Monday, August 20, 2012

Love these very true words...

"Before i held you in my arms, I held you in my heart. That is where you began and where you will always be."

Not so "Terrible 2's"

So, as the saying "The Terrible 2's" goes, the 3rd year of a toddler's life is supposed to be filled with tantrums and vulgar behaviour.  This is due to them testing their boundaries (and ours!) and further exploring their surroundings as a little independent individual in this world.  My daughter isn't a perfect, angelic little toddler all the time, but I have to be honest in that this saying doesn't really ring true with our little Lily.

Yes, she can be determined at times and demand that her needs are met, but for the vast majority of the time, we have been extremely blessed with a well behaved, thoughtful little girl.  She seems to happily grasp the concept of "one more time" and "this is the last time" and we are thankfully spared the typical toddler behaviour of screams and kicking legs.  Sometimes she does shed some tears when her needs or demands aren't met, but this is definitely on the more rare occassion.

Bless, she really is such a joy and so well behaved it sometimes pulls on the heartstrings.  She always says sorry after any wrong doing and doesn't like to see her mommy or daddy (or anyone for that matter) upset so she will often stop what she is doing should she see us pulling a sad face or "pretend crying".

We are still so very lucky that she loves her little brother who, naturally, has taken away some of her previously undivided attention.  All she wants to do is love, hug, kiss and hold him and she isn't jealous at all when my time is preoccupied with feeding, bathing or generally taking care of him.  Lily does seem to demand a little more attention from her grandparents though - she would prefer it if I was taking care of Zac so she can have their full focus!

We were out for breakfast with some friends recently who have a little boy the same age as Lily.  While their little guy ran crazily out of the restaurant to explore his surroundings (being followed by exhausted parents!), our little Lily sat quietly enjoying her "coffee" (baby chino) and chit-chatting with us.  Yes, she most certainly had her time when she wouldn't sit still and we were the parents running about, but for the last 3 months or so, she really does sit nicely and is an absolute joy to take out for coffees.  I'm making the most out of these moments as I know very soon, Zac will be mobile and our coffee/lunch dates will be less calm yet again!

So here's to hoping our little princess continues to be the well behaved little angel she is, giving us very little trouble and just being such an absolute joy!  I just smile with so much pride when I think about it.  She is one truly special child xxx

Friday, August 17, 2012

Another milestone

After precisely 18 weeks of sleeping right next to me in his moses basket, Zac moved into his own room and into his cot.  It was bittersweet for me - "bitter" in that my baby is growing and is now big enough to be in his own bed, that little bit further away from his mommy; "bitter" in the fact that, as plans stand at this moment (and who knows, they could change), this is the last baby this mommy will have sleeping next to her in the moses basket; "bitter" that although 18 weeks sounds like a decent length of time, it doesn't seem long enough for him to be away from me...

However, it is "sweet" in that I get hubby back in my bed with me at night.  I've missed him;  "sweet" in that Zac is now officially connected to the monitor and breathing pad so we have peace of mind that he is sleeping peacefully;  "sweet" in that things are getting back to "normal" and that we are slowly finding out little family routine.

It wasn't the best night in terms of sleep and rest.  Zac woke up unexpectantly at 10h30, just as I'd fallen into a deep sleep so I raced to his room so as not to disturb Lily.  He then woke up at 02h20, 04h40 and then was ready to start his day at 05h40.  So I'm a little on the tired side again today.  I have a feeling he is going through a growth spurt and perhaps he is needing that little extra nourishment apart from breastmilk to see him sleep through the night again...  Even though this may be the case, I'm still waiting another month to introduce solids so I will just have to grin and bear the sleep deprivation.  It could always be worse ;)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A little sleepy

Fingers crossed that last night was as a result of Zac's vaccinations and not a sudden new routine. He seemed so very restless and as a result we both didn't get much sleep last night. After a month of being spoiled by wonderful nights of sleep, I'm really feeling exhausted this afternoon!

I went to bed at a decent, albeit later night than usual for me, at 10pm. Zac then woke up at around 11:20pm and again at 1:45am. Although the later wake up call was as a result of him making a poo so the changing of the nappy and light being switched on definitely didn't help when it was time to go back to sleep!  So I only got back to sleep at 3:15am (insert huge yawn here)!  Just as it felt like I was drifting off into Slumber Land, he woke me up again at exactly 5am on my watch. Exhausting!  Thankfully he did doze on my chest until 6am so we snuck in a little more shut eye.

All I can say is thank goodness my Lily Pie is a sleeping angel and we don't have to worry about 2 children at night.  She goes down perfectly in her big bed and wakes up at around 7 every morning. Bliss!  So fingers crossed as I said earlier that his restlessness was as a result of his vaccinations and that tonight will be better! It is off to bed at 8:30pm tonight for me!!!

Monday, August 13, 2012

4 months old

So our little "charmer" (as he has been called on numerous occasions) is 4 months old (17 weeks) and is growing beautifully!  We had both a clinic and pediatrician appointment this morning and both went well. Zac was weighed and has officially doubled his birth weight at 6.2kg and is now 63cm tall. The little teeny tiny baba I gave birth to 4 months ago is growing far too quickly!

He also had to have 2 injections today which is always awful. My smiley happy baby lies smiling on the bed blissfully unaware of what's about to happen to him and it breaks my heart. And not only did he have one painful jab in his small thigh, but two - one in each leg!  He also had to have drops which made his stomach cramp painfully last time so I'm praying it doesn't do the same again...

The paediatritian was very happy with him and says he is ready to roll over any time soon and is also very strong, lifting his head perfectly whilst on his tummy.  We decided to start him on solids next month at around 5 months old like his sister was. I'm excited about that and hope he takes well to veggies like Lily.

Loving this age so much and can't wait for the next few milestones with my precious mommy's boy!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Big Girl Bed

I am such a very proud mommy!  Our little Lily moved into her new room and "big girl bed" this weekend and she did so very well!  We started her off in the new bed on Saturday afternoon for her nap, we made a big deal of it all and really tried to make it exciting.

After leaving the room (and her telling us to leave the door open), we could hear movement on the monitor.  Up went DH to check on her and upon opening the door, he found the little munchkin in the middle of the room playing on the floor. So he lifted her up and put her back into her bed to nap. Again we heard movement and this time found her near the bedroom door ready to make an escape. Back into the bed she went and that was that! She slept perfectly and she has done so ever since (without getting out her bed I might add).  She sleeps through and calls for us in the morning, telling us how she slept in her big bed the "whole night!"

So another milestone accomplished in my baby's journey of life. Exciting and proud moment but also another sad, cruel reminder of her quickly they grow up. No more nights in her cot or "baby bed".  Now it is Zac's turn to make the big move from moses basket next to my bed to the cot in his nursery. Another bitter-sweet moment for this mommy.


Monday, August 6, 2012

Mr Smiley

Had I been told that Zac was going to be the contented little guy that he is now at almost 4 months old back when he was 6 weeks old, I would never have believed you.  He is like a completely different child who is truly so very chilled, relaxed and best of all, full of smiles.  Our little Zac truly is one happy little baby.

He giggles a lot when I pull clothing over his head as he is infectiously ticklish in the neck area.  I can't help but tickle his little chest every now and then just to hear those heartmelting little baby giggles!  I also subject him to little neck nuzzles and "raspberries" (blows) to get the same result and boy does he have THE softest cheecks and skin!  I could kiss his little face all day long!

He is growing really nicely now too and is moving into his 3-6 month clothing and fitting nicely in his size 3 nappies.  I'm looking forward to his weigh-in next week to see how much he is now weighing - I'm almost sure it must be well over 6kg by now!  His eyes are still quite dark, I'm not sure what colour they're going to be, but I have a sneaky suspicion, they'll be darker than Lily's... brown perhaps like mom?  His hair doesn't seem to be growing at all and he has far less of it than his sister did at this age.  Strange how two siblings can be so very different in certain areas.

Zac is still sleeping very well - this mommy cannot complain at all.  I'm truly blessed with a great, happy, chilled little baby boy who I love to the moon and back AND MORE!  I'm thoroughly enjoying watching him grow and change into a handsome little guy :)