Chocolate Goodness
There's something very satisfying about that smooth, untouched surface of a
new jar of Nutella, foil freshly torn away, and then plunging a spoon into it.
No other spoonful tastes quite the same.
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Bittersweet Liberation
Emily is 5 months old tomorrow. How did that happen?! Last week, she became able to play on her own without needing me to constantly provide her with entertainment. She happily babbles away in her cot in the morning, enabling us to have a "lie-in" (6:00 - 6:45am!!), playing with anything within her grasp - be it an actual toy, or possibly her muslin cloth, or even her feet. Fascinating things, those feet.
I always thought that it would take a great effort on my part to accept a baby being entirely and solely dependent on me. I thought I'd get frustrated, and sure I did a few times when she'd cry the moment I left her side as she wanted me to continue playing with her and my mind would have moved on to the next thing on my neverending to-do list. But truly, I loved every minute of being her entire world.
However I've found that I need to be far more disciplined with myself now that she doesn't need me as much. It's so easy to let her get on and play for hours (ok, not hours!) on her own while I catch up on the gazillion other things I need to do*. It's much easier to forget about her, so to speak, when she doesn't need me every moment of her waking day, even if she is SO much more fun to play with now!
A part of me is quite saddened by this, another part liberated. Somehow I need to, and I will, find the balance.
* Always leaving her in a safe place and most of that other stuff I have to do involves me being in the same room as her!
I always thought that it would take a great effort on my part to accept a baby being entirely and solely dependent on me. I thought I'd get frustrated, and sure I did a few times when she'd cry the moment I left her side as she wanted me to continue playing with her and my mind would have moved on to the next thing on my neverending to-do list. But truly, I loved every minute of being her entire world.
However I've found that I need to be far more disciplined with myself now that she doesn't need me as much. It's so easy to let her get on and play for hours (ok, not hours!) on her own while I catch up on the gazillion other things I need to do*. It's much easier to forget about her, so to speak, when she doesn't need me every moment of her waking day, even if she is SO much more fun to play with now!
A part of me is quite saddened by this, another part liberated. Somehow I need to, and I will, find the balance.
* Always leaving her in a safe place and most of that other stuff I have to do involves me being in the same room as her!
Playdating
Emily has one particular friend she often playdates with. Krishan is a month older than her and one of her NCT buddies. They enjoy watching each other play and sometimes they try reaching for each other. Krishan keeps an eye on his toys when Emily plays with them. One can't be too careful, you see.
Sometimes they nap together (and Emily tries to pull Krishan's blanket off him). Emily even has her own special sleeping spot at Krishi's! Emily's daddy has agreed not to bring out the shotgun just yet...
Sometimes they nap together (and Emily tries to pull Krishan's blanket off him). Emily even has her own special sleeping spot at Krishi's! Emily's daddy has agreed not to bring out the shotgun just yet...
His First Father's Day
Apple of my Daddy's eye, her t-shirt reads. And it couldn't be more true. She is everything to him. Besotted, swept off his feet, you name it, he is it. He is a truly fantastic father and this deserves to be acknowledged.
Happy Father's Day hunny... thank you for all that you do x
[picture taken on the Isle of Wight, April 2011]
Baby Leads the Way
Emily was always a very hungry baby. She loved her milk and drank it - lots of it - with gusto. Then one day, overnight, she seemed to lose interest. When this went on for another week, I became worried. Then another week. We tried, well, everything... Different milk, different bottles, different teats, warm milk, cold milk, holding her upright, lying her down, resting her on a pillow. We tried distracting her, singing to her, talking to her, ignoring her as she fed. Some things worked for a day. Others made no difference at all. The health visitors kept telling me not to worry. Her weight was fine, she had put on just as much as her graph recommended, and yet she was drinking two thirds of the amount she'd normally have in a day. Sometimes less.
My good friend Nataliya suggested that it might just be her appetite. Perhaps Emily didn't need as much milk any longer. But I couldn't understand why she'd cry at feedtimes. Surely something was wrong?
After about 3 weeks of this, I decided to quit the worrying (which was getting me nowhere fast) and just feed her when she really demanded it. Some days I waited half a day before she decided she was hungry, and then she'd drink 3oz and lose interest (and I'd secretly get worried all over again).
A few more weeks and I got used to her game. One day she'd have almost nothing at all, the next day she'd slightly make up for it. And so on. My concern diminished. She's a very expressive baby - she'd have no qualms letting me know if she were still hungry. So slowly, it became the norm (and somewhat easier thanks to some cranial osteopathy).
I took her to be weighed again yesterday (about 6 weeks now since her feeding habits first changed), and she's still following her graph. She's coasting along the 75th centile line perfectly, currently at 15lb 11oz (7.12kg).
My point is this: Nataliya was obviously right (I should've known she would be too). A baby is capable of telling you what they need if only we listen. Why was she crying when I tried to feed her? It's simple really - I was trying to give her milk she did NOT want or need. This all has made me all the more certain that I'll be going down the Baby-Led Weaning route. But that's another post for another day.
There Was a Dress...
I'm not one to buy clothes that don't actually fit. I like to spend my money on things I can enjoy immediately. But this dress was different. While out looking for something to wear to an occasion later on this month, I came across this beautiful garment. I mostly fit into it. Approximately one inch of my derrière doesn't. And yet it was just so pretty, I couldn't let it go.I can't complain really. I only put on one dress size during my pregnancy and within a few days of Emily's birth, I was back to my pre-pregnancy size. This does not mean, however, that my pre-pregnancy clothes fit me. Ah no. Not in the very least. My shape is entirely different. So things that looked great before, don't quite have the same effect any longer. But I digress.
I went ahead and purchased the dress in the hope that it might spur me on to lose the nasty inch (or three) that is the only thing standing in the way of me and a large portion of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe (not that I'm not enjoying needing to buy new clothes *cough*).
So there you have it: In just under one month, I will attempt to wear the dress to a wedding. I will share a photo taken at the wedding, and then we will all know - Will I have lost that godforsaken inch, or will I have been forced to return the dress? Gripping, I know.
Watch this space.
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Update: In the end, we didn't make it to the event, however the dress does fit, if still slightly tight, but a huge improvement over the first time I tried it on!
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