Tuesday 29 July 2014

Luka Anya - 7 Months Old!


Luka turned 7 months last Sunday, and this last month I have definitely noticed a wave of milestones being reached with her that I'm very excited about!

She's started showing a huge interest in crawling, she gets up on her hands and knees and starts to rock then lunges herself forward onto her belly then repeats as well as the occasional scooting around and even getting up on her hands and tippy toes. Honestly I leave her on her playmat one second and she's off it and at the other end of the lounge the next!
We've started with baby proofing and purchased some baby gates thanks to my lovely mother in law who also brought Luka a teething necklace that has worked a treat, we're yet to buy a play pen as she's still not that mobile enough to worry about, but none the less she's keeping us on our toes!
And boy can she talk, she just loves to babble away at her feet, toys and us and and grab and look at everything in sight.
She has this old keyboard that she loves to tap away at, so as I'm typing this she's typing too :-)

She's so curious and active and I'm just in awe of her and how far she's come from her early days of having colic and being so restless (still working on the restlessness) and I look back on her newborn photo's and measure how small she was then to how big she is now, she was soooo tiny and sooo scrummy!
Watching the T.V show One Born Every Minute brings back so much old feelings and memories.
One memory I recall the most was after she was born and as I was being stitched up she was laying on my chest looking up at me and suckling on her fingers and the birthing room we were in overlooked the beautiful Auckland harbour as the sun was rising, it was a truely gorgeous moment that I hope I'll never forget.

For me this month has been hot and cold, Luka has been teething like no ones business.
Dribbles and runny noses, colds and sleepless nights, Andrei and I snapping at eachother due to broken sleep..... It hasn't been the best of months but in saying that I have enjoyed it the most because Luka's really started to become more interactive and a real little person!
I've also been back at work comfortably for a month (having to take one day off to care for bub while she was sick) its been great having that time out for myself and having my own money again.
I've slacked off the gym which I'm quite bittersweet about. I stopped going because A} I don't have enough income to support payments towards my membership and B} I noticed a great decline in my breastmilk production as I was going and C} Finding the time and energy is really quite hard! I walk heaps and I have noticed my clothes fitting better so I've decided to cut myself some slack and enjoy my first year with bub without worrying about my body till after her first birthday and when I've stopp b/feeding by then and when I'll increase her time at daycare.
I'd admit, though, I take my hat off to those fit mums on Instagram. I'd compare myself to them and feel really lazy, but I had to snap myself out of it and realise that every person is different.
I was in the best shape of my life before I fell pregnant and I still have that goal of getting there again with a lot of hard work in tow, but maybe just not at the moment.


I love spiking her hair up!

Weight: She was just weighed today by her Plunket nurse and is now at 6.11kg. Not too great but she has grown 6cm and is now 66.5cm long and head circumference is 41.6cm! I think due to her having a bad cold and going on a huge hunger strike a few weeks back just messed with her weight gain so I'll be focusing on that for the next few months till her next check up.

Sleep: One word HORRIBLE! From having a bad cold to teething and the like it has been broken sleep for the last month in a half. She has a pretty good routine down and sleeps great during the day but it's always the night time that gets us down. I just hope it gets better soon...

Diet: So far she's on 40% breastmilk and 60% formula. My breast milk has decreased like I mentioned in her 6 month update but that only because my pump broke and had to be sent away to be fixed which took a good 1.5weeks.
I ordered a fantastic breastmilk tea which increased my supply, and right when I needed to pump it wasn't working boo!
So I had no choice but to give bub the breast and also bottle feed at too, but because she's taking more formula than b/milk it's dropped so I'm hoping to get it back up again so I can pump and store milk away again.
She's eating solid food, fruits, veges, baby muesli, baby pastas and custards and also bit off our plate but it's been a struggle as she still hasn't completely kicked her cold in the butt (snotty noses and food don't mix well!).
So I'm hoping (praying) that this gets better in the next month.

Routine: Luka is awake approximately 2-2.5hours after each sleep/nap time. During that time she eats, drinks, plays etc. Her sleep varies and after each wake period she can sleep from 45mins to an hour in a half. Her biggest nap is usually at 3pm when she sleeps for an hour and then will be awake till 6 which is followed by her dinner time and then a shower then bed.
She still needs to be fed b/milk or formula to sleep, but is that doesn't work the ol' cry it out method works a treat.
I'm big on her knowing when it's her bed time, I don't want her to walk over Andrei nor I as she gets older so the sooner I introduce the rules the better.

Social: She's incredibly sociable and smiles a lot at people and talks a lot to the people she knows.
She's so cute, when you talk to her she coyly smiles and hides her face or if she's really comfy with you she'll reach out for you're face and try to give you a big mouth baby kiss :D
When we play at times she'll lay on my chest and give her big scary eyes and she'll just laugh away, Luka's also started taking an interest in suckling on my mouth and when I'm at work she suckles on Andrei's arms as if he had boobies!
They have bonded so amazingly since I've been at work, last night they were lying on the bed and Andrei was making her laugh doing the big scary eyes at her it was just tooooo cuuute!
Her laugh is adorable, I have daycare to thank for her being so amazing around people, she has the best caregivers that adore her.
We went on a playdate the other week and she was trying to suck on the other babies feet and head it was hilarious!



Their bond is magic


Likes:

  • big scary eyes
  • sharing my fruit juice popsicles and water bottle
  • anything that she can put in her mouth
  • her Jumping Joey and exersaucer
  • her bottle, yay! It was such a mission to wean her onto it.
  • the swings at the park
  • Our cat Lulu, but Lulu doesn't want anything to do with her :-(
  • being naked
  • shower time
  • going for rides on mine and Andrei's shoulders
  • me singing her to sleep, she ends up just smiling and talking to me, too damn beautiful

Milestones: Well yesterday she was having fun chomping on my nipples during a drink so I popped my finger in her mouth to gnaw on and low and behold I felt a tooth!!!
It's the bottom right hand one coming through, I told the Plunket nurse and she said that I'll find the second bottom one come up in a week after that one does, It's so exciting!!!
And as written above, her crawling and babbling and becoming very interactive.

Postpartum: Apart from being back at work. coming to terms with not going back to the gym till early next year and still on my breastfeeding mission I'm doing pretty swell!
Today is mine and Andrei's 7year Anniversary (WOW) so I'll be heading out to get some ingredients to make a cake for us. I can't believ it's been 7years already, I still remember the first day I met him :-)
I've also had an idea of buying Luka a baby swim seat for the pool and as the weather warms up we'll go swimming were fitting in her playtime and me exercise time before I hit the weights again!
I'm a NZ size 10-12 whereas pre pregnancy I was an 8-10, I haven't been too careful with my eating either which is going to change! Plus my water consumption would be better too. I really have to thank breastfeeding for keeping weight gain at bay, so I'm going to get back into a pumping routine and shift the weight that way until my exercise plans come into proper perspective.
Afterall there are still clothes I want to fit into!
2015 resolution GET FIT or die trying.... I'll probably die at this rate....

Until next time!

XOXOX