Noticing Rose

I realise that my last few posts have probably sounded a little grumpy. I wanted to mention a couple of things that mitigate that impression.

The first is that I’ve discovered that Rose loves having her face wiped. I usually wipe it after a breastfeed because milk has got all over her. At first I thought she was smiling at me because she was happy and contented after the feed. Then I realised that it was in part due her face being wiped. I started gently patting her face with a cloth at other times not connected to feeding and it produces the same reaction: huge beaming smiles. Maybe it’s the care that wiping signifies? Maybe she knows she’s being lovingly touched? Whatever it means, she’s looking right at me as she smiles.

The other happy moment happened this morning when she stroked my hand. It was during a feed, and I realised that her hand was sort of patting mine. She kept it up for at least five minutes, and it was definitely not accidental. She was definitely brushing hers against mine.

the wake-up calls continue

We’re getting really fed up with these 3.30am wake up calls, so we’re going to try something new tonight. We’re going to buy a heater today and we’re going to leave it on all night in our bedroom. The theory is that we make our little girl “heat drunk.” The idea came from my mother-in-law Anne. She observed that the heating was on high when we were in New Zealand – perhaps that’s what was keeping her asleep for so long? In Sydney it’s not too cool – about 19oC in our bedroom – so we don’t actually own a heater. But we’re going to give it a go! I’ll let you know whether it works.

We’re also hoping that Rose gets overstimulated by the evening’s entertainment. Raewyn is coming over to watch a rugby game (the Bledisloe Cup) and if the All Blacks win there’ll be excitement all around! Hopefully followed by tiredness, and not just on our part.

One step back???

Babies are frustrating. They don’t follow any laws, reason or logic that I can make out. You’d think that things would be linear, that there would be progression and development. But there isn’t always.

As you may have read, Rose slept like a champion in NZ. We were getting 9-hour and 9 1/2-hour sleeps at night. Since we’ve been back Rose has slipped back into old ways: a good 6 hour stretch between 9pm and 3 or 4ish, followed by two-hourly waking from then on. The thing is, this wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the 9-hour stretches were were having in NZ. You don’t realise how much you enjoy sleep until you have some, and then it gets taken away. I actually wish we hadn’t had the 9-hour stretches. Now I know exactly what I’m missing.

tantrums?

A few weeks ago I noticed that Rose had started to anticipate our feeding routines, and that she’d started to look greedy and excited whenever the feeding rituals started. In the last few days those expressions of excitement have really escalated, and I just realised that her behaviour might even be considered “tantrum-like”. Instead of simply smacking her lips, she’s started yelping impatiently when I sit down in the feeding chair. If I start searching around for the pillow, or taking more than a few seconds to undo my bra etc, she starts squealing and kicking her legs around violently. Because she’s so little and uncoordinated, I confess that these tantrums are utterly delightful. But we better watch out!

(In case you’re wondering why I’ve been able to do so much blogging today, it’s because Rose has been in a semi-coma all day. She’s been waking for feeds, but going right back to sleep. I think she’s resting after such an stimulating holiday. She’s certainly not unwell because she’s been smiling happily while she’s awake, and she has a good colour. The poor little thing has a “fun hangover”!)

Photos from NZ trip

I’ve capitalised on the fact that Rose is jetlagged and sleeping a few extra hours this morning by uploading some photos of our trip to NZ. Enjoy.

Back home

We arrived back safely last night, and it’s so nice to be back home in our little flat. The flight was a bit more eventful than the trip to NZ. Rose was quite unsettled towards the end, and her ears hurt a lot on descent. She gave this ear-splitting cry (our ears, not hers!) that I’ve only ever heard her give when she’s in pain or she’s scared. I tried to breastfeed her through it, but she kept pulling off to cry. I tried to ignore the dirty looks that the other passengers were giving us. What more could I do? All three of us were exhausted by the time that we touched down into Sydney.

There was a bit of a drama getting home from the airport. We called a taxi company (“Lime Taxis”) that has baby seats, and they logged our call but said that they couldn’t give us an idea of when the taxi would arrive. We were to wait outside near the taxi stand. We waited for 15 minutes in the cold, then saw a Lime taxi arrive. To our consternation, it joined the end of the general taxi queue. Chris went over and the guy didn’t know anything about our pickup job, and said he had to stay in line (he couldn’t jump the queue and take us). Chris called the company back; there was more shenanigans as the operator called the cab driver, then came back to say that we couldn’t use him and that she still couldn’t confirm when our taxi would arrive. By this point it had started to drizzle, so Chris canceled the lime taxi, and took all our bags (minus the stroller and nappy back) and jumped in a cab to go home, with the intention of getting in our car and driving back.

Rose and I wandered around the international terminal, Rose crying for a lot of it (she was a very tired girl!) but then falling asleep. Chris managed to get back to pick us up pronto (within 30 minutes of leaving us) and we were very excited to arrive back home.

Phew, it’s been an exhausting visit and we’re all very tired. I’m sure a few days of nesting will sort us out.

Cooks Beach

I’ve been going to Cooks Beach since I was a baby, and my Dad has been going there since 1946. It was so exciting to take Rose there this weekend, to walk with her along the beach, to look at the oyster catchers with her, and spend time hunkered down in our family “bach” (holiday cottage). I’d been worried about the wild winter weather we’ve been having lately, but I needn’t have been concerned. The bach was perfectly warm with a few heaters, and it was really wonderful that there were so few people around. On several walks there didn’t seem to be a single other soul on the beach.

Rose also seems to be continuing to develop at a great rate. Tonight as we were sitting around the living room she turned her head to watch each person as they talked. She’s also looking more mature: more like a little girl and less like a baby. Most of it is in her face and in her expressions. I’m constantly amazed at her looks of comprehension and understanding where before there was blankness and bewilderment.

Tomorrow we fly back to Sydney. I’m excited about getting home and getting back into our routines. But I’m sad for Rose – and us – that we’re leaving our family behind. I’ve loved watching her with Mum, Dad, Anne, John, Nana, and everyone else. Rose has lots of people who love and cherish her in New Zealand, and in Sydney it’s just me and Chris. Haera ra.

Parents unleashed

We had a real treat on Sunday: brunch by ourselves. Granny Anne babysat Rose by taking her for a long walk through the Domain in the stroller, while we went to this fabulous nearby cafe and had delicious food and coffee (scrambled eggs with blue cheese and spelt toast, in case you were wondering).

We felt a bit nervous watching Rose leave. One of us has been with her for every minute of her life. But it was also fantastic to be able to go out together, and both be eating at the same time, not worrying about Rose. Rose enjoyed her walk so much that she stayed asleep for the entirety.

The only other thing to note was how bundled up Rose was. It was a cold, windy day in Auckland (around 10oC, or 50oF), so we dressed Rose in a stretch and grow, with another padded jumpsuit over the top. In the stroller we put a thin merino wool blanket and two cotton blankets over her, then zipped up the padded sleeping bag attachment on the stroller. Do we sound like paranoid first time parents on their first trip to a cold climate?

Happy baby!

New Zealand agrees with Rose, and Rose agrees with New Zealand. Apart from charming almost everyone she meets here, we have also noticed some dramatic changes. Rose has been almost universally well-behaved. We’ve been putting her on a fairly gruelling schedule: sometimes she’s meeting new people morning, noon and night. But she’s been very well-tempered, letting lots of people hold her and cuddle her. Highlights include her falling asleep in Tim’s lap and his discovery that Rose enjoys having her forehead stroked, and Rose sitting contentedly in Nana’s lap for it seems like almost an hour, her lovingly looking at Rose, and Rose lovingly looking at her while grasping her hand.

She’s been smiling a lot more. She was smiling quite consistently before we left. But now her whole face erupts into huge glorious smiles, it’s quite breathtaking. She also has started throwing her head back as she smiles; it’s like a hearty chuckle, without the noise. Sometimes she pokes her tongue out as she smiles. There’s no missing it: she’s thoroughly enjoying herself.

The other big change is in her sleeping. She again slept last night for nine hours! Since we’ve been here she’s slept for at least seven hours over night. We almost don’t know what to do with ourselves.

I can only deduce that Rose loves all of this. Who knows what she’ll be like when we get back? Could there be trouble brewing for plain old mum and dad? I’m not worried. I’m so happy that she’s enjoying meeting the people who love her.

sleep milestone

Rose slept for 9 hours last night, yippee! We put her down at about 10.30, and she woke around 7.30am. We’re not sure what caused this turn of events, other than the fact that she had a very stimulating day visiting with my Mum, Aunt Gabrielle, Uncle Ian, Vanessa, Amy and Tim, and then on to see our friends David and Clare and their 6-month old Cole. Busy day=sleepy baby?