Just had to record for all to see what a wonderful first Mother's Day I had a couple of weeks ago.
It was suggested that I stay in bed for breakfast but I opted to get up and eat at the table with my family. I was give a lovely pair of earrings from a great little shop in Yarraville (where you can't go wrong with the gift buying guys).
Then I was advised that on the 29th we will be eating out (sans kinder) at Grossi Florentinos (yum!) followed by a classical music concert at the Arts Centre. My kind of evening :)
The next day, me, my Mum and his Mum will all be going to a spa in Williamstown and he will babysit.
We had a great lunch cooked by his loving hand and last but not least I got chocolate and flowers.
Phew! Now I am counting down to next year ;)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Breast feeding pillows
Have to say thanks to my gorgeous friend Nikki for this. I honestly don't know if I could have breast fed for this long without her Comphi breast feeding pillow.
I went through quite a bit of pain in the first six weeks on BFing. Ended up at the hospital lactation clinic twice, joined and made good use of the Australian Breast Feeding Association, had great support from family and friends, but even with all that, I have to say that it is HARD!
The Comphi really helped and if I can recommend that you buy anything for yourself (or even better, get friends or family to buy it for you) this is the thing. A breast feeding pillow will save your arms, back, legs, neck and is so lovely for the baby to rest on in between sides.
I know what you are thinking - surely a normal pillow will do just fine. And yes it will help, but the ergonomics of a BFing pillow mean it wraps around your body so if you use a different hold then it will still support the baby, plus it is less bulky and awkward than a normal pillow.
Can't recommend them highly enough - saved me from max pain!
More on breast feeding to come. Ouchies!
I went through quite a bit of pain in the first six weeks on BFing. Ended up at the hospital lactation clinic twice, joined and made good use of the Australian Breast Feeding Association, had great support from family and friends, but even with all that, I have to say that it is HARD!
The Comphi really helped and if I can recommend that you buy anything for yourself (or even better, get friends or family to buy it for you) this is the thing. A breast feeding pillow will save your arms, back, legs, neck and is so lovely for the baby to rest on in between sides.
I know what you are thinking - surely a normal pillow will do just fine. And yes it will help, but the ergonomics of a BFing pillow mean it wraps around your body so if you use a different hold then it will still support the baby, plus it is less bulky and awkward than a normal pillow.
Can't recommend them highly enough - saved me from max pain!
More on breast feeding to come. Ouchies!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Nappy envy
One of the seven deadly sins?
At times, I find myself suffering from nappy envy. When realise what I am doing I just want to walk away from the conversation I am currently holding and bang my head against the nearest wall. Nothing to do with the mother I'm talking to at the time, it's just that I suddenly listen to the drivel I am talking and want to tie my tongue in a knot.
Don't misunderstand me, I like to talk about my baby as much as any new mother, but how can I really hold a half hour debate with another adult about the pros and cons of different types and brands of nappies.
I can find myself getting worked up and envious of the nappies another mum is using. Why do I care about: nappy liners, nappy bags, nappy covers, cloth nappies (pocket or all-in-one?!) or disposables.
Who is this person (me) that can talk all day to her mother-in-law about nappy rash and the differing generational cures? Or the price of Aldi nappies versus Huggies. Or which shop actually has the specials this week.
I don't know but I have done all these things and still do! Aargh!
I remember when I used to have shoe envy. Now there was a real sin. If you are going to sin you may as well do it right. Now most of my shoes are stored in the roof and if I want a specific pair I have to climb in past the cat and the cobwebs to pull out the boxes and find the right one. So I generally don't bother and end up wearing the same pair every day. Who is this style-less girl, sorry I mean woman?
I guess the moral of this little rant is that the envy never goes away, you just transfer it to the most relevant part of your life at the time. Like right now, I am envious of those of you who have a lovely, consecutive eight hours sleep to look forward to tonight.
But that's another story!
At times, I find myself suffering from nappy envy. When realise what I am doing I just want to walk away from the conversation I am currently holding and bang my head against the nearest wall. Nothing to do with the mother I'm talking to at the time, it's just that I suddenly listen to the drivel I am talking and want to tie my tongue in a knot.
Don't misunderstand me, I like to talk about my baby as much as any new mother, but how can I really hold a half hour debate with another adult about the pros and cons of different types and brands of nappies.
I can find myself getting worked up and envious of the nappies another mum is using. Why do I care about: nappy liners, nappy bags, nappy covers, cloth nappies (pocket or all-in-one?!) or disposables.
Who is this person (me) that can talk all day to her mother-in-law about nappy rash and the differing generational cures? Or the price of Aldi nappies versus Huggies. Or which shop actually has the specials this week.
I don't know but I have done all these things and still do! Aargh!
I remember when I used to have shoe envy. Now there was a real sin. If you are going to sin you may as well do it right. Now most of my shoes are stored in the roof and if I want a specific pair I have to climb in past the cat and the cobwebs to pull out the boxes and find the right one. So I generally don't bother and end up wearing the same pair every day. Who is this style-less girl, sorry I mean woman?
I guess the moral of this little rant is that the envy never goes away, you just transfer it to the most relevant part of your life at the time. Like right now, I am envious of those of you who have a lovely, consecutive eight hours sleep to look forward to tonight.
But that's another story!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What I've learned about Poo
An amazing subject at any time don't you think? Now, with nearly nine months of nappies under my belt I feel that I am somewhat qualified to comment on baby poo. Ha!
At times I feel like an animal tracker. The amount of information you think you can garner from a nappy is amazing! There can be quite the rainbow of colours. The variation in consistency is quite fantastic.
But what does it all mean? My baby bible, the book Baby Love, tells me that for a newborn this is all quite normal. But what about a nine month old? From what I can gather it's either a food reaction (but this is usually accompanied by a red bottom) or again, completely normal.
Back to square one. All I've learned from my own experience is that if the child seems happy most of the time, then I don't worry.
However, this week was a little different. I got a call from the child care centre on Friday to come and check on Maeve as she was very upset and scratching herself, not to mention the numerous poos she had done.
When I got there it looked like my little girl had been in a cat fight and lost! She had a huge gouge across her cheek and all self-inflicted. Poor little bugger. She had also not slept, eaten or drunk anything all morning so was quite upset. Obviously a little upset tummy right?
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I breast fed her and she calmed quite quickly. It's amazing what boobies can do isn't it? And yes, she has teeth - more on this later...
She still has some strange things happening in her nappy on the third day, but apart from that is quite happy. What do I do? I suppose as a "good-mother" I take her to the GP. But part of me is thinking I am over-reacting. I guess I could be, but you know that I will take her. It's just what you do or else you find yourself feeling forever guilty! Even if she is fine.
Hopefully the moral of this story will be that I have learned nothing from baby poo and that Maeve is just creating some variety in her little life to keep us all on our toes. That seems to be the usual outcome of each day with her in our lives!
At times I feel like an animal tracker. The amount of information you think you can garner from a nappy is amazing! There can be quite the rainbow of colours. The variation in consistency is quite fantastic.
But what does it all mean? My baby bible, the book Baby Love, tells me that for a newborn this is all quite normal. But what about a nine month old? From what I can gather it's either a food reaction (but this is usually accompanied by a red bottom) or again, completely normal.
Back to square one. All I've learned from my own experience is that if the child seems happy most of the time, then I don't worry.
However, this week was a little different. I got a call from the child care centre on Friday to come and check on Maeve as she was very upset and scratching herself, not to mention the numerous poos she had done.
When I got there it looked like my little girl had been in a cat fight and lost! She had a huge gouge across her cheek and all self-inflicted. Poor little bugger. She had also not slept, eaten or drunk anything all morning so was quite upset. Obviously a little upset tummy right?
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I breast fed her and she calmed quite quickly. It's amazing what boobies can do isn't it? And yes, she has teeth - more on this later...
She still has some strange things happening in her nappy on the third day, but apart from that is quite happy. What do I do? I suppose as a "good-mother" I take her to the GP. But part of me is thinking I am over-reacting. I guess I could be, but you know that I will take her. It's just what you do or else you find yourself feeling forever guilty! Even if she is fine.
Hopefully the moral of this story will be that I have learned nothing from baby poo and that Maeve is just creating some variety in her little life to keep us all on our toes. That seems to be the usual outcome of each day with her in our lives!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sleep Deprivation
This is the biggest issue we have faced and still face with Maeve. And I know other parents have the same problem.
Maeve is nearly nine months old now and by all accounts should be in a reasonable sleep routine. However this is sadly not the case and because of that I am severely sleep deprived most of the time.
Maeve was never a good sleeper - always a cat napper. I think this is a more common problem with breastfed babies due to the feeding schedule when they are newborns. Now that she is older it is a fact that she feeds for comfort a lot of the time through the night. This of course is my own fault!
I have been to sleep school and don't get me wrong, it was great. It's just that it worked for a little and then Maeve "developed" and things changed. I am considering going back just to get a rest at least.
Going to sleep school is a good option for most parents. As I said, for us it was good, but I must admit to being in a quandary about whether to go ahead with it at first. I thought that the methods used (controlled comforting) might be in opposition to my own "bringing up baby" philosophy. Actually, the staff there were fantastic and adhered to my wishes at all times. So I can safely recommend this as an option for desperate parents. And best of all, (at least the centre I attended) it is available free of charge through Medicare.
Nowadays, we still have sleepless nights and am constantly trying new methods. The one that always works quickest is to feed her (breastfeed) back to sleep. Great once a night but not so great four times a night!
One day I'll once again enjoy 8 hours straight, but till then my caffeine habit will grow and grow.
More later...
Maeve is nearly nine months old now and by all accounts should be in a reasonable sleep routine. However this is sadly not the case and because of that I am severely sleep deprived most of the time.
Maeve was never a good sleeper - always a cat napper. I think this is a more common problem with breastfed babies due to the feeding schedule when they are newborns. Now that she is older it is a fact that she feeds for comfort a lot of the time through the night. This of course is my own fault!
I have been to sleep school and don't get me wrong, it was great. It's just that it worked for a little and then Maeve "developed" and things changed. I am considering going back just to get a rest at least.
Going to sleep school is a good option for most parents. As I said, for us it was good, but I must admit to being in a quandary about whether to go ahead with it at first. I thought that the methods used (controlled comforting) might be in opposition to my own "bringing up baby" philosophy. Actually, the staff there were fantastic and adhered to my wishes at all times. So I can safely recommend this as an option for desperate parents. And best of all, (at least the centre I attended) it is available free of charge through Medicare.
Nowadays, we still have sleepless nights and am constantly trying new methods. The one that always works quickest is to feed her (breastfeed) back to sleep. Great once a night but not so great four times a night!
One day I'll once again enjoy 8 hours straight, but till then my caffeine habit will grow and grow.
More later...
Welcome
My first blog!
Considering the baby boom we are experiencing right now I thought I would jump on the band wagon and start a blog about my life with baby Maeve.
I'd like to talk about all the ups and downs of having your first baby. Share my experiences with other mums and hopefully pass on some ideas of what has worked and warnings about what has not.
So we'll be talking: sleep deprivation, feeding, weight, exercise, breast-feeding, Grandparents and many more hot topics.
Back later...
Considering the baby boom we are experiencing right now I thought I would jump on the band wagon and start a blog about my life with baby Maeve.
I'd like to talk about all the ups and downs of having your first baby. Share my experiences with other mums and hopefully pass on some ideas of what has worked and warnings about what has not.
So we'll be talking: sleep deprivation, feeding, weight, exercise, breast-feeding, Grandparents and many more hot topics.
Back later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
