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Lovely, Alice! It was so good to see the three of you on Friday night. I'm
very privileged to be Auntie Aviva!
Watching Luna lift her face towards Jonathan for a kiss was such a delight.
Apart from the obvious bond it has already created, it's strengthening her neck,
belly and back muscles -- what a bonus!
Bear in mind that when a baby sucks from a bottle, the action is different,
the flow is different, and a lot of babies have trouble shifting from breast to
bottle and back to breast. I think you're doing the right thing by being with
her all the time. She'll only be on your milk exclusively for a few months --
after that you'll be able to tootle off for a few hours. Sometimes you just have
to give in to the fact that you are parents.
Babies need parents, simple as that, and it's gratifying to see people
who realise it!
Rosie was also very taken with Luna (and her parents), and can hardly wait
to see you again.
Keep up the good work and keep on looking after yourself too.
Love and hugs,
Aviva
PS am sending this to the ozmid list too. Hi,
Little Luna is 3 weeks old today. It is amazing to see
her developing so fast. She is very alert and really looks around already,
her eyes focus much more clearly now. And she is getting much stronger,
she kicks and wriggles so much at nappy change time. She also gurgles and
grins and you can just see she is so happy. Sometimes she looks at me and
then shifts her eyes away to the side as if to say "Mum you are so embarassing"
like she is sometimes little miss serious and I'm a silly sing-song
woman.
Jonathan and her are bonding so well. He holds her up
and kisses her and she gets so happy. We really feel like she is wise
beyond her years, she really has a knowing look in her eyes, and sometimes has
a hilarious grumpy look when she wants something, especially when she has a
wet or dirty nappy!
We have adjusted really well to having her in our lives
now. The main adjustment is having to revolve around her time schedule as
far as feeding is concerned. Since I'm breastfeeding it requires me to be
available to her all the time, I haven't expressed my breastmilk for someone
else to bottlefeed her and I don't really want to yet, so this means no one can
babysit her yet, not that i would want to be separated from her. We have
settled into some sort of feeding pattern so if i feed her i know it
gives me a few hours till she needs to be fed again. This gives me
the freedom to get out and about with her so i can do a few things. I do
always need to take her baby bag with me though, heaven forbid she needed a
nappy change and i wasn't prepared! We are using cloth nappies of course -
could not justify all the landfill of disposables - and I have now completely
mastered the art of getting the nappies done every morning ready for the day
ahead. It has been really hot last week, 37 - 39 degrees for most of the
week, but we have coped really well. We have an airconditioner at home
which we really use only when essential for Luna, like those hot afternoons, but
luckily the place cools down overnight with all the windows open.
We are making sure she fits into our lifestyle though.
Instead of tiptoeing around we just go about life as usual so she sleeps through
anything. We have music on, i bang around the place doing things, there
would be nothing worse than having to keep the place quiet, and unrealistic in
the long run. Also with her sleeping she is really versatile. Like
she sleeps in all different places - in the sling, in my arms, in her bassinet,
in our bed, in the car seat.....this keeps her flexible for the long term which
is what we need in a child!
Another thing i've noticed is the only times she is really
unsettled, which has only really been twice, is when i am totally drained and
exhausted with no energy. hmmm.....not just a coincidence i'm sure.
Just shows that it is really important to look after yourself in order to look
after your baby, they are so responsive to their parents. Luckily this
means she is generally really relaxed and happy, and those odd times when she
does cry for a while it is getting much easier for me to tell what's wrong and
settle her down. It's all a learning experience but at the same time a
very instinctive process.
Alice xxx
PS - We still haven't decided on her middle
name. Maybe i'll just call her Mini-Me!
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