A hopeful August.

Hi! I am back again. 

We've been traveling a bit and then a bit busy again.  But now we're back in Bergen ready to start doing things!!  There's a whole bunch of things in my "to-do" list that I need to start crossing out, maybe August will be more productive than the last few months.  Not that I haven't enjoy my 4 months baby-moon!  It's been great, but my mind craves more now.  Nothing fancy, just getting some things done.  Like starting a better exercise routine, planning better meals, catching up with some sewing, meeting with friends, taking an exhibition round every Friday evening, editing some videos, sending applications for video-art festivals, getting my homepage running, getting my US Visa (this particular task, I HATE! If only it wasn't sooooo much cheaper to travel to Costa Rica through the US), anyways, I could keep going for at least 10 minutes.  

But first things first:  Olivia is now 4 months!!!!  I can't believe how fast time goes.  It feels like yesterday that I had terrible pain when I breastfed, that I couldn't understand her cries, that she was sleeping all the time and the rest of the time, eating.  That she made those newborn grunts that were so cute and harsh at the same time, that I was afraid of braking her.  It is soooo much cooler now!  She talks to herself all the time with the loveliest bird sounds, she shakes her arms and legs so strong that it seems like she will start flying any minute, she calls for our attention constantly, like saying "HEY! I'm here!", she loves loves loves kisses on the cheeks, she likes to sit on my lap and look at the world like a big girl, she is always smiling and just being plain cool.  I have to say, she is just the coolest baby in the world!!! (I bet all of us mammas think the same thing, hehe).  She's been incredibly easy these days, and I have to credit that to my new routine.  

I know I've mentioned before that I got really stressed by reading books and that following my instinct has been the best for me, but I do have to credit one book that has changed the way I listen to my baby: "Secrets Of The Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect and Communicate with your Baby" by Tracy Hogg.  The book suggests to start with a routine from day 0.  I did not do this, in fact, I did not get this book until Olivia was around 4 weeks old, and I didn't finish reading it until she was like 5 weeks old, so, I applied what I could in those days, then decided it was too stressful to have such a strict routine (it might work for some) and started just following Olivia's lead with a little direction from me.  All in all, what I did take out from the Baby Whisperer was to listen to the babies cries and to start a small routine.  I started a feeding-playing-sleeping sequence every day, so I could distinguish the reasons why Olivia cried and didn't over feed her.  So far it's been great.  I feed her (breastmilk + a bit of formula every time), then we have activity time until she seems like she's had enough, and then she sleeps.  That way I know that if during the activity time she starts crying, is because she is tired, not because she is hungry.  And it works every time!  So, I suggest trying that if you are having trouble with "constantly eating" and trouble with putting you baby to sleep.  At night we do the same, first we change to pijamas, then lay down on the bed and feed (both breasts + a bit of formula, usually 2oz) and then she is full, we move her to her bed while still barely awake and 10-15 minutes later she's asleep, until next morning.  So yes, sticking to a routine works!  A full belly works!  Hope this is helpful.


One more thing, have you checked out "A Cup of Joe's Motherhood Mondays"??  They are quite great! Last Monday was all about the essentials for when the baby comes, for all of those mammas to be.  It was a quite extensive and well explained list, and it got me inspired to make my own, so, that will be my next post, my "baby list".  I looked and looked everywhere for something like this when I was pregnant, but couldn't find any useful ones, except for the one we got at the clinic.  Which was quite accurate but basic.  So, look for my list on the coming days!

Now, here are some more pictures of our trip to beautiful Ula, in the east coast of Norway.  Each year we have a family party where we eat crayfish with beautiful wine, then for dessert, Gorgonzola with Amarone.  The whole family gets together for this meal in this beautiful place.  This was Olivia's first trip out of Bergen and it went really smooth.  We are ready for Brussels in September now.