Baby yoga

One of the nicest things my mums group does is yoga. We all shuffle along to Land of Yoga and restore our serenity, thanks Toby. Gemma is pretty interested in all this and the mum who took this photo assures me that she had the movements all down.

(Things are a little bit more complicated now as she has discovered crawling - as of two days ago! She now wants to go find other babies in the room, claw at their eyes and nibble on their plump little hands. So Mum has to have one eye on her inner chakras and the other on the crawling, chewing child)

Long time between drinks

Ok, yes, it has been too long since my last post. Who would have thought that one day a week of work could make me so busy. Yes, as of about four or five weeks ago I started back at work one day a week. Which is great! I am lucky in that I work with a great bunch of people and it is good to catch up with everyone again. It is not without it's downside however; as I am only working one day a week I am still breastfeeding and therefore express a couple of times on the day I am at work. At least they have a room set up for this sort of thing, but I still find it pretty darn unpleasant. Oh well, not too much longer.

On my day at work her dad looks after her. Which was a bit stressfull the first day, there was laughter there were tears (but only for a second I am assured), but I think they are both getting used to it now. Rico is enjoying time with his little girl (especially last Tuesday when apparently there was a lot of happy squealing) and she gets to hang with her daddy.

We love solids!

Food, glorious food. In no time at all it will be pizza and popcorn in front of the tv, but for now she is joining most of the world's population in enjoying rice. Rice cereal with breast milk, seems to be her breakfast of choice/ only choice. She has also discovered the delights of mushy pumpkin, carrots, and cauliflower. Yum!

Mum was a lot happier too as Gemma started sleeping longer after a period of waking up more frequently in the night - a sign perhaps that she was ready for a bit more than just the boob. So after solids her last feed has gone to around 7.30, giving mum a relaxing evening and early to bed. However, last night we were back to the old 10.30 feed. Darn it.

Fathers' day

We had plans of walks in the pram, visits to creperies and lots of other fun activities, basking in the warm glow of happy family life, like a hallmark card come to life. But all that went down the proverbial loo when our little one got her first cold! It all started with a sniff, then a sob then a sniff sniff sniff, sob sob sob, and it was all downhill from there. I must say though that the girl was a little trooper. Even through her snotty nose and red runny eyes she could still muster a smile. And really she could have been a lot more sooky than she actually was. So after a frantic, "what do we do?", tilting the bed, sucking out her snot and a run to the chemist for a humidifier, we settled in to wait it out. We are still waiting...

Gemma's first look

Gemma: "Wow, I'm ridiculously good-looking, perhaps I could do that for a career...be professionally good-looking". I better practice my best look, I like to call it Blue Steel. Ha Ha, just kidding!

Happy as a persimmon in poo

People that know me know that I happen to have an affection for fruit trees, the more I can manage to cram in, the happier I am. This can sometimes cause problems between Rico "I just want some space to hit the cricket ball" and myself. But sometimes our wishes can coincide. See, Rico loves eating persimmons and I love planting persimmons, so yay, compromise time. So on the afore-posted trip, I loaded up the back of the car with some quality, aged cow poo (bloody cheap at 2 bucks a bag!) and was able to get away with causing a somwhat ripe smell in the car for a few days, because "it was all for the persimmon!". (Oh, all those other bags, well I need some for the other trees, my tomatoes, my roses....but mainly for the persimmon)

Anyway, we had a fun time planting the new (non-astringent) persimmon with little Gemma. So hopefully when she's big enough to pick 'em, the tree will be big enough to produce 'em. (Got to get her on my side - fruit trees are ace! - early).

more visits

This time instead of letting the world come and worship at the (very cute) feet of Gemma, we went out to the world. Well Wangaratta anyway. Mum bravely bundled up the little one, put every toy she might possibly need, enough clothes for a month and a truckload of nappies in the car and went to visit Rico's mum (without Rico!). After a bit of "what is this strange place?", Gemma slept ok(ish) and had lots of fun playing with her cousins Luke and Samuel. Mum also had her first haircut since before baby, ciao split ends!

Visits are fun

The last few months have been one long cup of tea. People visit you, well the baby really, but I love it. It is somewhat like a pilgrimage that you seem programmed to make, to celebrate with and welcome this new little person into this crazy world. In the words of Seinfeld "you gotta see the baby". Gemma is lucky that she is surrounded by such a great bunch of family and friends. Including her Uncle Paul and her great-aunt Ursula.

We have motion

Yes, Gemma is starting to work out that moving is good, it can get you closer to toys and other fun things to munch on. She has indeed worked out how to flip herself from laying on her back to laying on her front. Soon I expect her to be tearing up and down the house with her new-found rolling skills (future candidate for Australian of the year perhaps?) Except that, slight problem, she can't flip herself back yet. Oh well, there goes stardom. The first time really was very cute, she was laying with mum and dad on a rug and rock, rock, rock, over! Then she promptly burst into tears as she gave herself a bit of a fright.

"Hmmm, now I just gotta work out how to go the other way "

And for my next trick...

For my first trick I will grab my foot and bring it to my mouth, ta da! Wait there's more, I will also, drumroll...., hold my head off the mat, da da daa!

I will also just look pretty darn cute (not too much effort required for that one really).

Weekend with the family

Unfortunately my folks are still in northern climes, but we got to spend a lovely weekend with Rico's family. Aunties, uncle, nonna and cousins all gathered to celebrate the twins turning six. Hordes of screaming children made me look forward to, and fear, the time when it will be our little girl's turn. It was a little bit scary for her at first, with all the people and the noise, but by the end of the night, after most people had gone, she was laughing, literally, she laughed her probably first spontaneous laugh, when she was surrounded by her aunties and her nonna. Mum was happy and relaxed, we had raided the niece's birthday presents and were watching Enchanted (love that movie) so perhaps Gemma sensed the joy and calm in the air. The next day was another big one with a visit to the Pompeii exhibit at the museum. No wonder she is tuckered out today.

Well what else is going on? She is starting to have more control over her body. When she is laying on her mat and grabbing her favourite sheep with her left hand (it has a bell in it) she can now turn her body so she can grab it with her right hand as well, "all the better to eat you with", she mumbles (I'm sure) as she guides it to her mouth. Also she is now sitting somewhat forward, when you hold her with her head in your hand, feet towards you, she will curl up her body, so as to be more upright, "all the better to eat you with", she mumbles as she shoves your fingers in her mouth.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day - my first mothers' group class. Owing to the failures of the Melbourne postal system I was not informed of the start, so tomorrow will be the third session, oh well hopefully I haven't missed vital information that will affect her for the rest of her life.

All you need is love..

Not sure if she is a huge fan of the Beatles or just approves of the sentiment involved, but she loves this song. It definitely can't be because of mum's delightfully off-key rendition. Grandma, click on the video below to see her gorgeous smile.

Give me a kiss

Our latest thing is kisses. She is not quite sure what they are yet, but she is learning that it is something you do when you are happy, it involves the mouth and it's more fun when you join in. So when you zoom in to her face to lay a big wet one on her cheek she will open her mouth and move her head towards your mouth. See some of the attached pictures for a demonstration of the mouth position involved. Of course her aim isn't always very accurate... Noses sometimes get in the way.

On Saturday night we went to friends' place for their annual Christmas in July. Gemma enjoyed looking at turkey, even if she couldn't eat it. Mum enjoyed the eating, not just the looking. On Sunday we went for a drive to Ruffy in the Strathbogies. We would eventually like to get a piece of land in the country, and somewhere convenient to both Melbourne and family in the country would be great, just a dream for now, but it was a nice drive, with a yummy lunch at the Ruffy Produce Store.

harder than I thought

No, not motherhood, well that too, but keeping up with the blog. I must admit I got a bit slack when my ma said that they wouldn't be able to see anything new until they get to Queensland. Well they're now in Queensland, oops. But will try to publish weekly from now on, as I'm sure I'm going to forget something doing one big post like this (not to mention not being able to fit all the new pictures in).

I see it has been about a month since I last wrote and that is a pretty long time in a new baby's life.

Highlights: Lots of smiles. She is very free with her smiles. I get lots of them - no laughing yet but I think she is pretty close. When she sees someone new you can see her put her thinking face on "who is this person", then she gives a little half-smile "they seem nice" and then it is smile, smile, smile, "very nice to meet you!". New update: I think we had our first laugh last night. I was doing a 'growly' face to her then smiling, and I'm sure I got a hahaha, hasn't been repeated yet though so still not sure.

She is sleeping pretty well (she has just been downgraded from a very well as she has just woken up when she is meant to be asleep - will get back to you later). It has been a busy couple of days, we think she might be going through a three month growth spurt. So far she is still sleeping at night though, at least for a few hours.

The feeding is getting better and she is putting on a lot of weight. At our visit to the maternal health nurse about two weeks ago she was about 5.5 kilos, nearly 2 kilos above her birth weight! That placed her in the 50th percentile for weight and at 62 cm she is in the 75th percentile for height.

She loves to chat and is really happy when you talk back to her, especially if you repeat her noises. Her new favourite noise which she is really proud of is a drawn out kkkkkk with a bit of phlegm involved.

The lowlights haven't been too many. She doesn't do a lot of crying, the least fun thing we have done has been to take her to get her immunisations, she was ok just after but then later on came the screaming, but after some baby panadol she seemed happier.

I suppose it has been a big month of learning about the world around her and the people in it. Like I said, I will try to update more often so her little milestones are recorded. But I best get this at least up so Nan and Pop will have a few new photos to look at.

Gemma: "Happy Mothers Day mum. I got you something I think you'll really like; two nights in a row of around seven hours between feeds! And I'll tell you what, just 'cause I'm feeling generous I'll throw in a sleep in the pram whilst you go out for lunch."

Lyn:"Thanks Gemma, just what I always wanted."

Yep it was that time of year, Mothers Day combined with Auntie Anna and Maria's birthdays (11th and 12th) and also cousin Samuel's birthday (12th). Yes it is a presssie giving, cake eating frenzy of a weekend. So we went up to Wang for another night at Nonna's house, where the aforementioned miracle of the long sleep took place. Then after a somewhat interupted ride home - there was a cow on the road between Wang and Benalla - she went straight to sleep for another long sleep after her feed. Hmmm, I know it can't last, but the fact that it actually happened at all gives me hope for the future.

OK, back to reality today when she shot poo at me in the middle of a change and did her first big sick-up on my shoulder - I kinda feel like a real mother now. Anyway, we have made it to the milestone six week mark (which everyone says is the worst) and have come out the other end with our sanity intact. There were some scary times, but more good ones as we are getting to know this little girl of ours.

By the way did I mention that she is smiling quite a bit now - pretty magical when this little creature turns to you and flashes those toothless gums.

Nothing can prepare you...

They say that nothing can prepare you for that first night at home with your new baby, so you're prepared to be unprepared - but really you're still massively unprepared. Firstly babies make a lot of noises that aren't necessarily crying, I didn't know that. She did make noises in the hospital, but at home you're flying without a safety net so each little gurgle seemed louder and more ominous. So in the first 24 hours we did a lot of hovering. However, once we realised it was silly of us both to be awake all the time, we started to tag-team better. I would do the feed and then try to settle her. Eric would then take over if she was still unsettled and look after her until the next feed if necessary whilst I got some sleep.

The first month has flown by. Rico is now back at work. After initial problems she is feeding better and putting on weight (over 4kgs as of last Friday and growing out of some of her 0000 clothes). She is also sleeping better at night after an initial period of thinking that was what daylight hours were for. Of course I am expecting this to change at any time - I have been warned.

It has been the start of the 'firsts' year. A lot of things she will be experiencing for the first time. First stroll (carry) around the garden, first walk, first trip to Benalla and Wangaratta (where we had 'one of the first' baths - too cute not to include), first smiles. I think I mentioned in a previous post about how she is a bit of a show-off, well at our last maternal health checkup/weigh-in she smiled at the nurse! She doesn't even smile at me much, but she was just batting her little baby-blues and cooing at the nurse, hmmm.

Well, I can't believe she is over a month old already, time flies. I will try and keep this updated at least once a week to let you know what's been happening.

Gemma's first, my second, hospital stay

Yep the last time I stayed overnight in a hospital I was Gemma's age. So whilst I was relishing the thought of being able to, and indeed encouraged, to lie around in my pyjamas all day, I was a bit unsure about what goes on in those big white buildings. I found out lots of nice people work inside them.

Is it a ploy to make you want to leave quicker or just economics? Unfortunately the parents room was unavailable (Rico would have been able to stay with me in our own room), so we got the normal room. At least I only had to share with one other person, but still with the snoring, crying and visits, not to mention Gemma's little noises, it combined to give me maybe 6hrs total sleep over the whole stay in hospital.

Good things: visitors - we received visits from some very proud grandparents and a proud uncle. Not to mention visits from other family and friends (thanks for the grapes and choccies P&A!). The nurses were also great and very supportive, (taking Gemma for a couple of hours so I could get a bit of sleep was fantastic). Gemma also started her 'showing off'. "Oh she was perfect - didn't cry a bit", said the nurses. "She doesn't cry at all ", said dad (who wasn't there for the night-time sobbing!). "What a good girl", said all the doctors and nurses who had to prod, measure and inject her over the two days. Hmmm, I was beginning to see a pattern...

Bad things: breast-feeding - I was warned that this is a learned skill and not necessarily something that comes naturally, but, um, ouch!! Let's just say not a a natural. Confidence not helped by more than one nurse commenting, "Ooh, you've got fair skin - it's going to hurt". Huh, I've got to put up with bloody sunburn and now this.

Big plug for the Mercy Womens Hospital though, everyone was fantastic, there was a lot of support and they follow up with two home visits within about five days of leaving the hospital. These really helped a lot as there are a lot of questions, once you get the little ones home.

what a difference a day makes...

Everywhere you look there are babies, it seems like everyone is having or has had one. It is a pretty ordinary common thing to do apparently. However, each child is this extraordinary, miraculous, amazing little creature (especially your own of course). This is the story of Gemma Zita Bettio's life on this blue-green planet of ours.

She is now two and a half weeks old, but firstly, how did she arrive? Well pretty easily relatively speaking. Yep, no horror stories for the campfires of mothers group. Wont be able to top anyone with stories of five days of labour (as the girl in the bed next to me experienced). For the gory details, my waters broke at about 1pm on Saturday as I was planting garlic bulbs (as you do on a fine autumn day). After a call to Rico and a call to the hospital and another call to Rico, and a frantic drive home from work from Rico (he was finishing up a few things) we went into the hospital to get checked out.

However, the little girl was still holding on as hard as she could, quite happily, and not in a rush to go anywhere. "Go home, go out for dinner, it will be your last night out for a while", were the ominous words of the nurse. So after being booked in to be induced the following morning at 6.30(!) we went and got pizza with Val, Sarah and Max (see last photo of me pregnant). During dinner I got a couple of back pains, but didn't think much of it as you tend to get random aches and pains whilst pregnant. I started to get more suspicious later that night when these cramps started coming every eight minutes. They weren't too painful though, and I certainly wasn't screaming and cursing Rico, which is what the movies have told me I should be doing. When they were around five minutes apart we rang the hospital, "call us when they're around three minutes apart and more intense". Ok. At about 1am they were about 3 minutes apart and "bugger this", I thought I'm going in.

So we made the (not so) mad dash to the hospital. Upon arrival we were ushered into a birthing suite, given a couple of panadol and a mild sleeping pill and told to try and gather our strength for the marathon ahead. I don't think I slept, but I was able to relax between 'contractions'. The back pains started to hurt a bit more but were managable. Though when the nurse started talking about this being only the first stage and muttering cheerful things like 20hours more of labour, I did ask at what stage do we have the chat about the epidural. Was not to be however, as Gemma decided that enough was enough, time to face the world and started to let go. The pushing part was actually easier than the part where I wasn't allowed to push because my body wasn't ready yet.

The facts, Gemma Zita Bettio was born on the 29th of March at 6.33am, does not explain the sheer rush of emotion I felt when this little person was placed on my chest, I don't think any words could. Welcome to the world Gemma.

Welcome

What's a girl to do whilst waiting for the baby to make an appearance. In this day and age, instead of lounging around on the couch with a box of choccies - well maybe later, it seems like the thing to do is set up one of those new-fangled electronic diary things, aka a blog. It's hard to believe that it has already been 9 months, and that soon we will have our little girl with us.

This diary was also created with the purpose of keeping grandparents (Nan and Pa, Grandpa and Grandma, still haven't decided on the moniker yet - of course the boy's mum will be Nonna) up to date with the first few months of their first grandchild. See there seems to come a time in every retiree's life when they start to feel the urge to migrate with the seasons. For my folks it involves taking a boat up to the Daly River in the NT and fishing for barramundi, then slowly working their way back down one of the coasts until the Victorian temperatures are once more to their liking.

So hopefully this will be a good way for me to chart our little girl's progress. Am very excited, aprehensive, and just plain curious about what the coming months are going to bring.