Holly Laughs

Holly just laughed for the very first time! It was turning on the kitchen faucet that did it(i guess she'd never seen it before and it was somehow amusing). And it wasn't just a couple of giggles either. It was a good two minutes of chuckles. It was like she had wanted to laugh for ages before this but did know how and had been storing up her laughs for when she could. Pity Jaime's away camping and missed it.

The Visitors

Haven't updated in awhile, but we have a good excuse - visitors! First off Jai's folks came out from Australia to meet their grand-daughter for the first time. Naturally Holly made a fabulous impression - how could she not? It was great because though the Grandparents were only here for ten days, Holly made some nice developmental leaps during that time. She's learned to hold her head up properly now. While she will slump a little when she's tired, most of the time she can hold her head up, which means I can now hold her on my hip and put her forward facing in the baby carrier. Also, her 'baby talk" has improved and she can make many more sounds than before. She's also grown immensely; she's now 5.5 kilos, meaning she's more than doubled her birth weight of 2.6 kilos. It does mean she's outgrowing the bassinet -we will need to buy a crib soon, making our bedroom very squishy.

While the in-laws were here, we managed a weekend up to the Sunshine Coast. We have some long-time friends who own a gorgeous bed and breakfast up there. The weather was glorious, making the ferry ride over awesome. I caught up with my friend Saba - a friend from when I was a little girl. She's the same age as me, but she has four children, the oldest of which is just graduating from high school. It's so strange as I have only just now had a little baby. Holly liked getting out of the city I think and enjoyed the gorgeous garden at the B&B. I wish I could find some place for us to live that had a little garden.

After their time here Jai's folks headed for a week in New York. The next visitor was my cousin James who came up from Seattle to meet his new cousin. While he was here we did a nice hike in Lynn Canyon, afterwards enjoying a yummy BBQ. While his visit was brief, it was great to catch up with him.

Where does the time go?

Holly is twelve weeks old!!! Almost three months!!! How did that happen? She's growing so fast! Its so sad to have to be putting away some of the cute things she wore when she first arrived, knowing that she'll never wear them again. She's over five kilos now. She is no longer teeny tiny.

She's developed so much. She's starting to take an interest in playing with toys. She's not quite ready to grab them, but knows that when they're attached the bouncy chair she can flail around and they will make a noise.

She is very close to holding up her head on her own. She is not quite there yet, and that made getting passport photos for her today very interesting. The photographer took about 30 snaps before she finally got one where she wasn't crying, tilted or my fingers in the way. Now I can apply for Holly's Aussie citizenship and an Aussie passport.

She's smiling so much now; it makes us so happy. Plus she coos and gurgles now. No more hair though. It hasn't grown at all! And she's sleeping through the night. So I can often get five hours of sleep at night.

A Shout Out to my Midwife

When I first found out I was pregnant I went to my regular family doctor. I hadn't been very happy with him but finding a good GP who's taking patients is hard, so it was all I could do. In typical fashion, he spent minimal time with me and did a very basic job. I was getting frustrated by the lack of care, especially on whether or not to have amniocentesis. Then luckily I was told about a group of midwives by one of my mum's friends who had just had a baby. I managed to get an appointment with Chloe from Bloom Midwives. I could not believe the difference in care I received over that of a doctor! I must admit that I thought of midwives as baby-specific nurses. However, they're really more like doctors - they can order tests, prescribe drugs and even do minor surgery. After I switched to the midwife, my appointments went from five minutes to 45 minutes. I was given so much support and information, so that I could feel good making decisions like amniocentesis (which I did not have to do luckily).

Then in my third trimester Chloe told me she would have a UBC midwifery student, Yarrow, interning with her and could she come to our appointments and delivery. I was initially very skeptical, having seen some pretty inept med students in my time. However, after my first meeting with Yarrow all my reservations went away. She put me very at ease with her professionalism and warmth. So when I went into labour, I essentially had two midwives looking after me, as well as an obstetrician monitoring my sky-high blood pressure. And I honestly don't think I could have kept pushing if it wasn't for Chloe's incredible coaching.

After I gave birth, both Chloe and Yarrow came to my house to check on us all almost everyday the first week. I've never had such great medical care in my life! Their knowledge really helped us to settle in to being comfortable as parents. My only sadness is that midwifery care is only up to six weeks after birth, and now I have to find a doctor for Holly's ongoing care.

So to Chloe and Yarrow - thanks so much!!! And to those of you in the Vancouver area who might have a baby anytime soon, I recommend Bloom midwives (I've heard equally glowing reports for the other midwives that practice there too).

A Wonderful Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was my birthday and it was really special. On Friday night Jaime, the sneaky boy, organised a surprise birthday dinner for me. It was just supposed to be us but when we arrived at the Afgan Horseman Restaurant, eight of our friends were waiting! Its was a fabulous surprise. After dinner we adjourned to our place to play Dalmuti, enjoy some drinks and hurl abuse at each other (just joking).

On Saturday we had folks over again to watch the Canucks hockey game and to try out Jaime's new BBQ (that I bought him for our anniversary). Even though the Canucks lost, it was still a nice time and much flame-grilled meat and cupcakes were consumed.

On Sunday, Mum, Jai, Holly (in her first outing to a real restaurant) and went to the Sandbar on Granville Island for brunch. My eggs benedict was fantastic and Holly was a very good little girl, suggesting that she might enjoy dining out as much as her parents do.

All in all, it was a lovely three days of birthday fun. Thanks to all for being a part of the festivities and particularly to Jai for making such an effort to surprise me!

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.