The Life of Lauren - continued on tumblr.com

Hello all - it's become a little difficult to keep up with the regular blog entries with me back at uni and Nicola racing around after Lauren. So for the time being at least we've moved across to Tumblr.com which is a "micro-blogging" site...basically it means we can just put tidbits up when they happen which makes life a lot easier for us.

So until further notice, you can follow the exploits of Lauren at http://laurencatherine.tumblr.com. There are some great pics and video of her there so go and check them out.

Lauren is also on Twitter and can be found at http://www.twitter.com/LollyGirlinOz.

Lots of love
Nic and Blair

Hands...continued

Yes, I’m still talking about hands but for a number of reasons this time. Not only has there been a lot going on with our little lady’s hands over the last couple of weeks, she’s been held and cuddled by a few more hands than usual. So where do I begin….

Lauren has realised she has two hands!
Great news - our daughter has realised she has two hands. She has also figured out that the left side of her body does exist. When we were in NZ last week she liked to hold her own hands, pull her fingers and generally look like she was trying to see if they were attached to her body. She also grabbed a couple of toys with each hand and held them very briefly. She started off by holding and moving them and then letting go as if she’s not sure whether she’s actually doing it but it’s pretty cool to watch. It’s amazing how quickly they learn and the concentration on her face sometimes is quite amusing. By the time we were back in Australia she had figured out what her hands are for and is now grabbing the hanging toys on the play gym and trying to put them in her mouth.

They must taste good
Laurens other new obsession with her hands is trying to fit them in her mouth. Not very ladylike I know and I’ve told her so, but she doesn’t seem to care and completely ignores my advice (and she’s not even 4 months old!). I figured they must taste good as she loves to lick and suck them and so I’ve left her to it.

Lots of hands in NZ
At 15 weeks of age Lauren hopped onto a plane to New Zealand to introduce herself to all her kiwi relatives and friends. The flight went well and as usual she was very well behaved and only cried when she decided to do a huge poo just before we landed. Fortunately we had Daddy with us and he dashed to the loo to change her. Besides that she took it all in her stride and was greeted by two very happy grandparents in the arrivals lounge.

The following day (Saturday) all the relatives came round to meet her – I won’t list everyone but have a look at the photo’s to get an idea of how many relatives she got the chance to meet. Again she was on her best behaviour and played, cuddled and slept in everyone’s hands for the afternoon.

On Sunday we had a quiet morning, I think Lauren was a little tired from the journey and busy day before. And then the visitor train began again, this time with our friends in NZ but Lauren took it all in her stride…mostly.

Daddy flew back to Oz on Monday and we stayed until Thursday. It was great to have some extra hands during the day to help with Lauren. Gran and Grandad did a great job of playing, pushing the pram and settling Lauren and I actually had a chance to read my book. So we left very happy on Thursday.

Since our flight to NZ had been relatively easy, I wasn’t concerned at all about the flight home. Unfortunately the flight was delayed which meant all my plans to feed her during take-off and landing went out the window. Fortunately Lauren was content to suck on her dummy and we only had two screaming moments on the plane…I’m now one of those people on the plane that everyone frowns at!

Hands covered in poo
We have also had our first poo-up-the-back experience since returning from NZ. Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t noticed when I went to change Lauren and so I pulled up her top and my fingers emerged covered in brown sticky stuff. I’m sure it won’t be the last time but needless to say it wasn’t an experience that I’m in a hurry to repeat.

The only other thing we did was complete our baby course at the hospital and so apparently I’m now fully equipped to face the next 20 years! It was great to do the course and it has really helped. We also met some great other mums and bubs who we’re going to keep in touch with and so that will be great. Although all the other bubs are boys and so Daddy is a bit concerned that Lauren has no girls to hang out with but being my daughter she’s bound to be a tomboy anyway!

Oh, and Lauren has started chatting to us. We were told to mimic her noises which we've been doing and it's encouraging her to chat away. We managed to capture this on video and the clip for it is available here.

Well, I think that’s it for now. You can see all the photos of the last couple of weeks here. And remember if you want to follow Lauren on Twitter her ID is @LollyGirlinOz.

Two weeks to catch up on

There is rather a lot to talk about this time as I haven’t written the blog for 2 weeks. This is for a couple of reasons – the first being I was without a computer for a few days when it decided to stop working for no apparent reason. But the second and more important reason is Lauren has been sick. She is all better now but had a bad cold and croup and so the poor little thing has been under the weather and not sleeping or feeding well. Which also means we don’t sleep well or get to rest much during the day as lots of cuddles were needed. So, it’s been a tiring few days but we’re all okay now and it’s good to see Lauren smiling again.

However the last 2 weeks didn’t start like this, so let me tell you what the little lady has been up to over her 14th and 15th week in this world.

Hands – taken for granted by most of us, have become the most fascinating thing in the world to Lauren. In fact, just one in particular, her right one. She has been staring at it now for a week and half, it all started by moving it back and forward like a break dancer or orchestra conductor in front of her face. And this week she has moved onto watching her fingers open and close. In fact there was a major breakthrough on Friday when for a brief moment she discovered she has a left hand too, as she watched herself continuously grab and let go of my finger. But the moment was brief and the next day she had completely forgotten about her left side and was back to staring at the right. The intense look on her face is quite amusing and every morning I unwrap her out of bed she looks straight at her hand like she’s never seen it before.

Of course, when Lauren wasn’t sick we were busy seeing friends and new places. We visited Jon and Amy in Collaroy and asked them to be Lauren's godparents. They happily agreed and then Lauren enjoyed hanging out and had some good cuddle time with them both. We’ve also been for a walk around Centennial Park with Helena & Rory and Belinda and Jude – these are friends and their babies from our antenatal class, also known as bump buddies. Lauren is the oldest although she wasn’t supposed to be of course! It’s great comparing notes with the other mums and everyone found Lauren's fascination with her hands very amusing.


As Lauren continues to grow, at 14 weeks she was 5.5kg and 61cms, we’ve had to revise both the bath and bed situations. Lauren has now graduated to the full cot (no need for the bassinet any more). And the original baby bath is now too small. We tried the sink but that didn’t work and so Daddy kindly went and bought her ladyship a big new one with a seat. She continues to love bath time, but her favourite is when she is in the big tub with her Daddy.

The fortnight finished on a very different note. With Lauren smiling lots and eating lots. I’m not sure if it was a growth spurt or whether she was making up for not eating much for three days but boy can this girl eat. We went from feeding every 3-4 hours to every 2. Thankfully this only lasted three days as I don’t think I could keep up.

All the pics from the last couple of weeks are available here. It will be another fortnight before I can write again as our Australian baby (yes her Aussie passport arrived this week much to Blair’s disgust) is on her way to NZ at the end of next week to meet all her family and friends on the other side of the ditch. We'll update you on how our first flight goes when we're back home!

Thank god for grandparents

With the week starting on a bad note (in last week’s blog I mentioned that Lauren was on hunger strike and I was sick), Gran and Granddad Cooke cancelled their flight back to NZ and stayed on for the week to help out. I had forgotten how good it is to have the extra sets of hands around the place!

Lauren was well looked after, with some extra walks in the park, some great kicking time in the bouncer seat (she has finally realised she has feet) and lots of chatting to Gran whilst being read stories. We had a very contented and angelic baby on our hands and with Gran’s magic touch she was even settling during the witching hour.

Now, Lauren is a little camera shy – strange considering she must be the most photographed and filmed baby in the world. But whenever she sees the camera come out she goes silent, stops doing what she is doing immediately and stares transfixed at the camera. From that point on there is no chance of a smile. This finally worked in our favour when we had to go and get Lauren’s passport photo done. We lay her on the floor on a white sheet and she looked straight down the lens and didn’t smile one bit. The man in the shop said it was the quickest baby passport photo he had ever done!

We said goodbye to Gran and Grandad Cooke on Saturday morning and hoped that Lauren wouldn’t miss all the extra attention and cuddles too much. To help take her mind of it, we went for a walk up to Potts Point and put her in the pram in the "grown-up" seat. Now Lauren has better head control, she can sit and face outwards and take in the world. We dressed her in the coat that Lavinia had bought her and looked so cute. It feels weird to be walking down the street and not being able to see her, but I think she enjoyed it...until she went to sleep that is.

In the afternoon I realised just how lucky I was that Lauren was early...and small. At our antenatal class reunion that day we were introduced to some BIG babies. Admittedly all the other babies from our class are boys which means they are naturally bigger but Lauren looked tiny compared to a 5-week old boy who is already 7kg!!

It was great to see everyone again and compare notes and of course Lauren was on her best behaviour as she hung out with everyone and then had a little nap in her pram - no settling required. To say we were the envy of a few of the parents would be an understatement.

We ended the week with a trip to Lauren’s favourite pub, The Lord Dudley. As a regular she was pretty relaxed, had a little snooze and swapped drinks for cuddles with a few of Blair’s uni friends. But we couldn’t stay long as we were finishing the cold, rainy Sunday with a roast dinner with Abi and Joe.

Never the one to miss out, Lauren refused to sleep while we had guests. No matter how hard Blair, Abi or I tried to settle her, she would not sleep in her room and so she joined us at the dinner table in her bouncer seat. That night she continued to be pretty unsettled and Dad ended up having to sleep on the sofa bed in her room with her for an hour to settle her to sleep. But he doesn't mind and secretly I think he likes it...

Photos from this week are here.

Like mother, like daughter

It’s amazing that even at 11 weeks old someone’s personality can be so strong. Lauren showed us this week just how determined she can be when she sets her mind to it. I wonder where she gets that from…

On Monday Lauren decided that she was in the mood for cuddles (which I never mind) and so, since she was determined not to lie down all alone, we spent most of the day with Lauren in my arms. Even a visit to see Sophie and Jack in the afternoon didn’t change her mood and so we cuddled up together on their sofa too. 

Tuesday saw a very chilled Lauren, who was happy to lie around on her own, chat to her teddies and hang out with Sandy and Edward. She slept when she was supposed to and like any lady in training conserved her energy for an afternoon of shopping, coffee and cake.  

Wednesday was the day she decided to be a show-off. In the afternoon we went to our usual class at the hospital and this week we were talking about motor development in babies. Taryn who takes the course, asked if she could borrow Lauren as she was awake (of course she was, she’s always awake in the afternoon) to demonstrate “tummy time”. Not only did Lauren demonstrate marvellously how easy it is to lie on your belly and lift your head and shoulders, she also rolled from her belly to her back, showing off in front of all the other babies. We’d never seen her do it before and she just took it all in her stride like it was nothing new.

Roz and Terry (aka Gran and Grandad) arrived on Friday which we had really been looking forward to. Lauren, who had been missing the attention of Grandad Paul and his camera, was pleased at the arrival of another photographer and posed beautifully for the camera. Most of the great shots from this week come courtesy of Terry.

On Saturday we all headed out for another party, this time to celebrate Jack’s first birthday, and Lauren put on her social hat. She was all dressed up in her party dress and put on her best smile for the crowd. She had cuddles from everyone and then slept soundly in the baby Bjorn cuddled up to her favourite man - Daddy.

That evening Lauren stayed in with the grandparents as Blair and I went out for dinner for our wedding anniversary. It was her first time alone with them and she was determined to make the most of the opportunity…staying awake and watching the footy until Mummy and Daddy came home.

 

On Sunday our young lady became a little madam and we had a glimpse of the battles we may face in the years ahead. Suddenly, for no particular reason, Lauren decided to stage a ‘hunger strike’. She point blank refused to feed, despite being starving, and screamed whenever I tried to feed her. We only managed to convince her to feed by giving her the dummy and when she had relaxed, quickly replacing it with my breast!

Monday was a public holiday and Gran and Grandad were due to fly out in the evening. However Lauren’s hunger strike continued and I came down with a nasty tummy bug so the wonderful grandparents offered to cancel their flights and stay until next week. With two more pairs of hands to help how could we say no, so we gratefully accepted. Blair is already planning the chores for his mum and dad! 

All the photos from this week are available here.

Diary of one busy girl

Sometimes I feel like Lauren’s PA, as she is one busy lady at 10 weeks of age. This week included a fund raising event, lunch and a birthday party to name a few of the appointments in her diary and all of this on less sleep. I do wonder if she is mentally preparing us for her teenage years…

Monday: The social week began with a visit to Bondi to Lauren’s older partner in crime – Poppy. Lauren loves visiting her new friends as not only does she get lovely cuddles from Jen (Poppy's Mum) but Poppy too.

Tuesday: Lunch with Dad in Pyrmont – a picnic overlooking the harbour and plenty of admirers from the office. Then later in the afternoon we had a visit from Auntie Amy who helped us with some shopping in Potts Point. Lauren is certainly learning how to spend money. Mind you, it will be in the blood if she takes after me and her Nanna ;-)
Wednesday: This was rather a momentous day as Lauren moved out of newborn nappies into the bigger infant size. Thank God she’s not old enough yet to ask “does my bum look big in this?” as they look huge again compared to the newborn size. At the baby class in the afternoon we weighed her again and yes, she still gaining weight at a rather fast pace and was 4.8kg this week.

Thursday: Lauren’s first charity event – Australia’s biggest morning tea, raising money for the Cancer Council. This was at a friend's sister-in-law's house and it was crazy - there must have been at least 6 babies there aged under six months and about six two-year olds. Lauren was a dream though and sat happily on my lap, before having a bite to eat (not 4 pieces of cake like me!) and falling asleep in Auntie Sophie’s arms.

Friday: A visit to my office. With my head well and truly in baby-land for the last 10 weeks I had to pull a few sentences together and interview a couple of candidates. This meant that Lauren was doted on by everyone at work for a couple of hours as they all took turns to play babysitter. Listening to your baby cry for food while you’re asking someone about their career is a bit weird but thank god Blair reminded me to put some formula in the bag just in case. And lucky Auntie Lavinia was there with her magic touch and calming influence, Lauren was fed and asleep by the time I was finished.

Saturday: Poppy’s 2nd birthday party. This was a glimpse into our future – twenty two-year olds running round, playing, shouting, crying and having fun. Of course Lauren slept through most of it in the baby bjorn snuggled up to Daddy’s chest. Or she did until it was time to sing happy birthday and the noise got a bit too much, so we decided to go. Mind you, not before we got some cake and Lauren got her first party bag...complete with designer sunglasses.

Sunday: Morning tea with Roger and Barb. Once again Lauren was true to form and passed plenty of wind on her guests – we figure it’s part of her initiation and it means she likes you! She also made everyone smile with a few killer smiles, which she is now doing several times throughout the day.

So that concludes one busy week for our little socialite. Oh yes, except for the sleeping less thing… on top of all this Lauren decided that she was rather hungry again and would wake every 3 hours for food. Not only that but she would be awake and raring to go in the middle of the night, ready to play all over again. Like I said at the beginning, I’m fearful of the teenage version!!!!

The pics of the last week are available here.

Our angel returns

When Lauren arrived, my boss gave me some great advice, that “no matter what is happening, just remember it won’t last and that every week is different”. There has never been a truer word spoken. After the challenging week last week, this new week brought with it another new Lauren! Not only did she return to her smiling and playful self, she also discovered the new skill of sleeping for 5-7 hours in one block at night. What an angel!

We think we've discovered that sleeping longer is linked to bathing and so now Lauren gets a long soak in the tub every night. In fact anyone would think she’s at a day spa in our house, as the recent photos will show. I learnt baby massage this week and now Lauren gets her towels heated in the tumble dryer, before we lay them on a big cushion, put her in the middle and then massage her from head to toe! I wish someone would do it for me…

Lauren is growing fast and you can really see how much bigger she is now than when she was two weeks - it's unbelievable how fast she's growing. And she continues to be more alert. She's also started kicking in the the bath and pushing against the sides with her legs.

We discovered that the screaming last week was brought on by a growth phase in Lauren's brain. Apparently the part of her brain that controls sight developed so much that instead of being able to only see 30cm in front of her, she can now see up to 5m. That must be a big change for a little girl!

We had our usual outings this week – Mothers’ Group (where she weighed in at 4.6kg this week), baby class, walking in the park and generally hanging out together at home while I talked non-stop to her. I wonder if she ever thinks “oh shut up mum” and just wishes she could say it? Mind you, I think the talking is rubbing off as she’s starting to make a lot more sounds and burbles quite contentedly to everyone in the room. 

We had some visitors this week too. Lavinia came and brought with her the most beautiful winter coat for Lauren – she is going to look adorable in it. I also think Lavinia has the magic touch as Lauren slept very calmly in her arms (note: Lavinia for babysitter). Then Jon and Amy came round on Sunday afternoon for a late lunch and some Lauren time. Lauren was very taken with Jon and was happy to sit in his lap and listen to what he had to say, which is more than can be said for Amy ;o)

We finished our lovely week together with another long bath – this time in the grown ups bath with her Daddy. She loved it! Mind you, she is truly a Daddy’s girl and would love anything as long as Daddy was holding her and she could stare dreamily into his eyes. I know I’m biased but they look so cute together. 

I wonder what this week will have in store for us – Angel or Demon?

Photos from last week can be viewed here. We will get around to putting up some more videos, just as soon as we can find the time!