13 (and a bit) months

13 (and a bit) months and the Little One...
...no longer walks, she runs
...has settled into a blissful daytime nap routine (for now!)
...sings along to 5 Little Ducks (wack, wack, wack, wack), 10 in the Bed (wol o wa, wol o wa), Fish and Mice (barks out little sounds when the children repeat the words Holly sings)
...is right into lids (on, off, on, off), her new tea set, the yellow Fisher Price bus, Teddy Oswald (teddor), the hose or watering can, listening to her two cds (this and this), and of course, the camera
...dances, oh she dances (every time Dada walks through the door we've started doing a little jig)
...loves scrambled eggs, happy cow cheese, yakult (sugar and mini bottle = what a combo!), and steamed broccoli (finally, a win)
...met her Uncle Rich for the first time and charmed the pants off him

...thinks jumping is the funniest. thing. ever.
...delights and amuses her parents every day

*I hope you can see the little animated photo at the bottom? I just love the look she gives in the third photo of the sequence...I'm not a technical person at all, but that was super easy to do. Watch out! I'm addicted!
**The perfectionist in me wants to point out that a (retrospective) 12 month post is coming soon!

Lately

There's a lovely gentle pattern to our days lately. The kind that I dreamed about in the first few months. And as a result the last two months have felt playful and fun.

Saskia has been having two big sleeps a day (most days, certainly not every day) so we plan lunchtime outings. Perfect for the onset of crisp mornings and sunny Autumn days.

We picnic with our two favourite ladies in the Sculpture garden, take walks around the suburb and plot all the parks in our memory for future adventures (who knew there were so many in a 1km radius?), stroll down to the local shops for a coffee and a peek in the oppie, take a little look at art, grocery shop with the seniors during the week (you are a real hit), and head over to JanMa's and Grandfather's for a slip down the slide. I'm not sure who has more fun, Little One, you or I?

We've been looking forward to this weekend as K will be by our sides. Lately he's been busy dealing with sadness, and the work that comes with packing up a lifetime of memories and things. This weekend we are spending our outings as a family of 3. And the sun is playing along.

Today we are going back to a new coffee shop in a nearby suburb, with a shiny red coffee machine and fresh flowers on the tables. Tomorrow I am beyond excited about meeting Norma. Tell me she isn't the most darling thing you've seen?

*Latest children's exhibition at the NGA. Worth hunting down the tucked-away space to see the blingin' Liberace installation and the Miro prints (my picks).

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?

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