Naming Day

On Alice's 2nd month birthday we had a sort of welcome naming day for Alice. This is some of what was said by my brother in law who lead the ceremony. Please note all of it was written by me except the bold section which I got off google.

When J and B got married in 2005 they knew that they wanted children in the future. They spent the first 2 ½ years enjoying married life and strengthening their love for each other. Then came the time in 2008 were they felt it was time to start a family. Unfortunately this became a rough road in their lives. It not only was an emotional path for them but also a long one. However even through the toughest times J and B supported each other and this in turn strengthened their marriage. After 3 year had past J and B had started to find other goals to pursue and to their surprise on 28^th June 2011 they was surprised with the most wonderful news. Jill’s pregnancy went by without any trouble and on 21^st February, exactly 2 months ago today, J and B welcomed Alice **** ****** into this world.

Both family and their traditions are very important to both J and B.

Today Alice is partaking in a very special family tradition as she wears this gown. B was the first of 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren of his Nana B and Poppa T’s to wear this gown on their special ceremonies day, and B and J feel honored that Alice is able to wear it today. The bonnet Alice is wearing today is also very special as it was the bonnet that J and her sister M wore on their special ceremonies day as babies. J would also like to acknowledge Alice middle name ****. As she was named this to not only honor J’s mother who shares the same middle name but also her departed Nan.

B then read a letter he wrote to Alice.

I now call on J’s mum B and B’s mum K to come up.

B and J feel that you have been the most supportive, loving and strong female influential in their lives. They also believe that you not only play an important part in their lives but you also play an important part in Alice’s life. Therefore they invite you to stand with them today to make a promise together to Alice.

Please repeat after me:

We shall do our best to teach you,

but it will be up to you to learn

We shall try to guide you in the right directions,

but it will be up to you to make the right decisions

We shall also encourage you to seek your own independence

but it will be up to you to be responsible

We shall teach you about respect,

but you will choose whether to appreciate it's value

We shall encourage you to try,

but you should want to succeed for yourself

We shall teach you kindness,

but it will be up to you to be good-natured

We shall teach you to share,

but it will be up to you to be unselfish

We shall model values for you.

but you have to develop your own morals

We give you this knowledge as a gift

with all our love.

J and B would like to acknowledge everyone here today and the special relationships and influences that you have in their lives. They also acknowledge the special relationship you will have in Alice’s life also.

Please put your hands together and welcome Alice **** ******.

Happy Easter

Alice was very excited waiting with a carrot for the easter bunny. She even wore her bunny jumpsuit to bed.

Smile

Alice has been starting to smile over the past two weeks and it has been so lovely. I love seeing her little face light up and a big smile come across her face. 3 nights ago she smiled at me at 4am and then let out a little giggle. That was such an amazing moment and made the middle of the night feeds well worth it. She also had her 6 week needles and pediatrician check up. Her check up went well and the paediatrician said we couldn't get a healthier baby. Her needles went well too. It was heart breaking watching her cry but I gave her a breastfeed straight after which calmed her down quickly. She is growing so quickly. She has now out grown all her 0000 clothes and also some of her 000. She is in the 75% for her weight. Which makes me so proud because she is exclusively breastfeed.

I also had my 6 week check up with my OB who is also my FS and he said that even though we conceived naturally, (Well after 3 years of TTC) that we may still have trouble next time. Therefore we have decided to not start trying till Alice is 1 which is when I plan on weaning her. Then we will try naturally for 6 months and then if nothing then we will move on to using the one frozen embryo we have. Now you might all think that I'm planning ahead too soon but that's who I am. Plus I want to find the balance between cherishing Alice but not leaving trying for a second child as I can't be sure how long it will take. Hubby and I have said that if Alice ends up being our only child then we are very grateful but our dream would be to have a brother and sister for Alice. I guess that you can never turn that infertile part of your brain off.

Stay at home mum.

SAHM

Well I feel like it is official today. My husband has just returned back to work today since Alice was born and my centreline Paid Parental Leave was paid into my account last night. So I feel like today marks the beginning of me being a Stay at home mum. The morning has gone well. Alice and me had a sleep in which was nice and It's now 10am and so far I'm still in my PJ's and eating breakfast in my bed with Alice asleep next to me and my laptop in front of me. The blinds in my room are shut and it is windy outside and I can't drive for 2 more weeks because of the c section so why the hell wouldn't I stay in bed.

Blog

I have decided to create a separate page on my blog just for Alice. Like my weekly pregnancy update page, I'm going to have a monthly update page just for her. My goal is to write about what she has done, her millstones ect. Ok it's my Brag Page. I feel this could be a little too much for some of my followers to read so hence the separate page. However please feel free to jump over and have a read if your interested.

Update on Alice

This wednesday Alice will be one month old. I know it was a short month but I can't believe how fast the time has gone. They say that the the first 2 months (8weeks) of motherhood is the hardest. Well I'm halfway there and I feel I'm doing great. Alice is a very calm and settled baby. Hubby and me made a promise to try to be calm parents and I think this has helped heaps. Alice is not a big crier, she only cries when she is hungry or wants to be picked up. She also sleeps well most nights in 3 to 4 hour blocks then has some booby then goes back to sleep. This said we had one night last week were she was awake from 11:30 to 2. Not crying, just wide eyed and looking around. Even though we keep it fairly dark during the night she still managed to open her eyes wide and try to look around at everything. I was so tired so hubby got up after the first hour when I realised no amount of breastfeeding was going to get her to sleep. We both in desperation for sleep at 1:30 we decided that we would try a dummy to see if that might help put her to sleep. Well 1st time in her mouth she spat it straight out, 2nd time she sucked a couple times then spat it out, 3rd time she gaged. I think it is safe to say she doesn't like the dummy. She does however such her hand through her swaddle at night when in her bassinet. I don't want her to become a thumb sticker and do pull her hand out of her mouth during the day but there is not much I can do at night when I'm asleep. She wakes for a feed and I find one arm of her swaddle wet. Note: her swaddle is the type that make her look like a caterpillar in a cocoon. (It is called a Love to swaddle) She loves the swaddle. My SIL gave me it to me when Alice was 6 days old and said how great they were. Since she hated her hands being wrapped up and kept getting them free no matter how tight I wrapped her I decided to give it a go and it was great. Alice slept better and that made mummy happy. I went out 2 days later and brought a 2nd one and I have never looked back. She only goes in it at night. We aim to have night sleeps dark, swaddled and quiet. Why daytime is light, noisy and she doesn't get her swaddle on. This routine has helped keep her day sleeps short and night sleeps long. I never let her cry for more than a min and I always feed her on demand. She also has a breathing monitor on in her bassinet which I must say is the best thing I brought. It so reassuring to know if she stops breathing the alarm will go off. Only problem is sometimes I grab her out in a midnight haze and forget to put it on hold and the alarm goes off. Opps! Alice has also been sleeping in her own room since wednesday last week. I never thought I would put her in her room so early but she sleeps better without all the noise. See her room is at the back of the house and ours is at the front on a main road. She just seems more settled and we don't have to tip toe around to have a shower before bed ect.

Alright better go as my little princess is starting to stir. Till next time!

Welcome Alice

Well finally my baby girl is here. And I just have to say she was worth every needle, every appointment, every treatment and every tear I cried during my struggle to conceive her.

Daddy is just smitten with her and he has been nothing but an abundance of support. He has changed most of her nappies, sat up with me for some night feeds and given her cuddles downstairs so I can have some extra sleep upstairs. It has been good having him home too because he has been able to help get me things and do the housework.

Breastfeeding is going really well. I was determined in hospital to feed heaps to build my supply and I think it paid off. She latches on most times with no fuss and suckles well. Sleep is going well. She sleeps in 3 to 4 hour blocks at night and resettles well after a feed.

My recovery for the C-section is going ok. Each day I'm feeling better. My tummy is still a little tender but the doc said it will take 6 weeks till the nerves will heal. Still not fitting into my pre pregnancy clothes yet but I still have swelling and tenderness. My goal is to start walking the streets when I'm feeling better and try to get a little bit fit and loose that baby weight.

The doctor told us that she has a strong neck and as you can see from her photo she tries to hold it up  from time to time. She has my nose, mouth and Mediterranean features and Hubbies eyes, long fingers and long feet. Over the past 10 days I have cried tears of joy. To us she is perfect and I feel so blessed to have her in my arms.

Please follow this link to read Alice's birth story.

Alice's Wonderland

Patchwork quilt I designed with mother in law and made by her.

Embroidery on quilt.

Cot made up with her quilt.

 Canvas 

Shelf of book.

Nappy change

Window toy box with stuffed toys.

Bedside table

Something special just for Mummy!

I LOVE Oroton!

Just waiting for my 

Alice!

My Baby Shower

Today was my baby shower. My sister and mum did a wonderful job decorating with pink balloons, catering with yummy and cute food and organising wonderful games to play. I felt very special and so grateful to finally be at MY BABY SHOWER. It was only a small gathering of 15 ladies but that was how I wanted it. I was showered with some lovely presents for my bub.

Presents for Bub

A few people put in and made this bike. It is made out of nappies, blankets, bibs, clothes and other bits and pieces. It so cute that I don't want to pull it apart, however it has become a little lop sided in the car ride home.

Balloon Decorations