Willow’s 12 Month Doctor’s Appointment

We went to Willow’s 12 month check up yesterday, rounding up the most monumental year of my life.

It was all good news, for which I am incredibly grateful, and it really brought home to me how much this little one has grown and developed over the past year.

During the assessment, the doctor checked if she could do things like wave her hands, rotate her wrists, clap, follow simple instructions, crawl, point, says a few words etc. Though she is still not standing

Though she is still not standing independently or walking on her own, he confirmed there is nothing to worry about. She walks when we hold her hands and has recently started walking with us holding only one hand, which is huge. If you let go of her hands, she very slowly and with the utmost control lowers herself to the ground – this tells him that developmentally she is on track and it’s purely a confidence issue. She’ll walk when she’s ready, probably in the next few months.

He’s very happy with her milestones so far. He has also given us the go-ahead to introduce full cream cow’s milk when we’re ready.

He then took her measurements. She now weighs 9.95kg on their scale (she’s 10kg on our scale at home, so not much difference). She is measuring 79cm in height and 41cm in head circumference. This puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and head circumference and the 91st percentile for height. Confirming what I’ve known all along – we have a tall skinny girl in our lives.

Finally, he checked her ears, nose and throat. We wanted to see how her ear pressure is doing because of her sinus issues and allergies. She was good on all accounts except for her one ear that still has slightly elevated pressure. We’re keeping her on the antihistamine and nasal spray regime for now and will check again in a few months time.

Before we left the rooms we had one more stop to make. She needed her 12-month vaccinations done. She got three this time: one in her arm and one in each leg. She only cried for one prick and I think it was purely because she wasn’t expecting it.

So that’s it now until her next check up at two and her next round of vacs at 15 months!

The mysterious case of the disappearing naps

Oh, sleep. Just when we think we’ve got you all figured out another sleep issue raises its head. This time in the form of disappearing daytime naps. It seem

It seems Miss Willow has decided to dispense with one of her day time sleeps and is in the throws of a bit of the 12-month sleep regression. Admittedly this is nowhere near as difficult as the 8/9/10 month sleep regression was and all in all the family is handling it quite well.

Why? do you ask. Well, because night time sleep is still going pretty well since the whole sleep training thing. Despite a few blips when teeth came in Willow is sleeping a solid 11 to 12 hours at night. Normally with one waking but we’re dealing with that. She has also been night weaned! Post on that coming soon. So her night wakings are generally just a matter of resettling her.

My research on the 12-month sleep regression brought up two points:

1. She is trying to transition to one nap a day and she’s not quite ready for it.
2. She isn’t walking yet, so we must wait it out and see what happens when she starts to walk. Apparently a lot of kids try to transition to one nap when they hit 12 months and aren’t walking yet as they have too much energy. A lot of the time when they start to walk the need for naps returns as they are burning through a lot more energy.

So what am I taking away from this? We’ve decided on a what it out approach. She still seems happy to take her morning nap most days and will still sleep one and a half to two hours.

It’s the afternoon nap where things get dicey. I go through the whole pre-nap routine and put her down in her crib at nap time. If she sleeps (rarely) that’s awesome. If she doesn’t, then at least she gets a rest in the form of enforced quiet time.

So far so good. We have seen an impact on night time sleep as she is ready for bed a lot earlier than usual. So we’ve moved bedtime up by 30 minutes in the interim.

I seem to have two daughters at the moment. The happy, energetic, happy-to-play-alone, adventurous child of the morning and post morning nap; and the clingy, whiny, cries-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, accident prone child of the afternoon. It makes me a little guilty because I’m so relieved to get her into bed at night so I can have a break from all the whining.

I will be very happy when this phase is over let me tell you!

Late summer early autumn haul

 

It’s been a while since I have done a haul for Miss Willow. I was sorting through her wardrobe the other day and saw she has quite a stash of new clothes. the clothes she got for her birthday and Christmas and the stuff I’ve been adding to her wardrobe for when it gets cold

She got quite a lot for her birthday and Christmas and I’ve added a few items to her wardrobe for when it gets cold.

It’s hard to think that it will be cold in a few months as its so hot out. But Willow’s size falls awkwardly this year as she will only turn 18months in July (mid-winter). I thought it prudent to get her a few jerseys and long leggings for when the weather starts to transition.

I have made a few discoveries about kids clothes that I will be carrying through with me this year:

• H&M’s baby clothes are not only adorable, but quite affordable. They are also incredibly baby friendly. What does this mean? Well they are comfy enough for play and the pants come with these really nifty adjustable waist bands that make life so easy for people like me who have long skinny kids.

• Pick n Pay is killing it in the kids clothes department right now. Cute, wallet friendly stuff that you can slip into the cart with your grocery shopping – incredibly dangerous!

• Ackermans does winter clothes a lot better than they do summer clothes. Their winter stuff is cute and practical. Also won’t break the bank. Buy multipacks is the best strategy here.

*PS all this stuff has been collected over the past few months

Here is a look at what we got:

H&M

Mint elephant knit from Pick ‘n Pay

Swan knit from H&M

Flamingo glitter shorts from H&M

Close up of print

Crown Tshirt from H&M

Navy chino shorts from H&M

Bunny cardigan from H&M

Kitty sweatshirt from H&M

Printed ‘denim’ leggings from H&M

Heart knit from H&M

Pick ‘n Pay

Mint elephant knit from Pick ‘n Pay

Tshirt multipack from Pick ‘n Pay

Burgundy Ponte leggings from Pick ‘n Pay

Denim leggings from Pick ‘n Pay

Naartjie

Teal Chinos from Naartjie

Hawaii tshirt from Naartjie

Bananas tshirt from Naartjie

Coral cotton shorts from Naartjie

Close up of the print

Ackermans

Pink tshirt multipack from Ackermans

Burgundy fleece leggings from Ackermans

Grey fleece leggings from Ackermans

Navy and pink tunic from Ackermans

Grey quilted sweatshirt – from Ackermans

Misc

Tshirt and shorts set from Willowbrook

Romper from Willowbrook

Crossover back sundress from Willowbrook

Purple bunny dress – handmade

Striped romper from GAP

 

 

Willow’s First Birthday Party

When I thought about what I wanted Willow’s first birthday to be, I wanted something small, cosy and not overwhelming for her. I also wanted it to be easy, not too much work, yet still special.

Well, we had the party on Saturday and I think I managed to tick all the boxes and I am so pleased with how the day went. I had both my parents and my in-laws here to help and everything came together so beautifully! It was a wonderful day celebrating Willow’s first year of life and the best part is that she had tons of fun!

The theme I went for was yellow and white with daisies – which to me are a quintessential summer flower and they make me really happy. We didn’t do much in terms of decor, but what we did looked really festive. I got quite a few yellow and white polka dot things – balloons, bunting, table cloths, napkins, cups, plates and straws. I also had some paper fans which we hung from the ceiling and a long rolled of crepe paper streamer that was draped everywhere.

In terms of food – I got platters from the local supermarket and my friend made us awesome cupcakes. My mother-in-law also organised a beautiful birthday cake which was almost too pretty to cut into (we did, and it was delicious. Although I’m still eating cake as it was huge!). We had large drinks dispensers with ice water and watermelon lemonade and also did the usual soft drinks etc.

Willow wore an adorable polka dot onsie with a big purple tutu attached and I found a really pretty headband at Cotton On for her. She looked so cute! She was also comfortable and was able to chase her cousin and friend around so she counted that as a win.

Willow was absolutely spoiled rotten. After all the gifts she has gotten from Christmas and her actual birthday she finally got the hang of ripping the wrapping paper. She loved to tear into the gifts – far more than what was inside I think.

We all had a great day and I am so proud of how Willow handled everything. She had a good nap before the party and went down easily for her second nap afterwards. She was all smiles and giggles at the party. She thoroughly enjoyed being the centre of attention!

12 Months of Willow

A year!!! Holy crap that went by so fast! I cannot believe that we are here already.

I have already written an ode to how I feel about all this that you can read here. This post is our standard monthly update (and last one until Willow is about 18 months old!).

Willow has become a real little toddler. She has this amazing personality and laughs and giggles a lot. She is very happy and we love that. She is curious, adventurous and a little mischievous.

She loves her food and will eat huge amounts at meal times. She is a big fan of chicken and watermelon at the moment. She is also sleeping quite well at the moment.

She hasn’t started walking yet and she barely stands on her own. She prefers crawling for getting around. She is so fast too! You really need to keep an eye on her because she will disappear so quickly. The walking will come when she’s ready and we’re not rushing her. In the past few days she has seemed more open to trying to stand on her own. So who knows, maybe walking is just around the corner. I have a feeling when she catches on everything will happen very quickly so I’m keeping an eye out.

Here is some more of what’s been going on this month:

• Weighs 10kg and is 78cm tall!

• Calls all animals a Doh! and squeals with excitement whenever she sees one.

• Likes to point in the direction she wants to go in and say Der!

• Has celebrated her first Christmas

• Went on her first family holiday to the beach

• Loves nesting toys and will try and fit objects inside one another. Especially loves to put things in boxes.

• Got a shape sorter for Christmas and can put the circle in its hole perfectly on the first try. More complex shapes still throw her off a bit.

• Still isn’t standing independently yet. She has stood for a few seconds on her own a couple of times but that’s it. She walks with her walker and has started putting less weight on objects she is standing at. She walks with an adult holding only one hand. She has also started doing these weird yoga poses where she rests her head on the ground and lifts her bum in the air – sort of like downward facing dog. Not sure what the purpose of this is, but she enjoys it.

• Sleep training is what I would consider a success. We put her down for naps and night time sleep fully awake. We kiss her good night and leave the room. She babbles for a while, but normally falls asleep within 15 to 20 minutes. No more crying and screaming! (unless she’s teething, but that’s a horse of a different colour).

• We have two more teeth! Her top two molars have broken through. They were extremely difficult and caused a lot of heartache, but they’re through now. The count is officially 10 teeth.

Our little one turns 1 today!

 

Goals for 2016

Happy New Year All! I have been so wrapped up in birthday stuff that the first few days of January have flown passed. I hope that 2016 is your best year yet!

I’ve always been a fan of self-improvement – of making small changes to the way I live my life. I also like goals – a small list of things I want to achieve. I feel immense satisfaction when I hit a goal.

With all this in mind, I thought I would share with you the short list of goals I would like to achieve in the new year:

1. I would like to drink more water. I am very bad at getting in all the water I’m supposed to. This year I would really like to focus on making sure I’m drinking enough water.
2. I would like to exercise at least three times a week. If I get in more then that’s great – the point is to get moving and to do it more often.
3. I would like to be tidier. I’m notorious for just putting stuff down. I have good intentions of putting it away later, but in the moment, I just put things down or shove them in an impractical place. Before I know it I’m drowning in clutter. When the clutter gets too much I find the task of putting away and tidying really overwhelming. So putting things away in their right place the first time is something I really want to work on.
4. I would like to read more. I’m an avid reader, but didn’t have my time for it in 2015 – for obvious reasons. Now that Willow is a little older and is sleeping much more regular hours I would like to spend more time with my nose in a book.
5. I want to be present more. I often find myself stuck in a social media wormhole. I’m constantly checking facebook, twitter and Instagram. In 2016 I would like to ‘switch off’ more and spend more time being present in the moment.
6. I want to be more dedicated about recycling and bring more environmentally conscious. Again I have good intentions, but when push comes to shove I take the path of least resistance. This year I want to put my money where my mouth is and start being more aware of the environment and my family’s impact on it.
7. Willow and I will also be starting down the path of weaning her from breastfeeding this year. I have been incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity and ability to breastfeed for a year. But I am ready to be done now. We have started the process of night weaning and so far it is going well. She dropped her morning feed all on her own and now that she can drink cow’s milk I will start substituting it for one feed at a time. Stay tuned for more on that adventure.

How about you? Is there anything you want to achieve in 2016?

I have a one year old!

Our little one turns 1 today!

You have no concept of how fast time goes by until you have a baby.

I swear to you I just had her yesterday, but, in reality, my little one has turned one-year-old!

There were many occasions when I would fetch her from her crib and swear she was a totally different child. She would look different or bigger overnight, she would have developed a skill she never had before, her personality would be more refined. And I would find myself thinking: ‘when did this happen, where did you learn to do that?’ It was both incredibly thrilling and scary at the same time.

Then I woke up and she was one! She is a toddler. I’m not sure I’m ready for a toddler.

This year has been the most amazing year of my life. I never knew I had the capacity for all the emotions I have experienced. And boy! Were there emotions!

I have learned so much, grown so much and changed so much that sometimes I barely recognise myself.

I know that having a toddler will stretch me even further and that there will be plenty of challenges in the coming year, but I can’t wait. Bring them on!

I can’t wait for Willow to start walking, to hear her first words. I am looking forward to her telling me all her special thoughts and ideas. I can’t wait to see her discover new things and experience the wonders that life holds for her.

Her first year on Earth was so much fun, but I know the coming year will be even better.

Happy Birthday little one! We love you so much!