Lost!

With yet another beautiful day on the cards, today's plan was to be out of the house early, do an 8 mile walk from the village of Barthomley and then have lunch at the excellent pub there.
It all started off well, and we were walking by 9:15, but that was as good as it got. Either the local farmers have rearranged the fields or the narrative in our guide was badly wrong, but we ended up completely lost in a large field. Tom also picked this moment to have a complete paddy.
If it had just been us, I would have blamed it on poor map-reading, but we ended up with another hiker who was equally perplexed. Eventually, we asked a local resident who sent us on our way, but it soon became apparent that she had no idea where she lived. At this point we gave up and navigated our way back to Barthomley by the noise of the traffic on the M6.
This meant that we were back at the pub 45 minutes before it even opened, so we cut our losses and headed to the village of Marbury (near Whitchurch), where we remembered having a good pub meal once before. The grub was good this time too, but we found ourselves sharing a bar with a crowd of complete in-breds. I tried to see how many fingers some of them had, but I couldn't count quickly enough. There were also 3 old ladies at the table next to us who had clearly had several sherries too many each and threatened to drag me up for a dance. To cap it all, the (very well-upholstered) barmaid was wearing a ridiculously low-slung dress which left NOTHING to the imagination when she reached down to pull a pint. Strange morning.

We then drove home and spent most of the afternoon in the garden doing not much. Tom sat very happily in his Bumbo seat, I read some magazines and drank home-brew, and Jodie kept jumping up and annoying us.
We managed to squeeze in a couple of the races from today's MotoGP meet before giving Tom his bath and his bottle, then had dinner in the garden.

Summer is Here!

Not a very good last night. Tom had me up at 1.40 for feeding, and then was up at 3.00, 3,30, 4,00, 4.30 (tried feeding at this stage to see if it made any difference), 5.00, 6.00 and 6.30. Of course by the time it came to 7.00 he was asleep - typical. His Dad managed to sleep through everything as well - humph!!!

Another beautiful day, so I dressed Tom in his first T-Shirt and shorts set. Didn't bother with a vest today - he was so hot and grumpy yesterday. Did our usual morning thing, but all a bit later than usual as I didn't get him up until 7.30. We then went to Newport (Somerfield are selling lamb legs at less than half price) and had lunch in the garden of The Fox - very nice, quite a few children and a set of twins a little older than Tom were there.

The afternoon saw us off to Dudley for a meeting of the Jet Alumni. We were entertained in the garden by Helen and Alan's little son, Ziyoun who was lovely and kept telling everyone to be quiet (when Tom was asleep) or to be careful (when Tom was on the grass). Very sweet. We were treated to Japanese curry before heading back home for bath and bed.

Hot and Grumpy

Tom was an absolute gem last night. He fell asleep before finishing his bottle which is normally a problem. He woke at 1.40 for feeding and then we didn't hear from him at all. In fact I went in at 7am to check he was ok, and found him just waking up. So, we all had a good night's sleep.

Did our usual thing in the morning. Tom had a longer than usual morning nap - was asleep from 8.30 to 10.00. We then went to breast feeding group. Had a good time, there were four babies there all the same age - Tom included, which was nice (he was the biggest of course!)

Came back, had lunch. We were going to visit Carol at General, but she wasn't in, so we sat out in the garden. Tom had a sleep at 2pm and then we went on a jaunt to Asda to pick up some bits and pieces for the weekend. He wasn't his usual well behaved self, I think maybe because it is hot and he was hot!

Jude and Richard popped in around 4.30. Unfortunately Tom was in grizzling mode as he was due a sleep, so cuddles didn't go too well.

As you can see from the pic, Tom is getting better on his front, but still has to concentrate hard, and only lasts about 2 minutes.

Cheeky Monkeys

Had another OK night. Tom woke at midnight for feeding. He was then awake again at 5.30, 6.00 and 6.30. However, I managed to hold off until 7am before getting him up.

Did our usual morning thing. At 10am we left the house for Trentham - where we met Debbie and Luke at the monkey forest. Luke enjoyed the monkeys so much at Blackpool Zoo, that Debbie thought it a good idea to bring him here. He certainly did enjoy it - more than Tom, who fell asleep as soon as we entered the monkey enclosure! There were plenty of monkeys everywhere, all looking very non plussed by the hordes of visitors gawping at them. Most were asleep or sitting not doing very much. It was nice to be so close to them.

Once we had done a circuit we had lunch. Debbie being ultra prepared had sandwiches with her. Me being the usual me had nothing, so had to queue to get some sandwiches. Very frustrating as the service was far from efficient - I almost put my BaxterStorey hat on to start planning how to do things differently so service would be quicker, menu more varied, layout better etc.

Had a nice long lunch, chatting with Debbie. Tom was too interested in what was going on to feed properly - had to feed him in two sessions! Once Luke had had a play on the slides and satisfied himself watching other people etc, he decided he wanted to go to see the monkeys again, which we did. This time we saw a monkey with it's 3 day old baby - very cute. Tom once again missed everything as he fell asleep!

Soon it was 3pm and time to say goodbye to Debbie and Luke and make our way back home before the rush hour started. Got home in time for Tom to have a kick about in the garden before bathtime.

Tom had another good night, waking at 1.30am for feeding and then again at 6.30 - but managed to hold him off until 7.00. Having proudly boasted that I haven't leaked at night for a good fortnight, I woke this morning in a lake of cold milk - yuck! I think Tom was grizzling through the monitor whilst I was asleep and I reacted! Typical we had nice new clean sheets on the bed as well!!!!

Morning was spent doing our usual Wednesday routine: Asda to pick up some bits and pieces, library to get Tom some more library books for story time and then baby clinic for weighing. He is now 15lb 13oz.

Spent some time convincing Tom that he wanted to have his lunchtime nap, but won in the end. Once rested, I tried him on his bumbo again - he managed about 5 minutes which is a great improvement on previous attempts.

2pm saw us visiting Kamila. She is now 6 months pregnant and full of questions. Tom was well behaved until he decided to do a massive poo! It was his third of the day and must be his last. It was a good one, exploded through his nappy, up his back etc. Vest was completely ruined and is in the bin. Anyway a great education for Kamila, now she knows what to expect!

Dinosaurs are Great

Had a good night, Tom woke at 2.40 for feeding and then again at 6.00. I managed to convince him to go back to sleep until 7am. As you can see he was wearing a rather splendid sleep suit last night, covered in colourful dinosaurs, from his Devon Granma.

This morning we had an appointment with the Registrar regarding Tom's naming ceremony. We have been given the structure for the ceremony, we now need to decide what we want and who we want to do it - internet research definitely the order of the day.

12.00 saw us in the Golf Club in Muxton for lunch. A number of dads were free and as we were doing baby massage, it was a great opportunity for them to keep out of our hair and have a drink. Baby massage was good, included some bits on their front which was interesting. Sam was fantastic on his front. Tom did ok for about 15 minutes and then started to cry so we improvised and watched the rest of the session.

Got home around 4pm, Matt had just made it back and was happily full of beer. I think we will definitely be revisiting the Golf Club again for lunch and tag it on to a Granville walk, food was good and the service quite speedy.

Tom was pretty happy for the rest of the day before going to his daddy for his bedtime routine.

The Boys in Bed

Tom slept very well last night, must have been his long walk yesterday. He woke at 3.30 for feeding, then 6.30 - I asked him for 3o more minutes, but he went back to sleep so I had to wake him up again!

Did the usual morning things, then after his nap we decided to brave the weather (very cloudy and threatening rain) and explore Telford Town Park a little more. Neither of us had realised that there is more to it than the playgrounds (which have been spruced up big time, so next time we have children to stay we can revisit) - there are miles and miles of walks and Wonderland which includes Crazy Golf, an indoor soft play area and lots of other things which I'm sure we will explore when Tom gets older.

Had a scoot around The Range and Lidl before coming home for lunch. Then Matt went to work whilst I baby sat. Tom was very grumpy and very hungry today. I fed him more times than usual. When he wasn't feeding he was crying! I tried massage, but only got half way through before he started to cry, so I gave up! One thing I did notice today was that he has started rolling on his side. I had the TV on when he was on his playmat, he obviously wanted to watch it as he rolled on his side to do so. He wasn't completely on his side, but almost.

Daddy did his usual bedtime routine. Unusually for Tom, he needed settling twice between 7 and 8, but did eventually drop off. I'm wondering if he is having a growth spurt?

6 miles with a 16 pound pack

Just look at that weather! Far too good to waste, so we decided to do a hike. Given that we hadn't gone for a proper hike with Tom yet, we thought we'd better start with something fairly unthreatening and picked out a 6 mile walk through Farndon and Chirton (near Chester). Flat it may have been, but far more scenic than we'd expected. As I'm fairly out of shape just now, I thought 6 miles of lugging his lordship round might do for my legs, but in fact it was surprisingly easy. Or should I wait until tomorrow before proclaiming myself pain-free? Nik & I had a nice lunch at a pleasant hostelry in Chirton and Tom had 10 minutes of the usual in the back of the car once we'd finished.

We were planning to visit Cheshire Farms (ice cream paradise) on the way back, but a text from Paul at no. 53 informed us that a BBQ was being held this evening out the front, so we decided to come straight home.

I did a bit of work on my little car while Tom had another feed and then filled his nappy pretty much to bursting point. He's been due a monster for a couple of weeks now, so it was bound to happen at some point.

The BBQ went very well, and we think we spotted another step in Tom's development. Grace, Hannah & Rebecca from down the road waved at him, and he waved back. If he'd done it just once, you'd have to say it was coincidence, but he did it 3 or 4 times. Progress? Anyway, he was very well-behaved and charmed everyone.

Bumbo!

Was up at 2am, 5am and 6am before admitting defeat at 6.30. Today dawned bright so we decided to take Tom out. As Canal Street has opened up at Blists Hill we thought we would have a wander and see if the new fish and chip shop was in operation.

The place was the fullest we have ever seen it, had to park in the overflow car park. However, it was Queen Victoria's birthday today so it was to be expected. There were lots of people in character including one brave lady riding around on a penny farthing. First stop was a Punch and Judy show, which to our surprise we found very entertaining. It did catch Tom's attention as well.

The fish and chip shop was open and we were first in the queue at 11.30 to get our fish and chips (since Tom arrived, we seem to be up and doing things much earlier than we used to - and that includes lunch!) Was very tasty, but very bad for us as they were using proper lard for frying. We then went down the bottom of the hill to see what else was new. At this stage Matt noticed that the pram was getting very difficult to push, and then I noticed a drawing pin in the front tyre, which had totally deflated.

We exited shortly afterwards and went straight to Halfords to buy a puncture repair kit. We also visited Mothercare as we got £30 of vouchers in the post today (reward for setting up Child Trust Fund). I was going to buy Tom a mobile, but the mobiles seemed to be of poor quality and astonishing prices so we walked out disappointed.

Got home, gave Tom his feed, played for a little while before putting him down for his 2pm nap. I also felt very tired, and as Matt had gone for a spin on his motorbike, I decided to have a nap too. Once we had all woken up, we walked down to the butchers (found a new footpath meaning we don't have to walk on the main road at all) to get some dinner in.

On our return I gave Tom a full massage, and managed until 5.45 until he started grizzling again which is good going.

Today's pic - Tom's head control is getting better and better, which means he is tolerating being in the bumbo a bit better each day. His limit is about 4 minutes, but I'm sure it will increase in time.

Grumpy Tom

Didn't have the best night. Tom woke me up at 12.00, 1.00, 3.00, 5.00 and 6.00 - I guess you can't have it good all the time! I gave up at 6.30 and got up and fed him etc.

Did our usual morning thing, he didn't go to sleep until 9am which is late for him! I used the time well - unloaded dishwasher, put laundry on, and confirmed the booking of the skittles alley for the 1st. I also did some research into cake decorating today and have found a course that will teach the basics.

Tom is not his best today, quite grumpy and vomity - he soaked me and the sofa many times! Went to Breast Feeding Group - where he continued to be grumpy and then fell asleep. Came home, picked up Matt and went into Newport for lunch at The Barley, where he was very well behaved, full of smiles for the waitresses - typical. Went for a browse round the shops and bumped into Sam and Amanda.

The afternoon was spent feeding, sleeping and crying. Unfortunately there was a lot of crying, he just didn't seem to be happy at all. I tried giving him a full body massage which worked for about 15 minutes, but then he started crying again. I hugged him, read to him, sang to him, walked round with him, but he just wouldn't be comforted. I was very relieved when it came to 6pm and I could hand him over to Matt. Let's hope he sleeps whatever is bothering him off.

Today's pic - I wanted to get a picture of him doing his new trick I described yesterday. As you can see he is concentrating really hard. I think he managed it for about 2 minutes, but then he was grumpy today so anything was a bonus!

If Simon can do it, I can do it too...

Another good night. Tom woke at 3am for feeding, then again at 6.30, once again I managed to convince him to go back to sleep until 7am. Did our usual morning things and he went back to sleep at 9.00.

Spent a while on the phone arranging a Waterbabies course for Tom (we are going to Shrewsbury on Saturdays so both of us get a chance to be in the water with him) which made us a little late for 0-6s at Oakengates. Caroline was there with Simon (5 months) who has always been smaller than Tom. However, he is now being weaned and is able to hold himself up on his front for quite a while. Tom not being outdone actually managed to copy Simon and held himself up on his front as well, only for about 2 minutes, but a great start. I've been showing him what to do for ages, but it hadn't clicked, I guess seeing another baby do it helped. I will do my best to remember to put him on his front now every day to get his muscles stronger. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow if he does it again...

After lunch, Tom had a sleep and then I did a full massage on Tom. He seemed to enjoy it, definitely better behaved than at the lesson yesterday, excusing the fact he weed on me twice! He was quite chilled afterwards, so we went down to Asda to post some letters and pick up some bits and pieces before returning home. He had another nap in his pram and then we spent the rest of the day reading books, swinging in the kitchen and kicking in the bedroom.

Raspberries and Fur - Tom is Developing!

Last night was good. Tom was up at 1am for feeding and then didn't wake until 6am. I managed to convince him to go back to sleep, so he didn't wake again until I walked in his room at 7.20. Did usual morning things, and then he was back asleep at 8.30.

Once he was up again we went out to do our chores. Asda for Weetabix for Matt (and yes I managed to go there and just buy Weetabix - how good am I?), Post Office to send parcel off to Clare, Library to extend lending time for a book for me (funny don't seem to have much time to read books these days!). I also enrolled Tom, so he has his first piece of plastic and his first library books. Next stop was baby clinic - he's back to his old ways again, he has gained 10oz this week and is now weighing 15lb 8oz.

Returned home, he was still fast asleep in the pram so I took the opportunity to get some bits and pieces done as this afternoon we are off to Amanda's for our next session of baby massage.

Development wise Tom does seem to be changing all the time. He now blows raspberries when happy and he has started grabbing things. Problem is that his hands are so small that it is hard to find something small enough for him to grab, although we have discovered that he is good at pulling Jodie's fur out!!!! Jodie to date has been very good with him, she spat at him when the fur pulling incident happened which is fair enough. She hasn't tried to scratch him which is great - it was a worry as Jodie hasn't really shown herself to be baby / child friendly in the past.

Massage session went ok. Tom started to grizzle half way through it, I ended up having to massage him sitting up. Basically he is too nosey and his boredom threshold is too low for him to cope being on his back for so long. We missed a bit of the massage, but not too much and anyway I have the notes, so I should be able to catch up between now and the next session.

Tom then had his usual grizzling period between 5 and 6 before his bed time routine. Initally he refused to go to sleep, but after a cuddle and a story he seemed to relax and we didn't hear from him again.

Today's pic - Tom in his spotty dog outfit - will probably be the last time he wears it as he is growing so much. This is Matt's favourite.

Grizzly Tom

Mum and Dad babysat last night, so Matt and I went out to The White House as recommended by Michelle for May Madness - 2 three course dinners and a bottle of wine for £30. Very good, we were stuffed, but happy and it is nice to have a leisurely meal out.

Tom woke at 1am for a feed, and then again at 5am. At 5, I thought I would see if I could encourage him to go back to sleep again without feeding, which I managed, although he was awake again at 6.30 and refused to go back to sleep. So I was up and feeding him for 6.45.

Took him down to Mum and Dad at 7.30 for their last morning play with him. He didn't last long and was back in bed at 8.15! We had our breakfast together and then said goodbye to mum and dad, were sorry to see them go as usual.

Tom and I went to visit Carol at General, then we came home for lunch. Tom was a little grizzly today (missing his Granma and Pop Pop?), so I decided to give him a massage. Went well - of course I missed his big wee! However, 30 minutes later he was grizzling again, so I decided to take him out to Asda for a walk. As is usual for our walks, he was very well behaved, however, on our return home, he started grizzling again. Not much I could do, I tried reading to him, singing to him (big screams!), cuddling him, but he was determined to be grumpy. I guess he needed to sleep, but couldn't get off.

6pm came along and Matt took him through his bedtime routine - first time he's done it since Thursday!

Sorry, no pic today - forgot again, although I'm sure Granma and Pop Pop may have one they can send me?

First Trip Without Mum and Dad

Had another good night, Tom woke around 6am and was talking to himself for a while. However, he must have fell asleep again as I had to wake him at 7.15 for his breakfast. He was full of smiles as he got washed and dressed, but became solemn and went back to sleep early.

When he woke again he was solemn again. Mum and Dad went to Asda, whilst I tried to remember what I learnt on Friday and massage him. Went ok, although he started crying at the end and peed big time over the towel! However, he went straight to sleep afterwards, so I guess I must have done something right.

As the weather was miserable and rainy mum and dad thought it unwise to take Tom for a walk, so we gave them a quick crash course on the car seat and pram and some thawed milk and they went off to Cosford, whilst I went to get my hair cut, dropped into Telford to buy some new jeans, did some vacuuming and went to the Drs. Felt very strange to be without Tom - the longest I have been without him ever!

Came home to find Tom after having a good time in Cosford. Gave him a quick feed. He then went straight into grizzly mode before his bath.

Rain Rain Go Away

We all had a good sleep last night. Tom didn't demand feeding until 4am and then stayed asleep until 7am. Got him up, gave him a leisurely breakfast on the bed, before taking him down to play with Granma and Pop Pop.

We decided over breakfast to go to the Trentham Estate to wander round the Italian Gardens, or if it decided to rain, amble through the garden centre and retail village. Guess what - it rained!!!! In fact it rained so hard that we were prisonners in the car for a good 10 minutes on arrival. First stop was the coffee shop so we could all have a drink. We then looked around the shop - I fell in love with a fantastic froggie machintosh for Tom, but as it was age 3, I left it behind (but I have made note in my memory!)

The weather cheered up so we had a walk around the outside plant section. We then had a look in the shops - I got some rum flavoured cider for Matt to sample from the foodie shop. We then had lunch whilst looking at the weather to decide whether to go into the gardens or not. We decided not - the clouds were grey and threatening. Instead, there was a free craft show so we wandered around that. Dad even met some ex clients of his there.

As we returned to the car, the heavens opened, so we had made the right decision. Returned home, Mum and Dad spent most of the afternoon playing with Tom, which he really enjoyed. It's great for him having other people to play and interact with - he was all smiles all day.

North to Southport?

Tom was up at 6am - I brought him into bed with me until 7 (Matt's in London, so I was happy to have a bed mate in the morning) He fed once last night (at 1am) but the bugger also got me up at 3am - he was crying, so I got up. In the time it took me to get to his room (about 30 seconds) he fell asleep - the little bugger!!!!

As mum and dad are up, we thought it would be nice to introduce Tom to Great Great Aunty Shelm and Great Great Uncle Bob, and yes the two greats are very necessary when you are mum and have been teased by Bob for many years!

As Tom was up early, he fell asleep early and was back in bed around 8am. We took the opportunity to have breakfast. By the time he woke up we were ready to head to Southport. OK journey - too many trucks and dawdlers - but that's always the case. Shelm was overjoyed to see Tom, was very gooey - couldn't keep her eyes off him. Bob was charmed as well. Tom behaved himself very well, adding to his spell over them.

They took us to a carvery for lunch, during which Tom slept in his pram - what an angel, only waking for dessert (hummm - I wonder if he has a sweet tooth?). To ensure his daily burst of fresh air we took him for a walk around a pond and then for a blow along the beach - his first sandy beach. We returned to Shelm and Bob's for tea and a bun, before heading back to Telford. Tom got a little upset on our return, but thinking about it - this was his longest day in the car - 4 hours, so can't really complain. He was in the bath immediately on his return, then Granma fed him and read him his story before he zonked out!

Baby Massage

Today we had a relatively busy day. Tom was up early at 6am this morning which was fortunate as his feeding needed to be brought forward by an hour so that he was ready for baby massage at 10.30.

I picked up Michelle and Seren as the weather was so rubbish and drove to Amanda's as she and Sam are hosting the baby massage course that Michelle kindly arranged for us. The course was really good, we spent a good 30 mins massaging our baby's legs, feet and bums. I really enjoyed it and think Tom enjoyed it as well - can't say that he relaxed during it - he was too busy kicking and watching other people, however, afterwards, he was the first baby to fall asleep.

Amanda provided a great lunch and we all caught up. Our babies have really changed since our last time at Amanda's they all seem to be levelling out weight wise, apart from Sam who is racing ahead at 18lb.

Got home at 3pm, Mum and Dad arrived at 4pm. Had a chat, whilst Tom cried - refusing to sleep whilst tired! At 6pm, Mum and Dad took Tom upstairs for bath, feed, story and bed. He soaked them in the bathroom (that's my boy!) went down without too much problem.

Breast Feeding is BEST

Night time went well last night. Tom only woke once at 3.30 for a feed and went straight back to sleep. Matt didn't stir either so we all woke up happy.

Had a busy day today. 10am saw us at the Oakengates Under Ones club. Had a lovely time there, most the babies are now around Tom's age, and I know most of the mums quite well to be able to have good chats. Rose is going back to work tomorrow - how scary is that? Can't imagine having to do that at this stage, I consider myself very lucky.

Rushed back home, had lunch and then headed to Telford Town Centre. This week is Breast Feeding Awareness Week and as I go to the support group, I had been asked to visit the stand in the shopping mall to support the team, which I did, along with all the other mums from the group. Had long conversations with some of the team there and wrote an essay on improvements to breast feeding support I think would be helpful to mums to encourage them to carry on breast feeding after hospital. It is something I feel very strongly about, although I do realise that I have been lucky with Tom - he hasn't caused me any real problems.

Next stop was Asda to get in some food for Granma and Pop Pop who are arriving tomorrow. Unfortunately Tom decided he was hungry as soon as we arrived there, so I fed him in the back of the car before putting him in his sling to cart round Asda. He was a very happy soul bobbing up and down as I walked up and down the aisles. Didn't get home until gone 4pm - very late for us.

Rosy Cheeks

Tom had me up twice again during the night: at 1am - he just needed comforting to go back to sleep and then again at 4am when he needed feeding.

We were up as usual just past 7am. Morning is a good time for Tom, he is always very happy - full of grins and wriggling like a mad man - it's always fun to get him up, washed and dressed. Just as well, otherwise it would be a real chore getting up at 7am every morning.

We didn't really do that much today. Normally we would have gone to see Carol, but the Japanese are over, so thought it wise to steer clear. Instead we went to Asda to pick up some groceries and then to baby clinic for weighing.

Tom only put on 1oz this week, so is now 14lb 12oz. However, I wasn't surprised, he did go off his food after his jabs and he did sleep through the night 4 days in a row. In fact he hardly asked for food the whole week - it was always me going to him.

Spent the afternoon with Tom, trying to get him to sleep for longer than 30 mins at a go so I could do something productive. I did manage to make some flapjacks and gingerbread for the girls on Friday, so not too bad.

He looks very rosy cheeked in the the photo - I think probably because I took it directly after a feed.

Tom's Nursery Now in Business

As Tom had slept on his own in Wales, we thought we would continue here and put him to sleep in his cot bed in his nursery last night. Went well, put him in his grobag and he went straight to sleep. He did wake twice in the night for feeding which was a pain for me but he went straight back to sleep both times which was good. So, a success, we just need him to sleep a little longer...

He was a happy boy today (except for the odd moment - mainly due to tiredness) he smiles more and more each day now and he has started to giggle as well. We've also noticed that he responds to his name, if you call Tom he will move his head in your direction.

I managed to convince him to have a nap in the morning and as it was such a nice day we walked down to the Cordingley Conference Centre so I could pay the deposit for Tom and Matt's big day in July. The afternoon was spent in various ways - a swing, a bounce, a sleep, a kick, a read, the usual baby things. I tried him in his Bumbo chair for a couple of minutes, he no longer cries, but his head isn't quite ready for it so I have to have my hand behind him just in case he looses control.

No photo today - sorry - I'll try to remember to take one of him in his cot tomorrow

Tom's First Holiday

We are just back from Wales, had a lovely time. Tom behaved himself on the whole and we have all come back home more relaxed than when we left.

Friday afternoon was spent loading the car and then driving to our cottage in Cefn Brith (just off the A5 between Llangollen and Betws-y-Coed). Beautiful location, very rural, lots of hills and sheep grazing at the back. We unloaded the car and then headed into the nearby village of Cerrig-y-drudion to find some dinner. We were hoping to have an early dinner in a pub, but the one pub in the village showed no signs of life. However, the butchers was open, they told us that the pub didn't open until 7pm (way too late for us) so we went in and procured some very good looking pork chops instead. Got back to the house and took Tom through his usual bedtime routine. As the cottage had two bedrooms we decided to give Tom his own room and see how it goes (we took the moses basket with us). He went to bed and we ate our lovely pork chops (great crackling)

Saturday
Tom did well in his own room. However, I did decamp to his room around 2am as the mattress was too soft and the floor uneven, meaning that Matt and I kept bumping into each other, keeping both of us awake. Anyway he didn't need feeding until 7am - could this mean that he has cut out his night time feed? The weather wasn't all that great, so we had a leisurely morning. (Me opening my presents and cards, Matt making breakfast) before making our way to Betws-y-Coed to meet up with Kate (one of Matt's translator friends) for an early lunch. Once she was on her way, we decided to take Tom on the miniature railway there. The railway was VERY miniature - Matt and I could only just squeeze into a coach with Tom. Tom seemed to really enjoy it - was the only time he was fully awake during our time there! On return to the car park, I decided to feed Tom as it had been 5 hours since his last one. Sat in the back of the car to do it (quite comfy). As soon as I moved him he brought the whole lot up in a projectile vomit - I had never seen anything like it before, it was as if he had a hose pipe on full pressure! He soaked himself, me and the car. I had spare clothes for him, but not for me. So I spent the rest of the day smelling of sour milk - nice!

Once we had cleared up the car as well as we could we set off again to Sygun Copper Mine - Matt was hoping to find some copper jewellery - he's been trying to replace his copper ring for years now, but copper rings seem to be very hard to find. It was still raining as we got there, so we dashed out to get the tickets in an attempt to get underground and try as soon as possible. The mine was ok - but not really worth the ?8.95 ticket and there was no copper jewellery. Next stop was Beddgelert where we had tea and a bun and then a wonder around a really good craft centre where I purchased a really nice plate with my birthday money. In the craft centre was a full size wicker work motorcycle which Matt had his eye on (good job the car is full with all of Tom's gear). We then decided to go to Trefriw where there is a woollen mill to see if we could purchase a new blanket for Young family patches - no joy, but we did find a butchers which sold very good looking homemade pies which we got for Sunday. Then back to the cottage through some more stunning scenery. The weather in the afternoon cheered up considerably, we even managed to see Snowdon.
Sunday
Sunday didn't dawn very nice, so we decided to hunt out a steam train to have a ride on. Decided on the Ffestiniog railway to take us from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. Blaenau is as lovely as last time we were there, felt as run down and miserable as last time - although it was raining again. We got there too early, so found a cafe that was open (blimey!) and had a drink and a bun. Tom had a bit of a screaming match (lucky the place was empty), but managed to calm him down and feed him. The train left on time (was a bit of a squeeze getting the pram on) and we chuffed through the countryside, very picturesque. This all passed Tom by as he fell asleep and stayed asleep for the whole journey.

On arrival at Porthmadog we went searching for fish and chips (I was starving - it was way way past my usual lunchtime) thought we were out of luck when we stumbled across a restaurant. Unfortunately there was only one waitress who was completely out of her depth and seemed to be trained by the Tavistock Pasty Shop, which meant that Matt got frustrated and I started writing her a training manual in my head! However, although the service was slow, the food once it came was very good. Spent the rest of our time browsing in Porthmadog, managed to get a new blanket.

Having seen the photos of the first class carriages in the leaflets, we decided to pay the upgrade for our return trip. We got the best place in the observation coach at the end of the train which was very plush. The guard let us on early so Tom could have a feed. As we set off, Tom started to get sleepy again, and as the furniture was free standing we put two chairs together and laid him down. He was very comfortable and looked very cute. The weather on the way back once again was much better so the trip was lovely. Came home, did Tom's usual routine, however, today for the first day he refused to go to sleep. It took a good hour to get him down, then he woke again when we were in the bath meaning I had to go dripping to help him out. However, we got there in the end but he did need feeding at 3am so we might be back to night time feeds...

Monday
Today dawned beautiful with clear blue skies. We decided to go up to Llyn Brenig for a walk. Got there before the visitor centre opened, so decided to go on the nature trail which was a mile and a half. We followed the signs, but seemed just to be walking around the lake and not a nature trail? After about 45 mins we decided to turn round and head back. Once we were back at the visitor's centre, we discovered that you are supposed to drive to the nature trail - it was about 5 miles away on the other side of the lake! Oh well, we had a drink and then decided to walk across the dam which we did. Spent some time by the lake shore before heading back and lunch. We then returned home via a bison farm where we had another long walk.

A Short Break

After our false start last night, Tom slept well. He woke at 11.30pm and 5am, but a dummy sent him off back to sleep both times, so can't complain. I couldn't sleep this morning though, so was up and reading a book at 6am, waiting for the clock to strike 7am to get the little fellow up.

Today we are off to Wales for a long weekend, so there won't be any blog entries unless the cottage has a computer and broadband, which I very much doubt. We will post photos and a resume of our adventures on our return.

A Full Moses Basket

Tom slept very well - probably due to the injections. He woke at 5am, but fell asleep again without feeding. 's now 8.20am and he is still asleep. In fact this is the first time since he was born that I have got up without him!

Today we met up with the NCT mums at the Clock Tower. We were there for just under 4 hours! Had loads to catch up on. We hadn't seen some for over a month. Tom has lost his crown as the biggest baby, as predicted, Sam has over taken - he is over 16 pounds now! As is usual we went round the table talking about our babies, and as usual every baby is completely different! The babies are far more interactive now, Seren's head control is fantastic and she is full of smiles. Sam and Archie slept through, Mae has grown significantly and Jessica was very well behaved as usual. Tom was still a little out of sorts, but not too bad. Amanda is the only other mum still breast feeding, Sam is still waking every two hours for feeding in the night! She must be exhausted. I think I have been very lucky with Tom. I certainly couldn't be bothered with the constant sterilising involved with formula feeding, one sterile bottle a day is more than enough for me!

Got home at 4, Tom had a feed, then I made dinner whilst Tom had a swing. He went through his usual bedtime routine,but he would not go to sleep! We tried to settle him again and again, but to no avail. We ended up bringing him back down and putting him in his swing chair whilst we had dinner, during which time he fell asleep. I guess his lie in this morning had an effect on him. We will be back to 7am wake up tomorrow.

Screaming Tom!

Had one wake up call last night, so a good night. We were up at 7.00 and went through the usual routine. Today we decided to try him in his own room for naps, to get him used to it. So at 8am when he fell asleep I took him up and put him in his cot. Although he has grown a lot since he was last in his cot, he still looks very small in it! However, he fell asleep in it no problems so that was good.

As he had his nap so early, he was up early, so 9am saw us getting ready to go to Asda to pick up some groceries before arriving at the medical centre for his 10.30 jabs. He obviously didn't remember last time as he was all smiles. Not for long! First jab wasn't too bad - a scream and then recovery. He really, REALLY didn't like the second one - he screamed and screamed and no amount of cuddling would settle him! In the end the nurse had to ask me to leave without dressing him and see if I could calm him down in the baby clinic room. I couldn't! Wendy the Health Visitor tried as well to no avail! In fact he screamed all the way home in the pram as well (first time he's done that!) When we arrived Matt was on the phone, so I scooped him up and took him to our bedroom to try to calm him down. Resorted to feeding him - seemed to work.

He was then alternately sleepy / screaming for the rest of the day. Poor fellow, can't blame him. He even refused his bottle, so I had to be brought in - a couple of minutes on the breast calmed him down and then he took his bottle again. All in all not the best of days. Really dreading the next set - there are 3 next time!

Oh - I got him weighed at baby clinic - he's now 14lb 11oz

Bounce and Rhyme

Had an ok night last night. Tom woke at 4.20 for feeding and then we both woke again at 7.20, so not too bad. Whilst he had his morning nap, I went to collect Jodie from kennels. Now, I remember the days when I thought that Jodie was heavy to collect in her basket, but today, I picked her up and wondered if there was a cat in there - I guess I have got used to carrying more weight!

Came back, had breakfast and then took Tom to Bounce and Rhyme at Newport library. Is a 30 minute session of singing nursery rhymes and as we are normally at a loose end on a Tuesday I thought I would give it a go. Was quite intimidating as all the mums seemed to know each other, and Tom was the youngest by quite some way. However, he stayed awake and didn't cry so I figure it was a success. Had a wonder around Waitrose before returning home for lunch.

This afternoon brought mixed blessings. I managed to get Tom to sleep in his moses basket for 40 mins - but took 3 attempts. Then once up we had a mixture of crying, sleeping, a monster poo and being good. Never got to the bottom of the crying.

He is now with his dad having a bath - his favourite time of the day.

The Cousins Meet

Tom woke twice during the night for feeding - I wasn't surprised as he didn't eat as much as usual yesterday - too many new things for him to take in without having to feed as well. However, we did manage to wake at 7am, so we were back to our familiar routine.

After another photo shoot in the garden we were off to Haddenham to see Simon, Clare and Jake. Jake has grown significantly since we last saw him and was a very happy chappy and very well behaved around Tom. Auntie and Uncle were soon stuck in, cuddling Tom. He took it all in his stride. They had prepared a bbq today, but unfortunately the weather wasn't playing, so the chaps cooked outside whilst Clare and I chatted inside.

The cousins seemed to get on fine together, there were no blows and no tears when the two interacted - a good sign. We had a photo session to record the first meeting before sitting down to lunch during which both Jake and Tom were asleep, giving us quality time to catch up.

Party Boy

Tom did very well last night. Went to bed around 7.30pm and woke for the first time at 5.45am. Can't complain at all over that, only problem was that we all fell asleep again and didn't wake up until 7.45 which meant we were out of sync for the rest of the day.

Had breakfast and were on our way to see Michael and Nicole by 10. They live in Wimbledon and as the traffic was light we got there in 20 minutes. Arrived to a very stressed Nicole, so helped her out by making a traffic STOP / GO sign for her (a sign of things to come, we are going to have to become creative) We then transported her, a picnic lunch, a fireman cake and countless other things up to Cannizarro Park where Marcus (their son) was having his 3rd birthday party. Here we met up with Jeremy, Susan, Olivia and Callum, and Tim, Sylvia and Nina and met some other friends including a couple who were Burmese and Norwegian (can't be too many like that around) Anyway a good time was had by all. Tom continued to be out of sorts - found it really hard to get to sleep, when he eventually did, he was woken up by a monster poo! Oh yes, he did himself proud this time, went all over his trousers, in his pram etc. I had to carry him face down to the very posh hotel and toilets with nappy changing where it took two of us quite a while to get him presentable and in a sleep suit.

After the party, we ferried Nicole and many birthday presents back down again and spent another hour catching up with their gossip. Nicole is pregnant again, due in November - fantastic news. Unfortunately she is feeling quite unwell with it.

At 4pm we said our goodbyes and returned to Pat and Bobs. Tom had a good kick on his playmat and we had a photo shoot in the garden. The boys then had their bath together and Tom once again went down without a murmur - what a good little boy.

Road trip

Today was a day of firsts for Tom: First long trip in the car (300 miles or so), first night away from home, first trip to
the seaside...

We were on the road by 7.30 and managed to get all the way to Hayling Island in under 3 hours, only having to stop once to give His Lordship a break. First stop was Tom's Great-Great-Auntie Joy, after whose late husband Tom acquired his middle name. We had a lovely time there, and even took Tom for a stroll down to the beach for his first taste of the seaside. It was a glorious day and the beach was more or less empty. He was apparently a bit unsure of the sea, but he's usually slightly reticent with new things. We were very impressed that Joy, at the age of 85, is heading to Kenya later this month to revisit some of the places she and Leslie lived in the 1950s. Good on her. I hope I'm still travelling far and wide at that age.

After lunch at a pub full of grumpy sour-faced people, we headed east along to the south coast

to visit Tom's great-grandmother, aged 92. She was absolutely thrilled and a little teary when she saw Tom. It got me going as well, very touching. Given that she slipped into a coma just before Tom was born, today's visit had extra significance as we thought they might never meet. She's a tough old lady, though, and announced that she "wasn't ready to go yet" when she emerged from the coma.

We then managed the final leg of the journey up to London, again without any hold-ups. Nik and I were absolutely shattered when we arrived; we're just not used to long drives any more. Tom had his bath and bottle as usual, and then settled down for a long sleep. We had lamb shanks and red wine, which really hit the spot. Thence to bed for what we hoped would also be a long sleep.

Froggy Toes

Had a good night - Tom woke at 3.30 for feeding and then at 7 - so we were back on track.

Went to see Carol again as Victoria and Oliver were visiting. Oliver and Tom haven't met each other yet. Tom is 3 weeks younger than Oliver, but you would never know it, Tom is soooooo much bigger than him. Anyway, both babies behaved very well and Victoria looked good - we are trying to arrange a bbq for us all - hopefully when it is warm as Carol has a outdoor spa which I think we will all like.

From there we went to a nursery recommended by Carol and Victoria for lunch. Got there, but there was a power cut so no food. Went to nearby pub, but that was also affected by the power cut so no joy. Decided to go to Sam's cafe - we are regulars there and Sam hasn't seen Tom for a while, which she confirmed by commenting on how much he has grown. She also made me feel really good: as is usual, Tom was in his car seat which we put on the table so we could interact with him whilst eating our lunch. Sam said that we are the only couple she knows that come to the cafe with a baby and interacts with it. She says that normally car seats go on the floor and the baby gets forgotten. Gave me a nice warm feeling.

We were going to go for a walk this afternoon, but it started to rain, so we stayed put. I actually managed to put Tom in his moses basket for his afternoon sleep which was the best part of an hour, which was good. If only I could do that every day. Tom has started blowing bubbles quite a bit now (is that a developmental stage?), which means he is dribbling a lot, won't be long before he will be wearing bibs!

We are staying in tonight - I'm hopefully selling my motorbike (someone is coming round tonight to view and hopefully buy it) and we need to get ready for our weekend away (first time we have taken Tom away overnight) I have lots of lists prepared in the hope not to forget anything. Once motorbike man has been round, we will celebrate with a take away - very difficult decision to make: Indian, Chinese or Fish and Chips - hummmm...