Pink and blue

It's funny how hung up many people are on the 'boys wear blue, girls wear pink' tradition. I happen to think my baby looks cute in all shades of blue [she looks equally good in green]. Of course, we don't really care what people think, but it makes them uncomfortable when I don't have any markers to help them guess Zoe's gender. So I've bought a pink dummy, to help things along. Now I need to try to use it more than the blue one!

Smiles!

Zoe has been smiling reflexively for a few weeks now, curling the outside of her lips up. As of yesterday, we've noticed these have changed to full, open mouthed grins, and her whole face appears lit with joy. Let's call this her first smile!

First bottle

Zoe's had her first bottle [of expressed milk] last night - delivered by a very happy Daddy. I was slightly disappointed that she didn't even fight it a little bit; was hoping for some sign that Mummy's boobs are better. Yes, that's very selfish of me, and I'm sure I won't feel the same way in a couple of months. The breastfeeding Nazis warn that babies can get 'nipple confusion' when fed this way, and I'm not convinced that she took to the next feed at the boob with as much gusto, but geez, you should have seen the size of the smile on Dad's face.

Also made some progress on the night time sleep [or wakelfulness] problem. Am back to swaddling bubba with her arms across her chest, rather than leaving them free to flap around. As a result we had one short 2am feed and then Zoe settled back to sleep quite quickly in the bassinet, rather than our bed as has been the pattern for the last week. Hopefully, we'll repeat the performance tonight!

Hungry girl

We've been on a two hour feeding schedule for the last 24 hrs. Very intense. At least I hope its hunger and not boredom :-(

Is Easter Sunday today. The Easter bunny has bought chocolates for all the family, although I think it is okay for DH to eat Zoe's egg. Have been bunkering down in the house for the last few days, so am looking forward to a visit to Zoe's cousins at Brunswick, if only for a few hours and a change of scene. Harry will come along too.

Goodbye Uncle Wally

Apologies for the increasing infrequency of these posts. There are a few reasons, the first being, unsurprisingly, time to sit down, and the second is having something of wider interest to post. Everyday is like ground hog day for me, so pulling something 'novel' from that can sometimes be difficult. So this week's news? Zoe has again gained 300g in weight, which puts her at 4kg. I've attached a photo, taken early last week, but it gives an idea of how quickly she is growing. The angle makes her long legs look chubbier than they are, although I do suspect she will be a classically round baby by the time she is 6 months.

Bubba is looking less than attractive at the moment, her face being covered in 'milk spots' or milia, which is a hormonal reaction. Hope this isn't a portent of how her skin will be in her teenage years! Yes, she's still a good girl.

On a sad note, the funeral for Zoe's Great Uncle Wally was held on Monday. I was upset that we couldn't travel to Sydney for the funeral, although did consider it for a short period of time, despite the obvious impracticalities. Zoe's Pa and Aunty Sally and Aunty Melissa went and 'represented' us instead. Wally and his wife Betty were one of the loveliest couples I know - gentle and generous and kind and joyous. Uncle Wally gave a brilliant eulogy at my Mum's funeral in 2002, and was very supportive of her [and us] during her illness, so it is a bitter irony that he, too, succumbed to cancer not so long after. Zoe's life will be less rich for not having met her GUW, but I hope that he saw the photo of her that I sent down a week before his passing.

Health checks

Have just read my last post and unfortunately, have to report that bubba's night time sleep patterns are again sporadic and unpredictable - if waking every two hours for less for an hour and a half counts. So I've wiped that smug 'my baby is so very good' smile off my face.

Our health checks this week went well. Our little poppet put on 350g last week, which is too much again, but the nurse was a little less disapproving when I told her how I had been following her breastfeeding advice to the letter. What could she say? And I now couldn't care less what she thinks. Although, her warnings about my diet and its effects on baby's disposition have worried me enough to cut out nuts, seeds and pulses and to cut down on the amount of fruit I eat. A shame really, given that these are the basis of any good vegetarian diet, and I have really been enjoying my fruit since Zoe was born.

We also had an outing to Lismore yesterday for the hearing test. That went well, which I expected, given that Zoe seems to be responding to voices. She also seems to be focusing in on objects a little more intently, particularly the ducks on her automatic rocker. Such a clever girl!

Sleepy head

We had a couple of restless, sleepless nights over the weekend, which left me worried that I'd 'done something' to change bubba's sleep patterns. But no, we were back to normal last night, sleeping from 830pm to 1230am and again from 130am to 5am. Apparently 5 hours is the longest a new bub should go without a feed, so midnight saw me pacing around 'willing' Zoe to wake up.

Has been sleeping for several hours again this morning. Time now for another feed, nappy and clothes change though. Then we'll walk the dog and go to the baby clinic. I feel the same way about the clinic as I would sitting an exam - not sure what to expect but hoping that I'm properly prepared. Am only hoping to pass today!