165/365 - on the hunt for daycare

Lately I've had to start thinking about daycare for bub. I said I'd take a year off and I'm still planning to but with how quickly the year is going by, it's already time to start. When I was pregnant, I was told to get in early on the daycare waiting lists as they're much sought after. We put bub onto two lists when I was about 37 weeks. To be honest, I didn't take it seriously then - how can you when bub hasn't arrived and I hadn't actually decided on a name for the little guy. I think he went onto one of the lists as 'Baby Heng' - well what did the daycare centre expect when bub was still in my tummy.

One of the biggest considerations for us choosing a daycare is the location. There's a few in our area but all are bordering on the long walk/take bub in the car distance. I visited Little Zak's the other day (had heard a lot of good things about them but hadn't gotten round to get on the wait list) just to test how long the walk would be. Ended up being a 10 minute walk and then a 15 minute walk to the station. I said to hubby that that would be doable if you don't mind the big hills and the glisten of sweat after the walk. Though when I think about it, the thought of getting the car, parking the car when it's just a 10 minute walk, well the walk sorta wins.

Anyhow, popped back today after I made an appointment to do a centre tour and was taken around and shown what goes on should I decide to put bub there. We aren't even starting yet but the thought of daycare made me a little sad - my little guy is growing up too quick! Me aside, the centre was great though and we got ourselves on the wait list. I asked a whole stack of questions which I'm going to jot down for my other centre visits (thinking I should visit a few and make an informed decision then).

- Is there parking for drop offs and pick ups?
- What is the cost for the day and what does it include?
- Are there spots available now?
- How many staff are there per child?
- How many kids are there per day?
- What are the opening and closing times?
- What are the penalties for a late pick up?
- What is the check in process? esp. if someone other than the parents are doing a pickup?
- When can we start?
- How would you recommend starting daycare for a mum that needs to go back to work 5 days?
- What food to do you feed?
- What is the program for the day?
- What is the opt out process? How much notice is required to cut back on days or leave the centre?
- Is the price fixed for the year or will there likely be a price increase?

Part of me doesn't want to think about daycare but the reality of it is that it's creeping up on me quick. Time please slow down.

162/365 - my bub thinks the bumbo is a toilet

For bub's baby shower, he was generously gifted a red bumbo seat + tray by my long time best friend. For those that don't know what it is, it's essentially a moulded plastic seat that props bub up and supports them up whilst they are unable to sit up themselves. You can read all sorts of web literature that discourage you from using a bumbo seat as they say its not great for bub's development and by no means does the product actually say that it would encourage bub's physical and muscle development. As a new mum, I do read a little bit but like with all things baby related (walkers, jumpers etc.) they're not made to place bub in for long periods of time so if you use infrequently, it surely can do no harm?

We only started bub in the seat when he was 4 months which is when the manual says to start using it. Sometimes I think I should've started using it a bit earlier as bub has been growing quite a bit and getting him in and out of the seat has been a tight fit. Thought tight is good as it mean bub is supported in the seat but I'm guessing this seat isn't going to last him long at the rate he's growing. 

At first I thought the seat was fantastic, bub could sit up and see us and with him starting solids, we could feed him seated in the chair. He was getting rather cranky being on his back and tummy and being able to sit up meant he could join us at the dinner table for meal times. He loved it! Then the grunting started. Wedging bub out of the seat and looking down, there you have it, he did a poo. We've had close to an 80% hit rate with him sitting in the seat and pooing. A number of times the bumbo has had a thorough washing and well, there doesn't seem to be any signs of it slowing down. My bub thinks the bumbo is a toilet and he does his business in there and usually it's within the first 10 minutes.

I jokingly said to my husband that we should just cut a hole in the bottom by the time we have to toilet train bub. It really isn't a bad idea and well, given he's using it as a toilet, I'm not so sure about passing it along to any mums-to-be.

159/365 - And we're rolling

I'm finding a big part of motherhood is watching/reaching those baby milestones. At first it's baby holding their own head up and before you know it, you are waiting for them to roll, to eat their first solids and so the list goes on. From the start, the nurses stressed the importance of tummy time to prevent flat head but then it's ever so important for baby's muscle and brain development. If you read what's out there, they say a baby should/may start rolling from around 3 months but at the end of  the day it's really up to the baby. They'll roll when they want to roll.

Admittedly this was a milestone I'd been keen my eye out on for awhile. Mainly cause at the start I had bub on the chaise bit of our sofa but more recently moved him onto a bigger mat on the ground. He may have done an accidental roll on the sofa one day which prompted me to move him to the ground but even then I thought it was an accidental roll where gravity was doing its thing. And well for about 2 months I didn't think my bub showed any inclination that he was about to roll, he would happily lie on his tummy or his back and that was about it.

Seeing a few of the bubs at mother's group, I did notice though that most of the early rollers were generally lighter babies. My theory is that heavier babies find it more difficult to roll as there's more weight to pull across. If you think about it, it takes a lot for even a grown up adult to bring themselves into a roll. And well, my baby is turning into a bit of a chunker. Not quite fat but definitely dense so I figured it was going to take him some time.

Well bang on 5 months, I popped him down at grandma's in the midst of reassuring mum that he doesn't roll and guess what he does. Two rolls in one go and mum just looks at me as if I'm nuts. All week I keep putting him down on his tummy and there's another roll. Now I'm constantly turning him back over so he's not quite so much the upturned cockcroach. So yes, there's our story of rolling from tummy to back. I believe the next milestone is back to tummy. He's definitely getting there as he's started to grab his feet and doing 180s on his back. Fun times ahead!

154/365 - 5 months and lots of vegies

In the last month, bub has reached so many milestones I'm actually having trouble keeping track. Actually it's keeping me busy to the point that it doesn't stop. I guess that's what you call the life of a mum!

It started with the rice cereal which he smashed bowlfuls at his leisure. Beginning with one tablespoon he more than quickly was eating about three tablespoons. To be honest, I reckon he could've eaten the entire pack if he wanted to. Great thing about the rice cereal is that it doesn't come back up. Having dealt with a frequently posseting baby for the last 5 months, this was certainly a refreshing change. So rice cereal done, it was then onto the vegies and fruits. 

I followed a few books to start; 'Save our Sleep Feeding', Annabel Karmels 'Weaning' and Fiona Wilcock's 'Feed your baby day by day' but to be very honest with you, none of the meal plans seemed to work or not in the order that the books recommended. I took maybe a couple days off as it was getting a little stressful trying to get bub onto the vegies and then came up with my own meal plan and it's been working a treat. 

Day 1-4: Zucchini with rice cereal (50/50). 1 meal a day

Day 5-7: Pumpkin with rice cereal (50/50). 1 meal a day

Day 8-10: Carrot with rice cereal (50/50). 1 meal a day

Day 11: Pear and rice porridge (50/50). 1 meal a day

Day 12+: 2 meals a day rotating the above combos

I've bulk pureed the zucchini, pumpkin, carrot, pear and also apple so there's enough to last me awhile yet. Next on my list is sweet potato, swede and avocado. And I won't lie, this whole getting bubs on solids is hard work and chews up a lot of time. When they say it takes 10 times to get bub liking something, they are right! Even when you sit bub down for one meal, he still pulls faces at me on the first few bites and maybe after the tenth bite he actually gets into it and starts opening his mouth for the food and wanting more.

Exciting times ahead!