AFter a week in Chester. What a lovely place it is too. Managed two meals out with Simon (lovely) and lots of clothes shopping to fill the huge gap that had become my wardrobe. Perfect. Caught up with an old friend there too which is always a bonus. Charlotte's grandparents on Simon's side feel like they know her and she knows them much better now too which is always pleasing...
NOw got a day with my parents before they go to New Zealand tomorrow for a month. Lucky old them eh?!
Charlotte still only got the one tooth and still cant really move. BUt she is getting increasingly frustrated with the status quo and is makin gmore efforts to reach what she wants. Must admit I rather like th fact that she is still where i put her when i come back in the room! Most of her little friends can move around now and their parents are rather tired! C seems to be sleeping an awful lot which is fine but I hope not because anything is wrong. She is now 8 months old! She definitely knows where home is and is becoming increasingly cheeky- playing up toher audience at every available opportunity! SHe is gorgeous though and brings somuch joy into all of our lives. She is eating well although not at all interested in finger foods- give her a rice cake and she looks at you as if to say 'what a boring toy' and chucks it on the floor! But she will chew it off if i hold it for her. Am sure the desire to feed herself will come in time...
my last post too quickly (as this will be too i'm sure!)
Turns out the nursery didnt have places on one of the mornings when i am working. so the grandmothers will ahve to cover the looking after of charlotte until january when a place becomes available. interestingly, one of my neighbours used the nursery (was a slammer basically!) full time from baby aged 4 months and has now decided that a childminder is more appropriate and is v happy with it. so food for thought....(She has found an excellent childminder which is preferable but harder to come by i reckon....)
stayed in when c first went onto solids as the whole combining of milk feeds and solid feeds and making food was just too daunting for me. but it got v boring v quickly! and i got more stressed by staying in and thinking about it too much! now much more sorted and relaxed...
it looks like we wont be using the nursery after all until Charlotte is 18 months. It was only going to be two mornings a week anyway but i am definitely more comfortable with it being left until January.
My maternal grandmother would have been 100 today so we are meeting as a family to remember her and take some flowers to her grave. Quite a difficult day for my Mum but having Charlotte around makes it so much better for everyone.
Charlotte started to say 'ba ba ba ba' yesterday. Quite a milestone for us!
We met our new god daughter Stephanie (nine weeks old tomorrow) yesterday. Gorgeous. I couldnt believe how small she is (despite being 9lb8 when she was born!). But then we met one of my bridesmaid's week old baby Reuben yesterday evening too. He is v v weeny indeed! And equally gorgeous! People used to say to me with Charlotte they couldnt believe how small she was and i didnt know what they were talking about but now i do!
Got Charlotte's 8 month check in a week's time (a week before she is 8 months- hope that doesnt impair her performance!- joke)... Doesnt time fly...
Well not very much! Did Charlotte have her first tooth last time I blogged? probably. lotso f teething action since then (ie grumpiness!) but no more teeth. Lots of her friends are now crawling but she is showing no inclination in that regard whatsoever. Quite nice to not be able to show off about my baby even if i was that way inclined! (which i like to think that i am not!). She is definitely a real show off now and very aware of how to grab attention! To my relief eating and sleeping are fine though so i am grateful for small mercies....
We are considering having an extension to our house (well a garage conversion with a tiny extension out the back of it for a 'muddy boot room' and place for the buggy etc). Just need a builder to actually give us a quote on it and we are away!
Had a bird in my spare room the other day. I am scared witless of anything that 'flaps' around me so i needed a big strong man to help me out! ALl my male neighbours werent there so a panic call to someone from church who knows almost everyone in my village and a strange man was knocking on my door in no time at all! i could have kissed him as we walked down the stairs with a starling in his hand to release out of the front door! we think it got in through the roof as the loft hatch had blown slightly ajar with all the wind. the loft needs investigating clearly. but it wont be me that does that!
I didnt go out for a few weeks after putting Charlotte onto solids (yes it is going fine and it is hard to think i worried about it for so long- not using any expressed milk or formula which is what i was stressing about!). So now i have a backlog of photos to upload and blogs to write! I should be getting my work laptop back soon so i would hope to be able to blog much more again!
Breastfeeding still going fine- another bout of thrush or two but how is that between friends ! I am hoping she will drop a morning or afternoon feed soon- but she seems instead to be taking a little less at all of the feeds rather than tending towards dropping one of them. Any tips? I am hoping by 10 months she will be on just a morning and evening one so i can go back to work for 2 days each week without worrying about it. Is that likely?
So much going on it is hard to know where to start on a blog! But nothing major i suppose. We have booked a holiday to Italy in May and CHester in March which I am looking forward to lots.
Charlotte has her first tooth! Most of the other babies in her little group can either crawl already (6 1/2 months) or are well on their way but Charlotte is quite happy where she is sitting up and playing with her toys! WE are also quite happy with that as it seems easier to know she will still be where we put her if we go into another room and come back! I think the other babies are just v v advanced and am quite happy with C's progress (no i am not a competitive mum at all- just seems amazing all her little friends are doing more than the 'average baby' (whatever that is) at this stage). It is a loively age though as they really start to engage and become proper people!
to solids begins. And as some of you know I have been stressing about it for some time! But I am really looking forward to it....
I have yet another horrible 'thing' in my breast again- this breastfeeding lark is definitely not without a cost!
David Kidney MP and Annette Brooke MP have apparently tables four new clauses to the Health Bill which (if accepted) would legally protect women's rights to breastfeed in public. As Mr Kidney's Breastfeeding etc Bill is unlikely to get through parliament, this is a fantastic opportunity for us to shape a major piece of the Government's own health legislation. The clauses would give women in England and Wales similar protection to women offered in Scotland. MPs will discuss the clauses on January 10th 2006. David Kidney has asked breastfeeding supporters to write to Caroline Flint, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health asking the Government to accept the clauses. Ms Flint currently believes that the case for a breastfeeding Bill is anecdotal so any evidence you have which reinforces the need for legal protection is crucial.
Contact details for Caroline Flint MP:
Caroline Flint MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health Department for Health RIchmond House 79 Whitehall London SW1A 2NL
PLease help support our cause! I believe the NCT website has ideas for what to include in the letter if that would be helpful for you. Each letter contributes to 'representing' a certain percentage of the population so it will count!
Welcome to the 2005 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy this entire blog entry and paste it onto a new blog entry that you'll post. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then publish! Leave a comment if you do this.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little (random) things about your friends, if you did not know them already.
What time did you get up this morning? 7.00
Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds. No doubt about it.
What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Harry Potter
What is your favourite TV show? Rather embarrassing I know but I do rather like Richard and Judy- I think there are lots of actually quite interesting things on there and it is on at a time when I am almost always feeding Charlotte. And it proves I am not at work- had never seen it before I went on maternity leave! Otherwise I liked that programme Bodies that was on BBC2 recently and Strictly Come Dancing. Period dramas too, obviously, but I never seem to get to watch enough of them when on TV and need to watch them on DVD instead! Of course Cold Feet is my all time favourite probably....
What do you usually have for breakfast? Always cereal- used to be muesli but now am going for porridge since I discovered how good for you oats are!
Favourite cuisine? Italian I think.
What food do you dislike? Sweetcorn. Pineapple. Cream. Baked Beans. Sprouts. Too many other things to mention probably!
What is your favourite CD at the moment? Bryan Adams' Anthology (got it yesterday for Christmas!)
Morning or night person? Not clearly one or the other
Favourite sandwich? cheese and pickle
What characteristic do you despise? selfishness
Favourite item of clothing? my fleece
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be? Definitely Patagonia or the Antarctic. Chances of making there with a new baby though?
What colour is your bathroom? Blue and white
Favourite brand of clothing? Anything that fits- in a just had a baby body that isnt easy to achieve! I dont know much about clothes to be honest.
Where would you retire to? Wherever i had been living and had already set up my life and circle of friends - likely to be Surrey I would think!
What was your most memorable birthday? My 30th- was made a real fuss of by my husband and mum without spending much money (eg balloons all round the bedroom, favourite flowers everywhere etc)
Favourite sport to watch? Cricket or football - but only international games
Who did you least expect to complete this? Cant imagine anyone I know will follow me as the only other person i know with a blog has already done so!
Person who is least busy? That is a weird question indeed!
When is your birthday? September
What is your shoe size? 5
Pets? None- couldnt manage those with a baby too!
Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? My life has been quite exciting enough with a wedding, house move and new baby in the last 2 years! Please some calm now!
What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher. A lawyer. A police woman.
What is your favourite flower? Sunflowers
What date on the calendar are you looking forward to? The next time Simon has time off work- probably in February I would imagine
One word to describe the person who you snaffled this from? Fantastic
Is horrible. Truly horrible. I made it downstairs to feed Charlotte (extreme pain comparing very nicely to childbirth i reckon!) and could not move from the chair due to the fever and pain. SImon had just got to London Bridge and had to get on hte next train home to come and look after both C and me! It isnt as if it came on suddenly I suppose but it reached a peak in quite an unexpected way and I simply could not cope with doing anything other than curling up into a small ball. I had to feed C of course and that was (and still is, truth be told) really quite nasty. I didnt realise it affects the nipples quite as much as it seems to. And I have had thrush of the nipples (Charlotte had it in her mouth too) and that hurt- but this does seem worse. I am sure breastfeeding is worth it but there are definitely prices to pay for doing it too.
I am looking forward to introducing solids next month- got a food processor for christmas to assist in the food preparation processes!
Charlotte loved helping to open presents which was quite a surprise- we thought she'd not have a clue but she was fascinated by ripping the paper !
At the in laws yesterday and my parents briefly today. Charlotte's hat fell over her eyes for the duration of the 40minute journey here- she didnt complain at all but carried on playing with the toy attached to her car seat! Amazing.... We are staying over at my friend DEbbie's tonight which i hope will go well- simon at his christmas party so otherwise i would have been home alone!
Picked up the last of my christmas pressies today. It feels good to have them all bought and wrapped. I have been relying on other people to get stuff for me though!
