My nights out

Tuesdays and Thursday evenings, I take a Muay Thai/ Kickboxing class at a local dojo. It gives me a little time away from Anomantia and Laurence as well as some time to clear my head from all that is going on at home. Last Thursday, Anomantia was still awake when I left for my class, although she was extremely tired, I though she would just fall asleep. Almost 2 hours later when I got home, I found her in Laurence's arms screaming at him. She had both of her hands in his beard and pulling with all her might, eyes closed and screaming in his face. Once I got her settled, I was filled in that she had been in that exact position for the whole time I was gone. Tonight was another repeat of Thursday night and now I am wondering if it is separation anxiety from me or is it just the fact that she has to take a bottle when I am gone and she HATES bottles especially when she is tired.

Anomantia loves drinking from her own cup now. Not a sippy cup but a regular cup. She actually prefers it to a bottle and the sippy cup put together. She has figured out how to hold the cups on her own with both hands and even tips it up too. She still needs a little help with the tipping portion but it is coming along quickly. I have just been giving her a little water or breastmilk in the cups a little at a time otherwise my laundry pile would be three times as big as it is now. She would end up wearing more of the liquid than she drinks.

She is so much fun, so long as she isn't tired. Since her harness came off last week, we have been taking tons of pictures (to be posted at a later date... I still need to upload them off my camera) and enjoying her freedom as we can finally go back to the pool and play more games with her. She loves having naked tummy time on her mat in the living room and playing in her jumperoo in the yard (while we get some yard work done). I think we will be in for a summer filled with new adventures and lots of fun, so long as her hip stays in place. Last Saturday, was the 40th anniversary of our local Farmer's Market. Anomantia and I went and looked for tomato plants for our greenhouse. Unfortunately I couldn't find any sweet millions cherry tomatoes like I wanted but we came home with a bunch of red and green peppers (grown in a local greenhouse)for a salad and a batch of spaghetti sauce. I am looking forward to what the market will have later in the summer, and to see the buskers/ street performers putting on their shows. There is such a mix of people that attend, it is fun to get a cup of tea and just watch the different people at the market.

Remembering

Today is the 15th anniversary of my dad's death. I can't believe that 15 years have passed already. With the nice weather, comes the banter about fishing... I remember the old days of fishing with my dad, spending time on the docks helping him with the boat and watching him tie the hooks in our living room until I was old enough to help out. I remember him taking me to Smitty's on Comox Ave for my birthday breakfast one year, I had pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, then we went for a walk down to the wharf. 1995 and 2002 were the worst years of my life, losing both my parents so young has had an irreversible impact on my life but forced me to face the world and embrace my life with a different perspective than I had ever considered before. I try to not let opportunities pass me by and with the help of my husband I have learned to enjoy spontaneity and risk (not the board game). Life really isn't about the big picture, it is all about the little things and enjoying what time we have with those whom are important to us. Perspective is all in the eye of the beholder and although some may not agree with me, we are all invincible until it is our time. Live life with passion and take some risks, you never know, you might like it. (Anomantia is my raison-d'être at the moment and I am making the most of the time I have off work with her.)

Water

Today I was drinking a glass of water and Anomantia was particularly grabby, I decided to share with her. I let her have the last sip of water out of my glass. She made a funny face and then went for more. I think that is her telling me that she is ready for water. So I tried to give her a little bit in a bottle and she wasn't too impressed, but she really liked the cup. Tomorrow, I am going to find a cup just for her (hopefully one of the stainless sippy cups, there are too many plastic ones with BPA still on the market). She has been watching us closely the last couple of days and is getting ready for solids in a little under a month, I will start her on something interesting... Avocado maybe. The last couple of days, I have been able to breathe a sigh of relief as she has started going for more down time again. Today, was bliss as I had a great afternoon nap with her in our bed. It was so humid and muggy out that we were both soaked when we woke up, but that is to be expected with the crazy high temperatures we have been experiencing. If this weather keeps up, I will be setting up our pool early this year. I was going to wait until June sometime but at 26-29 degrees Celsius, I want to cool off. Our garden is almost ready for planting as the general rule in Gurneyland is that it is safe to plant outdoors after May long weekend (May 24). For the long weekend this year, we are staying home and are going to attend the opening of the annual farmer's market and maybe see if the water park is open for children yet. I saw a note saying that Fred Penner is going to be in town for the annual children's festival too. I remember seeing him perform when I was a child. It would be neat-o to take Anomantia to see him when he is at the Public Library. So much to look forward to this summer and we will see how our plans unfold. We would love to see our friends and family again soon and introduce camping to Anomantia. And by camping I mean in a tent and cooking on a fire. Roughing it... outhouses are a plus but can do without flushing toilets. So much fun. I'm off to bed as tomorrow is another busy day here in Gurneyland and I have to been on the ball or life will just pass me by.

Hayfever in the backyard

Today was rather uneventful aside from finding out that my baby has allergies. I was up early enough to mow the lawn before it was too hot and she was on the side step in the shade and started screaming when I was mid-lawn. Her face and eyes were all red and swollen and covered in hives. My first thought was that she has scratched her whole face (wouldn't be the first time) but when the swelling wouldn't go down with a cold cloth, I realised that she inherited her dad's allergies to dust, pollens, grasses and dander. I took some Benadryl for her and hopefully it will help as it leaches into the breast milk. I am unsure about giving her antihistamines because they don't make them for babies but there is the children's liquid version that I have yet to take a close enough look at to be sure, but if it is weight based doses then she might be on the scale. She is almost 19 lbs at 5 months old and Friday morning her Pavlik harness comes off... 5 days and counting! Meanwhile, we are trying to get our backyard landscaped and ready to enjoy all summer long. I think that I will be busting out the pool soon enough if this weather stays. Next weekend the local outdoor farmer's market opens. Last year I attended all but 4 weeks of it. I love seeing the local artists and the buskers as well as the good quality vegetables, I buy before my garden is mature enough, from the Hutterite Colonies. There is always something to do or see at the market and I think that Anomantia will enjoy it too. There are lots of people and so far she likes to watch them. She doesn't like people talking at her unless she knows them already. She has begun to make strange at faces that she hasn't seen before or at people who are nervous around her. I am sure that it is just a phase.

Recipes

I am looking for some quick lunchtime recipes to make this summer. I am needing to revamp my menu options as the repertoire is getting very boring. I am open to all sorts of options. Please leave a comment here with any ideas.

Thanks!

Breastmilkcicles

This morning while digging in the yard, Laurence found this grub. Does anyone know what kind of larvae this one is? It's head is a reddish colour and the body is a tan/beige colour. I love bugs but I couldn't find this one in my bug book of Western Canada.

Today my thermometer in the backyard was reading 26 degrees Celcius and 44 degrees Celcius in my greenhouse. I got most of my seeds planted in the greenhouse because we will still probably get snow at least one more time. Last year it snowed in June and the year before that it was snowing in July.
With the warm weather, I gave Anomantia some frozen breastmilk (or as I like to call it a Breastmilkcicle) in this mesh feeding thing that my MIL gave me last weekend. She didn't seem to weirded out by it plus it helps with the teething.
Everything goes in her mouth these days. Yesterday I was changing her diaper and like usual, I laid the new one out next to her and as I was putting the dirty one in the garbage, the new one went into her mouth.

I leave the two of them alone for ten minutes and they both fall asleep. Anomantia was originally sitting up against the couch but slid down as she fell asleep.

She sleeps in the strangest positions!

Sleep and Summer

Since our trip back to the island, sleep has been our recent battle. Anomantia has decided that she no longer needs to nap during the day other than short little blinks when she is in her car seat. This morning I had to wake her up as I needed to take our Jeep to the dealership for maintenance, and I realised that she had slept for almost 11 consecutive hours. I was so engorged that I had been awake two times in the night hoping she would stir and decide that it was time to eat, No such luck! She gets quite grumpy and crabby around 4pm and falls asleep easily at 8pm but those last four hours of her wakefulness are trying on every one's nerves. I am really trying to get her to nap but she just keeps on fighting sleep and cries lots. I don't know if this is just a phase or if it has to do with her teething but I really need her to nap at least once during the day, so I can regain my sanity and hopefully get a little bit of a rest too. She is getting really heavy now and since she is over the weight limit on her swing and the bouncy chair cover is ripping, I am counting the days until she is free from her harness and is able to sit in her new jumperoo (from grandma Joan and grandpa Tom). She has decided that it sucks being at everyone else's ankle height and likes to be carried around. I really need to find a carrier that will work for her. I think I might just have to break down and buy an ergo carrier.

Seven is the number of days, just one week left of being harnessed and then we can go to the P-O-O-L. Anomantia has figured out what a pool is and gets really excited every time someone says POOL (I'm not pointing any fingers Laurence). I think that it will be nice when we are able to take her back to go swimming again, I know she must be as tired of sponge baths as I am of giving them. There is just some satisfaction to being fully submerged in water. I am hoping that the summer weather is nice enough that we can set our pool up in the back yard again this year. It was sure relaxing and refreshing to have it all last summer while I was pregnant. I am really looking forward to the summer months and spending time in our garden with Anomantia and knowing that she will be able to eat some of our vegetables (homegrown) in the fall. She is starting to show an interest in food but she isn't quite ready to start eating solids yet. I think it will be another month and a bit before she really figures it all out. Saturday my baby girl will be 5 months old already. I feel like time has just passed me by and that only leaves me with 5 months before I have to go back to work. I am just hoping that it will all go smoothly.

toothbrushing

This morning, I let Anomantia try brushing on her own. Her teeth still haven't surfaced (still up and down) but I try to wipe her gums at least twice a day. She sure likes licking her toothbrush and doesn't seem to mind when I wipe her gums.

May 7th- May 10th

This past weekend, we flew back to the island to visit with family and introduce Anomantia to all our friends and family. She got a great visit with her cousins Neela and Nora on Sunday afternoon. Love the new house Melanie and Matt!

She finally got to meet her Great-Grandma Peggy at an impromptu baby shower/ tea on Saturday afternoon.

Meeting Neela for the first time... Nora Loves her eyes (and tried to poke them too!).

She also finally got to meet her Grandpa Tom. Laurence and I had our first date night since she was born. I took him out for dinner on his birthday on Saturday night. I think that I was a little more anxious than I should have been but she was with Grandpa and Grandma and Diana at their house.

Our trip was great with the little exception that she went 2 days without napping and was really cranky with being away from her own routine. She flew really well, it is just too bad that the West Jet representative was an ass and really condescending towards me for wanting to sit in the seat I had reserved prior to my flight. I hate the Comox airport.

May 3rd, 4th and 5th

I woke up early on May 3rd thinking that I would finish what I started in my garden/ greenhouse to find that it was a complete blizzard outside. We ended up with 10cm of snow which had buried all of my garden tools that I had left out from the previous evening. May4th was just too cold out to garden and the snow still covered the ground and on the 5th the snow finally started to melt... weather forecast: MORE SNOW overnight:( I wish I could just have spring with a little bit of rain. Anomantia and I were supposed to be going for a walk in the afternoons but it was just too miserable. I know that never stopped me before but with her in her harness and not able to wear pants, she gets cold much quicker on the windy days than she did before.

This morning while I was folding my laundry (endless mountains of it which makes me think of that song-The Laundry by Charlotte Diamond I think??) Anomantia was quite vocal again the usual around here. She babbles and coos at her toys then proceeds to shove them in her mouth and scream at the same time... I think she got her vocal capacities from her dad. Life is no longer quiet in Gurneyland. This afternoon, I ran into a neighbour (and friend) from the next block over, she said she could hear Anomantia screaming all the way over at her place (this mortified me).

Anomantia had a great day hanging out around the house with me while I did my chores (getting good at doing most things one handed) and napping as much as she wanted today. May 4th, she and I spent the most amount of time apart since her birth. I started back at my Muay Thai/ kickboxing classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I was gone a whole TWO HOURS (felt like an eternity to me), and according to Laurence, she slept the whole time I was gone.

May 5th, Anomantia had her 2nd round of immunizations, she doesn't like the pubic health nurse very much. She tried to weigh Anomantia and she started to scream/ cry/ fight and totally stress out. That was only the weigh-in. The needles went better because I was breastfeeding her at the same time but I hate to see my baby so distressed. She went to bed early tonight but has already woken up once and I expect her to wake up again before I am ready for the 6th to start. She is so resilient and just an all round easy going baby, Laurence and I are really enjoying the more interaction that we have with our daughter. And honestly is Anomantia Soleil Mowton Gurney an ethnic sounding name?? I keep on having people ask me what nationality her father is.... ummm we are all CANADIAN! (and she looks just like him too). I thought for awhile there that her eye colour would change but it really hasn't in about a month and a half, it is still light blue and I think now that it will stay like that.

Protect your teeth

Anomantia started holding herself up today. I had her sitting on my lap when we were at the table and she grabbed onto the table to stabilize herself. She also started swatting and throwing punches when people or things get in her face or something that she doesn't like is in her space. She already has a bubble of space around her that she doesn't like people or things getting in too close. She is far more alert now than ever and is so much fun. She has a constant babble going on when she is in her chair or swing with her Champignon, Butterfly rattle, Monkey or just her own little hands (which are currently her favourite teething toys). She also has an amazing ability to head butt right in the teeth. Whenever she is in my arms, I really have to watch that her hands or head don't end up in my mouth. My front teeth are sore from having the rattle smacked into them one too many times today.

the strangest things

On April 29th, I had Anomantia hanging out with me while I was working on some sewing stuff but her bouncy chair cover was in the wash, so I put her in a laundry basket with a pillow and a couple of blankets where she proceeded to fall asleep and slipped into this position.

She slept like that for about 20 minutes before she woke up right angry to be in the basket still.

After her nap, we went upstairs to play with her toys. She is still unsure about the monkey but it made its way into her mouth as everything does these days. She is far more grabby this week than she has been before.

Just chillin' on the couch with her monkey.

Right before the monkey was grabbed by the ear and stuffed into her mouth and then yelled at for no apparent reason. She has developed an attitude in the last few weeks and has become more and more of a little person than a helpless baby. I am looking forward to her cooing becoming words but that will still be a little while in the making. All in all, I am happy with the "oo" "ah" and the "ee" that we are getting on a daily basis now.

Last night we got another 9 hour stretch of sleep from her and tonight she decided that bedtime was an hour earlier than usual. We spent most of our day outside in the yard getting the garden ready for planting, going for walks and visiting with our neighbours who think "Tia" is a great new addition to the kids of the neighbourhood. She is not the youngest on the block as our neighbours down the street just had a baby girl a month ago and the neighbours across the street are expecting baby#4 in September. So she will have plenty of playmates close in age around as she gets older. We are looking forward to the summer when we will be spending lots of time around the house and yard and hopefully getting our pool set up again this year (weather permitting). We are keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't snow in June and July again this year. Our corn is already sprouting and getting ready for transplant after the May long weekend.

Sleep and stuff

The sleep wars have begun...
Anomantia has decided that she is going to fight off sleeping with everything she's got! That includes screaming and having a tantrum at any indication that I might be trying to put her to bed. Last night it lasted for 2 hours and tonight I wore her out in only 1 and half hours. I am hoping that she will put up less of a fight as I have started more of a routine with her and I don't let her nap for too long in the afternoons or else she doesn't go to bed until it is late. At least she sleeps for longer periods at night now. Last night was her longest yet with a whole 9 hours in a row without waking up. Preceeded by an 8 hour night and a 7.5 hour night, all in all we are getting a decent amount of sleep.

On a lighter note, the paediatric orthopaedic specialist said that the harness may be coming off early as her hip is in the socket and it is all looking better than he expected. We will find out more in 6 weeks. She still hates the thing and fights with it more and more every day. As for her development, she is getting better with holding her head and shoulders off the ground when on her stomach and is far more vocal. She talks and yells at everything and anyone. Yesturday, I spent about an hour just listening to her talk to her monkey (plush toy). It is so cute until she gets mad and stuffs its face into her mouth and starts screaming, followed by the toy getting tossed off the couch and onto the floor. I am really looking forward to her being able to sit by herself and start to be mobile... as it is right now, everything that she touches goes directly into her mouth. I am trying to hold off on solids for at least another month and a half (when she is 6 months old) but as it stands, she has already eaten a ladybug and several pieces of lint. I have been reading the Baby-Led-Weaning (BLW) book to figure out what the different opinions are out there and so far I am really leaning towards the BLW method and not pureeing food. Apparently this is fairly controversial but popular at the moment.