In Mummy's tummy

I have to put this amazing image on Oli's blog. It's me with one of Leeby's incredible body paintings of a 50's polka dot bikini & a beach ball painted on Oli's bump! Damo took it 2 weeks before Oli was born. I just love it!

News

So the latest news is that we are moving to Sydney! I'm being a bit more accepting about the whole thing now 'cos I really can see the positives.

Last Saturday (quiet APEC weekend) we looked at a few places & funnily enough we only put an application in for the very first one we viewed in Woollahra, and got it! It's a cute little north facing 2 bedroom unit with a small courtyard. The lovely Leeby Dolly came with us to mind the little man while we frantically ran in and out of the car to look at lots of expensive mouldy crap! God love her.

We move on September 27th - less than 2 weeks! This will be the 5th time we've moved in the last 19 months! I can and can't believe it. Seems so strange to move to something a quarter the size of this place and pay $60pw more! Uh well, we get to see more of Daddy so it's worth it.

Oli's not sleeping much during the day - which gets quite frustrating as he needs constant attention. Being a mum has definitely got to be one of the hardest jobs on the planet! Today we're trying to pack for the big move. If only he would fall asleep for 1 hour it would help a great deal. But as if that's gonna happen. He's so busy and doesn't want to miss a beat!

The little man is finally rolling around a lot & kind of enjoying being on his tummy. He has really bad eczema on his back and is doing lots of smelly, runny poos - apparently teething signs. But people have been telling us he's teething since he was 3 months. Who bloody knows!

Fathers Day

It's been a while since I've written a post for Oli's blog.

He's going thriving. Eating LOTS, getting big, sitting really well, squealing loudly, sleeping well (un-swaddled) & his general well being seems much better after making the switch from formula to raw milk (straight from the cow - unhomogenised & unpasteurized).

Yesterday was fathers day. Oli and I waited eagerly for daddy to come home from Wagga (where he had photographed a wedding) to give him cuddles, gifts and a yummy dinner. He got home at about 3:45pm. Oli was doing his doggy paddle out of water thing again. Damo hung out with us for a little while before hitting the office to meet some work deadlines. I was a little upset he couldn't spend the rest of the day with us, but hey, someones got to put the food on the table. At the rate Oli's going, he'll be eating us out of house and home at the age of 1!

There's been talk of us moving to the city so Damo can spend more time with us & not have to do so much driving, but to leave this place stunning for a tiny shit box in that noisy, dirty place would be an extremely hard move for me to make.

We've had my girlfriend Sahra staying for the past few days with her gorgeous baby girl Kiana. I dropped her off at the train station yesterday morning, wishing she could stay for longer. It was great to see her, and I think Kiana and Oli really enjoyed each others company.

Oli's uncles Paddy-Jack and Kieren came to visit yesterday too which the little man loved! It was great to watch them play with him and make him laugh.

Chit Chat

It's another chilly winters day and I've been mummy and Sadie the cleaning lady so far. I thought I'd sit down for a while and write some general stuff while the little guy's having a nap.

Oliver seems to be the most chatty baby anyone has ever come across. Other than the common "Jeez, he's big!", people have been commenting on how much he can talk. It's so true. Never ending baby babble fills the house all day, everyday. Ranging from low, serious, stern conversation, to mega high pitched squeals.
He did the squealing thing for a few days when he was about 4 months, and seems to have discovered it again. My ears ring and my head hurts. I'm seriously considering buying some ear plugs.

Yesterday I gave Oli his first rusk which kept him entertained for a while. Today for lunch i mixed a bit of goats milk yoghurt with his veggies which made the little man dry reach! I can completely relate because when I licked the yoghurty spoon, I did exactly the same!

I've stopped breast feeding now that Oli hasn't been waking up for his night feed. His final meeting with the boob was last Monday morning.

Tomorrow we're going to Ace's first birthday party.

Super Model

This week we had a studio set up in our house because Damo had to photograph an umbrella for Tourism Australia. We decided to leave it set up to get some snaps of Oli.

Yesterday the little star spent about 2 minutes in hair, makeup and wardrobe before sitting (by himself) on the blue background roll. Despite his ever green snotty nose, he was in good spirits, and didn't even complain about working when he was sick!
The photographer (daddy) said he was an excellent model, pulling out the moves left, right and centre! I was the photographers assistant and the stylist, and had lots of fun watching him play with daddies old twin reflex camera and hats.

Our little man just gets more and more gorgeous everyday! He is such a blessing in our lives. x

Rock-a-Stack

Today Oli and I went for a drive to chaotic Miranda Fair, or as my friend Rachael from mums group calls it - 'The Jewel of the Shire'. I'd had a Target credit note for ages which had to be used by July 13, so we did the mission in to see what we could find.

I got him a cool little old school looking puffer vest, and I couldn't help but buy him a Fisher Price 'Rock-a-Stack' toy. It's the first brand spanking new toy I've bought him, and boy was he excited when we got home and I ripped it out of the packet! He looked like he was doing doggy paddle out of water.

I don't really like plastic toys, but he's getting so bored with the ones he's got, and he's still a bit little for the wooden second hand ones I've been collecting. Anyway, it's a good one for developmental skills. He ended up being more interested in the base than the rings though. Everything still goes in the mouth! All in good time.

He's getting so much closer to sitting without toppling over. We've been practicing a few times a day. Don't know about the sleeping in his own room thing though. Last night and the night before he woke about 5 times! If only he knew what I'd give to be swaddled in a cosy cot with a dummy in my mouth and someone softly stroking my head!

Sleep deprivation sux!

Aeroplanes, Aunties and Apples

Last week we went to QLD for 6 days for Damo's brother in law's 50th birthday, and to catch up with my uncle Brian and Damo's family. It was so good to get away, and it was Oli's first time on an aeroplane! He travelled really well.

It was the first time Damo's (rather large) family had met Oliver (except for grandma Jill). They all adored him, and he loved the attention. His cousins (all boys aged 3-16) played with him and had fun making him giggle one evening.
On Wednesday auntie's Bizza and Kylie and Grandma Jill offered to babysit the little guy so we could go for a drive to Byron. It was great for us to get a little time to ourselves, and for the family to bond with their newest member. I think i spent the entire 4 hours away from him talking about how gorgeous he is!

The family were so shocked at how much Oli can eat!!! They all said it's such a pleasure to see a baby eat so well. It's hilarious! He sits there with his mouth wide open waiting for the next mouthful (which made a few of them have a good chuckle), and often cries when his bowl is empty.
He loves pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, pear, apple and rice cereal, but isn't so keen on carrot, avocado and banana. Soon we're going to try organic chicken, broccoli, spinach, yoghurt and fresh fish.

The weather was sensational, and it was almost depressing to come home to hot water bottle and fire place days. As soon as we landed on Friday arvo, Damo had to drive us home, grab his cameras, get changed and drive straight back to Sydney to photograph a comedy festival at the Horden Pavilion until 11pm! That's dedication. Then yesterday morning he and Oli both woke up with a cold.

Today we're having a lazy day at home. Oliver has been in a really needy, wingy mood. I've been carefully preparing his gourmet organic cuisine, and picking loads of snot out of his nostrils so he can breathe, which he hates! Tonight he's going to sleep in his own room for the fist time! I'm not sure how I'm going to cope with the separation anxiety, but we'll give it a go. He's still waking for night feeds and the dummy, so there will be a bit of sleep walking going on up and down the hallway.

Oliver Jack rolled over from his back to his tummy on his 6 months birthday, and he's almost sitting up on his own. He still loathes tummy time though.

Happy little family

This is one of the few photos of the 3 of us together. It was taken in our backyard when Oli was nearly 4 months old.

Introduction

Welcome to the Blog of Oliver Jack Pleming.

Oli is now 5 and a half months old. We - Oli, Damo & myself (Jaz) live in beautiful Stanwell Park, on the edge of the Royal National Park NSW.

We have recently discovered that i've been starving the poor little guy! In the beginning they called me 'Bessy' - i swear i could have fed the whole of Ethiopia with the amount of milk i produced! But for the last couple of weeks it seems i'm drying up (maybe because of my recent diagnosis of hyperthyroidism). He's still hungry after the boob, so the little man is onto rice cereal and much to my guilt, 1 or 2 extra bottles of goat's milk formula each day. I'll breast feed him for as long as i can because i believe there is no greater gift you can give your baby, but he does think those formula bottles are full fat vanilla milkshakes! Yesterday he even tried a little pumpkin, and man did i regret that at today's morning nappy change!

We're off to mums group today as soon as Oli wakes from his morning sleep. I'm going to take this opportunity to go and scrub my stinky body in a nice hot shower on this freezing winters morning.

I have created this Blog for Oliver so he can one day read about his beginning and enjoy the stories as much as we do, and so he can see how gorgeous he is and how much we totally LOVE & adore him!!!