Special Moments: Nighttime feedings

I never expected to co-sleep, but was quickly converted. It also took a while to get used to waking up in the middle of the night. But A is growing up before my eyes and before I know it will be sleeping in his own bed and not need me in the night anymore. So I want to treasure these cuddle times.

Special Moments: Following Mom

A is quiet an accomplished crawller and can go anywhere he pleases. But he always stays and plays close to me!

A's baptism

A had a Catholic baptism just over a week ago. It was also a sort of his coming out since quiet a few people came that have not yet seen him. A behaved like an angel the whole day.

I was actually stressing quiet a bit about the baptism but everything worked out in the end. The priest was easy going and did a lovely service. Sometimes the priests want you to jump through hoops. I also stressed about the flowers for the restaurant after the service. The first florist was very overpriced. I considered doing the flowers myself. On a whim I got another quote and got exactly what I wanted for a great price. The colours I thought of for a boys baptism was white, blue and a touch of peach. (thanks pinterest). Here's my amateur photo of the table:

The day of the baptism was busy. It didn't help that A had a bad night and I only fell asleep at 4am. It reminded me of my wedding day but it included taking care of the baby. Next time I would advise having someone be the coordinator. Because I don't think the restaurant gave all the food I ordered. And they were supposed to put up labels for the food but they didn't. At least people raved about the dessert, so it ended well.

If I have another baptism I would want to remember the following:

• Get a professional photographer. It really is a special day, I compare it to a mini wedding.
• I wish I stood a bit closer to DH when A was being baptized. DH held him.
• Get EVERYTHING ready the day before. I didn't have time to change purses in the morning.
• Have more food!
• Have someone be the coordinator on the day so that I can just take care of the kids and and talk to people.
• Hand out maps to the restaurant at the church

Breastfeeding friendly places in Pretoria

I feed A only from the breast. In the last 7 months he had a bottle of expressed milk 3 times. However, I find it hard to feed in public. I'm rather shy about it and the one time I tried at a restaurant it was a disaster. He didn't like the blanket over his face, I couldn't see what was happening under the blanket and the waitress starring at us wasn't helping.

I sometimes breastfeed in the car before we leave or when we comeback, so glad we have tinted windows! It is such a pleasure when there are places for breastfeeding. So far here are some I came across in Pretoria East:

Woodlands Mall
I was very impressed when I found out there are special feeding rooms in the mall. It makes it so stress free to do a longer shopping trip. There are two rooms by the toilets between Truworths a Cape Union and one room by the toilets next to CNA, although on one occasion the room was locked.

Cappuccino's at The Grove
We come here a lot since we had A they have a very nice baby changing room with a booth seat for feeding.

Blos Cafe
They have a clearly marked feeding room with a sofa. Love that place! It's one of the big reasons we're doing A's Baptism there. The place is on Lynnwood opposite Presley's, behind all the small buildings, a hidden gen.

Menlyn Shopping Center
I've only been to their family bathroom next to Dros. At least they had a plastic chair, better than nothing I guess.

Farm Inn
We were there for a family function. Their family bathroom had a wicker chair. Again better than nothing. The place is quiet child friendly with jumping castles and a petting zoo.

Botanical Garden's
We found a secluded spot for a picnic and I had no problems nursing almost in the open. It actually felt pretty good doing it in nature.

Parkview Center
They don't have chairs in the family room. But they have a row of ottoman's in front of mirrors in the ladies bathroom. I have sat in the last one and turned my back and fed A.

I hope there are more places around and I will add if I find them.

Felt alphabet

In my previous career my days involved staring at a screen, writing word documents and meetings, nothing involving hand made things. When I was pregnant I started thinking about crafts and things I could make for A. I was envious of friends who could knit or crochet.

When I came upon this diy felt abc's tutorial from http://www.hellobee.com, I saw my solution, how fun, making an alphabet! I was introduced to felt and a bit of sewing in school, probably grade 5, during art class. I took on this project during my maternity leave. It took a while one of the reasons was because my hands were not used to physical labour!

Here are some points on what I learnt:

• I should have traced the letters facing down on the felt. Some letters show the outline I did.
• I used five colours of felt, during the project I wished I had at least six to have more variety.
• I used a chop stick to stuff the letters with fibre.
• Photography is not my strong point.

Special Moments: Calling Yaya

A was playing with my cell phone and tried to call grandma "Yaya", twice. I caught him the first but he succeeded the second time. Now Yaya things he is the smartest 6 month old ever.

Tough Moments in Motherhood

I feel blessed to be A's mom. And I am lucky to be able to to stay home with him. Although I am busy 24/7 I am so much happier than when I was working.

However, there are moments that are tough. In the beginning there was constant feeding, stomach cramps (luckily they resolved when I changed my diet) as well as adjusting from being my own person to having someone depend on me pretty much 24/7. Now it's growth spurts, development leaps and teething. Sometimes I do feel overwhelmed, and frustrated, but the difficult times pass and I have a happy baby again.

In those times I have learned to tell myself the following:

1. This too shall pass
   It will, eventually he will stop crying fall asleep/ stop feeding. It will not carry on forever.
2. Live in the moment
   I used to stress about the things I can't get to because I've been holding/feeding the baby for so long. But I see how quickly he is growing up and one day he will not need me. So I want to enjoy holding him while he does need me. And if sometimes the dishes have to wait till morning, that's ok.
3. His need is real
   Sometimes, especially in the middle of the night, I might feel a bit frustrated and think "Oh come on, what is it now?" and secretly wish I could just cry it out. But he is just a baby and what he is feeling is real and so is his need for me. I am the adult and I can suck it up.
4. Don't sweat the small stuff
   Like I mentioned before dishes can wait. If I need to have a pajama day so be it. Nurturing my baby is the most important task. And to add to that "Those who mind don't matter, those who matter don't mind."
5. Relax and be positive
   Naturally I do worry if my baby is sick and about general safety. But I don't want to stress about every little thing. There is no perfect parent or the perfect way to parent. Homo sapiens have been around for 200 000 years, civilisation for 50 000 and we have got this far.