First swim

DECKED out in her UV50+ top and her poo-poo stopper pants, we took her for a splash in the baby pool at RSGC.

After about five minutes, she graduated to the big people pool.

She really enjoyed herself, kicking her little tootsies and splashing with her arms.

Zoe also discovered - and liked - the taste of chlorine, thanks to her father.

Here she is taking the plunge:

P is for...

I DON'T quite know why but all the food Zoe has tried so far has started with the letter 'P'.

Peas = Pleasant

Pumpkin = Palatable

Pear = Pass

Prunes = Ptooi... then Puke

She HATES prunes.

Zoe spat it out when I first gave it to her.

I tried a couple more times in between spoonfuls of her favourite peas and because she was tricked into swallowing the icky stuff, she actually cried in protest.

So I stopped.

A couple of hours later, she puked out all her lunch.

Eight times. Three on me.

Needless to say, she has convinced me not to feed her prunes again.

Poo poo pear

FRUIT like apples and bananas can give babies constipation. Isn't that bizarre? You would have thought the opposite true.

Anyway, Zoe did four big poopoos yesterday.

But they were rather... erm... hard.

I've been holding off giving her fruit in her transition to solids coz I'd rather her eat her veggies.

I read that babies may not take to their greens if you give them the sweet stuff first.

But now, to battle constipation... it's time for some pear.

Strangely, she didn't love it.

A five-day weekend

A VERY long weekend filled with little outings.

A recurring theme: Food and shopping malls.

No wonder the little thing is all puckered out.

Here she is on her father's lap at a champagne brunch on Sunday.

After all the bubbly, D and I felt just like she looks!

On Monday, we headed to The Curve where we pigged out on burgers at TGIFriday. Yumz.

The haze was pretty bad so we tried to stay indoors.

Still, Zoe managed to pick up a frog in her throat.

Her voice is all raspy and scratchy.

Poor little thing. It's quite cute when she tries to talk, her voice is all low and husky.

We had a party of sorts on Saturday and we also managed to meet up with some friends.

Needless to say, Zoe got lots of attention and cuddles.

And you can tell she relished every second of it!

Peas N Pumpkin

AFTER three days of peas, Zoe got to try something a little sweeter.

But suprisingly, she liked the green gunk better.

The high(cost)chair

THIS is Zoe's first meal at a restaurant.

B.Y.O.

She couldn't fit in the highchair so she had to eat in her pram.

A little but messy but it worked.

It was really fun taking her out for a meal. She's now like part of the dining party.

"Table for three, please."

* * *


Realising the pressing need for a highchair, we picked up the TrippTrap by Stokke, the same makers of her pram.

It sure looks good, doesn't it?

And the best part is Zoe just loves it.

But here's the funny part: Zoe actually needs a highchair with tray-table at this stage.

The TrippTrap encourages children to eat at the dining table but Zoe is just super messy now and her little arms can't quite reach for things on the table yet.

So we went to Ikea to buy a cheapo dirty-it-as-much-as-you-want version. It cost about one fifteenth of TrippTrap.

And Zoe just adores the Ikea version too!

Hmm... looks like if we had visited Ikea first, we could have saved ourselves a few bucks.

Ferberizing

SLEEP training started on Monday night.

It took her one hour of pretty major crying before she finally fell asleep.

As per Ferber's instructions, I went in every five minutes to try to reassure her.

It was hard. The wailing. Not picking her up.

Each time I went in, she would stop crying. Her eyes would light up as soon as she saw me.

Then after a few pats and a kiss, she knew I was about to leave the room and she looked at me with such pain and sorrow.

Ow.

Short term pain for long term gain, I told myself.

Last night was day two in the sleep training schedule.

Ferber says to increase the time away from her. So I went in every ten minutes.

Almost an hour into it, I went in on schedule and discovered that she had puked.

Poor baby cried till she vomited.

That was the of Ferber.

* * *

Weight: 7.55kg
Length: 69cm

Zoe went to see Dr C today for her 5 month jabs. She got three different types. But she was super brave and only whimpered after the last one.

I discussed sleep training with Dr C. He said to be consistent and that if I were serious in wanting her to learn how to put herself to sleep then I'd just have to stick with the programme. He gave me a smirk and said: "It's a battle of wills. You'll just have to see who is stronger: You or her."

Well, tonight there was no Ferberizing. After all, she did have the trauma of injections to cope with.

Sigh.

Maybe she is the stronger one after all.

Week 24: Introduction to solids

TASTY!

That was the general reaction to the organic brown rice cereal I fed her.

To start off, the recipe called for a tablespoon of cereal mixed with four tablespoons of boob juice.

The first spoonful was met with puzzlement.

But after a few more, she decided she liked it.

When she started lapping it up, I let Liz have a go just so Zoe gets used to other people feeding her too.

Don't want to make the same mistake as with the bottle!

Mmmm for MummMumm.

Breathing in Haze

Q: HOW well did Zoe behave on the plane?

A: I got to watch The Break Up and The Devil Wears Prada.

My angel.

* * *

So we had a flash of a weekend in Singapore.

Didn't do much coz Mopes was a little unsettled after the travelling. And of course, the haze was pretty crap so we didn't leave the house much.

Sadly, I missed the Be Fabulous Moet party where I was planning to catch up with everyone.

Instead, we elegantly sipped wine at 4pm on Sunday before heading back to KL.

Zoe tagged along for a little while and got lots of cuddles from:

Uncle Gila

Aunty Smell

and Aunty Charles

Better be home soon

OUR last day was rather hectic with last minute chores, some stuff with the foggies and packing.

Our collective baggage allowance is 50kg but we ended up with about 65kg. Plus a pram.

I didn't even shop.

Amazing the amount of stuff a baby needs.

Anyway I had a wonderful holiday and Mopes enjoyed breathing super fresh air for a month.

The foggies are staying on till Tuesday to clean up after us. Haha.

I think they'll sorely miss Zoe's baby talk but not me nagging them to BE QUIET!

Now back to the haze...

G'bye Perth!

A Mother's Love blossoms

A DAY before we leave, the first bloom.

Up the beanstalk

I FORGET how tall Antz is.

And a cuddle with Zoe made him look even more like a friendly giant.

It was finally our turn to visit Michy and Holly at their lovely new home.

Michy made cheese scones for brekky. Super-yum!

And Zoe inherited like ten pairs of Holly's shoes. Thanks Michy-Mo!

So all in all, a very fruitful visit.

Fi Fie Fo Fum!

A cuddle with a view

PINK champagne, seared cod, soft shell crab, turkish bread with hummus...

A lovely lunch at an old mad people's hospital. Especially lovely since Zoe slept through it all.

An hour and a half of peaceful conversation and slurping.

Then just as we were leaving she woke up and we had a cuddle in front of a beautiful glistening Swan river.

I lubb my mommy!

Ear problem

YES she's holding an empty milk bottle... but she's just playing with my mind!


So it seems Mopes an ache in her ear.

Since we got here, she has taken to grabbing at her ears when she's tired. But I've noticed her doing it a lot more in the last week.

Not only when she's tired but also when she's having a big angry cry. Her right ear especially.

I mentioned it to Michy when I first got here and she said the plane ride over may have irritated her ears. She said to be careful coz it may get infected as Holly's did when they took her to Tassie.

But Zoe has been fine. Not very grumps. No fever. No grabbing at her ears except when tired. So I thought all was normal.

Took Zoe to the doctor this morning and it turns out she has some fluid in her right ear. He said she probably feels a dull ache and when she's upset, it may start to throb. She feels like her ear is full, like we feel when our ears won't pop.

The doc prescribed some drops to help her through the discomfort, which the he said to continue with until Friday when we finally head home. It should help her ears cope better with the flight too.

Poor kiddy.

All better soon...

Poppy and Kongkie

KONGKIE and Poppy obviously adore you.

But I think Kongkie is your next favourite person after your Daddy and I.

Just this afternoon, you spent more than half an hour playing with him.

Just the two of you on the floor.

You were chatting and gurgling, kicking your legs and flapping your arms about, rolling all over the place.

Since you are awfully picky about who you spend time with, I think you must really like your Kongkie.

Well, it's a just reward for him as he does make a lot of effort to engage your interest.

Kongkie is always talking to you, showing you around the house, pointing things out to you in the garden, and even getting down on your mat with you to help you with your daily exercises.

You do love your Kongkie.

Whenever he is around, you follow his every move with your eyes. You love to watch him go about his business.

When you hear his voice, you look around until you find him and then reward him with big eye-disappearing smiles.

You even let your Kongkie carry you for extended periods of time. A huge thing for you as you are awfully clingy.


* * *

You are highly amused by your Poppy.


She keeps singing the same song to you - You are so beautiful... - yet, even after the tenth time in the same day, you still give her a good-natured smile.

Poppy has been the most successful person in getting you to drink from a bottle.

She dances and sings and shrieks and bangs and clangs all in an effort to distract you from what you hate the most - and sometimes, it works!


She's even been able to make you cackle with laughter.

One night however, when you were about to go to sleep, Poppy decided to do a late-night jig for you at the top of the stairs.

She was huffing and puffing. She was using up lots of energy just to entice a little laugh out of you.

But you had an incredulous look on your face as you watched her. You were so puzzled by her antics. Stunned, in fact.

You really thought she was the strangest creature on earth. The look on your face made me laugh so hard tears came to my eyes!

Poppy really is your own personal entertainment system.

Sometimes though, Mommy has to turn down the volume!

Shake leg

SHE didn't poo poo for three and a half days!

Boy, was I glad to see some poop this morning.

Like never before was I so glad to smell it too!

What has life become...

So now Zoe all comfy.


Zoe the relaxer

Funday on Sunday

I LIKE to sit in the shade and D loves it in the sun.

Wonder which bench Mopes would pick once she gets the option: His or mine?

Very guiltily, we extended our stay in Perth for a week. Original plans would have us heading back to KL tonight. As I write this post in fact.

But because of the haze, we thought we may as well stay on. So poor old D has been left to fend for himself in the awful haze.

The weather here has been just too lovely.

Z and I have been soaking in the sunshine and making the most of our, as FunkyM puts it, blue sky holiday.

Took the kid for a looong walk today. More than seven kilometres to our favourite cafe and back home. She snoozed most of the way though.


Along the way, we saw lovely beach sculptures like this one.

We met Michy and Holly for a BIG brekky.

Zoe wished she could chase the birdies too
Then the afternoon was spent in lazy Freo. We had pizza and checked out a couple more showhomes. I flipped Zoe's cap up indoors and realised she looked like some old-time Tang Dynasty girl.

Chinky chong!

Spring has sprung

THE wildflowers are out. Ahhhhhhhhh-tishhh-shoooooo!

This morning, Z and I walked the three or so kilometres to the Point Walter cafe for brekky. Had a warm scone oozing with fresh strawberry jam and cool whipped thick cream. Mmm.

Then we headed to a display village after lunch with the foggies to check out showhomes on display. Inspiration for anyone wanting to design and build their dreamhouse.

South Pacific

SOUTHERN Hemisphere anyway.

After chatting to Daddy on the phone this morning, Zoe just wanted to keep on yakking.



Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?

If you don't talk happy,
And you never have dream,
Then you'll never have a dream come true!

Teething or just hungry?

SOLIDS soon!

According to the experts, your baby is ready for solids when:

* She watches you with eagerness when you eat, maybe even reaching out for your spoon and opening her mouth.

* She seems hungrier than usual.

* She can sit well without support, which makes swallowing easier.

* She has good head control.

Babies are supposed to start on solids between four to six months, preferably at six.

But considering how excited Zoe gets around food (takes after her mom!), I think I'll start her on a bit of rice cereal in two weeks.

What fun! I can't wait!

* * *

On another note, this cracks me up everytime I take Zoe to the park.

Dogs and babies - how can you stop them?

Gee Gee and the duck

THANKS for the bib Aunty Bernz. Five months down the road, it almost fits!

Here's a playmat dance just for you:

Forgot my iPod again

CHICKEN chipolatas, scrambled whites, brown grainy toast and freshly squeezed OJ.

I really needed to walk off the hearty breakfast so it was lucky that Mopes was ready for her nap.

But she didn't want to go in her pram so I had to strap on the Baby Bjorn.

I swear this is the most used and most useful baby purchase we've made. Get one if you are having a baby!

We use it so much that D was saying we should get the BB Active now that Mopes is getting heavy.

It really is magic!

Whenever she fusses, I just strap it on and *PINGGGG*.

All is calm. All is bright.

Headed out about 9am to walk to the shops and around the neighbourhood, but ended up getting lost in the maze of streets around the river.

Ended up doing walkies for more than an hour with the baby strapped to me.

B.A.C.K.A.C.H.E.

Kicked myself for forgetting the iPod once again. Would have been so nice to have had some thumpity-thump-thumps as I trudged about.

All I had to entertain me were the sounds of the birds chirping, the odd dog freaking out, gum tree rustling in the breeze and the sucking of the river as the tide pulled out its waters.

The sounds of nature and the rhythm of my footsteps had Zoe in a deep doze:

Hyper before the walk and Dazed after the doze.

Postcard to Daddy

SuperMopes

YO Superen, check this out:

Sit bubba sit

MUST be the Aussie air. This morning in front of Barny, she did it - all on her own!

A shady deal

LABOUR day today in Australia, celebrating the eight-hour workday. Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine.

But not us.

Mopes, my dad and I decided to stay in the shade. We headed to a riverside cafe for a lazy lunch where we savoured the fresh air, fermented grape juice and grilled fish.

Mopes with shades...

...and in the shade
After a post-lunch doze, I took Mopes and Liz to Freo for some gelato.

Only frozen breastmilk please!
We did a quick walk through the markets. They were already packing up at 5pm but we managed to pick up some baragins at the close of the fruit and vege market.

And then it was time to head home.

Miss ya D!

Reflections at FIVE months

AS I am writing this, you are asleep on my chest.

Your Daddy says I have been spoiling you a little. But here in Perth with the cool days and cold nights, it's too tempting to cuddle up.

You are my very own fuzzy, cushy hot water bottle.

In this last month, you've realised that I'm really truly your Mommy and not just a milk bottle.

You kick your legs excitedly when you hear my voice and can't yet see me. When you spot me, your face lights up and you squeal with delight. In the last week, you've taken to holding out your arms when you want to be carried. When I pick you up, you wrap your little arms around me and bury your face in my neck.

Baby hugs are so nice.

You also know your Daddy. When you wake up, you look around for him. And if he's watching you, you give him the sweetest smile. A few times when you've woken up before him, you've not been kind. You kick off the covers and thump on the bed till he wakes up and talks to you.

You get jokes now.

You love silly noises and funny faces. You know when people are being funny or trying to make you laugh. Sometimes you smile, sometimes you giggle and sometimes you screech with laughter. Sad to say, everyone is happy to look stupid just to be rewarded by a grin from you.

You are super nosy.

You investigate the slightest sounds. You crane your neck to people watch. You even stop feeding if you hear a coversation going on to listen in - even though you don't understand what we're talking about.

You are super noisy too.

You love to chat and often test out your vocal cords - even when you are eating. I sternly tell you not to talk with your mouth full, but you just laugh at me trying to be fierce.

Hmmm I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Daddy's ET

FOUR ayyyyammmm.

She leaked twice and then a number two. So by the time she was diapered for the third time, her eyes were wide open and she was bubbaring: "Play with me!"

Since D was leaving at 9-ish for the airport, we thought we may as well get up and do some family time - after spending about two fruitless hours trying to get her back down.

So D grabbed some Mac's for brekkie and we headed to the river.

As soon as she hit the car seat, Zzzz. We managed to trasfer her to the pram still Zzzz. D said she looked like ET about to ride home.

Pretty as a picture along the Canning Bridge.

The waters were so still. Made me itchy for the Connelly.

Those were the days my friend.