Baby’s First Christmas

Hi all! I hope you has a wonderful Christmas and spent some great time with your families.

Our Christmas was great. We went to my in-laws for the weekend and there were 14 of us there to enjoy the day. It was manic, loud and a ton of fun. We ate too much food and got spoiled with tons of gifts (especially Miss Willow). IT was just an all round great day.

I don’t know if I’ve ever said, but my in-laws have a house in Malelane on the Crocodile River bordering the Kruger National Park. We try and go visit at least once every two months, but we’re usually only there for the weekend. It was wonderful to get to spend an extra day just relaxing and taking in the surrounds.

Hubby got off early on Christmas Eve. We quickly packed the car and hit the road. Willow slept for a short time, but she spent most of the journey awake. That said she was an absolute dream and had a lot of fun in her seat eating biscuits and playing with her toys.

When we arrived at the house is was 42 degrees celsius at 4pm! We quickly unpacked and then got into the pool. Willow loves the water and had the best time splashing and swimming with the Dad and me.

We had a quiet family dinner that night and spent most of the evening getting ready for the next day.

Christmas Day was a blur of wrapping paper, hugs and laughter. We had an awesome lunch and spent more time in the pool (December in Africa is not for sissies! Although Christmas Day was a lot cooler than the day before, which we were all grateful for.) Willow was spoilt rotten with tons of new toys, books and clothes.

We spent Boxing Day just lazing about and relaxing. There was more pool time and more food. We were also treated to about 30 elephant that spent the day at the river. Some came right up close to the fence at the bottom of the garden. It was spectacular.

We rounded out the weekend with sundowner cocktails at my husband’s aunt’s house that evening.

So many present! This is what happens when there are 14 people and an almost one-year-old at the party!

The correct way to open your cracker

Afternoon treats with the elephants

Willow was surprisingly chipper in the car both there and back

 

Showing off her new swimming cozzie and enjoying an ice lolly

Wearing her special Christmas hat

Willow really enjoyed her ice lollies

Merry Christmas!

I have spent a lot of time wandering down Memory Lane these past few weeks.

This time last year I was the size of a house, ridiculously hot and swollen (summer pregnancies are not for sissies), on a travel ban due to the fact that I could have gone into labour at any time, and hoping that Miss Willow would wait until after New Year to make her appearance.

This year I have an incredibly fun, high-energy and busy almost one-year-old on my hands. We are getting ready to a huge family gathering on Christmas Day, we have wrapped all the presents and I am planning a birthday party. She is such a joy in our lives and really makes the sentiment of the season hit home.

Willow is such a joy in our lives and really makes the sentiment of the season hit home. Every day I am in awe of how much we have to be grateful for, what joy we have in our lives and Christmas has taken on a new meaning for me.

I am looking forward to spending this time with family and hope that, wherever in the world you are, your Christmas is filled with love, joy and blessings!

Merry Christmas!

More teething!

Miss Willow has been working very hard on bringing out her first two molars. We now have one that has broken through the surface and one that we expect will arrive any day now (knowing my luck on Christmas day!). This is both an exciting and horrible time.

Molars are awful. Willow seems to be in more pain than I’ve ever seen her. During what I like to call the first phase of teething – the drooling, grumpy, frantically need to chew everything and anything phase – the pain came and went just like the rest of her teething. But there have been times when she was inconsolable and the only thing I could put it down to is the teeth.

Then in the days of eruption (this is usually three days or the tooth pushing and then the day of the tooth breaking through the gum; although I’ve been told molars can be longer) she had a lot of trouble. Sleep went out the window, she lost her appetite, she wanted to nurse constantly and she would cry and scream at bed and nap times.

Also, I got bitten quite a few times. Not during nursing, thank goodness, but I have a bruise on my shoulder from a little nip she gave me. Babies tend to bite when they’re teething and it gets worse when they’re tired. If your little one is biting check and see if you have teeth on the way!

What makes it worse is that there is no real help for them when they cut their molars. For their front teeth they can gnaw on cold teething rings, or just teething toys in general and find some relief. Not much is capable of getting right to the back to help with the molars.

So I did what any mom would do: I turned to Google and to other moms who have been through this. I thought I’d share what I’ve learned in the hopes that it will help your little one with their molars (especially early teethers!).

1. A gum massager – if you can find one of these it will really help. It looks a bit like a toothbrush with a textured knob on the end (I have been told baby toothbrushes are also a winner). Willow will often grab this and bite down hard. I also give it to her when she tries to bite me and it really helps.
2. Celery – I like celery because it’s fibrous so Willow can’t really bite chunks off (regardless I still watch her like a hawk when she chews it). I give it to her cold out of the fridge. She really likes the taste and it’s firm enough to provide some relief. I have been warned against using cold carrots or frozen banana as this does break into chunks and can be a choking hazard. Cold fruit, in general, seems to really help. If you’re wary of the celery try some watermelon.
3. Biltong – I believe this is call jerky in the States. In South Africa we can get it in long thing sticks. I buy low sodium and give Willow a short piece to chew on. She loves it! It also makes a tasty snack for mom.
4. Pain relief to the gums – This is a tip I learned from a mom recently and it works like a bomb! When teething pain is really bad and you’ve decided you want to administer a pain killer try rubbing the syrup directly onto the gum as well. I’m sure any infant pain reliever will do but we use one with anti-inflammatories. Give the baby their usual dose then put a tiny bit on your finger and rub it on the gums. The full dose works for a prolonged period but takes longer to kick in. Applying some to the gums gives a little relief right away.

What tricks have you used to relieve teething pain? I’m always looking for a new method to help Willow out during these times.

Tips for holidaying with a baby

I won’t lie, I was a little nervous before we set off on our holiday. I had never been on holiday with a small child before (obviously…) and I was completely at sea as to what to expect.

Hubby and I had discussed it before we left and set some ‘ground rules’ if you will: We would stick as close to Willow’s normal routine as we could. We would stick close to the hotels in the mornings and evenings (when Willow tends to be a bit fractious) so we could make a quick escape to the suite if needed. We would have dinner at home so that she can have an unwinding period before bed.

As far as the almost six hour I was incredibly nervous about that! Willow has done long distance before, but nothing this long.

We decided to leave at nap time and hoped that would score us one and a half to two hours (it did). We then looked for a suitable place to stop within the next hour so we could have lunch, have a walk, maybe play a bit before getting back in the car.

Our strategy both for the car journey and the stay at the hotel worked like a dream. We didn’t have a single tantrum.

My top tips for going on holiday with a baby are:

1. Stick to your routine as much as you can. Yes, it will require a bit of sacrifice, but a tear-free holiday with worth it. Babies need that predictability.
2. Be a little more relaxed. I wasn’t so strict on time frames and schedules. We just kept to a general outline of how we wanted the day to go and allowed Willow to tell us when she was ready for sleep. As a result, she ended up going to sleep a little later than the norm, but it was fine and everyone enjoyed themselves. Most importantly I wasn’t stressing that the baby wasn’t asleep and I got to enjoy myself too!
3. A break on the car journey is a must! Having a break was good for the whole family. Try stop someplace that has a playground or at the very least a patch of grass to crawl or walk on.
4. Pack a bottle in the car. I made up a bottle of formula to have in the car (use whatever works with your feeding philosophy). I gave her the formula just before her second nap time and within 30 minutes she was asleep and slept the remainder fo the car journey. I call that a win!
5. Rotate your toys. At the stop pack away the toys that baby had during the first part of the journey and bring out new toys. Boredom is a killer and this keeps things fresh.
6. Buy the damn kids’ CD. I got one from Clamber Club aptly names Car Sanity Saver. The songs are stupid, annoying and get stuck in your head. But Willow loves them and they went a long way to helping her keep calm and entertained.

Baby goes to the beach

View of the ocean from our balcony

We are back from our holiday feeling relaxed, refreshed and very happy.

It was wonderful to have a family getaway and I am really looking forward to this tradition continuing in the future. Every morning we would get up when she woke for the day. I would feed her breakfast and then we’d head to the beach. She LOVED playing in the shallows and having the waves break at her feet. We would hold her hands and she would splash around. She often took off running to chase the waves! She also loved the sand and enjoyed digging in it and feeling it between her fingers and toes.

Every morning we would get up when she woke for the day. I would feed her breakfast and then we’d head to the beach. She LOVED playing in the shallows and having the waves break at her feet. We would hold her hands and she would splash around. She often took off running to chase the waves! She also loved the sand and enjoyed digging in it and feeling it between her fingers and toes.

We would then go have breakfast, followed by a swim in the pool – While Willow enjoyed the playing in the waves she wasn’t a big fan of swimming in the sea. We think maybe it was too cold. So we did all our swimming in the pool. After that it was nap time

Then it was nap time so we headed back to the flat and put Willow down. The afternoons were when we did most of our outings. We started off with lunch then went to do something fun for the whole family. This worked out best for us as it kept the whole family out of the sun during 11am to 3pm danger period.

We took her to the aquarium at Ushaka Marine World. She had so much fun looking at all the fish. The big fish in the large tanks made the most impact on her and she would point and laugh. The cutest thing is that she had to make sure all the people around her were seeing the fish too – she would shout and point and look at us to make sure we saw!

One day we went to the Umgeni River Bird Park to see the bird show. Again this was a big hit with Willow, especially the part where a vulture hopped amongst the crowd. She also loved the brightly coloured parrots.

We then headed back to the hotel for second nap. In the late afternoons we would go for a walk along the promenade and play in the sand or waves a bit more. We then went home to start getting dinner ready and have bath time and bed time.

Hubby and I did organise a babysitter for one of the evenings. We decided to go to a movie, which we haven’t done in ages! We saw the new James Bond film and were home by 11pm (oh how days have changed ;p ).

Willow was an absolute joy all week and we all had an awesome holiday.

Creating new traditions – Christmas

One of the great things about having a baby is the opportunity to create new traditions. Up until now Christmas has been a bit of a stressful affair with a lot of travelling between Hubby’s family and mine.

This Christmas is set to be different as its unfair to pack Willow up in the middle of everything and cart her off to a new location. So from now on Hubby and I have decide to start alternating Christmas between the families.

Beyond that though we never really had traditions of our own. Sure I would put up a tree every year, but that was about it. This year my family and I will start our own set of traditions and I am amped about that.

I want to decorate the house from top to bottom and play carols all day, but I’m refraining for now. Hubby would kill me if the decorations go up to early. But come December 1st watch out!

I have gotten a whole lot of new decorations for the tree (every year I have been adding to my collection) but this year I want to start making decorations as well. I got the idea from Pinterest (where else?) and I have already gone out and bought what I need. I love the idea of having decorations that carry a lot of sentimental value and tell the history of your family.

The decorations will be impressions of Willow’s hands and feet and each year the new additions show how she’s grown and changed. When she’s old enough she can start making her own to go on the tree. I just love the idea and look forward to having something special to do with her.

What are your Christmas traditions? I would love to hear how you celebrate with your family.

Five fun games to play with you 9 to 12 month old

I did a post on games to play with baby a while back and you can read that here.

You will hear a lot of moms say that this is their favourite age with their babies and I can see why. Willow is so fun and interactive, but now you can see the fruit of all your labours – when she learns something you can actually see the result of it. Teaching your baby a skill or game results in fun for both of you and baby will often come up and ask to play.

That said be sure to give your child lots of free time play and allow them to direct games as well. Its great for developing their ability to entertain themselves and developing their imagination. Yes even at such a young age!

1. Sticky stickers – Buy a big box of those florescnet colour round stickers from your local office supply store and have fun sticking them on baby. This is great for working that pincer grasp as baby peels the sticker off and its great for body awareness and language development. Be sure to say things like “Is there a sticker on your leg?” “Where’s the pink sticker?” or “Can you stick it on your nose?”
2. Hide and seek – for those of you who have a crawling tunnel this is great for hide and seek. If not, breathe new life into your baby gym and throw a blanket over it to create a tent (or buy a tent, whatever floats your boat). Willow loves this one and will crawl up to her ‘tent’ to hide spontaneously. She loves it when I make a big deal out of looking for her and finding her. She will pop out and zip back inside with a huge grin on her face. Also, the blanket is great for a game of peek-a-boo.
3. Scarf pull – take a few of your silky scarves and a zip up toiletry bag or empty toilet roll. Stuff the scarf inside and let baby pull it out. Willow loves this and it works those little hand muscles nicely. I often will tickle her with the scarf afterwards which is great for body awareness and language development.
4. Unpack, repack – This is a favourite in our house and Willow is a big fan. I get a bucket or box and fill it up with toys that are similar (think balls, dolls, etc.) or what Willow really loves is my big box of nail polish. She will then sit for ages and unpack and repack it. Each object gets explored and discarded before she moves onto the next one. Just make sure you rotate objects as boredom can set in if the same one is used too often. This is also great for language – what colour is it, how does it feel, what shape is it…
5. Nursery Rhymes – This is one for all ages, but I’ve found Willow particularly enjoys rhymes with actions or anticipation. Favourites in this household include: This Little Piggy, If You’re Happy and You Know It, The Insy Winsy Spider, Humpty Dumpty and Round and Round the Garden. She will clap along, watch the actions avidly or sit with a grin on her face all tensed while waiting to be tickled. It’s incredibly cute.

What games do you play with your little one? I’m always looking to try new things – Lord knows singing the same rhyme a millions times gets very old.

We’re going on a summer holiday!

I am seriously excited. We have left for our first family vacation. What makes it even better is that its a BEACH holiday!!!

We haven’t been to the sea in years. The last time I saw the sea was when Hubby and I got engaged (we went on a cruise!) but it doesn’t count as going to the beach. We have a great self cater apartment in Umhlanga and I’m living each day in anticipation.

Its a five hour car journey so I’m a little nervous about that. Willow’s longest stint in the car has been four hours, so I’m sure we’ll survive. We plan to leave around the time for her first nap so hopefully she will sleep for a large portion of the drive.

I can’t wait to see what she thinks of the sea and the beach sand. We’ve gotten her a little bucket with scoops so she can play in the sand and she’s swimming like a fish now so we’re hoping to have a lot of fun playing at the pool. I also want to take her to the aquarium at Ushaka Marine World. She loves fish and I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of the aqauarium.

Hubby and I are looking forward to creating new traditions and having this be an annual getaway for our family.

11 Months of Willow

Can we all stop and take a deep breath. Willow will be 1 NEXT month!!! What?! I may need more than one deep breath!

She continues to be a complete delight and is already acting so much like a toddler. Pretty much the only thing she’s not doing so far is walking and talking.

We have been getting little temper tantrums when she’s frustrated, tired or hungry, she is naughty and mischievous, she does things and I am in awe as to when she learned to do that! She is fussy about food – only eating when she can feed herself and loving something one time and hating it the next. Her awake window has also increased to 2.5 hours in the morning, three hours in the middle of the day and three to four hours in the evening.

I keep catching myself wondering how she got so big so quickly. She’s such a little person already with this sassy personality. Its incredible.

Here are a few of her achievements this month

• She crawls like a pro with such speed now. The urge to walk seems to have taken a back step. She figures she can get where she wants faster if she crawls

• She stood on her own for a few seconds – she has done this a few times, once completely on her own (unprompted), which I missed! She is also walking well using the walker or when you hold her hands.

• We gave in an d gave sleep training a go. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do but the rewards where immense! While not perfect Willow now puts herself to sleep and 90% of the time I don’t have to go in and check on her. She is normally asleep within five to 10 minutes of saying goodnight. I plan to tackle night weaning after Christmas. I feel she is waking up at 1am purely out of habit. Feeds are so short and she falls asleep immediately.

• She cruises like a pro – she moves from one piece of furniture to the wall to the next piece of furniture.

• She has learnt the art of the graceful decent – she can get into standing position pretty well and this month she learned how to get back down. Its so cute because she has a little method and routine that she must follow each time. Its all very controlled and careful – if the approach is not right she aborts mid way and stands up to start again. Its a lot of fun watching her play now because she will crawl up to her toy box, pick a toy, sit and play for a while, crawl off to something else, stand up, play for a while, get down, crawl to the next thing. Too cute for words.

• She definitely knows who Mama and Dada are and I often here her calling Mama! in the morning when she wants me to go fetch her.

• She loves things that make a noise when you push a button and will sit for ages producing the same reaction over and over. Also her Fisher Price Puppy has become a favourite – especially when it sings songs. She will make it sing then sit and clap her hands or wave in time to the music.

• She has figured out that certain objects can fit inside other objects and will spend ages putting things in and taking them out again. This includes herself in her tunnel or tent.

• She has decided that she is too old for purees and will only eat what she can feed herself. So we have moved on to baby led weaning and she’s eating what we eat. I feel she’s eating a lot less than she used to, but her demand for breastmilk hasn’t really increased and she’s still growing well. So I keep repeating “Under One Just For Fun” to myself and let her get on with it.

• She claps a lot now. She claps when music comes on, she claps when other people clap, she claps when you sing ‘if you’re happy and you know it’. Its adorable.

• She’s becoming such a little character. She’s quite demanding, full of fun, mischievous, inquisitive, creative and resourceful. I can’t wait for her to start talking and to tell me all the thoughts that are going on in that head of hers…

Road trip with baby – by myself!

We were supposed to go away over the weekend to visit my parents, but something came up at Hubby’s work and instead of cancel our plans all together I decided to make the trip with Willow by myself.

It was a daunting thought, as Willow generally hates long car journeys. But I decided I would take it slow, make lots of stops and see how it goes. We need to get the hang of long distance road trips as we will be driving to Durban on Saturday and that will be six hours in the car!

So I packed up our stuff, loaded the car and waited for nap time. Just before we were due to hit the road I breastfed Willow and changed her, making sure she had plenty of bum cream on (I find that when she sits for a long time in the car she gets all red and sore. Lots of bum cream seems to help). I then strapped her into her car seat and we set off.

Luckily my plan to leave at nap time worked and she fell asleep pretty quickly. She slept for just about two hours and when she woke up we were just about 20 kilometres from a well known rest stop and I decided it was as good a place as any for our first stop.

I had packed a cooler bag filled with food for Willow and snacks for me. So I was able to feed her lunch as usual and after a nappy change she was able to play a bit on a nice grassy patch. This rest stop borders on a farm that has ostriches, buffalo, wildebeest and zebra. Willow really enjoyed watching the animals as she ate her cheese and then having a quick crawl around before it was time to head off again.

Before we got going I took away all the toys she had on the first leg of the journey and produced a new rotation of toys, gave her a bottle of water for the road and put on a kids CD. This worked like a bomb. She had new interesting things to entertain her and liked listening to the CD as we drove. It kept her going for the next hour and a half with absolutely no complaining!

We had another stop when we reached the town where I met my parents. We all decided to garb something to eat and Willow got to play and crawl around again. She also got more to eat and drink and new things to look at. She was happy as a clam. After lunch it was time for her second nap of the day and my Mom came with us for the last 45 minute drive to their house. Willow slept in the car and only woke up when we pulled into the drive way.

I am so incredibly proud of her and how well she did in the car. I just hope our trip to Durban will be as successful!