Goodbye Car

Another bad night, but not as bad as yesterday. Tom woke up at 12.00 (plugged with dummy) again at 3am (ditto) and again at 4am (dosed with Calprofen). I think he has conjunctivitus as he started crying big time around 8.30pm last night. When we went up both his eyes were full of gunk and his eyes were bloodshot. Matt had to hold his head whilst I flushed them with salted cool boiled water. Lots of screaming was involved, but we got there, gave him some Calprofen and held him until he was calm. He then went back into his cot without a protest, but it was horrible to see. I also have a sticky eye today - guess I have got it from him. I had a better night - I got very hot at one stage, but nothing like yesterday.

Matt woke me up at 7am (he slept downstairs again as I, apparently was snoring very loudly). Was a struggle to open my eyes and get going, but we got there in the end. Tom was sound asleep when I went in to get him. He was cheerful enough, but not as energetic as he normally is. Had breakfast - he only had a little again (so much for building him up - he's going to be under 20lbs again soon if he continues like this) and then a little play before morning nap.

At 10am on the dot, a guy from BaxterStorey came round and picked up the car - was sad to say goodbye to it. We then headed into Telford Town Centre as we were going to take Tom to the Dr about his eyes. Got there to discover they aren't open on Sundays anymore - so much for 7 day access! As we had time on our hands we decided to go to the park for a swing. It had snowed a lot more in the centre than with us (a sprinkling with us and a couple of centimeters at the park) which meant the park was empty so we had a swing, see-saw and a slide, all with big grins. Tom then decided to cry when he was put back in his pram and wheeled through the shopping centre back to the car - oh hum.

We went for lunch at Sam's in Long Lane and then dropped in to see Carol and Graham - as mad and as busy as always. Came home (I drove this time, had trouble with a twitchy foot and a very twitchy hand - the new car is automatic, but I wanted to drive it manually) It certainly has lots of power. Very scary driving the car, it is the first time in 5 years that our main car is Matt's - puts the pressure on.

Tom fell asleep in the car, I put him in his cot when we got back so he could continue his nap, but he wouldn't have it. That worries me about tonight...

Nothing significant happened in the afternoon - he had a better dinner than he has managed recently, but still not as much as he was eating - I guess bit by bit his appetite is getting better again. He then had bath, bottle and bed, which he did in good humour. One strange thing though, he had mottled cheeks this afternoon - is that a sympton of teething / cold / conjunctivitis / other? Answers on a postcard please.

Nightmare night

What a night - one that is best to forget I think! I was in bed around 7.30, freezing cold, so wearing pyjamas, fleece, socks etc. Woke up around 8.30 boiling hot and very sweaty, so took all the extra layers off. Matt came up around 9.45, I was still quite hot and sweaty and apparently snoring, so he ended up going downstairs.

Tom woke up at 2.30, I settled him, then 3.30 where he was wide, wide awake. He just wanted to play! I tried feeding him to sleep - it didn't work. Then I tried ignoring him, hoping he would get himself off, he just screamed and screamed (at this stage Matt came up to see what was going on). In the end I got the Calprofen out - it worked, but by now it was 4.30 am. Ouch! Each time I had to go back to cold, wet, clammy bed - guess what, I didn't get back to sleep. I think it was 5.30 by the time I got back to sleep, just what you need when you are trying to fight off a fever!!!!

We then woke up with a start at 7am. I wasn't ready, but on Saturdays it is really important that the naps work out to make sure that he is rested enough for waterbabies. So we went through the motions, Tom wouldn't eat his breakfast (he has got really bad with his food again in the last week. Refusing lots and not eating anything in great quantity. Makes me really worried as it was during his last not eating phase that he also didn't sleep). I managed to get some down him with Matt dancing at him to get him to open his mouth.

He went down for his nap ok though and was fast, fast asleep when we went in at 9.30 to collect him for waterbabies. He had a good session today, went under water with out a murmur (although a huge amount of snot came out of his nostrils the first time he went under - was quite disturbing). He grizzled once, when doing 'wibble wobble' - didn't want to sit, other than that he was very well behaved and seemed to enjoy himself.

Our plan for today was to go to Liverpool to Etsu to eat Japanese (today is our last day with the company car as it is being collected tomorrow - so we were going to eat up the miles with the fuel card), but after last night, we decided to stay closer to home and went to Birmingham instead. There is a good Japanese restaurant there called Mt Fuji. We turned up, but it was full to bursting with a wait time of a good 30 mins, so we reluctantly left and ended up in Pizza Express instead (perfectly nice pizzas, but not the same as sushi)

After lunch we did a little bit of shopping (Tom's birthday is coming up) and then returned home. Tom went for his afternoon nap, so we sorted out the cars, making sure all of our stuff is out of the Civic (although I have left a couple of Holroyd Howe bits and pieces in it - just to make a point!)

Today's pic is of Tom in the new car, looks good doesn't it.

After a mediocre dinner (Tom refused to have any pudding, but managed a decent amount of savoury) he had playtime, then a cheery bath and bed. He went to bed an hour and a half ago, and we have been up twice already to resettle him. Not a good start, I dearly hope it is not a sign of things to come...

Oh, after Tom went to bed I purged the house of BaxterStorey paperwork. Put a whole lot in a box to give back to the company - they can sort it out and shred it all, and threw a whole load out. Felt really good, although I will be sorry to say goodbye to the Civic, it's been a good car.

Sick Mum

Nik's tucked up in bed with a cold at the moment, so it'll just be a few lines from me this evening. I've been hard at work translating hair dye patents for the past couple of days, and will be for the next few as well, but I know that Nik & Tom went to "Sing & Sign" at Rachel M's house this afternoon. Tom was apparently not too bad, given that he's still not over his sniffles. He was certainly a jolly boy in the bath with his Mum this evening, but I've just had to go up and settle him for the usual reason (lost dummy), so I'm now going to look on eBay for some cot bumpers to try and stop that happening.

I seem to be in the bad books for one reason though. Tom and I have been having some really good raspberry-blowing contests in the bath recently, but he's decided that it's also fun to do the same at mealtimes, thereby coating his mother in a fine mist of Weetabix, pureed carrot, fromage frais, or whatever he happens to be dining on at the time.

Today's photo isn't from today, but I just like it.

Better

We didn't have a very good night, but we were expecting that after his large spew last night. Tom woke up at 12.30 (I fed him), 3.30 (I gave him Calprofen) 6.30 (I fed him) - sounds familiar doesn't it - same sort of wake up schedule as when he wasn't sleeping, this was different though, he went straight back to sleep each time.

He was fast asleep when I went in this morning to get him - I gave him until 7.15 and then woke him up. He didn't like me for it and cried and cried. Took a good 15 minutes to calm down - I had to hold him on me to quieten him.

There was much less snot this morning, on the sheet and on him, which must be a good thing. He had an ok breakfast, a play and then back to sleep. I gave him an hour and went up to get him, he was fast asleep still (see pic), couldn't wake him up. What a silly position to sleep in don't you think?!

Once he was up and relatively happy we popped out to the butchers to pick up some chops. Then home, lunch and sleep. At 3pm we were on our way to JT Hughes, as the car was ready to pick up. All very exciting, it is lovely and shiny and has that nice new smell to it. Matt, once again had a huge grin on his face. Tom seemed to like it too.

He is definitely better today, much less snot, however, his eyes are still gunking over. I haven't had to give him any medicine at all today which is great. I have had to clean his face each time he's woken up, which hasn't gone down too well. I'm hoping he is well enough tomorrow to do sing and sign with the girls.

Then home, play, dinner, play (curtailed as Tom started grizzling), bath, milk and bed. He's been awake a couple of times tonight already. Fingers crossed he has a good night and isn't sliding back into his old ways...

Slightly better

Oh my word, you won't believe the amount of snot on Tom's sheet this morning. It was covered in green, his nose had obviously been running all night.

I fed him and took him into our bedroom under the lights. His nose was absolutely caked in dried-on snot, it took Matt and me about 10 minutes to get it all off, poor thing.

Once we got him clean again, we had a play and then I got him dressed and gave him breakfast. He remained quite cheerful and managed a little play before his nap. When I got him up after his morning nap he was less than happy and once again full of snot - both his nose and his eyes. Took me a while to clean him up again which caused lots of tears. In the end I took him down to Dad. Dad is his favourite at the moment, he always cheers up when he sees him. It worked, but he looked blotchy and very miserable so we got the Calprofen out again. After about 30 mins he was much happier and I managed to prise him away from the office. He ended up quite content playing on his own in the lounge. Today he managed to pull himself up on my sofa-side table. Fantastic for him, not so great for me, I will have to be very careful what I put on it in the future.

After lunch (Tom managed to eat some lumpy stuff today which was good) he had his nap, and then we popped down to baby clinic. He has lost 2 ounces, but he hasn't eaten well the last two days and he did a monster poo after weigh in last week. We then went to the cake shop to get some bits and then I treated Tom to a ride in a trolley in Asda - always a winner.

Came home, had a play and then dinner, Tom managed some pasta thinned down a bit with puree. He rapidly got grizzly after dinner so we brought his bath time forward. Once upstairs he, (as has become usual) crawled straight out of the bathroom, but this time he did it on his knees, he managed 16 paces but then flopped down on his belly. I guess there will be a tipping point where he will realise it is easier and quicker on his knees than on his belly. All was going well until he went back in the bathroom, toppled over and banged his head on the radiator, then we had full bellied screaming.

We managed to calm him down after a while and he cheered up in the bath. He, however, screamed when he left the bath. Matt dressed him and then we gave him some Calprofen. About 5 seconds later he did a projectile vomit (all over me of course) - so he lost all his dinner - bugger! Matt changed him again (he was wearing a brand new sleep suit as well - must have worn it for 3 minutes maximum), then I gave him some more Calprofen and his milk. It all went down well this time, I put him in his cot and said good night. We haven't heard from him yet, although I expect to have to feed him at some stage tonight.

We think it is a cold

Tom was up again at 11pm. We gave him some calprofen and settled him again. Neither of us could get to sleep as we were listening out for him. In the end I sent Matt downstairs to sleep as I was convinced Tom was going to wake and end up in bed with me. I was wrong! I didn't hear from him at all until my alarm went off. I couldn't quite believe it.

Tom was in a relatively good mood in the morning, played on the bed very nicely. I thought he was going to have an ok day, but when I put him in his clothes, he could hardly keep his eyes open. I quickly fed him breakfast and put him back in bed again (8.00 - the earliest he's been in bed for ages) He was wide awake at 9.00 so I put him in his pram and walked over to Sian's for our breast feeding meeting. Tom unfortunately took a turn for the worse there and grizzled and cried. He was so sleepy, in the end he fell asleep in my arms - he hasn't done that for months. He also fell asleep in the pram on the walk home.

I had my lunch whilst Tom slept. He then woke up so I gave him lunch. He wouldn't eat anything with lumps or textures, so he was back on Ella's purees again, poor mite. Once I managed to get some down him, he went back to bed again after some Calprofen.

He was awake after an hour and a half, and we spent the afternoon at home. He wasn't that happy. Snot was pouring out of him and his eyes kept gunking over. He got quite unhappy so he had an early bath (much better than yesterday - he was in good humour for all of it), then bottle and bed.

I went off to cake course (carnations today) and left the boys to it. When I got back, Matt told me that he had been up 4 times and that Tom hadn't really slept at all. Tom started calling out when I got back, so I went in to see him. He was sat up in his cot (so not sleepy at all) and his eyes were completely covered in goo. Took both Matt and me to hold him down and get rid of it. We put him back in his cot and told him to go to sleep, but we could hear in the monitor that he wasn't.

After 10 minutes in bed, we could hear Tom getting distressed so we went in to see him, he was sat up again and crying. We decided to give him some more Calprofen and then seeing that he still wasn't sleepy, I fed him to sleep (haven't done that for ages). It worked, we didn't hear from him again until the morning.

Sorry about the pic - camera steamed up in the bath!

Poor little mite

We had an OK night. Tom woke once at 4.30 - dummy was on the floor, so I replugged him and that was it. Matt and I had trouble sleeping again though.

Tom didn't have a great breakfast, but seemed cheerful enough, so I let him be. Today is Gymbabes, so after his morning nap we disappeared off first to Asda to pick up dinner (burgers today) and then to Bridgnorth to meet Rachel Z for lunch at Cinnamon then to the hall for the afternoon session. Tom had a good time, crawled all over the place, generally ending up at the ball pool or mirror pool. He went through the tunnel a couple of times, but decided today that it was fun to stop and sit up in the middle of it rather than just crawl through it. He also managed to crawl up some wedges of cheese which was good - definitely made him work hard.

After our usual Costa (Gymbabes is exhausting for us too) we headed home. Tom was asleep in seconds. I put him back in his cot once we arrived home and gave him an extra hour. He wasn't very happy with me when I woke him up at 4.30, but any later and his evening routine would be shot to pieces.

He had an OK dinner, but then spent most of the time between dinner and bath grizzling. Not at all happy. When I took him upstairs for his bath he started crying, then screaming. He then screamed right through his bath (which was curtailed to about 2 minutes). I thought he might not take his milk as he was in such a state, but he took it fine. I put him down to sleep, but he cried immediately. There was definitely something wrong other than just being tired. I noticed yesterday that his pink upper gum has turned white. I have a feeling a molar tooth is on its way through, which can't be fun.

He did go to sleep ok, but has woken up crying at 7.00, 8.30 and 9.30 to date. Each time we go up, we find a very sleepy Tom who is desperately trying to settle himself to get to sleep. I think he wakes up each time he enters a light period of sleep and needs to be settled to get off again. We have given him one dose of calpol to date (the first time we have given him calpol in ages). I have a feeling it is going to be a long night.

Apologies, I forgot to take a pic today.

The sky's the limit

Today's photo was taken just before the culmination of 10 minutes of serious effort by Tom to get the ball. At first, he either couldn't find the strength to haul himself up or slipped and fell down. He would normally give up at this point and start crying for his Mum, but there was a real determination in him today, and I was very proud of him when he finally grabbed the ball. So was he in fact. He sat down and gave himself a big round of applause.

He slept pretty well last night, waking only once when he managed to throw his dummy out of the cot. I was out of it though. Apparently the radio came on in the middle of the night and I spoke total gibberish to Nik when she asked me to turn it off. I have no recollection of the incident whatsoever.

Today was one of the dull-but-dry days that makes it hard to know what to do, but as this is probably the last weekend that we have use of the Honda (and therefore the fuel card), we thought it would be a good idea to visit an NT property a bit further afield before we have to use our (apparently somewhat thirsty) new car. We decided on Croome Park on the edge of the Cotswolds, which was pleasant enough but not terribly exciting. We had an all-day breakfast in an old refurbished RAF hospital; nice food and very cheap by NT standards, but I seemed to spend forever queueing up for it. We thought we'd stop at Bridgnorth for a walk along the Severn on the way back, but it started raining as soon as we arrived, so we cut our losses and came home to give Tom his ladder climbing lesson.

Roast pork and a nice bottle of red tonight, which I'm very much looking forward to, and we mustn't forget to watch the second half of 'Australia' that we started last night.

Happy Splashy Chappy

Another fantastic night - didn't hear from Tom at all until about 30 seconds before going in to get him at 7. We, on the other hand didn't do too well. In fact we are now thinking of speaking to Tom to see if he can advise us on how to sleep! Now we have caught up on some sleep and are feeling sort of normal again, we are finding it hard to sleep - tend to wake up around 3am and 5am. Both of us seem to be suffering from it. We are back to our old ways before Tom was born. Oh hum! We are still going to bed at 9.30 each night, call us light weights - but I really enjoy my bed and will never take lying down in it fore granted ever again.

Today is waterbabies, we were a little anxious after last week's episode but Tom was an angel: very well behaved, smiley and he allowed himself to be held by other people without a blink. We think we have now got it sussed: Matt goes in the pool with him, whilst I watch and wave at him. I don't move at all from my position, so he knows where I am at all times. Well it worked today anyway.

Martin, one of the Dad's took loads of photos (he's a very good photographer - has 300 lenses at home - so a bit of a camera nerd) - hence why I have gone a bit over board with the photos today (makes up for yesterday).

Once waterbabies was over, we went to Wellington for lunch at The Beacon (becoming a regular thing now, is cheap and cheerful and baby friendly) we then popped in to Wilkos to get a lampshade for our new light in the lounge and some other bits and pieces. Last stop was Morrisons to get some food. Matt hasn't seen Tom in a trolley before, so I told him to put him in one to see an excited boy. Matt and Tom loved it, in fact I'm not sure who was more excited. Tom was bouncing up and down and laughing whilst Matt was making driving noises at him. Was a pleasure to watch, I always love putting Tom in a trolley, he enjoys it so much, sometimes I think it is a shame that Asda is so close. I can't really justify going there by car, so Tom can go in the trolley - wish they had a pram park so he could.

Came home, put Tom down for his nap. I rushed out to the cake shop to get some bits and pieces for next week - was too late, they had sold out of everything (what's new?) Was told that they would have some more in on Monday or Tuesday.

Once I was back, Tom was awake again so we popped out to Rose and Martin's to pick up the photos. Tom wasn't very well behaved, he cried a couple of times after Abi touched him which wasn't really justified, but he calmed down after a while and played nicely. Abi is standing very well and cruising around furniture. Today Tom was refusing to stand, even if I helped him. Oh humm - I guess he needs to find the right time for him, that time certainly isn't now. Tell you what though all these babies look so big and so grown up when they are standing and cruising - definately toddlers rather than babies. Although I want Tom to develop, I'm also quite glad that he is still baby like in features and in stance, he isn't a toddler until he is walking!

OUCH!

Firstly, sorry, I forgot to take a picture today.

Had a good night. Tom woke up at 11pm, his dummy and nee-nor were stuck under him. As soon as I removed them he was fine and that was all we heard until I went to get him at 7am. As usual, he was a looney in the morning playing on the bed.

During his morning nap, I nipped out to Lightmoor Village to pass the Breastfeeding phone onto the next person. I only got the one call for the week. Got back in time to express a little more milk before waking him up. I was going to go to the cake shop to pick up some bits but it was raining and I didn't really want to take Tom out in it (no room for a pram in the shop). So we stayed in.

2.00 saw us on the way to Rachel McConnachie's for Sing and Sign. She did a course with Mae, and decided to teach us what she had learnt. She was amazing. You would think she was a professional. She is an opera singer, so is very musical and more importantly, very enthusiastic about the subject matter. She didn't mind that we were very sketchy in our singing voices. She really should go into business as a side line. I really enjoyed it. Tom wasn't that fussed - more interested in eating a cork coaster than learning the singing or signing, but I guess with time he might start learning. There was so much take in - many many signs, from which I have remembered a few. I definitely will look forward to Friday afternoons from now on. Was also good as Lou and Jessica came along, haven't seen them for ages - nice to catch up. Mae also has changed significantly from Monday - she has started to crawl and stand. She looks like a proper toddler! In fact, Tom is the only one of the NCT babies that still passes as a baby - something to do with being the smallest and baldest I think.

Came home just in time for dinner. Whilst putting Tom in his chair he bit me, not a small bite, a big, very painful bite (I now have a bruise and blood blister where he did it). The little bugger, I wasn't happy. I wonder if he is teething again. He didn't eat the best dinner, but enough.

Then playtime, bath and bed.

Busy Day

Humm, Tom woke up at 4.30 this morning, naughty child! He was talking to start with, but it was reaching a level that was going to change to crying, so I got myself up and went in to see him. He was sitting at the bottom of the cot with his toys. I returned him to his back, gave him his dummy and that was the last I heard from him. I, unfortunately couldn't get back to sleep (I've lost the knack as he's been so good recently), so when the alarm went off at 7, I felt completely exhausted.

He certainly worked up a big appetite last night, as he ate all his breakfast with no coercion from me. We had a busy day today. First stop was Jungleland - they are trying to start up a breast feeding support group there on a Thursday, I said I would go along in my T-shirt to help. Got there, it was heaving, no parking anywhere. Went round and round. In the end they let me park in a disabled space. Bumped into Kamila and Stella there. They are doing well (despite Kamila thinking they aren't). Had a really nice time, met some people who I recognised from other groups and stayed for quite some time. Tom had his lunch there, took him ages to eat - so much noise and things to look at.

Next stop was Asda - it's their baby event this week and today the HVs had a stand about breast feeding. I was asked to go along for support which I did. No-one came up, but then Asda isn't really the haunt of breast feeding mums. Someone asked me which nappies to use (a Granny about to have her first grand child) but that was it. Tom and I did a quick zoom round the store and then headed home.

Whilst Tom napped, Richard came round to sort out our lounge light for us. We now have one single energy efficient bulb rather than 3 very dim lights. It's amazing, we now turn on the light and the room brightens up meaning we can see what we are doing.

This afternoon I saw Tom crawl about 2 steps on his knees. He wouldn't do it again, regardless of the encouragement I gave him. But, a step in the right direction. Maybe he will try again tomorrow.

Got Tom up at 4, had a play, then dinner, bath and bed.

I can stand

We didn't hear from Tom at all last night, which was fantastic. He then ate a good breakfast before going for another sleep (the life of a baby is great isn't it?)

This morning we went to baby clinic. Tom has put weight on again, he is now 20lb 11oz. At this rate he is going to shoot through being 20lb. However, once we were back home he did two huge poos - so maybe it wasn't a true reflection of his weight.

After a good lunch, Tom had his nap. We then all headed down to Mitsubishi (BS came back with ridiculous price for the Civic) Matt found a great 0% finance deal for Lancers and had arranged a test drive for us all.

Test drive went well and before we knew it, we had signed on a Lancer Ralliart. Matt got very excited, has been grinning manically since. Tom was very well behaved, he suffered 2 hours at the dealers with hardly a grizzle. (Charmed everyone in the showroom of course)

Came home just in time for Tom's dinner. He then had a little play. Tom is getting more and more stable on his legs, although shows no interest in heaving himself on to them (unless he is in the bath or has me to climb). Our banisters are a perfect place to practise. He can hold on quite easily, but after a little while his legs start shaking and his little knuckles turn white. I have shown him that it isn't that far to fall if he lets go, but he holds on for dear life!

I hate jabs

Another fab night, didn't hear a squeak from Tom at all. Went in to get him at 7am - he was sat up as has become usual.

Today, Lucy was round, so after his morning nap, Tom and I went off shopping. Decided to go somewhere different this time, so went to The Forge Retail Park instead of Wrekin Retail Park - oh yes I know how to live!!!! Managed to kill a couple of hours rambling around. Tom was very well behaved in his rucksack, didn't hear a complaint at all. We had lunch in Sainsburys before walking round - all baby things are 1/3 off so went a bit mad.

Came home, put Tom down for his nap and had some down time for myself as well in our very clean house.

The afternoon saw us down at the Drs surgery as Tom was booked in for his swine flu injection. He screamed, and when he stopped screaming he glared at the nurse, refused to clap, smile or anything! Luckily we bumped into Rose so we had a natter and Tom returned to his usual self, although refused to be hugged by her, naughty boy. Rose has also had the injection and said that her arm really hurt afterwards, and she had the sniffles so warned us to have calpol at the ready.

Brought Tom home, he seemed fine, had a decent meal, a cooler than usual bath (just in case) and took his milk well. That was it until about 9.45pm when he cried for about 10 seconds. Checked in on him when we went to bed, he was fast asleep.

I had cake course, today we made primroses and hyacinths. Mine weren't great - especially the hyacinths which were really tricky (need to buy some more tools as mine weren't fulfilling the need). Found it really hard to concentrate, felt really tired, not sure why as we have had a good run of sleep recently.

Tom and Dad race

Another good night. Tom screamed for about 30 seconds at 8.30pm and that was it. Went in to get him at 7am - he was sat up in his cot, happily waiting for me. He had a good breakfast and play and then back to bed for his nap. We then had book time followed by play time.

We have both been having trouble reading to Tom. I used to read to him when he was a tiny baby without too much trouble, but when he turned 4 weeks (ish) he started to cry when I read to him, the same was for Matt and we both lost our confidence. I have tried again from time to time, but mainly got a negative response - crying, screaming, wriggling to get away, attempts to grab book and tear pages, attempts to eat the books etc etc. I have today made a new resolution to try to read to him at least once a day regardless of reaction to see if I can get him used to it. I'm not doing at bedtime as we want him to be content and sleepy when he goes to bed, so am going to do it after his afternoon nap instead. Maybe if he gets used to it and learns to enjoy it, he will relax and we can move it to bed time.

Midday saw us in the car to Bridgnorth as I was meeting the two Rachels for lunch at Cinnamon for lunch prior to Gymbabes. The cafe was much busier today and we almost didn't make it to Gymbabes in time. Rachel had to eat a burning hot lasagna in record time (thankfully I had ordered a sandwich). Managed to get the best seats in the house though - over looking the River Severn, so the wait wasn't too bad.

Had a fantastic Gymbabes session. Tom should have been tired as he hadn't had a nap, but he seemed to get boundless energy from somewhere. He went through the tunnel 4 times, and crawled from one place to another in no particular order, but clearly showed me which were his favourite items of apparatus (the ball pool and the mirror pool). He was in a great mood and enjoyed everything we did - got a bit over zealous with clapping during the singing which was funny. He even crawled once we sat down at the end, I had to keep pulling him back all the time. We even went to Costa afterwards for a drink (I think I get as much a work out as him!) where he stayed in good humour.

He was asleep in a minute or two on the way home. He even went down in his cot for another 30 minutes on our return home. We then had playtime and dinner before bed.

Oh - forgot to mention, I got my first phone call on the BEST line yesterday. A new Dad asking for a breast pump for his wife. I phoned the PRH and arranged for a midwife to take it with her today. Guess what, she forgot! He phoned back today to let me know. The hospital have now run out of pumps so I can't help. Feel very frustrated that I can't help my first caller.

And, if you are wondering, the race was called off when a certain little boy decided he wanted to sit rather than crawl!

Park life

Another good night. Tom called out a couple of times, but each time for only a fleeting moment which was great - meant I didn't get out of bed at all. Tom had his usual play on the bed and then breakfast (wouldn't eat much - mainly due I think to the distraction of people in the house)

Today I had a huge chicken and mountain of vegetables to feed the Smyths for lunch, so it was decided that an appetite needed to be worked up. So after Tom's nap we all headed down to the Town Park. Matt directed everyone to the diggers (he's been itching to play with these since we discovered them - was a bit shy to start with, but after encouragement from us all, he had a long awaited play - and doesn't he look pleased with himself?). Ben immediately took to these and spent a good 30 minutes creating a moat around himself.

I took Tom to the little uns playground where he had a go on the swings, slide, springy thing and see-saw (everything in the park starts with a S). He had a good giggling fit on most of the apparatus and was then content to watch Ben and Mia on the big kids equipment from his rucksack.



Came home to a roasted chicken (Matt worked out how to put the oven on automatic cook today which was fab) 40 minutes later we were sitting down to a huge roast, which everyone enjoyed (I was very proud as last time they stayed with us Mia was full of tears and tantrums for every mealtime). After another Ooglies (they are all addicts) they headed back to Wiltshire and we repaired the damage to the kitchen.

Tom had a lovely afternoon - once again full of giggles and smiles. At one stage he even managed to pull himself to his feet using the puff - another tiny stage of development. He then had a good bath and bed.

Don't leave me Mummy!

We had a pretty decent night sleep-wise. Tom had a good breakfast and went down for his morning nap very well. Saturday is the most important day of the week for morning naps. If he doesn't get at least half an hour, the 10.00am swimming lesson tends to go very badly indeed.

It was quite full in the pool today; 7 tots plus parents. It was Nik's turn to have a dip, so I took over the photography duties for the morning. Tom was pretty good for most of the lesson, but (there's usually a but these days) Tom's still suffering from a bit of separation anxiety, so any activity that involved him being handed to Jenny, the teacher, resulted in tears. His sense of humour had gone completely by the end of the lesson (as can be sen from the photo), and worse was to come when it was time get changed. This was my job today, as Nik did the swimming, and he absolutely screamed the place down. Separation anxiety again. Sometimes Daddy won't do at all. I made my apologies to the other dads, all of whom had impeccably behaved children, and took Tom out to Nik, whereupon the screaming ceased immediately. Hmmmm. Thanks Tom.

We came home pronto, as we were expecting Martin, Ben & Mia for lunch. Individual home-made DIY pizzas no less. Yum. Everything got eaten. We decided that exercise was probably required after that, so took a long, rambling stroll through the Granville Nature Reserve to the golf club, where we immediately put back on all the calories thanks to some huge flapjacks. We dragged ourselves back home just before the rain came down,watched a couple of episodes of Ooglies (truly a cross-generational show) and sat down to half an acre of lasagne that Nik had prepared. As before, everyone loved it, but we've got plenty of it left to eat this week. What a chore that'll be, but I'll do my best.

Can you believe it we have been blogging for a year now. Can't believe we are still going, but very glad to have a record of the first year of Tom's life.

Easyrider Tom

Hi there, been a bit busy over the last 3 days. Friday seems a very long time ago now, so I will do my best to catch up. Can't remember how Thursday night was, but it wasn't as bad as the night before. Today we were going to walk round to see Michelle and Seren, but Rachel Z also wanted to join in, so Michelle decided that it was better to meet at a playbarn. She knew of a one in Shrewsbury which is attached to a pub, so we went along (The Two Henrys - Battlefield Roundabout). Was a good place. First of all it was free entry, then there were free coffee, tea, juice and biscuits. Not come across that before. The play area for babies was the largest we have seen to date, with a couple more toys for them to play with. Only thing missing was a ball pool.

Had a lovely time there, Tom looks so small compared to Seren and Oliver, you would never know that Oliver was a month younger. The other two spent most of their time on their feet. Tom can't pull himself up to his feet yet. I guess he will be a baby for longer than them. Michelle and I had lunch there which was also quite good, whilst Rachel babysat for us (she had a naughty MacDonald's on the way up) which was fantastic.

We left around 1.30. Both Tom and Seren fell asleep in the car on the way home. I managed to put Tom down in his cot on our arrival back which was good. The afternoon was spent in Asda doing a big shop as the Smyths are visiting for the weekend, being without Vanessa, I thought they might want some good homemade nosh as well as a couple of treats.

The evening was spent cooking said homemade nosh. Made a lasagna big enough for an army and got most of the toppings ready for homemade pizza lunches, which is why the blog didn't get written.

Hope you like today's outfit - I saw it in George and couldn't resist it.

Tom is a poo monster

Not such a great night last night. Tom was awake at 1.45 and again at 3.30. No idea why? Each time he screamed for a little while and then took his dummy and fell asleep again. He woke again at 6.00, but cried for about 30 seconds and went back to sleep again.

This morning during play time on our bed, Tom discovered that he could climb over Matt. All I could see were two legs sticking up in the air as Matt caught him - very cute. Tom had a good breakfast this morning, but was naughty in that he refused to go for his morning nap. He was in his cot a good 30 minutes, but didn't sleep - he was talking to himself for a while, until he started crying and I gave up and brought him down.

We had an appointment at Jungleland this morning - we were meeting Sian and Evan to get the BEST phone - as it is my week this week. So we went along, bumped straight into Sammie (who we were with on Tuesday) and Lucy (cleaner) and another Sammy from BEST. So, quite a group of us, plus I recognised quite a few other mums and toddlers from various groups. I didn't realise but on Thursdays it is free of charge for under ones - so I think we will be going again - probably make it a regular thing for a Thursday, especially as Sammie is going to try to set up a breast feeding area there.

Tom did quite well considering he was missing his nap. He crawled a long way and found himself in the 0-5 play area. I had to go in with him - realised my bum is far too big for toddler slides (oops!). Anyway, apart from one occasion where he fell over and bumped his head, he had a good time.

Came home, in the 7 minutes it took to get home, he fell asleep. Was a bit of a struggle to get him out of the car, but managed to do so and also got some lunch down him before putting him down for a nap. I was hoping to get 2 hours out of him, but he was awake after 1.5 hours as normal.

We spent the afternoon at home, I had a headache and didn't have the energy to go out. Tom was incredibly good, spent most of the afternoon playing on his own and mostly with his toys rather than with out of bounds items (amplifier, wires etc) which was fab. Didn't show much interest in crawling which made life easier (I guess he got it out of his system this morning).

He's been a bit of a poo monster today - I've had to change his nappy six times, which is way more than usual. Maybe he had a sore tummy last night keeping him awake?

20lb boy

Another fantastic night, didn't hear from Tom until 6.30 and then he was just chattering to himself until I went in at 6.50. Tom had his usual play on the bed, breakfast, nap etc. We woke up to a Winter Wonderland again - it had snowed overnight so there was a white blanket on everything, making outside look really lovely.

Got annoyed with myself this morning. Came downstairs to find a bottle of expressed milk in the lounge, I had forgotten to put it in the fridge. This is the first time I have ever done this, it was such a waste, a waste of time expressing yesterday and a waste of good milk for Tom. Can't believe I did it!

Today is weigh day and finally today we got good news. Tom has finally broken the 20lb barrier - in fact he smashed it - he is now 20lb 4oz. The HVs were as excited as me. Matt worked out that it has taken him 112 days to get from 19lb 12oz to now (with a lot of yo-yoing inbetween!)

Not much to report for the rest of the day, except that it snowed for the whole day. Went to Asda to pick up some bits for tonight (roast lamb tonight - we got a half price shoulder from the Co-op). The rest of the day was spent playing.

Tom ate very well again today. He is getting more and more brave with crawling. He doesn't think anything of crawling into the kitchen on his own now, which is a bit of a problem, considering there is a litter tray etc in there and the floor is generally a bit messy. Guess I will have to be sharper on cleaning and will have to keep a good eye on him.

Where oh where are the pirates?

Another good night. I think Tom woke up a couple of times, but not for long, and he didn't need any intervention. He did wake up for the morning at 6.10 (a little too early for my liking!). I tried to settle him, but he wouldn't have any of it, so I fed him and then put him back in his cot. This seemed to be to his liking and he was quiet then until 7am, when I walked in to find him sat up in his cot, playing with his toys.

Today we had arranged to meet up with some of the girls from the BEST group at the Pirate Playpit in Halesfield. I stupidly went to Halesfield, expecting a small industrial estate and signposts to the the play area. How wrong I was. It is a huge industrial estate with many, many, many roads and no map! After 20 minutes driving around I gave up and phoned through for directions. I described where I was, but no-one could picture it. It took another 20 minutes of directions to get there. What a palava.

Anyway, I wasn't the latest so not a disaster. Had a nice 1.5 hours there. Caught up with some of the girls and got invited to a birthday party! Oh our BEST graduation was reported on in the Telford Journal last week.

Came home, had lunch. Put Tom down for his nap. He woke up crying after an hour which is really unusual for him. Got him up and then took him out to Oakengates - I needed to go to the cake shop to collect some bits and pieces for the cake course tonight.

Came home, had a play then dinner (the rest of the roast veg from the duck which he gobbled up), bath and bed.

I can crawl through tunnels

The plan worked. The first time I heard Tom last night was 6.30 this morning and then he was just talking to himself for 5 minutes. When I went in to get him at 7am he was sat up in his cot playing with his toys. I think he has got a little more confident in himself and knows that I will come in and get him at a certain time and is happy to play until that time?

Tom had breakfast and his nap, during which Rachel M called asking if we were free for lunch in Bridgnorth prior to Gymbabes. We were, so we arranged to meet at 12.30. Rachel has found a lovely coffee shop in Bridgnorth - Cinnamon which has views from the top of the hill over the Severn Valley and huge spaces, AND a change area for babies with free wipes etc, how good is that - obviously wanting the mum market - works for me. Food was nice as well.

We had a lovely Gymbabe session. Tom went through the tunnel for the first time. He did it really well - as soon as he started moving, he didn't stop. He went through it at some speed (well for him anyway - he's still crawling in a humping fashion) He also crawled over the tolberone, and crawled all over the hall chasing balls. He also managed to cruise for a little while in the parallel bars. He was a very happy chappy considering he was short on sleep. He even clapped in time for the songs at the beginning. I really enjoyed the session, was the best yet. I think I am more confident with him as well now that I'm not so short of sleep, I certainly enjoy being with him more. I feel that everything is really coming together now - well that will be until he throws something else at us.

We had a quick coffee afterwards with Rachel Z, before I had to speed back to the car. Tom was asleep in the car before we left Bridgnorth, I put him in his cot for another half hour once we got back. I then got him up as it was 4.30. He was very unhappy with me, cried and cried. Even a trip to see his Dad couldn't placate him. Food, however, did. So he had an early dinner (roast veg and duck left over from last night). He cheered up considerably, had a nice play and then bath with his Dad and bed. He has definitely built up his confidence in crawling from yesterday. He now has no problem leaving the lounge and going for a wander down the hallway. In fact I had to close the kitchen door as he was intent on going in there on his own, which I don't think is too advisable considering there is cat litter in there.

Oh, I am pretty sure that I saw an 8th tooth today. Is difficult to be sure as he doesn't let us look at his gums anymore.

Winter trekking

Tom allowed us another good night's sleep, and we all woke up feeling pretty refreshed. He apparently had 2 wake-ups during the night, but they were just a few seconds long and required no intervention. I didn't hear either anyway. I was out for the count.

Tom madded about on our bed for about an hour before breakfast (the usual weekend routine) and wore himself out sufficiently for another sleep at about 9.00.

The forecast suggested that the weather might go off in the afternoon, so we headed out to Church Stretton for a walk up the snowy Carding Mill Valley (see photo) and a "hilarious" lunch at the National Trust Café (see video). As usual, he charmed all around him with his antics, but pulled an extraordinary face when Nik fed him a spoonful of spicy parsnip soup. She didn't manage to get a second spoonful in.

Oh yes, forgot to mention. As Tom finally reached the magical 9kg mark this week, we decided to try him out in his forward-facing car seat. We took the old one just in case he didn't take to it. No need. He giggled for the whole 45 minute journey on the way to C.S. and fell into a deep sleep on the way back, from which we surmised that it must be OK. The only danger is the effect it has on my driving. I couldn't stop myself from turning round to look at his grinning mug. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon though.

The weather did look like getting nasty while we were eating lunch, but nothing much happened in the end. We were keen to get back, though, as tonight is roast duck night. Dinner time can't come soon enough for me. Or the cat by the look of it.

Must add that Tom had a mad afternoon. He was in such a good mood, everything seemed to tickle him. He crawled up and down the middle floor landing about 6 times and went loopy every time he saw the Gymbabes ball. He plays catch with the ball very well and will crawl after it where ever it is. We hope we have tired him out so that he has another good sleep tonight.

We love swimming (as long as Mum stays!)

Another freezing night. Tom slept well again though. He woke at 4.45 - he had got tangled up in his sleeping bag. So, an easy fix and that was it until 7am when I went in to get him.

Today Waterbabies started again, so we were on a rigid morning schedule to make sure that he got his nap in time for his 10am lesson. We got it right and he had a lovely lesson. He enjoyed the underwater bits and was chuckling away for most of it. Unfortunately, he saw me leave towards the end of the lesson (I went to get his towel). He howled an howled, so had a bad end. Matt was good though and made him stay for the rest of the lesson even though he was crying.

Had a sit down and drink after swimming with Rose, Martin and Abi. Both babies are on the go now (although Abi is crawling in the classic fashion), which made it interesting. The sofas there are much lower than our sofas and before we knew it Tom was pulling himself up to standing position on them, so he is able to do it - I guess our furniture is too high for him at the moment.

We decided to go to Wellington for lunch - there is a baby friendly pub there, so we all had lunch (Tom hoovered his food down: a huge beef casserole followed by blueberries, peach slices and some fruit puree - he had a bottomless stomach!)

Then to the market for some veg, butchers for some meat and then Dunelm Mill to get some curtains. We have really really noticed the drop in temperature on the bottom floor this week and figured that if we got some thick curtains, they would help keep the drafts out and heat in. Luckily there was a massive sale going on, so we got some very nice curtains at a good price.

When we got home, Tom was exhausted so I put him in his cot, and then we spent the next hour or so putting up the curtains. They completely change the look of the house and have already made a really positive change to the freezing temperature of the bottom floor.

I took Tom down to have a look once he was awake, he definitely noticed something was different. He didn't cry, so I guess he does approve. Tom had another large meal for dinner - homemade cottage pie. Took some dexterity to get it in him, as he was doing his swivel head impression, but we got there in the end. Tom then starred on the webcam to have a conversation with his Grannie and Grandpa London. He was a cheery chappy and gave them a refresher lesson on how to clap, which everyone enjoyed.

Another normal day in the freezing cold

Tom had an OK night last night. He woke at 11pm, but got himself back off to sleep. Next we heard from him was at 4.15am when I went in to see to him. He had a minute of crying and then calmed down with a hug and went back to sleep again. That was it until 7am when I went in to get him.

Decided not to take the car out again today, with everything being so icy (it got down to minus 12 last night). This morning I made some more Tom food - pasta with chicken and broccoli - made with full fat milk, full fat marscapone and full fat cheese - if that doesn't put weight on him then I don't know what will?! Freezer is now full again, so will have to halt food production for a little while.

Tom had some of the pasta for lunch, he ate quite a good portion of it, although once again I had to put some puree on the spoon to get him to eat it. He had a good play after lunch. I left him to his own devices with a lot of toys scattered around the floor. He completed a couple of circuits playing happily with himself. In fact it was the longest he had gone on his own without needing me. Was nice to see him so content by himself, a sign he is getting more confident?

After his afternoon nap, we popped out to Asda to get a takeaway curry - roads too icy to go to Shifnal. Then it was more playtime, then dinner and playtime before bath and bed.

It's been a quiet week - normally I would go out a lot more, but with the freezing temperatures, I figured that it was sensible not to go out and about in the car. I have found it quite challenging not having other adult company and having to entertain Tom by myself (something I'm not sure I am particularly good at)

I do worry that maybe I'm not doing enough with him. We don't do a bedtime story yet, mainly because Tom doesn't like us reading to him, and the last thing we want is an upset baby directly before bedtime. I do try most days to read to him, but he doesn't like to sit still and listen and will wriggle and wriggle until he's no longer on the chair with me, or will just grab the book and put it in his mouth! I sing nursery rhymes with him and play with his toys. Should I be doing anything else? We have been trying to teach him to wave, but its not working - he just looks at us and laughs. I guess in his own time he will pick up everything he needs. I wonder what is development is governed by nature and what is governed by nurture?

A normal day

Another good night last night. Tom did a 5 second screech at 8.30pm and that was it until 6.10am when he cried and cried. Took me ages to find his dummy (under his cot), by which time there were tears running down his face. Basically he was hungry. I fed him and to my surprise he went back in his cot and back to sleep. Matt went to get him up at 7.15am for his morning play on the bed.

Tom had a good breakfast today - half a weetabix, about 6 weeties and half a banana. I tried out the HV's advice today and gave him a cup of milk with his breakfast to try to encourage him to take more fluids (he is absolutely refusing water at the moment) Didn't work, he took some milk in and spat it right out again. I guess I should trust him that he's getting enough fluids. He's not constipated, so I'm sure he is fine.

Was in two minds what to do today as there is still snow on the ground and lots of ice around. I would have gone to Oakengates group, but the car park there is on a gradient and I ended up deciding it wasn't worth the risk of getting stranded / having a bump. So, we went to our usual haunt instead - yep, you've guessed it: Asda. Matt had run out of coffee, I just about managed to remember it, after filling up a basket with lots of things I didn't realise we needed. I overdosed on Wispa Golds today, Asda were selling them for 25p each, as Matt is such an addict, I thought I should get a bunch, especially as the cheap price probably means they are selling them off.

Had lunch at home - Tom ate his like a Guppie fish (ie mouth wide open all the time - I still get pleasure from seeing an open mouth at meal times, I don't take it fore granted at all after our struggle to get him to eat). Paul came round to ask us if we could pick up the girls, so that gave us an outing for the afternoon, to the scary gates of the local Primary school (yes, they are scary - lots of scary parents all gossiping in their huddles - I'm not looking forward to when it will be my time!). Luckily Jane was there (Grace's mum) so I had a friendly face to talk to whilst waiting for Hannah and Boo.

Got home, the girls were as loud as ever. I don't know how Tom copes with them. Boo, especially is so rough with him, but he takes it all with very good humour. I don't understand, how come he giggles for them, but stares at Jude who is far more gentle with him?

Once Paul came to retrieve his kids, we had playtime and then dinner. I spent Tom's lunchtime nap in the kitchen making him some cottage pies (and us a Sloppy Joe Cottage Pie). They were quite big, I tried him with one for dinner. Initially he wouldn't eat it, but if I put a tiny bit of Ella's puree on the tip of each spoonful, he did take it. In fact he ate almost a whole pie which was a decent size. He finished off with fromage frais and some blueberries. Then it was play, bath and bed.

*1st P

Greek food is ghastly

So it really really snowed last night. Actually it was a little hairy driving back home after cake course. Took me 15 minutes to get there and 30 minutes to get back. Almost lost traction going round a roundabout in Woodside (not a good idea - one of the least favourable areas of Telford), but managed to get round in the end. Came home the long way round which didn't involve any gradients, saw some cars that had skidded / got stuck on slip roads, so think it was a wise decision.

Tom had another good night. He woke up at 11.30pm crying, I went in and settled him. That was it until 6.45am, so can't complain. After his nap we braved the snow and went to baby clinic. Tom has put on a huge 1 ounce! At least he is going the right way now. All the HVs at the clinic said that they will get the bubbily out when he finally makes the magic 20lb. One breakthrough though, he is now over 9kg.

Didn't really do much today. Played, napped, went to Asda. Nothing special. Tom is developing more and more each day - something to do with lots of sleep and lots of food I would say. Today, he was trying to pull himself up on the lounge tables and the TV stand as well as me and in the bath. He was also doing this strange thing, where he gets up on all fours - with all four limbs locked. Not sure what that is all about? He is also still humping the floor, rather than orthodox crawling. He seems to have lost interest in working out how to crawl properly for now.

Oh - I have to tell you about dinner today. I have been clearing out our cupboards in the kitchen, during which I came across a packet of seasoning from Greece. We looked up what we needed to do with it: add 1lb of beef and a tin of tomatoes which I did and put in the slow cooker to stew. We cooked some gnocchi and sat down to what we thought would be a nice beef stew (ingredients in the seasoning were cinnamon, orange, cloves etc etc so we were expecting a mulled beef type stew) I took a mouthful - it was disgusting, you may as well have given me a bowl of salt. Matt also tried and pulled a face. We both tried to eat it without the sauce, but the salt had invaded everything. It was the most revolting thing I have ever eaten (which takes some doing with the cuisine I have experienced around the world)! Needless to say it all got put in the bin. We ended up with half a chicken breast each with some onions and beans (all we could find in the kitchen that took no time to cook). Remind me not to go to Greece, and never to order a Greek beef stew!

It snowed (just!)

We had another fantastic night. Tom went to sleep at 6.30pm and woke up at 6.30am. Can't ask for better than that can you?

Still very cold today, and this morning it finally snowed - I think this is the last part of the country to get it. I showed Tom, he seemed non plussed. Wasn't really sure what to do today, Lucy was round to clean this morning so we had to get from under her feet. By 11am the snow had more or less gone so I decided to go to Wrekin retail park. This has become our Tuesday haunt. I put Tom in the backpack and went for a look around the shops. He is so good in the backpack, makes shopping much easier than in the pram as generally there is no grizzling (In the pram quite often Tom will grizzle as soon as you slow down or stop). He got lots of admiring glances from grannies.

We had lunch at Tescos cafe, Tom bolted his food down as if he had never been fed before. Picked up some bits for dinner tonight. (Realised on the way home, that it is cake course tonight so I guess Matt will have some dinner left over!)

The afternoon saw us on a very exciting trip to the Post Office. I was being sarcastic, but it was an interesting trip, Kamila gave me a call to cancel us meeting up tomorrow. She's having a bad time with Stella (4 months) not sleeping. She's got to the stage where the HV is so worried about her, that she is visiting Kamila for 2 hours tomorrow to babysit so she can have some rest. I had a long chat with her, Stella seems to be going down the same path as Tom - lots of what she said sounded very familiar. I think it helped her to talk to someone who knows how it feels and can understand what she is going through. I hope so anyway.

It was freezing cold outside. Tom was wraped up in his bear suit so was very happy. In fact he was a very happy chappy all afternoon. Giggling at the slightest thing, and he ate a lot of dinner. So, all in all a good day.

Gymbabes makes me tired and hungry

Not such a great night, Tom woke screaming again at 2.45am. But it only took a minute or so to settle him and that was it until 6.30, when once again I was able to settle him and he stayed quiet until I got him up at 7.

He had a good breakfast - weetabix, shreddies and a banana and was back in bed by 9am. I'm not really looking forward to this week. We had such a lovely Christmas, visiting all the family and then we had an equally lovely New Year - just the three of us enjoying each other's company. It's going to be strange and hard looking after Tom on my own again.

Today is Gymbabes, so Tom had his lunch at 12 and I put him down for his sleep at 12.30. He's normally been having his afternoon nap around 2pm, so I was pleasantly suprised that he went down without a fight. I had to wake him up at 1.20 so I could get him ready and in the car to Bridgnorth. Today is Tom's first Gymbabes session as a moving baby. He did really well he managed the whole of the tolberone thingy without any help from me and also went up a wedge of cheese to the ball pool without any help either. He then found a glitter ball that he really liked and chased it all over the floor. That only left time for a short swing, before it was over. He definitely expended more energy today than ever before.

Went with the girls to Costa afterwards for drinks and treats. Unfortunately all three babies were a bit cranky - ie sleepy but refusing to sleep, so we had to cut it short and leave. Tom fell asleep on the way home - so I drove slowly to give him as much time as possible. Arrived home just after 4. Had a good play and then an enormous dinner - he ate a huge bowl of ratatouille and gnocci, half a banana, a fromage frais and some snacks. His mouth was wide, wide open. Guess Gymbabes gave him a huge appetite as well.

Had another play, then bath with Daddy and milk with Mummy. As I put him down in the cot to sleep, he leant over and put his dummy in his mouth, whilst I put him in his sleeping bag. Clever boy.

Polar bear

Tom managed another fantastic sleep last night, sleeping right through till morning again. We took advantage for once and slept pretty well ourselves. It was another beautiful winter day today, very cold but bright blue skies, so we decided to get out for some fresh air. There are still large parts of Telford Town Park that we haven't explored, so we put Tom in his rucksack and marched him through the snow and ice for about an hour. You can tell from the lakes and ponds how cold it's been of late: they're all frozen solid (see the photo). We more or less had the place to ourselves as well, which felt strange, but I guess everyone was at the sales: it was certainly pretty busy in the shopping centre. We had lunch in one of the cafes there, and then visited a few shops to pick up some essentials. We managed to bump into Rachel Z (minus Oliver) and a couple that used to be in our dancing class.

Jude came round at about 2.30 and received her usual intense stare from Tom. We still can't figure out why he does this, but he obviously regards her as fascinating. Jude, fortunately, doesn't take offence at this, but must be wondering why she gets singled out for special treatment.

Tom had a bath with his Mum tonight and went to bed a happy boy. We enjoyed a rather nice joint of roast pork, but as I write this, Tom is most definitely not asleep. He's woken up crying a couple of times already tonight, which hasn't happened at this time in the evening for quite a while, so we're a bit concerned that our recent run of good sleeps is coming to an end. We'll see.

A Winter Wonderland

Another good night. Tom didn't wake up until 5.30am, I managed to settle him and he didn't cry again until 6.30, when Matt went in and managed to settle him until I went in to collect him at 7am. He was wide awake, sitting up at the bottom of his cot, playing with some toys when I went in. Very cute.

Had a lovely play on the bed this morning before breakfast. Tom was especially happy and jolly which is always a joy to see. We put Tom down for his morning nap, then heard a strange noise that we hadn't heard before from his monitor. Matt went up to investigate and found Tom sitting in his cot with his Tom Plate from his Naming Day and china Mickey Mouse that Jude bought him in his hands. He must have stood up in his cot and reached onto the windowsill to get them! NAUGHTY BOY! He broke the Mickey Mouse (sorry Jude) but the plate was unscathed. Taught us a lesson - Tom is able to stand in his cot and will grab everything and break things as well.

Once he was awake again, Matt reorganised his room, putting it back how it originally was, with the cot alongside the wall rather than on top of the radiator. I hope he sleeps ok this way round, he's only ever slept well in its previous configuration. His carpet also got a good Vax as it has suffered a little on the vomit, wee and poo front.

Once everything was done we set off to go to a pub we went to a couple of years ago behind the Long Mynd. The roads there were very icy, it has snowed quite thickly in the hills, making the landscape absolutely gorgeous. Arrived just on opening time. Had lunch in front of a roaring fire (Tom charmed the landlady who came over for a play). We were then going to climb a hill to look over the snow covered hills, but the road up was far too icy and Matt wasn't happy with Tom on his back (don't blame him). Instead, we found another track which was flat, in the woods and followed a little stream. Was very scenic, Tom really enjoyed it - he looked like a Polar Bear in his new suit, he kept giggling - he really does love his new rucksack - I think we will get loads of use from it.

It took our bear a little while to calm down in the car on the way home, but he did eventually succumb to sleep and we even managed to get him into his cot on our arrival home for some more shut eye.

Well, we heard another strange noise over the monitor at about the time Tom was due to get up. Given what happened this morning, I thought it wise to investigate, went up and found the lad standing bolt upright holding the edge of his cot, with a look on his face that said "what are you staring at?". Needless to say, his cot mattress has now been changed to its lowest setting, which should keep him contained for a while I hope.

Happy New Year!

Tom had a really good night. He screamed for about 5 seconds at 9pm and that was it until 6.30am. Matt and I were in bed around 9.30pm and asleep by 10.30pm, so didn't quite see the new year in.

Today was freezing cold and Matt still wasn't feeling that great so we decided to have quiet day. I did some typical New Year's stuff and spent Tom's morning nap in Matt's office filing all the paperwork I've been dumping on my desk since Tom was born. Found lots of things I thought I had lost and got rid of loads of paperwork from when I was pregnant.

After this week's big vomit episode we thought it would be wise to buy a carpet cleaner to try to prolong the life of our carpets, Matt did some quick research and found that in Argos they were half price (ie £100 off) so we quickly reserved it and once Tom was up we headed off to collect it.

Jude and Richard dropped in around lunchtime to deliver us some bits and pieces and have a coffee. Tom then went for a nice long sleep (2 hours) so I continued with my filing whilst Matt constructed the Vax. Once Tom was awake, Matt went round with the Vax - he came back with a tank of black water, so I guess the carpet needed cleaning.

We had a pretty uneventful afternoon: playing, dinner, bath, bottle and bed. As I said it was a quiet day.

Tom has really got the hang of sitting up from the crawling position today. He did it loads of times. In fact, when I went to collect him from his naps, he was sat up in his cot.

Today's pic - do you like Tom's bear outfit? It was a Christmas present from his Auntie Julie. As it is so cold at the moment, I've been putting him in it when we go out, he looks so cute doesn't he?