Hi all! 

Today I will be sharing everything I have learnt in 11 months a first time parent. We are only one month away from Abigail becoming a toddler. How fast it has flown! I’m not ready!

Abi has officially sprouted all four of her top teeth. She went through a lot to get there, poor thing. In this last month, she suffered a lot, which broke our hearts. She had her second instalment of the meningococcal vaccine, which really unsettled her. We had to take her to the doctors because she wouldn’t stop crying. The doctor thankfully said it was normal and would pass within a few days. It’s short term pain for long term gain. We’ve also passed leap 7, with leap 8 not far away,

I feel like this is a really fun age. Abi is imitating our sounds, playing on the swings at the park, babbling non-stop, waving, pointing, cruising around the furniture and enjoying interactive, colourful books. She looks and acts more like a toddler now, as opposed to an infant. She has started saying ‘no-no.’ It’s so cute! We are just waiting for her to take her first steps!

I’m thrilled to report Abi is doing so much better with food. She munches on pasta, noodles, bread, rice and baby snacks. She will eat coconut yoghurt, lentils and tofu, if it is mixed in with her food but not on their own. She loves her iron fortified cereal for brekkie and is still breastfed. I’m so proud of myself for getting this far. I didn’t think I would breastfeed for this long, but I still enjoy it and so does she. I don’t want to stop until after 1, when I’m confident that she can eat most foods without gagging/vomiting.

We had some very exciting family news recently. My sister is getting married and Abi will be flower girl! We are all so happy. I cannot wait to get super cute photos of her dress. I also celebrated my first Mother’s Day. I received a lovely card, an I <3 Mum mug and some vegan chocolate. Abi was saying mama a lot that day, which made me so emotional.

Sleeping has been pretty much the same. Abi naps twice daily – usually for 1.5 hours each time – and sleeps all night from 7:30pm to 7am, if we are lucky. She’s been waking a bit earlier recently but we just let her babble and play until it’s time to get up. I feel like she’s going through a bit of a needier phase. She will only play for a little bit before wanting to sit in my lap or just be held. It feels like a bit of separation anxiety but I guess all babies go through it at some stage. She’s definitely showing more affection and loves being cuddled. It’s lovely until she bats at our face with her baby nails. It can really hurt! We were told to just put her down when she does that – until she learns it is not appropriate. On the plus side, the best feeling is having your child wrap their arms around your neck and put their head on your shoulder. It’s everything!

That is all I have! The next post will be about her first year of life! I cannot get my head around it. It will be more philosophical, providing an overview of what I’ve learnt in a whole year as a first time parent. Stay tuned.

Peace & Love xoxo