March- starting solids

Prithika's Sunglasses... cool baby!
With Prithika
With Naomi

Well now that Madeline is 5 months she's started solids. We hope that this will help improve her reflux although it doesn't appear to have mad emuch difference yet. She started will a taste of baby rice about a week ago- see the photos- and has since tried pear, kumara and today had her first pureed apple. Introducing solids is a bit interesting logistically but very very fun and it's great for me to know how much she's eating. We were a bit concerned about her weight but she's so active and happy that the medical people seem to think it's ok. She started off life 1kg heavier than all the other babies and now she's about 2kg lighter - the joys of reflux i guess.

We had greg's 30th the other day but his actually birthday is tomorrow. After the party the 3 Bartons put some wigs on... so we had a go too... Andy, Sophie, Wayne, Lesi
Sophie and Lesi


Also in March a continuation of the crawling phase... no longer is it back legs--> forehead --> tummy--> arms but now we have back legs one at a time followed by one arm then tummy... very clever girl. Can move quite fast now and loves to explore and destroy... so if we visit please remove all plastic bags from floor and little things that might look good enough to eat as everything goes into her mouth!

Also this weekend Greg and i took Madeline to Cornwall park for a picnic and a walk. We had a really nice family time just hanging out. it was actually quite tiring- our first weekend for as long as we can remember with nothing on and no house renovations.

Madeline has totally got the hang of the jolly jumper now too and loves to hang off the clothes line while i put out the washing... i actually forgot she was there the other day and turned the clothesline to hang up a sheet... she thought it was hilarious to fly through the air. She has little leather shoes on her feet so she doesn't stub her toes on the concrete.

have to work out how to post video cos there are some cute crawling ones that will make excellent 21st fodder.

hope you're all well... thanks for looking at this blog

Sarah

before

after

January photos

another "Jackson/Barker Fleming" 4 Generation Photo

Save me Mummy i'm Stuck

I can sit up - with a bit of support

Hands and Feet are so so so irresistable

My new thing is to smile in the mirror as i recognise myself

and poke my tounge out and up!

The new garden out the front taking shape

With Gran Gran and my new Giraffe chew toy

the waterblasting of our new paving area

the pavers starting to be laid

in my high chair
more mirror smiles
Where's mummy Maddi?

With Nanna
And Grandma
And Daddy
With the coffee group in cornwall park... the widest brim hat Mummy could find (it's a bit frilly)

The rest of january

Hi all

Well we've had a lovely January. Greg's parents have been down at a Christian Writers week so we've been able to hang out with them a bit and Greg, Andy and Poppa have started a Patio out the back... and Andy and Greg have dug up our front lawn for a garden. (with a pick axe due to the baked earth)

Madeline is continuing to develop well and has been less fussy with reflux although this heat is tough on little babies who still can't regulate thier own body temperature. So she's been splashing in the bath to cool off and enjoying her squirty fish and floaty frog. Ben abd Kem gave her a blue octopus plug for christmas so that's caused much fascination. She loves to paddle on her tummy and has only dropped her head in once causing great spluttering and coughing and much "fun" for her father who was holding onto her at the time.

We can't leave her anywhere at the moment as she started to roll from back to tummy while up north over christmas and now commando crawls towards "interesting" things. SO i have had to lie on the floor and get a Madeline's eye view to child proof our living room floor. She went stright for my plastic cross-stitch bag the other day but her father rescued her (he seems to be doing that a lot lately)

She is crawling in her cot most of all and often gets terribly stuck. With no reverse gear yet this causes a loud yell or the occasional scream and i come running to find legs or arms jammed and once her head squished up against the bars... thankfully cots are designed so she can't jam her head in between the bars otherwise she definately would have by now. She loves to sleep with her head nestled into something. this is usually Miss Mouse but often is the bars of the cot or the wooden end. the plunket nurse suggested i remoe the bumper pads so she learns to sleep in the bed not up against the walls and also so she doesn't get tangled up... as she was talking to the bumper pads and eating them instead of sleeping! So hilarious!

Madeline is also determined to be as social as possible so we've stayed at home for the last few nights to get her into a bit of a bed time routine of feed, bath, bible story, prayers and then bed... this has worked a charm and we have actually been able to have dinner together without interruption! She goes down at about 6 or 7 and then wakes at 8 or 9 for the last feed of the night and has been sleeping right through 8 or 9 hours to 4 or 5 which is bliss!

While there are no teeth yet the serious dribble has started and i've read that it to help clense the mouth of all the greeblies small people discover as she puts umpteen numbers of things into her mouth...sometimes attempting more than one toy at a time as well as one or more thumbs. She loves Jemima Puddle Duck and a new chewy teething giraffe toy mum and dad gave her for christmas. She also enjoys eating Stenna's legs and head and crackly body and Emily's hands, chew rings and hat brim. Stenna is an inch worm with cm conversion from Steven and Jenna.

Anyway here are some more photos of our New Year and January

Hope you are all well... love Sarah

New Year and Week 14-15

Well the last 2 weeks we've been up north staying at Greg's parents farm. We had the first few days with Matt and Cris and have taken Madeline to the beach twice.. .and she's been asleep both times. She has been rolling from her back to her tummy now which makes sleep times interesting and that means we have to hold onto her until she nods off enough not to roll onto her tummy. if she rolls she gets stuck against the side of the porta cot and starts to call out for help... very cute but has interrupted a number of games of settlers ;o)

She has also taken to holding onto her toes this week so lots of things happening developmentally. Her feeding has been really sporadic this week and i have decided to just go with the flow a bit more. So we don't fight any more if she's not interested i just let her calm down and then try again. it was taking up to 2 hours to feed her but now i am managing to at least feed her every 4 to 4 1/2 hours which is a huge improvement... although no idea how her weight gain is going. She'll have to go back to the pead. when we get home.

Greg's played about 3 rounds of golf, been water skiing and is off out to fish tonight hopefully (weather permitting). He's also been putting in a new vanity in Grandma and Poppa's bathroom and has helped redo some flooring as well... so he's been pretty busy playing. I have read some Cuisine magazine finished some cross words and read a book so all in all quite a successful holiday really!

Also managed to play pool against Greg last night and he beat me 3-2 in our best of 5 competition... it was a very tightly contested match which is super surprising as normally I'm pretty hopeless but motherhood must make you a better pool player i think :o)

Cuddles with Aunty Cris

13 Pukeko eggs and a baby puke broken out of one - Shelley found in a bunch of salt rushes in a paddock
All smiles - enjoying grabbing hold of her toys and munching on them pretty hard!

Loving her holiday

My First Christmas

Christmas day was spent at Mum and Dads and with my family in Mt Albert. Here are some pics... the blocks are Madelines present from us and the books are from Aunty Shell. The drss she's wearing is from Matt and Cris. She loved her adoring public and spent most of the day awake!

My first Christmas T'Shirt courtesy of Grangran

4 Generations of Barkr genes
Uncle Matt and Aunty Kissy
Aunty Neen teaching Maddi to count

All eyes on the bug on the floor

4 Generations of Jackson Genes

Christmas morning.. a bit sleepy
Thanks Aunty Shell
Oh interesting spots on my new dress
With Aunty Kissy and my new toy for munching on

Week 12- more dreaded immunisations

Twas the week before Christmas and thankfully mum had the week off School because I came down with a breast infection and had a terrible fever and Madeline's reflux was progressively getting worse until we ended up in Starship. She totally went off feeding and it was a complete fight (and has been since but i am much more cunning). She fed 6 hourly that day and i was totally at my wits end... when Greg got home from work we ate dinner and went into Starship. I was able to express there and Greg fed her by bottle it was a real shocker... we didn't get home till 230am and i was pretty exhausted (Greg started work late the next day). Then that weekend we had the hugest mission with a million things to do and i was still tired and came down with a nasty fever on Sunday night. Much better now and Madeline is a little better having been to the paediatrician and is now taking a higher dose of Losec... up to 15mg a day. This is not really working as well as i'd like as she continues to arch her back and avoid feeding... often only feeding on one side for about 5mins so we're really concerned about her weight gain. She's really happy and bubbly the rest of the time... it's only feeding and some early evening times that she grizzles and rarely cries. So we are pretty blessed... her lovely laid back nature makes all the troubles bearable and we are totally loving her as she grows and develops. She's started to love standing and strains to sit up.