4/52 aka snot

There was a little girl.

Mopey baby with a cold out visiting. 

Now my friends' babies are coming, I am reminded how quickly memories fade. How did we get Milla to sleep in her room? When did breastfeeding stop hurting?

This week Milla had her first cold. I think she's just over it now. It was lots of snot, so noisy feeding and gasping for a break when eating, and a bit of sooky moping.

Backyard tomatoes a-go-go. Been for six runs. Four months now til I'm back at work. Life goes on.

Settling

Milla has been more and more gorgeous this week. Eating well, waking happy, sleeping solidly. I took her to the beach two days in a row and she pretty much hated it. Then yesterday she smacked her forehead and developed a snotty nose. Two firsts. Went to bed ok, usual time, gorgeous baby. Woke 45 minutes later howling. It took me 45 minutes to settle her, during which I found the beginnings of her second tooth poking through. Ah.

Settling. We resolved no breastfeed, that's fine. And better to not pick her up, rather to pat. Last night the snotty nose was rasping and snuffling. I offered cool water and she became even more upset. I picked her up. No respite. I put her down, went back to our bed. Just like that twenty minutes had passed. I went back, took her out of bed and into the cool backyard. She was alert and beautiful. Into Ballroom, refused more sips of water (a first), read her 'Lost and Found'. Back to cot. Howling. Back to my bed. Howling. Forty minutes have passed. Go back, switch light on, pick her up. Cuddles, I count backwards from 100, saying "hey-hey".

Sleep. Seven or so hours later, Charlie's alarm gets him up and making coffee. Milla wakes.

Williamstown Beach at 5pm on a windy Friday.

Routines and meals

Well it must be three weeks of the new routine, one dropped breastfeed and a big move towards food. Yesterday I almost forgot to include a breastfeed at lunch, so I think that will be the next to go. Physically, it's not been too tricky for me to do the 9-hours overnight and then 6-hours from sleepy feed to lunchtime.

Milla suddenly started eating a whole lot more food, I go scrambling in the fridge as she finishes apple porridge, then avocado, then yoghurt. Loves yoghurt. She's now had two Charlie-cooked meals with meat: chicken and peach, lamb and carrot. Meat takes her wayyyy longer to eat, she uses those gums to chew chew chew.

Hot and thirsty work, eating baby bolognese. 

Growing lots of hair. Can recognise me in a photo in the hallway. Pulls back the blanket in the backyard to grab handfuls of grass. Can hold a v-situp for ages. Getting very good at stepping. I'm going to miss the breastfeeding cuddle.

3/52

Looks like the face of a little person, not a baby. Love the curiosity, the gusto, the intent. Love this kid.

Milla at six-and-a-half months, mountain top camping.

After morning nap, tent filters light warm. Unzipped sleeping bag, merino vest, those eyes.

Mount Stirling and a Run

Back to Stirling, camped just below summit this time. We had more than just our little tent. Three big cars and six people! Brilliant sunrise Sunday morning that Milla woke us for.

Summit baby. Milla at six-and-a-half months.

We've said that becoming parents has made us more organised. But Charlie was already a logistics supremo. This time he really outshone. On Friday he drove up to Stirling base by himself, Milla and I stayed home and I got in a few hours of essay work in the even and early morning. Charlie spent Saturday riding the trails at Buller in preparation for March competing. Then grandparents collected girls and we headed to join. Went straight to top of Buller and found Charlie Plus One all sweaty and dusty there.

Good times. We borrowed a Phil & Teds travel cot from a generous Mother's Group mother and squeeeezed it into our tent - just. It would fit fine if the tent was just for Milla. Anyhoo, it's the best we've come up with so I bought one on eBay immediately. It seems so much better than bigger travel cots, more flexible as it can be a totally contained mozzie-proof standalone baby cage.

Tent baby. 

Milla was a total chatterbox all eve Saturday. It was quite cute. On Sunday she said 'blah blah blah' which is Charlie's fault as he says that to her all! the! time! She's been saying 'da da da dadah' a lot too.

High country view from Stirling treeline. 

Back home Sunday night and Monday saw my long-awaited running comeback. Yeah! My last run was in May, two kilometres, down to the water and back. This time I ran one kilometre, felt amazing and am totally psyched.

2/52

Some ups and down. Immunisations on Tuesday for Milla's six-month milestone. We had the Panadol box (new, unopened from last immunisations), at the ready as she howled and howled at bedtime. Forty-five minutes.

A couple of good days and a couple of days refusing to nap and being overtired and a bit unfun. She still sleeps all through the night, though has woken at 4am a couple of times. I've given her a bonus feed.

Second photo.

Watching the rain.

Linking up with the 52 Project.

New baby

I held a new baby yesterday. Just 30 hours old and so tiny. Perfect and amazing. It feels so different to witness a friend become a mother, now that I am one. My thumper of a daughter looked enormous next to the tiny precious new creature.  

I also realised how unwell I was after giving birth! Seeing my friend sitting up, chipper and happy, taking visitors, texting and posing for photos, I realised she was simply well. Not superwoman, just well. Whereas I was in hospital for four nights and couldn't dream of having visitors. I didn't talk on the phone or leave the room.

I feel like a had a perfect birth, I was happy and felt strong, loved and supported. But losing lots of blood after, and having surgery, really took its toll. I could see it on my friend's face - a complete inversion of mine!

Oh, and here's Thumper, in a party dress, at her Pop's.

Milla at 6 months. 

1/52

A little discipline. A little dedication. I'm going to do a portrait a week of Milla. Not off to a great start as Week One slipped by already. The photo for this week was not taken with the nice camera, doh, but the stupid phone.

A friend's family beach house, a day and night and adwenture without Charlie. Milla's first dip in the ocean. 

Hot baby taking a bucket bath in the shade at Somers. 

Linking up with the 52 Project. 

A Tooth

A tiny serration. If I can get my finger in, I can feel it, just as she thrusts and squirms. It wasn't there a day ago, I swear. This makes sense. Her first tooth.

Junior toddler. There's a tooth in that grin, somewhere. 

Crying and Crawling

Hard night. Milla took two short naps during the day, one in the stroller. And then at bedtime, howled when I put her down. Howled. Hysterically. Panting and screeching with out-of-control upset. We had agreed she wouldn't get a boob. We consulted Baby Love and read about... 'controlled crying' and the method of returning to Milla with reassurance and then leaving again. I got up three times. I sat her up and she took big gulps of cold water from her sip cup. She was wet with sweat from the exertion of crying. Ninety minutes. We all fell asleep. Slept in.

Clean baby, after her bath. 

Started a new routine based on the changes to her feeding and sleeping. Dropping one boob feed. No sleep ins. More water, more solids. So the idea is to start each day around 6am with a quiet feed in her room, returning Milla to bed immediately. Then a solid grown up breakfast at 10am. A lunch of real food and boob at 1pm, and her usual dinner extravaganza at 5pm with boob, solids and a half formula bottle. She tried yoghurt today for the first time - first dairy food.

A few of my favourite things.

While I was out riding yesterday, Charlie witnessed the first crawling forward motion! Eep!

Milla at Six Months

Milla at six months. Sits up. Waves. Eats three meals a day. Turns pages on books. Laughs at the ceiling, zips and velcro. Sleeps ten hours a night. Is out of her swaddle, in a zipped up cocoon to sleep. Shuffles backwards but doesn't crawl. Has her own chatting language, no common words yet. Can hold her mesh feeder to suck on frozen banana. Loves to sip water and is very cute doing so.

First time in swimmers. New Year's Day. Six months old.

Milla in six months. Has been on a plane. Has been camping six times, to Sheepyard Flat by the Howqua for her first two tent nights, the Blue Mountains, Honeysuckle in the ACT, Mt Stirling summit, Cape Conran Banksia Bluff, the Grampians Paradise. Has had holidays in houses in Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, Jindabyne, Tolmie, Sawmill Settlement. Has dipped her feet in the freezing clear water of the Delatite. Has been fed and read to by many friends and family. Has spent whole days with just me, or just Charlie. Has smiled at lots of strangers. Met a few dogs. Went to exhibition openings, pubs and restaurants. Snatched tomato leaves and nectarine branches. Choked on cauliflower. Utterly charms us.

New Year's Eve.

Milla in this six months. Has made us so happy. Has made us work very hard. Has made us smile, a lot, every day. Has made us eat better. Be organised. Cry happy tears.

Happy new year.