Little One's holiday diary

Tuesday: Left for the coast today. We picnicked in Braidwood where I swung on the swings with Jan-Ma. Mama feared I was going to crack going down 'The Clyde' but I took pity on her and saved my tantrum for when we reached the bottom of the mountain range. I loved our coast house among the trees immediately.

Wednesday: First experience of the beach. Sand felt good between my toes and I hardly blinked when my feet were dipped into the cool sea. The sound of the ocean sent me to sleep...

Thursday: Cliff walk in the Manduca. It was windy and wild and I kept having to catch my breath. In the end decided it was best to keep my head tucked in. Sleeping well - thanks to the ocean air?

Friday: Another cool day, no good for swimming. But Mama and Papa took me for another walk amongst the tall spotted gums and picked out ideal beach houses. Dreamers.

Saturday: Up and out early to buy bread and coffee at the markets. I did my best to look cute when Mama and Jan-Ma passed by a stall selling handmade dresses for little girls. It worked. They bought me a little dress in size 1. For my first birthday perhaps?

Sunday: Warm sun, sparkly water, a faint breath of wind and an almost deserted beach. Whooped it up in the water and then fell asleep to the sound of the ocean, again...

Monday: A drive to a nearby costal town and another cliff walk. This one ended at a cafe and I watched the everyone eat banana bread, drooling. Back at home I tested out some new sounds. Mmmmbbba. Fffffffhhhho. Best mumbled into shoulders. Hot, hot day. Spent the afternoon nappy-free. No one had much energy to do much else.

Tuesday: Good bye Lilli Pilli. Back to our real home among the trees.

Sleep - Part II

Time for some more truths about sleeping. Co-sleeping is wondrous for nighttime slumbers with the Little One, and as I've already mentioned, has made such a difference to our experience of nightly feeds and settling. We are still, however, experimenting with daytime napping...

I've started walking around the lake in the morning to coincide with the first nap after waking. She'll chat to herself for a while or make funny little frustrated yips before the gentle bumps work their magic. Being a morning person, starting the day with energy and purpose pleases me, and it feels refreshing to be breathing air into my body and striding out my thoughts. We will usually make it all the way around without her waking up. (I've learnt to throw a carrier in the bottom of the pram).

Mid-morning or lunchtime naps are less predictable, often shorter (20-40 minutes?) will and depend on how our day is unfolding and where we are. Snoozing happens in laps, car seats, the bouncer, on shoulders...and definitely not in bassinets/cots (Saskia's emphasis).

For the mid-afternoon nap, I'll lay down beside the Little One on our bed and can guarantee this will be a much more substantial sleep. I look forward to this time as I'll read, shut my eyes, or stare at the delicate skin of her eyelids. This is a luxury I allow myself as a mama to one, a mama who isn't working (paid work, rather).

Her before-Mama-goes-to-bed sleep? (7-10pm). That's a whole other story. No, actually it's a pretty simple one. We just spend this time resettling as she'll sleep in her bouncer in her room downstairs for 40 minute stints at most...Please help me out here fellow co-sleepers. What's the trick?

Family holidays

It's been a real treat to have K home on holidays and spend time as a family. The 3 of us. (I just love saying that). Saskia is just that wee bit older, we feel confident taking her out and about, the weather is warm, and there's a gentle rhythm to our days...They usually start with a walk when the day is fresh and finish with showers and lullabies.

It's been lovely to watch K and Saskia together. She spends just as much time in his arms than she does in mine. I think her smiles for her Papa are much wider though. I love watching them chat: he lying on the floor, and she sitting propped up on his belly. It's going to be so hard to leave her when I go back to work, he told me tonight. It feels like there is a much stronger connection between the two of them now. More so than when he left to go back to work after 2 weeks paternity leave.

But we still have a few more weeks together, and some time away by the ocean. Our first beach holiday as a family. We're staying near a quiet cove and Mum & Dad will be sharing a house with us. I've bought a beach shelter, a sunhat for Saskia and a swimsuit for me. We plan to make trips to the beach in the early morning, roll around with the Little One, nap in the heat of the day, do crosswords and read books, eat our weight in gelati here and rustle up easy summer salads for supper on the deck.

So, those of you who have taken a 3 month old to the beach, any hot tips? Or general advice for travelling with a young child? And do tell if you know of a good sunscreen for babies or a natural insect repellant...

3 months

3 months on and the Little One...

...rolled from her back to her tummy (5 January)

...happens to think that sneezing (you/her/strangers, real sneezes/the act of fake sneezing) is a hoot

...ditched her 000s for 00s

...has started to use to hands to explore

...made good friends with Sophie the Giraffe and 'Bambi'

...will stop her feed every now and then to chat or smile (heart-achingly sweet)

...receives many comments about her strength, long slender fingers, cupid's bow lips and sparkling eyes

...met and fell in love with Little Sister, visiting from overseas

...enjoys a good snooze in the morning as her Mama takes her for a walk around the lake (the rest of the day, it's catnapping)

...is revelling in the attention of her adoring Papa (home for holidays until early February)

...dipped her feet in the pool and seemed relatively unfazed by the cool water...ready for the ocean, water baby?

...makes her Mama & Papa so happy that she chose them as parents...how could it be any other way?

*She's wearing this little outfit. Oh my, I remember this arriving in the mail and wondering, who will be the little person we will button into this...

*...hello belly!

Sleep

So the truth is Little One sleeps with us and I love it.

She started out sleeping in her bassinet but it soon became apparent (around 7 weeks) that she was much happier being closer to her Mama, firmly tucked into a nurturing nook. Sleepless nights and hours of rocking back to sleep turned into dreamy wakings and easy feedings. Being able to meet her needs immediately, as well as the warmth and comfort of a shared bed, has meant that the Little One sleeps so soundly. It makes me happy to know that she's secure and content.

Although I'm still feeding her a few times a night, I feel like I am able to have more sleep: I don't leave the bed as she begins snoozing as soon as she's finished. Sometimes I'm awake to hear those sweet slumber sighs or to smell that delicious milk breath. But mostly I'm not.

In the morning, just after the light begins to seep in past the curtains, I feel little kicks at my belly. Just want you to know I'm starting to wake up, Mama. If I'm lucky though, I might wake up to little hands exploring my face and wide gummy smiles. And so the day begins.

*A lovely neighbour had lent me this book which was helpful. As I knew I might meet a bit of reluctance about our sleeping arrangements the book gave me confidence in that I had made an informed decision. In particular, there is some great information about the benefits of co-sleeping such as greater breastmilk supply, increased sensitivity to mother's/baby's communication, lower stress levels and temperature regulation. Co-sleeping is not for every Mama and baby, but it is working for us at this moment.

*Photo taken at 9 weeks

Coo

She's figured out the easiest way to make her Mama smile is to use her sounds. Sounding out gentle coos, heavy ayes and delighted errrrs often interrupted by hiccups or giggles.

I watch her mouth curl, stretch, purse and dance...and I know she too, is watching mine.

...but this is what I am faced with the other 90% of the time...(still pretty cute)