13 months

Life at thirteen months is walking on knees, smacking forehead on edges, spooning dirt from the garden, batting away food from the bench when tired (or just annoying!), another round of conjunctivitis. We're listening to coughs that come and go, Milla saying 'that!' all the time, which seems to need to reply of whatever she's pointing at. We're wondering what the post-bottle routine will be like, only days away. Perhaps less of the surrender monkey and some howling as she's put down? Meanwhile my mother's group discuss overnight feeds so we're grateful.

Climbed 'into' the BBQ.

Goodbye to Tolmie this weekend past. Strange days. Rearranging furniture here and getting some things from memory lane.

Last photo of me/us at Tolmie.

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A while since I posted a photo photo. But feel so pleased with this. Auto setting and manual focus, oh well.

It's digging and eating dirt season. I uncovered a paved area, lurking beneath the soil in the back corner. A reason for the failed acacia. So that keeps me occupied while Milla mixes up a mud tea.

Dirt crumbs. 

Signed up for 12 months at new yoga place. And half marathon training needs to start now. Eleven weeks out. Excited.

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This kid. Drinking from her tiny class cup. Eating meals all by herself. Getting tired and touching the bin to get my attention. Hugging me intensely. With her quiet peaky face in the Ergo after childcare. With a wet fringe in the winter rain, no hat. Sounding like she's saying 'duck' as we read 'I Went Walking'.

Wild child shredding herbs. 

No new rhythm yet, Charlie away for work this week so solo working parent. Picking Milla up from care is great and horrid all at once. Dropping her off is just horrid. Going for a long run and shopping in my 'free time' is lovely.

Less anxious these days about her naps. Still giving that final tiny breastfeed in the mornings. She crawls outside and shreds my basil and feeds herself dirt.  

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Turns out it's week 22 and therefor I'm somewhat behind. I was making up the week numbers as I went so it's not really a surprise.

Eating dirt.

Week 22 is the week the leads us to Milla being 11 months. She's sleeping a lot, talking a lot, got shiny hair that is growing fast. She's still really good at hugs. While we waited for Charlie yesterday evening, she helped me weed the driveway and in a few minutes learn the word 'moon', not to say, but could identify when asked where it was.

Week 22 was childcare orientation. Yesterday five hours. I steadied myself. Milla ate, played, napped, ate and played. She is one of the more roly-poly kids there. And boisterous, but generally quiet.

Week 22 is my last week of leave, last week of this mad, wonderful year. I love my career but I also feel like my heart and soul are going to be bruised with the upcoming change.

Day 5 sick baby

We (I ) overheated Milla and didn't quite clue on to the reason for her unsettled night until yesterday morning. Poor lil sausage was baking. I'm not used to sleeping in a place with such effective heating!

Was anxious to rehydrate Milla in the morning and she had a good breakfast, but when we had to wake her from her morning nap so we could head to Mt Beauty for lunch, she was lackluster. Refused lunch and gave us a sooky face for 90 minutes. Refused to use her cup, which she usually attacks with gusto.

Getting in the car to head back to Falls, she vomited. First time in her little life. Definitely out of sorts. We spent the afternoon trying not to worry and giving her cuddles. A relief when she ate dinner, had bottle, boob and went to bed. Her snot woke her and us a few times but upon rising we have less worry and more pep. Milla was pointing at the currawongs and eating porridge, good signs of life. 

Monitoring birdlife.

Wheels up tomorrow as we begin the delayed trek north. It's been great at Falls and from Day One I wanted to make an Anzac stay here an annual event.

View towards dam wall from aqueduct on my run.

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A little discipline. A little dedication. I'm going to do a portrait a week of Milla. Not off to a great start as Week One slipped by already. The photo for this week was not taken with the nice camera, doh, but the stupid phone.

A friend's family beach house, a day and night and adwenture without Charlie. Milla's first dip in the ocean. 

Hot baby taking a bucket bath in the shade at Somers. 

Linking up with the 52 Project. 

Crying and Crawling

Hard night. Milla took two short naps during the day, one in the stroller. And then at bedtime, howled when I put her down. Howled. Hysterically. Panting and screeching with out-of-control upset. We had agreed she wouldn't get a boob. We consulted Baby Love and read about... 'controlled crying' and the method of returning to Milla with reassurance and then leaving again. I got up three times. I sat her up and she took big gulps of cold water from her sip cup. She was wet with sweat from the exertion of crying. Ninety minutes. We all fell asleep. Slept in.

Clean baby, after her bath. 

Started a new routine based on the changes to her feeding and sleeping. Dropping one boob feed. No sleep ins. More water, more solids. So the idea is to start each day around 6am with a quiet feed in her room, returning Milla to bed immediately. Then a solid grown up breakfast at 10am. A lunch of real food and boob at 1pm, and her usual dinner extravaganza at 5pm with boob, solids and a half formula bottle. She tried yoghurt today for the first time - first dairy food.

A few of my favourite things.

While I was out riding yesterday, Charlie witnessed the first crawling forward motion! Eep!

Girls

Morning walk in the yard, girls in pyjamas. Milla now grabs at the trees, I tell her about the nectarines and apricots she'll be eating this summer.

Any resemblance? 

Had an exciting day on Tuesday, when Milla was inadvertently offered honey... Not recommended for babies due to bacteria and risk of botulism. Eep! She's had no symptoms of anything untoward and has eaten just fine since, phew. Just for some more excitement, that evening we had her four-month immunisations, which we walked to in the evening sunshine as a family. She howled for a few terrible seconds, then was soothed by a cuddle and after a few hours forgot about her chubby thighs being pricked.

Her high chair arrived in the post but it was hilarious to put her in it, she's too small, or too short perhaps. So she'll eat on our laps, methinks.

Belated Bedroom

During my pregnancy, I was asked endlessly how the nursery was coming along. Today we started.

It involved putting Milla to sleep on our bed, then quietly moving half a room of junk/gear to the Ballroom. A quick vacuum, hang the bunting and mobile, place the crib, move the bookshelf, arrange select books and toys. The room is still half full of gear/junk but Milla has had her first sleep in her very own bedroom.

She's a winter baby, and seems to be a little unsettled by the heat. She's been getting around in a nappy and heat rash and this afternoon we draped a wet flannel over her round tummy. 

Happy to have Charlie home from work on Friday. 

We're still feeding the same routine (6:30, 10:30, 2:30, 5:30, 8:30) but this week I need to get organised to feed her solids. She's reaching for spoons, holding the side of cups and licking her lips when we eat. 

Honeysuckle and Murrumbidgee

Charlie got his climb, and Milla and I were witness, as we joined him on the 2k approach. We took the Mountain Buggy on the track, Milla howling as it was her feed time. Charlie and I trotted, then ran, looking for the boulder.

Afterwards, to camp. We were the only ones at Honeysuckle, apart from the herds of roos and wallabies. It became clear that we pitched at a popular eating spot, and during the early hours we heard aggressive barking all around our tent.

Dinner was gnocchi with sauce prepared at Mt Vic, we ate in shifts as I double fed Milla,  feeling tired and hoping for an early night. A gamble, as feeding early likely means rising early.

Bundled into her bassinet, Milla went to sleep as I spotted a long tailed shooting star. We crept to bed at 8:30 perhaps. It was very cold, lovely to be snuggled down. Milla woke us at 2:52 and I got up and fed and changed her in Sooty. Happily, she went back to sleep and then it was a chorus of barks and birdsong that got us up a couple of hours later.

After breakfast, I had a short ride, and Charlie packed. On to Jindabyne. A short cut became a dead end as a huge river crossing appeared foolish. Exciting times as Charlie took a dip and I looked on. Along the way we considered our next move. Would we still try for Kosciusko? Where would we camp our final night? We stopped again by the Murrumbidgee River and I fed Milla, I reckon this is where she got her first sunburn. Guilty mum.