Baby H #2: 33 weeks

I started this week out really struggling with weekend hangover. It was such a busy weekend with two four-hour road trips and a huge family and friends gathering that I felt really worn out come Monday morning. I feel like it took me the whole week to recover!

Feeling like a zombie was a trial as I had so much on my late last week.  I have been working furiously at work to get everything ready for while I’m away. I am slowly but surely starting to conquer the to-do list and to be honest, I’m very impressed with how productive I was last week, but it was not easy! I have also packed my hospital and labour bags, I have packed the baby’s bag, I have filled out my UIF forms, I have finalised my leave with my boss. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

With the prospect of having this baby on the 15^th on November looming over me I came to the realisation that the idea of going from work straight to my appointment and then possible being admitted to the hospital to give birth was a little soul destroying. I have some leave owing to me, so I have moved up when I will start my leave. I just need a little bit of breathing room and time at home to relax before she comes. So the 9^th of November will be my last day before I start my annual leave and my maternity leave will start as planned in December.

A and I have a few chores to do at home to prepare for her arrival, but really these are not essentials. If we get to them, we get to them. If not, it’s not the end of the world. We’re pretty much just waiting for her to get here and I am more than ready! Having a baby camping in your pelvis is not a comfortable experience.

I have a serious waddle going on and the back and hip pain have become daily struggles. I’m battling to get through the most basic of workouts right now. I also feel huge and have been having more Braxton Hick’s contractions each day. I am also running to the loo what feels like every five minutes, so she has definitely dropped. On the other hand I have had some really great sleep lately, aside from very early waking times (but I have been falling asleep at 9pm every night). Other than that I haven’t seen any other labour signs. I’m not too concerned, but I’m keeping an eye on things just in case.

I just have a few more loose ends to wrap up, but I feel very in control of everything right now. I am very much looking forward to going on leave though.

How far along? 33 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Pineapple

 Total weight gain/measurements: Still keeping with my given target. I’m now at 65.5kg

 Stretch marks: Nothing yet

 Best moment this week: It was a birthday on the weekend and I got to spend it with friends on Saturday and was able to go on an epic fabric shopping trip on Sunday.

 Miss anything? Being able to walk normally

Movement: Bubs is still quite busy, but not nearly as acrobatic. She is too low and too cramped for major shenanigans.

Food cravings: I can’t say I have craved anything specific this week. But a lot of my food choices haven’t been great based on sheer lack of energy to make the healthy choice.

Exercise: I did manage to do two strength sessions and a good walk this week and I’m proud of that. I feel very heavy, cumbersome and tired. Working up the motivation right now is hard!

Gender: A girl!

 Symptoms: I still have a lot of the symptoms I have mentioned previously – pregnancy rhinitis is the most annoying because I have had a blocked/runny nose for nine months. I also have dry, itchy eyes, dry, itchy skin, back and hip pain, the need to run for the loo constantly, fatigue, bouts of indigestion, nausea etc. But it is what it is and I just get on with things. To be fair, aside from the blocked nose I sometimes don’t notice the other symptoms.

Belly button in or out? It has officially popped.

 Wedding rings on or off? Completely off and replaced with one in a larger size

 Happy or moody most of the time: I was pretty irritable last week because I was so tired. Aside from the weekend. I had a great weekend.

 Looking forward to: I have a few things I’m looking forward to. I’m seeing my mom on the weekend, we have a dr’s appointment in just over two weeks and then I go on leave. I have a lot of work to do between now and then, but I am looking forward to wrapping things up.

 

Where I’ve been and a life update

I’ll be honest with you. I have written and rewritten this post about a hundred times. I am just never able to get the words out in a way that seems appropriate to the occasion. So I’ve decided to just let it all out. If this post winds up being one huge ramble, I do apologize.

It has been pretty quiet around here recently and I have a very good excuse for laying so low. You see, I have been feeling so incredibly ill that just getting through the day has been a challenge. Things are getting better now thank goodness, but there was a very dark period there where I struggled to drag myself from bed and collapsed back into it as soon as I got home from work. Thank goodness for A, who has managed to keep our home going and the family fed.

The reason for this never-ceasing, debilitating nausea? Well, Baby H #2 has been making my life difficult of late and probably will continue to do so until it makes its grand entrance in late November/early December. Yes, Baby #2! We weren’t expecting it to happen so soon and we are over the moon.

This first trimester has been rough on me. With my pregnancy with Willow the nausea cleared up magically overnight and it was never this intense. With this little one I have been sick since about 5 weeks and I have been getting better by very small degrees from about week 10 or so. I have gone from feeling sick all day every day to feeling sick most days to have little bits of nausea here and there. I have also had the typical achy boobs, bloating, sore back, fatigue and more which has all combined to make me a pretty useless, miserable human being.

But along with the lessening nausea I have also seen my energy coming back slowly but surely. I now feel clear-headed and enthusiastic during the day. I still get tired easily and am ready to collapse into bed by about 6pm. But it’s better and I’ll take it.

We have had our NT scan (I have a post coming soon) and everything is going well with the baby. This is wonderful news considering we had a spot of drama right at the beginning. What is a Kierryn pregnancy without drama?

Basically, my OB-GYN called me in for a scan because she wasn’t happy with my progesterone levels and she wanted to see what was going on. It turns out that I must have ovulated a lot later that cycle because the fetus was smaller than it should have been for its gestational age. We had a stressful time of it for a few days because the other option was a missed miscarriage. I had yet another blood test (my fifth at this point) to check my hormones and went back for a heartbeat scan five days later. All was well at that scan. We detected a strong heartbeat and my blood test results came back to show my hormones were increasing normally. But the idea of a missed miscarriage was incredibly scary and kept playing in the back of my head throughout this trimester. I feel a lot calmer and happier now that we have had our NT scan and we have seen how much the baby has grown.

So yes, that’s our news! We’re pretty sure we know the sex already, but we’re waiting for the next scan to confirm. Willow has taken the news very well and seems to be quite excited, but I’m not sure how much she understands at this point. Our family and friends are all thrilled for us. We have some exciting times ahead!

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.

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…

More teething, the queen of grumpy and other stories

Hi there! Today I thought I would do a little life update for you and let you know what’s been going on in this house. It may be a touch rambly, but I seem to be in that kind of mood. Its nice every now and then to touch base and let you know what really happens ‘behind the scenes’ so to speak.

We have been having a bit of a whirlwind November so far. It has included the whole family getting sick – TWICE!, the return of teething and as a result queen grumpy pants and a win on the sleeping front. So lets get into it:

Illness:
As you may remember November started off with Willow getting a cold that turned into croup. She then gave it to me and I gave it to my husband. Let me tell you this family was miserable and it took ages to fully recover. Poor Willow was especially hard hit, but once we got over it she seemed to bounce back pretty quickly and returned to her normal joyous self.

Then last Friday she was behaving all niggly again. I thought it was teething and just endeavoured to get through the day as best as we could. At around 2pm she started vomiting. I won’t lie to you, I went into full on panic mode. She never even spat up as a newborn – this is the child who doesn’t vomit. I was in a tizz and didn’t know what to do. When she had thrown up three times in the hour I did what any new mom would do. I packed her up and took her to hospital (I did try phoning the paediatrician first, but they were all out of the office!).

At the hospital they gave her some anti-nausea medication and checked that she wasn’t dehydrated and when it looked like the vomiting had stopped they sent us home. In the meantime I had started feeling queasy. I thought it was because I had been so stressed and that smell – I don’t really need to explain. But turns out I had the bug too and I spent the night curled up in bed feeling very sorry for myself and running to from the bathroom.

Then Hubby got it and in typical man style completely stopped functioning to 48 hours. He literally did not move from bed and couldn’t be upright until it had passed…

Teething:
Looks like we are back in teething territory. Willow has been working hard on her first molars and I’m sure teeth nine and 10 will be making their debut shortly. You never see her without her fingers in her mouth these days and teething molars has made me realise how ill equipped teethers are for the task. They are great for helping relieve pain and bring out the front teeth, but the back teeth are very neglected. The poor kids are left on their own to deal with the discomfort. Companies seriously need back teethers, especially for early teethers like my daughter.

Willow as been increasingly grumpy lately and her sleep has been a little touch and go as well. When I run my fingers along her gums I can feel the bumps where the molars are pushing and the one on the left feels quite sharp now (not through the gum yet, but I can feel the hard tooth lying in wait).

Poor little thing is having a rough time of it. I hope they break through soon and give her some relief.

Speaking of teeth I had a dentist appointment and an orthodontist appointment recently. I had braces as a kid but my teeth have moved and I wanted to get them sorted out. Turns out the work we need to do is far more extensive than I realised and as of the new year I will be in braces for the next two years. And not the discrete Invisline sort – oh no! I need full on railway track, plus and additional palatal piece for 8 to 9 months. I feel like I’m 16 again!

Sleep:

Aside for the recent blip we’ve had which has been caused by Willow’s teeth it looks like sleep is finally coming right! I hesitate to say that its perfect, or fixed etc. as really what is perfect sleep? And just like an adult she has better nights than others.

That said the going to sleep process is a lot easier and has resulted in me be happier, my husband being happier and Willow getting a lot more sleep. We have refined our bedtime routines, started having alternating nights to put her down and no more racking or nursing her to sleep.

She has taken to the new way of doing things quite well. 90% of the time we don’t need to go back into her room after saying goodnight (for naps and night time sleep!) It was tough in the beginning but we’ve gotten through it. Some nights she will still cry, but most of the time she just lays in bed chatting to her bunny and until she drifts off. It normally never takes more than 10 minutes and she’s sleeping much longer now too.

But as I said earlier some days are better than others, we still have rough patches here and there. On a whole though, I am incredibly happy with our new regime.

Other than that my house is a complete disaster. I seem to be drowning in clutter and need to do a serious tidy. But do I want to? That would be a huge, resounding no!

 

Clamber Club

At the end of July I signed Willow up for Clamber Club – a mom and baby group that helps you to stimulate your baby’s development in a fun way.

We’ve completed her first class – the Tadpoles class and have now moved onto Froglets. I’ve seen such a change in Willow; its amazing. Firstly she went from showing little interest in crawling to being completely mobile in little over a month. She’s now traditional cross crawling – which happened after she was moved to the bigger class which is full of crawllers and she could see how its done. On that note, this is also when the obsession with standing happened because a few of the kids in her class stand and are starting to walk a tiny bit and Willow decided it looked like fun.

Each class is divided into two sessions – a structured session where the teacher takes you through a series of exercises based on the theme for that week (themes in the smaller class were the vestibular system, spatial awareness, proprioception etc. now they are balls, boxes and books).

The idea is that through play they work on building upper body strength, doing ‘somersaults’, flying through the air and teaching concepts. It is all based to music and is very stimulating for the babies.

The second session is free play. They set up stations in the garden outside and you can take your child through at your leisure. They have areas where the babies can enjoy different textures. So far we have explored flour, feathers, organza, washing up dish sponges and loofahs (all clean and brand new), sand, and hay. They also have tummy time stations, stations with musical toys, balls, mobiles, swings and a huge ball pit. And now that its hot we are starting to do messy play and water play.

Willow loves the texture stations. She will sit for ages feeling things and chewing on them. Her little mind is so stimulated by the feel of different objects and I have gotten so many ideas of things she can play with around the house.

She also loves the swings. We always save those for last and she gets the biggest smile on her face when she is swinging.

 

It has been such fun for both of us and I’m a huge believer in the classes and what they do for the kids.

Swinging on the swing in Clamber Club

Exploring textures

Exploring textures

Exploring textures

Exploring staw in Clamber Club

Sleep Wars: The 8 Month Sleep Regression

Aren’t Sleep Regressions fun? This statement is said, of course, with a huge helping of sarcasm. I mean, who wants to be sleep deprived and grumpy? Certainly not me.

For those new to the world of baby sleep, a sleep regression is, put simply, when sleep goes to hell and there is nothing you can do about it. Baby starts resisting naps and bedtime, wakes more frequently during the night and is just an all round grump. They are the result of baby hitting developmental milestones and often coincide with things like teething and growth spurts.

Sleep regressions seem to come at predictable times:

Four Months – This is not a true sleep regression but whatever sleep changes and habits baby has during this stage are permanent. This is when most babies learn to roll over and are no longer immune to ambient noises or goings on. I remember saying it was as if Willow’s brain had suddenly switched on to her environment and it was difficult for her to focus on sleep when so much was going on around her. This article on the subject is great

Eight Months – This sleep regression is a true regression in that it will pass and sleep should return to normal. It normally hits when baby starts doing fun things like crawling, pulling to standing and learning to walk. Also this is a period of language acquisition for babies and that has an impact on sleep too. For a lot of babies this sleep regression also coincides with teething. This sleep regression can hit anywhere from seven to 10 months of ages – depending on your child’s development – and can last from two to six weeks!

12 Months – I obviously haven’t gone through this one yet, but have found through my research that this is to do with nap transitions. toddlers often try to drop their second nap at this age, but many aren’t ready to. This plays havoc with their sleep.

18 Months – Again have no personal experience with this,. but have learned that it coincides with the language boom that toddlers go through at this age.

This post is mostly about the Eight Month Sleep Regression and is here to let you know other moms are going through it, you are not alone, you will survive it and you won’t murder your sleep deprived, cranky angel in the process.

The thing I keep reminding myself at 3am as I am trying desperately to get Willow to go back to sleep is that this is as tough on the baby as it is on you. The only way through a regression is through it, but it will pass! (not an easy thing to believe at 3am when you are frustrated and exhausted.)

As I have previously written (here, here and here) Willow, got sick, has been diagnosed with seasonal allergies and cut six teeth in quick succession so the poor tot has had a lot to deal with. When all these goings on in her life coincided with her learning to crawl our sleep went to hell in a hand basket.

She is now a demonic creature of evil (I joke) who resists naps, wakes up every two to three hours and is cranky as all get out during the day. Also she lost her appetite and has lost a bit of weight.

I can see the child is tired. She yawns and rubs her eyes so hard her whole face turns red. But she will fight me every step of the way at sleep time. She will squint her eyes and blink rapidly in an effort to not sleep. Just as she’s falling asleep she will suddenly start squirming, arching her back, craning her neck and groaning – and she’s strong! I am terrified one day she will squirm right out of my arms!

After a 45 to 60 minute fight to get her to sleep her naps are usually short – like 30 minutes short – and night time sleep is fragmented and punctuated with long periods of awake time. This is often the point where I lose my cool!

All you can do during a sleep regression is try and keep to your usual sleep time routines and methods (don’t create new bad habits that you have to deal with later!) but that said do what you must to get some sleep (we have reverted back to nursing. I will have to start tackling that problem soon). Remember you are the parent and are supposed to be rational. you cannot negotiate, or fight with an instinctive, irrational being. Hold strong she will give in eventually.

Remember this is not forever. It will pass and your baby will sleep again.

If you would like some reading on the subject I found these article incredibly helpful:

The (Dreaded) Eight Month Sleep Regression

The 8, 9, or 10 Month Old Baby Sleep Regression Explained

When will my baby’s sleep regression end? 

Also you can change sleep habits and sleep train during a sleep regression (after all with babies if its not one thing then its another!). In my experience the best tactic to to go slow and be gentle. We weaned Willow of the swaddle during a sleep regression – it just took a while and a bit of trial and error but we managed.

If you’re looking for a gentle method of sleep training I highly recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. We are busy using some of her ideas now and I am seeing a difference.

Good luck!!!

Learning to swim

At our first swimming lesson

I could swim before I could walk and have always had a great relationship with water. I thank my mom for this because she was proactive and sent me to swimming lessons when I was still a baby.

With summer coming up there will be plenty of times Willow will be around water and I want her to be comfortable with it while knowing what to do if she should accidentally fall in. So I signed her up for Aqua Tots and we have completed one course cycle already.

The lessons are all based around teaching baby how to react in water by making it fun. We play games and sing songs while teaching the little ones what to do – the most important lesson being to flip on their backs when they fall into water.

Willow has become so comfortable in water and she really loves her lessons. She has started splashing and kicking now and its lovely to see. She has gone under the water a few times and we have had no tears! She has also successfully flipped herself onto her back while submerged and swims like a little jellyfish.

I was very worried at first because I heard that babies are not a fan in the beginning, but she’s a regular water baby.

I was talking with the instructor the other day and she said she has so many children who started with her at 6 months old and are now three and have moved to the big classes. They all love the water and swim like fish.

This is my hope for Willow. I want her to be comfortable with the water and safe around it (obviously it goes without saying that I don’t plan on leaving her unattended around swimming pools and stuff). It makes me incredibly happy that she’s adapted to it so well and I look forward to taking her swimming this summer!

 

Australia Haul

My mother in law recently went to Australia to visit family and came back with heaps of stuff for Willow.

So today I thought I would do a little haul and show you what she got.

Bonds Wondersuits

Willow was really spoiled with a vast collection of Bond’s Wondersuits. I find these make the most fantastic pajamas. These suits zip up from the top and bottom which makes nappy changes a breeze, they are warm without over heating, they are super comfy and they wash well. We had some in smaller sizes but now she’s got in 6 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months and 18 to 24 months. So we’re sorted with pajamas. If you can get your hands on some they are a must!

Bonds Dress and Leggings

Willow was also treated to this adorable dress and leggings. They are nice and long and made of lightweight comfy fabric. They are a few sizes to big, but I can’t wait for her to wear them.

Oshi-M tshirts, jackets, jeans and dress

We also got these stunning tshirts, jacket, jeans and a dress from Oshi-M. Oshi-M makes some of the most adorable kids clothes I have ever seen. Some of these are also too big for her and the jackets were purposefully bought for next winter, but she can fit into a few of the shirts and they look gorgeous on her.

Toys!

She got some stunning wooden toys, some very snazzy Bandz sunglasses, a gorgeous rainbow monkey, stacking cups, books and a very cool nightlight to name a few.

Eight Months of Willow

My baby is 8 months old! What?! It feels so surreal to say that.

I remember what it felt like this time last year kicking off my third trimester and getting very uncomfortable. Now I’m considering things like weaning and first birthday parties. Cannot deal!

This month with Willow has kicked my butt. I won’t sugar coat it – it has been tough and I feel a little dazed and confused at the moment. Sleep has fallen apart, she’s cranky and miserable a lot from being over tired and I have run out of things to try.

The reason for all this mayhem after everything was going so well, you ask? Well first off she got sick. Having never had a sick baby before I felt a bit like a chicken with my head cut off – I had no idea what to do, how to make her feel better; it was all a bit scary. My husband was an absolute rock again and did his best to help relieve some of the pressure even though he was sick himself.

The sickness messed up her routine and just as we were getting over it she started cutting teeth. Not one, oh no – my child is a super over achiever. We had the honour of the little thing cutting FOUR teeth. At once. It. Was. Hell. She got very grumpy and stopped sleeping again this weekend and I see another tooth has snuck in there. So we have five brand new teeth and miss grumpy pants must be working on its friend because it feels like she has been crying ALL day!

To top it all off we have hit the dreaded eight month sleep regression. So naps are out the window, night time sleep is in three hour shifts with an hour play time in between. No amount of rocking, nursing, singing or crying will get her back to sleep and she has this new thing now where she will only sleep in my arms and then cries when I put her in the crib.

I. Am. Exhausted!

So besides her first bout of illness this is what we’ve been up to this month:

• Started leopard crawling! She got up on her hands and knees for the first time on August 8 and started chasing her toys in a leopard crawl on August 17. She is now super mobile and there’s no holding her back. She will be cross crawling in no time!

• Started babbling! Her first word is officially mom and I couldn’t be more proud. She will repeat the word endlessly so its more like ‘momomomomom’ but still. Also its a very diverse word – it means dad, cat, food, garden, toys, groceries, car, the list is enormous. We’re working on getting her to say dad now.

• She finally cut her upper teeth! She cut all four at once as previously mentioned and I spotted the third bottom tooth on Saturday. No sign of its partner in crime but I have a really grumpy baby to prove its on its way…

• She fell off the bed for the first time. This is not something I am proud of and there were many tears and much crying (and that was just me!). She was in the centre of the bed and I turned around to pick up one of her toys and crash. It happened so fast! (how cliched but true.) She is fine now but at the time I felt like the worst mom in the world…

• Waves bye-bye. This is the cutest thing ever! She will wave her whole arm from shoulder to wrist whenever someone leaves the room. I just want to eat her up!

• Shakes her head no. We have got the shaking for no thing down pat. She will tell you no when she doesn’t want her nappy changed, when she’s had enough to eat, when she doesn’t want to play any more, when she doesn’t want to go to bed. I really need to get her to say yes now!

• Splashes in the bath when you tell her too. It really feels like she understands what the work splash means because whenever we say it she starts to splash frantically. It is very cute to watch and water goes everywhere!

• Unpacks her toy boxes. She has started to unpack the toy boxes. She will entertain herself for ages by taking a toy out of the toy box, inspecting it and then tossing it aside. She then goes back to the box to select another toy. I long for the day when we can put things back in the toy box…

• We’re started the baby proofing process. This feels like a completely insurmountable task. How does one do this? Where do you start? I feel completely overwhelmed.

She has a new fondness for stuffed animals

Exploring the mirror in Clamber Club

Chilling out in her bouncer

Exploring staw in Clamber Club

Working on her crawling skills

In the throws of her sinus infection – a very miserable little girl

Taking selfies

First ice lolly – it helped to relieve the teething pain

New toys are the best!

Showing off her summer hat

Flamingoes on my pants make for the best days

Cool dude

More selfie taking and almost matching outfits

Working on my crawling skills v2.0

Nomming on biltong trying to get those darn teeth out

Reading a book (this child loves books!)

Happy baby!!!

Seven months old!