Sunday, January 6, 2019

First Christmas with Mini



Flying with a baby went much better than last time. We choose an earlier flight and made sure she got her naps. On the plane before take off she started getting cranky and hubby and I were worried about how the flight would go but I managed to get her to sleep soon after. She breastfed a little but then stopped and then I cuddled and stroked her head until she nodded off. She then slept through the entire flight to Ireland which was perfect!

She still wasn't a big fan of car journies unfortunately so those were difficult but it wasn't as bad as last time. I ended up often having to let her watch youtube videos on my phone so she wouldn't get upset (Wheels on the Bus / Five Little Ducks / Old Mac Donald). We tried to make sure she got one or two naps each day depending on what was on the agenda and she was generally good humoured. Occasionally she got a bit overstimulated by the end of the day and she was also teething pretty bad so a few evenings she was a bit grumpy and took longer to go to sleep!

Mini is 10 months now and still too young to really appreciate or understand Christmas. We took her to meet Santa at my local shopping centre and she cried when I put her on his lap. Oh dear! However, she loved seeing the Christmas trees everywhere ( I would hold her up to one so she could feel the tinsel and lights) and going new places.


I just loved everyone getting to spend time with her again. She is such a fun little person already. She can say "mama" and "dada", wave and clap. She also already understands a few phases I say a lot such as "let's look out the WINDOW" and "would you like some MILK?" and "open the door!"

For my birthday I got a spa voucher and enjoyed a massage, facial and manicure. It was so relaxing. I celebrated the day by going for afternoon tea with my family. It was the perfect low key birthday for how I was feeling but maybe next year I'll try to organize something bigger. Having a birthday around Christmas always makes it really difficult to plan something as it's such a busy time for everyone!


There were just two things that didn't go so well on the trip. Hubby and I had a fight on Christmas day. I think it was the stress getting to us both. I do some baby led weaning with Mini and she started gagging/chocking on some turkey and hubby freaked out and lost his temper at me. It was scary and upsetting but she's fine thankfully. She had fallen earlier that day and I'd gotten cross at him for not watching her which had bothered him. We have both made new year resolutions to be kinder to one another and more of a parenting team again.

The other thing that bugged me was all the unwanted advice about our parenting we kept getting! People compliment Mini for being a very happy baby but then constantly tell us things like "you'll need to get her used to sleeping in her cot" when they hear we bedshare and that it's a "bad habit" that we usually lie next to her for naps. It made me feel defensive and frustrated as we are doing our best. Mini is a contact loving baby and my husband and I are fine with the situation - it works for our family- so why does it bother other people so much?

It was fun for me to spend time with family and relations again on the trip and the friends who were able to meet me. Unfortunately since the holidays are such a busy time, there were several people I didn't get to see. We're planning another trip back to Dublin in the Summer though. I felt a bit homesick when we were leaving. It's a pity I live so far away but my life is very much in Germany now and I can't see us moving. It was a lovely Christmas and I'm looking forward to when we travel over again to Dublin in the Summer and Mini can experience even more of Ireland and its culture.

4 comments:

  1. Ignore all those people giving you advice, especially about where the baby sleeps. Western parenting strikes me as completely unnatural- that a baby sleeps in a crib in a separate bedroom and moms go back to work shortly after having them. In many countries after the children are born they sleep with both parents or just the mother. It's better for bonding, you get more sleep and it makes breastfeeding a lot easier.

    Do whatever works for you and don't worry about other people. My mother insisted I should put my daughter to sleep on her stomach in a crib in a separate room. It turns out that's WAY more dangerous than co sleeping so to each their own! I co sleep with my son now and it works out great!

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    1. Firstly, I'm delighted for you that your son is here and everything is going so well! :)
      Yeah the advice has changed so much from our parent's generation, now we know much more about safety and the risks. Everyone should be taught how to safely cosleep as that is much safer than when people fall asleep on a couch holding a baby.
      Bedsharing is so much easier when breastfeeding :)

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  2. I'm jealous that bed sharing is working for you! We loved sharing our bed with Ali, but it was just too stimulating for him. No one could sleep. We still miss him (I hate putting him down in his own room every night), but we're glad everyone is getting good sleep now at least.

    You do you! :)

    Both our kids are going to be a year old so soon. Crazy!

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    1. Yeah it's actually crazy now how fast the year has gone. I'm excited for the toddler years though, I love seeing how their personalities develop! I'm enjoying reading your updates.
      I'm not sure how long we will keep up the bedsharing actually. We are hoping to gradually start transitioning her into a cot or floor mattress at least for part of the night.

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