Tom the Steam

Had an interesting night. Tom was up to his usual tricks and thrashed from 11pm right through to the morning. I also have a stitch like pain in my side which didn't ease through the night so everything was against me having a good sleep. Tom woke up at 11pm but went back to sleep without needing a feed, then again at 1am for feeding and again at 5am - but once again he didn't need feeding and went back to sleep. All very well, but to my detriment - I woke up at 6.45 in a pool of milk!

Tom had his feed at 6.45 - didn't take long as I was so full. He was his usual happy self when being washed and changed, full of smiles and gurgles. Took him downstairs for a kick about on his playmat. At 8.30 he was looking tired, so I picked him up. What a mistake - he vomited big time, and when I say big time - he managed to soak himself and myself and the sofa - it must have been his full feed that came up - what a waste! Needless to say, both of us needed a full change of clothing and the washing machine is now on. I'm back in

maternity jeans as I only have one pair of normal jeans and today is definitely a jeans day. Tom thought the whole thing was very funny and was full of smiles again!

Matt took him up for his morning nap at 9am. It's quite misty this morning but we are told that it will burn off and be another nice day, so we have decided to go to the Severn Valley Railway Engine Shed in Highley which we discovered during our train trip on New Year's Eve. We figured this would meet with the approval of both his grandfathers. The shed is located in a particularly lovely stretch of the Severn Valley, and is full of "retired" locomotives and rolling stock, including one of the actual mail coaches that was involved in the Great Train Robbery of 1963. Tom really did seem to enjoy himself there and smiled his gummy grin at all the engines. We had lunch on the veranda and managed to see a couple of SVR trains chugging past while we ate. All very pleasant. We then took a wander via the station down to the river for a swift half before coming home.

Tom's tank clearly ran dry in the car and he absolutely screamed for about 10 minutes. We tried to get home as quickly as possible, but bank holiday drivers are even slower than Sunday drivers. Fortunately he screamed himself to sleep in the end. He was refilled as soon as we got home, and I headed out to get the wheels knocked off my car with a huge rubber mallet.

Oh yes, a quick rant about that most English of idiosyncrasies. When you have lovely countryside, one of the country's most picturesque rivers, a new museum and a beautifully restored Victorian station on a famous old steam railway within 5 minutes walk of the car park, why the hell do you eat your picnic in the car, with the windows down and the engine running? I just don't get it. They only needed to walk 30 seconds from the car park for a stunning view. Unbelievable. Rant over.