Bananas - not too bad

Last night wasn't the best. He was back to waking at 11pm for no reason, then wanted feeding at 1.30 and 3.30. I ended up sleeping in the downstairs bedroom with him - much easier. This is the first time I've had to feed him twice in one night for about 4 nights - I think I will put it down to it being so hot and him being thirsty.

Matt came in to wake us up at 7.30 - both of us were fast asleep (I blame Wimbledon and the new roof - meant that I was up watching Andy Murray until 10.30 which is way past my normal bedtime - not sure what Tom's excuse is!)

Today we went to the Registrar to finalise Tom's naming ceremony - thanks to everyone who had to get promises to us. I think we are almost there now.

One thing I haven't mentioned is that recently Tom has found more of his voice. He now has quite a range of sounds - it's quite cute listening to him cooing and arrring. Much more pleasant than crying!

Today, I thought I would try Tom with some food, so gave him the tip of a banana to suck on. I think it went down ok with him. He allowed it in his mouth and some of it disappeared so he must have taken some bites and swallowed as none of it reappeared on his chin. He only took a minuscule amount, but I'm happy with that. I gave him some batons of banana to play with as well - these went everywhere apart from his mouth!!! I've ordered a book on baby led weaning from the library - it hasn't arrived yet, but am looking forward to it so I can get a better idea of what it's all about and then make an informed decision about what to do.

Had a quiet afternoon - went to Asda to pick up some bits, bumped into Jude - Tom wasn't very well behaved and only managed to give her a watery smile! Bought a playmat jigsaw set for the lounge, Tom is moving a lot more now, I'm not sure a hard wooden surface is very nice for him so this should give him a little more freedom...

More and more smiles!

This is a very rare photo - Tom smiling whilst on his front!

One word to describe today - HOT! Tom and I kept sticking to each other, and both of us lacked energy and motivation to do anything.

We managed a jaunt down to the shops to get some antihistamine cream for Matt's bites, pick up some weaning books from the library and go to group, but this afternoon we died on the sofa in front of Wimbledon.

He's now asleep in the downstairs bedroom as it is much cooler there than in his bedroom. Means I will have a longer journey tonight for feeding / calming but it really is too hot in his room for him to sleep properly. We will see how it goes...

Back Home

Hi there, we are back from a fantastic week away in the Yorkshire Dales. Can you believe it we had blue skies every day, we look as if we've been to the Med for a week - I'm tanned and both Matt and I have insect bites on us - Tom thankfully escaped them!

We have had a day at home - Matt had to work this morning, so Tom and I went food shopping in Asda. We spent the afternoon in the garden, Matt pulling up more weeds and Tom and I having a play. As you can see from the photo he has found his feet, so he spends a lot of the day pulling them and rolling on his side. He seems to be full of smiles.

I haven't started to wean him yet, he seems to have settled down with poo, sleep etc. Last night he slept from 7pm to 7.30am with only one wake up at 3.30 for feeding which is do-able. I want to hold off until he is a little bigger.

Holidays

Hi all,

We are on holiday for the next week - exploring Yorkshire.

Will be back in touch on our return.

Still no poo

We seem to have slipped into a new night time routine now. Tom goes to bed, he wakes around 11.30pm, I just have to go in to reassure him and he goes back to sleep. He then wakes around 1am and again around 3.30am for feeding and then goes through to 7am. Not as good as it used to be, but manageable.

Didn't get up to much today. Got a call from Michelle around 10am, she was stranded in Newport - her car had died and she had no way of getting home, so we went to collect her and take her home. Then went to breast feeding support group. Mentioned lack of poo and was told to see GP as too long.

Phoned surgery, triage nurse called back, she refered me to the duty dr. He then called me and asked me to bring Tom in. Matt was free so he came down with us. Dr confirmed that Tom was ok, his belly was fine, but he gave us some Lactulose to get things moving again.

ivillage - what a great tool

Had a better night last night - Tom woke at 11.00 (just needed settling), 1am for feeding and 3.40am for feeding. He didn't wake until after I got up! Did our usual morning thing. I put up a message in ivillage regarding weaning as suggested by Lisa.

Went to under ones club where I started a discussion about weaning and the different advice you get depending on who you ask! One thing is for sure, the advice is certainly not consistent! Also found out that waterbabies now have a Saturday session in Telford, so I need to ring them up and see if we can transfer.

Came back and had lunch whilst Tom was asleep - for once we were synchronised time wise. After lunch we went to see Carol at General - she signed Tom's passport photo and application form which we then sent in the post.

Came back to find 2 replies from ivillage - both saying don't wean him yet. I am quite pleased by this as it backs up my instincts. (http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ukpbweaning&msg=5177.1&ctx=0)Now I'm worried about lack of poo (its been 10 days now).

Tom goes to creche, whilst mum keeps fit

Another bad night. Tom woke up at 10.30, but was happy to chatter to himself and fall asleep on his own again - took a good 30 minutes, but he got there in the end.

He woke again at 1.30 for feeding, then again at 3.00, when it took me an hour to get him to sleep - oh joy! Radio woke me with a start at 7.00, but fell immediately asleep again until Tom woke me at 7.20!

Today, I decided to try out the community aerobics programme, I found a class in Muxton that includes a creche. It was really good. Tom was the smallest baby by far in the creche, but that wasn't a problem, he was quite happy watching the toddlers. The class was very good. The woman holding it was very friendly as were the other ladies attending. I discovered that I need to buy a new bra, otherwise I'm going to end up with a chest down by my feet! I had to hold myself together whilst bouncing up and down. Anyway it was a good session and I will go back. Not bad at all for £2.50 including creche.

Came home for lunch, then did our usual Wednesday thing - Asda, Post Office, Library and Baby Clinic. Spoke to the nursery nurse about Tom's lack of poo (not had one since last Monday) and new sleeping problems. She told me to ween him now! Arghhhhhh! I am so not ready, I haven't read the books yet. I was hoping to wait until he was 6 months! Having said that, I'm not convinced by her, AND I really don't want to do the baby rice thing. I was hoping to go straight to 'proper food'. Oh hum, we will see how it goes...

Seren still ignores me!

Tom woke up as now seems usual at 10.30pm, he was screaming with all his might, so we ended up giving him some calpol. Within minutes he was asleep again. However, it wasn't a great night as he woke every 2 hours again. At 6, he did manage to get himself back to sleep, but that was the only time he did!

I was going to go to the Silverthreads Club today to try it out, but Michelle wanted a chat about naming ceremonies etc so we decided to walk round as it was a nice day. Ended up staying for lunch and chatted and chatted! Tom wasn't the best guest, being a little grizzly. Seren as usual wasn't that interested in him.

Came home via Asda then had a play and spent sometime outside with the Gouges before bath and bed.

Watery Cry Baby!

Another bad night I'm afraid. Tom went to bed at 7 as usual, but woke up at 11pm. All he wanted was to play - he was a smiling, kicking loony. In fact he managed to spin round in the cot 180 degrees twice he was moving so much! I tried many many times to get him settled, but he wasn't ready. It took until 1am until he went back to sleep again. He was then awake again for a feed at 4am. So, not a great night!!!

Got up at 7am and did our usual. Tom then got a little grizzly and as his Dad was proof reading, we went out early. So did a little scoot round Asda, then went to Donnington Minis. All the regular characters were there, so had a good time.

Managed to dodge a heavy thunder storm and walked back home for lunch. Tom continued to sleep in his pram on our arrival, so had an easy one.

2pm saw us in the car to Rowton Castle for Tom's swimming lesson (he's missing two Saturdays due to us going on holiday, however Waterbabies allowed us to attend today's lesson so we don't slip behind) Can't say it was a success! He managed about 2 circuits of the pool, then he decided that he didn't like it and cried. In fact the teacher asked me to stand in the corner to calm him down a number of times, so we really were bottom of the class! He didn't get to do any under water stuff at all as he was crying so much. All we really managed to do was bouncing and splashing! Not a great confidence booster for my first lesson with him. The teacher took me aside at the end and suggested that I take him swimming mid week as well to try to get him used to it. I guess I will have to, but will be difficult on my own with a crying baby...

Came home, I did a massage concentrating on the stomach (Tom hasn't had a poo since last Monday) before Matt took him up for his bath.

King of the Swingers

When we put Tom down last night he screamed and screamed so we gave him some calpol which seemed to do the trick. In fact it may have worked wonders as he didn't wake up until 00.45 which is much better than the previous 5 days. He woke again at 4.00am, so a good night really.

Matt was kind enough to get up first, dress and play with him so I could get some more rest as still feeling a little ragged! It was good weather today and we wanted to go out, however, I'm also suffering from hayfever and didn't want to go too far without there being inside cover in case I had an attack.

In the end we decided to stay at home, our veggie patch has gone feral as I have completely ignored it since becoming pregnant. It looks very bad so we pulled up the grass and weeds from the first third of it and Matt tilled it - looks much better. We also got out our travel cot to see how it works - Jodie liked this a lot and spent quite a bit of time asleep in it!

Jude came round for a cuddle - her timing has been out recently, always arriving when he is grizzling for sleep, food or just plain grumpy. Her timing was better, she did get a couple of smiles, but she also got some grizzling!

We walked to the Golf Club for lunch. Tom was pretty well behaved again including charming the chef. We returned home, via Asda for me where I picked up some teething bits as we are pretty sure now having read a couple of books and magazines that Tom is teething.

The afternoon was spent in the garden (pic is of him in his baby swing, donated by Jane and Richard next door), watching the Moto GP (Valentino won gloriously on the last corner), playing and napping.

Submariner Tom

Saturday today, so off to Shrewsbury for round 2 of Water Babies. A definite improvement on round 1, as Tom cried a lot less and had his first 2 forays under water. The first one took him completely by surprise, and the look on his face as he emerged from the deep was priceless. What the hell are you doing to me father! Or something like that. We were also helped by the fact that classmate Sophie, who screamed her way through the entire lesson last week, was much better-behaved today, so there was a much calmer air in the pool. I must say, I'm quite enjoying the lessons, although it's Nik's turn for the next two, and I won't even get to watch as she's taking him on Mondays.

We had trouble parking in Shrewsbury, as it was the annual carnival in the quarry. We eventually got parked in Frankwell and had lunch in the cafe at the new Theatre Severn. Very nice it was too. Good nosh, friendly service and a lovely view down the river.

We were severely short of food in the house, so we stopped for a biggish shop at Sainsbury's on the way back. His nibs had his first ever ride in a shopping trolley, which he seemed to enjoy, then had a feed in the car park before allowing us to come home. Quick sit/swing in the garden before bath time. Left-over Chinese (for Nik & me) tonight. Yum. Not sure how I'll spend my evenings now that the TT's finished. It was so nice to slump on the sofa with a large whisky at 9.00 every evening and watch a bunch a total nutters race round the beautiful Isle of Man. It got me very envious, and I may have to look into going again before too long.

HELP!

So, had another bad night, this time with Tom waking at 11.15, 1.20 and 3.00. The last one was the worse, as I didn't get back to bed until 3.45! So, what is going on? When he wakes, Tom is arching his back, thrashing his head from side to side and kicking his legs in the air. He isn't screaming, just grunting and making unhappy noises, however, he always greets my arrival with a smile and quietens down as I arrive.

Sometimes he wants feeding but other times he just needs comforting, so I rub his tum and stay in the room with him for reassurance. Could this be the onset of teething? If so, any advice on what to do to help him sleep? Actually any advice at all would be good. The sleep deprivation is definitely worse now than when he was newborn - I was expecting it then! He definitely lulled me into a false sense of security with only one 15 minute wake up a night for the last 9 weeks. I'm feeling quite sorry for myself now, we are going on holiday next week - I'm beginning to wonder what type of a holiday it will be if he continues with this behaviour...

Tom meets Sachiko

Another bad night - with Tom waking at 10.30 (feeding) , 11.30, 12.00, 1.30, and 2.30 (feeding). Overslept, which wasn't great as I was planning to leave Crapstone at 8.30. However, with Mum's help, we didn't do too bad and left 10 minutes late.

Had an ok trip to Bath (via Sheppy's cider), although too many granny drivers on the road slowing me up! Got to Sachiko's at 11.30 which was perfect timing as Tom woke up literally as we entered Bath.

We were at Sachiko's for 2 hours which was perfect for Tom, gave him a chance to have a kick and a play. He didn't have his usual smiles for Sachiko, but I think that was due to the fact he had been asleep in the car for 2.5 hours and was feeling a little drugged up!

Our journey from Bath back to Telford took another 2.5 hours, pretty uneventful, had to queue pass an accident which Tom didn't like, but apart from that he slept all the way home, waking as we entered Telford.

Dad, Wilberforce and Jodie were pleased to see us back, Dad had missed his 6pm bathtime!

Granma is a Star

Had another lousy night, with Tom waking at 10.30, 11.00, 12.00, 2.30, 6.00 and 6.30. I was also suffering with hay fever, so felt pretty rough this morning. Granma took one look at me and decided to give me an easy day. She took Tom to the local store in his sling, and then for a long walk in his pram whilst I tried to get some more sleep (not possible, due to more hay fever and inability to sleep in the day), however it was lovely to get my much needed rest.

We had a late lunch and then had another walk around the village. Unfortunately my hay fever kicked in big time so it didn't have the relaxing affect it should have done. We had a lazy afternoon, did a Skype with Matt at 5.30 and then bath and bed. I'm hoping that he will sleep better tonight - but who's to say...

Tom meets his other Great Nanny

Tom was an absolute bugger last night, waking at 10.30pm, 11.00pm, midnight (feed), 2.30am (another feed), 6.00am and 6.30am. Of course at 7am he was fast asleep. I woke him and he was grumpy with me! However we did our morning thing and then he went back to sleep for an hour and woke up much happier.

Today we went to visit Nan. She was quite sleepy and was slurring a lot, but during her wakeful periods, we showed Tom to her and her eyes shone. She had little understanding of who I was, and although I tried to explain that Tom was her great Grandson, she didn't comprehend. It was enough that she had a baby come to see her and that made her happy. They played very nicely together, Tom took her finger and she said how gorgeous he was and how heavy he is (she's not wrong there!)

After an hour, we left and carried on into Plymouth to continue party shopping. I also managed to get some new tops from Next (thanks Clare and Simon) which made mum happy. I got depressed again as I couldn't get into any fitted tops - my bust is just too big! If I buy bigger tops the bust fits but the rest doesn't! Can't win!!! I ended up getting some stretchy T-shirt type tops.

Came back to Crapstone, and as the sun was out, we sat in the garden. Tom was in his very cute hat and had fun watching bubbles being made and floating past him.

As you can see from the pic, Tom likes standing up. In fact I think this is his favourite position - he is quite strong on his legs. I've told him that he needs to learn to roll, sit and crawl first, but he is intent that he will stand before anything else!

Scary Eyes!

Last night wasn't great. Tom woke at 10pm, managed to get him back to sleep, then at 11.20pm - he wanted feeding. Then 2.30am for feeding, then 4.00am - he wanted to be out of his cot and playing! Took me until 5.30am to get him back to sleep again, only to be woken at 6.30am. Needless to say I'm a little tired today!

Once dressed, I took him down to see Granma who had a play until he fell asleep again at 8.45am. We then had breakfast. I made a start on cake making whilst Granma took Tom across the moor to Yelverton. She had a wonderful time with him, with lots of people stopping to say hello and helping her with doors etc.

After lunch we stopped by Pat and Roy before nipping down to Matalan to get some more party stuff. We then had a good old play in the lounge, spoke to Pop Pop on the phone and met Chris, the other next door neighbour.

After a skype chat with Dad, Tom had his bath and went to bed. He didn't manage a full feed as he was too sleepy (oh no?!!!!) .

On the whole he was very well behaved today, he is chatting more and more, making lots of different noises, he's obviously found his vocal chords and is testing them out to see what they do. He hasn't rolled over again on his own, but I have been helping him out, and although he hates being on his front, he is quite content on his side.

Tom's First Big Bath

Tom had an OK night. He woke at 2.40 for feeding and that was it. Unfortunately the battery of the baby monitor ran down at 4am so I woke to an alarm indicating so then! Sometimes you can never win!

Did our usual morning thing, then as Tom went back to bed, Mum and I had breakfast - soft boiled eggs for me - yummy!

We drove down to Plympton for the day. Tom unfortunately remembered his car trauma from yesterday as he screamed as soon as the car started to move. This happened each time we drove off today, however, the length of screaming did diminish each time, so hopefully he will be ok again soon (probably by Friday when I need to put him back in the car for a long journey again)!

Mum took me to a big discount store to look for party things for the boys, then we went to Saltram House for lunch and a walk (very lucky timing as it rained before and after). I had to feed Tom in the back of the car on our return as he was demanding food.

We then popped into Tescos on our way home so I could pick up some cake ingredients ready for tomorrow - cake baking day - I'm going to try to create two nice cakes for the boys for the 1st.

Tom had a good kick around on the lounge floor on our return, he spent a good hour kicking and twisting on his playmat. Kept Granma amused. He then had a little snooze before having a Skype chat with his Dad and then a bath. Mum has bought a bath rest for Tom, so instead of bathing him in his baby bath we put him on the rest - means you don't have to support his head. It was a success and as usual water went everywhere!

Tom meets his Guardian Parents

The little bugger had me up through the night again at 11pm, 2am, 4am and 6am - not a good start to the day! Did our usual morning thing, and as it was a weekend day, he got his 7am feed in our bed. I left him on the bed whilst I got changed. He was lying on his back, I turned round to get some clothes out of the chest of drawers, turned back round and there was Tom on his front!!!! He looked at me as if he did it all the time and why was I looking at him strange! So, he is definitely developing and I'll have to keep a closer eye on him now.

At 9.30am we had the car packed and were on our way to Wiltshire to meet up with the Milburns and Smyths so Tom could meet his Guardian Parents (Lou and Martin). We were going to have a picnic at the White Horse, but the weather didn't look good, so we ended up at the Hungry Horse eating burgers instead.

Tom was pretty much well behaved, and I managed to have some 'time off' as Lou and Vanessa were very keen to have cuddles which was fantastic. Time flew and before we knew it, it was time to go, me to Devon and Matt back to Telford.

The trip from Wiltshire to Devon wasn't good. Tom had had enough of the car and the car seat and screamed for a good hour or so. I did keep stopping where I could (the A303 seemed very short of services at this point), taking him out for cuddles, calming him down etc, but as soon as we were on our way again he started to scream again. There was nothing I could do. In the end he screamed his way to sleep, but it wasn't enjoyable at all.

Got to Crapstone at 7pm, where a Granma was very keen to have cuddles and play with Tom. We let him have a kick about and then a bath, feed and story. He went to sleep straight away - all that screaming must have tired him out!

Waterbaby

In more ways than one. After a week of almost unbroken sunshine, it's decided to absolutely chuck it down this weekend. Typical.

Still, today is a big day, as it marks the start of Tom's sporting activities. We took him along to the pool in Shrewsbury for his first swimming lesson. It went very well to start with: no arguments from him regarding wearing a strange nappy and a wetsuit, or getting into the pool (it was quite warm), but about half way through the 30 minute lesson, he decided he'd had enough and grizzled his way to the end. Shame, as that meant he didn't get to do an underwater dunk along with most of the others. Still, he is the youngest (but by no means the smallest) in the group, and definitely behaved better than Sophie, who turned purple and absolutely screamed her lungs out from start to finish. So loud in fact, that we all had real trouble hearing the teacher.

Overall though, it was a good experience. I enjoyed doing the exercises with Tom, and I can do some of them during bath time each evening. I also got brownie points for being the only Dad in the pool. All the other babies were in with their Mums.

Given that Tom generally doesn't enjoy doing anything for the first time, we're hoping that he'll be a happier chap next time. It's my turn again then, before Nik takes over for a couple of lessons.

The photo shows a happy Tom, before he kicked off. I think the wetsuit's quite fetching, although I don't think he needs any help to float. He's pretty buoyant as it is.

Ring a Ring of Babies (2 months on)

Tom had a strange night: for the first time in a long long time he woke at 11pm. I tried to settle him back to sleep, but he wasn't having it, he wanted feeding! It was unfortunate as I had expressed shortly before, meaning there wasn't much for him. However, what little there was did the trick as 10 minutes later he was asleep and I was able to put him back to bed again.

He woke again for feeding at 2.40, so not a great night. At 6.45 he woke for the day. We did our usual morning thing and then at 10am we found ourselves on the way to pick up Michelle and Seren so we could go to our last baby massage session at Amanda's.

This last session was good, Tom was more or less patient to the end - only missing the very last bits. Shame it has come to an end I really enjoyed it, and it was good to have regular meet ups with the girls in the diary. The lady who took the course was extremly professional and having seen the free baby massage at group on Monday, I'm very glad we did it privately.

We had decided that it was about time we did another 'ring of babies' photo as it has been 2 months since the last one and all the babies have grown so much. We had much fun doing it. Can you believe it, all the babies were quiet once they were all laid out - very strange, maybe we should do it more often with them?

After the photo session, we went to the Golf Club for lunch. Michelle and I had to leave early as Seren was having a fit and Michelle was worried that a big poo was on the way. Tom and I spent the rest of the day at home. He was grizzly, but I think that was my fault. I'm a bit 'tired and emotional' today which I think he picked up on.

Weaning - The Next Challenge

We had a good night. Tom woke at 12.40 am for feeding and then slept until 6.45, so not too bad. He was much better this morning as well - obviously recovered from him jabs yesterday.

Went to the under ones club today for the weaning talk - unfortunately the person running it wasn't that great, but picked up some useful tips:

• + You don't need to sterilise spoons etc
• + You can use full fat cows milk for cereals etc it doesn't have to be expressed milk
• + If you leave it until 6 months, you can introduce lumpy food from the outset
• + You can give them tap water from 6 months as well - doesn't need to be boiled, although not sure how that fits in with breast feeding?
• + You have to keep away from the same foods that are banned during pregnancy until they are 1 year old.

Apparently by 9 months the babies will be eating 3 meals a day - so our eating routines will need to change again and we will have to eat at the kitchen at the table - no more TV dinners!

It's quite daunting thinking what I need to do to wean Tom properly, think I need to read some books for a better idea as the talk didn't really tell us much about how to do it. I'm hoping Tom won't need weaning for a little while yet...

Thomas Tantrum!

Had an OKish night. We were worried about the temperture in Tom's room last night, as even with having his window open all day, it was still pretty hot when we put him to bed. He went to sleep with no sheets, just wearing an open footed sleep suit.

He slept through to 4am, had a feed and then went mental - legs and arms jerking all over the place. I tried to calm him down, but to no avail. In the end I fed him again and that sent him back to sleep. He then woke up at 6.45.

I have been dreading today as he was due 3 injections. He didn't cover himself in glory at his last set of jabs, screaming for 3 hours! This time, although he cried (and who can blame him) he recovered quickly and even managed a smile for the nurse on our exit.

Came home, had lunch and then Tom took a turn for the worse. For the whole afternoon Tom was either asleep on me or screaming, nothing would placate him. I assume the affect of the jabs. I ended up giving him some calpol which he took quite well, not sure if helped at all. His crying didn't help me either, Tom has been feeding more during the hot spell to quench his thirst and today my milk came in big time as a response. Of course it wasn't very hot today, so I didn't need the extra, and with Tom being so sleepy / screamy I couldn't get him to feed very well anyway. I ended up soiling my clothes, the sofa throw, the floor - it was streaming out. Needless to say expressing didn't take too long today.

He had his bath and evening feed and after some comfort feeding went straight to sleep.

I know today's pic is mean, but it reflects how he looked this afternoon!

Summer Time

Another OK night, very good considering it was a hot night. Tom woke at 2.40 for feeding and then stayed asleep until 6.50.

Did our usual morning thing. I then took Tom to Asda to pick up some bits and pieces for lunch. I also managed to pick up a pair of summer trousers. I discovered yesterday that very few of my summer clothes fit me. Tummy too flabby (from stretch marks) and chest too big (from milk storage). Very depressing, however, I did get some Next vouchers for my birthday, so need to visit and purchase some nice summer clothes.

Had lunch outside (as you can see from Tom's pic he is dressed for Summer - it is still hot). The afternoon saw us popping in to see Carol at General for a cuddle and gossip. Tom was quite well behaved, fell asleep in my arms an hour after waking from his afternoon nap - I think through heat rather than through true tiredness.

Came back for a kick in the garden before bedtime. Matt saw to his routine as I prepared roast lamb for dinner - very decadent for a Tuesday, but very very tasty.

P.S. Tom has been drooling a lot recently, sucking his thumb and putting things in his mouth. Could this be a sign of teething? I will keep an eye out...

Chilli on a Hot Day

Had a good night, with Tom waking at 2.40 for feeding and then 6.50 when he was chattering to himself until I went in to feed him at 7. Today dawned sunshine and blue sky, again!!!

Did our usual morning thing. Then went to Donnington Minis at 10.30. Turned up, to find the Health Visitor doing baby massage. I didn't have oil with me so couldn't join in, however, as we are doing a course anyway it wasn't a problem. In fact, I didn't think she did a very good job, so am glad we have paid to have private lessons, they are very enjoyable as we do them with the NCT crowd anyway - it's always fun to meet up with them, time always flies.

Talking of NCT meet ups, after group, we went to pick up Seren and Michelle to go to Rachel and Oliver's. Rachel had promised to host a meeting for a while and today was the big day. Errol had made a huge chilli for the event which was delicious (thanks Errol). Once again, time flew. Everyone was looking very summery today - in fact most babies, including Tom spent the day just in nappies. Mind you, can't blame them it was pretty hot today, Rachel's thermometer registered 30 degrees.

Tom started off grumpy, but cheered up as the afternoon went on, he played very nicely and also managed to almost roll on his side again - he is sooooo close. He still hates being on his front though and still hasn't worked out that he needs to lean on his arms! All the babies were there - funny, every single one looks like their dad - regardless of them being male or female. Everyone has grown so much, they are all developing, although the month's difference between them still shows, not so much in growth, but in developmental stages.

Before we knew it, it was approaching 5pm, so we said our goodbyes and returned home for a kick in the garden before bathtime.

Sorry no pic today - forgot!