Don't want to tempt fate, but...

Lily has been sleeping SO beautifully the last week!  She has been going down so very soundly for all her naps - morning nap, afternoon nap and evening bed time.  Even if she has been wide awake prior to me putting her into her cot, she hasn't fought the sleep, she has peacefully resigned herself to the fact that it is now sleep time and she reaches for her "Lily & Jack" bunny and self soothes until she is in "La La Land"!

Even though I've never really battled with putting her down for her night time sleeps, I have battled to get her to sleep through the night.  She usually disturbed for at least 2 dummy calls and would then peacefully drift off again, starting her day between 5am and 6am.  One morning, much to my shock and horror, she started her day at the ghastly time of 4:20am!  Thankfully that was a once off and I hope it never happens again.

Anyway, as of the last week, she has been sleeping through!  Funnily enough though, I'm feeling MORE exhausted!  Perhaps it's my body adjusting to getting more sleep than I have for 6 months (Lily did sleep through from about 8 weeks until 4 months old).  It is quite a strange phenomenon to be honest.  I thought I would have boundless amounts of energy with the undisturbed sleep.  I'm hoping my body gets more "in tune" with the hopefully new and improved sleep routine!

In addition to sleeping through, Lily is also now starting her day between 6:30am and 7:30am.  It's truly wonderful!  Now if only the dogs wouldn't wake me up earlier and my husband would stop snoring!  Bliss!

On another note, I came across this on another blog and thought it was truly brilliant and so very true.  Just had to share:

Can't let go...

I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed my child... well, at least to give it my all in trying to breastfeed my child.  Due to friends having babies before me, I knew that breastfeeding wasn't necessarily going to be easy - in fact, most people had found it rather difficult initially, requiring quite a bit of assistance to get it right.  So when Lily arrived and my milk hadn't come in yet, I allowed the hospital staff to top her up with formula but insisted it be done by either syringe or cup, which they did.  I was on a mission to breastfeed and didn't want her getting used to a bottle.

On day 2 after giving birth, the infamous "blues day", the pediatrician walked into my room and told me in no uncertain terms that my baby was extremely hungry and that she didn't foresee me being able to breastfeed and that we should introduce the bottle.  I was distraught and it was just this comment that sent me into floods of uncontrollable tears.  It was the "ugly" cry - the one accompanied by snorts and huge suctioning of air at the same time.  Just an incredibly ugly sight!

However, I would not allow the doctor to stop me from persevering.  I sent hubby down to the pharmacy to buy me a breast pump which ultimately became my best friend!  I loved and was so grateful for my Medela Mini Electric!  I pumped and pumped until my colostrum came in and boy did I have a lot.  We then fed this to Lily via syringe and cup so by the next day, the doctor actually congratulated me on my perseverance and the fact that Lily was now getting what she needed.  I now always tell friends, if you battle in the beginning, get a breast pump immediately and give that "liquid gold" to your baby.

When we got home I started using nipple shields which enabled Lily to drink from me, but unfortunately after a week, my nipples were in such excruciating pain that I just couldn't bare to let her drink.  I would stand with my hands covering my nipples while in the shower as the water touching them would be far too painful!  I went for daily lazer treatment, expressed milk for every feed and ultimately called a lactation specialist.  The lactation specialist was my life saver and after only one feed with her, we figured it out!  Mommy learned how to get Lily to latch and Lily learned how to latch on properly from there.  My mom always told me that even though it's incredibly difficult in the beginning, it gets easier and easier until you eventually can't believe you ever even had a problem.  It was hard for me to believe her, but after a few weeks, it became second nature!

And here we are, almost 11 months later and Lily is still breastfeeding.  I am so grateful that I was able to give her such a great start in life and that we could share the incredible bonding experience - just the two of us.  But now I've started to notice that my milk is dwindling and I just can't seem to let go.  I want to try everything to keep her on the breast for a little longer.  Who knew it would be so hard to let your baby move on?  We are now down to 3 feeds a day and I'm doubtful that Lily is getting much milk from those feeds, so I am topping her up with half a bottle of formula - something I really just can't seem to get used to doing.

I suppose I should be proud and happy of the fact that she has been on breast milk for longer than most babies, but it is still sad that the time is coming where she is slowly drinking less and will be on my boobs less...  Another little milestone that I'm not quite ready to see happen.

Learning so quickly!

Lily is truly coming into her own and developing her own little character.  She absolutely loves attention and whenever we go shopping, she happily greets people, waves at them, laughs and even tries to have conversations with them.  I am often stopped by random people who want to have a chat with her, or want to tell me how gorgeous my child is or to just admire her.  I obviously love this and feel very proud, but what makes me even more proud is the fact that I know that she will take the opportunity of the attention and will give her admirers a cute giggle, huge smile or even a cute batting of her eyelashes!

Of course she isn't all cuteness all the time... Lily has now learned to show us what she does NOT want!  She will arch her back if she doesn't want to sit in her car seat or her high chair and she hates being put onto her back to have her nappy changed.  I have to constantly distract her with a toy or mommy's horrendous singing voice to stop the mini tantrum.  She also protests if I take something away from her that she's happily playing with.  Gone are the days where you could just easily take an object away - now she knows what she wants and she has no problem letting us know that.

It's so cute to hear how she mimics some of the words we say.  The other day I was doing a puzzle with her and asked her where the "clock" puzzle piece was.  I repeated the word "clock" a few times, without even thinking she would try to repeat it, when all of a sudden out popped the word "cock"!  Obviously not the desirable first few words you want your child learning to say, but I was happy with the fact that she was at least trying to copy what mommy was saying.  Her vocabulary has now increased to include "Dada", "Mama", "Cock", "Ta" and "Hello".  Hello doesn't quite sound like hello, but it is definitely her own way of saying it just like she has her own unique way of saying "clock"!

Lily has also mastered the art of waving which she has been able to do for a while, but now it is most definitely a deliberate movement when people say hello or goodbye.  It's too cute and receives many "oohs" and "aahs" from people on the receiving end of her gesture.

My angel is really growing up so beautifully and I fall in love with her more and more every single day.

Poor baby!

I didn't think that my precious baby could get bitten any worse than the bite on her arm that I posted about a few weeks ago, but I was very wrong.  A week later I woke up to a smiling happy baby, but with a very small swollen eye.  My poor angel had been bitten not once, but twice on her right eye!  One bite on the top of her eyelid and one underneath her eye.  It looked so very sore, but as usual, Lily was her bright, cheery, happy self.

My poor baby's swollen eye.

I had officially had enough of trying all the natural and organic products - I was now all for the chemicals!  Anything to stop those blood sucking monsters from hurting my precious baby!  I went out on a mission to eliminate the buggers and purchased the following:  Mortein Target spray, Mikes Mozzie spray, Mikes Mozzie patches, Peaceful Sleep mats and a very bright pink cot net (given to us by a kind friend that most certainly does not match Lily's room's decor, but at this stage, I don't give a continental!).

I am happy to say that at least one of the 5 things listed above are working as Lily thankfully hasn't had another bit since then and I'm hoping and praying it stays that way!  I have never wished for Winter's arrival quite as much as I have this summer!

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!

9 months old

Even though we are told that a pregnancy lasts 9 months, I do realise that it is usually slightly longer than that, like in my case!  Lily was quite happy inside her mommy's tummy and was in no rush to enter this world.  Even though my pregnancy didn't feel too long, I have to say that the 9 months of pregnancy versus the 9 months that Lily has been in my life, definitely went slower.  Like I keep saying, the last 9 months of being a mommy have gone by so extremely quickly!

We had our 9 month check this morning and Lily is still considered a petite little baby, weighing in at 8.5kg.  She is now 70cm long and her head is also growing nicely (of course - she has her mother's brains).  Unfortunately, along with the nice developmental measurements we had done at this clinic visit, Lily also had to have her measles inoculation.  Shame, it breaks my heart - she was all smiles beforehand and when the needle hit, she went bright red and gave a loud cry.  Luckily it lasted all of 5 seconds and she forgot about it much to my relief.  Now we have 3 months to go until the next ouchy injections :(

Otherwise, Lily still has no teeth, is still leopard crawling all over the place, pushing with her right leg and dragging her left one behind (resulting in a rough piece of skin under her right big toe!).  She is also starting to open draws and cupboards, resulting in the child proofing moving up a notch to cupboard locks, especially for the detergent cupboard in the kitchen.  I have to watch her like a hawk as she keeps on making a bee-line for the dogs bowls and the opened sliding door...  I can only begin to imagine how busy I'm going to be when she starts crawling properly!

I am still amazed at how much I totally and unconditionally love my little Lily Monster and of course, how much this love just keeps on growing.  How is it physically possible?  She is our life and lights up our world.

I dream of sleep...

I should be thankful for the good baby I have been blessed with and the very few difficult nights we have experienced.  Many moms have the exact opposite with only a few good nights in between very disturbed, exhausting nights.  However, 3 days ago, Lily woke up with a teary right eye and running left nostril.  Poor baby looked so sick, but it seemed to be the same thing she's had in the past where it just seems to disappear, with no "sickness" to report.  I've been told that these sorts of symptoms that mimic a cold or the flu, can be a result of teething...

I'm not so sure!  Teething seems to be the "go-to" blamed condition for everything that's not quite right with your child.  Lily has had these teething symptoms before, quite some time ago, and still, we have NO teeth!  Her gums are a little more swollen and I do believe they are on their way, but I just wish we had something to show for her little niggles, red eyes, runny nose and bad nights!

Three nights ago, I had the worst night we have yet to experience with Lily and I hope it's the last!  From the moment she was put to sleep at 6:30pm, she woke up every single hour until I eventually got up with her at 5:15am.  It was tiring, very tiring!  Then the next night wasn't much better!  I wasn't up every hour, but I was definitely up about 5 times during the night.  Lily wasn't even awake, she was merely crying out in what appeared to be discomfort.  Poor little baby, I just wanted to make it right for her.  It wasn't helping that her nose seemed blocked and she was having difficulty breathing while breastfeeding or sucking on her dummy.  It was the first time I popped open the baby Nurofen and used Karvol capsules.

So last night, I was fully prepared.  Before putting Lily down for her sleep, I sprayed some of her lavendar "magic sleep" spray on her pillow and mattress, I rubbed Karvol Rub on her little chest, I put some "Breath Easy" on her upper lip and prayed for a better night.  And I am happy to say that she only woke up at 4am for a feed and then 7am to start the day.  I feel so refreshed!

I now have a new found sympathy for my fellow moms who have battled with babies who aren't fond of sleeping and wake up numerous times during the night.  It is exhausting to say the least and I don't believe you can ever quite "catch up" on lost sleep.  But the joys of being a mommy, to see your precious baby's smile when you walk into their room and to have those little snuggles, giggles and precious moments, make it all worth while!