Ten months!

There’s so much that I can’t believe.

• I can’t believe November has come and gone.
• I can’t believe we’re more than a week into December.
• I can’t believe my little girl is ten – TEN!!! – months old.
• I can’t believe how much I’ve missed writing about over the last month.

side effects from viagra In case that will happens, anyone actually do not need to have the prescription for the said disease. This generic medicine comes in dose strength of 20mg each pill that provides hard erections online cialis that sustain for 36 hours. One thing that you should recall is that this medication ought to be brought just with plain water brand viagra pfizer or milk. Adrenal best price viagra imbalance can be corrected by taking a regulated amount of ashwagandha.
Going back to work has been really hard for me. Not only because it means that it’s taking my focus away from the baby – but also because (as I’ve mentioned before) it’s a job that I’m not overly enamoured with.

Since I’m working from home, I’m also struggling to find a balance. Pumpkin still demands my attention pretty much all day, but the job I have is one that requires a good bit of concentration too. That means that I feel like I’m constantly playing catch-up. When she’s napping. After she goes to bed. Even *gasp* before she wakes up. Hubby’s helping, but there’s only so much he can do and he takes her out on the weekends too so that I can do more work. It’s not ideal, but we do what we must.

Oh, and the flat is an absolute disaster.

And my poor blog. It’s been so neglected. While that may seem like a minor point in the big scheme of things, I really wanted this to be a place where I recorded my thoughts, feelings and memories of special things that happen as Pumpkin grows up. So, to me, it’s not such a minor thing.

Catching up

Here are a few of the things I’ve wanted to write more about over the last month. I wanted each write-up to be more in-depth. But it didn’t happen. So, here’s a very brief re-cap of each one.

My thoughts at the end of maternity leave

Up until I became pregnant, I had never really thought of myself as a very motherly person. Sure, I liked to cook, but that really was the extent of my maternal qualities. And, while I knew I would love my little girl and take care of her adequately, I was a worried that I’d be a terrible mother.

Now, I’ll never win Mother of the Year – my terrible record with housework will guarantee that, I think I’m doing not too bad otherwise. Maternity leave was an amazing nine months. I tried to make the most of that precious time we had – mainly with lazy days on the sofa, long snuggles and afternoon naps together. From an outsider’s perspective, it probably didn’t look like I did much with that time, but as far as I’m concerned, I used most days to their full extent.

I won’t lie. I really wish I could just not have gone back to work and be a full-time mother to my little girl. But I’m so grateful for the nine months of maternity leave that I did have. Being American, I know far too many mothers that didn’t anything close to that – a week if they were lucky. Two, if they used up their vacation time. I honestly don’t know how anybody can deal with that. It would have killed me to leave Pumpkin with somebody else after just a couple of weeks. We all do what we must, I guess.

Baby’s nine-month update

To be honest, the last couple of months have flown by so quickly, they’ve all blurred together. During her ninth month, Pumpkin’s biggest achievement was learning to crawl – and our home hasn’t been the same since.

Watching her move around and explore her world has been so interesting. She’s so curious and she gets into everything. It can be really exasperating, but I wouldn’t have things any other way.

40 weeks in; 40 weeks out

Basically the same as her nine-month birthday, but I think this is a fascinating milestone. All the changes a fetus goes through in the first 40 weeks on the inside – growing from just a couple of cells to a fully fledged human being, albeit one that doesn’t do much but cry, eat and poop.

But then in the second 40 weeks – the ones on the outside – the changes are almost as amazing. The baby changes from a red, wrinkly blob to a little person with a personality, mobility and an ability to feed herself (sort of) – and a little brain that’s learning at a truly astonishing pace.

The ten month update

Finally, back to the title of this post. I know I’ve already said it, but I’m going to say it again. And probably again. I can’t believe she’s ten months old already. All the sleepless nights, exhaustion, frustration – it has gone by in the blink of an eye.

Crawling has been mastered – more than mastered. If crawling were an Olympic sport, she’d be in with a chance for the gold medal. One of her favourite things to do is crawl towards me when I’m calling to her, then pass me by as fast as she can, giggling the whole way.

She’s pulling herself up now and standing pretty well, as long as she’s holding on to something. I have noticed her a few times not paying attention and letting go of what she’s holding on to. She manages a few seconds before landing on her bum. We’ve been practicing walking a bit too – I’ll hold her hands and have her come towards me.

Baby-led weaning finally feels like it’s getting somewhere. Although most of the food still ends up on the floor, she’s actually eating some of what I give her. And if it’s a banana, nothing goes to waste. 🙂

She’s signing a bit now – with some persuasion, she’ll give me the ‘more’ sign when she’s eating. I was completely dumb-founded when she started waving at people last week. She has never attempted to wave before, and then suddenly she was waving like royalty.

I think that’s what surprises me more than anything else is how quickly she reaches a milestone. It’s like a switch is flipped. One minute she doesn’t know how to do something, the next minute she’s figured it out and is doing it well.

Other firsts this last month include Pumpkin’s first shoulder-rides with Daddy-man.

And her first shampoo mohawk.