Saturday 29 September 2012

Six months.

That's how long Olive has been here.

Where on earth did it go? Seriously. I am enjoying my baby far too much, and somebody has been skipping the clock on us, I am sure of it!

Though in saying that, the last 2-3 weeks have been a nightmare (well, an Olive sized nightmare, not a normal nightmare).

My normally great sleeper hit 5 months and whoever discovered the Five Month Sleep Regression knew their stuff. The child just stopped sleeping. She also started getting so nosy she would refuse feeds if they weren't offered in the comfort of her (MY! But that's a different story) darkened bedroom.

We decided to stay at home and get into a routine. A what? Exactly what Olive thought, too. Figured seeing as we were being hard-arsed parents, we would wipe out the swaddling too - I mean, she was unwrapping those pudgy arms at 5am so she didn't need it anymore. Right?

We had talking and tears, and singing and playing for up to an hour and a half, before Madam would sleep for a mere 45 minutes.

Ok, so that wasn't going to work..next trick.

A sleep site told me to buy a Cocoon wrap - all zippered up that she can't get out of. Waited the weekend for the courier to deliver. Monday morning, it arrives. Yay! Super excited, rip it out of the box, whack it on the baby. Good night, baby!

Baby eats it.

Next.

A wonderful friend gave us a Miracle Blanket to try. A nifty thing Baby Houdini wouldn't escape from! First go - Great Success! Asleep in 5 mins, slept for 2.5 hours! Second go - Fail. Awake for 2.5 hours, slept for 5 mins!

*Sigh*. My Good Baby was behaving like somebody else's Naughty Baby. (I don't breed Naughty Children, just so you know).

And here we are. Persisting with the Miracle Blanket, and still pretending that the Angel upstairs (who has taken 4, yes, FOUR hours to go to sleep today) is a Good Baby.

Well....actually...I lie. We aren't pretending - look at her!



Wednesday 5 September 2012


This here is the proud wee face of a certain somebody who can now roll from her back to her tummy....constantly. AND even get her own little arms out from under her belly (after lots of dolphin diving, mind you!).

Olive is almost half a year old. Six months. SIX months! Didn't I only just have her? These months really are flying by. We are onto the Bigger Baby stage!

She is already almost eating real food..we did try her on some banana, but that was a fail. She swallowed the first wee bit, with a perplexed look on her face and then proceeded to gag and vomit it back up. Charming.

She is still sleeping well, but she can be a toerag in the daytime and sometimes misses all day naps. Too nosy, this girl is!

She is very vocal, even spouting off a load of 'Mum-mum', 'Dad-dad' and 'bubba'.

A Mummy's Girl, this one. She doesn't like it when Aunty picks her up from her bed. The bottom lip drops and she looks around for her Mum. When I take her, she tells Aunty off in her 'ah did did did bbbbb' language. She is bolshy!

Everything goes in the mouth - hands, toys, blankets, Mummy's hair. There are no sneaky visits at our house - Olive always makes sure to mark your shoulder with either puke or slobber to makes sure everyone know's you have been to see her.

Along with all these new and exciting things, our first 6 monthly check with the paediatric dermatologist is approaching also. And oh how her wee bod has changed! There is a very fine layer of blonde hair covering the top half of her BTN now, as well as the bit above her bottom. She has so many satellites, I haven't sat down to count but my guess is between 20-30 (none of which were there are birth, remember!) and you can see the beginnings of many more coming through. She is definitely very sensitive on her nevus - when she has done a poo and it is touching the hair, she arches her back and cries. It might just be that it tickles or something, but it definitely annoys her!

Her nevus on her fontanelle has such thick hair now! We affectionately call it her tiny wig, after a checkout operator at the supermarket asked if it was real....

It seems like such an age ago that I was in tears and asking for advice on how to cure her bleeding bottom and lesions on her back. I feel we have come a long way, and the way we speak of her nevus now is very much fact, and not so much emotionally charged.

I don't want to wish time away, because I am enjoying her so SO much, but I am really excited and anxious to see what the future holds for my beautiful wee babe.