Thought I'd better do a little catch up on Abbey and what she's up to. More and more she's turning into such a little girl. The babyish side to her is fast disappearing and in it's place a fearless, self confident, outgoing, cheeky, delightful little girl is emerging. This is a pic i took of her the other morning. She's been enjoying 'dressing' herself in my clothes. It is the cutest thing. And she parades around the room. The other day she picked up my handbag too and had that perfectly positioned over her forearm. Next she'll be breaking out the stilettos and getting into my make-up (actually she's already been into my powder foundation - dropped the case and it all shattered into a million pieces. There goes $20).

Some days she just seems to be growing so fast. We've had to move items in the pantry as she's starting to climb the shelves and spots the biscuits. Amazing how selective she is already! Though she did go for the baking soda one day and discovered it wasn't worth all the effort after all!

A shame her hair doesn't seem to be advancing at quite the same pace but here's a close up pic to show you that she at ;east does have some! There's definitely more at the back than there is on the top and so it usually looks a lot less in all the photos with a front on view. No where near enough for clips or bobbles or bows or plaits but we have years for all that. I should be grateful at how maintenance free it is.She is getting increasingly independent which is great to a degree like at meal times she can now easily feed herself and better still not get much on the floor in the process. She even says 'spoon' in her own little way but hasn't quite distinguished between that and a fork. It is great at this age that she can have the same meals as us. We've taken to setting aside a couple of portions for her most meals and most of them go down a treat. Certainly the times when we've been stuck and out and about and had to get her supermarket baby food she hasn't been too keen. Glad those taste buds are developing. Bought baby food is just disgusting in my opinion and it shocks me a little to see mums with toddlers who are stocking up on jars. It's so simple to make a toddler dinner.

When we're out and about i try and let her walk to get some exercise and burn some energy but this is proving a little problematic at times in that she just takes off. It's incredible how far she will walk away before she even takes a glimpse back to see if you're following. This child is well beyond the attachment phase:

"With the third phase of attachment (seven to 24 months), the infants possess a strong attachment to their caregivers and suffer from separation and stranger anxiety. Their strong relationships with their caregivers are formed in tandem with the development of their motor ability to move towards their caregivers for safety and verbal skills that enable them to socialize with their caregivers on a more complex level than before."

and has progressed into the final stage.... well we have been trying to convince people that she's quite advanced...

"During the final phase that starts typically from age two, the young children have acquired representational and memory skills that allow them to relate to their environment in an active way. Thus, they do not require the constant attention of their parents. They also begin to adjust their perspectives of various situations and understand the points of view of their parents. At the same time, they are able to cope with short periods of separation from their parents."

I'm pleased and not at all surprised to read that children secure in their relationships with their parents..

"succeed in the academic and social spheres of their life. They enjoy exploring their environment and exhibit self-confidence. Furthermore, they are also able to form healthy relationships with their peers."

Anyway needless to say I'm glad that she is comfortable in her surroundings and certainly to date she has warmed to new faces very quickly but there needs to be some sense of how far is too far and I guess that's where we as parents take the reins and maintain safety and control. I does amuse me the way she runs the moment I make a move in her direction though. I have a feeling that in a month or so I won't be so amused and we'll have to look at a way of keeping her from taking off. There's always the child reins option! Actually friends of ours in the UK had one of these for their little girl and it worked a treat http://www.littlelife.co.uk/out-about/1/index.htm

Here's Abbey having a 'big girl' swing and loving it.

It has been great Abbey having her little cousin John around and she's slowly but surely learning the need to be gentle with him. We babysat the other night and I had them both lying on Abbey's bed for story time. Abbey at one stage rolled to her side and kissed him on the head. It was very sweet. Look at that size difference! Gosh how she's grown. John is 3mths and Abbey is 15mths.

And here's a bump shot of me as Mikaela and I both carry our babes out front. Having a little play on the confidence course on the way down to check out Mungalli Falls up in the Tablelands.

Well that's my computer time up for the day. So will leave it at that.

The latest

So this is the latest and I think the only belly shot I have posted throughout this pregnancy. 32 weeks. We spent the weekend in Cooktown north QLD.

I saw the midwife on Tuesday and all is well. Next appointment in three weeks time. We'll be heading into 36 weeks by then! Good golly! Excellent!

Wondering if I should make some frozen dinners this time round...We never bothered when we had Abbey. It's probably not a bad idea. Except we don't have a freezer big enough to store them! Actually it's probably a better idea to ensure there's meals for Abbey because if she's fed and off to bed then we'll have some calm space in which to think about what to feed ourselves.

Golly it's hot today. i'm off for a wee kip alongside my sleeping daughter.

To prevent children from going bump in the night

Secure the perimeter with a high-tech defense mechanism...

Things that go 'bump!' in the night..

Abbey falling out of bed!

OOPS!

31 Weeks

I realise that I've not blogged at all about this pregnancy really but I assure you all that it is still in progress!

We're heading towards 32 weeks and it feels like the end is in sight but probably not as comfortably close as I would like! As expected the belly is expanding. The ribs are being tickled, the child within does rolly pollies and uses the walls of my womb as a boxing bag. Or perhaps he/she is just breaking out the latest dance moves. Who knows but this baby is on the move. Which is a good thing.

I have really had such a great pregnancy again. I've had some pain issues with my SIJ:

During pregnancy, female hormones are released that allow the connective tissues in the body to relax. The relaxation is necessary so that during delivery, the female pelvis can stretch enough to allow birth. This stretching results in changes to the SIJ's, making them hypermobile - extra or overly mobile. Over a period of years, these changes can eventually lead to wear-and-tear arthritis. As would be expected, the more pregnancies a woman has, the higher her chances of SI joint problems. During the pregnancy micro tears and small gas pocket can appear within the joint.

Ryan has got in and released trigger points around the SIJ which is excruciating (and he gets utter delight out of doing so) but it does help and so I am grateful (but he still deserves a slap!)

I've not been too tired yet and Abbey keeps me on my toes for sure but she's also a great distraction from counting days like I did with her. It's been wonderful too that she seems to understand a little about this baby. When I ask her where the baby is she lifts up my top and pats my tummy. Oh and her latest cute big sister thing is to blow raspberries on my belly instead of a little kiss like she used to. We've got a neat book about the 'New Baby' given to us by Caleb and Theresa who have been there with number two and I think Abbey is at that age now that she's grasping it a little. We were reading it the other day and pointing to the pregnant mummy in the book and then to my belly and I think she got it.

Tonight we went for a tour of the Delivery Suite at Cairns Base Hospital where this baby will hopefully be born. There are also refresher courses for second time rounders but I've decided that all the info is fresh enough and as long as I know where I'm heading and Ryan knows and we know the facilities them we're good. And it's not a bad spot to hang out really. The delivery rooms are huge and there's a nice bog lazy boy chair for Ryan although hopefully it will be quick enough that he doesn't have time to sleep. There's a family room if he needs some air with facilities for tea and things - must pack some milo - and for heating up food or whatever. There's a TV in the room! So I can watch Home and Away while pushing the sproglet out! YAY and bathroom and then they bring in bean bags and Swiss balls and birth mats for the floor etc. So yeah it was great. I came away excited and looking forward to having this baby.

We've got some more name ideas so narrowing down on that one. It's kinda weird this time not knowing what we're having and not being able to decide but still exciting. Really looking forward to the surprise.

I've already been getting a bit of the nesting bug. Have bought another cot mattress and set the cot base at the higher level and made the bed up. Abbey likes the mobile (her old one) and obviously still feels at home in the cot as she lay down and pretended to sleep when I put her in there. She is so full of cuteness. I've even been thinking about hospital bags and an Abbey bag. Have yet to set in concrete how it's going to work when it comes to going to the hospital but depending on the time of day Abbey will either come with us and be picked up from the hospital or maybe if it's the middle of the night Mikaela or John (probably more practical for it to be John) can come over then we don't have to wake Abbey. I dare say she'll find it a little strange when he walks in in the morning and not Ryan but at least she knows him and enjoys his company. Other than those plans we just wing it. I said to Ryan this arvo that the delivery room is big enough for Abbey to be there too. We can hide her away in the cupboard if necessary. Hmm not sure she'd quite understand the labour process and I don't want my daughter to be scarred be such an experience. Certainly feels like it could be a long drive to the hospital is we leave it too late and I know Ryan is a little anxious that this time round will be even faster than last. We will make it though..... i hope.

I'm going to order a car seat from the ambulance service soon. You can hire them for 6mths for a mere $65. We were going to buy Abbey a new car seat and the little one can have hers but apparently there's going to be some law changes here at the end of the year. When I went for a browse the other day the woman in a shop who told me about it said she would wait because there's bound to be new designs come out to cater for the law change.

Right well success at getting through each day is a good nights sleep and so at 9:39pm it's 9mins past my bed time =)