How we roll!

Daisy can roll! I've felt as though I've been a bit slack with the amount of tummy time Daisy has had...I worry that she'll get trampled by her big bro - unintentionally of course, but he doesn't always look where he's running. But today, while Jamie was asleep, I put her on her front. And after looking up and giving me a grin, she threw her head to the side and rolled onto her back! I grabbed the camera and flipped her back to her front, and she did it a couple more times so I could video it for her Daddy to see when he got home. I'm so proud! Consulting Jamie's red book, I can see that he also rolled front to back for the first time at 19 weeks...so little sister seems to be meeting her milestones in line with her bro.

I am LOVING maternity leave now. It took me a while to adjust to not being at work, and for the first couple of months of Daisy's life, I was living by the clock, always trying to cram as much as possible into each day...toddler groups, walks, household chores, etc etc. It was as though I wanted to prove I could still be a good mum to Jamie, even though his little sister had come along. I didn't want to feel as though I was letting him down or that he was missing out. I look back now and can see how silly I was being, but at the time I felt so under pressure to be "perfect".

Now I have chilled out a bit and am just enjoying each day with my babies, even if sometimes we just stay in and make cakes, or play in the garden. We still go to groups a lot, and see friends, but I'm now more relaxed about everything.

It helps that Wayne has a new job and so our money worries have been alleviated a little. I should now be able to take a full year off, which I'm SO happy about. As to returning to work afterwards, i have some decisions to make. I would love to be a stay-at-home-mum, but we aren't sure finances will allow. We'll see how things go over the next few months and decide nearer the time.

I'm thinking of turning this blog into a general one about our family life, instead of just being about Daisy. Need to think of a name though!

Speaking of my little flower...she is still such a joy, her smile is never far away and she's growing up so quickly. 19 weeks old now...I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I bought her some new clothes the other day and she looks so pretty in her new little demin skirt and tights. She is doing so well, totally rocking at tummy time, even though she doesn't get as much practice as she should, in case she gets trampled by her big bro.

My baby girl is getting so big! Her 6 week old cousin came round this morning and Daisy seemed so grown up in comparison - sitting up well (with support of course!), holding her head up and giggling. She's such a happy little soul, she has smiles for everyone. I love it when her gaze locks onto me and then she breaks into the most beautiful grin, as though looking at me has made her day. She is so beautiful...have I said that before?!? Her brown eyes are just incredible and everyone comments on how pretty she is.

More things I love...

* how her little hand grasps my top when she's breastfeeding, as though she's clinging on

* the sound of her husky little laugh, coupled with big, bright eyes and a huge gummy grin

* kissing her soft, chubby cheeks

* that she sucks her thumb just like her big brother did

* her wispy red-brown hair, which sticks up on the top of her head

Things I love...

* the way she looks up at me when she's breastfeeding, with a look of pure contentment

* how she smiles in her sleep

* that she saves her biggest smiles for her brother

* her beautiful long eyelashes

* the smell of her hair when she's just got out of the bath

She's adorable, so beautiful and I'm so proud of her. I try to hold onto every moment but it's like trying to catch water...impossible - it just slips through your fingers and is gone. I know she's changing so quickly and I'm forgetting how she was when she was first born. It makes me sad, but at the same time I love seeing her developing and able to do things she couldn't yesterday.

We're all fine, Daisy is 10 weeks old now, how did that happen?!

She had her first jabs today. They got delayed by 2 weeks as the doctor who does the check-ups was on holiday. She was weighed and checked over and is doing well. She's quite small though - down on the 9th centile for weight, only 10lb 2oz. Jamie was the same though, and started piling on the weight once he was weaned onto solids at 6 months. She goes 3 hours between day feeds so I guess she must be getting enough to eat.

She's still waking once at night, at quite random times. Sometimes she sleeps til 5.30am, then the next night it'll be 2.30am. She feeds very quickly though so I actually quite enjoy the night feed now, it's a nice chance to have a quiet cuddle with her. I haven't done any expressing for a few weeks now but really should get back to it and try her with a bottle again.

We tried her in the bouncy chair yesterday and she seemed to like it. She likes being upright where she can see what's going on! She's such a smiley little girl and loves to look at people's faces.

Little smiler!

Daisy is now 7 weeks old and is doing brilliantly. She has started smiling in the past week or so, when we put our faces close to hers. It's so lovely! She watches us as we move around the room and is enjoying spending time on her playgym too.

She was weighed last week when she was 6 weeks old, and was 8lb 14oz. She's now between the 9th and 25th centiles, so has dropped below her birth centile, but the health visitor said that was fine as she's clearly a healthy and alert baby - just quite petite.

We have managed to find lots of toddler groups to go to, so that we have somewhere to go most days. Daisy is so easy to take out - she just sleeps in the sling or her carseat.

She's down to just one night wake-up now. We had a couple of nights where she went from 10.30pm to 5 or even 5.30am...I couldn't believe it when I looked at the time! But it tends to be around 4am most nights. I'm feeling much better with only one waking as she feeds so quickly, so I'm only awake for 20 mins or so.

I feel a lot more relaxed now and am very much enjoying being a mum of two. I'm so proud of how well Jamie has coped with Daisy's arrival, he's so sweet with her, giving her kisses and telling me to give her "rolk" (milk) when she cries.

I can't get over how lucky I am sometimes... :D

4 weeks old already!

Wow, the time is flying by. Daisy is doing really well, and seems to be getting more alert each day. She has the most beautiful eyes, the same shape as Jamie's, but it looks as though they are going to be brown rather than blue like his. I love it when she locks her gaze onto me.

We are managing to get out quite a lot. I went to the children's centre family morning with both of them today. Luckily Daisy likes to be in the sling, which makes chasing around after Jamie much easier. We have also been to a breastfeeding support group several times, and also a mum and baby group. It's nice to meet other mums with similar-aged babies, although all of the ones we've met so far have been much older than Daisy, and it's amazing to see the difference in size that a few weeks makes. She still seems so little!

Last Friday, Daisy and I went out for a meal with some friends as she was so good - just slept in her sling the whole time. And for Father's Day, we all went down to Saunton Sands for the day. Jamie had a great time on the beach, Wayne got to go surfing, and Daisy slept a lot, must have been the sea air!

Breasfeeding is going well, so much easier than it was with Jamie. Daisy feeds for about 10 mins max and generally goes 3 hours between feeds. This is the same at night though, which means 2 wakings. I was hoping she might be down to just one night feed by now, as I think Jamie was at this age, but I guess we'll get there in time.

Generally, she's quite different to Jamie in her likes and dislikes - she doesn't like having a dummy, being swaddled or taking a bottle, whereas Jamie liked all those things. We aren't co-sleeping anymore, as we've got her to settle at night in her moses basket. She does like to be held though, and has an unsettled period each evening where only being held and rocked will do.

She's such a good girl!

I can't believe how settled Daisy is...she just feeds and sleeps and that's it really. Last night she woke at 2.30am and then 6am, and settled quite quickly each time.

I took both her and Jamie out for the first time this morning. Jamie was in the pushchair and Daisy in the sling, til we got to the park, and then I chased Jamie round with Daisy strapped to my front. I want to be able to take Jamie to toddler groups, so I need to get used to getting out with them both.

I'm at the wanting to stop time stage at the moment...I don't want her to get any bigger! She's so perfect and I just want to take in every tiny detail, and it scares me how fast she's going to grow, because that's how it was with Jamie. Before I knew it, it was his first birthday. I haven't had any trouble bonding with her, perhaps because of the dramatic nature of her birth. For the first 5 minutes of her life, it was just me and her, all alone, which I hope will always give us a strong connection.

Three days old already!

We had a good night again - Daisy woke for feeds at 1am and 6am and Jamie also slept well and let us lie in til 7.30am - result!!

The midwife has been to weigh her and she has lost 7.6% of her birthweight, which is normal and nothing to worry about. She weighs 6lb 10oz at the moment. My milk has come in now, so hopefully she'll start gaining weight again soon.

Daisy had a good night - she fed twice but settled well between feeds. We are co-sleeping with her at the moment as she settles so well in with us. I'm not sure whether it's a good idea long-term...we didn't do it at all with Jamie, but I just want to enjoy her and this seems like the right thing to do for now. Just hope she's not still in our bed in 2 years' time!

Nanna Heather came over today, and Dasiy had her first trip out in the sling, to Tesco. She was good as gold and slept the whole time. We sat out in the garden with her this afternoon, while Jamie played and Wayne did some gardening. The midwife came to give her first dose of Vitamin K, as we have decided to give it in drops rather than an injection.

I'm at the "I don't want her to get any bigger" stage at the moment...I remember feeling the same with Jamie. She's so tiny and perfect and I don't want to forget how she is at the moment. I know she's going to grow so fast and the newborn stage will be over so quickly. We might not have any more children so this could be the last time I have a teeny tiny baby, and I find that really sad.

So I'm making sure I make the most of every day with her and just enjoy the experience, instead of worrying about whether I'm doing everything right.

Wayne took Jamie over to his mum's this morning, as usual for a Thursday, so she could take him to toddler group. We want him to stick to his usual routine so he stays as settled as possible. It's strange not having him around though...I feel a bit guilty for having Daisy to myself and not spending time with Jamie.

Had a nice, relaxing day getting to know my little girl. I could stare at her for hours. She doesn't open her eyes very often but when she does, she gives me such a serious stare. We took her on her first car outing this afternoon, to a scrap metal merchant in Gloucester!! We did very well from our stash of copper and brass in the garden!

Ro and John visited at tea time and Ro had a very long cuddle with Daisy.