Development: 19 weeks

This series of photos were taken with much mirth and laughter. I wanted to take Abigail out for a walk but it was a little cold. So I sat Abigail down on the couch to put on a hat to cover her still rather bald head and booties on her feet. I thought of taking a picture of her but she kept sliding down the couch!

Everytime she slid down the couch, her hat came off. So in between me holding on to the camera, stopping her from sliding and pulling her hat down on her head... Abigail started laughing! It was so funny... Baby laughter is so adorable. It's such an innocent sound. Plain and simple joy bubbling forth. I couldn't help myself but laugh as well. After awhile I didn't know if I was laughing at her laughing or maybe just that the whole scenario of me going from her head, to her body to her shoulders just to get a shot was bordering on ridiculous.

Just as I managed to capture a couple of shots, Abigail regurgitated milk all over her bodysuit. You should have seen me scramble to get her burp cloth. So not funny anymore.

We got our act together in the end and had a nice 30 minute walk. All in a day's work of caring for baby right? Don't even get me started on projectile poo.

cheryl

Development: 18 weeks

Abigail is getting a lot more alert as the days go by. She now recognizes mom, tracks me very intently as I walk across the room and can get a little upset if I leave the room. A bit early for this no? I thought babies only get clingy to mom at a later age - nearer to 6 months. I hope this clingy-ness dissipates when she meets more people in December. This will stand her in good stead when she enrolls for daycare in January.

On a side note, I cannot believe its the end of November! I only have one month left with her.. I'm so gonna miss my baby in January! SOB!

cheryl

Development: 17weeks

I love this shot of my baby. Its not easy to capture a nice picture of a baby in natural lighting (i.e no flash) whose movements are constantly jerky and to whom you can't just say "Ok.. hold still and smile!"

Firstly I have to hold the camera steady in one hand. I have shaky hand syndrome (probably from too much chicken feet - the chinese believe that if you have to much of chicken feet, you get shaky hands) Taking pictures with no flash requires a very steady hand. So while I'm doing that with my right hand, my left hand is gesturing and poised ready to catch baby if she falls forward or slides to the side. At the same time, I'm saying " Peekaboo!" in efforts to elicit a smile from baby. Every split second I take my eyes off the screen of the camera and tilt my face to make sure baby can see me and I'm not blocked from her line of sight by the camera.

See? Lots of multitasking! And I have to make sure the picture is in frame! Balanced on all sides! Of course all this would be made easy if someone else could take the picture but I'm home alone with little bub most of the day so its up to me to get pics!

Alex doesn't like this shot because as he puts it " You cut off one hand and one leg..."

Ha.. and I thought I was the one in this family who was obssessed with details! I will get him to take a picture next time and see if his composition is any better than mine. Phhhphtt!

cheryl

Me, sweet tooth? No way!

I have never been a fan of sweet things. I never understood why chocolates are always associated with women. What's there to like about a bar of chocolate or a box of gourmet chocolates? I like savouries. Give me a pack of french fries any day over a bar of chocolate. However since falling pregnant, all that has changed for me. I haven't lost my taste for savouries but right up there now is also a penchant for sweet things. Oh yes, I now have double the propensity for overeating and gaining weight. Halp!

I initially thought the sweet tooth was only a phase during the pregnancy. Then when it continued after giving birth I thought it would eventually go away. 4 months on, I now know its here to stay. I love chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, biscuits, cookies, whipped cream, jam and yes, even the chocolate bar!

If you think I'm just overstating my cravings, allow me to list the amount of sweets I have had since coming home from the hospital. It is easy to list them because I don't do sweets in small amounts. AND I eat them all by myself.

6 chocolate mud cakes (whole cake-not a slice)
5 bread puddings with many scoops of ice cream (A whole casserole each time=8 servings)
6 fresh cream and jam donuts
1 fresh cream and jam cake (whole cake-I did this one in 1 sitting)
2 litres of Cadbury chocolate chip ice cream
1 litre of Bulla chocolate ice cream
1 litre of Sara Lee triple chocolate ice cream
1 litre of Sara Lee cappucino ice cream
5 McDonald chocolate sundaes
12 scones with heaps of fresh cream and a dollop of jam
3 packs of shortbread biscuits
2 packs of Oreo cookies
2 bags of M&Ms
1/2 pack of Arnotts assorted family biscuits
1 whole bar of Cadbury diary milk

Scary? That was all done in a period of 4 months. Yet with all that consumption, I have not put on an ounce. I have not lost an ounce either though :p Breastfeeding has somehow made all those calories disappear.

So I have made a resolution. I will stop all this sweet eating. I will go cold turkey. I will do this for baby's sake. I'm sure that by going cold turkey my tastebuds will revert to its old self and avoid sweets right? Right?

That was 3 days ago (My cold turkey efforts has not been easy-its been slow going and I have since given in to 2 McDonald's chocolate sundaes and some additional cups of sweet Milo)

Help! :)

cheryl

Development:16 weeks

We had friends visiting and staying with us this week. D and V came for a short visit and it was their first time meeting Abigail. The exposure was good for Abigail since the only people she sees are mommy, daddy, grandpa, grandma and the occasional stranger on Sunday mornings at church. I must say Abigail was pretty good with having D and V around except when mommy wasn't in visual range. :) This was when Alex and I realised that Abigail has developed mommy strings. She is only 3.5 months old and already she has developed a preference! We've got to get her out and in the hands of other people a little bit more.

Here are some pictures from their visit.

We had lunch at a micro brewery. I was a little concerned about taking a baby to a micro brewery. What would it look like, me a mother taking my little child into a place that primarily serves alcohol? (We went there for the food though, namely the pork belly) But all my worries were put to rest when we got there. There were 3 other babies in the premises! Obviously the mother's needed a little 'something something' to help them get through the day :)

Oh and D said she wasn't really good with babies but I beg to differ from the looks of this picture. D, you look just fine with baby! I think I can ship Abigail off to Melbourne for a short stay with you :)

We had dinner at a Spanish restaurant without baby. Abigail was in the care of grandparents for a couple of hours so we could get away. It was our first night out without Abigail. We had lovely seafood paella and beef ribs with a refreshing jug of sangria. The beef ribs were to die for... It was exceptionally succulent and 'fall off the bone' goodness.

After dinner we had a short and sweet nightcap at KokoBlack.

So anyone else keen to visit and stay with us? :)

cheryl

Development: 15 weeks

Little one started sticking her tongue out this week. It happened briefly on Tuesday and since then, she has been steadily going at it. Kinda cute.

cheryl

We've Got Daycare!

We received the best news today. Abigail has gotten a spot in day care! This is huge for us because (as any Aussie can tell you) it is SO difficult to get a spot in a day care centre. It is a known fact that you have to register your baby ASAP for day care if you would like to return to full time/part time work and have no one to care for baby. In fact, places are so limited that parents are advised to register their to-be baby for day care when planning to fall pregnant!

Alex and I registered for day care in January 2010. Since then we have been crossing our fingers and hoping that Abigail would get a spot. Early October was when the first offer letters were sent out and needless to say, we didn't get one. So we rung and were told that Abigail was 16 on the waiting list. 16! We didn't hold up much hope for getting a spot but were secretly thinking it would be nice if she did get offered a place. Alex rung on Monday to find out how things were going and was told we could come in and collect the necessary papers for registration! Woohoo! It happens that a couple who was offered a spot had not yet replied their consent and since silence equals a rejection, we were offered the spot. I AM SO HAPPY.

This day care will be close to where I work so I can drop in during my hour long lunch break to say hi. I really need that as an option. I have secretly been worried about missing Abigail when I return to work. I cannot believe I am already suffering from separation anxiety and we are not separated yet! Motherhood is really surprising me at every turn.

Oh and the next best thing is her meals will be taken care of by the kitchen at the day care centre so I don't have to worry about puree-ing food for her everyday.

I am so happy about the way things have turned out. Everything was up in limbo and dependent on if Abigail got day care. Now that she has, I can confirm my return to work (not that I really want to) and work on getting Abigail acquainted with the people and the place before she officially begins in January.

Praise the Lord!

cheryl