White Noise

You know how babies are supposed to all go crazy at around 5pm and grizzle and feed and sulk for a few hours before popping off to bed? Well, Emilia does it in the morning. From 7am to midday she snacks constantly, cat-naps, grizzles and occassionally sleeps. Not infrequently I find myself at midday half dressed and emotionally drained from all the nursing, swaddling, cooing, shh-ing, rocking and loving that I have to do to get her to calm down. In the afternoon she's an angel - all smiles and cute baby stuff - but she's a Gremlin in the morning.

But I'm on to her, or at least my sister is (thank god for big sisterly advice). She recommended I try some 'white noise' so I found this website and then I discovered an App for my very dodgy phone that not only has white noise but thunderstorms, oscillating fans and heavy rain. They're miracle baby soothers! Keeps her asleep for at least an hour so that I can shower and get ready for the day (or blog, as the case may be).

*the picture is completely irrelevant to the post, but late summer blooms are always nice don't you think?

2 months

Two months!

Hard to believe that our little girl has been with us two months. It seems like an eternity and yet no time at all. We love her to bits - the smiles and the funny laughs and the endearing way that she snuggles into your neck like a little mouse burrowing into her nest.

Oh, but she is hard work! This little girl is a reflux, throw-up, colicky kid and we are never short or a cloth towel to mop up the sick. We've tried everything; smaller feeds, bottle feeds, burping 1/2 way through, fennel tea (for me), carum carvi (for her), Sab-simplex (also for her) and the latest a dairy-free diet (for me), which seems to have slightly eased the pain and volume of the sick, but not been the miracle cure I was hoping for. Oh how I miss my yogurt in the mornings!  But just as I'm at my wits end and we're in our third set of clothes for the day and I'm walking around our apartment with a grizzling girl in my ear, there's a burp and that smile again and it makes it all okay. More than okay, it makes it fantastic.

Matthias thought that this photo was much more appropriate for her 2 month shot; much more indicative of her normal facial expression - somewhere between a smile and a frown with a little bit of bewilderment thrown in.

- See here for her one week, two week, three week and 4 week photos.

weekend-ing

We took a day trip to Potsdam on Saturday and wandered through San Soussi park. Just before I took the photo above I had a little "I'm a grown-up now" moment. Standing in front of me were friends that I've know since we were fresh out of school and really only pretending to know who we were and what we wanted, with kids of their own.  "When did that happen?" When did I start doing day-trips on the weekend, leaving in the morning (before a proper sleep-in) with two prams, a back-pack full of snacks, a spare change of clothes and it all seeming perfectly normal? To be perfectly honest it still doesn't feel that long ago when the person in the pram was me.  

But it was a lovely day! And perhaps made all the more fun with the addition of two little people. Everything started earlier and took a little longer than before but the laughs and giggles more than made up for it. San Soucci is really beautiful in the summer - all the flowers were in bloom and walking through the park and spying the Orangerie and the Chinese Tea House through the trees was really quite magical. 

And I still got to take my Art-sy photos, which made this Mama very happy indeed!

I've been hanging out with this little kiddo and his parents this week. He's just learnt to walk and is so  proud of himself. Oh, the simple joy of learning a new skill!

Pay It Forward

A long time ago now, far longer than I like to remember, Allana from High Maintenance Hippy did a 'Pay it Forward' thingy. I happily accepted her lovely offer and in doing so agreed to Pay it Forward myself within 365 days. Well, it's been more than 365 days and I never Paid it Forward. Life happened - a pregnancy, a baby and a few things in between. But even though the 365 days may have gone by I never forgot my commitment to this lovely community project.  I thought long and hard about what I could give; a photograph, a knitted hat, something else? And then during my crazy sewing and nesting frenzy in the weeks leading up to Emilia's birth an idea came to me. I would make something for baby, which was also quintessentially Berlin; a Berlin TV Tower rattle.

Would you like one? I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but even if you don't have a baby yourself, perhaps you have a babe somewhere in your life who might appreciate this toy.  The only catch is that you agree to Pay it Forward too, three times over. It can be anything you like - craft, op-shoppie finds, photos - really the choice is up to you.  The first three people to comment will be the happy winners and find one of these TV Tower Rattles winging its way to you. Just remember to leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you to get your address.

weekend-ing

This weekend marked the end of my first week as a solo-parent. I'd like to say I survived with grace and charm but I think in reality it was more like fumbling in the dark and hoping that both me and Emilia survived the experience. The week has definitely left me with a new found appreciation for single-parents and parents who's partners travel a lot. By Sunday afternoon when Matthias got home I was ready for a little Emilia break and some adult conversation. So while Emilia slept quietly by our side we indulged in some Sushi at my favourite Japanese Restaurant in Berlin, Sasaya.  We were almost finished before my little colicky girl came back to life and we needed to make a quick dash for the exit... have to say that I'm looking forward to that magical 3 months when colic is supposed to disappear!

Hello September

And just like that August has past us by. I've enjoyed my little August break. Posting a picture a day, no words, has been the welcome change that I've needed while we've been quietly trying to work out how we all fit together now that we are a family of three.  Add to the mix a trip to Vienna, a wedding, two birthdays and a business trip away (for Matthias) and you have one very busy month!

Taking a step back from the blog also let me focus a bit on just taking pictures again. I have a new toy - a big, new fancy camera body - which I'm absolutely loving. I still haven't quite got a handle on all it's features, but every time me and "Bertie" go out on the streets, I learn a few more of her tricks and I fall even more in love with her.  So I've spent a lot of August adjusting to motherhood and taking thousands of pictures of Emilia with my new friend, Bertie. But between times I've also been quietly reading blog posts here and there keeping track of what everyone has been up to.  Having said that, I'm really looking forward to properly catching up on what everyone has been up to over the next week or so. Thank you to everyone who has commented over the month, all your comments were read and appreciated, even if it's been a little quiet around here.

And with August behind us the weather round these parts has definitely turned towards Autumn. There's a crispness in the air in the mornings and a chill at night. This really is one of my favourite times of the year. I find myself happily thinking about scarves and woolie tights and cosy jumpers while still savouring the last of Summers offerings. Warm afternoons spent on the balcony reading or walking in the park. Bare feet. Ice-cream. And with the weather change I've picked up my knitting needles again, but this time I'm knitting something for me.