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EATING
Chloe has continued being a good little eater. She has continued having three meals a day and some snacks. As a result of the increase in solids her milk feeds have gradually become shorter to the point where we think she may be ready to drop a day time feed. At this point we're not sure whether it will be the 11 or 3 o'clock feed as some days she wants one and some days the other. At the moment I'm still offering her both and letting her decide. Its all a bit of trial and error, but being the little diva she is she is pretty clear when she doesn't want it, throwing her head backwards and pushing away from me. As far as foods go she has now had lamb, bread, pineapple, cucumber, custard, pasta, butter, mandarin, watermelon, rockmelon, milk biscuits, cheese and tomato. I am also a bit less stringent with the 3 day thing. Often I offer her something just to try and if in 24 hours there is no reaction I think great! Hence I'm not so sure how comprehensive the aforementioned list is.
She is also less interested in feeding herself but more concerned with holding the spoon and dragging it through the food in her bowl. Occasionally she'll throw the spoon to the floor which will result in a large bang which amuses her, but also a large mess which, unfortunately does not amuse daddy. Yet we're powering on as we're sure eventually she'll put this skill and last months skill together and hey, presto! We'll have a self feeding child. That's the hope anyways.
COMMUNICATION
Chloe is quite the little chatter box as you all know. She loves to shout and squeal to get your attention and is very rarely quiet. Since last post she has continued to experiment with sounds and says words like 'ba', 'pa' and so on. She is able to use her sounds or tone of voice to communicate quite clearly what her intention is to the point of amazing, whether it be 'look at me! how amazing am I walking with dad?' or 'I dropped that cool black thing with the buttons, you there, pick it up!' And it works both ways, she now, we believe understands us a bit better... When we praise her for good behaviour she smiles and gets all excited. Equally when we say no or 'uh-ah' she often stops what she's doing and looks at us.... unless of course she doesn't want to, then she just squeals!
She also continues to chant dad dad dad on occasions and on the 15th of May threw out her first 'ma ma'. There are no words to explain how your heart melts at the word. Since the initial time it has now become her 'cry out' sound. Needless to say, I feel slightly ripped off, Jarratt gets the cutest da da da and I get maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. The other day at home, Chloe was crawling around and positioned herself against the arm chair, and whilst looking down the hallway proceeded to 'shout' out to Jarratt which ended with a puzzling look up at me as in 'why isn't he coming?' I didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't home, hehe.
She also continues to chant dad dad dad on occasions and on the 15th of May threw out her first 'ma ma'. There are no words to explain how your heart melts at the word. Since the initial time it has now become her 'cry out' sound. Needless to say, I feel slightly ripped off, Jarratt gets the cutest da da da and I get maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. The other day at home, Chloe was crawling around and positioned herself against the arm chair, and whilst looking down the hallway proceeded to 'shout' out to Jarratt which ended with a puzzling look up at me as in 'why isn't he coming?' I didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't home, hehe.
And its not just her oral communication that has improved her body language and facial expressions have also come on leaps and bounds. She looks for objects that have been dropped or disappear. Like when Daddy or I hide, she looks in the direction that we left. She has also pointed to toys and things she'd like to have or touch. However her facial expressions are hands down the thing that we are finding most amusing! She has become a lot more .... um, shall we say, animated in her face, which is both helpful and delightful all in one.
Our favourite face that has developed, after the scrunched up 'no more' face mentioned in the last post of course, is her WOW! This is AMAZING! face. It's hilarious! If something is deemed exciting to young Chloe, she opens her eyes wide, pouts her mouth into an 'o' and makes an 'oooooooooo' sound. We think she is channelling her inner zoolander as this face kind of resembles blue steel. The really funny thing is that it's impossible not to replicate it back at her and often has J and I, as well as many friends and family, in hysterics!
Furthermore, in the last month or so, Chloe has developed a real deep belly laugh. Its the most heart warming sound ever. Once you get her started, you just don't want her to stop. She's a big fan of Mummy pulling funny faces and daddy tickling her on her belly. It truly is a beautiful sound.
She has also begun to develop an awareness of 'her people' being Mum and Dad and those that she sees regularly like Auntie Kehlet, neighbours and play date or swimming buddies. Whilst she has never been amazing with strangers and often prefers the company of some people over others. She has definitely reached the age of relationships and separation anxiety from Mum and Dad. We are doing our best to gently extend her circle of carers and by having chats with strangers like shop keepers or friendly Turkish restaurateurs to encourage her to be independent and confident in her interactions with others.
GETTING AROUND
So Little Miss has still shown little to no interest in crawling, if we put her in a crawling on all fours position she will, as she has always done, cry. So we don't force the issue. Although on the 20th of May whilst left on her tummy on our living room rug she shocked the pants off me! I quickly dashed off to bathroom and when I returned I found her a few feet from where I left her and more impressively off the rug. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and filmed what I have since been told is 'commando' crawling, basically using just your arms to push around. And whilst she may have not found any gear other than reverse, we're impressed all the same!
Even more impressive, in the last two weeks or so, she has started 'walking' using Daddy or I as support. Unfortunately, for our backs mostly, it is all she wants to do! Her balance and coordination is out of sight and for all intensive purposes looks very promising for her to walk alone in the next few months or so.... I assume?! But as with everything in this baby caper, I'm not really sure. Just last night (1/6) she stood without holding me or leaning on anything for a good 3-4 seconds before tipping slightly and being caught by mummy. She is growing in confidence each day in reaching for things whilst walking by letting go of one of our hands and in some cases all together and balancing against our legs. Its all very, VERY exciting and slightly nerve-racking as you look around at all the sharp edges and unfriendly baby surroundings.
SLEEPING
Not much has changed since last post... Chloe is still sleeping twice a day and up until 2 nights ago I could count on one hand how many times she'd slept through. But *knock wood* the last two nights she has slept from 630-7 with a dream feed at 9am. About 4 nights ago we tried some tough baby love. It occurred to us that we probably had developed in little miss a bit of a crutch in getting back to sleep overnight by either boob feeding her or rocking her back to sleep. I'll let you guess whose approach is whose, haha. And when a few parents from my mothers group told me that their little ones no longer needed a feed through the night when they woke they just needed to be resettled, we thought we'd give it a go. The first night was hard but the second night not a peep! So keep your fingers and toes crossed for us. But... we had a good run like this a while a go and then went away (to Maitland) and that's when the night waking began. So we may just start getting all the puzzle pieces together, but next Thursday we're off to Fremantle for a wedding.... needless to say I'm a little nervous.
PLAYING
Chloe has become a very alert observer and a keen little risk taker, add to this a longer awake time, she is now a lot of fun to play with! Since last post we have altered the 'where's mummy?' for a 'where's Chloe?' Which is a blast... particularly when she doesn't understand the concept of the 'hiding' instead raising say a cup or a toy above her head and quickly bringing it down over her face.
She has improved in her coordination and can 'throw' or 'roll' the ball back and forth with daddy as well as use her 'pincher' movement to pick up very small objects. As well as remember what certain toys are built for and do such as chewing on Sophie, shaking a rattle, or even more complicated ones like triggering her talking dog to sing by pressing the button in its foot and lifting the flag on her letter box to make the music play. She has shown a real enjoyment for familiar songs and rhymes to the point now that if we sing 'clap your hands' to her she more often than not will clap along.... and sometimes clap spontaneously, even when we don't sing the song ;-)
She can also pass things from hand to hand and understands swapsies and 'ta' when paying with others. Which is great given all the play dates and such that she attends now. I'm on a whole happy with how she 'shares' and takes turns with other kids, as well as how she will assert herself if necessary. Its in these situations that I really see her personality and marvel at the cute, out going little kid she is. I still really enjoy my catch ups with these little boys and girls and their beautiful mummies. I feel really lucky to have them all in my life to share this amazing experience with.
Our visits to the park have become more consistent, each day that we're home we've developed a bit of a routine of going and getting the things for dinner at the local shops... Chloe's now a bit of a superstar down in Penshurst and squeals with excitement each time we walk into IGA ... and then visiting the park on the way home. She's a BIG fan of the swing and slippery dip. She has become more and more confident in using both pieces of play equipment and just recently began leaning forward without any assistance to gather momentum to slide down the slippery dip on her own. And its not just at the park that she's developing this confidence, but also at swimming... She has now done a handful of unassisted underwater swims and will hold onto the wall, keeping her head above water for as long as mummy can stand... it does make me incredibly anxious that her little arms will give way and she'll go straight under. But it's these regular outings and our play dates that make our days so enjoyable.
The real annoyance is on rainy days, like today, when we're stuck inside... but even then, we find ways to have fun... as you can see in the video below.
TEETHING AND OTHER 'BAD' THINGS
Teething has continued to be the blanket reason to explain away a lot of crazy behaviour... Restless nights, irritability, fussy eating, just to name a few. But since the last post we have only one more of the pesky things popping through the gum (bottom left central incisor) and whilst it did threaten for a while it only appeared to cut through on the 15th of May. Meanwhile the top front teeth and teeth either side of the bottom central incisors look ominous!
Chloe also, thankfully, avoided a bout of hand, foot and mouth that swept through Sydney. Despite playing pretty much on top of, and in the mouth of, one of her little friends at a play date. As well as it taking down one of her bestest mates at swimming. But that's about where the good luck with illness stops as she has managed to contract an ear infection. Which is just perfect timing considering we are boarding a plane this Thursday for the long haul flight to Perth. But... what can you do?! I took her to the doctor last Wednesday who assured me it should clear up in 48 hours, so if she isn't any better by tomorrow, I'll be going back for some antibiotics... normally I'd let her body do its job... but 5 hours on a plane with a sick baby is not my idea of fun!
She also, earlier in the month had a minor head injury... whilst at a work lunch catch up thing and posing for a photo with another little girl. She fell backwards onto a window frame before I could catch her... the window frame turned out to be steel and thanks to some quick thinking by my friends, we had ice on her and whisked her away to a local medical centre to be looked over by one of the doctors. The doctor was very helpful and saw us even though we weren't patients at the clinic. She took a look at the bump and said Chloe would need to be monitored closely for the next 4 hours but that I could do that at home. She also assured me that Chloe was fine, meanwhile I was a blubbering mess!!! It was the first time that I honestly felt a wave of being a bad parent... how could I have put her in that position so close to the window? Why didn't I stay closer? How come I didn't move faster? What if she has brain damage from this? Needless to say I ran away with the thinking a little and made Jarratt come home immediately to give Chloe the once over... He took one look at her and deducted that she was fine!
MODELLING
The day of the big fall, I also received a call from a lady at Cosmo Pregnancy to tell me Chloe had been cast in their upcoming June edition of the annual baby checklist. After being referred by a friend and submitting some photos of Chloe on the Friday she had been cast for the shoot the following Wednesday. She was, in a nutshell, a natural. She spent about and hour and a half on set and didn't cry once... she had outfit changes and posed like a pro! Off the back of this I submitted her for a few modelling agencies, three in total. All three came back saying they'd sign her. In the end we went with Bambini, which one good friend referred to as the 'ford modelling agency for babies'. Tuesday, just gone she had her portfolio shoot and despite the ear infection did quite well. Its a bit of a gamble with whether she'll get work or not. Only time will tell.
OUTINGS
There have been a few memorable outings recently. The first significant one would have to be my first mother's day which we celebrated with an eating extravagance at Penshurst Deli and Como Hotel. It was a great day where I was showered with love and gifts that have yet to be enjoyed. The other two significant events we have celebrated were Auntie Kehlet's final 20-something birthday over delicious ribs at Hurricane's in Brighton and a trip to Maitland for Poppy's birthday as well as a stop over to see Great Grandma at Cave's beach.
All in all its been a busy month as always. But the most tiring thing about the last month or so has been the emotional toll the title of 'SAHM' is taking on me. And for those that can't be bothered looking up that acronym the first word is Stay and the last is Mum :)
What I mean is, I've started to feel resentful towards the constant statements like 'It must be so relaxing!', 'what DO you do all day?' and 'I'd love to be a stay at home parent'. I know most of these comments are not intended with malice, nor am I trying to make any of you feel bad if you have possibly said any of the aforementioned comments, its just something that is starting to take its toll on me. I think its because not a lot of my close friends have kids and understand the amount of work that goes into what I do. Sometimes I'm not sure Jarratt even understands. And for the most part whilst I love my 'job' it realistically is unpaid, has long hours, comes with minimal support as well as no training and to many is not considered a 'job' - let alone work! And I can't be angry or even annoyed at these statements because, if I'm honest, I use to think the exact same thing. But now 9 months on, I find it hard to get any time to myself and have sort of 'lost' a lot of what made me, well... me! I'm no longer able to dash off to do this or that... this or that now requires ridiculous amounts of planning from a well scheduled nap, a potential feed in the car or scouting a more appropriate location since little miss is not a fan of being covered whilst feeding, educated guesses on appetite and toy preference and the list goes on and on. I feel bad admitting this, let alone publishing it on the inter webs. I don't resent spending all my time with Chloe or being a stay at home mum, please understand what I resent it is the lack of appreciation and understanding I get for what I do. I admit it has got easier in a lot of ways, but in some ways it's got a lot harder! I guess what I'm saying is if you have read this and enjoyed it, please let me know, it took a large part of my 'day off' to write ;-)
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