Cork's Xanga

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:33:05 GMT

These make me laugh!

Hmmm....what's this?

Ooohhh, tasty!

Oh yeah!!!

Me? I'm not doing anything Mum.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:02:02 GMT

Just because.....

Monday, June 09, 2008

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:51:53 GMT

Swinging at Gabe and Julie's house

Nathan is 4 months old tomorrow....already! Julie weighed him on her bathroom scales on Sunday and he came in at 6.8 kg fully clothed and holding his taggy blanket, so I guess he's around 6.5 kg. He is an absolute delight, although there are always moments...usually late at night...when I might think differently for just that moment. He is quite strong in his back, neck and legs now so that he sits well in the Bumbo and even sat well for a gentle swing on the weekend. He is so very interested in everything that goes on around him, just as you can see the concentration in his face in the photo below. Old MacDonald is a regular at bath time, which is great except I'm sure that Nathan will grow up thinking that sheep are blue with bright pink faces. lol.

Old MacDonald had a farm, E I E I O. And on his farm had had a pig, sheep, chicken, horse, cow and duck. E I E I O.

Nathan is quite happy to play by himself for lengthening periods of time. We set up a corner of the flat for his play mat and toys, and we got a baby gym so that he could play with toys hanging above instead of always having toys beside him. It takes a lot of effort and concentration to grasp the catterpillar hanging from the baby gym, but dissapointingly (as far as Nathan is concerned) it just won't go in his mouth! The baby gym itself has become a toy...he lifts it and pushes it around. Nathan also wriggles and rolls around on his rug.

Nathan is very vocal when he plays with one toy in particular. We call it his 'squishy' since it has elastic and you can pull or squash it however you like and it goes back to it's original shape in an instant. Every end of the toy has to go in Nathan's mouth. The only thing I worry about is that when one end is in his mouth, some of the other ends are very close to his eyes, and often hits his eyes with the toy. Still, he talks and talks to it, for the entire time he plays with it. I can't work out if he's grumpy with the toy or not! Andrew says he's having philosophical discussions with his Squishy.

Playing with 'Squishy'

Nathan is still not a great sleeper during the day. I've spent many hours walking while he slept in the Ergo carrier, or sitting on the couch holding him. So many people shake their heads and tell me I should just put him in his cot and shut the door and let him cry to sleep, but both Andrew and I think that's an awful thing to do....it is essentially deliberately upsetting him and then not going to sooth him. Personally, I would hate to be so upset that I cried myself to sleep and had noone to give me a hug to make me feel better. So, in an attempt to find a way to get Nathan to sleep without being held and without leaving him to cry, we bought him a hammock. It's not the total solution to these sleep issues, but I think it's fantastic. When Nathan is tired I pop him in the hammock and bounce it (really hard) for 10 - 15 minutes and he's alseep. I do need to keep it bouncing for quite a while, so I can't leave the hammock for really long periods of time, but it gives me a sort of freedom to do things other than hold the baby. The Ergo carrier is still the best way to get Nathan to sleep....when I go shopping he puts himself to sleep when he needs to with no effort from me (except I have to carry him), and he sleeps best there, but the hammock is certainly working well. Nathan still has about a 30 minute sleep cycle and he often wakes and won't go back to sleep after 30 minutes, and he also has violent 'starts' that will often wake him as well. I hope he grows out of them soon, as I find them very frustrating.

Nathan asleep in his hammock

So all in all we are just loving parenthood, and Nathan gets more fun to be around every day. And even though I was never planning to co-sleep with Nathan, I love that I can feed him without getting out of bed (sometimes, doesn't always work) and I simply adore Nathan's smiles when he wakes in the morning and we spend 5 minutes (with Daddy as well) smiling and chatting before getting up for breakfast.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:06:50 GMT

An exciting thing happened on the weekend…I was in the car with Andrew and Nathan, and I travelled in the front passenger seat. That hasn’t happened since Easter!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:54:10 GMT

Nanda and Nathan at just a week or so old

I had a dental appointment yesterday, some 2 weeks after I first felt some pain in one of my teeth. The pain wasn't constant, it's just been on and off. We couldn't find where it was coming from....I couldn't feel any pain when he dug and delved and blew cold air on my teeth, so it's a bit of a mystery at the moment. I ended up just having a general check up and getting my teeth cleaned.

Nathan spent the 45 minutes I was at the dentist with Nanda...when I walked out of her office with just my hand bag I felt free, like I had my old life back and I could go wherever I liked when I wanted. However, by the time I'd walked to the dentist I was missing Nathan!!! He, on the other hand, didn't miss me!!

Goodbye grandma

Sun, 04 May 2008 05:45:56 GMT

Grandma passed away thisafternoon. I just thought I'd post some recent memories....

Christmas 2004

90th birthday cake, 2007

The whole family for grandma's 90th birthday celebration, 2007

Balloon flight, 2007

Our wedding, 2007

March 2008

April 2008

Still alive

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:40:39 GMT

Nathan sitting in his Bumbo seat

Nathan and I are doing really well, though I'm getting more and more tired as the weeks go by. Nathan just will not sleep in his cot, and I can only get him asleep in the bassinet after his 3 am feed. Otherwise he sleeps in my arms, in the baby carrier, or in bed with me. Andrew and I never intended to co-sleep with Nathan, but it is the only way we can get any sleep. I have tried everything I can think of, or has been suggested to me (with the exception of controlled crying, which I don't want to do) and nothing works. I'm just hoping that things will improve as Nathan gets older, after all he's not quite 3 months old yet. All this means I have very little time to sit down to the computer to write anything.

My grandmother is also very sick, so after our trip down south to show Nathan off to the family, Nathan and I went back to see my grandmother again for what is most likely the last time. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I've had to do.

Meeting the family

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:19:42 GMT

I just like this photo taken today by my friend Stephanie. We are currently in Melbourne, introducing Nathan to his great grandmothers and other friends and family. There seems to be so little time these days to get online...I'll be back when we return to Sydney.

Life as a parent

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:01:16 GMT

Nathan's first book reading, at 3 days old

I know we've only been parents for just a couple of weeks, but it's been wonderful, rewarding, tiring, frustrating and painfull at various times. Mostly it has been wonderful, but a screaming baby can make you think differently, particularly if it's 2 am in the morning or it's when you're going somewhere in the car and you can't pull over so you just have to listen to the pityful crying/screaming. Nathan is actually quite a good sleeper at night, and we've only really had a couple of bad nights, but that's enough! We are starting to get into a kind of rhythm now, of feeding, sleeping and playing....it's not exactly a routine, but I think we're getting to understand Nathan's needs a little better.

Breastfeeding is certainly a lot harder than I thought it would be. I went to see a lactation consultant today because I wasn't sure if Nathan was feeding properly (we've had a few problems) and he hasn't put on much (if any) weight since leaving hospital 2 weeks ago. It was a positive and reassuring meeting, and helped me to feel a bit more confident about what I'm doing.

Thursdays is also the day that there is a group meeting at the hospital for parents with babies up to 4 months of age. This was my second meeting, and I am enjoying them...meeting other new parents and being able to discuss anything that might be bothering us in a comfortable place with a friendly atmosphere is simply awesome. They also have a lot of people come to give talks on certain subjects which is great. So far these meetings on Thursdays are the hightlight of my week.

Introducing....

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:42:40 GMT

Nathan Alexander. He arrived at 5:43 am on Monday morning in a big hurry! I was only at the hospital for 27 minutes before he was born.

Statistics: Weight 4.47 kg (9 pounds 14 ounces)....yes, a big lump of a boy! He was 56 cm long and had a head circumference of 36.5 cm.

Andrew and I are both over the moon with our son.