For a foodie related post see the recent Freedom Brewery tour or come back soon for another bit of Comida!

Livin la vida loca …… well that could be how many people describe the first few months of motherhood, and to a certain extent I can see where they are coming from. With sleep deprivation and the steep learning curve of trying to understand what your baby wants and needs, it can get a little hair-raising.

However, for me it has been an amazing experience, hard work but amazing nonetheless. I adore being Baby G’s mum and feel that as we approach her 6 month birthday it is a good time to reflect on the time since her arrival. I won’t go into details of my labour story here (that may well be a later post!) but I thought I would share a few of the highlights of my 6 months of motherhood in a little post to my baby girl:

Dear Baby G, thank you for the most amazing 6 months.

• The moment you arrived will be forever etched on my memory. We hadn’t found out whether you were to be a boy or a girl so when the midwife asked Daddy if he wanted to find out for himself, he looked at you and the biggest smile came across his face and it was at that very moment that I knew we had our baby girl. Daddy had often said he would prefer a girl, and whilst I hadn’t originally minded which you were as it drew closer to the day of finally meeting you I knew I wanted you to be a girl. Now here you are, our beautiful baby girl, Grace Ava.

• We may have struggled for the first 24 hours of breastfeeding but once home we soon got the hang of it. It was hard work in those early weeks and I must admit I nearly gave up at the 3 week growth feed when you fed from 5pm to 12am constantly for several nights in a row and I barely had enough strength to hold you, but I’m so glad we persevered. I love the special bond we have from this and the time I get just to sit and hold you, watch you and cuddle you.

• You were not many days old when I remember walking into the living room and as you were being cuddled by Daddy I spoke and you turned your head to look for me. This made my day!

• Now we all know Daddy can be a bit silly sometimes (cough, cough!!) and I’ll always remember the first time he made you giggle, a proper little belly laugh. It was one of his infamous made up songs and now not a day go by without us having lots of giggles.

• You were only 9 weeks old when we decided to move you into your own room. Those first few nights I woke at the slightest murmur. I felt like I had lost something as up to then we had never been apart. Though you seemed to love being in your own room, after the 3am feed, you would sit, gaze around and smile at all the cuddly toys on your shelves as though they were your friends. Nowadays I love going in each morning and being greeted with the biggest smile and a little flutter of feet kicking in excitement. What a way to start each day!

Dulces sueños / sweet dreams my little one.