baby Posts

20Jul
0

She Ate What???!!!

The other day, I rescued this tiny little gecko that had been running around our floor.  It couldn’t have been more than a few days hatched, and because of the cold weather, it was rather slow on its feet.  The tail was also have missing.

With the little critter safely up off the floor, I put him in our study, thinking it would be a great place for it to grow and hide.  Yeah, the perfect place, as the girls can’t get in here at all, thanks to the old play pen that has been transformed into a fence of some sort.

The next morning, I got up (being school holidays, I got the sleep in) to be told that Les had some bad news for me.  Uh oh, the look on his face was rather perplexing to say the least.

I was expecting him to say the birds were dead or had flown the coop, but not so.  Maybe it was the fish? Nup. (more…)

Posted by arna in Family Values and tagged with , , , ,
27Feb
2

Not So Sweet And Innocent Now

You spend 9 months getting to know your baby before they are born as well as watching the changes happening to your body.  Then there is the labour and birth, if you are lucky it is quick and drama free.  After bringing your little darling into the world, you begin the real work of learning how to keep them happy and what parenting is really like.

You watch as your baby grows.  The firsts are now being logged: first smile, first word, first tooth etc.  You ‘oohhh’ and ‘ahhh’ at the antics of your adorable, dribbling child and congratulate yourself on bringing such an angel into the world.  Does this sound right to you?

Several months pass, usually filled with feeds, dirty nappies and ear splitting screams from an inconsolable infant.  Your baby is on the move and learning more and more about the world around them.  They start shoving everything in sight into their mouths and grabbing at anything that takes their fancy, often with disregard for how it affects the object or person.

Now comes the fun part- that sweet and innocent, sweet smelling baby learning how to really push the boundaries.  It might start as an innocent game of them slapping your chest or arm, just to see what sound it makes.  From there, it progresses to scratching your face, grabbing jewellery and generally proving that they are no angel after all. (more…)

Posted by arna in Family Values and tagged with , , , , , , , ,
17Feb
0

A Personal Victory

You would think after having 4 babies, I would have gotten this right, but apparently not.  Now with #5, it seems that I have finally managed to have huge success, for which I am so thankful for as it has made life so much easier.

I’m talking about something that many mothers have problems with and often agonise about- as I have done too.  It is breastfeeding of course, something that every mother should at least try.

With every baby of mine, I have breastfeed for as long as possible.  My 1st lasted about 1 month before I sneezed while feeding her, and that was the end of that :(  #2, well, we got to about 3 months before we decided it wasn’t working any more and that it would be better for all of us to go for formula- many tears shed on my part of course.  #3 made it to about 4 months before decding that it was much more fun to watch her older sisters than have a feed, so again to the bottle to save my sanity and breasts (I am not made of rubber you know).  #4, well, we can blame #5 for the downfall there- we got to 4 months and had to go to 50/50 feeding because I was still stressed and bubs wasn’t getting enough- 1 month later I found out I was pregnant again, and that was the end of that (fussy moo didn’t like the taste anymore).

This time round, there have been no problems.  6 months on and we are doing tremendously well.  My supply is fantastic and I am really enjoying the breastfeeding.  Being forced to put my feet up for a while is the best thing about it.

As we are doing so well, I want to keep going for as long as possible, even if that means bubs is off to school before we give up- ok, maybe not that long, but at least for another 18 months.

For the first time since our 1st went on to bottles, we are bottle free!  No washing, steralizing, preparing heating or wastage!  Yes, I have my sore days, but who cares?  That is easily fixed and it is worth it!

There is no stress about feeding this time round and I don’t get (as) cranky about having to stop what I am doing to feed- it is such a pleasure to spend time with bubs and be forced into taking a break.

So it might not seem like much, but to me it is a huge personal victory to finally be able to exclusively breastfeed for more than a few months.  Only problem is, I am mourning the fact that I failed to be able to breastfeed all my babies like this, but they are happy, healthy and telling me they love me just the same- they are still my little babies too.

Please note:  I firmly believe all mothers should try breastfeeding before reaching for formula.  It really is the best for mum, as she gets to take a break.  I understand it isn’t possible for everyone or it isn’t successful, but it should at least be tried- it is something only a  mother can do for her baby.  Even expressing and using a bottle is fine, though that is still bringing in the washing etc aspect of feeding- a super pain in the bum if you ask me.

Posted by arna in All About ME, Family Values and tagged with , , , , ,