Wednesday 11 March 2015

Charlotte and me 9 months on


I'm amazed that my little Charlotte has now spent the same amount of time on the outside world as she did inside me.  How did she get to be 9 months old so quickly?!  Its at this stage that I think they very quickly lose their real baby-ness and start becoming a little person.  I mentioned in previous posts that second time round I'm really in no hurry for her to grow up and am savouring every moment and stage, but no matter how much I try to slow things down time is still zooming past.  It certainly doesn't feel like a month has passed since I was writing her 8 month update.

When Lucas was this age I was heading back to work!  I'm glad I'm not at that stage just quite yet this time round because as grown up as she's getting, she still seems too little for me to be leaving her (uh oh, over-protective mummy alert).

So as Charlotte turned 9 months old yesterday what is she like...



Sleep

My little live wire is still waking early.  Its been anywhere between 5-5.30am, every morning for the past 5 weeks I'd say.  This has definitely been the hardest part of the last month.  A 5.30am start certainly makes for long days.  Lucas usually wakes up between 7-7.30am and it feels like Charlotte and I have done half a day by the time we're saying "morning" to him. I had been putting her early starts down to  a development leap or a blip, as prior to 5 weeks ago she was sleeping until 7am most mornings.  But as another week passes and we still hear the first squeaks from her before 5,30am I'm starting to think that this is just what she's going to be like, an early riser.  Lets hope not though. When did I ever think I'd be praying for a 6,30am lie in!!

Naps have now fallen into a bit of a routine though thankfully.  One mid morning and one in the afternoon.  I try to use these small windows of time to get a few things done around the house or checked off my ever growing 'to-do list', but more importantly I always try to have some one on one time with Lucas.  Even just 20 minutes to do some colouring, play a game or sit and cuddle him while we watch one of his favourite programmes together.  I think he really looks forward to these parts of our day and so do I.



Eating/Feeding

This month I seem to have moved away from finger foods in favour of good old purees.  I still give Charlotte finger foods as snacks and along with her meals, but just not as her main meal.  I wasn't convinced she was eating enough when it was only finger foods, which was getting a bit stressful, especially when she's such a little thing anyway.  She loves purees at the minute and her favourites are sweet vegetable medley and chicken and tomato (both Anabel Karmel favourites).

She's getting better at her sippy cup of water at mealtimes, but not as confident as Lucas was by this stage.  Is this because she doesn't have a bottle I wonder?  We've been trying to encourage her to do it herself, but she's a lazy little thing and most of the time sits there like a little sparrow, mouth wide open, waiting for you to pour it in for her.  

I'm still breastfeeding her too, but I'm going to be really honest...as much as I have enjoyed feeding her I think I'm almost done.  After 9 months I'm exhausted!! She still milk feeds a lot and from a purely selfish point of you I feel its starting to take its toll on me.  Its really difficult though because as much as I feel like I'm ready to stop feeding her, the thought of stopping still makes me feel a bit sad.  Does that make sense?  I've loved being able to breastfeed this time around, especially as I was so disappointed when I couldn't feed Lucas, but I think you know yourself when its time.  I'm quite nervous though about the whole transition and what Charlotte will make of it.  I'll let you know how we get on.



Measurements

I took Charlotte along to our Health Visitor yesterday to be weighed.  We hadn't been for 3 or so months and I think by this stage there's not as much need for frequent check-ins, but curiosity got the better of me.  She's now 16lbs 80z.  Still a little wee toot but the Health Visitor was happy with her progress and thinks she's just going to be "petite".  


Milestones

One of the biggest milestones this month is that she's finally got her first teeth.  Her two bottom front teeth poked their way through a couple of weeks ago after a few days of a not so happy Charlotte.  I I was expecting that once they had 'cut' they would come through quite quickly but its still only the tips of both the teeth that we can see.

She's still not crawling but has mastered the art of bum shuffling and wastes no time getting from one side of the room to the other and even from one room to the next now.  This means that everything is of interest to her.  Sockets, switches, wires, etc so baby proofing our house is a must for this weekend.


Another thing which I've really noticed this month is that she is expressing herself more.  If she doesn't like something or is annoyed or frustrated, you know about it.  Lucas loves giving her cuddles but now if she doesn't want him to, when she's tired or just isn't in the mood she screeches at him.  Poor Lucas!
She's also started getting her own back on him though which is so funny to watch.  Lucas loves teasing her in the bath by stealing the toy she is playing with but the last few times he's done this she's hit her hand on the water, splashing Lucas.  The grin on her face that follows shows just how proud of herself she is.



Me 

This last month I haven't felt great which has been quite tough.  My immune system has really taken a hit this winter - I've never had so many colds, tummy bugs and just generally feeling pretty rubbish and run down.  It was starting to get to me and was making the days feel really hardwork, but I finally feel like I've got over a virus which had been lingering and am thankfully feeling much better and have got my energy back.
Its made me realise how important it is to take care of myself, especially when there's no such thing as a 'sick day' when you're a mum.  I'm the worlds worst at not drinking enough water, not eating properly but just snacking on rubbish, not exercising and generally just putting my own well-being last (I think most mums do).  But looking after two children when you're feeling bleugh is the worst and so I've started taking little steps to look after myself more, in the hope I stop feeling like this quite so often and do you know what, I feel better already. I'm forcing myself to drink more water as I think a lot of how rubbish I was feeling was down to dehydration.  I've also started going to a pilates/ yoga class once a week and have gone on my first run/ walk in preparation for the 5K I'm doing.  As tough as it can be forcing myself out to an exercise class once the kids are in bed, I feel so much better after doing it.

The other thing, which I think I've mentioned before is that I have quite bad Diastasis Recti (separation of the tummy muscles) from my two pregnancies.  For some reason its now worse than ever and most days makes me look like I'm about 3/4 months pregnant.  This was really starting to have an effect on my confidence and so this month I've started making a real effort to do some exercises every night to try and bring these muscles back together.  These need to come back together before you should even attempt things like crunches and I'm told its a slow process.  Not good when you're as impatient as I am, but I'm going to try sticking at it.

Sorry, my part of this month's update has been pretty miserable.  Next month will be more upbeat, I promise.



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5 comments:

  1. Aww she is beautiful and I always think 9 months is a particularly poignant and bittersweet milestone. x

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  2. Aww thank you! I know exactly what you mean xx

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  3. She is so sweet!! My 3month old weighs more than your petite Charlotte, there is nothing petite about him!!

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    1. Aww thank you lovely! Charlotte is a petite wee thing. She's much smaller than my little boy was :) xx

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  4. Oh Eilidh! We seem to be going through quite the same! I also have a 9 months old girlie. I'm breastfeeding -loads- as well and, like you, I'm at that point where I wouldn't mind her going off it but I can't get myself to stop it. My milky monster is an early riser as well -who said babies sleep around 14 hours a day? we are lucky if she gets half of that hehe- and after the pregnancy I was also left with two tummies and no willpower to do the recommended exercises to get both sides to be friends again! I've been meaning to start some pilates at home but every time I'm hoping to start, the universe seems to make sure it doesn't happen. Sorry for the essay but just felt the need to let you know that you are not alone. I hear you :)

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