10 months old!

Another month has literally sped by and little Lily Pie is 10 months old today.  With hand on my heart, I can honestly say that I cannot believe that in just 2 months time, my precious little baby will be celebrating her first birthday.  Party planning has already started, the "save the dates" have even been sent out and I'm narrowing down the party theme. 

I have to say that as her first birthday draws near, I'm filled with all kinds of different emotions.  I'm proud of what I've accomplished as a mother so far, I'm extremely proud of my precious little creation and I'm excited to watch her develop her cute, happy, friendly personality and to watch her achieve all her milestones to becoming her own little person.  I'm also sad... sad that my newborn, tiny little baby has grown up far too quickly.  I've said this so many times, but I will say it again - I wish at times I could push pause and let time stand still.  I want to fully, wholeheartedly take in and enjoy every little new thing that she does.  But obviously I realise that this isn't possible so instead I am extremely thankful to my husband for allowing me the blessing of being a stay-at-home-mom so that I can be with Lily at her every waking moment.  I am able to watch her grow and be present at every milestone she achieves and for this I am truly, truly grateful.

A little 10 month update:

• You are the light of my life, the apple of my eye, my absolute reason for being!  Your smile just brightens my day, no matter how early it has started or how many times you've woken me up at night.
• You are still sporting a perfect gummy smile void of any teeth!  I've been told by doctors that the longer your teeth take to come, the better it is.  I'm not quite sure why, but obviously I believe them.  I only wish they would start making their appearance soon as I know you're in quite a bit of discomfort as they push their way through your gums and every now and then you cough and splutter when trying to eat something that clearly needs a few more gummy chews!  Teeth would be so much more helpful in the eating department.
• You love playing peek-a-boo with mom while you eat your meals.  You pull your bib in front of your face and then pull it down again when I say "peek-a-boo"!  Even though it makes meal times a little slower and more difficult, it is oh so very cute.
• You know exactly how to crawl on all fours and do so every now and then, however, on our hard tiled floors, you still prefer the leopard crawl.  Mom has bought you 4 mats to date in order to make the floors a little more comfortable for your precious knees.  Granny even bought you knee pads!
• You are still such a friendly, outgoing little baby who loves attention.  When we are out shopping, you smile, giggle and wave at all the people.  It breaks mommy's heart when you smile or wave at someone who is clearly in a bad mood and they don't respond!  Oh how is mommy going to cope when you go through things such as nasty kids at school or someone picks on you?  I don't want to think about it.
• You are getting stronger by the day and are constantly pulling yourself up to stand.  Your favourite spot to do so is the coffee table in the lounge, but then you get frustrated because you haven't quite worked out how to sit down again.  A little whine or moan gets mom's attention and I know it's your signal that you've had enough of standing.  I'm looking forward to when you eventually figure out how to bend your legs and sit, but I still do love that you need me to help you along your road of discovery.
• You are still a brilliant eater and eat almost everything we give you, including sushi rice and pieces of lemon!  The expression on your face is priceless but you continue gumming away at it!
• You love giving kisses, especially when daddy and mommy kiss each other and then you copy us by giving us kisses too.  I think daddy uses mommy by kissing her, just so you can copy mommy and let daddy kiss you as well.
• You absolutely adore swimming - both at swimming lessons and with mom and dad at home.  You aren't scared of being submerged and know when to hold your breath and close your eyes.
• You can be a little bit of a drama queen.  When other children get into your personal space and you don't like it, you turn around, look at me and moan.  You sometimes make out like you've been hurt when clearly you just want those kids to remove themselves from your space.  I can't deny that you definitely know what you want!

There are so many little things that you are doing on a daily basis that I could carry on listing them for pages.  It is crazy how just 10 months ago you were helpless and totally reliant on me for everything.  I love that you still need me for the majority of things, but it's amazing how much you can now do on your own.  I'm absolutely loving life's journey at the moment and the fact that we are in it together.  I love you more than you will ever know my little angel pie xxx

Drugs 1 - sleep training 0

The other morning my angel woke up and looked like she has been attacked by either a monster mosquito or a swarm of them!  I wasn't quite sure what to make of the horrendous red, swollen marks on her arm and face - was it in fact a mozzie bite or perhaps something worse like a spider?  So this first time worry-pot mom decided to play it safe and take Lily to the doctor.  R285 later and it was confirmed to be an allergic reaction to mosquito bites!

Lily's poor little arm!

One good thing that definitely came out of the doctor's visit was the fact that she prescribed my new found love, Allergex!  This is a syrup which makes babies sleepy... oh yes, and alleviates the symptoms of the allergy.  Oh how I wish I'd known about this miracle drug a few months back.  The last 3 nights that Lily has been taking it, she has been sleeping through!  Touch wood things stay like this.  I've decided that even though her red, hot rash is now looking much better, Lily still needs the Allergex (well, to be honest, mommy needs Lily to need the Allergex!).  Apparently it can help to get them to sleep through if you use it for a few nights in a row.  I much prefer this method than the crying it out method thank you very much!

When attempting the crying method a few days back during Lily's lunch time nap, Lily decided that she was going to win and sleep would not prevail.  My child has a strong character and knows what she wants - and that was to stay awake!  She cried and cried until she was hysterical.  As I walked into the room to console her, she looked up at me and projectile vomited all over herself, her hair, her clothes, her pillow, her blankets, sheet, mattress protector and dummy.  Typically she chose a day when the maid doesn't work so mommy had to deal with it all on her own.

I immediately flipped her over so she wouldn't choke and then lifted her out her cot, stripped her naked and then put her into the bath.  I think I usually have a strong stomach, but I was close to getting sick myself while trying to clean her.  I had to wash her hair and what felt like her entire body.  I also had to clean the bath once I had taken her out.  It was then a matter of stripping the bed and making it again with fresh, clean linen. I then shoved everything into the washing machine, made Lily a bottle (the first formula bottle in ages) and she eventually fell asleep.  I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it all!

So, as I said, I prefer "drugs" (magic medicine) to sleep training by far!  Long may the sleeping through last!

A bit on the tired side

It has just gone 7pm and I am dreaming of my bed.  It has been an exhausting week as Lily has suddenly developed separation anxiety on top of teething.  My child must be in quite a considerable amount of discomfort as she is 9 days short of 10 months old and is still sporting a gummy, toothless smile.  So with the separation anxiety as well as teething, you can just imagine the wonderful nights I've been having!

Lily has always, since day one, been a great night time sleeper.  She never fought being put down at night nor being put down after a night time feed.  I often sympathised with friends whose babies would wake up at night and wouldn't go back to sleep - keeping them awake for hours.  I have been spared that torture, well, until last week when, unfortunately, my turn arrived.

The first night Lily started to protest and scream just as I was about to go to bed.  I couldn't stand it as my mom was staying over and my husband was out of town, so I  just put Lily in bed with me and after a few kicks in my ribs, we both eventually fell asleep.  Although I slept, it wasn't a peaceful night as I was very much aware of her tiny little body next to mine and the fact that she could roll out the other side.  I was rather stiff the next day from sleeping on my left side all night.  So when the crying started the next night again, I decided that I had to be tough and let her cry it out.  It was heartbreaking, but luckily I had my mom's support and we both sat together in our pj's in my bed.  I would go back into Lily's room every 5-10 minutes to check on her, reassure her and turn her back on her side.  She would calm down, but then as soon as I walked out of the room, the screaming would begin again.  She eventually fell asleep after 38 minutes.

If I thought 38 minutes was bad, I was in for a treat 2 nights later when she cried for 50 minutes!  It felt like a lifetime, but she eventually passed out and slept right through until 4:30am when I fed her and she started her day at 6am.  The only "good" thing (if you can call it that) about the crying is that she exhausts herself so much that she sleeps relatively nicely through to the morning.  Last night she didn't protest too much, but our night was was much, much worse... She woke up every 2 hours!  I went to bed around 9:30pm only to be woken at 11:30pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, 5:15am!  All I can be grateful for was the fact that it was hubby's turn to do morning duty so I got to sleep in until 8:20am.  Even thought I had a little lie-in, it didn't stop me feeling like an absolute zombie today.

I'm really hoping that Lily's little teeth will make an appearance soon so that at least the teething discomfort will be alleviated.  I also hope that this separation anxiety doesn't last too much longer.  This sleep deprivation and interruption is really torture.  But on a positive note, Lily is getting cuter and cuter with each passing day.  She can crawl properly now which is great to see, but she still prefers to leopard crawl.  She has been doing so since the 10th February (9.5 months old).  She is also pulling herself up and holding onto the couch and coffee table.  She has also discovered she can climb the stairs which means the time has come to move our bums and finally buy the gate for our stairs!  Lily has also learned to repeat "ta" when we take or give her something - so exceptionally cute!

It is now 7:30pm so I better head off to bed... Here's hoping to a much better night tonight - please!

Mini update

The past few days have been really busy, hence my silence.  Lily is keeping me a little busier with each passing day.  Although I absolutely love updating my blog, I enjoy the time I spend with my precious baby so much more so I suppose my updates will fall to the way side for the time being.

Updates in the land of Lily:

• The leopard crawl is still the "ride" of choice with mommy and granny on our hands and knees trying to prompt her to crawl the traditional way.  We aren't too sure, but we're trying to convince ourselves that she has taken a few steps with her stomach lifted as a result of our walking around on all 4s!  Hopefully we will get there!  At least the leopard crawl is the slower version of crawling which gives mom a few extra seconds to go running after her.
• Lily has finally realised how to get off her stomach, onto all 4s and then onto her bum.  She used to get extremely frustrated being "stuck" on her stomach and then not being able to get back to the sitting position.  So now we have a much happier little mover on the loose.
• Over the last few days, Lily has learned how to point.  She is constantly pointing at things, often followed by a laugh.  Aunty Lou keeps on saying it's rude to point at people and laugh... but I must say, seeing my daughter doing this is just the cutest thing in the world.
• We have finally moved from the horrendous rear facing car seat to the more "grown up" forward facing version.  This makes for a much more pleasant drive for both mommy and Lily.  No more stretching to the back to rock the seat in order to comfort a frustrated baby, no more trying to find the dummy in a backwards motion and aiming blindly for baby's mouth (usually ending up at the eye!) and no more loud music playing trying to drown out baby's pleas to be released from her "prison".

 

• Lily's favourite game at the moment is "Splish splash" which she plays with granny in the bath.  She looks up at granny in anticipation, bangs down her hand to make a big splash while granny shouts "Splish splash!" - resulting in absolute hysterics!  It's so extremely cute and watching them play together like this really pulls at mommy's heart strings.

Lily is really becoming a little person with such an adorable little personality.  She knows what she wants, is always giggling and loves being the center of attention.  She loves people and smiles at everyone when we're out and about.  Lily also loves giving mommy kisses and mom just grabs them when they come her way - it's the absolute best thing in the whole wide world and I hope those kisses fill all our days in the future!