I’m recording what I did here, both for posterity and to remind myself of the hard work good luck often is founded upon.  

I put in a lot of work to conceive Pickle and on those days when I start to wonder if I am not cut out to be a mother, I can remind myself of how much I wanted her and the effort I put into it.

For the record, I think IVF is an amazing tool.  However, at 40 it was strongly inferred that, although my numbers all came back okay, I was simply too old.  

For that reason (and the fact I dislike the idea of unnecessary medical interventions) I didn’t pursue the referral the doctor half heartedly offered but decided to do what I could to create an optimum environment in my body for conception.  

If I fell pregnant, then good.  If not, I’d be in better health in my 40s than in any other time of my life.

Ha!  I say that like I was sane, but in fact I was like any other woman having difficulty falling pregnant… slightly obsessed.

Fertility Education

I did a lot of reading on fertility and fertile health in both men and women.  

I learned more about my cycle.  

Until my late 30s I was unaware that my menstrual cycle could be straightforward and pain free.  I had always experienced extreme pain from cramping, dark blood and large clots.  I thought this was normal and just to be suffered.  

It was eye opening to learn otherwise.  

Seriously – this information should be taught to girls when they first menstruate instead of teaching them to self medicate with painkillers.

I started recording my basal body temperature with a bbt thermometer each morning and learned I was still ovulating regularly.  

Lifestyle Changes

I made changes to my (already pretty healthy) lifestyle to improve my cycle and the health of my eggs.  

Eating for Fertility after 40

I ensuring my diet was rich in nutritious foods.  

On the advice of Emma Cannon’s “The Baby Making Bible‘ I introduced both red meat and home-made bone broth into my diet. Â

I started eating breakfast and cut out alcohol and sweets to promote stable blood sugar.  

I bought a slow juicer and drank freshly made organic green juice every day.

Following the advice of Zita West and Marilyn Glenville, I took supplements (COQ10, Royal Jelly, Omega3, clover infusion, nettle tea, spirulina, maca, selenium) to improve my reproductive health.

Limiting exposure to irritants

I’ve never been one for cosmetics, but swapped my skincare products for olive oil soap and coconut oil as moisturiser to decrease my exposure to topical toxins.  I have to say my prone to eczema skin has never felt better.  

I stopped using the sauna and hot tub in the gym.  I can’t remember exactly why.  Probably in case I was pregnant before I knew it?  I think I read something about overheating the body making it less likely for a newly fertilised egg to implant and couldnt find anything more about it.  Not taking any chances regardless!

I was uncertain about acupuncture until I bought and read ‘The Infertility Cure‘ by Randine Lewis.

Mind/Body/Spirit

I started seeing an acupuncturist and after only two treatments, my next period, for the first time in my life, was of the painless, bright red blood associated with fertile health.  

I was thrilled to conceive Poppy the next time I ovulated after that.

I practiced meditation and yoga (as best I could) and fell asleep listening to the Circle and Bloom natural cycle fertility programme playing under my pillow every night.  

From a spiritual/energetic perspective I decided that if I wanted children in my life then I should have children in my life. So to that end

I volunteered for the local cub scout troop each week.  

I also made an effort to focus on creation and nurturing.  

Starting a garden to nurture.

Inventing recipes to nourish me.

Even starting this blog to foster and record my creative side.

After my losses I sought massage to help me physically and emotionally process the grief.  I also consulted a hypnotherapist to identify and address any mind/body issues.

Success!

Of course with so many things, I don’t know what, if anything, was the ‘magic bullet’.  

There is simply no way to tell. 

 It might be that after nearly five years of ‘trying’ it was just my time statistically.

On reflection, making an effort to do something (Anything. Everything!) to increase my odds gave me some sense of control and definitely helped my mental state.  Also taking good care of my body made me feel vital and healthy which also contributed to a better state of mind.

While I (probably like every other not-yet-pregnant woman) would be quite happy to throttle anyone who says ‘maybe you should just relax‘ –  deep down I believe that, for me, (a bit of a workaholic), there may be an element of truth in it.  

Not in taking a brief holiday, or not thinking about how to conceive, or anything cursory, but in consciously taking actions to de-stress my mind and body and prepare myself to be a mother as much as possible.

Ultimately, I believe not working and practicing extreme self-care gave me the opportunity to take a physical break and discover the mental space needed to slow down and allow a baby to come to me.

I am so grateful.

When my daughter was four months old, both sets of grandparents came from overseas to visit her in Australia. I ended up taking my mother to the emergency room when she arrived. Sleep deprived and extremely stressed I saw my mother in a new light.

I look like my father. While I have my mothers facial shape, I have my fathers features and colouring.

Pickle is the spitting image of me, but with Mr Duncan’s darker colouring.  I have black and white pictures of myself as a baby that could easily be mistaken for Pickle now.

When my mother was in the emergency room, hooked up to 5 drips and a heart machine, she kept arching back and craning her neck to try and read the monitor behind her (she used to be a nurse).

There was something about that movement.  In her determination to see.  In the curve of her neck, the set of her jaw… her vulnerability…  I saw my baby daughter.

This post is part of #MicroblogMondays.

Curious? Read the inaugural post to learn more or join in.

Have you ever seen a family member reflected in another during stressful times?

I’m feeling sandwiched between the other generations.  

Squashed completely.  

No room to breathe.  

For the past couple of weeks it feels like I’ve not had a moment to myself.  

I missed Microblog Monday on the 3rd because I didn’t even notice it was Monday until it was Tuesday already and other Microblog Monday posts appeared in my reader.  I missed Microblog Monday this week because of a medical emergency. 

More on that later.

Pickle’s teething and age appropriate development means she is being a little more demanding than usual.  

Fine.  Thats to be expected.  She’s adorable.

But there is nothing like a new baby to bring doting grandparents flocking to your door and despite the best laid plans I have three of them in Melbourne at the moment.

My Mother

She’s been banging on about wanting to do a cruise in the Caribbean for a couple of years, having not left her rural hideaway in the north of New Zealand for twenty years.  Knowing that she’d hate a crowded floating hotel, I suggested before she invested the time and expense of getting to Florida, she try a three hour flight to Melbourne and a three day cruise between Melbourne and Tasmania.

She didn’t want to wait until March for that particular cruise before meeting her granddaughter so we agree’d she’d come over for a week and I booked a two night paddlesteamer cruise on the Murray River for the four of us.  (That was great.  The boat only accommodated 18 people, so it was peaceful and relaxing.  Pickle loved it).

My mother turns up, complaining about the flight and how much walking you have to do at airports, on a one way ticket.  With tickets for a 16 day cruise around Australia.  From Sydney to Perth.  And tickets for a two night train journey from Perth to Adelaide.  She refuses to fly to Sydney.  So I sort out train tickets and accommodation for the night in Sydney, train tickets from Adelaide to Melbourne and a flight back to New Zealand.

It turns out the cruise left Sydney a week later than she thought it did, so she stayed with us an extra week.  Although she wound me up (she IS my mother) she was on her best behaviour.  Careful to blend into the background and allow the house to run normally.  Careful not to overstimulate Pickle.  And made an effort to contribute to the household – I’d turn around to do the dishes or fold the washing and find it already done.  

She was a very considerate guest and it actually went much better than I expected.

Throughout my Mother’s trip around Australia I received text messages on the phone she bought for the trip to keep in touch.  She hates the cruise.  Its too crowded.  The air conditioning is too cold.  The ship is too big, she keeps getting lost.  She’s pissed off that they’re charging for water.  She made the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Adelaide but got laryngitis.  The hotel in Adelaide wont let her check in (at 7am) so she’s just sitting outside.  Now she has heatstroke but drinking lots of water and sleeping in her hotel room until she feels better.

The In-Laws

Mr Duncan’s parents have come to visit Melbourne for a month.  Their plans?  Oh, no plans other than see their granddaughter.  They’re staying in a hotel down the road.  Can they come around now?  They’ll see me in ten minutes  …and stay for the entire day.

Mr Duncan’s mother and I have history.  When she first met me (and Mr Duncan and I were simply travel partners, not together) she threw a tantrum and forbade him to see me, (not that he was at the time).  Forbade her 30-something year old son!  Once we DID start seeing each other she sent him text messages.  How much he disappointed her.  It was his fault she was depressed.  She might like to kill herself.  Over me!  Please.  I had little respect for that behaviour.  What the hell did she want for her son?

Since she learned he was not going to obey her, she started being fake-nice to me.   I’m not very good at that (or small talk), but it is important to me that Pickle has a relationship with her grandmother and I work hard to be cordial.  

Its not easy.

Mr Duncan’s mother is in Pickles face.  

Loudly.  

All the time.  

Doesn’t shut up. ‘Ooh look at this, here’s a nursery rhyme, look at this toy I’m waggling!  Aren’t you a pretty girl’.  

Poor Pickle gets quickly overstimulated.

Mr Duncan and his brother were mostly raised by his maternal grandmother.  His mother went back to work after six weeks and his maternal grandparents stayed and looked after the children Monday to Friday and went back home on weekends. 

So I think she must have forgotten (or never have actually known) just how much time 5 month old babies need to sleep.  Pickle is ready for her first nap of the day after just an hour and starts rubbing her eyes and yawning after about 90 minutes the rest of the day.  ‘Do you have to put her down now?  You don’t want to sleep do you Pickle?  Here look at this!’  Will she go down?  

Hell no.

As is usual for a baby Pickle’s age, she’s interested in the world and curious about anything new she sees or hears.  So she does not feed properly or happily go to sleep while she can hear their voices and knows they are here.  

I have a tired, hungry, grumpy baby waking several times in the night for marathon feeds to make up for her light eating during the day.  She has black rings under her eyes.

Mr Duncan’s father is a fairly laid back affable bloke, but when Pickle is sleeping Mr Duncan’s mother seems to require an audience.  Not just any any audience though.  And not her son.  

Just me.  

“Lisa, I’m telling you about…  Lisa!  Lisa I’m talking to you”.  I want to say “Well excuse me and f*ck off Mrs Duncan but my baby is waking from her nap and takes priority!”

I’m no wallflower and calmly but assertively set my boundaries.  The same boundaries are ignored when I leave the room.  Mr Duncan does not support them.Â

He has a lifetime of practice appeasing his mother in return for a quiet life.

Its driving me effing crazy.

My mother is due to arrive back in Melbourne on the Monday evening and her flight is first thing Wednesday morning.  The respective grandparents want to meet each-other.  

A lunch is agreed for Tuesday.

The Emergency

Because her train into Melbourne arrives at Pickle’s bedtime, Mr Duncan picks my Mother up from the train station and takes her to her accommodation.  The plan was that she’d check in, then come up the road to spend a couple of hours with us before going back to bed.

Mr Duncan arrives home alone.  

He said my Mother didn’t seem very well and would I go down and see her?  She’s sitting having a cup of tea but has little voice and is very weak.  Not to worry, its the heatstroke, she’s just a little dehydrated, she tells me.  She hated the cruise (predictably), it was too crowded, too expensive.  They charged for water.  Thats why she’s dehydrated.

My mother is a diabetic.  I’m concerned.  She seems confused.  

I don’t know what to do.

I remember when my mother was diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes.   I was about four.  I knew my numbers.  She asked me to dial some numbers on the old fashioned rotary dial phone so she could talk to her friend.  She couldn’t see the numbers.  Her blood sugar was too high and affected her eyesight.  Her friend came and took her to the hospital and she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (not the neurosis her doctor was prescribing valium for.  God love the ’70s).

As I grew older I learned how to test her blood sugar levels with a prick of blood on a plastic stick to determine whether she needed insulin or glucose when I found her passed out on the floor at home.  

This happened more often than I like to think.

I call the Australian equivalent of NHS Direct, the public health medical advice line.  They recommend I take her to the emergency room.  She protests but I take her anyway.

The upshot is that my mother was suffering from ketoacidosis.  This is where the blood sugar is so high, the blood turns acidic.  This can affect the function of all the major organs.  

Her blood sugar was over 30.  It should be under 8.  

At 2am she was transferred from my local hospital to the major one in town that had a specialist endocrinology team and an ICU.  

The paramedic in the ambulance who transferred her told me her numbers were so bad that if I hadn’t taken her to the emergency room when I did, she’d probably have been dead by morning.  

He said “next time, call an ambulance”.

Mr Duncan defrosted expressed milk for Pickle for the overnight feeds.  I return at 6am for her morning feed, express some more milk, get 30 minutes sleep and go back to the hospital.  My mother is still critical, but seems to be stabilising.  

Mr Duncan’s mother is upset that he would prefer they don’t come around today.

This morning I wake up, feed Pickle, express for her next feed, go to hospital.  I keep missing feeds and my supply seems to be dwindling.  I get home in the afternoon.  Pickle just woke from her nap and is not due for a feed for another hour but sees me and demands to be fed.  

I’m happy to.  

I’ve missed her.  

She yawns and rubs her eyes as she feeds and falls asleep on the breast.  I hear Mr Duncan’s parents outside under the sunshade.  I put Pickle in her cot asleep, but she wakes a few minutes later and I cannot settle her.  Eventually I go outside to announce my presence and hand Pickle to her Dad so I can have a shower.

Mr Duncan’s Mum says oh it must be difficult to have so many people making demands on you at the moment.  

Its nice to think she’s noticed.

But it seems she doesn’t have the self-awareness to do anything about it as she asks what time I’ll be ready for her to come over tomorrow.

Sigh.

Or over the weeks months of hopelessness and futility following a miscarriage.

The thoughts undermined my confidence, my positivity, my hope

• I shouldn’t have thought/eaten/drank/worked so hard/flown/exercised/waited so long/done…
• I don’t deserve to be a mother
• I shouldn’t have invested so much time in work/travel/that relationship
• I should have married that wrong-for-me boyfriend when I was younger.  We’d be divorced now, but at least we could have had a family before it was too late
• I must have done something wrong… to displease the universe/in a past life
• Babies don’t want me to be their mother
• I’m being punished for… any number of things I feel guilty about
• Maybe I’m just not the mothering type…Â
• If only I had/hadn’t…

I have always held a job with a lot of mental stimulation, responsibility, long hours and stressful deadlines.  Looking after and breastfeeding a baby is probably the most physically demanding and socially isolated work I’ve ever done.  It is non-stop though doesn’t keep my mind particularly occupied.
I know I am lucky to have a baby, and such a contented one.  After five months of interrupted sleep and a few hard weeks with Pickle feeling her teeth coming through, I am tired and find my mind churning:

• I’m no good at this, it comes to real mothers naturally
• No wonder it was so hard to get pregnant, I’m not cut out to be a mother
• I love my baby but I’m not all in love and mushy like, the other mothers.  Maybe there is something wrong with me
• A real mother would…

I recognise these thoughts as products of my tiredness but they feel so very familiar.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.
x

I wanted my hundredth post to be something substantial.

Meaningful even.  

But I haven’t completed any of the half dozen or so drafts I’ve made over the past two months.

Pickle is still learning to overcome the 40 minute nap.  I don’t seem to have learned to blog in that amount of time.  I thought I’d better get back on the horse before I forgot how to ride.

I remember reading someone recommending (probably Mel) not starting a new draft until you complete and publish your existing one.  

I’d better start taking that advice.

In the meantime, thank goodness for Microblog Mondays.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

The plan is to use her existing wraps as fabric for a baby sleep-sack.  I’ve taken a quick pattern from a friends sleep-sack with a side zip that I like, but need to find some proper time to put it together.

In the meantime I managed to whip one out of a sweatshirt during a longer-than-usual nap time.  I bought the sweatshirt from the charity shop for the heavyweight soft 100% cotton and didn’t realise the it had a dead bird on it until after I got it home.  

Mr Duncan informs me it is something to do with a band I think I’ve heard of, but can’t think of any of their songs.  I’m really starting to feel old now when it comes to popular music.

Before

During

In any case its based on this tutorial here.  I used velcro rather than snaps as I had the roll I bought for the baby gym and I was going to use bias binding for the edges rather than zigzag but ended up hemming it all instead, which made the neck and arms a little larger than I intended. Â

Other than that, I’m really happy with it and might keep my eyes out for some other suitable sweatshirts to make more baby sleep sacks for when Pickle gets bigger. Â

I like making things for her, and the less I spend on such things, the longer I can go without having to get a new job so…

These meals saved me in those early days—easy to reheat, nutrient-dense, and manageable with a baby in tow.

List of Freezer Meals

In response to Marcy’s comment, here is a list of the meals I’ve been stashing away in the freezer for those first few weeks of newborn haze. Â

They’re pretty much all meals I’ve blogged before.

Bacon & Egg Pie

This can be reheated in the oven from frozen or simply thawed on the counter and served cold/room temperature.  An easy breakfast (although I *do* prefer them fresh).

Spanokopita

Bake this from frozen at approx 180C for about 45 minutes.

Chili with cornbread. Â

I made a super-sized batch of chilli and simply spooned chilli into small, foil lined casserole dishes (I probably should have bought some foil ones at the supermarket), and smoothed cornbread batter evenly over the top.  Then I folded down the foil and froze.  

Once completely frozen I tipped them out of the casserole dishes and wrapped in more foil and returned to the freezer.  I’ll unwrap, return to casserole dish and bake from frozen, loosely covered with foil at 180C until I can see that the chilli is heated through then I’ll remove the foil and raise the temperature to 200C until the cornbread is nicely baked.  

Actually I wont.  That will be Mr Duncan’s job.

Risotto

I’m making double sized portions then freezing as described above for the Chili with Cornbread. Same re-heating method too.

Soup, soup, soupÂ

Made with home made chicken stock for nourishment.

Just tip frozen block into a saucepan and thaw/re-heat slowly over a low flame.

Falafels and pita bread.  

I made about 60.  Simply microwave three or four falafels each from frozen and pop the frozen pita into the toaster.  Stuff with salad and a dollop of yoghurt.

If you dont have a microwave they can be heated gently on a low heat in a frying pan with a little oil or butter, put the lid on so they stay moist.

Sausage/Bean casseroles 

Hearty French peasant fare along these lines.

Quiche

Quiche is nourishing and easy to make from whatever veg or leftovers are in the fridge.  It freezes well and is just as nice to eat hot or cold.  

The best thing is can be eaten one handed while juggling a newborn.

Pate (and this one)

Freeze in small portions and just thaw overnight in the fridge.  

It’s full of iron and protein and makes a quick breakfast smeared on toast. 

Also a one handed kind of meal.

Co-sleeping is a wonderful way to bond with your baby and make nighttime feeds easier, especially for new parents. When I was pregnant and trying to figure it all out, I spent a lot of time and strategic googling to find the information I wanted.

In this post, I’ll share exactly how we set up our DIY sidecar crib, why we chose this method, and essential safety tips for co-sleeping with your baby—along with our real-life experience.

Why We Chose a Sidecar Crib for Co-Sleeping

After our baby was born, we wanted to keep her close at night but also ensure she had a safe, separate sleep space. A sidecar crib—where a cot is securely attached to the side of your bed—felt like the perfect compromise. It allowed easy access for night feeds and cuddles, while following safer sleep guidelines.

I looked at the commercial sidecar cribs such as the Arms Reach, but my research showed people complained that their little ones grew out of them too quickly, and they’re expensive in Australia. We also decided against the things that go between you both in the bed like the Snuggle bed. Our bed is a UK double, Mr Duncan is an “oblivious to the world” sleeper, and those beds become too small quickly.

After looking at lots of blogs and tutorials, we finally decided to sidecar a cot ourselves. I mainly went from the info on , but I found a few other websites and remember there was an ikeahacks tutorial somewhere too.

Our DIY Sidecar Crib Setup (Step-by-Step)

Here’s how we created our own sidecar crib:

1. Choose the Right Cot:
   We bought a cheap cot/toddler bed (so it would be stable with only three sides) and removed the side, but kept the height at the highest level.
2. Secure the Cot to the Bed:
   We positioned the cot flush against our bed and used strong straps (bungy cords) underneath to secure it tightly, so there were no gaps. This way, we had access to the cot without having to go via the bed, which is much more convenient for nap times (though a bit tricky for bed-making).
3. Level the Mattress Heights:
   We adjusted the cot mattress so it was as close as possible to the height of our bed. The cot sat on some old phone books to bring it up a bit, but it’s still a few centimeters lower than our bed.
4. Fill Any Gaps:
   To prevent any risk of baby getting stuck, we jammed a cut down pool noodle on the far side to keep the mattress from moving and prevent any gap. The noodle fits inside the fitted sheet along with the actual cot mattress. You could also use a rolled towel inside the sheet.
5. Check Stability:
   We made sure the cot couldn’t move away from the bed, even with nighttime tossing and turning.
6. Use Safe Bedding:
   We kept pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals away from the baby’s sleep space, following safe sleep recommendations.

I also bought a couple of over door baskets to hang off the cot to hold toys, books, burp cloths, etc. While she was still swaddled and not moving, I basically used the other end of her cot as a bedside table—that’s where my glasses, phone, etc., went at night.

Using the Sidecar Crib: Our Experience

For the first few weeks, it was difficult for me to sit up or turn in bed due to the c-section, so Mr Duncan slept next to Pickle and handed her to me for feeds and put her back down/settled her. That was a bit tricky. Mr Duncan is a very heavy sleeper, so I’d have to go through a big drama just to wake him to get her up, even if she was crying. He also falls asleep really fast (frequently mid-sentence), and I found both of them slumped together fast asleep a couple of times where he’d fallen asleep halfway through the passing-her-back maneuver. At least she has his sleep skills! We soon swapped sides again.

It was so good to be able to see her and listen to her breathe (I wa still having “is she still alive” paranoias), although man, babies can be noisy sleepers! I’m really happy with our choice as it gave the co-sleeping benefits and minimized the risks.

Because they say you should sleep babies with their feet at the bottom of the cot, Pickle slept by my head, facing the other way to me, but it was really easy to pick her up and slide her across for feeds/more burps/cuddles. As she became heavier to pick up, I made some sleep sacks soon to keep her warm and then she slept facing the same way as me and I just slid her across for feeds without having to worry about blanket safety.

We didn’t need to transition her to a cot later, and when she was bigger we replaced the side and moved the cot to the other side of the room. We moved her to her own room once she no longer breastfed through the night. (timing undecided—I want to breastfeed her for as long as possible, but also breastfeeding is contraceptive and time is not on our side for any sibling conception).

Tips for Safe Co-Sleeping with a Sidecar Cot

• Always place your baby on their back to sleep.
• Make sure the cot is securely attached to the bed and cannot move.
• Keep the baby’s sleep area free from loose bedding and soft objects.
• Never leave your baby unattended on the adult bed.
• Regularly check for gaps or loose fittings.

For more information, see the and .

Sidecar Crib vs. Other Co-Sleeping Options

While some parents use bassinets or in-bed co-sleepers, we found the sidecar crib to be the safest and most cost-effective. It grows with your baby and can be converted back to a regular cot later.

Co-Sleeping After a C-Section: What Worked for Us

Recovering from a c-section, I found the sidecar crib especially helpful. It allowed me to reach and feed our baby without getting out of bed or twisting uncomfortably.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sidecar Cribs

Is a DIY sidecar crib safe?
Yes, if set up correctly and checked regularly for stability and gaps.

Can I use any cot for a sidecar crib?
Most standard cots can be adapted, but always check for safety and compatibility with your bed.

What if my bed and cot are different heights?
Use a firm insert or adjust the cot mattress base until both surfaces are level.

Final Thoughts

Our DIY sidecar crib has made nighttime so much easier and more restful for our whole family. If you’re considering co-sleeping, I highly recommend this setup for both convenience and peace of mind.

Do you have your own co-sleeping tips or questions? Share them in the comments below! And don’t forget to subscribe for more practical parenting tips and real-life stories.

Breastfeeding 

It was a challenge.  I tried all the different positions recommended by the lactation consultant.  I finally got a good latch once I lay her down beside me and let her do her thing.

Yes to lanolin.

 No to disposable breast pads.  They are uncomfortable and scratchy to wear.

Yes to shelf-bra-singlets under T-shirt for feeding.  

I had intended to make some nursing tops but haven’t quite got there and probably wont.

Lactation cookies never quite made it to the oven.  I actually just threw all the ingredients into a smoothie with a banana and milk instead of the flour.  

Settling

I bought the fit ball for birthing, and it is good for using to ensure good posture when seated at my desk.  It is also great for soothing Pickle when she is crying during the witching hour, just holding her close, bouncing gently.

I use the all purpose pillow – for feeding and also to prop her up after feeding when she has wind.

The first two weeks

I had a freezer full of food but both my and Mr Duncan’s brains were too fried to remember what to do when and simply forgot to eat regularly the first couple of days home.  Cue crying meltdowns due to low blood sugar.

I ended up commandeering my office whiteboard and in a quiet five minutes each night planned meals and snacks for the next day so we had something to refer to among the general chaos.

I also created a list of everything needed in the bathroom to give her a bath after the first few nights of forgetting stuff.

I am now making quick and easy food that can be eaten on the go like quiche and muffins.

Sleep promotes sleep.  Putting Pickle down in her cot at first signs of tiredness seems to work the best.

Baby-wearing

Mr Duncan and I are both using the stretchy baby wearing slings I bought to keep Pickle close and snug. They were a bit tricky to get a handle on at first, but now I’m already planning to buy my first woven wrap.

Pickle is happiest velcro-ed to my chest and its a good and secure vantage point for her to learn about the world.

Learn more about the benefits of babywearing (and here)

Popular wisdom suggests she is now approaching the developmental stage that spending some time under a baby gym swatting at interesting objects would be of benefit for a few months.

I’m not a huge fan of the commercial toys available for babies – they’re expensive, yes, but the marketing of children’s characters and screaming “look-at-me-now” colours just rub me the wrong way.  

Yes, I do understand the benefit of bright colours for babies but seriously, some of these mats give me a headache just looking at the pictures.

I do like the Montessori idea of using everyday objects to learn from, so I decided to make my own baby gym so I could hang whatever I want from it. Â

I picked up a couple of hula-hoops from the local pound/dollar/random tat store, some adhesive velcro and string.

I simply removed the plastic do-hickey holding the two ends of the hula-hoop pipe together (the ends were easily found under the ‘made in china sticker) and used the hooks part of the adhesive velcro to tape them together.  I then added a couple of other bits of adhesive velcro to the top so I can secure various object hanging from string and easily remove/replace them.  

Place it over the upside down tummy time mat and voila!

a purse, sock and a plastic slinky

Its pretty basic and wondered what other people had done, so googled tutorials. 

They all put my effort to shame – but I have neither the time nor inclination to improve it at the moment.  

It works, and it wont be used for that long but if I change my mind and decide to make a more finished effort, or make one as a gift, I like this one the best.