Sleep School

We finally did it. And it worked!

On Monday morning Heidi and I headed out to Tweddle in Footscray, full of trepidation. There were about 8 other families in our group, most with babies the same age and with the same issues. I was very anxious about the whole experience as I knew it would involve a fair bit of crying... but really, it just wasn't that traumatic. Heidi responded very well and barely cried at all, really just grizzling for 5 mins and then falling asleep. And I must admit, it was like a mini holiday for me; no cooking, cleaning, laundry or toddler-minding. I got to sit around and read books and chat to some lovely people. Plus the food was so lousy, I even lost some weight! Can't complain about that.

Keeping in mind that this was the worst it's ever been, and the co-sleeping only started a couple of weeks ago when I got very sick with a virus and couldn't face sitting on Heidi's floor at 2am when I had a fever...but this time last week, this is what Heidi was doing:

6.30pm Bed
8.00pm Wake, cry. Resettle would fail, end up giving her quick comfort feed to sleep
9.15pm Wake, cry, comfort feed
11.00pm Wake, cry. Bring her into bed with me, comfort feed
12.15am Wake, cry, comfort feed
2.30am Wake, cry, comfort feed. Often awake/grizzling til 3.30am.
4.30am Wake, cry, comfort feed
5.15am Wake, put into bed with James
5.30am Juliet arrives in my bed (!)

Now, this is what she's doing:

6.30pm Bed
9.00pm Wake, grizzle, resettle for 2 mins, back to sleep
11.00pm I go in and give her a feed, waking her if she is asleep
3.30am Wake, cry, resettle for less than 10 mins
6.15am Wake for day.

How good is that!!! We're packing away the spare bed for good today. Life is finally returning to normal :)

Back on board

Well, haven't I been slack?

We've been a sick household since mid-August - that's my excuse anyway. It's been one thing after another - a nasty bout of the flu which kept 3 of us bedridden, followed by gastro, then a cold, and now some other horrible bug. Bring on summer!

It feels like it was years ago, but we had some VIPs fairly recently - James' parents visited us from the US. The girls absolutely adored them (Juliet is still reciting "See my pinky...") No big excursions this time except for a day trip up to Maldon, but the time seemed to go very quickly nonetheless. We squeezed in a trip to the Aquarium, Zoo, Museum, city, Southbank and the casino, plus of course visits to family. Unfortunately we didn't take many photos, but we did get a professional photographer to do a shoot while they were here. We're dying to see the results!

In the meantime, here's a nice pic of all our parents up at Maldon:

Mt Baw Baw

The Goldens hit the slopes over the last couple of days at Mt Baw Baw! Well, ok, maybe we weren't quite snowboarding or skiing... does tobogganing count? Needless to say Heidi was pretty oblivious to it all, and just used the opportunity to completely decline all her naps. (She also woke 6-7 times per night!) Juliet wavered between having heaps of fun to collapsing in a hysterical heap of toddlerdom. Unfortunately the snow was too icy to make our much-talked about snowman, which was a disappointment. She did like the toboggan in small doses though. And we did discover she suffers from car sickness. Oh boy... does she ever. James is cleaning out the car this very minute.

We're planning on trying to go back every year, even if it's just for a couple of days. Once the kidlets are out of baby/toddlerdom, it will become easier! That's our theory, anyway.

Our cottage:

Juliet enjoying her obligatory babycino:

Snow bunny:

Heidi & me:

Juliet & me:

Happy Birthday James!

It's James' birthday today - happy birthday! We're having a family lunch on Saturday to celebrate. I gave him a rather odd present of a ride on a military tank. He seemed genuinely enthused though! I don't have many photos of him with both the girls unfortunately - here's the most recent one I could find:

In other news, the girls had their first bath together last night. Juliet was especially keen to wash Heidi (rather vigorously). Being the placid and accomodating soul that she is, Heidi didn't seem to mind too much.

I've cancelled our sleep school visit for tomorrow, as things are getting better on the sleep front since the nurse came last week. Heidi still wakes 1-2 times overnight but usually resettles without too much of a fuss. Some nights are worse than others of course, but on the whole things are looking up.

Tomorrow's the day!

After postponing from last week, the sleep nurse is due to come tomorrow. She only spends an hour here, but I'm also enrolled in her overnight program in a week and a half. So if tomorrow doesn't fix it, surely that will. The end is in sight! Heidi is still very happy and has no idea she's causing such mayhem.

Juliet, on the other hand... let's just say that Ebay is looking tempting. She's really hit the terrible twos with a vengeance. She is constantly testing the boundaries and trying to get a reaction from us. I'm not very good at not giving her one either unfortunately - she really knows which buttons to push. However we expect to see her with an Oscar in her hand in 20 years time, the way she carries on. This morning she was standing between her bedside table and her bed yelling, "Me Stuck! Me Stuck! Emergency! Emergency!"

We went to the zoo on the weekend but due to being two years old, Juliet was unable to sit still or not pull a funny face for the camera. So I thought this one pretty much summed her up at the moment:

We've found her on/off switch, but the volume has definitely broken, and we don't seem to be able to make any adjustments to her speed either.

Here's Heidi:

Steak please, waiter

OK, maybe not quite a steak. But Heidi got her first tooth today! Given she is 6 months and 1 day, that's pretty textbook. It hasn't bothered her in the slightest. She also had her immunisations today, so a big day all around. Here she is today, doing her best to show us her new tooth. Alas, it's too small :)

I've got a sleep nurse coming to see us next Tuesday (day time). Hopefully Heidi won't prove me a liar and sleep all day. I'm desperately trying to contact the residential sleep school as well, so we can go and stay there for a night, but they are obviously insanely busy. I've left 5 messages over the last week and not one has been returned. Heidi is still waking every 2 hours, and she's now disturbing Juliet as well, who has decided the day starts at 5.30am. Arghhhhhhh!

Here are the girls doing their sisterly thing (i.e. pulling hair):

Baa Baa Sheep

Baa baa sheep
Hairy wool
Yessir, yessir twee bag full
One for mass-ter, one for dame
One for 'ittle boy who (l)ives dame.

2 years of indoctrination into the world of nursery rhymes has clearly paid off. Juliet sings all day long (rather tunelessly I must say, but her interpretation of lyrics makes up for it). Very very cute!

Heidi is coming up for her 6 month birthday soon - unbelievable! Her sleeping patterns got fractionally better this week, but then last night it all fell to pieces again. I was so set on enrolling her in sleep school, but changed my mind when things picked up... now I'm unsure again. I wish this stage would end, I really do.

The girls and I have been keeping fairly busy this week. We had my mothers group's combo 2nd birthday party last Sunday at a local cafe. I took the girls to the Museum on Monday; Heidi and I met up with Jools and little Josie on Tuesday, and Brigitte and Aaron at the Collingwood Children's Farm on Friday. Tomorrow is my birthday, and the whole family (including Grandma, Grandpa, Dorothy etc) are catching the ferry across to Williamstown for lunch. Should be most enjoyable.


Here's a few photos of Juliet from the last week:

At the birthday party:

Don't say we don't spoil our girls with great toys! Here's Juliet with her, err, pumpkin:

Here's Juliet's favourite sleeping pose. Not so great for cold nights! She has never slept under her covers - not once.

Heidi starts solids

Heidi had her first taste of food today! As you can see by her face, she wasn't quite sure what to make of the experience. But she certainly didn't spit it out, so we'll be going for round 2 tomorrow. Juliet then insisted on sitting in the highchair and wanting me to spoonfeed her Farex. "Me like a baby!" is a pretty common phrase around here.

Heidi is still waking every 2 hours overnight, and I'm seriously considering putting our names down on the waiting list for sleep school. She's almost 6 months old - I don't quite know how we got ourselves into this nightly waking pattern but it's really starting to run me down, which of course then affects the rest of the family. Moving her into her own room and into a bigger cot has made no difference at all, so I think perhaps it's time for Baby Bootcamp.

Winter is here...

It's been a bit of a long week here. Both the girls have had colds, and Heidi's struggled a bit with hers during the night. She's been waking every 3 hours for a feed for a while now, but the last few nights it's been HOURLY. And nothing will settle her other than a feed. I'm the walking dead. I went clothes shopping today, and a shop attendant took one look at me and said, "Oh my God you look so tired, sit down and I'll get you a glass of water!" I shudder to think just how awful I looked!

She's still happy as anything during the day, though she's getting to that awkward age where she's getting a bit bored with lying on her playgym and sitting in a rocker, yet she can't sit on her own yet. It gets a bit challenging for us all.

Juliet moved to her first "real" single bed on Saturday. (She'd been sleeping in a toddler bed). Every night I tuck her in, and 5 minutes later she is out of the blankets with her head down the wrong end!

She's been loving the wet weather we've had recently, and adores putting on her gumboots and splashing in the puddles. Her tantrums have been much better over the past few weeks, though poor James still gets a lot of "Daddy not do it, MUMMY do it", regardless of what it is. We also started toilet training a little more seriously on the weekend. The first day was brilliant (she used the potty successfully 7 times!), but she's started to lose interest a bit. Today she demanded nappies again. I guess we'll get there in time.

2nd Birthday Party

Today we had a small family get together for Juliet's 2nd birthday. She was very excited by the balloons and streamers. For days now, she's been pretending to wrap presents up for people, and singing Happy Birthday all day every day. She is fascinated by birthdays at the moment - probably also because it was her cousin's birthday party 2 weeks ago, and Dorothy's birthday last Thursday.

She was in great spirits for the event, although she refused to let us take photos so we barely have any. (She would cry "No Photos" and hold out her hand like a Hollywood star fending off the paparazzi). Heidi was also in a very happy, placid mood. A good day all around!
Here's a small handful of photos, plus one of the cake which I made her this morning (those are Juliet's fingers creeping on to it!)

Cheeky:

Helen & Heidi:

Dad & Juliet:


The Cake!

It's begun

"What's that?"
"A gate".
"What's that?"
"A building".
"What's that?"
"Another building".
"What's that?"
"A car".
Later at home, it starts again...
"What's that?"
(Sigh) "What's what, sweetheart?"
"The cushion"
(Slow grin as she realises she's been caught out)

Chubbiness, tantrums and vegies

Heidi had her 4 month check up last week. She's coming along nicely, putting on lots of weight and growing tremendously. She's in the 90th percentile for height, and is already in size 0 shirts and bodysuits! The funny thing is, she is actually slightly shorter and smaller than Juliet was at the same age, yet looks a LOT bigger. We can't figure it out. It must be the chubby cheeks!

Juliet's thrown some real doozies of tantrums recently. Apart from the little ones she throws over small things (e.g. having her nappy changed etc.), the common denominator seems to be she gets very thrown when faced with new or unexpected people. She really loses the plot completely, though she does calm down in time. (A long time!) We spoke to the carers at her creche and they said it's perfectly normal. They said she is extremely independant and slightly shy, though she doesn't hesitate to speak or to ask for things. I guess it's just another phase.

When she isn't throwing tantrums, she is being completely adorable. She's started sharing her toys with Heidi a lot more, and I let her cuddle her. She also demands a goodnight kiss from Heidi before Heidi goes to sleep.

In home news, we've decided to get serious about our vegie patch. Although they keep telling us that the drought will break, it hasn't done so yet. Melbourne's main dam is down to 18% capacity. They are now saying that irrigators in Australia's main "food bowl" will not be allocated any water unless there are large rainfalls. Food prices are set to rise, possibly several hundred percent?!?!?!? So, we've joined the Diggers Club and are going to try our not-very-green thumbs at growing at least some of our own vegetables. Plus of course it's a fun thing to do with Juliet, who loves putting on her new gumboots and getting muddy!

Weekend at Maldon

Here's some photos of our recent trip to Maldon over Easter.

Some recent photos

Couple of cute conversations

Last night, reading a book that showed a picture of a teddy who had dropped an icecream on the ground:

Juliet: Uh oh!
Me: Oops, he dropped his icecream, didn't he?
Juliet: Mmmmm. Happens...

Last week, Juliet went marching purposefully up the hallway to the front door.
Juliet: Byeeeee everybody!
Me: Bye! Where are you going?
Juliet: Supermarket!
Me: Oh, really? What for?
Juliet: Buy fat pig!

She really is a character.

I've got a few new photos that I'll upload tonight. Juliet and I are both sick with colds; thankfully Heidi is OK so far. Last night was a bit rough (I went to sleep at 11pm, Heidi fed from 1.30-2.00am, Juliet woke crying for me at 2.00am and I couldn't get her back to sleep til 2.45am, then Heidi woke for a feed at 4.00am, and then woke for the day at 6.00am). No wonder I'm a little rundown!

Happy Easter!

Big girl stuff

We converted Juliet's cot to a toddler bed last weekend. The idea is that she will get used to a "sort of" bed for a couple of months before we get her a proper single bed and give the cot to Heidi. It hasn't been going brilliantly. Some nights resemble an episode of Supernanny, with her getting up, us putting her back, her getting up, us putting her back (repeat x10). Last night we heard some odd noises coming from her room, but she seemed to still be in bed. After half an hour I heard a thump, and went to investigate. She'd got out of bed, put every single book she owns (plus library books) all over her bed, leaving no room for herself. She'd then fallen fast asleep on the floor with her head against the door!

She did the exact same thing tonight. It's clearly going to be a battle to get her to sleep in bed and not on the floor. Usually she's asleep by 7.45 - tonight was 8.30 purely because of the constant getting up/book placing/floor sleeping games.

We've also ditched her high chair in favour of a booster at the table. It's less than 3 months now til Heidi starts solid food - I can't believe it! Anyway, we wanted the high chair to be a distant memory for Juliet. Apart from making a complete mess at every meal time, it's going OK. It's anyone's guess as to what she will & won't eat each night, but she isn't terribly fussy at the moment. Even some vegies get eaten from time to time.

Heidi is coming along well. She can roll from her back to her tummy now. She seems to have great hand/eye coordination, and is desperate to talk. She gurgles constantly. Overnight feeds are still generally every 3/4 hours, although last night she went for a longer stretch without. I'm looking forward to her sleeping through, I must say.

Sigourney Weaver

Don't ask.

And here's a more normal picture:

I'm still being frustrated in my efforts to get a photo of Heidi smiling. Seriously, she smiles ALL THE TIME, until the millisecond I pick up the camera. It's driving me crazy!

Speaking of driving me crazy, Juliet's entered a whole new phase of toddlerdom this week. She's learnt the phrases "I want" and "I need". Combined with her insistence that everything is "Mines! Not yours - MINES", we are definitely in the thick of it now. She's now speaking well enough that most people can understand most of what she is saying (I think). And trust me, she talks. A lot.

What IS my sister doing to me?

You'd look unimpressed if your big sister insisted you wore a stupid thing around your head too. Today I was chatting to Juliet, saying that Heidi has a bald spot on the back of her head with no hair (where she sleeps). She looked ponderous for a second or two, then declared, "I find it!" She ran off to her room and reappeared with 2 headbands, one for her and one for Heidi.

Another humourous moment occurred this morning when I told her we'd be packing away some stuff in the kitchen soon. "No Worries Mum!" she said.

3 month update

Heidi turned 3 months old yesterday, and had her checkup with the maternal nurse today. As suspected, she is completely normal and healthy. She's slightly above average in weight and height, and doing all the things a 3 month old baby is meant to do. I have to say, she really is the easiest baby. She feeds well, she sleeps well, she rarely cries and is almost always full of smiles (still unphotographed unfortunately, because as soon as she sees the camera she is mesmerised and stops smiling).

In other big news, James has a new job. It's back in the Energy area, but within a different government department. He starts next week, and is very pleased about the change. He ended up being headhunted for several jobs all in the same week - popular guy that he is!

I've started a running program and diet in an effort to lose some weight and increase my fitness levels. If I'm going to be running around after 2 toddlers, I figure I need to get those energy levels up and going sooner rather than later! I had my first run tonight. It half killed me but I felt great afterwards, and I'm determined to make it a regular part of my week.