The days are starting to speed up, and my little girl is almost a year old - I am SO not ready for this!
We're still commando crawling, but not much else - but that's ok. She's a happy kid, who is beautiful and funny and smart, and will NOT be walking on her first birthday. I hate that I've spent several of the past months comparing her to other babies, and I hate that deep down I still feel sad that she's behind in those respects; milestones can kiss my arse. Instead, I'm focusing on her growing up and enjoying what she can do.
The more I look at her photographs or watch her playing independently, the more I see a little girl, not a baby. It's bittersweet; I miss the baby stage so much, but I love this new stage too. Listening to her talk to herself, to us, to the cats, it's hilarious. She waves to anyone who says hi/bye to her, and is fascinated with books - turning the pages, blabbing away and feeling the textures in those touchy/feely novels. She's adorable.
I've been lucky that hubby has been working from home. It's let me have this running time without having to worry that Georgia is asleep, or awake, or cranky - he usually feeds her breakfast & lets her have playtime on the floor. I never would have thought I'd choose exercise as my 'me-time' activity of choice, but I'll take it!
How have you been making time for yourself so far this year?
This cheeky, dramatic little girl is 11 months old & is the funniest thing. This past month has been full of surprises.
- Cracked the 9kg mark! :) She's sitting happily at the 65th percentile now.
- Cut three more teeth - #5, #6 and #7! Two more on the bottom & one on the top. And it looks like #8 isn't too far from cutting, either. Can't believe my little girl will have EIGHT teeth soon.
- CRAWLED! Yep, we have commando-crawling aka the-walking-dead-dragging in the house. Huzzah, baby!
- Started weight bearing on her legs - we put her up, she stands! Stands! Finally! :) Still working on getting her to pull herself up on to things by herself, though we apparently don't have enough furniture in our lounge room.
- Been a little bit whingy; probably a combination of new milestones and lots of new teeth. Poor tired girl.
- Kept right on waving HI and BYE, as well as making kissy noises to people. It is adorable, seriously.
- Had her hair in a topknot most days - it's just too messy to eat without it! After her birthday, I think we'll go have her first haircut; problem is, it's all long at the front, but spiky fluff at the back.
- Yelled. All. The. Time. Is this a phase? Holy moly, our ears are constantly ringing. It's awfully loud around meal times.
- Become BFF's with both cats - they have formed such a lovely bond, it gives me the warm fuzzies to see them together. Even Evie, the most timid of kitties, will happily plonk down next to Georgia & let her play.
- Been learning a few new things; how to say 'TA' after being handed things {still hit & miss, but she's made the sound a few times} and how to clap her hands together, as well as give high fives.
- Slept really well - hopefully this continues. She currently sleeps from 8-7am, give or a take a few minutes. She also has two naps a day - though these can range from 30 minutes to an hour an a half.
- Become a fusspot while breastfeeding. Still on four feeds a day, though nursing sessions are super short now.
- Got her daddy wrapped completely around her little finger. Ah shucks, her mama too. This kid is full of personality, is stubborn, independent, snuggly & chatty. I can't wait to see how her personality will evolve.
If you remember my previous post, Spencer was due to visit a new grooming salon after a less than positive experience. Well, he did it! :) Spencer had his first grooming experience that was POSITIVE - with J's help, of course. He was frightened, poor pup, but he managed to be bathed, combed & clipped; even had his paws and toenails tidied.
The baby - she is on a roll!
But not really, because - she didn't roll much today - SHE CRAWLED.
{Be prepared for some mama cheering in the background, I was JUST a tad excited.}
Jut when you start panicking that your kid STILL refuses to crawl, pull up, or stand, she goes and does this.
Who knows? Georgia might just bang out one or two more milestones before her first birthday after all! :)
I've had IVF on the brain lately.
What with Georgia's 1st birthday looming, a few friends who are expecting young babies, becoming an aunty for the first time {to a little niece who lives overseas in the UK} as well as the well-meaning question of 'When will you be going for #2?' that we've been getting already, it's not hard to see why.
But why IVF?
If you're new to these parts, or visited post-Georgia, you might not know our backstory; me with PCOS, anovulatory cycles, clomid-resistant; hubby with several male factor issues. For us, our odds were to gamble with IUI or IVF/ICSI. Due to finances, we decided to go ahead with IVF - and thankfully we did, as I never did respond well, even with injectable medications. First round got 5 eggs, with only 1 transferable. Second round got 3 eggs, one of those being Georgia {and 2 frozen embryos in storage}.
Everyone seems to have a story about their best friend's sister's cousin who used IVF for their first baby but then fell naturally the next time. Or their aunty's next-door-neighbour who was told she couldn't have kids but then boom, surprise baby! I know, I know, those stories are lovely - but they just aren't practical, and they certainly don't seem to be the case for us.
It would be nice to be able to plan for when we have another baby. It would be nice if that decision didn't revolve around the timing & finances involved in planning another IVF cycle - albeit a frozen embryo transfer first, if we're lucky & they thaw well. But alas, we're not one of those people who get so lucky - I'm 10.5 months post-partum, no period in sight, back to anovulatory cycles by all of my tracking & charting - so things don't look like they're happening anytime soon.
So why IVF? That girl right there is why. Without it, I'm confident that we'd still be child-less right now. I'm a huge supporter in science, and so thankful we are able to plan ahead for it financially. Infertility is something I wouldn't wish on anyone; I just wish that it was more readily available for those who need it.
No word on when we'll get started again, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. :)
Poor puppy. He's such a sweet boy, but he is so easily frightened. I rang around a few other places today after this morning's disappointment, and have found a lovely lady who we're going to try next week - she's happy for us to stay with him during the wash, and will start slow - even just a bath if he gets too nervous. She's dealt with scared dogs before, and is happy to try and give him a pleasant experience. We'll see how that goes. I hope she can tidy up some of his fur (and give him a good stripping, right down to the undercoat) because he LOVES lying in his wading pool in summer & gets a lot of matted fur. I've already had to cut some out, which I hate doing to his lovely coat; but the mats get so big, so fast. Hopefully by next Tuesday, he'll be a new pup.
Miss Georgia is currently snoozing, so I thought I might update about life in general. Things are good - great, even. I feel so lucky to be able to say that. The baby is sleeping better, even if she's still avoiding naps like the plague. I'm still doing my Couch 2 5K three times a week, and feel like I'm doing well there. I lost about 3kg in January; nothing to write home about, but a step in the right direction. I've cooked a fair bit & am experimenting with new foods.
Hubby & I have been taking some time out with just us and it's been positive. It's so easy to get lost and focused on all things baby, and it's taken a while to realise that we were starting to get stuck in a rut. His current job project has allowed him to work from home, so we're being really spoiled by that. He's able to look after Georgia while I run about and get things done, which is great for both of us - he gets to see her learning new things, and I get a tiny bit more independence. Her bedtime routine is pretty consistent now, and she's asleep by 8pm - so we get the evening to spend together. Sounds silly, but we spent months being so tired that we'd have dinner, play on the internet {me downstairs; him upstairs} and realise that we'd crashed into bed at the end of the night and barely seen each other of a night time. I'm happy to say this has changed for the better. Board games, for the win!
All in all, I'd say we're in a great spot right now. And this little girl makes life so much more fun. She's a sweetheart.
2. I will move - in some way - at least three times per week.
3. I will cook as much as I can, and experiment with new recipes as well as the old faithfuls.
4. I will organise more date nights with hubby so that we can have some baby-free time.
5. I will take more baths after the baby is in bed.
6. I will read to Georgia often and loudly, and hopefully pass on my love of learning to her.
7. I will stop letting the bathroom get so dirty before cleaning it. {I hate cleaning my bathroom.}
8. I will try to curb my swearing. A little. Hey, I said TRY. :)
9. I will keep on blogging, and writing what comes into my mind.
10. I will plan a fabulous 1st birthday party for my girl, just close family & friends.
11. I will continue taking fifteen million photographs of Georgia and documenting her growing up.
12. I will stop comparing milestones between babies & focus on all the amazing things Georgia CAN do.
13. I will donate more baby things to charity.
14. I will always remember how lucky I am when spending time with my little family.
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