Sitting

As the title of this post suggests, Stella is sitting! ...albeit not for long periods of time before a slow topple - left, right or backwards - but she is sitting on her own :) 

All dressed in her party gear (for Pete's 40th), we went down to Danger Beach for Geoff to have a swim.... we had a wonderful time with her sitting on a towel on the sand! :)

I've been pondering our labour and birth experience quite a bit this week & I am really pleased to find that I I no longer find myself dwelling on & feeling traumatised by the events leading up to Stella's breathing her first air. Time really does heal. The more I get to know this amazing little person, the more I really am grateful that she is here - however she was to arrive! I read a bit about 're-birthing' : the healing of a traumatic birth experience from the baby's side & from what I've read, I don't think (in my un-educated - only intuitive experience) that her birth was something that traumatised her - She was so amazingly 'solid' throughout the whole experience. I just love that her heart beat remained even & that she was born so healthy and well. She continues to display immense stability in the way she handles situations.

Nobody can ever take the experience - the moment of seeing her for the first time: BORN! - away from us! I've re-lived it so many times in my mind & it really is one of the happiest sparkling lights in my collection of major life experiences.

All the time that we are able to spend with her - watching her every development - is so appreciated as special! Stella already has such a special relationship with her daddy...

...and I am just mad about my absolutely beautiful little girl! Everything - even crying - is loved!!!! I knew I would feel many of the feelings my mother must have felt as a mother of a little baby: Stella and myself are both first-born which really allows me to appreciate and understand the undivided 'alone' time that she spent with me as a new mom, with no other children to care for at that time. I was too little to remember my brother not being in my life, but I remember my sister coming home from the hospital with my mom; I remember feeling like all mom's time was spent on my sister...and I remember that I enjoyed 'being helpful' to my mom with the 'new baby' (I even remember coming up with some ridiculous names for her!!)

I cannot begin to describe how happy I am... how in love with my family I am.

4 Months Old

Stella will be 4 months old tomorrow. I just can't express how proud Geoff and I are to have this wonderful little person in our lives. She is so beautiful & she is starting to interact so determindely & purposefully: it is quite mindblowing!

She really is learning new things every day... In my last post she'd just discovered her feet - this week's new development is that she has started 'bashing' her arms up and down. I think she has great fine motor control and can zoom in on and hold things with her little fingers with remarkable prescision. This is a constant source of amazement to me...that in her 17 weeks on this planet, she can already decide she wants something, reach out for it & feel what it feels like to touch. She loves to bring her hands to our lips for kisses - she smiles and sometimes laugh when we kiss them :)

I've been holding Stella right in front of the Christmas tree and letting her feel the (plastic) branches & tinkle the bells... she can do that for ages - it is so fascinating to her - and to me to watch her! Today we lay on the bed for an hour and a half playing games (such as 'this little piggy') and she laughed with joy at some of our games. What pleasure!!!! She seems so hungry to learn. We have also been playing the 'Horsie' game --

Holding Stella on my knees:

"Stella's horsie goes: 'walkie-walkie-walkie-walkie-walkie'" > bouncing my legs at walking speed

"Mommy's horsie goes: 'trot-trot-trot-trot-trot'" > bouncing my legs a little faster

"...and Daddy's horsie goes: 'gallopy-gallopy-gallopy-gallopy-gallopy'" > bouncing legs fast

Stella has also made great progress in rolling over & is enjoying 'tummy time' much more than before...

Here's a photo update since the last post:

Beach time!

We love spending time together at the end of the day

Happy in the baby carrier!

A little break before walking back

Hands remain a constant source of fascination

Our beautiful blue-eyed girl!

Bath time

A rare family-portrait moment

Geoff, Granny & Stella

Enjoying a beautiful Summer's day

Feet in the pool with Robsie

Happy moment at the shop! :)

2012

Wow... Everybody keeps telling me that time will fly and it is so true: Stella is almost 4 months old: I can hardly believe it! We've just had a beautiful Christmas with Geoff's side of our family... Stella got treated with many beautiful gifts from family and friends...most of all, I feel that we are so blessed to have our little one with us this year, where last year at this time we were only just getting used to the idea that we were finally going to have a baby! So much has changed since then. It is all pretty fantastic! :) ...and now we are officially in 2012 & we are so excited about the year ahead of us!

Geoff and I have some special little names for Stella:
Geoff mostly calls her "monkey pop" , "tsatsongololo" and "kookaburra" and I mostly call her "noentjie" (she is so 'nu-nu' so she's my little 'noentjie'!) and "bubzi". We also have a tendency to add 'pop' onto most things we call her (eg: noentjie-pop / angel-pop etc)

Geoff and I have been reading books by Aletha Solter and implementing some of the principals of her philosophy of "Aware Parenting"

link here

link here

At first it was quite challenging accepting Stella's need to cry... but it is such an amazing thing to get to the other side of the crying - when her eyes are clear & there is such a peace that comes over her - whether it's an awake or a sleepy peace. It is beautiful to see her tears wash away the stress & tensions she accumulates from all her learning & the stimulus she's exposed to.

It is a cathartic experience for me to see & support her through the tears. It is so important to me that she will always know she can come to us with anything at all, big or small, without being judged - rather that she always feels supported & loved in whatever she feels... I trust that this is a good way to start our relationship with openness & honesty. The main thing I am trying to always do is trust my instincts - if it feels wrong, it probably is. It distresses me when Stella cries and I cannot leave her to be on her own in it: my instinct is to hold her & support her in what she is feeling, so that is what I am doing.

I love being Stella's mother. I love watching her grow & learn new little things every day. I am savouring the moments I have with her & grateful that there are so many of them.

Here is a photo & video update from the last few weeks:

Visiting Aunty T (photo by T'Neal)

 

A visit to Longbeach

Visiting Daddy at the shop
(photo by Robyn)

Stella on her rainbow mat.. lying on one of her cloud pillows -
Makes her look like she's got tiny wings :)

Camp Ross - Fish Hoek Beach

Stella and her Granny

Hylton's breakfast @The Galley

Stella fell asleep in her carrier while Mom was surfing

Stella wedged between a pillow & the couch...
a lovely day-time sleep spot!

Christmas (photo by Robyn)

Christmas: Stella with Granny (photo by Robyn)

My little angel deep in dreamland.....

Christmas gift opening time!
Christmas Day.

Daddy with Stella & all the Christmas presents...

Mommy opening Stella's presents for her...

Fluffy blanket from cousin Marie (*Stella wrapped herself in it!)

Christmas Day: First swim in a swimming pool

Banging out some beats in Daddy's studio :)

Stella's new thing is to grab both her feet
with her hands - adorable!

Stella and Daddy @the Bluewater Cafe

A great way to bring in the NEW YEAR!

Sunshine!

During Stella's particularly difficult (lots of crying & fussing) 12th week, I found out about 'Wonder Weeks' and 'Sunshine Weeks' from my kind acquaintances on the Baby Center Community and here. An excerpt to describe what's going on during these times:

Recent research has shown that there are predictable times during the first few years of a child's life when the child may be more demanding (fussier) than usual. These fussy times have been called the 'Wonder weeks' by some writers, because it is during these more difficult weeks that babies are making big steps forward in their development.
Once they have taken one of these big steps in their development, they may have times when they are less demanding. These times have been called  'sunny' times. [...]
Reminder: Even though 'wonder' weeks can seem like difficult times when babies are clingy and unhappy, they are very special weeks because the babies are making a new big step forward.

In the first year of life, the stormy times seem to happen around

• 5 weeks
• 8 weeks
• 12 weeks
• 17 weeks
• 26 weeks (6 months)
• 36 weeks
• 44 weeks
• 53 weeks (around 12 months).

The 'sunny' weeks can also be more or less predictable. The 'sunniest' weeks tend to happen around

• 6 weeks
• 10 weeks
• 13 weeks (around 3 months)
• 21 weeks
• 31 weeks
• 39 weeks
• 49 weeks
• 58 weeks.

 She is now 3 months old and half way through her 13th week... She seems to be trying to put everything she can into her mouth & I suspect she may be showing the early signs of teething. I love her little gums without teeth in them & Geoff and I both wish we could slow time down considerably so we can keep her just as she is for a little longer!

Our happy little Baba

We've had some lovely Summer sunshine.... but Summer does not want to stay! We had a massive rain storm & it's gone frezing cold (heater is back on in Stella's room) on the 14th of December!!! Come on Summer: Stella has pretty outfits I want to dress her in! {*example above}

We've been visiting a lot at the shop again this past week... Stella seems to love all the busy bustling around her & meeting all the people that come and go. Everybody thinks she's gorgeous & the comment I hear most is 'she looks just like a doll!' :) It is strange to me that some people will speak to her and completely ignore the fact that I am there....it is bizarre!

Stella is making lots of sounds & had long sound conversations with us. She often 'says' something that sounds like 'hoooh yeahh' (oh yeah) and 'heeeeh loow' (hello)

I feel my heart constantly expanding with love for our little girl & am amazed that there is always more room for more and more love. It is truly amazing to be a mother... our child is amazing... Geoff is an incredible father and husband. I feel so abundantly blessed.

Stella & Daddy at work

Anja gave Stella these beautiful silk crochet booties ♥

We are doing lots of nice walks down to the vlei!

Geoff showed Stella her first Christmas tree
(2 December 2011)

Stella's new 'trick' is to get her legs up to the cross bars
where they stay for a little while until she flops back down :)
*see pic above for 'flopping'

Stella LOVES her texture-block! She brings it up to her face
with her hands as well as with her feet!
{here she is in her car seat with it &
she has her foot caught in the flower rattle bit}

Here Stella is with her block at home - balanced between
the couch & cushions, she's trying to sit
(but she's still a bit flopsy!)

Happy happy on her changing mat at T'Neal's house

Our beautiful baby girl x x x