Cold and runny nose

Baby has been having a runny nose for about 3 days now. I did some reading on the net and it seems that all cold medicines for under 2s have been pulled off the shelves in the States. I don’t know if it is the same in Europe (since we tend to follow the trend in these two parts of the world) but it seems that it may soon be the case here if it is not already.

I dont’ think Baby is in any kind of trouble. It does not bother her or anything. So I’m just going to let it go as is.

I wonder if I’m doing the right thing? I have this faith in babies’ healing powers. Most things tend to heal quickly, like small cuts for example. I suppose it’s all part of the body adjusting. I don’t worry a whole lot because Baby is mostly happy and is growing well.

Anyway, tomorrow is mum’s group and I’ll find out if they have any ideas.

True Love?

Yesterday Baby went down like an angel at 7 pm and slept almost through to 12 am. A fantastic night considering she has been really jittery the entire week. Maybe this is a good sign.

Anyway, when she went to sleep at 7, I had no idea howlong she would sleep so I quickly did my usually now-nightly ritual of clearning up the house so I could start afresh each morning.

Of all the bits and pieces I picked up, one was a t-shirt of Baby’s that had been left on the floor for a day. What I did next came to me so naturally that I did not think much of it at the time. I picked up the tiny garment and inhaled it’s scent deeply. I know. That was strange. However, still not thinking much about it, I was taking it to the laundry basket when I met my husband on the way. I smiled and held up the t-shirt. Wonder of wonders. He took it from me and held it to his nose!

I thought of a friend of mine who told me that you don’t know real love till you’ve had a child. I had dismissed it as ramblings of an indulgent mum at the time. But now, I think I know what she meant.

Nappy change struggle

Baby just hates changing her nappy. I don’t get it.

So I turned to that Bible For All Seasons/Reasons. Google. Apparently it’s a common problem. On one forum a mum said her doctor asked her if her daughter was struggling during nappy change. When she said yes, the doctor just said “Good, that means she is on track developmentally.” Itwas not much help but the point was that it’s a phase that babies go through.

So Baby is definitely “on track developmentally” because she does not give me the time of day during nappy change.

Some mums, sorry most, just resort to the age-old trick of distraction during nappy change. One mom gave her son stickers during nappy change so that it became sticker time. Other moms gave their favourite toys.

If the child is older, as in like a toddler, moms reported showering them with extra praise when they were good resulted in good behaviour during nappy changes.

Showering Baby with praise does not work at the moment. She just thinks it’s a game. However, changing locations has improved the situation. I used t change her on top of a chest of drawers. Now I change her on the bed. This has really made a difference which leads to me think that it could be the hard surface that is getting too much for Baby.

Will see how the week pans out but I think I have hit on the solution.

Australia Day

What does Australia Day mean for a 7-month old?

Not much really. But we had to make a big deal of it. We went to a friend’s place for lunch and then the plan was to spend the rest of the day with Baby’s cousin and uncle. However, they changed plans and had to be elsewhere. So we decided that we had to end the day on a positive note… we can’t tell Baby: “On your first Australia Day, we were stood up by your cousin and uncle.”

So we headed down to Werribee South foreshore. We thought we would watch the sunset and head back but ended up staying longer. Listened to a local band playing by the shore. It was a fantastic evening and because I’m hardpressed or time and words to describe it, I’ve added a picture here. So that’s thousand words on it right there.

It was Baby’s bedtime when we set out for Werribee South and by the time we reached there, she was fast asleep. So we sat there in the car, listening to Norah Jones and watching the sunset…which was fantastic by the way. The photo does nothing to show how fantastic it was.

Anyway, something woke Baby up and we decided to put her in her pram and we walked around for a bit and listened to some music. Families had gathered to watch a movie they were to screen later in the evening. I wanted to watch the movie very badly. I’ve always tried to catch an outdoor movie and have not managed to do that yet.

Anymovie, this was another failure on that front. Baby got troublesome…it was two hours past her bedtime. We bundled her up and headed back.

Very uneventful.

But eventful.

Hard to describe… it’s a family thing I guess.

Jinx

Why is it that as soon as you say “Baby sleeps through the night”, Baby insists on waking up every two hours??

What is a good mum?

I feel like such a terrible mum. Baby is being so clingy and I can’t fix the problem.

Part of the problem seems to be the heat and another part seems to be an upset tummy.

Still can’t get her back to her sunny self though.

Yay?

The year has started out in a big way for Baby.

One is a bit of an icky subject unless you are a mum. She had a her first adult poo. Mums will know what I mean. This is great because I guess Baby is getting all the solids she needs.

Second bit of “good” news for me is that Baby has suddenly and inexplicably taken to the bottle??? This is good because I’ve changed my view about feeding baby formula. She is so hungry all the time, especially at night, I am going to try feeding her one big bottle of formula before she goes to bed. We’ll see how that works for getting a “sleep through the night”.

She went off it somewhere in her second and third month and suddenly found out how it works. I have been trying on and off all this time. So she chose the new year to start this.

I don’t think I will be expressing milk. I think I will get her on formula once a day so she (and I) can sleep through the night….like adults do.

Crying it out Sleep solution

Baby coming into my life has signalled a major shift. Nothing has been more significant than the shift in sleep patterns. In the first couple of months, this involved getting up every two hours to breastfeed baby. It was a while before I could express and keep in a bottle. This, however, had related problems as I had to sterilise the bottles, warm up the milk, keep it cool etc. All this did not make sense if I was the one doing it everytime. Let’s face it, it was just simpler to hitch up my PJs without leaving my bed. And yes. I co-slept. Still do through most of the night. And don’t intend to change it.

Anyway, this leads to the sleep solution. As a breastfed baby, she needs to wake up oftener than formula-fed babies or so I’m told. She sleeps a block of five hours on any given night and then in blocks of three. I was told/have read that babies should sleep about 12 hours uninterrupted when they hit the six-month mark.

This is just not going to happen with Baby. She is a good baby. Not a lot of trouble. Smiles constantly. Plays by herself. She is comfortable in company and actually tries to communicate with other babies (in her own way).

But if her (night) sleep habits are described to certain sections, she would not be considered a good baby at all. I don’t mind that I have to wake up couple of times a night to feed her. She goes straight back to sleep. I don’t have to leave the house to work. So I think I can do this much for her.

I believe in what my grandmom said. Treat them like a King (or Queen) till they are 2.

Like a slave till they are 16.

And from 16 on, treat them like you would your friend.

So Baby is the Queen of this castle for a couple more months. What she says goes. If she cries,  I will pick her up. If she can’t sleep, I will sing or rock her to sleep. If she cannot sleep on the cot, she can always sleep in my bed. If she is hungry, I will feed her. If she does not like baby food, she need not have it.

As long as she is gaining weight, is developing normally and is happy, I don’t see myself doing anything wrong.

Foodie

Baby and food don’t really mix do they? I thought I had crossed such a big milestone when Baby had three teaspoons of mashed up rice. I was excited enough to go and buy her a high chair. I started fantasising about the days that Baby and I could sit together at a table and have similar food.

However, with the start of solids, I’ve just embarked on a very troublesome journey of cooking two kinds of meals. One for baby and one for the others in the household.

Something is always on the boil, in the oven, in the microwave (not often) or in the mixie (processor) for Baby. Most of the time, she eats two teaspoons before clamping her lips shut.

I keep wondering if Baby is getting enough food. I know mine is not a unique worry. Every mother obsesses about food for the children almost 24/7.

However, one doctor gave me the best advice.

Babies do not go hungry. Yes. They have a very powerful way of getting food.

They just cry endlessly.

And that is one effective method.

A better person

Once Baby and I had settled into a comfortable rhythm with each other, I found that being a parent was all about trying to be a better person. That is why there are no perfect parents.

I have so many traits I don’t want Baby to have, or see or experience. Ok, not that many, but a fair few. I find that the only way to not pass it on is to not indulge in them (feelings, actions or whatever they be).

First one is that I have a serious problem with asking for help. I just cannot ask for help. I was brought up to believe that this was actually a good thing which, in the long run, made the problem worse.

Now I’d rather struggle and literally break my back than, let’s say, ask someone to hold baby while I shut the door/tie my shoe lace/make the bed/sweep the floor/wash the dishes. I would really like to change this attribute.

While I’m listing my bad qualities, I should also, at the same time, list a good quality so that I don’t bring myself down with my self-criticism.

I am quite good at looking after Baby now. I was reading a blog on one of those parenting websites and it really rang true with me.

I’m not sure if this link will show up but it says that mums are superheroes. Anyway, there is one line that says I can settle a crying baby with a look and make that calm baby smile with a smile. This is so true in the case of Baby and I. I remember a time when it was not the case and with practice, patience and perserverence I’ve really come to know Baby better. And the effort was so worth it.