Here comes Christmas....

Month two in the Moose household began in a way that was less idyllic than the first.

Whereas in the first couple of weeks at home Bowie would drift off to sleep easily in anyone's arms, in his second month he started to fight going to sleep. We had lots of nights where settling him off to sleep took ages and lots of hard work and frustration.

We second-guessed ourselves more often and wondered what we'd done 'wrong' a lot. It's possible that he was just more aware of things going on around him and this is why he was harder to put to sleep or maybe it's just what happens with infants. On more than one occasion he would go off to sleep in the evening but then wake for a feed and not go back to sleep for, say, two hours between 2 and 4 in the morning. Arghh. He would also get tired but then resist sleep and complain about being tired and then get more and more tired but couldn't go to sleep because he had to complain about it. That was very hard to understand at times, especially when we were tired and just wanted some sleep ourselves.

His awareness of his surroundings increased amazingly this month. He would often gaze up at the beams in the ceiling and would turn his head to see lights and windows. He began to smile this month, usually at either Chris or I although not because of anything specific we'd done. Sometimes he would just grin. It's amazing what a wobbly, gaping, fleeting smile can do for your morale and mood. It was funny watching him try to make a smile, he would open his mouth up really wide like an 'ahhh' before settling more into a smiling shape. I guess all he was used to doing with his mouth was feeding so he had to go through that shape first. It was so wonderful to know he had other emotions than just impassive and unhappy.

We took him swimming again and he loved it. Sighing and kicking his legs around a little and not complaining even when his gums started to chatter (can gums chatter?)

He met several new people this month, most of whom were happy to cuddle him. Grandad Paul Denniss told us quite certainly that he doesn't like babies but after a look at Bowie said "At least that one's not too ugly." We laughed!

Opa and I took him for a walk early in the month to the museum and while he enjoyed the trip there he cried a little in the museum (didn't like the quality of the taxidermy perhaps?) but was ok outside in the cafe. One woman commented that he had a "very distinctive little face". I chose to take that as a compliment.

As the month progressed he began to sleep for longer stretches at night and we found ourselves over the moon when he slept from 11:15pm to 3:45 one night.
Four and a half hours!!
In a row!! Then when he had a feed and a change and was back asleep by a little after 4 and didn't wake until 7am we were sure we were the best parents ever... of course the following night was not the same and we were back to being in a state of frustration and confusion.

In the middle of the month he had several days where he basically refused to sleep while the sun was up. Several days in a row he was awake from about 10 am to 5pm with only very short snoozes and lots of crying and screaming. It was exhausting for all concerned. It was at this time particularly that we were pleased to be living with Oma and Opa and to have all these extra comfort-providing arms. Comfort for Bowie and for us.

Bowie got better at playing with his toys. In particular Bo Bo the monkey, from Oma and Opa, and Lucy Jim the lamb, attracted his attention. Possibly because of the stark contrast between their face and eye colour they were easy to see. Many a happy minute was spent lying on the mat hitting out at one or the other of them. His aim was unreliable but improving almost daily.

I tried expressing milk this month with enough success that Chris was able to feed Bowie for the first time at 6 weeks of age. Little Moose took the bottle without a complaint and drained the bottle much more quickly than I'd been able to fill it.

Bowie's first Christmas was a fairly small affair (he slept through most of it) spent with family and a few friends. He was given some lovely and generous gifts by various people. It will be much more fun next year I think, when he's able to rip open his own presents and fully appreciate the joys of crinkling wrapping paper.

Bowie ate and grew well all month. At an 8 week appointment with the community health nurse he weighed 5.5 kg and measured 64 cm long! That's 1.5 kg and 9 cm in eight weeks! Also at eight weeks Bowie had his first round of immunisations, an oral dose and three intramuscular injections into the thighs. The poor baby looked so shocked at the first injection and it was so hard to hold him close, comfort him and then restrain him for the next two injections. He cried so hard but it's amazing how quickly a feed, some close cuddles and whispers will calm him.

He had several grizzly, clingy, unsettled days after his injections but since then has been doing a fairly good job of settling himself off to sleep at night (and during the day). Gone now are the hours of bottom patting, bassinet jiggling, walking and singing. Now, when he begins to get tired we put him down, give him a sheet and a Nuk and leave him to it. It takes a little while sometimes but he's often asleep by the time we peek back in on him. It's such a wonderful change.

In the new year we will be driving to Perth. We've allocated two full weeks for the 6000km drive. Let's hope Bowie doesn't suffer from motion sickness...

The Beginning

On a stormy Thursday, in the tropical north of Australia, on the first day of November, Bowie Daniel arrived in the world.

And we were delighted.

It was the culmination of months of anticipation and planning and changes for the two of us. We came home from living in the UK to have Bowie in Darwin because it is closer to our families.

The waters broke on Tuesday morning with no real contractions and an internal examination at the hospital confirmed that nothing much was happening so we went home to wait and see. On the Thursday morning we went back in and we're put on a drip at about 11.30 am, the midwife called it Jungle Juice. The labour then progressed quite swiftly and just under six hours later, after two hours on the gas 'little' Bowie was born at a 5.15 pm in the Royal Darwin Hospital. He weighed 3,965g and was 55cm long. He's going to be tall like his daddy.

Because he had so much vernix still on him the midwives thought he was probably pre-term and recorded his gestation as 38/40 even though his EDD was just a day later - 2nd November 2007.

As well as Chris, there were the two midwives who delivered him and Bowie's Oma and Opa (my parents) present at the birth. It was wonderful to have so much support there and and to share Bowie's first moments with them all.

Unfortunately we both had a temperature during the labour and that combined with the early breaking of the waters meant that there was some concern about infection. So we were both put on antibiotics and had to stay in the hospital for 4 nights. Bowie started on the breast from shortly after birth and has fed well since the beginning.

We came home on the 5th of November, just in time for Chris' birthday on the 6th. It was exciting and a little scary to be coming home with our little tiny boy.

In the first month of his life Bowie was visited by his Dharma, Grandad, Tante Kiki and her boyfriend Matt, Tante Inge and her boyfriend Tim and various friends living in Darwin.

His nicknames in the first month included, Little Moose (from Mooseonthemove), Jungle Bum (because of his nappy covers), Little Man and My Little Love.

Despite us putting him down on his back to sleep, his favorite position in the early weeks was on his side with his head tipped right back towards his bottom and his back arched. It was amazing to watch him contort himself into seemingly very uncomfortable shapes. At times the only position he was comfortable in was lying on his tummy and we let him have his day time naps on his front on the play mat that the Ryans gave him.

Right from the beginning he threw his head around while we held him and we had to be careful to catch it. Within the first couple of weeks he was making attempts to lift his head while lying on his tummy and by a month old he was able to lift it, turn it from one side to the other and put it down again with a fair degree of control.

When Bowie was nine days old we took him to the Parap markets on Saturday morning in his stroller. It was very very hot and he got quite red so when we got home we took him for a 'swim' in the pool. It was a bit of a shock for him and he didn't enjoy being in for very long. Little Moose was one month old exactly when we took him in the pool again and this time, other than a surprised squawk as we got into the water, he seemed to really enjoy it. He kicked and sighed and looked around and enjoyed himself. Opa filmed a few short clips on our camera.


We had to learn all kinds of settling tricks and amongst the most successful were bottom-patting while he lay on his tummy, Chris walking and talking with him in his arms, him lying 'lion pose' on an arm, jiggling the bassinet, sshhhh - ing, and singing. When he came home, Bowie was given a copy of Puff the Magic Dragon by Oma and Opa which included a CD of the song and the two of us quickly learnt all the words. Among the other CDs we played him were the Best of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Mozart Effect and a Baby Massage CD from John. Another favourite song went something like "Bowie, Bowie, Bowie, Bowie, Bowie, Bowie, Daniel" and although it lacked in melody it proved to be sufficient distraction to stop crying on the change table.

Bowie was initially captivated by a painting of a giraffe I'd done for him which stood by the change mat but at about three and a half weeks of age we noticed that he'd started to play with his Mortimer Moose from the Weeks'. It was hung by the change mat and he went from watching it to starting to bat at it with his fist. The little bell in one of it's feet tinkled with only a tiny movement and was kept him entertained through many nappy changes.

Carols by Candlelight in the Botanic Gardens Amphitheater on the 2nd December offered an occasion to gaze at candle light, which he did, and while he seemed to enjoy the singing he was less than impressed by the fireworks. It was very, very loud and while I tried to cover and protect his ears he did his best to scream louder than the explosions.

It's quite amazing how different he is at the end of just one month in the world. The lovely soft down on his shoulders has mostly gone and the skin on his back doesn't wrinkle as much when you stroke it. His hair is getting thicker and his eyes are lighter, though still a very dark blue. It's been a real learning curve for us, trying to decipher what his different cries mean, perfecting the terry nappy folding (it's a little like floppy origami), getting attachment right and learning when to worry and when not to worry.

This is such an adventure and we're loving (almost) every minute.