Number One Fan...

Did you know that I'm awesome? I didn't either but apparently James thinks so.

For the past couple of weeks he has been getting upset (mostly grumpy but sometimes full on crying) when I leave the room. Even if his Dad or Grandparents are there, he will watch me leave and then start whining. BJ usually distracts him with a game and then he's fine. But when James and I are home by ourselves it can be hard to leave him in his play area while I'm running around trying to make the place look like someone lives here.

I'm sure it's just a phase and he'll probably grow out of it. I know there will be a time (a few years from now) when he won't even want a hug from his Mum so I'll take as many cuddles as I can get now!

Where's the beef...

I think James is going to be a vegetarian.

We have been struggling with James' sleep for a couple of months. He was doing really well after we started solids. Going down for naps during the day and sleeping through the night. Just look out for his tired signs, put him in his cot and he would be out like a light. It was a miracle! Then six weeks ago he started to need more and more help to get to sleep. Then the naps went out the window and now sleeping through the night is a thing of the past. The Party Animal was back! 3am is the time for partying, even if you don't RSVP you still get the wake up call.

So last weekend I'd had enough. We had to do something, something was wrong and I needed to fix it. I'm not ready for any type of sleep training yet but he could sleep before so what was different. I decided to look as his diet. A lot of babies in my mothers group had started protein so I thought James might be ready for a bit of meat in his diet. The ladies had reported the same sleeping problems had occurred with their little ones and once they added a bit of meat to their diet, hey presto back to sleeping through the night.

I began researching different recipes and came across one for chicken and one for beef that were pretty easy and used things I already had at home. He already loves all types of veggies so most of the recipe is just cooking the meat and veggies then mashing it all up.

So the big cook off started. The recipes made a large batch that would be four or five meals so I could freeze them. I felt very excited to be offering new flavours to my little guy and was looking forward to seeing him gulping them down. On Tuesday for lunch I gave James his chicken, rice and veggies. He hated it. It tasted good to me but when James gave it a go he spat it all out. So I tried again on Wednesday, the same thing. Luckily the dog liked it so Hounddog got some snacks.

I tried the beef today still no good. It tastes great to me and I know he loves the veggies that I've used because these are the back up meals he has.

So I think he's going to be a vegetarian. Oh well, we'll try the meat again next week and in the mean time I'll continue to party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!

Dirty little secret...

As the title suggests, I have a dirty little secret. I'm not sure but I think I might require help. Not even my husband is aware of my secret. Please don't judge.

I'm addicted to The Bold and the Beau.tiful.

When James takes naps during the day I usually eat, go to the toilet, do a bit of cleaning or washing and in the early days of motherhood sometimes take a nap. For the past two months James has been taking a power nap in the afternoons before his solid dinner. The nap is only for around thirty minutes and at the same time everyday. This time just happens to be at the same time as The Bold. Because I've usually caught up on the cleaning, washing etc. by this time of the afternoon, I turn the tv on for some mind numbing viewing. To relax and just escape to the world of bitchy, backstabbing and fashion for thirty minutes.

All the while my little man is getting some zzzzzzz.

Six Months...

Our little man is six months old!

At birth James was:

3.15kg (6.9 pounds)

49cm (19 inches)

And at six months he is now:

7.3kg (16 pounds)

68cm (26 inches)

Here is how he has grown.

34 weeks

 

One day old

One week

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months

I'm so excited...

There is going to be another baby in my family, my sister is pregnant! I'm going to be an Aunt again! As the title of this post suggests, I am so excited! I haven't told a lot about my family so here is a bit of history...

· I have a younger sister and brother (which means I am the eldest, therefore the best!)

· My sister has always been ahead of me in life, even though she meet her husband after I met BJ, she married before me and had a baby before me

· My sister and brother are my best friends. Friends come and go but these guys will be with me until the end!

Which brings me to why I'm so excited! Of course it has something to do with my sister being pregnant but again there is some history:

· My sister and BIL didn't plan my niece. She was a happy "accident" when they were living overseas and when they returned to Australia my niece was born five years ago

· My sister and BIL were devastated when BJ and I couldn't have a baby by ourselves and my sister even offered to be our surrogate

· Over a year ago my sister and BIL decided they would try for another baby (around the same time we found out I was pregnant with Frostie, aka James!)

· A year later my sister wasn't pregnant (my worst nightmare, I couldn't imagine this happening to a good friend let alone my own sister)

· So my sister and BIL decided to get some fertility testing. My BIL tested fine and on the initial tests my sister was fine too but since they had been trying for so long, my sister would have to undergo a dye test to check her tubes. They decided that they would wait six months and live healthy and see what happens.

So last night I got a surprise call from my sister to tell me about her pregnancy! I couldn't be happier! I'm so excited for her, my BIL and my niece. Another baby for our family, another life for us to celebrate and another friend that will be with me until the end!

Awesomeness...

After my last post was a bit of a downer, (still an important issue I think needs to be looked at) I thought I would highlight some of the awesome things about being a mother. Like any downside there are upsides and with motherhood the upsides are pretty terrific. In no particular order:

· Smiles, the first reward for any parent. There is nothing better than seeing your little one smile.

· Looking around for me when he's being held by someone else

· Recognising my voice and turning in my direction. Usually comes with a smile too!

· Cuddles, James is just starting to throw his arms out when I hold him. It's the closest thing to a hug so far!

· The way he looks at his Dad. He just lights up when BJ is talking to him, it's really lovely to see their relationship develop.

· Knowing I can calm him down when he gets upset. All it takes is a cuddle from Mum.

· Getting compliments about him and how much he looks like me

· The face he gives me when he's trying a new food, hilarious!

· Knowing he trusts me completely

· Watching him grown from a newborn into a real little boy with his own personality

· Knowing he is my son and nothing will ever change that.

Post Natal Pressure...

When James was around three months old, we were deep in his Party Animal phase when he wouldn't go to sleep at night. I was Skypeing with a good friend who was weeks away from delivering her little girl. We had been through a lot together and have always had honest conversations about life. She was a great listener when I was worried about having fertility problems and she was one of the first people who celebrated with us when we found out we were pregnant.
So when she asked how motherhood was going, the first thing I said was "I don't want to scare you but it's really hard. A lot harder than I always thought". I think I shocked her. She was expecting a rainbows and butterflies answer on how great it was and how perfect James was. And even though the second thing I told her was "But during the day he's been smiling and when he does go to sleep he sleeps until the morning", I didn't want to make it seem like it was all great because it is hard and nobody really tells you this.

We talked about the focus, while you were pregnant (especially for your first) was really about the birth. BJ and I spent four weeks going to anti natal classes that went through all different aspects of labour, drugs that you could request, creating a birth plan, what happens in a c-section and had a tour of the birth suites and spent only one hour on baby care. For most people the birth is a one day event but has the majority of the focus. While I think a lot more of the classes and support, while pregnant and once your baby arrives, should be about baby care. We really had no idea of what to do with this little person we so desperately wanted.

Unfortunately my friend found out how difficult the newborn phase is. We were speaking again, about a month into her daughter’s life and she was really struggling. Her little girl was crying non stop and nothing seemed to settle her. My friend confessed she also spent a lot of the time crying about the feeling of uselessness that all first time parents feel. Like me, she thought it would come naturally but when posed with a problem (e.g. crying baby or problems breastfeeding) she had no idea. Then she was playing catch up, researching the net, reading books and even hiring a lactation consultant/baby care nurse to help with swaddling and settling her baby.

Another month on she is coping better, coming out of the "newborn fog" and learning more about her beautiful little girl. Like me, she wishes she had focused more on learning about breastfeeding and baby care before, so we could have spent more time enjoying the newborn time instead of researching what we were doing wrong.