Updated by Tracey
With this warm weather, there is no denying that spring is well and truly here! It’s been great getting out and about with all the kids and spend time outdoors as a family. As usual, the trusty ERGObaby carrier was put to work! It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to go out on an impulse without having to be back at a certain time to open the business (and Matt loves the fact that he actually gets days off!). We took off one sunny afternoon to a place that has native animals and a bunch of mazes. Matt and I had been there once before in our pre-babywearing days and it just didn’t work. The stroller got bogged in the middle of one of the mazes and we ended up skipping a few of them to avoid this happening again. It was fantastic this time, Matt wore Jye and I wore Tahnee and we had a great time finding our way through the different mazes. We didn’t even need to slow down as I just fed her as we tried to find our way out. Then we all enjoyed an ice cream and played chess on the giant sized board (the older boys were excited because it was just like in Harry Potter!) and lapped up the beautiful day.
Tahnee experienced the lake for the first time too. We ate fish and chips, the younger kids made a beeline for the water and we went for a stroll. Tahnee was a bit unsure when we dipped her feet into the water at first as it was so cold, but then she was all smiles. She really liked wriggling her toes in the sand too. I wasn’t quick enough, when one of the boys distracted me and she managed to get a fistful to her mouth. She wasn’t too impressed by the taste of that! The sounds of the water put her to sleep while she was snuggled in close to me. Let me tell you, it’s one of the places I missed the most when we were out bush and I can’t wait to spend more summer days by the water!
Speaking of firsts, Tahnee has had a lot of ‘firsts’ this month. She likes to get mobile to get things that she wants to try chewing on. As soon as we put her on the floor she is off and rolling. We’ve had to rescue her from under the couch or coffee table many times now. The boys think it’s fantastic and they will roll about with her. This makes her laugh and squeal in delight, which then makes THEM laugh because she is laughing at them! I’ve heard people say that if you carry/wear your baby too much, then they won’t learn how to roll, sit or crawl as soon as other babies would, but this just proves that it’s not true (and I don’t believe that you can hold a baby too much. In fact I think you should hold a baby as much as possible before they get too mobile that they won’t cuddle with you for very long before wanting to go play!).
She has also discovered that food is fun to explore. We follow the baby-led weaning principles and she has started to join in our family meals. It all started with her slyly swiping a bit of broccoli from my dinner plate and she chewed it until there was only the stalk left. Since then she has tried steak, baby corn, apple, avocado and carrot. Nothing is safe now, not even when she is in the ERGObaby – her little hands manage to wriggle out the side and grab at food off the counter. It’s so exciting to see her growing up and discovering new things but at the same time it makes me sad to know she won’t be a little baby for much longer.
Another first, which isn’t very pleasant compared to the others, is that she had caught her first cold. It’s not surprising that I have caught it too and I feel as though I have been hit by a bus. Tahnee has been so much more clingy and if she is not crying, she is sleeping or feeding. She is snuffly and you can see in her eyes that she is downright miserable, but she just cannot resist beaming at me when I talk to her. She smiles so big that her little eyes just about disappear. The ERGObaby has saved my life this last week that we have been ill and it’s saved me from having arms so sore that they feel as though they’re going to fall off. I’ve been able to have her close to me (Daddy is apparently not good enough when she is not feeling 100%) and take care of the other kids, I’m not sure what I would have done without it. I hated the sounds she was making while she was asleep with her stuffy nose. I have worn her on my back during nap times so that I could mop the floors and know that she’s not struggling to breath. I guess that’s another advantage of babywearing there too, being able to let them sleep upright when they are sick.
Before I sign off, I thought it would be worth reminding everyone to remember to take any valuables OUT of your car, even when you are at home! Our car was broken into a week ago. My father in law, who lives next door, woke me at 5.30am as he was pulling out for work and noticed our car doors wide open. I nearly had heart failure when I remembered I had left my ERGO in the car and it’s the first thing I checked for when I went to see what was missing(thank goo
. She loves bathtime and has even fallen asleep while I’m holding her in the nice warm bath at night.
