What Sophie Wore: Bear o Clock

I don't know why, but for some reason, I never thought I would put Soph in a bear suit. But then Liz and I found one on sale one day. And there was a tail. And well, that was it.

I give you. My baby in a bear suit. You are welcome.

Dribble bib: c/o Bugsey Bee Handmade
Bear Suit: Pumpkin Patch

What Sophie Wore: Vintage Smocking

One of my favorite photos of me as a babe is in a romper with sweet smocking across the front. When I saw this on Instagram, I knew I had to have it for Soph. Even though I was only 6 months along!

Romper: Vintage n Things - Instagram

Mama To Do List

Do any other Mamas have enormous lists of things they would like to do?
Here is my current mental to do list.


Teach Sophie sign language
Go to a Mummy and Me gym class
Upcycle Sophie's old swaddles into cloth wipes
Try making my own laundry detergent
Make one of my old band t shirts into a romper for Sophie
Sew Dom a soft ball with Koalas on it (still haven't got round to that Laurie lol)
Fix the hems on about 5 dresses
Sew buttons on about 9 tops
Make a play date with about 6 different friends' babes
Make and freeze my own baby purees
Make my own soap
Try coconut oil pulling
Send a package to Steph with presents for all the kids
Send Sophie's latest bundles of don't fits to Em
Make my own deodorant
Learn to crochet
Do yoga
Learn to needle felt
Get back into learning French
Sew some curtains
Send 50 different bloody emails
Reply to 17 messages
Get photos printed
Paint my nails
Make some fruit sorbet in that Thermomix
Take 10 minutes to meditate
And the list goes on...

Does anyone else sit and say, gah, I must remember to do that!
Will I ever get round to any of them..?
Well, I suppose, chances are, if I do, I will blog about it. So stay tuned!

6 months with a Badgelet

This is Sophie at 6 months.

She is...

Funny. She makes us laugh every day.

Easy going. We know if she cries there is something wrong, otherwise she is pretty chill.

Sweet. She still likes to cuddle in to our shoulders and snuggle.

Loud. She bup-bup-bups and blows rasberries and shrieks and makes all kinds of noise. Its lovely actually.

Curious. Has her nose in everything and turns to each new noise. Wants to grab everything, taste everything and know everything.

Playful. Still likes to roll on the mat and play with her IKEA gym, but now she loves her walker play set way more.

Willful. She prefers to hold her bottle, rather than us. She doesn't want to eat her purees but she wants to smash the bowl on the high chair tray.

Teething. Poor little girl has red cheeks and swollen gums.

A pro at skyping. She skypes her Grandparents a few times a week and chats away. It is so lovely that we can see her responding to them and learning their voices.

How has time flown so fast?

What Sophie Wore: Wee Rompy Roo

We were given this beautiful cotton romper from our Texan Grandmother... so beautiful. And Sophie is wrestling with my flower crown from Fiesta in San Antonio last year.

What Sophie Wore: Vintage Romper

Can you even deal with this? I can't.

Romper: Dressie Jessie (Instagram)

Flower crown: Arch N Ollie 

Pumping at work - Lessons Learned

Haha such a scientist. Let's have a look back and figure out some lessons learned Sarah.

Right.

I returned to work when Sophie was four and a half months. So she went from one bottle of expressed milk and five or six boob feeds a day to all bottle feeds (unless she woke during the night). I had a pretty dramatic (if I say so myself) loss of two months supply of frozen breast milk the week before I went back to work, so I had lots of pumping to do.

My tips for gettin' it done.

First of all. Make sure you have pumped before. Don't start your first pump at work. That would be a disaster. Be comfortable with your pump and your ability to do the pumping.

Dress appropriately - do you want to strip down completely? If not, then you gotta make sure your boobs are accessible.

Bring some wipes or cloths - you never know when these will come in handy.

Bring a towel - it is good to have it in your lap. Catches any drips. Saves you from worrying if you smell like milk later.

Bring a book - or your phone. Its pretty boring.

Videos - I spent ages watching videos of Sophie on my phone. It makes the time go quicker, helps with milk let down, and makes you smile.

Figure things out first - Is there a room to use at your work? Do you need to schedule it? Do you need "permission"? We are lucky enough to have a lactation room at work, but I didn't know who to contact about getting a key or about booking it. By the time I got into it, I was about to burst. Also, know your rights. It can be really stressful worrying about the time it takes. This can negatively impact your milk supply. Contact your HR rep and know whats up.
Have you used the storage bags or bottles before? I took my collection bags out the night before I went back to work and there was some plastic connector thing I had to figure out. Glad I did that at home.

Hands free pumping - Do you have a pump that you can use hands free? Some of them say they are, but actually need a bra or something else to make it hands free. I use a super cute little bandeau thing that the funnels pop into. (And it has polka dots on it, totally important haha).

EAT EAT EAT - pumping plus full time work is TIRING. Dude. It is so tiring. You gotta keep the calories up. I have some containers with nuts and dried fruit in them for nibbling as I go.

Drink lots of water - I know they say that everywhere. But it really is true. When we flew to Melbourne I didn't drink a lot on the flight so that I didn't have to get up to pee. But that night - I had NO milk. I mean NO milk. So keep drinking ladies.

Lactation cookies or balls - my milk supply dropped significantly when I headed back to work. So I ate lots of lactation supplements.

Plan - I know I am an over-planner. But you returning to work is a big step for you and for babe. I didn't want to make a bunch of changes for Sophie at once. Rob had been bottle feeding her once a day since she was about 8 weeks, so we knew she could take a bottle, which was a good start. The week before I went back to work, we made all of her feeds bottle feeds so she would get a little more used to that being the norm while I was still around.


 And... for the thing we all love to look at..
Whats in my pumping bag?

Kids clothing sizes - WTF

Dude. Something I was totally unprepared for in my journey of Motherhood.

Kids clothing sizes. I literally can't even.

First of all naming schemes are different in each country. Being the Texas made - Australian born - Kiwi blooded baby that Sophie is, we have clothing from everywhere - and they all have different terms!

Second of all - nothing is consistent!

Sophie currently fits the following sizes:

0-3 months

2-4 months

3 months

3-6 months

6 months

6-9 months

and

0

00

000

Some of the more amusing size situations:
Pyjamas - Gymboree 6-9 months is now too small (but her Gymboree 3-6 months are too big for her)
In both onesies and overalls, I have been saving the cutest Osh Kosh things for her, now the 6 month onesies don't fit, and the overalls are nearly too small!

Gah, lol this is all way too confusing for this Petrophysicist, give me quantum physics to figure out and I might have more luck. Can I get an Amen?! Does anyone else find this bonkers? Haha it cracks me up. That 6-9 month pair of pyjamas were in a storage box for way later in the year and I happened to pick it up and think, shit this is tiny compared to the 3-6.. Maybe I should try it now. And its nearly too small already!

My lesson learned here fellow parent, is that one must be ever vigilant. If we stay alert we can win this fight against the oppressive and confusing clothing size villains.

________

Here are 10 things I think are easier to understand than what size clothes your kid should fit:

Taxes

The theory of relativity

Someone with a Cajun accent

Why Kim Kardashian is famous

The rules of AFL

Debate over the designated hitter in baseball*

Simultaneous equations and long division and well most maths

Why anyone buys Chris Brown records after that night

The science of Macaron baking

The story line of Lost

________

One day Soph fits the newborn size and then she is in 6-9 months. Hahaha. Seems legit :p


*Rob gave me that one lol

And here is a gratuitious cute Sophie photo.
Although may it be noted that in this photo she is wearing a 3 month cardigan,  3-6 month singlet, 3-6 month stockings, NB Mocs and a 0-3 month dress.

And then she was 4 months old

I have already said this so many times, but really, where does time go?
I think that during pregnancy all mothers should have to do a course in Mindfulness.
Cos you know, at 3 am when your baby is crying, and won't latch it seems to be going kinda slow.
But then suddenly babe gets to a milestone, and it's like, how fast did time just go?

We totally weren't organised enough to do comparison shots all set up nice and lovely.
But here are a few shots of how our baby is growing.

16 January

16 February

16 March

16 April

16 May

At four months,

 Sophie

Has a couple of teeth edges sticking through,

Loves to coo and aaahh and blow rasberries,

Loves to roll around without a nappy on,

Likes music to bop to,

Still loves milk and the boob like its going out of fashion,

Loves to look at photos with her Daddy,

Has moved from the capsule to the stroller when we go for walks,

Is currently feeding every two hours at night (Mama is tired y'all),
Loves to look in the mirror and touch her hand to its reflection,

Can hold her neck up on her belly and look around,

Loves cuddles in bed in the morning with Mama and Papa,

Had her first trip on a plane and was a real champ,

Is happy to have her neck up when we carry her around,

Is just the happiest and most patient kid,

She is most happy and vocal when she is with her grandparents or skyping with them.

 And. Well, I adore her.

3 am breastfeeding thoughts

A stream of consciousness during a night feed. Get ready for it. I think I am nuts.


And go -


I need to blog.
More.
And take dress photos.
Should I get a tripod?
How do all those bloggers get such good photos of those dresses?
I want more dresses.
I need to take more photos of Sophie in all her dresses.
I wonder if she fits that pink one yet?
I think the blue one will fit her now.
I wonder if she will dislike dresses when she is older because of this forced dress wearing?
Did I wear dresses?
Hmmm....
....
...
.
I wonder how old a baby is when you realise they are a genius?
Oh we need to start teaching her sign language.
I wonder how hard it is....
...
.
Just a couple of signs would be good. Like hungry. Or done. Or....
...
..
Maybe if we start now she will be signing whole sentences by 2.
Wow.
..
..
.....
.......
Do all mothers think they have the best looking babies?
Have they seen Sophie though?
Hmmmm....
Yep, I think she is looking more like me now.
But still heaps like Rob.
Man, he was a cute baby.
Photo.
Just one.
Send that to Grandma.
What time is it in New Zealand?
Shit I look tired.
Bugger it.
I wonder if she is done yet?
..
...
.....
Shit.
I need to do the US taxes.
What was the due date?
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Oh the car needs a service to.
"Sophie, remind me the car needs a service"
Yeah nice way to remember Sarah.
Blame the kid for not reminding you.
....
..
Bugger me its cold.
I wonder if shes done yet.
Man shes sweet.
Why is time flying so fast?
Will time only accelerate from now?
How does one slow down time?
Should I try a course in Mindfulness?
Be present. Be present. Be present.
"Sophie your mother is nuts love"
Ahhhhhhhh I'm soooo tired.
I wonder if she is done.
Be present Sarah.
Man shes cute.
Oh, its Wednesday.. Bacon and Eggs in a few hours.
Yuss.
Bacon.
Bacon.
Bacon.
.
..
....
Okay babe, all done.
"Shhhh, Shhhh, Shhhh sleep time"
Don't wake her.
Gah! Stupid creaky floorboard.
Still sleeping.
Ah.
Just, one, little, step.
Begin descent....
And. She. Is. Out.
Yuss.

 I call this move the knee-leg-sleep check (yep, it might need a better name). 

The theory is if I lay her down on my legs and she stays asleep, then its safe to put her down in the basket. 

This is of course, an attempt to avoid multiple trips back and forward when she wakes back up again.

How your google history changes when you have a baby

So... There are so many unknowns with parenting. And as much as I read and researched and wondered before Sophie was born, there are a million things I don't know or unsure about.. Suddenly my Google history has taken an abrupt and curious turn..

Here's what I mean.

Pre-baby Google searches - 

Romantic weekend resort 

Gin cocktail recipes 

Kim Kardashian break the Internet 

Vintage fair Perth

Vintage fair Melbourne

Flights to Vegas 

Restaurants Perth

Cocktail bar Perth
Beef curry recipe extra hot
Rooftop bar Perth
Music festival Austin
Rum bar New York

And... Here's what it has changed to in the last few months:

Newborn sneezing

Newborn sleep patterns 

Newborn won't sleep

Newborn wide awake for hours

Newborn poo

Newborn poo texture 

Newborn poo stains 

Newborn dribble 

How to get a newborn to sleep

Newborn goo in eye 

Blocked tear ducts baby 

How to clear blocked tear ducts 

Why can't newborns sleep more than 45 minutes

Breastfeeding sore nipples 

Breastfeeding so sore nipples

Why does breastfeeding still hurt 

Baby week 6

When do babies sleep through the night 

Breastfeeding sports bra

Flu symptoms sore boobs

Mastitis 

Mastitis cure

Seriously, mastitis cure please 

Ways to nap effectively

Cloth nappies washing

Cloth nappies stain 

Cloth nappies cute patterns
Teething
Early teething
Is my 3 month old teething
Help my 3 month old is teething
How much dribble is too much dribble
Infant hand chewing
Infant hand sucking
Infant putting everything in their mouth
Four month sleep regression
I have a baby, will I ever sleep again
 

Haha, well yep, you get the point. Clearly I miss my sleep.
What about you? Are you neurotic also? Whats the oddest thing you have Googled for your babe?
 

A Year Ago Today

We found out we were pregnant with Sophie.

What a day.

What a year.

and what a baby.

All the heart eyes, as they say.

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mamas. 

What a journey the last year has been. This is the most rewarding, happiest job I have ever have - it may be the most challenging, but wow. She is just the best.

I want to send a whole lot of love to all the ladies that would like to be Mamas too, but can't. I was convinced for a long time I wouldn't be able to, and it felt so devastating. Love to you on this day beautiful women xo

Life Lately

Loving all the new street art in Perth and the umbrellas set up for the festival in Mount Hawthorn.

Little one in her All Blacks outfit from her Nan.

Saturday afternoon in the park with Daddy.

Sophie had her first time on a swing this week.

This dress. Am I right?

Lizzy and I at the Mount Hawthorn Festival.

Argh. It has been so damn cold in our house this week. 

That means lots of cuddles in bed.

Also, Soph's night time has digressed masively back to 5 or 6 feeds a night this week. 

Mama be tired yo.

I cannot believe how fast she is growing!

This one. She was looking much like a garden gnome this morning.