A Heads Up

Last week Charlie learnt to hold his head up whilst on his tummy. He hated tummy time and I thought he'd never learn, but suddenly it just clicked. Hooray the first step to crawling is in place!

Baby's first holiday

We've just returned from Charlie's first holiday; it was a great success, our little lad loved it. My partner's parents rented a cottage on the Dorset/Devon border and we had a week of Charlie getting lots of Daddy and Grandparents time. It also meant I could finally finish my book!

Charlie

I love this photo, I snapped it yesterday to show the friends who gave us the top, he looks so serious for a little boy in a new hoodie!

Claws

Why do baby fingernails grow so quickly? I'm constantly trimming Charlie's and always feel so guilty when he scratches himself. I've tried baby nail clippers, but they leave jagged ends, I've tried picking at them, but it takes too long and nail scissors are just too big, so I'm doing what I thought I'd never do and bite them. There's a technique that took me ages to get, you have to bite and tear, but it gives the best results. Charlie doesn't like any of it so I do it when he's feeding, even so he still makes a tight little fist when he's had enough. If he's like this at 11 weeks how will he be in a few months time???

The Villa Triste

I used to read 2 books a week, since Charlie has arrived I've managed just a few chapters of a book I started just before he was born. The Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle is part historical novel part modern day crime set in Italy. Cati is a soon-to-be bride in 1943 when Germany invades Italy and every day life is turned upside down. She writes a diary which is read in 2010 by a detective trying to solve a murder case. Only about halfway through but it's already captivating.

Baby Clothes

You have to agree that one of the best bits to having a baby is the baby clothes. Being pregnant and now breastfeeding has severely limited my wardrobe - I have 5 tops I can wear at the mo and one, optimistically bought, is too tight! So Charlie's wardrobe sees the benefit of this and he has more clothes than me. Half of which he's already grown out of! My top 3:



#1 - Stripy Newborn Babygro - I wish I had a better photo, but he grew out of it so quickly this is the best I've got. I bought it when I was 7 months pregnant and it kept him cosy during the first few days.














#2 - Action Bear Dungarees - On anyone else dungarees are a bit Kiki Dee but soo cute on babies. This is Charlie's first pair bought 2nd hand from the NetMums Nearly New site. They still fit but we can no longer do up the middle poppers so he'll be out of them soon.



#3 - Apples Babygro - He hasn't worn this as much as I'd like because the weather turned hot. I got it from Blooming Marvelous when he grew out of his first gros.

Things that have changed about me

- I can type one handed whilst Charlie is feeding
- I can dress and change a soggy baby within a couple of mins
- I'm suddenly v emotional, particularly when it's to do with babies - One Born Every Minute had me in tears
- I'm constantly thinking ahead - to the next feed, change, sleep, are there unleashed big dogs in the park, is it too hot, too cold, too windy, should we get another cat
- I worry endlessly - will a fox jump through the window, will Charlie cry on the bus, will we get caught in the rain
- I've made lots of new Mummy friends
- Random children come and talk to me because I have a pram
- I know the words to over 100 children's songs and nursery rhymes

Time flies and everything changes

I can't believe it's been over 10 months since my last blog! What I didn't say in it was that I'd just found out I was pregnant, so 10 months down the line I'm proud Mummy to a 10 week old son, Charlie.

Gone is lovely Battersea, our flat was too small. Gone is our adored cat Oliver, we were devastated when at just a year old he died from a weak heart. Gone are books, in the past 10 weeks I've had time to read only once. Gone is work, for now I'm on maternity leave. Gone is going out, drinking, kareoke, pub quizzes and general drunkeness. Gone is sleep, hello night feeds. So the staples of the world I knew have disappeared but would I change it? No never.

Hello lovely weekend

I LOVE the weekend, don't get me wrong, I love my job too, it's not like I have a horrible week at work and from Monday count down the days till freedom. My weeks go by pretty quick, there's always something to be doing and Sept/Oct are our busiest times (lots and lots of new books published). But weekend's are special, even when we're not doing anything planned, I love spending the day with my boyfriend and doing the mundane. Today is Saturday, this evening we're visiting friends but the day time is ours. We need to go to the supermarket and the pet shop (our cat is booked into the vet on Friday and he can already escape from the plastic carrier we got 5 months ago, we're looking for something metal!). So we'll take a 25 min drive to the nearest pet superstore, listening to our favourite cds and singing along. We'll find the cage, argue about which type to get, come to an agreement and split the bill 50/50. We'll go onto the supermarket, split up and each get our own shopping, make mini deals for the stuff we share (you get the cat food and I'll get the washing powder), then drive home singing to those favourite songs and making up new lyrics. And I love it. This afternoon I'll maybe walk along the river to Battersea Park or bake something and that's it. One of my favourite ways to spend the weekend, doing nothing at all.

Jamie's America

I'm a real sucker for cookery books and really like Jamie's new one. Jamie's America ties in with the TV show and has some really yummy looking recipes. Only one TV show shown so far (L.A. concentrating on Mexican dishes) but it's much more gritty then his previous shows and I can't wait for the next one.