Today was the Hens Afternoon Tea of my friend Krystle, in Weston Park by the lake. A lovely day was had by all! I was pleasantly surprised that there were some people there I knew, and I even won a prize in one of the games - a bucket of lollies.

Upon my return home, Aidan went out to Josh's Bucks Night.

And I discovered that Ellie has a new tooth JUST popped through the gum today! No wonder she was crying so much for, like, half an hour.

Ok... Chris-inspired, I'm going to attempt to write a sentence or two.

Ellie is standing up now, by pulling herself up on the side of the cot. She is also crawling really well.

Now, the last week or so I have actually done stuff, yay, so here it is...

On Friday 26th March, Aidan and Ellie and I drove all the way from Canberra to Rye (almost 800km, or about 470 miles) to go to a friend's wedding on Saturday. Dedication, huh? It was a really nice wedding on the beach, although Ellie grumped a little bit. She slept through the reception in the groom's mother's spare bedroom. Lots of fun was had by all, especially the best man who appeared to adopt some little kid who looked exactly like him.

On Sunday we started back for Canberra - except my parents convinced me to stay with them with Ellie while Aidan went on home. Aidan had to work, and my parents were going to Canberra later anyway, so he went on and us girls stayed in Euroa. It was really nice; my dad is a hugely doting grandparent, and mum little less so! So it was nice and peaceful and we all had lots of fun.

Then we all came up to Canberra because dad was sailing in a model boat regatta. Yay! So mum and dad stayed here for a couple of days for that, and then went home.

And now it's just me and Aidan and Ellie again. She has a slight cold and is a bit miserable. Aidan's been sick too, and I think I'm getting it now as well.

Initial impression from the sonographer yesterday is that Ellie's hip is "slightly immature" but that's nothing to worry about. Still waiting on the final report from the doctor who reviews the ultrasound images, we'll have that on Monday. Should be fine.

I have been ultra-efficient mum today. I got up at 7am, fed and changed Ellie, put a load of washing on, and a load of dishes in the dishwasher. Went shopping, put Ellie back down for her nap, then finally had breakfast. After Ellie's nap, she had elevenses and a bath, and lots of playtime, and I've put another load of washing in the machine. I also made a start on dinner before realising that we're going out tonight and not eating at home!

Also, somewhere in there, I squeezed in a teensy weensy nap for myself. Not for the first time, I wondered why they're called "nanna naps" when mummas take them too! Then I had a coffee, really strong, with sugar, and now my leg keeps twitching. Related, maybe?? I don't usually drink coffee; I only started fairly recently specifically to keep myself awake and not because I actually like it. I hate it, which is why I put sugar in it.

I can't believe Elspeth is nearly seven months old now. Things have all just happened so fast! She can sit up on her own now, at least until she loses concentration, she has a third tooth on the way (to judge from the chewing and chomping and crying), she chuckles at everything, and she's just gorgeous.

But today we have to take her to get an ultrasound, because the doctor thinks her hips might be developing crooked or something. Asymmetrical. There is an extra crease on one leg that isn't on the other, which might simply be an extra fat roll, or it may indicate a problem. I guess we'll find out at three o'clock this afternoon.

Cross your fingers for us!!

Quick note - Ellie's first two teeth popped through today! Both in the lower gum, right near the middle.

The world of Stace right now... Aidan's into his second week of night shift, so I don't see an awful lot of him - at least, not awake.

We have a property inspection tomorrow, and if that bloody woman mentions my unwashed dishes again I'll rip her head off. Her job is to inspect the condition of the rental property, not my housekeeping. Also if she mentions the garden I shall point out that Australia has been in drought for about 15 years so I'm not about to waste water on this pathetic excuse for a garden.

On Friday afternoon we're heading down to Victoria for a few days - it will be Elspeth's first ever visit to her parents' home state! So that'll be fun. Friday morning won't be fun at all, because she will be getting injections. Ouchies!

I'm quite tired today. I went to a friend's place for a "party" last night - just because it was Tuesday, and she had leftover wine. I didn't stay that late, but having such fun got me buzzing so I couldn't sleep for ages after I got home! And then, of course, Aidan got home at about 5.30am, and then Ellie woke up at 7am... so it was a short and broken sleep for me! Again. Not to worry, it's all in a good cause!

So anyway, it's been a little while since I blogged. Again. I'm getting slack.

We bought a bass guitar! Elspeth's fingers aren't quite long enough, but Aidan and I are picking it up reasonably well - it helps that Aidan has played guitar before, and I've played piano so I have an idea of musical theory in general.

It's stinking hot in Canberra; a typical summer here. It's never very nice. It makes going out during the day a chore, which totally sucks for me because by the time it's cooled down, Elspeth is in bed asleep, so I can't go out then! (At least, not if Aidan isn't home. Which he often isn't. Work.)


I'm going a bit stir-crazy, to be honest. It's true that a considerable portion of my social life has always been online, but I'm missing the face-to-face aspect of having a job. I feel that I need to leave the house more often, see more people, do more things. But it isn't easy, with little Ellie still needing so much sleep and something like routine. I can't be spontaneous, I can't do anything alone, I can't get the pram onto the buses here, I can't take her anywhere for more than a couple of hours unless I also have the porta-cot to put her to bed. I know that sounds like a laundry-list of complaints, but that's just how it is. I would like to invite people around here more often - for dinner, drinks, or whatever - but Aidan always seems quite apathetic towards such ideas, and his lack of enthusiasm puts a damper on mine. Aidan also feels that Elspeth is still too young to leave with a friend or babysitter (or anyone other than our parents, who live too far away) so that puts paid to other ideas too. It's alright for him - he gets out of the house, he sees people and does things!

So I sit at my computer while Ellie sleeps, playing games and spending way too much time on Facebook. Gaining weight, losing fitness, wondering if my friends think I don't want to see them...

The rolling over sequence:

She started on her back in the middle of that playmat.

And then she rolled onto her tummy, which is par for the course.

But what's this? A new development! She rolled back over!

And just kept going and going and going...

I always thinks she looks smaller and cuter without clothes :)

Oh, and please forgive the dribble on her chin... she hasn't figured out how to use tissues yet :)

This photo clearly demonstrates one of my favourite little sayings: "No amount of cleaning will make this house look like a baby doesn't live here."
Observe the change table on the right, with the nappy disposal thingie just behind it, and the highchair through the doorway on the left. Plus, of course, the baby. Bit of a give-away. And directly behind her, that yellow thing, is a baby-specific washing basket. It has a thingie on the top which supposedly makes it look like a tiger, although I don't really see the resemblance...

Happy December everyone!

In the last month we've had lots of visitors - Andrew, then Aidan's parents, then my parents! Everybody, naturally, came only to see Elspeth. She's the popular one! And now the dreaded C-Day approaches (or X-Day, if you're American or lazy), and we are left quietly alone to not-celebrate. Aidan's working on the day anyway.

Elspeth has been a marvellous little baby, although she did forget her grandparents and cry at seeing them for a little while. But as soon as she realised they were nice, she was nice to them!

She was horrid to an old lady today, though! We were in the supermarket, and some nice old lady came up to say hello, and what a beautiful baby, and all those things old ladies say when confronted with gorgousness. And what does Ellie do? She starts screaming, of course! The poor woman was mortified that she made my baby cry!

Good morning Blogosphere!

Yes, it's morning. 7.30am. Having babies does really strange things to you - like make you get up before midday.

Normally I feed her then go back to bed, but she's been an irritababy of late so I'm trying to follow one of Tizzie Hall's routines a little more closely.

Tizzie Hall is an odd name. But she is, apparently, a baby whisperer. I can whisper "baby" too, but I don't think that's what it means.

She has set out routines for babies of all ages - how long they should be awake and asleep, how often they should eat, and when they should eat solid foods.

I've been using her routines as a guideline and they have helped. But my own laziness drives me back to bed instead of keeping Elspeth up for 2 hours.

But not this morning!

The giggle videos

Right. It has been far too long since I blogged, so here I am to tell you about Elspeth's amazing week and our holiday on the coast.

She is now four months old.

In the last week she has rolled over, eaten solid foods, begun to regularly sleep through the night (11pm to 7am), and been dunked in the ocean. How awesome is my baby?

So anyway, mum and dad picked Ellie and I up on Saturday to head down to Merimbula - Aidan had to work, so he came and joined us on Monday. The weather was great - almost cold at times, a lovely contrast to Canberra's unholy heat. We swam in the sea, we walked on the beach, we read books, mum and dad were utterly enthralled by little Elspeth - she's turning into such a giggle-pot! It's gorgeous. She is just growing up in leaps and bounds; it won't be long before we need a priso- er, playpen!

And now we're home again, and that's all I have to say about that.

I had a dream last night. A very bizarre dream, which, unusually for me, I remember in great detail and with clarity.

It went like this.

I left my house alone, leaving Elspeth by herself. This, by the way, I would never actually do. The city I walked out into looked a little like Madrid, and a little like Melbourne, but wasn't either of them. I went to this really odd little shop which sold lots of old-fashioned children's/baby's accessories and furniture, staffed by two older ladies who looked like they'd stepped straight out of Victorian England. They had two very scrawny ugly babies in the shop, and I stayed there for about an hour looking after those babies. God knows why. Finally I realised I should get home to Elspeth, so I left the shop. After I'd left, I realised I was wearing nothing but a dressing gown, and didn't have my wallet, keys, or phone. I was locked out of the house, and I couldn't call Aidan to come home and let me in. So I was running around the streets of this increasingly-Madridesque city desperately seeking a solution, when suddenly I bumped into an old teacher of mine from high school. He didn't seem at all bothered or surprised to see me, even though I was very nearly naked, and he came with me to my house. Together we found a window that I got through somehow, and that was it. Either I woke up, or I just don't remember any more.

Our little girl is 10 weeks old now! Actually she was 10 weeks old on Wednesday. Time is flying by so quickly!

We had a visit from Aidan's parents last week, which was wonderful. We went to Floriade (again; we went with my mum the week before!), and just generally hung around having a nice time.

Elspeth is a great sleeper; in fact I'm about to have to wake her up for a feed. I find it's good to do that because it means she doesn't have to cry and get stressed about being hungry; I anticipate it if she hasn't eaten in four hours.

So, a quick one, just to say that all is going well and to share the above photo. It's one of the very few shots I have of the whole family! (Normally I'm the one holding the camera, so there aren't many photos with me actually in them!)

It has been a long time between blogs. For that, I apologise to my readers if I have any left. Things have been busy, as I'm sure you can imagine!

Some things have been going on, as follows:

Firstly, Elspeth is eight weeks old today! I can't believe it's been that long already. She's doing really well, growing and eating like a pig. She's on soy formula now as we believe she may be lactose intolerant. She's so gorgeous! She can hold her head up most of the time now, and she's really getting the hang of hand-eye coordination - I hear jingly bells every time she whacks one of her dangly things. (I don't care if it was by accident, it's still wonderful!) She also seems to be smiling at me quite often! A lot of books say it's just gas or something, but it really does seem to be in response to seeing me smile at her!

From Elspeth - One Photo Per Day

From Elspeth - One Photo Per Day

Secondly, I've been studying away like... well, honestly, like somebody who really doesn't want to. I loved my Ancient Myth subject, I've finished everything for that and I think I'll do quite well. But my Religion subject is fairly dull really; I'm procrastinating doing this damn essay which is due in two days... bah!

Thirdly, my mother is coming to visit this weekend!! Yay! Always nice to see her, and she just loves seeing her little granddaughter! Last time my parents came up, mum kept just going over to stare at Elspeth with an adoring smile on her face.

Anyway, for somebody who hasn't blogged in weeks, I've said remarkably little now. I suppose I just don't want to bore by going on and on about Elspeth - although I could!! Anyway, very probably almost everybody who reads this has seen everything on Facebook.

We have just had a lovely family weekend, with my parents and my brother visiting Canberra to see Elspeth and I (and Aidan but he was working for most of it). It is the first time my brother has met his neice; I think they'll get along better when she's a little older. My apologies for the very poor image quality - I keep forgetting to bring my camera with me, so these were taken on my phone.

The weekend has been a complete write-off in terms of study, so I have to get back into it fairly solidly tomorrow, but it's been worth it - great to see my parents again. Especially my mum - she is LOVING being a nana, taking every opportunity to hold, touch, or even just stare at Elspeth!

Half an hour ago when I said goodbye and left their hotel room to come home, I was really tired. The walk back here in the cold, then changing and feeding the bub, have woken me up so now I can't sleep... which sucks - I was hoping to take advantage of her being asleep before Aidan gets home from work, which should nicely coincide with the next time she'll need feeding... oh well, it won't work out now. The best laid plans, etc!

Elspeth is now officially a formula baby. After breastfeeding of late she's been irritable, extremely gassy, still hungry, and difficult to settle (most likely because of the above). However after two bottles of formula today, each time she has had very little gas and settled down well again afterwards. She just seems to react better to the bottle than the breast. I can't say I'm all that disappointed; honestly I was quite depressed and stressed about breastfeeding anyway, but willing to keep trying so long as it was best for her. But that appears to no longer be the case. Perhaps I'm just not producing enough. At least with a bottle I know just how much she's getting, which is something that had bothered me the other way - why don't breasts have measurements marked on them? Very poor design. I will do my utmost not to feel guilty about this decision; at least she had over two weeks of the good stuff, that's more than many babies get.

Elspeth is two weeks old today! Where has the time gone? Seems to fly by so quickly - next thing you know it'll be a month, and then three and six months, and a year! I'm feeling a lot better about things, and I've figured out a trick or two to help Elspeth... like putting one of my t-shirts under her so she can smell me, that seems to help her settle down a bit! I'm also feeling a bit better about my occasional use of formula to feed her; it helps that Aidan has read a little bit about it and realised the pressure on women to breastfeed is just insane, he's eased up a bit and understands that sometimes I just need a break! He was very much in favour of keeping everything natural - no formula, no pacifier... but honestly, once you live with a baby (and I'm with this baby nearly 24/7, unlike Aidan who still gets to go to work and sleep uninterrupted occasionally), you figure out that sometimes these artificial aids are a godsend.

Oh, the last little stump of her umbilical cord came off last night! I realise that may sound quite gross, but it is nice not to have to worry about it anymore.

In other news... I really don't have any other news. I'm very baby-centric right now, I'm sorry. I was so sure when I was pregnant that, after the birth, I would still be me - Stace, Aidan's wife, your friend, and not just Elspeth's mum. But here I am, pretty much being nothing but a mum. Still trying to get some study done, but concentration is lacking... yawn...

The last 24 hours have been difficult. Before I go any further I want to make it absolutely clear that I love my daughter very much, all the time. But, oh my god... why can't they be born with more communication skills?? She's been so unsettled, crying for no apparent reason, not sleeping or even lying quiety unless she's being hugged by Aidan or myself. We've both gotten a bit... tetchy... I just feel so helpless and useless. Aidan's been utterly wonderful in trying to give as much help as he can; I'm trying to write essays and stuff at the same time as being mum... but Aidan can't breastfeed! A couple of times I've had to ask him to give her a bottle of formula, which he doesn't like doing, but it's a godsend to me just to have that little bit of extra time, and rest, and both hands free.

I've been doing a few quizzes and suchlike, mostly on beyondblue.org, and I'm beginning to worry that I may be suffering genuine post-natal depression - and that concept only depresses me even further. I'm going to mention it to my GP when I see her next Monday (if I make it that far without going crazy!!), but hopefully it's just the "baby blues"... Everyone says the baby blues go away about a week after the birth; it's been nearly two weeks now... I dunno, I guess I'll just hang in there and see what happens. If nothing else, maybe some temporary antidepressants can just take the edge off it and help me get back on track. I hate the thought of taking them, though. Oh well, whatever will be, will be...