6 Month Update

Sophie will be 6 months tomorrow!!! My, my, my how the time flies! She is such a joy!!! We are currently in the thick of teething and a growth spurt, and yet her royal cuteness is cuter than ever!

We are learning so much lately. After going crazy at the Target toy sale (which I intend to continue later this week), Sophie has been exploring more and more. She has toys that dance and sing, and toys that teach her colours, shapes and animals. One even teaches them in English, French and Spanish! What is the world coming to? She loves to push the buttons and make everything light up. When in the bath she now wants to sit up. This would be great if she could do so independently rather than having me leaning over in an awkward fashion. She loves to splash and hit bath toys and play with the walls of the bath.

Yesterday she thought she would explore me face. she put both hands on my eyes so I shut them. As she moved her hands away I would open them up, as quick as lightening she would put her hands back as if to say "keep 'em closed!"

 

 She loves pear. Anything with pear and she will gobble it right up. We tried potato... she refused to even close her mouth for it, just whinged with her mouth wide open and food still on her tongue where I put it.

She loves the Jolly Jumper! she now has gotten the hang of it and wants to be on it all the time. When she stands on my lap she only wants to jump!

She has a fascination with paper. Yesterday the junk mail arrived, which normally gets me very excited (need to get out much...) but this time I think Sophie took the prize for excitement. We both sat on the floor and went through what we wanted to get from the next sales :P Sophie fell over a few times too.

 

We are starting to get separation anxiety. If she sees me leave her sight she is not happy, but if she is blissfully unaware that I am out of her sight she doesn't mind. She was getting scared of the dark, waking at 8:30 each night screaming and shaking. Upon putting in a night light she now only wakes her usual 3 times for habitual feeds.

 Her character is starting to come through. She is a passive little one, very quiet most of the time and then all the sudden very loud for a couple of minutes. She is easily irritated. Her mind is very curious, but her body is only adventurous if everything is risk free. She does not go out of her way for things but would rather you place everything in front of her.

 She is growing up way too fast!!! I love my lil' girl!

Moving House

So we have officially been approved to move in two weeks! How exciting!!! As much as I have loved the homeliness of this house, its size and layout have become a problem with a little one. Sophie's room is right on the kitchen here and the kitchen is not visible from the lounge room. This means that cooking and cleaning can never be done, as Sophie is either playing and needing supervision (as she wiggles her way around and there is a hot gas heater nearby) or she is asleep and needs quiet. Other than that, it has minimal space for entertaining and the backyard is tiny and covered by autumn trees.

So this blog is to wish my house goodbye as I start the process of packing.

The Lounge Room:
We have had some interesting times... whist you have become the playground of my little girl you were also the preparation ground for bringing her into the world. Midwife appointments as well as a homebirth attempt were here. Also you became a study area for 3 of my subjects and Ben's uni also. You had a crisp breeze all year round. You made us feel at home

The Kitchen:
Well.. you were rather frustrating! Although you fitted our fridge, which is more than we can say for most other houses we have lived in, your lack of space and bench space was more than frustrating. Your lack of dishwasher made things a little harder. Your super slow oven made it impossible to cook properly. In this kitchen: i have made many lactation cookies, failed at meringues, made damn good shepherds pie and tried to fit numerous different sized tables in. Our new house... has 3x the bench space, a separate dining area,  and a dishwasher in the laundry... ahhhhhh!!!

 

Sophie's Room:
Although we had all the intentions of keeping Sophie in our own room, it turned out that she slept better with a wall in-between.  The room was originally a guest room which had lots of people stay in it, including: the Leonards, Mums (Mostyn and Evans), Tess, Jake, Sean, and more... If only you were not so close to the kitchen!

Our Room:
Originally we had the bed up against the window, but were informed by others (the Vandors) that it was like putting an air conditioner on your head! So it got moved. Having the TV in the bedroom allowed for more quality time with Ben, rather than being on separate lounges. It also made the lounge room a TV free area which was nice. It has a little room off the end where Sophie was for a little while, but now the treadmill (dreadmill) and shoes are located.

Study:
I think we used you maybe 3-4 times... but thanks for storing all our crap :P

Backyard:
We used you well despite your tiny-ness. next time... no autumn trees over the clothesline. Started with no grass, only leaves... you came along way...

Goodbye House:
 You were cold yet very homely. Thanks for the wonderful times!!!!!!!!

The Jolly Jumper

Sophie's first go... she got the hang of it pretty quickly!

Thailand

There is nothing like a cultural change to make you realize how good life really is. Having traveled to Thailand for two weeks I noticed a thing or two about our own culture.

Firstly, as much as we complain about public transport, health, streets, and more, we really have it amazingly good. We don't have to hang off the back of packed vehicles to travel around, we don't have to beg on the streets if we have an unfortunate illness, we don't have sewerage seeping through our streets, we don't have to use our life savings to buy a car instead of a house, we don't live in a one bedroom unit with a huge family, we don't have to work 12 hrs a day 7 days a week to afford to rent that 1 bedroom unit.

 So many random street shops trying to make a buck (or a baht)

making rice on the street

Crazy electricity!

Secondly, happiness was everywhere in Thailand. The people are aware that their circumstances are... well... crap... but are still extremely caring, friendly and genuine. They put the needs of others before themselves. I have never met a more friendly people! Of course there is your occasional moody person, but in general they were authentically friendly.

 Even Ronald was happier

Everyone greeted us in this manner

Rules Rules Rules, our society is riddled with them! then again it keeps Ben in the job :P Sure there are rules in Thailand, but not many people follow them! No indicators, no baby car seats, no speed limits etc. You would think that this would lead to the place being crazily unsafe and having soooo many accidents. But you would be wrong! We always say that we are near Sydney when people start driving crazy. Its true! We are in such a self-centred environment that we do risk the lives of others for a 2 minute head start. Over there, they expect that people will need to cut in, people will go faster etc and so they expect it to be crazy, and they therefore drive more carefully and more aware. I would drive in a taxi in Thailand with no car seat for Sophie over a taxi in Sydney with a car seat! Its so refreshing!

Traveling on a modern Tuk Tuk

We live in such a regimented and materialistic society, and we think that the more safeguards and luxuries we have the happier our lives will be. If only we owned our own home - that is not an option EVER for most Thais. If only I had a better car - it takes a lifetime of wages to get a basic Toyota, so most people have motorbikes. I need new fashionable clothes - they battle 40+ degrees heat and 90% humidity to sell clothes to tourists on the beach so they might afford some for their own family. I need a pay rise - they earn about $6 a day, and will therefore never be able to change their circumstances.

 Making food on a boat!

Upon returning, I noticed that nobody smiles, greets or even acknowledges your existence in our country. Even if you know a person, they may turn and pretend they did not see you. We stress about everything so much that we are highly strung. We focus on our own needs before others and thus cause risk to others for our own benefit. Whilst our social structures are fantastic, we are missing the basic niceties of humanity. We can learn so much off those who have nothing to give except an attitude to life.

Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod

To write up in Sophie's room (from Denise the Menace)

Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod, one night sailed off in a wooden shoe;
Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going and what do you wish?" the old moon asked the three.
"We've come to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea.
Nets of silver and gold have we," said Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song as they rocked in the wooden shoe.
And the wind that sped them all night long ruffled the waves of dew.
Now the little stars are the herring fish that live in that beautiful sea;
"Cast your nets wherever you wish never afraid are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three - Winkin', and Blinkin', and Nod.

So all night long their nets they threw to the stars in the twinkling foam.
'Til down from the skies came the wooden shoe bringing the fisherman home.
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed as if it could not be.
Some folks say 'twas a dream they dreamed of sailing that misty sea.
But I shall name you the fisherman three - Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod.

Now Winkin' and Blinkin' are two little eyes and Nod is a little head.
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies is a wee one's trundle bed.
So close your eyes while mother sings of the wonderful sights that be.
And you shall see those beautiful things as you sail on the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three - Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod.

Settling back into routine

So we have recently returned from 2 weeks in Thailand with our lil' 5 1/2 month old girl Sophie. We are trying to get resettled and finally deal with the routine issues that plagued us before the trip.

Parenting is all about trial and error, mostly the error.

In breastfeeding Sophie, I was doing fantastically until a nurse was concerned about her weight. As any normal woman, I felt like rubbish; like I could not provide the basic needs for my daughter. I had been warned about weighing babies and the stress that came with it, but didn't understand until it hit me. I was told to double her feeds. She was already getting 2 feeds in an hour and a half, so to double that meant 4 feeds in an hour and a half. I felt like a milking cow!!! Sophie gained weight that month :D However, after that, her weight again slowed down and my milk did too. People were asking 'is she hungry???' which made me wonder about how the heck do I read her?!?! Stress stress stress.

Upon returning to the clinic, Sophie had dropped even more than before in weight, and I was exhausted!!! The idea of comp-feeding was suggested, but I know from all my research that it only adds to lowering milk supply, as supply meets demand. I was additionally stressed about our upcoming trip to Thailand... what if she couldn't feed while we were there?

I brainstormed what may be happening. I decided to move away from going back to that clinic (as many others were beginning to warn me of their old fashioned ways) and decided to go to the clinic at my Doctors instead. She said that as Sophie was feeding so regularly, she is only snack feeding, which is lowering my supply and waking her up all the time starving! Poor dear! I was SO frustrated. Her advice was to feed Sophie 3hourly rather than on demand so that she learns to feed bigger amounts. Today I also learned that it is normal for them to still feed for up to 20 minutes, while i was doing about 5.

I decided to go on Motillium, a anti-nausea drug with the side effect of producing milk, so that I would not have to worry while away.

I have read so much about demand feeding and avoiding 'routines', but for my own sanity, and for predictability for Sophie, we love to work on a routine. This week I am trying out the E.A.S.Y routine. Although it suggests to be 4 hourly for Sophie's age, I am going to commence at 3 hourly as she normally feels 1 1/2 hourly. Its gonna be a long hard week I'm sure.

The E.A.S.Y. routine is based on Eat, Active, Sleep and Yourself, most of which parents do naturally, but I like the 'tick-list' approach. One of the main changes is to get Sophie ready for bed, rather than just plopping her in and crossing my fingers. This includes: setting the scene, swaddling, sitting then shush-patting. Additionally, if she wakes up too early, I'm going to try to settle her back to sleep rather than reinforce short naps.

Whist this all sounds good, I am sure its not going to be so easy. so far today has been a nightmare. However, getting up 6+ times a night for a snack feed is no easier. I would LOVE a sleep longer than 2-3 hrs :)

So here comes the trial... hopefully with limited error :S

Helpful links for today:
http://noobmommy.com/2008/10/feeding-101-from-baby-whisperer.html
http://www.enotalone.com/parenting/5464.html