.
Some more pictures of her special day:
I braved myself for a chaotic day as we invited 18 of Lily's little friends. Obviously it isn't only babies who attend 1st birthday parties so we catered for 18 x 3 (for the parents as well). So our house was very festive indeed! The only downside to having so many invites was that I felt rather guilty not being able to speak to everyone there, but I'm sure they understand having gone through the same feeling when their little ones celebrated their big day.
So Lily's theme was butterflies - very girly and very pink! Lily was dressed in pink to match the theme as well as wearing little butterfly wings which she wasn't too fond of so they didn't last too long. She looked too adorable even if I say so myself. Here's a picture of her with her daddy before the guests started arriving:
Everyone started leaving after 5pm which was a good indicator of how well everyone enjoyed themselves as the party was supposed to end at 4:30pm. My mom did an excellent job helping with the cleaning up, as did Lulu who had come in for the day to help us along. After all was tidied up, Lily opened up a few presents, but was so very tired, that we decided to leave the opening of presents to mom and dad a little later. Lily had a quick bath and then, to my utter astonishment, she fell asleep while I was putting her pyjamas on! She has never just fallen asleep like that! She was truly and utterly exhausted from her big day! Bless, it was really so very special.
Lily was very spoilt and received so many lovely gifts ranging from beautiful clothes, building blocks and puzzles to beauty sets, hair accessories and books. I have put some of them away for a later stage so she can enjoy each and every one of her presents individually.
So all-in-all Lily had a wonderful, special and amazing birthday celebration. I am so very proud of our little angel, she is truly the light of our lives and I look forward to throwing her many, many more happy birthdays in future.
Some more pictures of her special day:
Thursday, April 28, 2011
1st birthday!
Today Lily is officially no longer a baby, but a toddler. Although that's the official age group that she has graduated from, she will always be my baby and nothing will ever change that. She is now a tall 78cm, precisely 30cm longer than she was at birth, and she weighs a petite 9.22kg, 3 times as much as she did a year ago. Although these statistics are concrete evidence of how she is growing, I still cannot believe that she isn't the tiny little baby that I gave birth to exactly a year ago today. I'm going to be that stuck record again and say that I really and truly cannot believe how the time has flown... I honestly wish life came with an optional "pause" button.
So today was Lily's birthday and we woke up at 7am to a very happy, wide eyed little angel. We came downstairs, had our bottle, waited for Granny and Grampa (Hertz) to come downstairs and for daddy to finish his conference call for work. We then sat on the floor with all the presents and had a great time opening them. Lily was very spoiled and absolutely loved everything from the trike Granny and Grampa bought her and the swing from mom and dad (her jungle gym is on its way) to the huge teddy bear from Great Granny and the wooden puzzle, blocks and farm toys from Aunty Lou and Uncle Rollie. So very spoiled!
After her morning nap, we had some errands to run, followed by a lunch at Mugg & Bean with Granny, Grampa and Aunty Lou so Lily could play at the playground next door. She loves it there and had fun riding the wooden horses and getting very dirty on the grass, in the mud, on the paving and touching bird droppings (much to my and my mom's delight!). After lunch, Lily decided that she was having too much of a lovely birthday and she didn't want to waste any time having a silly afternoon nap. I didn't feel like fighting with her either so the nap was forfeited and more time was spent playing before Lily's annual peadiatrician check-up.
The paediatrician check-up wasn't the greatest as Lily had to have blood drawn for the first time. It was awful and Aunty Lou and Granny were besides themselves. They were crying so very hard hearing Lily's screams from the waiting room. I was a little bit braver but shed a few tears as well. It's horrible hearing your child in pain and you cannot do anything to help her. But we needed to have the bloods drawn as Lily had been fighting a fever 5 days ago and ended up with a rash which she still has. We needed to get down to what caused the fever. It turns out that she had a viral infection which her little body was fighting and the rash was a result of this.
Other than the horrible part of the doctor's visit, we were very proud to hear that Lily is doing brilliantly developmentally. She is reaching all the necessary milestones and is a very happy, good and strong baby...erm, I mean toddler. She is doing the cutest things these days from copying mom's ridiculous facial expressions to pretending to answer the phone when she hears one ringing (even saying her own version of "hello"). She also has a teddy bear that sings and speaks when you push its paws so now she thinks that all teddy bears do this and she goes about pushing their paws, not quite understanding why it doesn't produce the same silly sounds. My heart can just melt at how precious she is.
The last year has truly been the most amazing of my life. I wouldn't change it for the world. Lily has brought so much joy and happiness into our home and is the center of our universe, and always will be. I love her more than I can ever express and am so looking forward to watching her grow and develop into the truly amazing person I know she will become.
So today was Lily's birthday and we woke up at 7am to a very happy, wide eyed little angel. We came downstairs, had our bottle, waited for Granny and Grampa (Hertz) to come downstairs and for daddy to finish his conference call for work. We then sat on the floor with all the presents and had a great time opening them. Lily was very spoiled and absolutely loved everything from the trike Granny and Grampa bought her and the swing from mom and dad (her jungle gym is on its way) to the huge teddy bear from Great Granny and the wooden puzzle, blocks and farm toys from Aunty Lou and Uncle Rollie. So very spoiled!
 |
| My lovely new trike! |
The paediatrician check-up wasn't the greatest as Lily had to have blood drawn for the first time. It was awful and Aunty Lou and Granny were besides themselves. They were crying so very hard hearing Lily's screams from the waiting room. I was a little bit braver but shed a few tears as well. It's horrible hearing your child in pain and you cannot do anything to help her. But we needed to have the bloods drawn as Lily had been fighting a fever 5 days ago and ended up with a rash which she still has. We needed to get down to what caused the fever. It turns out that she had a viral infection which her little body was fighting and the rash was a result of this.
Other than the horrible part of the doctor's visit, we were very proud to hear that Lily is doing brilliantly developmentally. She is reaching all the necessary milestones and is a very happy, good and strong baby...erm, I mean toddler. She is doing the cutest things these days from copying mom's ridiculous facial expressions to pretending to answer the phone when she hears one ringing (even saying her own version of "hello"). She also has a teddy bear that sings and speaks when you push its paws so now she thinks that all teddy bears do this and she goes about pushing their paws, not quite understanding why it doesn't produce the same silly sounds. My heart can just melt at how precious she is.
The last year has truly been the most amazing of my life. I wouldn't change it for the world. Lily has brought so much joy and happiness into our home and is the center of our universe, and always will be. I love her more than I can ever express and am so looking forward to watching her grow and develop into the truly amazing person I know she will become.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Finally, our 1st tooth!
For the past few months, I have had "tooth envy", watching as all Lily's friends sprout teeth left, right and center, while my baby's gummy smile remains. I was starting to get a little perturbed at the lack of teeth and was ready to google whether there has ever been a documented case of a toothless child!
Luckily, I didn't have to resort to that as 8 days before Lily's 1st birthday (20th April 2011), I felt the sharp little edge of her first tooth. The bottom left tooth to be precise! I couldn't quite believe what I was feeling so I took a silver teaspoon and gently tapped it against her gums and "tadaa", a resounding "tinging" sound was heard. So Lily is now officially no longer toothless and I can't wait to see what she is going to look like without her gummy smile.
Now to organise some pancakes to celebrate!
Luckily, I didn't have to resort to that as 8 days before Lily's 1st birthday (20th April 2011), I felt the sharp little edge of her first tooth. The bottom left tooth to be precise! I couldn't quite believe what I was feeling so I took a silver teaspoon and gently tapped it against her gums and "tadaa", a resounding "tinging" sound was heard. So Lily is now officially no longer toothless and I can't wait to see what she is going to look like without her gummy smile.
Now to organise some pancakes to celebrate!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
1st birthday parties
April is definitely a busy month! It is the month when many of Lily's little friends celebrate their 1st birthdays so our diaries are full. I think we have parties every single weekend, with us having to be at 2 parties on some of those days as well! I'm going to have to limit Lily's food intake as all they seem to do at these parties is eat!
Yesterday we celebrated little April's Mini Mouse birthday party and it truly melts my heart seeing all these little people sitting so nicely at their party table together. Just yesterday they were tiny little helpless babies and now look at them...
Lily's first birthday party is being held at home so hopefully the weather is kind to us. Having a big group of people along with their 1 year old babies all cooped inside due to bad weather is not going to be ideal. I have decided on the theme and bought quite a few of the decor items so we are on track. I have placed the cake order, have bought 90% of the party pack surprises and just have to think about a few minor details. I'm looking forward to celebrating our little angel's first birthday party - a celebration of, without a doubt, the best year of my life!
Yesterday we celebrated little April's Mini Mouse birthday party and it truly melts my heart seeing all these little people sitting so nicely at their party table together. Just yesterday they were tiny little helpless babies and now look at them...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I shed a tear today
I recently posted about the fact that my breast milk seems to be dwindling and that my breastfeeding days are drawing to a close. Well, this morning I thought it was a good idea to visually know how much milk I'm actually producing so I expressed before Lily had her routine morning milk. Her morning feed is usually her best feed of the day as my boobs are usually full from a bit of sleep, but, much to my disappointment, my instinct was right, and I barely produced enough to fill a teaspoon.
I can't believe how incredibly emotional I am about the fact that today was more than likely the first day that Lily didn't breastfeed. Instead she gladly took formula in her bottle. I phoned my mom to let her know and I burst into tears! I felt so silly, but as usual, my mom made me feel so normal, telling me that she did the exact same thing when she stopped breastfeeding me. I suppose it's just the end of an incredible, amazing experience that only my daughter and I could share - no-one else could share those moments with her.
I'm so grateful that after all the breastfeeding challenges I faced in those first couple of weeks when Lily was born didn't hamper my efforts to breastfeed. Looking back, I honestly never expected to be breastfeeding Lily at 11 months old. My goal at the time was to reach 6 weeks and after those weeks were done and breastfeeding had become easier, my next goal was 6 months. But here we are at 11 months and 2 days and only now have we reached this milestone. I am proud of myself as well as proud of Lily for learning to latch so incredibly well and for allowing me to feed her for so much longer than I hoped. It has been one incredible journey which we've experienced together - the first of hopefully many, many more.
I can't believe how incredibly emotional I am about the fact that today was more than likely the first day that Lily didn't breastfeed. Instead she gladly took formula in her bottle. I phoned my mom to let her know and I burst into tears! I felt so silly, but as usual, my mom made me feel so normal, telling me that she did the exact same thing when she stopped breastfeeding me. I suppose it's just the end of an incredible, amazing experience that only my daughter and I could share - no-one else could share those moments with her.
I'm so grateful that after all the breastfeeding challenges I faced in those first couple of weeks when Lily was born didn't hamper my efforts to breastfeed. Looking back, I honestly never expected to be breastfeeding Lily at 11 months old. My goal at the time was to reach 6 weeks and after those weeks were done and breastfeeding had become easier, my next goal was 6 months. But here we are at 11 months and 2 days and only now have we reached this milestone. I am proud of myself as well as proud of Lily for learning to latch so incredibly well and for allowing me to feed her for so much longer than I hoped. It has been one incredible journey which we've experienced together - the first of hopefully many, many more.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
1 month left of being a "baby" : (
Once again I'm left thinking "where has the time flown?"... I cannot believe that the tiny little baby that was placed in my arms just yesterday (well it feels like yesterday) is a month away from having her first birthday and advancing into the toddler age group.
I have mixed emotions about this. Firstly, I am elated and proud about the fact that hubby and I have produced an amazing little human being who we love immensely, completely infatuated by her every little motion and gesture, totally captivated by every single one of her milestone achievements. However, I am so extremely emotional (just getting the tissues as I type) that my precious little baby is growing up so quickly. It's strange how nature works making our memories of our babies being so tiny seem to blur. I mean I can remember those first few weeks of having a newborn baby, but how tiny she was, how small her little fingers were, how fragile she felt... all those memories are no longer vivid. I try to concentrate on remembering those moments with as much clarity as possible but I seem to be fighting a losing battle. It is due to this battle that I'm truly grateful for the little invention called the "camera"! Capturing all the memories that our human selves cannot hold on to.
At 11 months old, Lily is still toothless, leaving me to wonder when on earth they will finally make their appearance. She has mastered the "all 4's" crawling technique and very seldom resorts to her sliding method any longer. She has now learned and understands the meaning of "ta" - often handing me a toy or gadget she has found with an accompanied "ta". It just melts my heart! She no longer likes mommy to just feed her her food, she wants to feed herself. I have resorted to giving her a little bit of food to feed herself while I try to sneakily feed her in between the mess she happily makes. She absolutely loves blueberries which I must admit, she feeds herself really well - no mess at all. They are my saving grace while trying to feed her her other food! Lily has also learned how to kiss and every now and then, she will make her "kissing noise" and lean in for a little wet touching of lips - my absolute best!
I'm going to fully enjoy this last month of Lily's official "baby months" (as I do all the months) and take as many photographs and update this blog as much as I possibly can. Because I know as the days pass, so will the memories start to blur and I want to remember every single little thing she does.
I have mixed emotions about this. Firstly, I am elated and proud about the fact that hubby and I have produced an amazing little human being who we love immensely, completely infatuated by her every little motion and gesture, totally captivated by every single one of her milestone achievements. However, I am so extremely emotional (just getting the tissues as I type) that my precious little baby is growing up so quickly. It's strange how nature works making our memories of our babies being so tiny seem to blur. I mean I can remember those first few weeks of having a newborn baby, but how tiny she was, how small her little fingers were, how fragile she felt... all those memories are no longer vivid. I try to concentrate on remembering those moments with as much clarity as possible but I seem to be fighting a losing battle. It is due to this battle that I'm truly grateful for the little invention called the "camera"! Capturing all the memories that our human selves cannot hold on to.
At 11 months old, Lily is still toothless, leaving me to wonder when on earth they will finally make their appearance. She has mastered the "all 4's" crawling technique and very seldom resorts to her sliding method any longer. She has now learned and understands the meaning of "ta" - often handing me a toy or gadget she has found with an accompanied "ta". It just melts my heart! She no longer likes mommy to just feed her her food, she wants to feed herself. I have resorted to giving her a little bit of food to feed herself while I try to sneakily feed her in between the mess she happily makes. She absolutely loves blueberries which I must admit, she feeds herself really well - no mess at all. They are my saving grace while trying to feed her her other food! Lily has also learned how to kiss and every now and then, she will make her "kissing noise" and lean in for a little wet touching of lips - my absolute best!
I'm going to fully enjoy this last month of Lily's official "baby months" (as I do all the months) and take as many photographs and update this blog as much as I possibly can. Because I know as the days pass, so will the memories start to blur and I want to remember every single little thing she does.
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