First Immunisations - Wwwwaaahhhhhh

Today Holly had her first set of immunisations. Three needles for eight diseases. I know its got to be done, but boy it was tough watching her get the needles. I held her close, but she cried so much and was so upset. I cried too. The nurse was really nice to us both; it sounds like a lot of mums cry when their babies first get their jabs. I've discovered that seeing your child in pain is harder to handle than being in pain yourself.

What Holly Likes

So now that Holly is a full nine weeks old, its starting to be apparent what her likes and dislikes are.

Holly likes:

• Lying on and (unfortunately) sucking on the sheepskin rug.
• Music by Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Billie Holiday, Bob Marley, Delerium, and Juno Reactor.
• Having her nappie* changed (she's the only baby I've ever met that does).
• Lying on mummy or daddy's chest.
• The bouncy chair. The thing has soothing vibrations that are supposed to put her to sleep, but are far more effective for making her do a poo.
• Kicking things.
• Having a bath.
• The sound of the dishwasher and vacuum cleaner.
• NHL Hockey playoffs - She's already a Canucks fan.
  
• Cuddles
  

Holly does not like:

• Being swaddled with her arms in. I've had to develop a "swaddle-from-the-armpits-down" way of wrapping her up.
• Trying to be fed on the breast :(
• The sound of crinkling paper.
• When mummy and daddy want to have dinner.
• Metal, Rap and music by the Gorillaz.
• The baby sling.
  

*This is the Aussie/British word for diaper.

Do you dare me?

For xkcd go here

Nine and Three Years

Nine years of happiness together and three years of wedded bliss. Today, Earth Day, is our wedding anniversary. I can't believe we've been together almost a decade. The time has just flown by. Its an especially special anniversary this year as it is our first with our beautiful baby girl. She has added such happiness to our life. Jen sums it up best about how the heart is an ever expanding organ.

Happy Anniversary Jaime-boo :)

So far ...

So far I've been pooped on, thrown up on, had my shirt sucked and spat upon. I've been headbutted, kicked in the face, punched in the face, slapped and scratched. I've had my groin stomped and my ear screamed in.

And I've loved every moment of it, especially now that she has learned to smile :)

My Present to Me: An iMac

So I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a new computer, having last purchased a pc in September 2003. I had ummed and ahhed about it for ages after I had to give my macbook pro back to work in January. Since then the only computer access I had was Jaime's old Frankenstein of a pc, which worked, but barely. Besides bad performance, the biggest problem was the sound; like a jet engine taking off. Holly hated it!

So I ordered myself an imac! And it is a thing of beauty. 640 gig hard drive, 4 gig ram and a screen that makes me redefine what colours mean. The built in speakers are great. And everyday I learn something new that OSX can do. I just found out that if I get a USB keyboard, I can learn to play the piano through Garage Band! And for digital photography it's perfect!

And most importantly, its whisper quiet. Even the keyboard is considerably less clicky than traditional ones, so it doesn't bother Holly.

So yes, I am one of those annoying Mac people.

The Filth Wizard

...friend only to the rat and the pig. That's Holly. I cannot believe how much laundry she generates. Today she managed to throw up on her adorable little onesie suit about three seconds after I put it on her. And the thing is that I don't actually mind the task of laundry. There's something almost zen about putting dirty, disheveled clothes in the machine and taking them out clean and soft. However, like most apartment buildings in Vancouver, we do not have a washer in our suite, but rather have a laundry room in the basement of our building. This wouldn't be so bad if the washers weren't so scarce or nasty. This building has almost 140 apartments, and yet we have six washers and six dryers in the laundry room. Trying to grab a washer or two during the week is tough and on weekends its practically an Olympic event. And the industrial monster washers are just brutal on our clothes. I miss having my own washer, where if I realised at Midnight on a Sunday that I had no clothes for the week, I could do the washing then and there. Alas, until we own our own place (which is never) I shall be at the mercy of the industrial washers.

Today is that day.

Though spring technically sprang on March 20th, it really has felt like winter up until today. Today is that day when the temperature edges up towards 15 degrees and all the Vancouverites come out of hibernation and hit the beaches and parks. Its blinding to see all the blue-white, "haven't seen the sun in six months" skin. It was perfect day to hit Stanley park for Holly's first picnic. It was also the perfect chance to take Holly out in the new Baby Bjorn Active, which I scored used on craiglist for about $130 less than it sells for retail!

What a beautiful day. Nice to get out for a lovely walk around the Lagoon, and see the swans nesting. Came back along Denman Street grabbing some cupcakes on the way. We probably walked about six kilometers all up and Holly slept most of the way. The new baby carrier is a dream. All in all, an awesome day!

A Post!

It's funny, but when I imagined maternity leave I envisioned all this time I'll have to get stuff done between taking care of baby. How wrong I was! I love little Holly and spending time with her, but I now realise how difficult it is to do even basic things while holding a baby most of the time. My to do list now has to include things like shower, eat, pee! So unfortunately blogging inevitably gets pushed to the bottom of that list.

But now that I am starting to get more comfortable with the whole mothering thing I have a few moments to sit down and type (with one hand while the other cradles a squirmy baby) an update.

So after six weeks into life outside my tummy, Holly is doing very well. One recent change includes better eye focusing, meaning Holly now stares right down into your very soul when she looks at you. Her eyes have lightened to a slate grey-blue. While she initially had quite a head of sandy blond hair, much has fallen out and now she looks like a little bald baby with a golden halo. Most importantly is the weight she's put on. Born at five pounds 13 ounces (2.6 kilos) and mildly jaundiced, the doctors focused on the need for her to gain weight as quickly as possible. And she's done that in spades. Now Holly weighs in at eight pounds 9 ounces (3.8 kilos). No longer scrawny, Holly's the very picture of the chubby little baby, with a little double chin to boot.

The sounds and faces she makes are hysterical. We are never long between laughs what with all her gurgles, coos, and squeaks. Being a parent is even more amazing than I thought it would be.