Firstly I apologize to all the friends and family who have been asking me for updates on Isabel, it has been a hectic few weeks since my last blog and lots has been happening!!
The majority of my time in October was taken up organizing a corporate golf day for Loud Shirt Day on Friday 21st Oct. When our family joined the Shepherd Centre in Canberra we were made aware that the centre nearly closed the previous year due to lack of funding…...after already spending a few months there we couldn’t even imagine what we would do without it. Our closest centre would be Sydney or Wollongong and so we would either be clocking a lot of km’s or have great frequent flyer points!
So to try and ensure that this does not happen we have decided to take on a few fundraising initiatives for the Canberra Centre and with Loud Shirt Day fast approaching we took it as the perfect opportunity to kick this off. We had a great day out and Canberra businesses really came to the party. (A huge shout out to my mum and Ian who rallied all of their nearest and dearest also!!) We had 100 corporates show up to play in perfect 28 degree weather. Everyone had a great time and we managed to raise $33,000 for our centre. Not a bad starting point for future events!
The inaugural Loud Shirt Golf Day crew
Isabel in her Loud Shirt
Isabel is also doing fabulously! She has been turned up a little more and her reactions to sound are very encouraging. I see her really listening when we read books and sing songs and she is becoming more and more vocal every day. I had an emotional moment earlier this week when I was singing the aeroplane song (ahhh ahh etc) to Issy and she started saying ‘Ahh ahhhh’ back to me. To make sure it wasn’t just a coincidence I kept doing it over and over and then later that afternoon and the next day she did it again. I think she was a little confused when I started crying though as singing songs is supposed to be a happy time!! Must stop doing that! I know this may be really normal baby development stuff, but to me the fact that she is able to do this is still so special and I hate when I have to take off her ‘ears’ for her bath and at night as I don’t want her to miss out on anything at all!
In other milestone updates, Issy can now sit up on her own and play happily. She topples over every now and again, but wriggles around on to her belly when she does and then rolls onto her back. She is really using her hands and I notice her a lot swaying them back and forward like she is a conductor…its very cute. She has mastered waving, though is quite selective as to whom she waves to at the moment.
Sitting up
She can also feed herself food now. I have to load her spoon up but once I do she takes the spoon and feeds herself and then gives me back the spoon....see below.
Being my first baby I am not sure if this is age appropriate at 7 months, but when she started doing it I was very impressed! She loves food and eats solids 5 times a day (3 meals and then snacks of fruit and soft cooked vegetables). Her sleeping is the last frontier yet to be mastered, we have managed to drop to just one feed at night (just this week) as before that she as still feeding 2-3 times in the night!! Fingers crossed we are on track with this now.
So far as her processors are concerned, it is a constant battle to keep them on. I am trying to use headbands and pilot caps which are ok when she is not in her pram or car seat….but when we are going anywhere they constantly rub against the back of the seat and come off. The other fight is trying to keep them on her when she is playing at home as it is now a fun game to pull them off and chew on them and if they are connected to a headband they both come down at once.
We were in Melbourne earlier this month and I was out shopping with Issy in the pram and when I looked down I noticed one of the processors were missing. I looked behind Isabel on the seat and in her shirt, but she had managed to fling it and it had luckily caught a part of the pram down by her feet and was literally hanging by a thread. My heart skipped a beat and I am sure this is not the last time it will happen! This being said, it really isn’t so much to complain about in return for what they are giving her!
Karate kicking w her Cochlear Koala
We have a huge amount of travel and bits and pieces on between now and Christmas. We are off to the coast tomorrow for 3 days for a workshop with The Shepherd Centre and then Sydney next weekend. I was thinking about it the other day and before she turns one, Isabel will have flown (in most cases more than once!) to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Dubai, London, Bangkok, Auckland and Christchurch….and that is just the trips we know about to date! Really think airlines should start a frequent flyer program for infants that parents can redeem for their first holiday when the child is old enough to stay with a relative…we'll deserve it after having to fly with an infant that many times!!
M. x
