A couple of photos

I haven't uploaded any photos recently so here are a couple that I like very much.

This was taken on Texel. It was the first time that Michael slept in his travel cot. He seemed to love it as he slept peacefully through the whole night without waking once.



















As I have mentioned previously, Michael's favourite TV show is 'Bubble and Squeak'. Here he is gazing adoringly at Matilda, the magical cookery book.

What's new?

I haven't updated in a while so I guess it's time for a general update. Michael is in to everything right now. He has been opening cupboard doors and trying to unlock the TV cabinet. He chases after the cats and is forever opening and closing my slide-out keyboard table. He's happy virtually all the time and sleeps very well. Because of his almost suicidal curiosity we've put cupboard doors at the base of all our bookcases and have some pretty sturdy baby gates. All the cupboards are locked. The cats are starting to learn to take advantage of his presence. Xinx will sit patiently under Michael's highchair when he is eating in the hope that he will drop something tasty and gooey.

On a slightly ranting note - Annabel Karmel! How I hate that woman! Preparing and freezing food in bulk is so time consuming. I prepared a tray of peaches and a tray of potatoes this evening and it was so annoying to have to blanch; peel; remove the stone; chop and purée the slippery little peaches. I'm going to make a tray of apple and cinnamon tomorrow. I don't have the energy to do any more this evening. The most annoying thing was hearing the laughter of Phil and Michael coming from the living room whilst I was up to my armpits in peach juice in the kitchen. Bah! No fun! I can totally understand why mothers buy ready-prepared baby food jars. Life is just too short for this amount of hassle.

Ok... back to Michael... erm... what else is new? He's outgrown all of his 9-12 month bodysuits and T-shirts. He's now wearing 12-18 month clothes. I didn't see this coming and have to go shopping for yet more summer clothes. He hardly got any wear out of his play clothes at all. More alarmingly, he's almost grown out of his 12-18 month soft shoes. His feet are just huge and so wide! I've had to add a €100 monthly clothes allowance for him to our budget.

Michael's first birthday is fast approaching and we are planning on having a BBQ and have invited the grandparents over to spend the weekend adoring him. It'll certainly be nice for him to celebrate his birthday in the summer. Phil and I celebrate our birthdays in March and it is always cold and rainy - but never cold enough for snow.

I don't know if I have mentioned the competitiveness of mothers before now. Being a mother is the best thing in the world but I hate having to deal with other mothers. You have to be really secure in what you are doing to not let the parenting methods and choices of other mothers get to you. For example, comments like the following float around the baby forums on a regular basis:

• Oh, you're having a BBQ for his birthday? We're having a professional entertainer and have hired a marquee for our 100+ guests.
  
• You aren't taking him to a baby sign class?!? How do you communicate with him??
  
• I just couldn't use disposable nappies. Just THINK of the environment!

Yawn! Goodness knows what it will be like when Michael goes to school. All those mothers at the school gates judging each other...

"Did you see that Michael Gleghorn? His mother has the nerve to call her whites white! And I'm sure she doesn't wash behind his ears!"

Mother's Day

I forgot to mention Mother's Day! It was Mother's Day here on Sunday and I had a lovely day. I got a card from Phil and one from Michael. Michael had, with some assistance, signed the card himself! I got a 'Mama' mug that was filled with heart-shaped chocolates and a framed photo of me and Michael. I love that photo and was thrilled with my presents. Phil made me a full English breakfast and we wandered out to a garden centre to buy plants for our hanging baskets. Michael fell asleep in the baby carrier and got many an adoring look. We spent the evening relaxing and I consider it to have been a perfect day.

Whilst I was in the shower I had the perfect idea of what to get Phil for Father's Day. Phil is hellishly difficult to buy for but I know for certain that he is going to love this present! Hehehe!

9 months old!

We took Michael to the baby clinic for his 9 month check-up today and here are his latest stats:

Age: 9 months and 3 days old
Weight: 10.27 kg (22.64 pounds)
Length: 74 cm
Head circumference: 45.6 cm
Number of teeth: 6
Food: 7 breastfeeds a day and two solid meals
Current temperament: Drifting off to sleep (hopefully!)
Current location: Upstairs in his cot

As you can see, he's doing very well and the doctor was pleased with him. It is always such a relief when no issues are raised by the doctor. I actually have a set of scales at home to monitor Michael's weight so that I don't get any nasty surprises when the nurse weighs him.

He's a happy little chap and has just started comically shaking his head. He doesn't know that it means 'no' because we don't shake our heads when we say no. He pumps his arms up and down furiously when he is excited and sticks his little lip out when he is upset. I'm having trouble resisting the power of that lip.

Last night when I was giving him a feed, he bit my nipple. In the past he has nipped but it has only been a little nip and he hasn't really done it since having teeth top and bottom. Last night he bit me and hung on. Ow!! I yelped and said 'no' very firmly. He looked up at me and his mouth started to turn downward at the corners and out came that little lip very slowly. Before I knew it, I was comforting him and my knackered nipple was forgotten. I've got to work on resisting this particular trick!

I'm sure that there was something else I was going to mention but for the life of me I can't remember what... oh yes!

I might have mentioned that Phil and I have been taking him out to one particular restaurant periodically. It is a good choice because there is a large non-smoking section and a lot of bustle. No-one minds if he is a little grumpy and there is a lot of people for him to gaze at. We sit him in one of the wooden highchairs and let him soak up the atmosphere. We went there last week. He hadn't been in the highchair two minutes when he clambered up onto all fours with his feet wedged against the back of the chair. He leaned forwards onto the tray and climbed out of the chair onto the table where he proceeded to crawl off!!! Phil and I sat there stunned. Naturally, he wanted to do this again and again and again so one of us had to hold him whilst the other ate. We'll need to pick a restaurant with highchairs that have a harness in future or ditch eating out altogether. It was very funny and we were very impressed. He really is a serious escape artist!

Exorcising some very sad thoughts

I, like so many people, have been very distressed to read about the abduction of Madeleine McCann. I have always been distressed by news stories of child abduction, but particularly now that I am a parent.

As a parent, I try to give the best of myself to Michael. I undertook to give him unreservedly my love, time and knowledge. I will treasure his successes, support his mistakes and value his life more highly than my own. The thought that someone could...

I can't even complete the sentence. I can't think about such a thing happening to my baby boy.

Please let that little girl be found soon. Please let her be alive. Please don't make her parents pay any more for their mistake of leaving her alone. Please.

Old Macdonald

It used to be that "Twinkle twinkle little star" was Michael's favourite cure-all song. Not anymore. Now it is "Old Macdonald". This is rather unfortunate as it forces us to use our memory and inventiveness during the song. It is bl**dy exhausting too! In desperation this evening, there were some very strange things on Old Macdonald's farm which would probably result in a visit from the RSPCA. On his farm were the following:

Ducks
Chickens
Geese
Horses
Cats
Dogs
Donkeys
Sheep
Cows
Pigs

All fine and very appropriate so far... then we had...

Cuckoos
Owls

A bit of a stretch, but ok... then...

Bears
Lions
Howler monkeys
Dirty pants (with a squelch squelch here and a squelch squelch there...)

Old Macdonald had obviously lost the plot at this point, in addition to soiling himself.

Magic spoon

Just to cheer us up - here is Michael and his magic, floating spoon.

Spoooooky!

Slow and steady wins the race

Phil and I have been very tired today. I did indeed have to feed Michael through the night two nights ago in order to stave off mastitis. I thought that after that was resolved we would be able to get a good sleep last night. Wrong! Michael woke up twice in the night wanting a feed. I can't remember the last time he woke twice - not for months and months. I guess he's having a growth spurt because he has fed a grand total of nine times today. In addition to that he had one solid meal of banana.

So... today we weren't exactly at our best. This evening Michael looked like he was trying to walk from one side of his cot to the other. I thought it might be fun to see if he was ready to take a step so I held him in front of me and Phil was holding his arms out ready to catch him. Unfortunately he fell straight down rather than forwards and bumped his mouth on the carpet. He cried immediately and I picked him up to cuddle him on my shoulder. When I looked at him I noticed that there was blood dripping from the corner of this mouth. He looked like a chubby, diapered Dracula. Cue mass panic!! I got Phil to call the after-hours doctor and then slowly my think-rationally-and-take-responsibility parent self kicked in. I wiped his mouth and gave him some sips of water to clear away the blood. When I looked in his mouth there were two tiny - and I mean tiny - puncture marks on the inside of his upper lip. His two bottom front teeth were the culprits. There was no other damage and no bleeding after I gave him the water. The teething causes a lot of dribbling so that is why he appeared to be bleeding so much.

Whew! Lesson learned - when he wants to walk, he'll walk. We're not going to try that again in a hurry. Especially in the evening when we are all tired.

Phil was incredibly upset that he had hurt himself and needed a lot of reassurance that Michael was really fine. There is this thing that I do that makes Michael laugh a lot - Phil holds him and I bunny hop towards him. He howls with laughter. Phil wanted me to do it right there and then to check that Michael wasn't in pain. Michael laughed and Phil relaxed a little. I called the after-hours doctor back and explained that I had checked Michael's mouth and didn't think it was necessary to bring him in for a check-up. He agreed.

I guess we're finally starting to stand on our own two feet as parents. As for Michael... not quite yet ;o)

Progress

I finally got the lump shifted and am feeling a lot better. I was starting to feel ill with it. I called the Borstvoedingscentrum Amsterdam this morning and told them my tale of woe. They gave me a lot of useful advice (as always) and suggested that an electric breast pump would help. I've used this in the past to some success and we all bundled in the car and drove to Amsterdam. I rented the pump and got re-measured for my nursing bras. That was a lucky thing because I have lost 5cm around my ribs since giving birth so my bras weren't offering me enough support. I bought two new bras which cost a pretty penny and then we drove home. My intention was to use the pump during Michael's nap so I fed him normally before the nap. He was being very wriggly so I used a position I haven't used before - his chin was underneath my breast. You know what I'm going to write don't you? Of course you do. After we had spent 75 euro on renting the pump - Michael cleared the blockage in seconds.

Still... I don't care about the cost! Hooray!!! I'm sporting a nasty bruise and some soreness but hopefully I've done enough to avoid mastitis.

I guess for anyone reading this who isn't pro-breastfeeding, you must wonder why women put themselves through this. When it works it really is incredibly satisfying. There is nothing nicer than Michael having his bedtime feed and then lying back, smiling up at me and wrapping his fingers around mine.

Rotten day

Michael woke for a feed at the crack of dawn today and I noticed at the end of the feed that I had a plugged milk duct in my right breast. I've had this three or four times before, always in the same breast, and use a combination of hot compresses, frequent feeding, massage, and careful positioning of Michael during a feed to ensure that the blockage is cleared within a few hours.

Today I have had no success at all as Michael is unwilling to feed. I have done all of the above and I still have a painful lump that feels rather like a small saucer lodged in my breast. Michael has cut a new top tooth in the last day and in addition is going through a very fussy phase with his feeding. It often happens to babies between eight and ten months old. They get so incredibly distracted by ANYTHING that it is almost impossible to keep them still for long enough to get a decent amount of milk into them. Michael will feed well at night, before bedtime, and first thing in the morning but for the rest of the day he constantly wants to be off crawling and playing.

I'd just like to say - AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

I'm terrified that if I can't get the lump cleared I'll end up with mastitis. I really don't need that right now. The irony is that he has been crawling around today with a T-shirt on that says "Milk Built This Body". I dressed him in it without thinking this morning. Milk may have built his body but it has almost crippled mine!

I had a look at my La Leche League book and it advises spending the remainder of the day in bed with the baby and feeding as frequently as possible. How exactly is that supposed to work with a busy little eight month old, then? Hmm? I don't think they thought that piece of advice through. The book also suggests that I should feed Michael frequently throughout the night. I need a night like that like I need a hole in the head.

I seriously hope that tomorrow is a better day!

Who knew?

Who knew that cats like puréed pumpkin with rice? I'm both fascinated and disgusted. Mostly disgusted.

In the Night Garden

Some parents love it, some parents hate it. Most preschoolers seem to be entranced and Michael is no exception. We're happy to jump on this particular bandwagon and have pre-ordered a plush Iggle Piggle from the BBC Shop for Michael's birthday.

If you don't know what I am talking about then check this out.

General update

We have just got back from a short break on Texel and Michael is doing very well. We were a little concerned that being in a strange place and sleeping in a travel cot would throw off his routine altogether and leave him unwilling to sleep. We needn't have worried - he did fantastically well and slept soundly all night and for his daytime naps. In fact, he slept so well that I think the blackout blinds in the hotel suite might have had something to do with it. We're going to buy some for the bedrooms at home. We don't really have much to complain about when it comes to his sleep but he does tend to be a bit of a light sleeper once the sun has come up. Blackout blinds should help with that.

He thoroughly enjoyed exploring the hotel suite and thought it was a great joke when Daddy stood outside on the balcony and tapped on the window. The floor was stone and I nearly had a heart attack every time he crawled off or pulled himself to standing. If I had had a big butterfly net then, believe me, I would have been following him around with it.

Michael has never really seemed afraid of anything but, curiously, he was frightened of the shower nozzle in the hotel bathroom. It is a pity because it is the fastest way to rinse the soap suds from a squirming and determined baby. He's irrepressible so I imagine he'll get over this fear before long.

He has started babbling 'Mama' which, as you can imagine, is thrilling for me. He has been saying it off and on for months but only when he needed something. To hear him say it as part of general baby chit-chat is lovely. He says 'baba' too.

I think he has had a growth spurt because he seems to have grown quite a bit in the last month or so. He has a health check at the baby clinic in a couple of weeks so I will be interested to see his updated stats. His legs look like they are finally starting to catch up with his huge torso.

Lastly, I haven't mentioned how he is doing with solid food in a while but I can report that it is going very well. He has his ups and downs because of the teething but on the whole he does very well. He now lets me feed him with the spoon rather than taking the spoon from me to feed himself. He absolutely loves banana, although he enjoys all of the fruits that I have offered. He is less keen on vegetables and will sometimes eat what I offer and sometimes not. I have tried mixing up breast milk with something like sweet potato but quite often this little fishy won't bite. So, the list goes as follows:

Foods that Michael likes doesn't hate:

• Banana
• Avocado
• Apple
• Pear
  
• Rice cakes
• Carrot
• Sweet potato
• Pumpkin
• Green beans
• Brown bread

I'm not surprised that he didn't like the puréed green beans. What was I thinking?!? It was absolutely disgusting and I wouldn't have eaten it either. At least he was polite enough not to throw the bowl at my head!