Tom and his woolly friends

Another bad night. Tom woke at 11pm, I didn't get him back to sleep until around 1am. He was awake again at 4. He did manage to take about 2 mouth fulls of weetabix for breakfast before refusing it.

Took him down to baby clinic this morning, he's lost 6oz this week, not surprising really considering how many meals he's missed. Had a long conversation with the HV, she said I was doing everything right, and to persevere. She said not to fight with him. She thinks he is teething, that there maybe some more teeth on their way through and as a result his gums are aching and he doesn't want anything in his mouth. Another suggestion was to use 'baby cocaine' before meals. She also said to offer him toast with every meal for him to chew on - even if he just licks the spread off it, that will help. I will try all this. Bought some cheap bread from Co-op.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, I handed in my notice today. Left messages with both Jeremy and Richard. Richard took it in his stride. Jeremy was surprised, which surprised me! He thought I would come back part-time. However, he did admit that even if I took a part-time position, I would still be expected to be 24/7 which is something I don't want and would cause lots of stress.

So we did ok(ish) for lunch and dinner. Tom managed a little bit of bread and some ravioli for lunch and some breadsticks, chunks of veg and a fromage frais for dinner. I also tried him with some scrambled eggs - but they got the thumbs down. We had real trouble getting him settled for bed. He just would not settle and cried and cried. In the end we gave him calpol. Within 5 mins he was asleep (what do they put in it?). It must be his teeth giving him jip, poor thing. We will see how tonight goes...

Little dude with attitude

A bad night again! Can't remember how many times he got me up, but it was many! Problem is that when he wakes up he is full of energy and so, so happy to see me that I can't be angry with him. Problem is, how do you get a baby who is full of energy back to sleep?

I gave Tom his breakfast - some toast. He put it in his mouth and then spat it out again. He wouldn't let me put it in his mouth, so I left him to it, but I don't think he ate much!

Went to Tuesday Group, came home, had lunch. I gave Tom some roasted veg (left over from dinner yesterday). Once again he put it in his mouth and then spat it out! He had his nap and then we went on our daily trip to Asda.

Dinner was roasted veg, and I tried some avocado and banana. I did actually manage to get some in him, but not much. However, an improvement from the other meals today. He obviously isn't ravenous, otherwise he would take it from me.

He not only clamps his mouth shut, but he pushes my hand away so I can't get the spoon near him. I have tried giving him the spoon, which works for about 2 mouthfuls. If he is directing the spoon, he will open his mouth, but he gets wise that there is food in the spoon and then refuses to take the spoon.

Oh hum. The evening saw me at my cake course, marzipaning my fruit cake. Went well. Need to ice and crimp it next time. I have made friends with a mother and daughter who are also beginners, between the three of us I think we will muddle through and have a laugh.

Wilful Tom

Sunday was another busy day. The morning saw us revisiting Blist's Hill, the bottom of the village has reopened, which includes a clay mine train. We had the train to ourselves and took the disabled carriage so Tom could go in his pram. The mine was pitch black and very noisy with sounds of mining, crashing etc. Tom grizzled a little, but then went quiet. When we came out Tom was asleep. How did he do it, especially as the train was very noisy and clunky? Of course as soon as the train stopped, he woke up and that was it for the morning, he missed his nap.

After trying out the cakes at the new cafe we returned home before heading out to Jude and Richard's for a bbq. Spent a very pleasant afternoon with them. Tom hammed it up big time to Richard's parents who were there (I think his Dad is clucky for another grandchild). Tom had lunch before us, and for once he actually fed without any problems. He once again refused to sleep, so me, Ian and Ryan took him for a walk, it didn't work. So, we ended up with an over tired baby on our hands. We returned home at 6pm (he fell asleep in the car), we let him sleep in his cot for 30 mins before trying to give him some dinner (he refused) and then bath and bed.

The night wasn't great. We thought that maybe, just maybe, Tom would sleep well as he missed two naps, but it wasn't the case. He was awake at 1, 1.30, 2.00, 2.30 and 3, by which time I was wide awake so it took me quite a while to get back to sleep. Oh hummm.

Went to Monday group. Only 4 of us there today, but we all went through our various problems. Tom refused his breakfast today, would not eat it at all, it is getting harder and harder to feed him so I asked what to do. Advice was to keep at it, not get upset when he refuses it and not to give in and give him just sweet things. All this I'm doing, so we will see. Got back home and he refused lunch. Put him down for his nap, tried again, he wouldn't eat anything. He then spent the afternoon shouting. I ended up giving him some baby cocaine, not sure if it did anything, so I took him to Asda (always seems to calm him down)

He refused dinner as well today, although we managed to get something down him when Matt danced behind me making funny faces etc to make Tom open his mouth so I could get some food in. Not sure it's a good idea to do this, he is certainly getting very wilful, but we needed to get something in him. Not sure what sort of night we are going to have...

Today's pic, the Gouges were going to throw this slide out, we thought Tom might like it. The other one: today we had Roast Pork and Yorkshire Pudding, using the recipe given to us by Simpsons in the Strand. Best Yorkshires I've ever made (I had some duck fat in the fridge, so that may have helped them on their way). Anyway I'm very proud of them.

A Useful Day

It didn't work! Although Tom missed a nap, he woke at midnight for a feed (he didn't eat very well yesterday), at 4am to say hello and again at 6am - where I fed him again, hoping if he had an early feed, he would eat breakfast willingly.

Once again I was wrong. As seems to be the case these days, his mouth was clamped shut. Matt had to make him laugh so I could feed him. Humpfh! I took Tom to swimming today, Matt didn't want to infect the other babies and parents. He wasn't as good as he has been, had some grizzles and missed one underwater swim. Nothing as bad as Shrewsbury though. Had a drink afterwards with Martin, Rose and Abi. Abi and Tom sat on the floor opposite each other and had a laughing contest. Was so funny, Tom would laugh and then Abi, then Tom, then Abi. They are both at the same stage of crawling and started creeping towards each other. Tom managed a good grab at Abi's tights - I had to tell him not to undress girls in public. Really, I don't know what his father has been teaching him about girls?

Tom fell asleep in the car home, so we waited for him to complete his nap before heading out again. Went to Long Lane for bacon sandwiches and then shopping - went to get Tom a toothbrush and toothpaste as apparently we should be brushing his teeth every night. We also went on a fruitless look for napisan, I've been told it is great for removing all stains from baby clothes, bibs etc, (I have a pile of clothes that are completely stained from food that even a boil wash doesn't remove) however, I can't find it anywhere. Anyone out there know where to get it?

The afternoon was spent being useful. I did my homework from my cake course - i.e. bake a cake, whilst Matt mowed the lawn, washed his car and cleared the shed. Tom had a picnic dinner - he won't take anything that is savoury from a spoon anymore, so it is easier just to put some things in front of him and let him choose his dinner. I need to get a bit more inventive with what I give him, time to look for some new baby cooking books I think.

Sorry for lack of photo today, we forgot.

Another Busy Day

A bad night. Not particularly Tom's fault, although he did have me up twice. It was me, I just couldn't sleep! Was very difficult to get up, and I couldn't focus properly - a true sign of a bad night. Oh hum.

Guess what, today we had to be out early. I've been asked to be a mentor for Breast Feeding in Telford and am now on a 12 week course. I had to be the other side of Telford for 9am. Not too bad, but Tom is being difficult with his food at the moment, I hardly ever get a full breakfast into him by 8.30 and that is the time I had to leave to get to the venue on time.

We were late. Not because of Tom being fussy, but because I couldn't find it. Very confusing the building where it was held is a Parish Council building, but it had a school name on it so I thought it was a school. Anyway got there about 5 mins late so not too bad. We are a group of about 10 - from teenagers, to those in their 40's (so I'm not the eldest). The idea of the course is to learn more about breast feeding and how to help those in difficulties and to spread the good word within Telford and Wrekin. It is run by a midwife who ran the breast feeding workshops for pregnant women, so I know her. She's another one who has so much information in her head, she has trouble getting it out coherently.

Tom was in a creche with all the other babies and toddlers whilst we were on the course. Bit like being on a course with work, doing little exercises, role plays etc - at least it is on something I'm interested in. As seems to be the case at these groups, most of the talking was done by the older mums, with the teenagers not saying anything at all. Anyway I think it will be good to be in a position to help other mums properly and also is another way to be part of the community.

At the end of the course I went to collect Tom. He got a very good school report from the creche. They said that he was adorable, full of giggles and everyone loved him. I went away very proud. Found myself back there 20 mins later as I had forgotten to pick up his toys, fleece etc etc. (Got distracted by being too proud!). Tom fell asleep on the way home so I put him straight in his cot. Walked in the lounge to find Matt fast asleep on the sofa (he's got a stinking cold at the moment) - not sure which of my two boys looked cuter?

Had lunch and then went to the cake shop to get some supplies in for Mike's 30th cake followed by Asda - more cold medicine for Matt and lots of fruit, eggs and flour for me. Got home around 3.30, tried to put Tom to bed for a nap but he refused. He refused again at 4.00 and 4.30, so I gave up and gave him a picnic dinner, before bath time. He then had his milk and was asleep in seconds - lets hope he is so exhausted he has a good, deep sleep.

Today's pic - he is trying so hard to crawl. He managed to support himself on his arms today - not for long, but it is progress. Hasn't worked out what to do with his legs yet though...

Busy Day

Today was quite busy. Funny how we have nothing planned for ages and then everything happens in one day.

So, this morning saw us at the Salvation Army for Thursday Group. We were brave this morning and went in the big room (6-12 months). As Tom is showing signs that he wants to crawl I thought it would be good for him to see other babies crawling - might help him along.

12.30 saw us in The Barley for lunch with the girls. Was quite a good turn out (in fact it was just Rachel Z who wasn't there) we had the usual gossip. It is getting harder now the babies are more vocal and wanting to move, it's much harder to keep them occupied, and much much harder to actually eat our lunches - invariably they are cold by the time we get to eat them!. I ended up having to put Tom on the floor as he was getting very fractious. Luckily I had a blanket (don't suppose pub floors are the most hygienic), anyway he was as good as gold once I lay him down. Found out that I need to be brushing Tom's teeth, so a trip to Boots needs to be planned to get baby toothbrush and toothpaste. Not entirely sure what/how to do it, but I'm sure we will work something out. Amanda has asked me to do 4 cakes and Michelle one for next week, so I'll be busy. Amanda's are just regular cakes so not too much work. Michelle's is for Mike's 30th and needs a cricket theme.

3.30 found us at Kamila's. We went for a long walk to see some horses and chat. As usual the conversation didn't dry up (Kamila can talk for Slovak Republic and England!). She is doing well full of questions, wondering if she is doing things right, (what new mum isn't?), but on the whole coping very well.

Got back at 5.30, Tom had a picnic dinner and then bath and bed. Matt took these photos at bedtime - look good don't they?

Fussy Eater

Sorry for lack of blog yesterday, bit busy as I had my first cake decorating lesson (7pm to 9pm) which is my usual catch up on blog time. I have a feeling Tuesdays from now on will be a bit light on blogging.

Yesterday, was a run of the mill day, nothing really to report Tom wise. One thing that sticks out is that he is getting more and more fussy with his food. For example on Monday I gave him avocado and banana for dinner. He refused it, would not go anywhere near it, lips were pursed shut and there was no room for negotiation. He ended up having a picnic dinner but didn't really eat anything. Yesterday for dinner I gave him avocado and banana again (the avocado would have gone off if left any longer) he lapped it up, couldn't get enough of it?????? Today he refused his breakfast, so I put him down for a nap, then tried again - he still wouldn't eat it. So, I got out a fromage frais - he lapped that up big time, so I then hid his weetabix under it which worked. I really can't work out how his mind works around food, he seems to change his likes and dislikes each day. I spent this morning preparing some tomatoes and butternut squash for him so he'll probably go off them now...

Cake decorating last night was good. The teacher was fab, a nice, homely granny type person who obviously knows her craft very very well. We are decorating two cakes this term, both I think with a Christmas theme. I have homework already - to bake a cake for next week. She gave me a recipe so I'm now deliberating between doing hers or the traditional 'Branch' tried and tested version.

Had a strange night with Tom last night. Matt didn't hear a peep from him the whole time I was out, but then come 10pm and he was awake. I think he woke up 4 times between 10 and midnight. I tried all the usual tricks - settling, dummy, feeding etc, but nothing would work. Each time he woke up he screamed. In the end I resorted to Calpol, which seemed to do the trick. I really don't know what was wrong with him, he had a clean nappy, didn't have a temperature, didn't have red cheeks, but something was certainly not right.

Oh, took Tom to get weighed - he's now 19lb 12oz - so he's jumped up considerably this week.

Happy Days

The weekend was pretty busy - no time for blog I'm afraid. Saturday morning saw us at the HLC for Tom's swimming lesson. Matt was in the pool with him this week. Once again he was very well behaved and Matt dunked him under for much longer than me! One new move was Matt going under water with him. Looked good, but I'm worried about me doing it next week - I'm quite buoyant at the moment!

We had a quick drink with Rose and Martin and then returned home quickly to pack. Then off to Newport for a quick lunch and drink before saying happy birthday to Lou at The Swan. Next stop was London, so back in the car for a easy journey to London (Tom slept all the way which was fab.) We got there just in time to surprise Pat at work with her Grandson.

Had a quiet night, then on Sunday morning Matt was up early to go into Central London for his carving course at Simpson's in The Strand. I stayed in Mortlake, gave Pat a quick lesson on how to change a nappy, what to feed him for lunch, a tour of the changing bag etc etc before hopping on a train myself to meet up with Matt for lunch. Tom stayed with his Grandparents.

Had a fabulous lunch. Matt had had a good time on his course and got huge brownie points from me as he had asked lots of cooking questions and written detailed notes on how to cook joints. We've been doing it wrong. Apparently you don't need to cook the meat for long, but you must leave it to rest for as long as you cook it. When you take the meat out of the oven it continues cooking for some time, and the core temperature actually increases. He came away with a recipe for Yorkshire puddings (industrial scale) and even went back to ask the Master Cook (no chefs in this establishment - something to do with the owner back in history hating the French and declaring NO FRENCH on the menu - oh sorry - Bill of Fare) a couple more questions after me grilling him.

Once both of us were suitably stuffed on good food and wine , we pottered back to Waterloo
and the train to Mortlake to be met by Pat, Bob and Tom at the station. Sounds as if he was a good baby (except refusing to eat much for lunch) Spent the afternoon lolling about in the garden with Tom - was very pleasant indeed.

As we left this morning, both Pat and Bob said to Tom that he could visit anytime and that he doesn't need to bring his parents with him - so I think he worked his magic on them.

Today has been pretty run of the mill, drove home in 2 hours 20mins which is a record, Matt went straight to work and I played with Tom (he slept the whole way home) and then went to Asda to pick up some bits. We have left over meat from Matt's carving course for dinner today and tomorrow - apparently the Master Cook said that any meat left over from the course would get thrown away so to help themselves, luckily Matt did.

The pics - 'Matt the Master Carver' and Tom with his new toy (Pat saw it in a shop in Islington and couldn't resist. It's going to live in London so Tom has something new to play with when he visits)

Oh Tom is getting very very frustrated at the moment. He is trying soooooo hard to crawl, but just can't work out how to do it. He rolls on to his front and starts clawing at the floor with his hands, but invariably ends up looking like a beached whale with his belly on the floor and arms and legs waving around in the air. Pat reckons he'll be crawling within a week. I hope he works it out soon as he cries with frustration trying to work it out.

Oh, almost forgot to say, Tom slept through on Friday night, the first time he has done so on a run of the mill day. Lets hope he continues to do so.

Teeth!

Not a great night. Tom woke up at 2.55am - he was on his front the Charlie. I put him back on his back, but by now he was wide awake, so he went into spinning mode, then grunting mode. In the end I fed him to get him back to sleep. But, by then I was wide awake, it was past 4.30 by the time I got to sleep again - oh hummm.

This morning Tom ate 3/4 of a weetabix the greedy little thing. Matt made a loaf last night so we had that for breakfast. I gave Tom some of the crust to chew on and it got a resounding thumbs up. So that's another foodstuff under his belt.

I finished painting the first set of banisters this morning whilst Tom had his nap and then we went to Breast Feeding Support Group (haven't been for ages) Whilst there I managed to see inside his mouth (Matt commented that he could feel something hard in there this morning). He has not one, but TWO bottom teeth! I think we have been incredibly lucky as I don't think he has been in too much pain - we certainly haven't had sleepless nights or screaming from pain.

At Group he also managed to get himself into the crawling position, before collapsing in a big heap and crying. Progress I think?

Today's pic - he managed to get himself tangled in the blanket on the floor. As usual when I called his name to take a pic he looked the other way!

Standing Boy

Not much to report about today I'm afraid, a very run of the mill day. Had an OK night, Tom woke once, around 2.30, I went in once to settle him, he went straight back to sleep and we didn't hear from him again until 7.20am.

Went to group this morning, nothing much to report from there and then went to Asda this afternoon to get dinner.

So, as I said, nothing much happened today. Tom was in a OK mood, I've been trying to make sure his naps are as short as possible to see if that helps with him sleeping at night (so far it has been helping). Problem is, he gets very grizzly when he is tired (who doesn't) I don't have the heart to hear him grizzle so generally give in, but make sure he doesn't stay asleep too long.

"Nikla..."

A better night last night. Tom woke up once - around 2am, I went in, settled him and walked out with out feeding him, thinking I didn't have a chance of him getting back to sleep as he was so awake and grunting. So I went back to bed and waited for him to get me up again. He didn't which is fantastic, but I woke up with a stiff neck as I fell asleep with my head propped up against my pillows waiting for him to wake me up - not good!

Oh hum, at least we all got a good night's sleep and Tom is a pretty happy baby today - sign of a good sleep. The morning saw us doing a circuit of Donnington - Asda, followed by the Library, followed by baby clinic. Tom has lost an ounce! I'm not worried. Came home, had lunch and Tom went for a sleep.

3pm saw us at St Matthew's School to pick up Hannah and Becca for Rose and Paul. Very scary waiting at the school gates, especially as I didn't really know where they would come out. I was in the wrong place, but Hannah found me without any trouble. It's very difficult to imagine Tom being at school and having to do this every day, still a long way off, thankfully. Hannah and Becca took it in turns to push Tom home and then I had an intensive 3 hour session with them: "Nikla, can I hold Tom", "Nikla, can you read this book to me", "Nikla what's this?", "Nikla can I sit in Tom's Bumbo?", "Nikla what's that photo of?", "Nikla can I see Tom's room?", "Nikla, can we put Tom in his cot?", "Nikla, what's this do?", "Nikla, can we take a photo?", "Nikla can we look at the photos on your camera?" and so on. Tom as usual suffered the girls really well until he got tired.

Not sure of breast feeding etiquette in front of 5 and 6 year old girls, I tried to hold off, but it was impossible, so I told them what I was going to do and did it. They weren't phased at all. I was worried, because I know neither of them were breast fed. Just goes to show that it really is natural and if little girls think it's normal, then it really is and some adults could really learn from them.

As a result of looking after the girls, we were a little late with Tom's routine, but he did ok. He had another picnic dinner, once again he went for the cheese big time, but he did taste everything else, although I wonder how much he did actually eat. He did well for breakfast and lunch today though, so I'm not too worried.

Sorry, no photo today - camera battery ran out.

Cheesy chops!

Well we were back to our usual night last night. Tom woke at 12.30 and refused to go to sleep until 2.30, oh humm. I guess I need to keep him awake all day to get him to sleep at night, but that's really difficult too, unless I'm out.

Today went a bit topsy turvy as a result. I naughtily fed Tom at 12.30 and 2.30 last night to try to get him back off to sleep again. It worked second time round, but of course meant that Tom had had 2 extra feeds, so he refused his breakfast. As a result he had weetabix and prunes for lunch. He then had his lunch for dinner, but once again refused it, so we ended up having a picnic. I cut some strips of cheese for him (extra mature cheddar and he LOVED it - must have my taste buds!), gave him a puffy rice cracker thingy, some apple, some banana, a baton of cucumber and some peas and he had fun trying to pick everything up and get them into his mouth, he's not too bad finding his mouth, but hasn't worked out how to hold the item in the most practical way so he can get a bite from it.

We didn't get up to too much today. We went to see Carol at General this morning and went to Bounce and Rhyme at Newport Library this afternoon. Was different people at the Library, who weren't that good. The main person running it was quite mature and insisted on doing old rhymes that no-one knew - children or parents, nothing wrong with the odd new rhyme, but the toddlers and parents got bored after a while. I think she needs to visit some mother and baby groups to get a better idea of "what's in". Anyway, can't complain too much, it is free after all.

That's it for today. I made a conscious effort to keep Tom awake as much as possible today. He had his usual morning 1 hour nap, then 40 mins for lunch and 40 mins in the afternoon. We will see what happens tonight...

Tom slept through!

I have asked Mike and Michelle to have Seren blessed everyday as last night Tom went to sleep around 6.30pm and didn't wake up until 7.20am! - hallelujah. Now all we need is for him to do that when we have a normal day.

Not much to report for today otherwise. We went to group in the morning and then went for walk in the afternoon down to the post office to post Judy her photo and then Asda for bits for the week - not very interesting. I did notice though, that Asda's baby event which was supposed to start tomorrow was already running, so went back home to pick up the car and Matt and bought a trolley load of nappies, wipes and a travel buggy - all for under £50 - should keep us going for quite a while and will mean that we won't have to lug the big pram down to London this weekend.

That's about it for today. Tom was ok today - not particularly happy and not particularly grizzly - somewhere in between. He had a one hour sleep in the morning a hour and a half for lunch and 20 mins in the afternoon. Not confident that he will sleep through again tonight, especially as today he kept rolling onto his front, waking up and crying during his naps.

Ring of Babies at 6 months

Last night was a one wake up night - 3am for feeding once again. Tom went straight back to sleep though as I did, so wasn't too bad. Matt had disappeared before Tom woke me up, apparently I was snoring?! I don't know about that but I slept well when I was asleep. Tom didn't wake up until 8am which was nice.

Today was Seren's blessing, so 11am saw us at the Church in Lilleshall. Was a nice service, and the babies behaved themselves quite well - the boys were much better behaved than the girls - Mae decided to shout and Jessica did a nice loud burp. Seren did very well.

The afternoon was spent at the reception in Newport. The NCT crowd were the last to leave (is this a symptom of the fact we don't get out to socialise that much anymore so make the most of any opportunity). We did the usual: lots of baby talk, all babies are being weaned now so tips are being passed from mum to mum. As you can see from the photos we managed to do the ring of babies again (it's getting harder as the babies are more mobile and wanting to roll and move) and also a big group photo. As has become the norm, Tom would not sleep, meaning he got very tired. He fell asleep as soon as we put him in the car, but unfortunately didn't sleep for very long, meaning he was grouchy for the rest of the day.

Funny today, even though I had a good sleep I feel absolutely exhausted. Not good as when I'm exhausted, everything seems like hard work and I get irritable very quickly, still waiting for that time when Tom sleeps through. I wonder when it will happen...

My first non grizzly swimming lesson

Funny that I commented on the old cat's behaviour yesterday. Last night she showed herself to be even more of a mother to him. Whilst I was out getting our Friday night curry, Tom woke up screaming and screaming. Matt tried to calm him down, but nothing would work. Jodie must have heard her "little brother" in distress, as she came hurtling up the stairs, jumped straight into his cot (not bad for an 18-year old cat) and proceeded to give him a love. Within 10 seconds Tom was calm and within 30 seconds he was chuckling. They really do have a bond. Tom went straight back to sleep again without any trouble.

Of course he was awake again at 3am and once again he wouldn't go back to sleep, so I had to feed him. That's the third night in a row I've had to do feed him to get back to sleep. He is quite hungry when he feeds, he takes quite a bit. I'm wondering if he is having another growth spurt and genuinely needs some more food in the night. When he wakes, he is full of beans, very pleased to see me. If I don't feed him, then he stays awake and his chatter gradually turns to crying, oh hum.

This morning was his first lesson with Waterbabies after the summer holidays. He was a different Tom. All the work we put in during July and August has certainly paid off as he was very happy, not even a suggestion of a grizzle from him. He went underwater a few times without a murmur. He has learnt the signals and closes his eyes and mouth when I tell him he is about to be ducked.

Had coffee afterwards with Rose and Martin and then went off to Wellington for lunch and to get some paint for the house - yes Mum, we are finally doing something to the house (mainly in preparation for putting the house on the market). The porch including the gas and electricity meters is now looking good (we were letting the street down so had to do something about it) and Matt is painting the wall alongside the first flight of stairs to cover up the hole we gouged in the wall when we moved in. It's only taken us 5 years...

Mike and Michelle came round to collect Seren's cake. It turned out ok, but I was a little disappointed with myself. The star upper layer turned out to be bigger than the base. Not by much, Matt said not to worry, but it wasn't the perfect cake I was hoping it to be. Oh well, I guess I will know for next time...

This afternoon we spent some time in the garden - it's such a lovely day today. One lot of potatoes were ready to dig up, so Matt got a trowel and started taking out the compost, throwing it over the veggie patch. This was the funniest thing Tom had seen in a long time. Every time he threw some compost on the patch he giggled and giggled, it obviously was very very funny. So a good way to occupy both my boys, and we got a decent(ish) harvest which was a bonus.

7 months old

Hi all, sorry I didn't post anything yesterday - been rushed off my feet with one thing or another. It was Tom's 7 month birthday yesterday. Other than that there isn't much to report on yesterday. We went to group in the morning and then I spent the rest of the day baking cakes ready for Sunday.

Today was a little more exciting. The morning was spent splitting and icing cakes (first one went a little wrong, but mistakes hopefully will be disguised later. Then we went to Newport to meet with Rachel and Amanda for lunch. Was really lovely, could have spent hours and hours chatting, there is sooooo much to talk about when rearing babies, so many problems, challenges, quesries etc and it is much easier to talk about them when there are only a couple of you. Tom was quite well behaved, he ate all his food without any trouble, normally I have real trouble getting savoury food into him. He even ate some of my salad.

Came home and finished icing the cakes. Managed to ice the star shaped one without too much trouble. Just need to put them together tomorrow morning with the dowels and do some icing. I'm going to attempt Royal icing - we will see how it goes...

Oh - one new thing that Tom is doing this week - when he sits on me he always lurches forwards, he seems desparate to go on his front. As soon as I let him on his front he starts crying and wants picking up, and so we go round in circles. I don't know if it is the beginning of his instinct to crawl?

Today's pic - Jodie really loves her 'brother', she is incredibly maternal towards him. She will choose to go and sit next to him. He will grab at her, pull fur from her, pull her tail, legs etc and she just lets him. There has been an odd cross word, which is amazing considering the amount of pulling that goes on. Put it this way, we would we covered in scratches if we treated her the same.

A happy day

What a difference a day makes! Tom still had a bad night - had us up from 3.00 to 4.30, but then he slept in to 8am. I went in to find a happy baby, coupled with bright blue skies, today has been a good day.

Spent the morning cleaning and tidying. Cleaning the kitchen and tidying Tom's room - both of which were well overdue. Had lunch and once Tom was awake from his nap, we went to baby clinic (Tom is now 19lb 4oz) followed by Asda to get lots of cake making ingredients in for Seren's cake.

Tom has been a very happy baby all day (except when I put him in the scales at Baby Clinic). Full of chuckles and smiles. His routine has gone completely to pot, thanks to him waking up so late, meaning he's one nap down, hopefully that won't affect his sleep tonight - I guess we will wait and see.

He's currently having his bath and I've a duck in the oven (half price again in Sainsbury's), can't wait for dinner...

Grizzly Tom

Didn't have the best night, Tom woke up around 2am and would not go to sleep. I ended up 'drugging him' ie giving him a feed to get him back off again. It was a good hour / hour and a half before any of us got back to sleep.

As a result Tom has been tired and grizzly today. He refused to eat his breakfast at the usual time, so I put him to bed and thankfully he ate it when he woke up.

We went to Tuesday Group which is toddlers and babies and very noisy. Tom at one stage was in a love nest with a 9 month old girl, but that ended when she poked him in the eye - oops.

Came home and had a quiet afternoon, well when I say quiet it wasn't really as Tom was in full grizzling mode for the whole afternoon. I could tell he was tired, he kept rubbing his eyes, but surprisingly he didn't have any longer than average naps.

He is sitting really really well now, hardly wobbles at all. And as the picture shows, he plays his drum now, he has worked out to bash it and spin it, so I don't get to play on it any more.

Anyway, it is 6.50pm and I can't hear anything from upstairs, so here's hoping he has a better sleep and is in a better mood tomorrow.

Dad's so funny

We got back to our usual routine today. As it is September the Monday Club reopened so we went down there this morning and had a good natter. Karen and Isabel were there as well as some little ones (not as little as Stella though).

Tom had his lunch (reluctantly - I had to cover his veg in fromage frais to get him to open his mouth) and went to bed. The afternoon saw us in Asda getting some bits and bobs (they have a cleaning event at the moment, so ended up with lots of bleach, sponges, dishwasher tablets etc at half price or less - guess I have no excuse now not to have a clean house???!)

He went for his afternoon nap with no fuss, so I spent the hour making Tom food. I made more cauliflower, carrot, tomato, basil and cheese mush which he likes so much and I made his first protein dish - salmon, carrots, tomato and cheese. He had this for his dinner, and it went down quite well, he kept opening his mouth for a while, which in my books means success. He was then a very happy chappy for the rest of the day.

Oh - I haven't mentioned, his hair is growing, it's still very fine, and we still can't work out what colour it is - blonde / brown / auburn, but it is definitely growing, he even has fuzzy bits at the back now. Some mums in the groups I go to think that he is going to have curly hair - strange, none of us have curly hair in the family.

Today's pic - Tom looking at his Dad. Looking at his Dad is always a good reason to have a chuckle.

Tom the Giant

Today was a real watershed for me in terms of realising how much Tom has grown and developed. We went to visit our friends Sam and Kamila, who have just brought home their 4-day old daughter Stella. I was obviously expecting Tom to seem chunky in comparison, but I was genuinely shocked at how light, tiny and (especially) delicate little Stella was. She was 7lb 4oz at birth, almost identical to Tom, but was he really ever that small? Incredible how much little ones develop in such a short time. Nik wasn't quite so taken aback, as she's had some encounters with newborns at the various groups that she takes Tom to, but it really blew me away.

It's been a fairly quiet weekend, which is probably what we all needed, having motored around the country quite a bit in the last week or so. We took Tom swimming at the lovely pool in Hadley yesterday, which he enjoyed for a good 45 minutes before getting grisly. The next Water Babies term starts there next Saturday, so we're hoping he's more receptive than term 1 in Shrewsbury, which resulted in some truly apocalyptic screaming fits. The water at Hadley is beautifully warm, which must help, but it's mainly the atmosphere that relaxes him. Soft lighting, appropriate music and, most important, no bigger kids charging around. Just after swimming, we bumped into George, one of Tom's Water Babies classmates from Shrewsbury, who has the most incredible piercing blue eyes and, much to his mother's delight, no teeth yet at 8 months old.

That's about it. Jude & Richard popped round this afternoon to have a play with Tom, which everyone enjoyed. Time to sign off now, as I can smell a roast gammon joint summoning me upstairs.

I'm very proud of our son.

Sorry we have been offline for a couple of days. We went down to Maldon to say goodbye to Gran. Not only did she not have a computer, but my Aunt also doesn't have one, meaning no access to the internet (how very backward, who'd have thought it and in Essex too!).

So, on Thursday it was Gran's funeral, we had an OK trip down but seemed to get stressed over time to get ourselves dressed, Tom dressed and all of us fed, however, we all got there in the end.

Members of the family that hadn't seen each other in 30+ years turned up to say their farewells. I must say I was very very proud of Tom, he was very well behaved. He stayed silent during the service, which included a fantastic speech from Dad, describing Gran. He pitched it exactly right and did her proud.

Tom then spent the rest of the day doing the rounds with the relatives, he was a great distraction for everyone and ice-breaker for those who didn't know each other. Ann and Richard from Harrow turned up, along with Julian (Dad's cousin) and Suzanne (no idea how related - but a link from the Branch's time in Grenada)

Tom napped on the dining room floor without any fuss, and later on had a bath and went for his long sleep back on floor with not even a murmur.

The Branch family has certainly got confusing now, as Tom has a relative (not blood, but treated as so) who is 3 weeks younger than him, but a generation below him. How does that work? Mark's daughters, Fern and Dana were all over Tom, playing with him, but then they are part of a big family and are used to babies.

Judy gave me Gran's ring - apparently she told several people that she wanted it to come to me. I had no idea, and before I saw it, couldn't picture it, however, I recognised it instantly on sight. I stupidly didn't ask about the history of it, so will need to make enquiries. It's a heavy old thing, but I will treasure it - I am very very touched that she wanted me to have it.

Tom slept well in the B&B - he didn't keep us awake, but I couldn't sleep, too much going on in my mind, duvet too thick etc etc. He did, however, wake up far too early so we had a long play in bed, before taking him down to mum and dad's room at 8.

The owner of the B&B was very good, provided us with a high chair, which we got Tom to sit in (with lots of blankets wedging him in) and even provided some food and a Peter the Rabbit Bowl for him (was China, so we used a tupperware instead!) The morning was then spent strolling around Maldon (very good cake shop which Dana told us about - purchased some bits and pieces for Seren's cake) and then in Gran's flat. Was very strange, Judy wanted us to take anything we wanted to remind us of Gran, but I found it very hard, was as if we were scavenging. I found her old china dessert bowels which really reminded me of her - Bread Pudding, Creme Caramels and Banana Custards were always served in them when we stayed with her in Folkestone. They really remind me of Gran so I took them. Judy insisted that I take the rest of the set as well - so I have. Not sure what or where I'm going to put them, but it will be nice to see them from time to time and be reminded of her.

We left around midday and drove home. Tom was asleep the whole way, except when we stopped for lunch, which was perfect. As it was a Friday, we got ourselves a curry after putting Tom to bed.

I don't have any photos from our time away, was so busy looking after Tom, I didn't really get a chance. I'm hoping that some will come my way soon.

I think I know where my mouth is...

I have asked Amanda if we can come over every night. Tom went straight back to sleep on returning home last night and I didn't hear from him again until 7am this morning - fantastic. However, we didn't get to bed late, so we didn't really profit from the good fortune!

This morning we went to baby clinic, Tom has finally put on weight, yahooo. He is now 19lb 2oz, so he put on 8oz last week. This afternoon found us at the HLC for another swimming session, there were only 4 of us in today, so loads of room for us to play. Tom was as relaxed as ever. He now knows the signals for going under water and screws up his eyes and purses his mouth - what a clever boy.

Came home, Tom had his nap, whilst I got going again on the WOSAs, they are in, so this means no housework for a week or so, whilst I try to get them done during Tom's naps.

This evening was spent running round the house trying to work out what to take tomorrow, it's only overnight, but there are so many what ifs, just in cases etc etc, and we have the added complication of food - what to take, how much to take etc etc.

Today's pic - Tom has worked out how to feed himself banana, admittedly most of it ends up on his clothes, on the floor, underneath him, on his head, but some of it does go in his mouth!

Ring of Babies?

Had a good day yesterday, but didn't have time to write blog. Tom was up around 3 times, humpfh! Today, I had a strict plan of action to ensure I got everything done for tonight. So during Tom's first nap I iced the cake - see pic. Am quite proud of it - think the babies came out quite well. Second nap I made the banoffe pie and during his third nap I cut and put the fruit together.

Why this rush of activity, well, all the NCT couples and babies were invited to Amanada and Tim's for supper. First time many of us have been invited out at night. Amanda and Tim have a very large house (5 bedrooms) but are due to move out in 2 week's time (it's rented and the owner has sold it), so decided to invite us all over. Had a lovely time, and the babies were very well behaved - the house was so spacious that they all had their own bedroom. Tom managed to fall asleep at the first attempt and stayed asleep for the whole night.

Amanda had made a fantastic lasagna and provided loads of garlic bread and salads, yummy and my desserts seemed to go down ok. We were going to do the 'ring of babies' photo, but it never happened - oh hum! Maybe next time...

Anyway, didn't get home until after 11pm (the latest we've been up for ages).