Visiting Folks

Its amazed me how busy I have been whilst I have been on maternity leave. I kinda thought it would all be nappies and sitting at home watching TV. I even had plans to do my ECDL certificate but I've spent most of my days visiting and being visited by people.

Sue is one of the people I have visited with often, she has two lovely children, Eleanor and Matthew, and is full of useful information and anecdotes.


Sue Dylan and Matthew

Dylan adores her and smiles all the time when she is around.


She always leaves me feeling as if "I can do this" and I'm grateful for the growing friendship that has been slowly groaning with the passing months.

This lazy way of filling your days seemed alien at first. The idea of going to someone's house for tea, of having the time to sit and talk - primarily about nothing - but just chatting enjoying someone's company was a strange privilege I had never enjoyed.

It's part of my maternity leave I'm going to regret having to give up but I can foresee the time coming when I have to rush round doing "stuff" on my days off rather than enjoying the company of friends.

Mr Pearl came visiting.

Mr P has been in my life since 1994 - he is my positive wizard. He is far from perfect, he would admit this on one of his good days and deny it on a bad, but he has always offered me truth and honesty - even when its not what I want to hear.

He came back to Blighty to attend a wedding and did his usual "flit" up North to see us. I spent most of his time here discussing life, love and the universe. He gave me some things to ponder and spent the rest of his time waiting for Dylan to do something more than smile, sick-up and poop.

He isnt a baby person


and Im pretty certain Dylan picked up on this.

But after a day or so the two of them formed a strange your a baby and Im going to talk to you like an adult friendship.



I managed to snap him a couple of times, creating photographic evidence, of T communing with Dylan.



It was lovely to see him!

Oww - Why is there no big book?

Just when I think I have it sussed my wee man changes the rules and I'm left floundering again. For the last couple of weeks - months - we have had a kind of routine. From Dylan's perspective it goes something like this:

Wake at 7ish, feed and get my nappy changed. Mommie has breakfast, I go in my bouncy chair. We play.
9 oclockish - tired eyes, yawning - Nap time. Usually for 30 mins.
10.15: Feed time,
10.30: My favourite time of the day - NAKED TIME! I wiggle and giggle, jiggle and squirm, I usually wee all over the mat, preferably if mummy isn't looking.
12ish: Tired eyes, yawning, start to snuggle with mommie, but generally get put in the cot. Hmm big sleeps time.
2pmish: I'm awake mummy - come get me.
2.30: Feed time, nappy change, bit of NAKED TIME, play time!
4pmish - tired eyes, yawning - Hmmm a quick nap please mommie.
5.15: Yummy more milk please, then sing to me again. Where's Ollie, My teeth hurt, Snuggle!
5.45: Here comes daddy - He's so silly.
6ish Bath time with Daddy - Boy I like to splash.
6.15: More milk mummy.
6.30: Story time - what's Winnie the pooh up to tonight?
7ish: Boy I'm tired - show me to the bedroom mamma.

All sounds fairly perfect and I have to say that I was feeling a little smug. This last week though he had decided to completely change the routine, he wakes when he was sleeping, he fights the sleeping, crying and tensing his body till he goes red in the face and his feeding is nothing but sporadic and erratic.

I'm not sure what to do. Just let him go through the phase or try to instill the old routine. The thing that's really got me concerned is that he only put an ounce on this week.

Where is my big "this is how to bring a baby up" book!!!!

Weigh in - 20th June

He just keeps getting bigger...

He just keeps getting better.


13lbs 6ounces.

Gardening with Nannysan

Today I watched in delight as mum took Dylan out into the garden and introduced her latest love, her grandson, to her long time love, her garden.



He giggled and cooed as she showed him flowers with smells and colours to blow his little mind. His first instinct was to eat whatever she showed him, but he seemed to enjoy the sensations.





I was reminded of the country walks we used to take as children, when she would name the flowers and trees and we would spend hours collecting treasures of leaves, stones and sticks - each one shown to her with love.

It started me thinking about how soon I would have to return to work - a real downer - but knowing that Dylan will be staying with mum makes the decision slightly easier. He will have a great teacher!

Weigh in - 12th June

Blooming fab - 12lb 15oz.

Walking with Ruth.

Ruth and I have both decided its time to tackle the body bulges that have come with babies. So we are going to try and meet up once, if not twice, every week to go for a walk. We did so today, both of us pounding the pavement.

We have discovered that we both used to play squash, we both used to run and we both used to be involved with AmDram. All things we are going to get back involved with - once we find the time!!!

Josh (8weeks) has had a weight gain problem but is now growing fabtastically

Maiden Voyage

Today the sun woke us so I decided to walk the six miles to Blyth to meet mum and dad at the harbor. Dad has a small boat moored up and was doing the yearly clean out.

The walk up was fantastic, if a little windy, Dylan slept most of the way. I tried the pram out on the beach - quite successful on the hard sand but hard going on the soft stuff.

Sadly the good weather didn't hold out and when we reached the harbor the Fret (sea mist) had come in and it was warm weather gear all round.


Me and Gandie


Gandie, Jessie, NannySan and Me.

Hooch was complaining the other day that all the pics on this site showed Dylan smiling and looking cute - LOL - So this one is for her!



It wasn't until I got home that I realised I had the camera set on the wrong settings so all the pics from this day were just a little bit blurry - DOH!!!

A standie up baby

Dylan over the last couple of weeks has become a real standie up baby, he no longer wants to lie on his back, content no more is my wee man to observe the world from the horizontal position, he has to be up, on his legs, pushing himself verticle with a grin and a giggle.

He is still a little wobbly and is a long way from walking, but at 3 months he is desperate to get going.

On his last visit home Nannysan and Gandie decided he NEEDED a bouncer



and boy does he enjoy it.

Our latest song.

I spend most days talking to Dylan in a sing song voice, just using words, the more words the better! He gurgles back at me and occasionally has a conversation with one of his stuffed toys. Usually Ollie octopus currently is favourite, he has such handy legs to suck!

This morning I created our latest song...

Olie octopus he's my friend
Our fun together never ends
He's red and yellow
Green and blue
He says hello
How do you do

Daisy Donkey she's my friend
Our fun together never ends
She's got pink ears and
Gre-een feet
She says Oh Dylan
You sure are sweet

Daffid book octopus he's my friend
Our fun together never ends
He's got crinkly ears
and lots to see
He says I love you
1, 2, 3

Perhaps not Ivor novello level, but it makes Dylan smile.

Weigh in - Tue 6th June

Walked Dylan down to Whitleybay clinic today, the sun was shining and I got blisters - need better foot wear.

Helen, the lovely health visitor, weighed the little man and he came in at a bouncing 12lbs 6ounces, all going well, he is doing great. Helen was really impressed with the way he is holding his head, she couldn't believe it when he actually attempted to stand.

He has over the last week or so become a real standy up baby, he hates being on his back, very nosy - a bit like his mum!

Took Dylan to see his nannysan and gandie - they needed a fix. He smiles so much when he is with both of them its a joy to see.

NCT Gang

Today we met up with the NCT girls I did the classes with. All except Ruth and Josh were present and it was lovely to chat and discuss our babies and their little idiosyncrasies. Dylan is the oldest, by a whole two weeks, closely followed by Thomas (Mummy Fiona), Josh (Mummy Ruth), Orla (Mummy Annette) and Naomi (Mummy Jo).

We decided in the headiness of chocolate biscuits and coffee to take a pic each time we meet up - just to log the little ones growing. So here they are - the NCT Gang.


Dylan, Thomas, Orla, Naomi


Thomas, Orla and Naomi

Dylan looks huge in comparison to Orla and Naomi - a real little bruiser - Bless!

Visitors

Well what an exciting week. The Faz family came to visit Sunday night - they were staying the week in Dads caravan and Daniel (K's son) came up to meet his brother on Tuesday.

Seeing Daniel with Dylan was lovely. At first he was petrified - openly admitting it - but was soon sat on the sofa talking to Dylan about his plans to make him a renowned football player - it was so cute!

Me and my bro

K and Daniel took Dylan for a walk on Wednesday whilst I got on with the ironing. Its the first time K has taken the pram out so watching him put it up was fun, they walked down to the dome and back again - "miles" as Daniel put it; made me laugh cause its our normal afternoon walk!

Dylan obliged us by filling his nappy Wednesday afternoon. Daniel couldn't believe that he could produce something so horrible! No matter how I asked he just wouldn't change his nappy - chicken.

Wednesday night we had a BBQ. Deb, Pete, Olivia, Jack and Julie joined mum, dad and we four for the usual BBQ fare. Sadly Dylan was really clingy, couldn't figure out why he wouldn't go to anyone and cried lots - then it dawned on us - he has started teething.

I didn't think this happened for another couple of months, but he has definite little white bumps in his mouth at the front and his gums look really red and sore. Added to this was his red cheeks, ramming his first into his mouth and the bubble blowing, apparently all pointers towards teething!!!

Anbesol was applied to the offending gums and seemed to settle him a little, but he just wanted his mommie and clung to me for the whole night. Mum kept trying to get me to give him whisky - "we did it in our day".

Jack, Julie, me and Dylan and Papa

It was a good thing Pete and I had prepared most of the food, all that was left to cook off were the burgers and sausages - a little job for K.

On reflection not sure if Dylan was teething or if he was just crying cause of the dinosaur suit - LOL!!!