Working Mum reality

I'm seen a lot of online articles about how working mum's do it and wanted to add mine to the mix.

The reality is that I end up cramming as much housework into my 'free time' as is humanly possible. Take this morning. It's my day to collect the kids tonight, so I get the 6.39am train into work. I have an hour to get ready, in that hour I:

- Showered, dressed, did my make up, dried and straightened my hair to 'office standard' (as opposed to my less diligent weekend look).

- Oiled the hinges on the two windows in our shower room and the door for good measure. Now that the weather's turned one of the windows is seizing up.

- Let the cat out. Let the cat in. Fed the cat. Let the cat out. Let the cat in. He is fickle.

- Put the heating up a notch. We have it coming on for an hour in the morning and this morning was really chilly. The house is old with tall ceilings and is much much colder than our previous cosy flat.

- Did a full load of washing up. T had given the kids tea last night and not cleaned up after them.

- Made a cup of milk for E and a hot apple with lemon and honey for C as he came home with a cough from school. Put the cheerios on the side so T can find them.

-Put out the kids coats and bags in the hallway ready for Nana to collect when she picks them up from T later.

- Made myself a coffee. Only drank half of it.

- Gave E and C a quick 5 mins attention as they came downstairs just as I was about to leave.

But that one busy hour this morning means tonight I have a full hour and a half with them before bedtime.

46 weeks

What a difference a month makes! Since our last post (41 weeks - oops) Eve has changed to much!

At 46 weeks Eve:

- Has had a complete turnaround with some of the allergies. I'm assuming egg and dairy are still there as she reacts differently to them, but it seems like she's matured enough to no longer react to all the multiple touch allergies. We had a cucumber food challenge at St Thomas' on Tuesday 23rd June and she passed. I couldn't believe it, not red face at all. She also had skin pricks for peanut, hazelnut, almond and sesame, she was negative for almond and sesame and only a level 1 reaction to peanut and hazelnut (level 3 is seen as a serious allergy), so from that day we added cucumber, sesame and almond into her (and my) diet and we're going back next month for a supervised feed with peanut and hazelnut. In the past 2 weeks we have also added in humus, sesame breadsticks/corn thins, apple puree, tomato, pasta and canned peach and pear.

- Is getting used to our new routine now that I'm back at work. She goes to nursery twice a week and doesn't really like it yet, she cries when we drop her off and is very quiet when we pick her up. She is much better on the two days she spends with Nana and Grandad and I only work 4 days so we still get one weekday together. Charlie is coping very well with his two days at breakfast and after school club, the ladies who run the clubs are lovely and he see's his friend little Miss S there and sometimes his girlfriend little Miss E.

- Is going to have a change of routine again in a month's time. The child minder who I wanted to get both kids a place with has had the spaces come up. Eve will start with her for two days a week in August and Charlie will start in September after the summer holidays.  I'll swap my day off, so we fit with the child minder's schedule. As well as having both kids in the same place for drop off and pick up, we will also be saving a little on costs each day and she lives just one road away from our house. She is also absolutely lovely, I used to see her every day on the school run, she has a son in the year above Charlie and a 2 year old daughter as well.

- Is beginning to cruise, she can easily pull herself up (and sit back down) on things now and is practising taking steps along the sofa or with the baby walker.

- Is very smiley, chatty and screechy, she loves babbling and a lot of these babbles are beginning to sound like words - hello is her latest one.

- Is no longer allergic to grass and loves the garden. We're in the middle of a mini heatwave at the moment and she loves crawling between the water table, paddling pool and play house. She also tries to climb up on the concrete and eat small stones, so has to be watched every second she's in the garden.

41 weeks

At 41 weeks Eve:

- Is into EVERYTHING, she still mainly commando crawls but can also crawl for short periods on her knees and pulls herself up onto things. Quite shaky still when pulling herself up but ever so proud of herself once she's standing. She loves watching everyone around her, if we all leave the room she will follow and shout if she doesn't know where we are.

- Regularly says - cat, Dada, Baxter and occasionally duck, Charlie and when she's crying mama. This week she Grandad taught her to say 'baa' when asked 'what does the sheep say'. She has now fully mastered clapping and will occasionally wave.

- Still having issues with allergies, her feet and hands swelled up this week from being on the grass and she was very snotty and hayfevery throughout our half term week with Granny and Grandad in Wiltshire. We're still not fully there on the food allergies, she often goes red when only eating food on the safe list. We've added lentils and beef bisto gravy onto the safe list, so slowly this is growing.

- Now that she can pull herself up we've put her cot down to the lowest height. However she's still in the baby car seat as although she's very long she only weighs 7.7kg and she needs to be 9kg before she can go into the next size up.

- Is using the travel cot as a play pen in the garden and the living room, she's just too nippy to be left playing on the mat now.

- Loves to be read to, though doesn't have much of an attention span. She's happy to turn the pages and touch any touchy feely bits but I've learnt not to pile books next to us as we read as she spends more time trying to look at the other books than concentrating on the one we're reading. Current favourites are 'That's Not My Bunny', 'Wow said the Owl' and 'Hairy McClary and Zachary Quack'. We also read 'Jungle Colours' before bedtime and naptime. "Flamingo bends to have a drink, what colour is he? Flamingo is Pink!" goes round and round my head every evening!!

39 and 40 weeks

Eve is 9 months old!

She:

- Can sit up all by herself.
- Continues to commando crawl, but will push up onto her knees a little bit now as well.
- Wants to stand up, whenever you place her on the floor she plants her feet down hard so you support her standing.
- Caught her first stomach bug, we had a horrible night which included a whole lot of vomit and me sleeping on the floor in her room. Charlie then got the same thing 4 days later.
- Has had two frustrating trips for food challenges at the hospital, only to be turned back home as her face has been to red to start a challenge with.
- Can say 'Baxter' and 'duck' as well as 'cat' and 'Daddy', Baxter is a major favourite with her! She loves to stroke him and will follow him everywhere.
- Is just beginning to clap, wave and kiss. She gave me the sweetest kiss at the hospital which got all the nurses cooing over her!
- She absolutely hates to be changed and dressed, even with toys to distract her there are always tantrums and tears.

38 weeks

At 38 weeks Eve:

- Has turned a corner with the allergies. As well as adding peas to the safe list last week, we can also add cooked banana, cooked pear purée, simple sponge cake made without eggs or dairy, onion and I've had mints. This week I'm trying out oat milk as almond and coconut milk have both been ruled out.

- Has put on more weight and is making her way back up to the 50th percentile. Also the hospital measured her wrong, as when the health visitor did it she is still in the 75th percentile for height.

- Has had her 8 month check and pronounced fine (which we knew). She can pincer grip a small pea sized object, transfer toys from one hand to the other, follows with her eyes, babbles, sits, crawls and stands when supported.

- Day 12 of controlled crying proved to be the winner, she slept through from 7pm until 4.30am, I fed her and she slept for another hour. We've since had 3 days like this and this morning she went through until 5.30am!

- Can put herself back to sleep so naps for longer. Her morning nap tends to be for an hour and a half rather than 30 minutes.

- Has gone up a level on toys, she loves push-along cars, balls, soft blocks and stacking cups.

I cannot quite believe she'll be 9 months on Tuesday or that Charlie will be 5 tomorrow!!

37 weeks

At 37 weeks Eve:

Is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. Her limited diet has slowed down her growth rate, but now we're on special baby milk she's putting more weight on. She weighed 16lbs, 12oz on the 22nd April. (Charlie was much bigger at 30 weeks Eve was 16lbs whilst Charlie was 19lbs, 8 oz).

Is generally happy and smiley, she has her moments and is pretty strong-willed and determined to get what she wants (usually the cat), but eight and half months is a great age for her.

She's still commando crawling and can now go super fast and occasionally pushes her knees up a little, so I suspect she'll be fully crawling soon. She has also looked like she may start thinking about pulling herself up onto things, the sofa, my leg etc.

We have a food challenge and dietician dates in the diary for May and June. The challenge will let the doctors monitor what happens to her face when she eats cucumber, the dietician will give us more tips on what to try with her. We've added peas to the list of things she can eat and I'm also trying more wheat based foods with her now that she is ok with plain white bread. I made a sponge cake today with 'no egg' powder, vitalite vegetable spread, flour and sugar, fingers crossed she'll be able to eat it ok and then we can actually have something for pudding other than sweet potato or allergy free shortbread!

We're in the midst of controlled crying. She was waking up 4 - 6 times a night and now that the allergies are under control it was time to get her into a proper sleep routine, especially as I go back to work in a little over a month's time. It's slow going. Charlie took 2 or 3 days and was then fine, we're on day 7 with Eve and are still not there. She's now pretty good at going down for a sleep or nap, crying for less then 5 mins then falling asleep, but she's not so good at going back to sleep by herself when she wakes in the night. The worst night (day 4 of CC) she woke at midnight and didn't go back to sleep until 2.30am, but last night she only woke up twice and went back to sleep within 20 minutes. If she wakes before 2am I do the full controlled crying method with no touching, no feeding and a simple reassurance that I'm there every 5, then 10, then 15 minutes. When she wakes after 2am I give her a quick feed (she was used to feeding 6 times a night so I didn't want her to go cold turkey), then put her back into the cot whilst she's awake. I read that for some babies, particularly if they've never slept through the night on their own, it can take 2 weeks, so we're persevering and we're all definitely getting more sleep so that's good.

Has a gorgeous giggle, Tom is v good at getting her to laugh, she adores both him and Charlie and loves it when they come home from school or work. She also loves her grandparents, she went round the shops with Nana whilst I caught up on housework and made the dairy and egg free cake and she was v good without me! No tears, a happy girl and she even had a nap.

Loves playing with the fisherprice animal train, Charlie's old chunky elc cars, she'll happily roll and chase a ball around the room and likes to chew on any type of teething ring or toy, She's already chewed through the rubber teat on her cup, and a couple of board books!

Loves to be read to and enjoys all the 'That's Not My...; board books. She puts her hand out to touch all the different textures and turns the page (with a little help from me) when I ask her. In particular she likes the velcro scratchy paws in 'That's Not My Bunny' and the fluffy foxy tail in 'That's Not My Fox'. At night we read 'Jungle Colours' (given to Charlie by cousin Vicky) and I've just bought 'Goodnight Moon' to help her get into the mood to sleep...

Chats away all the time. She's so vocal I've had a few people come up to me in the street to say they could hear her coming! She coos and gurgles and shouts, still only has two definite words 'cat' and 'Daddy' and has stopped saying 'Gahee' for Charlie, but she knows lots of different sounds and you can generally tell what sort of mood she's in by the sounds she makes.

35 & 36 weeks

At eight months Eve:

- Had her visit to the allergy specialist and confirmed allergies to egg and dairy. We are going back to have food challenges on the fruit and veg rashes. She's also allergic to grass and has hay fever too.

- Is getting speedy! The rolling has given way to commando crawling and she loves following us all around. The cat is in constant peril as she constantly tries to stroke/poke/grab him.

- Is learning to clap, she'll copy me when I clap hands but hasn't quite mastered it yet.

- Is loving the springtime mini-heatwave we're currently having. Allergic to grass makes it tricky but big rugs on the ground and a mini paddling pool and water play toys keep her occupied. We had a picnic in the park last week with little Mr A, Eve ate so much, al fresco dining suits her!

- Had some movement on meal choices. Using vaseline on her face stops an immediate rash and we've added lamb, white bread and possibly almond milk to our can eat list. She's also taking the special baby milk ok, so is getting lots of lovely vitamins and minerals from that. Still breastfeeding but the formula ensures she gets the dairy and calcium benefits the limited diet was causing her to miss out on.

- Has a nursery place, she'll be going there two days a week when I start back at work in June.

33 & 34 weeks

A little behind with writing Eve's development posts as it's the Easter holidays and we've had Charlie with us every day, which is so much fun but also much more manic then usual!

Eve at 33 & 34 weeks:

- We're halfway through the Easter holidays and have had so much fun. We've been into London for the day, we walked along the South Bank and saw Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Nana came too and we met Daddy for lunch. We visited Charlie's friend little Mr T near our old flat in Sydenham, made Very Hungary Caterpillars at the library with him and played at Crystal Palace Park. We spent Easter Saturday with my brother and family and Bank Holiday Monday with T's family, Eve met Aunty Pat for the first time and we celebrated little Cousin M's 4th birthday. We've been to the the Red House and had a family day at Clandon Park, both had Easter Egg trails. We took them both to the funfair, C got cotton candy, went on the helterskelter and won a snake, E liked the bright lights. Mostly the two of them have been playing together lots and yes, there's too rough on both sides but generally they play well together and make each other laugh!

- Food allergies are a real problem now, we're getting fed up of waiting to see the specialist (one more week to go before our mid-April appointment). She's pretty much allergic to all food, I've added beef to the ok list but that's it, there's currently eight foods that she (and I) can have and it's getting tedious trying to mix up our meals.

- She's also allergic to grass (big red rash on legs and arms) and get's hay fever when we stay too long at the park or in the garden.

- Her eczema is controlled by me slathering her in cream at every nappy change, but she doesn't like having it put on!

- She still rolls everywhere around the living room and is getting really good and turning around quickly. She is obsessed with getting under the rocking chair or to the bookshelves.

- Has the best giggle, her and Charlie laughing together is such a good sound! She joins in laughter if we're laughing and will laugh if you make a funny noise or tickle her tummy.

- Responds to her name, if you call her, she'll turn around and look at you with a big smile.

- I've been slowly selling off her baby equipment, we've said goodbye to two play mats, the stripy bouncy chair and the Moses basket. It's sad to lose these, particularly the  Moses basket and the bouncy chair as these were brand new for Charlie and bring back good memories, but it's nice to have more space, finally our study is a little less cluttered with baby equipment!

32 weeks

At seven and a half months Eve:

- Continues developing her social skills, she loves interacting with people and will screech loudly if she feels left out.

- Loves bath time with Charlie. Because of her eczema she only has a bath every other day and she hates seeing C have a bath without her. They play with the rubber ducks together and today Eve learnt to splash the water with her hands.

- Had lots of fun at Uncle Alan and Aunty Pam's joint birthday party this week. She got lots of attention from everyone and got to play with her big cousin I.

- We've still not got to the bottom of her allergies. As well as most fruit & veg and dairy, we've added egg, rice and peanut to the list. There's also a gluten or wheat intolerance in the mix. Currently we are both living on a diet of potato, broccoli, sweet potato, fish (tuna, salmon & mackerel), sweet corn and coconut. We'll keep on trying fairly safe seeming foods to see if she reacts until our meeting with the specialist in mid-April. Fortunately it's usually an immediate face rash, so quite easy to spot.

31 weeks

At 31 weeks Eve:

- Is getting somewhere with working out the allergies. I think she has Oral Allergy Syndrome, which means she's allergic to fresh fruit and vegetables and also a dairy intolerance. However it could be something else as she reacts even when something is well cooked and to dried fruit, things she's reacted to include red pepper, tomato, carrot, prunes, peas, cucumber, white bread, bagels and dairy. Things she's ok with include broccoli, potato, sweet potato, tinned tuna, tinned sweet corn, allergy free bread and rice cakes. Both her and my diet's are pretty limited and our specialist appointment in mid-april feels a long way away.

- Has pretty bad eczema, linked to the allergies. As well as a constant rash around her mouth, her whole torso, arms, shoulders and upper legs are dry, bumpy and red. I slather her in emollient cream whenever I change her.

- Has two teeth! Her first tooth came through on Wednesday closely followed by her 2nd on Thursday. They are the two bottom centre ones, left first then right. They are as sharp as razors, and a whole 3 months earlier then when Charlie got his.

- Loves to play, we got a baby activity cube for 50p at a nearly new sale this week and she loves it. If I line up the shapes for her, she pushes them through, she grabs the handles and pulls the cube around and she presses the button to make the telephone ring.

- Still can't crawl, but getting much surer in her moves. She can get anywhere in a room by pivoting and rolling, and is super fast.

- Is having such fun with her brother. She coos and shouts at him, she grabs his face, his hair, his mouth and pulls them to her. Charlie can't keep away, he loves rolling around on the floor with her, playing with her toys and lying next to her. We play i-spy in the evening as part of our no electronics hour before bed and C loves to pretend to be Evie playing i-spy and saying things that are in her line of view.

- Is finally happy to spend longer periods of time with Daddy. She will now happily play with him whilst I have a shower or make lunch. Up until now she was ok for 10 minutes but would then start shouting and crying for me.

7 months old

At 30 weeks Eve:

- Is finally getting some sleep. She no longer sleeps in our room or co-sleeps with us at night. She stays in her room all night and for the last two nights has woken up 3 times a vast improvement on the 6 or 7 times she usually does.

- Has an appointment to see an allergy specialist in April. We'll be heading into London to get some help with her allergies. At the moment she breaks out in a face rash every day from something she or I have eaten. We've pin pointed tomatoes, red peppers and probably dairy, but there's definitely something else as each day I try to have a rash clear day and each day she get's one. We are keeping a food diary and have pin pointed some safe foods (broccoli, carrots, allergy free bread), but there's more we need to do to make sure she stops having daily reactions.

- She is so mobile, rolling and spinning can get her everywhere in a room v. quickly!

- Has added the word Charlie 'Gar ee' to her other words - cat 'at at' and Daddy 'da da da'. Still no sign of Mama.

29 weeks

At 29 weeks Eve:

Said her first definite word 'cat' or 'at at at'. She also says da, ba and ga.

Has slept in her room most days this week, still waking every few hours but no longer coming in bed with us every night.

Still having allergic reactions, I think probably to things I've eaten in breast milk. Though she got bright red cheeks from eating red pepper. We're seeing the doctor again tomorrow.

Is rolling EVERYWHERE she can't crawl but can swing round and roll wherever she wants!

28 weeks

At 28 weeks Eve:

Is doing so many exciting things now she's 6 months.

Weighs 15lbs, 5oz and is in tracking just above the 25th percentile.

We're taking weaning slowly because of suspected allergies. After seeing the doctor we're keeping a food diary for two weeks. She had a definite reaction to some pasta last Tuesday, and I'm pretty certain dairy doesn't agree with her either.

Cucumber and sweet potato are still her favourites. She's getting good at using a spoon for apple and pear puree and pretty good at drinking from a cup. She has a nuby cup with soft spout and has water with each meal.

She's speaking! Her coos have developed into more word-like sounds. Ga ga ga and Da da da. She is also very very high pitched and can screech like a banshee!

She's rolling, we've got out the foam number mat as she kept rolling off the play mat. I've sold one of the playmats for £7 and will put more up for sale to make some space in the house!

Sleep is still bad, I'm currently reducing the amount of feeds I give her in the night and will then do controlled crying. Also lengthening the amount of time she spends in the cot in her room rather then coming in with us all night. I've spoken to the health visitor who is a 'sleep expert' and she had lots of good tips and some useful leaflets for both the 'gradual withdrawal' and the'controlled crying' methods.

She is ever so ever so clingy! She still hates it if I leave the room and whoever is watching her has to really grab her attention to stop her from noticing I'm not there.

She gives the best nuzzley snuggles, cooing and pressing into me, putting her hand up to my face and giving wet baby kisses. This week she started doing it for Daddy too.

Loved Boppin Bunnies this week. Charlie came too as it was an inset day, she had lots of fun trying to beat a drum, shake a shaker, chewing on a rubber frog and sitting underneath the parachute.

27 weeks

At 27 weeks Eve:

(17th Feb)

- Has started weaning! I'm pretty much doing baby led weaning with a little puree too. Her first food was boiled carrot batons. She's also had cucumber, avacado, sweet potato, bread and banana. Sweet potato and cucumber are her favourites. Not much eating has been going on, but a lot of playing and putting in her mouth, which is a good start.

- Possibly has food allergies. She get's a red rash round her mouth and sometimes has green nappies. She had it with bread and also if I eat a lot of dairy. Going to see the doctor on Wednesday.

- Is smitten with her brother and we're looking forward to a full week of half term with him. He makes her laugh and is constantly interacting with her.

- Had a fun weekend in Wiltshire with Granny and Grandad and Uncle S, Aunty N and cousin I. Walked in the woods, had a (short-lived) bath with big cousin I, sat nicely in the bumbo and ate cucumber and carrots at meal times and had cuddles with everyone, 

- Is getting quite good at moving, no crawling yet but she can get quite far just by rolling.

- The chickenpox is coming to an end, just waiting for the last scabs to fall off. She has a big chickenpox scar on her right eyebrow (just like Mummy) and a few smaller ones on her nose, forehead and scalp. Hoping these will lessen with time.

6 months old (26 weeks)

Happy half birthday baby girl!

I'm sorry you have chickenpox for it, but at least you're on the mend and happy again, just very very spotty. At 6 months you:

Are getting so social. You love to react to people, to hold up your hands to be picked up, to screech if I leave the room, to laugh when we laugh and cry when Charlie cries. You have the biggest smile which spreads across your whole face when you see someone you love, or even a stranger you like the look of!

Love your big brother. You play with Charlie, grabbing at his clothes and face and hands. We have a game called 'Where's Charlie', I say 'Where's Charlie' and he runs around the room like a mad thing, hiding behind furniture, waiting for you to spot him and coo and gurgle at him. By the end of the game we are all laughing and it's great that your brother is the one to get the biggest laughs out of you.

Love your Daddy. When Tom comes home you give him the biggest smile ever, even just hearing his voice can make you smile.

Love your Mama. I'm definitely your favourite, we spend pretty much all day every day together, and the huge smiles I get when I come into the room make all the fussing and crying and sleepless nights worthwhile. You get so excited to see me, fidgeting in Nana's arms and holding out your hands so I can hold you.

Want to be on the move. You can roll from side to side, flip yourself over to your back if I leave you sitting propped up in the boppi cushion. You do big jumps in the jumperoo, with both feet well off the ground and if I support you, you've started to take baby steps towards the thing you want to play with.

Haven't been weighed for ages. Due to being in chickenpox quarantine for both you and Charlie, but you are so tall and thin, the complete opposite of Charlie who was all chubby and round at 6 months.

Have been wearing 6 - 9 month clothes for weeks. Vests anyway, now that you're six months we've brought out all the beautiful tops and outfits you've been given. Today you're wearing the little bunny top from Aunty N & Uncle S and red stripy leggings with blue polka dots from Nana.

Are getting over chickenpox. You have had a severe case, almost completely covered, my poor love. We got some allergy syrup from the doctors, take warm oaty baths 3 times a day and smother you in calamine lotion. The spots are now on the mend, some of the smaller ones have disappeared and the large ones are scabbing over.

Are going to be weaned! Yesterday you drank water from your sippy cup and tried some broccoli and bread. Today we are going to have carrot batons.

Chicken pox remedies

Both my 4 year old and my 5 month old had chickenpox this month, here's a summary of the remedies we used as they had it very differently and what worked for Charlie didn't work for Eve.

First off Charlie came out in chicken pox spots at school, when I arrived to collect him they were already all over his chest and back. They continued to appear throughout the afternoon and he got a lot on his face, two inside his bottom lip, in his ears, all over his scalp, on his bottom and tops of his legs. His arms and feet didn't get any. He had a high temperature that first night and was sleepy the day before the spots showed. After the first day, his temperature left and he felt completely his normal self, just spotty.

Then 13 days later baby Eve came out in them too. She just had two at first (belly button and eyebrow), but a few hours later came out in more, all over her chest, back and face. Overnight she developed even more, the poor little girl was absolutely covered, all over her scalp, face, ears, really badly in her bottom and legs. Again none on her hands but a few on her feet, including the soles. She also had a high temperature the first night and then continued to have it for two more days.

After googling and calling out on FaceBook for remedies, we came up with this:

For Charlie (four and a half):

- Oaty baths. Put porridge oats in a sock, tie a knot and place in a warm bath. Squeeze the sock to make the water milky. I used about 3 tablespoons of oats and a football sock was the best. Charlie's socks were too small, the knot was too tight and really hard to undo with the cotton all wet. Football socks are nice and long so can be knotted loosely plus polyester so easy to un-knot when wet. With Charlie we had two long baths a day, he stayed in for about half an hour each time and they definitely soothed the spots. I also added 4 drops of lavender oil to promote healing (I was told to have lavender oil baths by the midwife right after I'd had Eve). NB, we didn't have any plain old oats when C first caught it so I used a pack of strawberry jam microwave oats, it did help soothe him, but he also smelt of strawberries and the water went all slimy,

- Piraton Syrup. This took a while to kick in but once he'd had a few doses he wasn't scratchy at all. (He still occasionally rubbed at the spots but more because they were pushing up his skin (particulalry on his scalp) then because they were itchy.

- Calpol. This helped bring his initial temperature down and made him feel much better.

- PoxClin Mousse. This was expensive (£10.99) but also worked the best, we covered him with it after each bath and whenever he started scratching and it instantly soothed. It also lasted the full 10 days he had the spots.

- Aloe Gelly - I was given this by a friend and it helped cool the spots. Worked best after they had scabbed over and were beginning to fall off.

Charlie stayed at home in quarantine for 7 days, he left school on the Thursday afternoon and was back a little over a week later on the Monday. Apart from the first night and day, he wasn't really bothered by the chickenpox and actually enjoyed being at home with Evie and me all day long! We mixed it up a little for him towards the end with a day spent at Nana and Grandad's house.

For Eve (almost 6 months):

- Oaty baths. As above, I filled the baby bath with warm water, an oaty sock and 1 drop of lavender oil. She had 3 a day as she only stayed in for 5 - 10 mins at a time. It was good to do after a dirty nappy as it made sure her poor sore bottom didn't get any worse or that the spots there didn't get infected.

- Allerief syrup. This was prescribed by the doctor, it's pretty much the same as piriton syrup and although the bottle said it's for 1 year plus, the doctor said she could have it twice a day as she was so absolutely covered in spots and really really itchy.

- Calamine lotion. The poxclin mousse didn't work on Eve, in fact it made it made her spots worse, her skin came up bright red and the spots even more so. We phoned the doctor who prescribed the allerief and the calamine lotion. The lotion definitely helped calm her spots, though because she had them absolutely everywhere she was plastered in the lotion and left a trial of powdered lotion wherever she went (sofa, my blouse, play mat, jumperoo, cot etc.). I also used Sudocrem and Metanium nappy rash cream on her bottom as it was so sore.

- Aqueous calamine cream - the chemist recommended this as it doesn't leave the powder behind. It wasn't quite as effective as the calamine lotion, but good to use on her bottom and the area where the nappy goes.

- Calpol. As with C this helped bring down her temperature.

- Aloe Gelly - this was gentle enough to use on her baby skin.

Eve had it much worse than Charlie, far more spots to skin ratio and her head was absolutely covered, which meant she couldn't sleep as lying on them in any way hurt her, even after having calpol. We got the allerief syrup on day 3 and this worked amazingly well to soothe the pain and it also made her sleepy. She was therefore able to sleep better which was exactly what she needed.

25 weeks

(27th Jan 2015) At 25 weeks Eve:

Is going through an incredibly clingy phase. She cries if I leave the room, and doesn't like to be held by anyone else for too long. If I'm still in the room, she will swivel her head round to watch me.

Thinks Charlie is her own personal comedian. He dances for her to make her laugh.

Had had a rough week. Charlie had chickenpox so we've been sitting out quarantine with him. She definitely missed going outside and got bored with all of her toys.

I cannot believe that next week she'll be 6 months old!

High chair baby

Just trying out the new high chair, we start weaning at 6 months, so in two weeks time. Really looking forward to weaning her, going to do a mix of purees (like I did with Charlie) and baby led (which is new and exciting for me). She liked being up at the table and watching Charlie and me, but quickly grew tired of being trapped in the chair, so I'm hoping once there's some food involved, she'll stay in for longer!

24 weeks

At 24 weeks Eve:

- Has reached that frustrating age where she wants to get involved with EVERYTHING but can't crawl or talk to get what she wants.
- Is living in quarantine! Charlie has been off school with chickenpox since Thursday and although Eve's not caught it (yet) we are having to stay in to look after big brother. She's pretty grumpy with all her toys now and just wants to go for a walk.
- Can turn the pages of her board books (with help). We read 'That's Not My Fox', 'Wow Said the Owl' and 'Peekaboo Baby' with her, she gets very excited about books and tries to eat them. She also likes to listen to Charlie read his schools books.
- Loves Charlie, will happily watch him for ages. She reaches out to him and laughs at him.
- Loves Daddy, ditto to the above, except she gets ansty if she's not with me, so will get grumpy very quickly once I've left the room...
- Is still going through that screechy stage. She is very high pitched and gets cross very quickly when things don't go her way.
- Is incredibly drooley, we're going through 5 or 6 bibs a day at the moment.
- Is still not sleeping well. We're pretty much co-sleeping to help us get any sleep, but generally she wakes 4 or 5 times in the night. She starts off in her cot but after midnight tends to come in with us.
- Is turning blonde, her hair has really lightened up over the last few weeks.
- Tried our her highchair for the first time, we start weaning (and sleep training!) in two weeks.
- Is ever so smiley, her dimples are getting deeper and she loves attention.

23 weeks

At 23 weeks Eve:

Is teething and going through a grumpy phase. She's still smiley a lot of the time but has quite regular crying/grumping periods. She's also developed an ear shattering, high pitched screech for whenever I step away for more than a second!

Is still not sleeping well, she's a little better than previously, but wakes at least 4 times a night. Currently she has her first sleep in the nursery and when she wakes at 9pm I take her into the cot in our room. Roll on six months when we can start sleep training.

Is embracing the buggy. Now that she's facing forward she quite likes the buggy, she's happy to watch the world go by and then fall asleep. She still has her moments (screaming for 30 mins when in the park with Charlie and me on Saturday), but for the most part enjoys going out in the buggy. However we still use the sling daily for school drop off and pick up.

Loves her new toy owl, it has chimes in it, a squeaky baby owl and crinkley wings. Also loves jumping in the jumperoo and chewing on teething rings.

Eighteen to twenty two weeks

A busy month for us. A lot of illness, Christmas, family meet ups and a non-sleeping baby, led to a disappearance from blog writing for a while. However, baby is well and napping so here's a quick catch up on weeks 18 - 22.

At 18 weeks Eve:

- Continues to roll around on her play mat and has also started to sleep on her side in bed. She can now move across the play mat by wriggling and rolling.

- Weighs 13lbs, 14oz, just below the 50th percentile but gained a bit more at this weigh-in then the last one when she was ill. 

- Is wondering if she has a slight intolerance to formula. We've stopped giving her the 200mls in the evening and her sleep pattern has returned to normal, only waking once or twice a night instead of seven! She is fully breastfed once again.

- Has moved, her cot is now at the end of our bed instead of by the window, it's warmer here!

- Loves my phone, I let her biff the photos in the gallery and she loves to change the picture. Right now she is lying on my lap trying to grab the phone as I type.

- Likes action rhymes, I sing and play with her Benny Bean and Wagon Way which she loves.

- Started facing outwards in the sling for the majority of outings. I still put her facing me if I want her to sleep.

- Holds her head up well and can sit up when propped with cushions.

At 19 - 22 weeks Eve:

- Had a trip to A&E, I fell when carrying her in the baby carrier (horrible horrible), she didn't touch the ground and didn't really notice the fall (though I cut my hand and both knees) but we took her to be checked out, just in case. The doctor pronounced her fine and just to watch her for the next 24 hours.

- Got ill again, a horrible cold, with a cough that woke her every couple of hours throughout the night and a runny nose. She also got conjunctivitis we visited the doctors for eye drops and to check the cold hadn't infected her chest (it hadn't).

- Lost weight over Christmas due to the illness, dropped 4 oz so on 31st Dec she weighed 13lbs, 10oz.

- Stopped sleeping!!! It started with the cough, but once that stopped, she continues to wake every couple of hours at night. Mama is incredibly tired and trying anything at the moment until we can sleep train at 6 months. She's co-slept, slept in the nursery, had an early bedtime, a late bedtime, a cool room, a warm room, a hot water bottle to warm the sheets, and none of it really works! Currently she's waking 3 or 4 times a night, which it better then the 7 or 8 times she was averaging, but hopefully things will get better soon.

- Smiley and happy, even when ill we could still coax out smiles and now she's well she's so cheerful. She has smiles for everyone and loves to be talked with.

- In love with her Daddy, he enters the room and she watches his every move until he comes and talks to her.

- Loves to chat with her brother, Charlie can often make her smile and likes to calm her when she frets.

- Something has developed in her brain in the last fortnight and she's really aware of toys. She will happily play with a toy or two on her play mat for quite a long time. She loves the light up and roll ball, a teething toy elephant, dolls, rubber ducks and various teething rings.

- Loves bath time, she now has a rubber duck to chew on, demands to hold the sponge and generally splashes about in the little baby bath.

- Has a jumperoo which she loves, my friend was selling one for £30, and it's been such a good buy, she jumps about like a mad thing and coos and giggles whilst in it.

- Likes a nice cuddle, she'll now give baby kisses (slobbery, wet, sucking, gummy ones) on your face or neck when holding her. She is exploring faces and reaches out to touch your mouth and teeth if you let her. She's also grabbed my glasses off twice and sucked Daddy's nose!

- Still long, she's gone into 6-9 month vests as the 3-6 ones are getting too tight.

- Has graduated to the big girl buggy, she now faces outwards in the buggy, rather than facing me in the car seat. She loves it as she hated being in the car seat on the buggy for too long. She's had some nice long naps on our walks and is all snug in her new puffy coat from Aunty Pam and Charlie's old red and white star cosy toes.