Bringing up baby: Highlights 15-22 Sept

Tilly mows the lawn (c) ^_^ 2013

Last week Atilla helped to mow the lawn. He was so proud of himself. 

Tilly vacuums the house (c) ^_^ 2013

This week Atilla helped to vacuum the house. It was a heartwarming sight. 

Bringing up baby: Hamilton Gardens, with child

We had a brilliant day, and mostly everybody stayed happy.

Highlights:

• Getting out of the house on time,
• Tilly staying awake the whole 1.5hr it took us to arrive there, A very nice weather day, Seeing lots of interesting things with Tilly, Tilly's interest.

Tilly's highlights:

• "Dragon Turtle".

I dressed Tilly in his going-out gear, complete with his much-despised vest (it covers up the dog picture on his t-shirt), which he acquiesced to nicely enough, with the promise he could take it off once we arrived at Hamilton Gardens.

Mummy and Daddy took longer to get ready, what with me wanting to pack a snack-box for three people, just in case we got hungry before the designated lunch break.

We eventually got out, and I'd brought what I though was necessary, including our sun hats.

Onwards on the motorway we travelled. I thought I had to keep Tilly I interested in the journey,so we pointed out the highlights when we thought he could see them from his car seat.

"Look, Tilly! Cows!"

"Black cows!"

"Brown cows."

"Cows."

"cows"

"cows"

"Hawk!"

"cows"

"cows"

"cows"

"cows"

"Sheep!"

"cows"

Not bothering to mention any more cows, as even he had stopped being excited.

We did see some swans in a field, and a couple of horses, however we whizzed by so fast Tilly probably couldn't see them unless he'd been looking out for them.

"Waikato River!"

***

The kauri rickets I the car park has grown taller, which is a good thing.

Koala bear (new addition to Tilly's menagerie since Aunty returned from Australia) was his companion of choice, despite our objections. It was supposed to be a nice family day, so we acquiesced to his decision despite my misgivings.

Dad and son strolled around Turtle Lake, I visited the latrine. It has gone upmarket since we last visited. For the better. There's even a Dyson hand-dryer, Mark II. [Aside: a couple of drawbacks - too noisy, scaring babies and small kids; bigger small kids can't reach in to dry their hands.]

I caught up with the family, and Tilly informed me they had been watching "fantail". We continued the stroll, and saw another fantail and some other bird.

Tilly wanted to hunt for the flighty fantail. We dissuaded him, saying the fantail would find us after it had gotten it's lunch.

I went to the Information Centre and got yet another map. Realising that we no longer had the luxury of faffing about with map reading, I asked the nice lady to circle our places of interest:

• Italian garden,
• Indian garden
• Sustainable garden,
• Playground.

Buoyed, we set forth.

***

Tilly was suitably impressed by the wolf and two babies statue (Romulus and Remus, and adoptive mum).

He was less sanguine about departing widely from his stroller. A real hullabaloo.

We departed the Italian garden, parental units chastened and wiser.

***

Indian garden was a big hit, and Tilly got out to play with the small fountain burbling by the river.

He loosened up enough to play with mum and dad.

He even played with pushing his stroller.

***

English garden was apparently interesting to Tilly, although there wasn't much as the lawn was herbicided and fungicided.

***

Japanese garden was all right. Tilly liked it enough to want to explore the Shinto rock garden of contemplation.

***

Chinese garden was good. Twelve large orange goldfishes, dad pushing the stroller uphill up the shallow steps. The Dragon Turtle. Tilly was very impressed. I was too slow to take a photo of his first encounter. Sigh. On the other side of the path, Tilly pointed out "butterfly". As we left the area, mum and dad saw the butterfly.

***

Back to the entrance/exit area. Tilly toddled off into the English garden again, pursued by Daddy.

I savoured a yoghurt coated rice cake. I was famished, and ready for a spot of lunch.

***

Onwards we trouped. We saw the Kitchen garden, and the crop garden. I never can recognise oats. It looks like grass.

***

To the Sustainable Garden.

It was fascinating enough, with it's chicken coop and chickens. I saw a free range mouse.

The garden was cramped and narrow, and when I tried to remove the stroller to a more open area, Tilly became insecure.

Parental unit not wise enough.

***

We diverted to the Tudor garden, with its dragons, unicorn, and gryphon.

***

Gotta be lunchtime. Had lunch.

Tilly enjoyed himself quite a lot, climbing over Daddy.

We ended the session with Tilly sitting contentedly in his stroller, watching Turtle Lake, chatting to me. It was so nice.

***

We found Daddy, and Daddy found the playground. Daddy and Tilly played while I sat in the sunshine and watched their leisure pleasure.

***

Husband drove us home. What a hero.

***

On Sunday, preparing to go out, Tilly (after he had distributed the sun hats) said, "Dragon Turtle?"

Bringing up baby: 1 June 2013 - Drawing: Spider web

spider web draft i (c) Atilla 2013

spider web draft ii (c) Atilla 2013

spider web draft iii (c) Atilla 2013

spider web final (c) Atilla 2013

Atilla was busy using ColorPadFree app on the ipad  and I was worried he might erase his work again. So I saved draft I and II and III, and he saved the final version, saying "Finished". This kid is smarter than I give him credit for. And a quick learner. 

Bringing up baby: Atilla's picture 26 May 2013

(c) Atilla 2013

This is Atilla's first drawing using ColorPadFree app on the ipad.

Bringing up baby: Dual wielding Atilla at Two.

Dual wielding Atilla v2 (c) ^_^ 2013

1) On Saturday, Atilla was positively playful. He delayed his bath-time with Daddy through the excuse of helping Mummy with sweeping up the dining room and kitchen floors. Sure, as parental units, we like to encourage volunteers with household chores. We give verbal instructions, such as,
"You need a big broom, and the brush. You don't need two big brooms."
"Even Mister Miyagi couldn't use two brooms at the same time."

We discover new things.
"Well, Tilly just proved me wrong. He can use two brooms at the same time." And he did. He really did. Each broom head swept up the bits on the floor.

Then Daddy came in, and Tilly pursued Daddy's feet with two brooms.
"I'm two!" Tilly says proudly.

2) Atilla is becoming incredibly verbose. His language is practiced every day. It's so cute. I love hearing it. What he says is grammatically correct, and can be contextually wrong. He says, "I'm two!" frequently throughout the day. He is two years old.

What he means is, "I have two [of the same items]". 

3) Tilly can count to two. Proven.
3.1) We're wondering if he can start his count from 1. His counting system often starts, "Two, Four, Six" or "Two Four Five".
3.2) I'm wondering if he quite understands counting. I've been the audience as he counts his 4 stuffed animal bed companions, "Two Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten".

Note: Dual-wielding Atilla at One.

Flashback: pregnancy, new mum

Flashback.

I remember what I hated about being pregnant. Unable to eat properly. Hunger. Thirst. Unable to find a satisfactory beverage. Peeing. Constipation. No sushi. No rare beef. No sashimi. No hummus. No cold-cut sandwiches. No fresh salad from cafe. No cold chicken drum to gnaw on. No Caesar salad. No runny poached eggs. Chorfing pills. Needles. Scans.

I remember what I hated about being a new mum. Sleep deprivation. Resentment with my sleeping husband. Feeling sorry for myself as I stood over the sink, leaking milk for an hour. Unable to eat properly, as my baby wants my attention just when I want to eat. Unable to meet my high expectations of going for a walk with my baby.

Counterpoint.

I remember what I liked about being pregnant. Eating delicious food, like chicken don. Eating adult servings of food, like a full-sized Burger Fuel Bio Fuel burger. Eating crisps for lunch supplement, and not feeling the guilt. I like the feeling of a baby in me, kicking against my hand.

I remember what I liked about being a new mum. Watching my baby asleep, the expressions chasing across an innocent face. Holding my newborn close. Mostly, I love the joy my child has given me as he grows and shows the wonders of his world to me.

Bringing up baby: 3 December 2012

Highlights:

Day at daycare with Tilly,

Tilly's Celebration party.

***
Tilly was born in the lull period between Christmas Day and New Year. We begin to face the implications for his life-long tribulations.

1. It may be difficult to have people come to his birthday party. Potential guests would have made long-term holiday plans not involving coming to his party. For instance, this year his overseas cousins and aunty and uncle are not coming. His daycare is closed and his friends will not be available.

Partial solution: have a party for him and his friends before daycare closes for the year and before all his friends leave. That means a party on 3 December 2012.

I got permission from daycare, and agreement from Daddee. Aunty joined in and provided assistance on the day.

We had 5 foil helium balloons - stars, and farmyard theme. We had homemade cake, and fruit jelly.

We had fun.

***
I'm still Tilly's possession. I can't play with any other kid without his permission. He got quite unhappy. 

Bringing up baby: 1 December 2012

I should have remembered the first rule of Parenting.

1) Expect to have your plans upstaged.

Our plan for today: be relaxed; receive delivery of new dishwasher; I go to work for two or four hours; I come back and play with Tilly for the afternoon.

Upstaged.

What happened today: woke up early, relaxed and watched Tilly asleep. Relaxed, and looked after Tilly until 0820.

0820: Tilly inserted a pomegranate seed up his left nostril.

0825: Dadee came to our rescue and calmed things down a bit.

0830: we received the new dishwasher.

0855: Dadee tried the Remove Pomegranate Seed technique he learned from the Internet - close other nostril, and blow hard into kid's mouth until object comes out of nostril.

0855-0915: Tilly fights us off.

0915-0930: Dadee and me battle to get Tilly into the car and carseat.

0940: we get to local A&E.

0940-1000: Tilly is calm and discovering new territory. "Digger!"

1000-1020: Tilly fights off forcep-wielding doctor.

1040-1150: Tilly is calm and re-discovering new territory of Starship Children's hospital out-clinic A&E section.

1150-1220: Tilly and Mummee finds the kid's play area previously mentioned by receptionist 30mins ago, and plays there happily.

1220-1225: 3 medical staff wrap Tilly up firmly in a sheet and distract him, while Daddee closes Tiily's right nostril, and blows hard into his mouth until pomegranate seed pops out and hits Daddee on the cheek and bounces onto the floor; Mummee claps delightedly and cheers for Tilly and Daddee, praising both indiscriminately.

1230-1240: try to pay to get out of car park.

1245: got out of car park.

1250: arrive at work.

1300: start work.

1820: finish work.

1824: play with Tilly as he discovers the beauty of my work place and shows them to me.

Tilly had great fun with the shallow steps which led zig-zag up the slope. He invited me to pretend-jump (like he does with his friends at daycare). I did. We laughed with pleasure. We walked, handholding. We ran, handholding.

He is so much fun.

Tonight after his bath we had a lot of fun too. He and I hid beneath a pile of pillows.

Daddee is very tired from his exertions today. He's my hero.

Life: 5 November 2012

Litany, continued.

Good: lovely morning time at day care with Atilla.

Good: appointment with dentist.

Bad: almost crashed into another car while backing out; almost crashed into truck while going back to work.

Good: finishing work 'early', and hardly any traffic on road.

Good: Watching Atilla interacting with other kids.

Bad: a kid bit Atilla's arm. Twice. Hard enough to leave bruises. :-(

Good: watching Atilla play in Big Kid's playground with new arrangement - there is a rope bridge! He braved it.

Good/Bad: Atilla handed me a booger to look after.

Good: I threw it away.

Good: Atilla settling easily to sit in his car seat.

Bad: almost falling asleep several times while driving home.

Good: didn't fall asleep driving home.

Good: dancing with Atilla at home.

Good: helping Atilla poop into toilet.

Good: early supper made by Dadee.

Good: awake enough to help clear away some of dinner mess.

Good: 40 min nap after dinner.

Good: helping Atilla get dressed after bath. While naked, he snuggled himself between two pillows.He 'lost' his Sea Horse and Capt Bob, and 'found' them again. Several times. He climbed off the bed. He clambered back onto the bed. He has become quite good at throwing Capt Bob.

Good: watching fireworks with Atilla and Dadee. Atilla was nervous and scared at first. However after 10 minutes he settled into a lovely excited shrieks: "fireworks!" "boom!"

Good: Dadee helping Atilla brush teeth.

Good: helping Atilla go to sleep.

Good: writing this up.

6 July 2012: this is the way he eats his spaghetti

He carefully ignores the pasts lovingly snipped into toddler-sized pieces.

He reaches for my plate, picking through the spaghetti strands. Too long. Too short. Ah, just right.

Agog with success, he merrily whirls it around, chanting his mantra, "Dada Dada Dada..." (Dada cooked dinner) until he is satisfied with his results. He stuffs the strand into his mouth.

He reaches for my plate, for a repeat.

***

This sound real cute, and it was too to see in action.

I haven't counted the sauce splatters yet.

Flashback: PND moment

Feeling so tired. Too tired to plan a meal. Too tired to brush teeth. Too tired to floss teeth. No time to bathe.

Easier to neither eat nor bathe.

Pain radiating from wrist. Joints still to recover from pregnancy. Still to recover fully from episiostomy. Painful to pick up baby. Cannot leave baby to cry. Cannot pick up baby. Cannot soothe baby.

Always doing laundry - sorting, washing, hanging, bringing them in, sorting, putting away.

Demanding baby.

No time to make food to eat nor make warm drink to drink. No time to eat nor drink.

Feed baby. Burp baby. Clean up after baby reflux.

When to sleep? Need clean house for baby. Want clean house for me.

Hate bathrooms smelling of urine. Cannot bend down to clean spray/splash back.

Husband whines when I ask him to clean my way - spray the damn area and wipe with cloth. He gets out the mop from downstairs and mops the whole floor. Nice, thorough. But you have to clean the floor each time it gets dirty - either urine or milk splash. He whines and grumbles. I don't ask him anymore. I ignore dirty bathroom as often as I can until I can't stand the stain on my life, and I spray, bend down and wipe. My crotch hurts. My waist hurts.

I didn't know being a new mother was like this.

Thanks goodness I have a loving husband, a great sister, a supportive father and mother and mother-in-law.

Bringing Up Baby: Changing Habits

It's not been easy. I have finally convinced Atilla to change his habit of requiring a tit to suck on to go to sleep.

It is approximately 3 weeks, I suppose, since I started on my one person crusade. Certainly, with no help from him.

As always, it begins with ungentle persuasion. Suck suck suck, pause, suck suck suck, pause, suck suck, pause pause. (He's becoming very sleeeeepy... I break the suction hold - to great prolonged protest, as Dad can attest from the next room.

I murmur quietly to Atilla, "It's cuddle-time, sweetie. It's cuddle-time."

And firmly remove the fixture from his mouth, out of his desperate questing scrabble, murmuring all the while, "It's cuddle-time," and stroking his back, holding him close, putting into practice Cuddle-Time.

We do this each time I am the one to put him to bedtime, or nap. For twenty days.

Last night was the same routine.

"It's cuddle-time, sweetie, it's cuddle-time."

"Wahhh," he sleepily whines. Then is too tired to continue this train of thought, and drops off to Noddyland.

***

Just now, the same routine from my side. Slight change in reaction from his.

"Sweetie, it's cuddle-time."

Cue desperate last minute sucking from him. Then he quietly releases, and settles down for a cuddle. I cuddle him close.

Wow. We - he and I - have a breakthrough.

***

Atilla did wake me at 3.50am GMT. Yawn. We walked around the block, said hello good morning to some early denizens, of whom only two returned our greetings. Atilla really enjoyed the walk, though mostly he was carried.

I am so glad he's taking a nap now.

Raising Baby: Weaning I

So. We started with bought baby rice cereal a month ago. I experimented with home-made carrot last week, including the freezing option. Baby poop turned orange for a spell; I believe I'll refrain from carrots for a fortnight. This week: homemade apple puree.

My ability to cook basic Western dishes is shockingly ill-informed. I had to find instruction to learn how to stew fruit.

I found a book, and diligently chopped apple until I became careless with a sharp knife. (I much prefer large bladed honed Chinese cleavers.)

Mater obligingly helped with chopping fruit, and pushing stewed apple through a sieve to make puree. Truly I am blessed to have such a obliging loved one.

Some of the puree was frozen in ice cube trays. Two teaspoonfuls were reserved to be used within 24 hours. The remainder of the stewed fruit was put into a loaf tin, awaiting crumble topping (made a few days previous, then frozen).

Tonight this wee family had our first meal together: mom & pop had dessert, babe had cereal-apple feed. And it was a good success.

I really enjoy fruit crumble - one of the best dishes ever. And when it is prepped in easy stages, quite a good standby to have in the freezer.

first family picnic - from handheld [edited by keyboard]

I had a really great time with our picnic. Queen's Birthday weekend, so MK has Monday holiday. We took this opportunity to snatch a picnic lunch at the local park/reserve.

Dad, baby and I made our preparations and we set off, armed and shouldered with food, tea, umbrella and camera. It was a loverly sunny day - atypical winter weather. It was truly more akin to late spring. Young Sir didn't really need any blankets at all.

It was a quiet walk with hardly any traffic around. Birds sang, fooled into thinking it was mating and fighting season. The dew from the grass steamed into the air.

We found a decent picnic spot, and lunched. I'm very pleased with the lunch: I enjoy planning things to eat, even if I'm not very good at this.

A few photos were taken; we showed the various species of birds (sparrow, pigeon, pukeko, ducks, gull) to baby.

Baby showed signs of fussiness.

We wandered home, with the burden of food lightened.