Monday 31st August 2009

It's the end of August, and the start of a new routine for the Howell family. Harriet is only going to be going to nursery for 3 days every week rather than 5, so she, mummy and I will be able to spend a lot more time together. Mummy will be taking Harriet to lots of activities, so I'll have to be patient, and just chill out in the buggy while she tries out new things. I don't mind though, because mummy will take me to lots of fun classes on the days when Harriet is in nursery. W've had a lovely weekend together. Cousin Cath came to stay on Friday, and Granny was still here too. We went shopping in Oxford on Saturday, and then on Sunday we went to a big fete in Grove. Harriet had great fun on the big inflatable slide - she's a right daredevil, and she had her face painted like a butterfly. Then today we went swimming, except mummy and I didn't swim, because I haven't had my injections yet. I've got my first injections on Friday, but I've had a cold of a few days, so I hope it clears up, otherwise I'll have to wait until next week for my jabs. Harriet had great fun with daddy in the pool with some snazzy new pink armbands. Tomorrow I am seeing Granny and Grandpa Meikle, and Harriet and my pals Isobel and Bobby. Then I've got another weigh in with the health visitor on Wednesday. I've been munching my milk well, so I think I'll be well over the 7lb mark by then. Hopefully this will stop people asking mummy and daddy if I'm a newborn baby - which seems to happen every time we step out of the front door at the moment! I know I'm small, but I can hold my head up really well already and I am really trying to smile ( mummy thinks), so I don't think I look like a new born baby at all. However, I am still acting a bit like one daddy says, as I'm not settling well in the evening, apart from when I can cuddle up to daddy. Lying on his tummy is the most comfortable place to be I reckon.

Thursday 27th August 2009

Mummy and I made a trip to the JR yesterday for me to visit Michelle the Special Care Community Nurse, and for mummy to see Dr Mackillop for her postnatal check. Mummy likes seeing Dr Mackillop, as she went to university with her, so they can have a good chinwag. Michelle was very pleased with my progress. She weighed me, and guess what. I had put on another 280g, which means I am now 2.98kg or 6lb 9oz. Noone guessed right! That's another 10oz in 8 days, so I am continuing to grow well, and I'm now between the 0.4th centile and 2nd centile lines on the growth chart (that's for my corrected age - for uncorrected age I'm still way off the chart!). Michelle watched me feeding too, and thought I did very well. Mummy and I then travelled up in the lift from Level 2 of the Women's Centre to Level 6 - The Silver Star Unit. Mummy had a chat with the doctor, and discovered that my placenta was not in a very good state at all when I was born, and that is probably why I stopped moving around the day before my birthday. Apparently it wasn't as bad as Harrriet's placenta, but it was still pretty rubbish. Mummy says she doesn't do healthy placentas or big babies! When we got home it wasn't long before Harriet and Granny Judy arrived. Harriet was very pleased to see mummy and me, and I was pleased to see her too. We've had great fun together today, we went for a walk in Ardington to the stone circles and then for lunch at the bistro there too. I was very good and slept for the whole way round. But I have to admit that I'm not being very good at going to sleep in the evenings at the moment. I like to be cuddled to sleep, which is a very bad habit. I don't think mummy and daddy are going to let me get away with it for long, but they are being nice to me at the moment, as I have a cold, and am very snuffly. At least I'm not waking much in the night. Last night I woke up at 2am for my milk, but then stayed asleep right up until mummy and daddy got up at 6.45am.

Tuesday 25th August 2009

I have been having fun since I last updated my blog. Harriet and I went to a farm park on Saturday and I watched her ride on a tractor. We also saw piglets and chickens. On Sunday we met with Granny Judy near Warwick, and I said goodbye to Harriet for a few days. She went to stay with Granny Judy in Sutton Coldfield, but she'll be back tomorrow to see me, and she's bringing granny with her to stay for a few days. I've been a bit of a pickle over the past few days. I've been in a really good routine during the day, but once I've woken up for my 10pm feed, I don't want to go back to sleep again for a few hours - oh dear, once again mummy and daddy are not impressed with me. Yesterday mummy kept me awake a lot during the day by rattling things in my face and stripping my babygro off, which helped me sleep better in the evening. I actually quite enjoyed it, and nearly smiled when I was on my playmat! But then today I've managed to get myself totally out of routine, and refused to stay awake at all during the day, so I've been wide awake this evening. What a tinker - anyway tomorrow is another day, so mummy and I will start at 7am as usual, and try to stick to our routine if we can. I'm going up to the hospital to see Rosie the Special Care Community Nurse tomorrow, so we'll see how much weight I've put on since last Tuesday - Daddy reckons I'll be 6lb 8oz and mummy thinks 6lb 11oz, so we'll just have to wait and see. Mummy is having her postnatal check with the consultant tomorrow, so I'll be able to meet some of the midwives who looked after her when she was in hospital. And when we get home Harriet and Granny will be there - I can't wait!

Friday 21st August 2009

I have had a lovely last few days with mummy and daddy, who has now finished his paternity leave and will go back to work on Monday. Mummy and I are sad about that, as we've enjoyed our family time together. Yesterday we all went off on a family outing to see Harriet in her sports day at nursery. Harriet wasn't too keen on doing the running race, so mummy had to try and persuade her to run. Harriet preferred to steal a teddybear from the basket of prizes for the winners - whoops! Today I went to see th edoctor for my 6 week check. The doctor thought I was lovely and gave me a clean bill of health. which means I'll now be able to have my first set of immunisations in 2 weeks time - yuck. Mummy has been trying to keep me awake today so that I sleep better in the evening. She put me on my colourful playmat to let me kick around. I was not impressed as you can see, but it did work, and I slept this evening from 6.30pm to 10pm, so mummy and daddy are very pleased with me. I need to make sure I try to do that again tomorrow. One of the reasons I am sleeping well is that mummy started putting me in my big cot in my big nursery for my daytime naps, now that my nursery is all set up and ready. I'll still sleep in my moses basket in mummy and daddy's room at night for a good while yet, but during the day I'm now in a grobag in my big cot. My nursery is pitch black, as daddy fitted a cool electronic blackout blind for the velux window, so it makes it easier to go to sleep. I even didn't seem to have much wind tonight. Let's hope I still sleep well during the night - I should do, as I can have a good feed before I go to bed, and suck hard using all the energy I've gained by having such a good long evening nap.

Tuesday 18th August 2009

It's official, I'm very nearly a big baby! Well, not really actually, but I have been doing rather well on the weight front. A chip off the old block mummy says. I was weighed today by Rosie the Special Care Community Nurse, and I'm 2.7Kg, that means I'm 5lb 15oz - so close to that magic 6lb mark, but not quite there - just another tantalising 20g to go. I bet if she'd weighed me an hour later I'd have made it. But 11.5oz in 8 days is pretty good I think, so I'm still rather pleased with myself. Mummy, daddy, Harriet and I have embarked on a new routine tonight. Harriet and I go up for a bath at 7pm and then I have some final milk with mummy before settling down to sleep at 8pm. Well, that's the theory anyway. In practice I don't really want to go to sleep, and so tonight it was nearer 9pm when I decided to finally settle down - naughty me. Mummy and daddy will get me up for more milk at about 10.30pm before they go to bed tonight, but I may not stay asleep until then - I don't like being by myself in my moses basket in the evenings, I prefer to snooze on daddy's chest - it's much more comfortable! I had a visit from Jenny and Ian today. Jenny is Harriet's godmother. They brought me a lovely blanket in the shape of a butterfly, which I am very pleased with. Thank you Jenny and Ian!

Sunday 16th August 2009

Since my last entry I've been asserting my authority on our household, and keeping mummy and daddy awake, when they don't want me to! Oops - I've got bad colic in the evening particularly when I have a bottle, so I prefer it when I don't have to have bottles at all, and I've started being not very good at taking my milk that way - it's particularly naughty when mummy needs a bit of a break from feeding me, and because I've got lots of milk in the freezer. Anyway, if not having bottles helps me to sleep better then it's probably a good thing. I think mummy only got about 4 hours sleep last night, so I wasn't in her good books! Oh well, I make it up to her by being very well behaved during the day - sleeping when I'm supposed to sleep, and feeding when I'm supposed to feed, so she can't really complain! Today I have been to a birthday party. That's my second birthday party in 2 weeks, another of Harriet's friends, this time Imogen. As ususal I slept through the whole thing and missed most of it, so I'm looking forward to a time when I can stay awake and enjoy socialising! Harriet wore a pretty party dress, and I had a natty baby gro with matching booties, so we looked like a very smart pair of sisters. I'll be weighed again on Tuesday - mummy and daddy think I'm chubbing up nicely, and are sure I'll have put on at least another 7 ounces this week. Maybe I'll even be pushing 6lb. Anyway Rosie the Special Care Nurse will come and see me and we'll see what's what. I'm sure she'll be very pleased with my progress. I'm going over to visit my Auntie Emma, Uncle Philip and cousins tomorrow and see some other extended family members. It will be my longest journey so far - over to Cheltenham so I'm very excited. Harriet is having a day off nursery to come too.

Wednesday 12th August 2009

It was daddy's first day of paternity leave today, which was very nice. It meant that I had both my parents all to myself. I must admit that I slept through most of the day. Mummy thinks I'm having a growth spurt, as all I do is eat and sleep, and daddy says he wishes he was having a growth spurt too, as eating and sleeping seems like a good way to spend the day! I've made a bit of a pickle of myself this evening though, and wouldn't settle down, but it was just because I was hungry and wanted a whole extra 150ml of milk - yum - plus I wanted to watch the football, if daddy was watching then I wanted to watch it with him! I'm enjoying spending time with my big sister Harriet too. She always comes to find me when she gets home from nursery, and gives me a big kiss - it's great having family time together with her. I can't wait until I'm a bit bigger and we can play together properly. Tomorrow mummy and daddy are going to sort out my nursery. It's got lots of stuff in it at the moment, so it needs to be cleared out, so that I can have my day time naps in my big cot. I haven't slept in there yet, but Harriet tells me it's very comfortable, so I'm really looking forward to it. I need to try hard at my routine tomorrow, as I got myself all out of synch today. I think mummy and daddy are going to be strict with me, so I'd better be on my best behaviour!

Monday 10th August 2009

Mummy and I were flying solo again today, and we did very well. After lunch we went to see the Health Visitor at the Surgery. She weighed me, and I've put on another 7oz this week, so I'm now 5lb 7 1/2oz. This means that I'm back on the official baby weight chart again - on the bottom line, but at least I'm back within the normal range. Mummy and I were very pleased, as we've been doing less bottles and more breastfeeds recently, so it shows that all our hard work on feeding practice has paid off. We the went to the supermarket, and I managed to charm the shoppers, just by sleeping in my carseat and looking cute. And finally we drove to pick up Harriet from nursery, and I charmed all the nursery nurses there! It was the first time mummy had tried to incorporate a nursery pick up into my routine, so we were all very relieved when we all got home in one piece, and then daddy arrived back 10 minutes later - perfect timing. Daddy is going to be off work in a couple of days, so I can get to spend some quality time with him for the next two weeks. I can't wait.

Sunday 9th August 2009

I've had an uneventful few days, however I have ventured out to visit some friends, which is a lot more exciting that just sitting at home. On Friday mummy and I went to see Gene and his mummy Sam, so I got to travel in the car again. I don't really fit into my car seat yet, and my head keeps flopping to one side when I'm sitting in it! Yesterday I went with mummy, daddy and Harriet to the park with the water jets, so that Harriet could splash around. This made Harriet feel better, she had a bit of a shock in the morning when she was stung by a wasp on her thumb. I was sleeping in my carrycot outside, so mummy brought me straight in, as she was scared I would get stung as well. Fortunately after a quick swig of Piriton, and a big cuddle from daddy Harriet was right as rain again. Today we went to our friend Nia's birthday party. She is 2 now, just like my sister. I slept in Nia's cot whilst everyone else played in the garden. I was very well behaved, but I think I've slept too much today, as I feel wide awake right now - I hope I start to feel tired soon, I know mummy and daddy are very tired, so they'd like me to go to bed early! I think I've defintely put on weight this week. I don't know when I'll next get weighed, but I think I'm making good progress. I've moved up a dress size, so I must be growing well.

Thursday 6th August 2009

I've been in a pickle today. I got up twice in the night, which meant that I didn't fancy getting up at 7am for my first feed of the day like I normally do. This put me totally out of synch for the rest of the day, so mummy was not impressed. I'm also a bit congested, so I didn't fancy lying in my moses basket like normal, I preferred to sleep on mummy, so every time she put me down I started to cry. Oh dear, I don't think mummy was very pleased. I got to meet mummy's friend Kate today. Kate's daughter Amy is mummy's goddaughter, and one of my sister Harriet's friends, so I'm looking forward to meeting her soon. Tomorrow I'm going on an outing with mummy to see her friend Sam and her son Gene, who was also in Special Care with Harriet. This is because mummy is going to try driving tomorrow for the first time since I was born - how exciting. This will be my second time in a car seat - the only other time was when I came home from the hospital.

Wednesday 5th August 2009

I am exactly 4 weeks old today, and 3 days beyond my official due date which was 2nd August. Now that I'm officially 'full term', I need to start acting a little bit more maturely. I need to improve on my sucking skills, and try and stay awake more during the day. Sucking is good, but it does give me great big air bubbles in my tummy, which is really uncomfortable. I have graduated into some bigger clothes today. Mummy noticed that I was going for the off the shoulder look because my baby gros were too short, so I'm now in 7.5lb clothes. Aren't I growing fast? Mummy took me out in the new buggy today. I hide in my carry cot and no-one can see me, I think people must think that mummy is pushing an empty buggy, but they don't know that I'm hidden inside - you can just about seem me in the picture peeping out! My blood test results were back today, and the good news is that although I am slightly jaundiced, there are no underlying issues with my liver, so the jaundice will just go of its own accord. So I may stay tanned for a little bit longer, but not forever!

Tuesday 4th August 2009

Today I have been mostly trying out funny new facial expressions, as you can see from the photos! I had more visitors today. Oscar and Evie and their mummy Kate came down from sunny Warwickshire. Oscar was telling me about his time in Special Care with my sister, and how they fell in love - all very romantic. I also had a visit from Rosie Craig the Special Care Community Nurse. She was very pleased with my weight gain, and wrote 'excellent' in my red book. Both Rosie and mummy thought I looked a little bit orange though, so I am going to have my jaundice levels checked again. That meant that I had to have some blood taken, so Rosie pricked my heel to take the blood - I was not impressed at all, particularly with mummy who wrapped me up in a muslin and rubbed my back to lull me into a false sense of security before the heel prick came - I'll be prepared next time!

Monday 3rd August 2009

It's grandpa Meikle's birthday today - and he's a whole 62 years older than me - happy birthday grandpa. I spent the morning with mummy at the Community Hospital, which is at the end of our road. I met Faye the midwife and Sally the care assistant. They checked to see if I was feeding correctly from mummy, and I was - it's just that as I'm so little I find it tiring, so I don't get as much milk as I should, and then I want to feed again quickly - As I get bigger, it will get easier. Talking of getting bigger, I had a sneaky weigh in at the community hospital as well - and guess what? Since I was weighed last Tuesday I've put on a whole 160g or 6.5oz. So I'm now 2,160g or 4lb 12.5oz. How exciting. I may be weighed again tomorrow by the Special Care Community Nurse, but I feel very pleased that I'm continuing with my oz per day trend. I'll be 5lb in no time. I am meeting 2 new friends tomorrow. Oscar and Evie are coming to visit with their mummy Kate. Evie and I will be in the same school year, so we're going to be best mates, and Oscar is my sister's boyfriend - they were in Special Care together. I can't wait to say hello to them. Daddy and Harriet went back to work and nursery today, so mummy and I missed them a lot. I'll see much more of daddy next week and the week after, as he is taking his paternity leave, and then I'll start to see a lot more of my sister when she goes part time at nursery in September. I can't wait.

Sunday 2nd August 2009

I've got a bit of a cold I think. I've caught it off Harriet and daddy, so I've been bottle feeding all day today as it's easier when my nose is a bit bunged up. But I've drunk loads of milk, and I've been sleeping well, so I can't be that ill. Mummy, daddy, Harriet and I went on our first family walk to day. We went to the park in Wantage and played in the water fountains. Or rather Harriet and mummy played in the water fountains and daddy and I chilled out under a shady tree. I can't wait until I'm big enough to run about in the water too. I was up a lot in the night last night, so mummy and daddy were very tired today - I'll try and be a bit better tonight - promise. Mummy and I are going to the Wantage community hospital tomorrow to introduce me to Faye, mummy's midwife, who is going to help us with feeding practice, so I hope my cold is a bit better by then.

Saturday 1st August 2009

Today I was not in mummy's good books, as I got her up twice in the night. I had my evening feed early which meant I woke up early and couldn't make it through to morning. Sorry mummy! Granny Judy came to visit today, and I had my first cuddles with her, while my sister was asleep - I think she'd have been a bit jealous if she'd known! Mummy and I spent the afternoon together, while daddy, granny and Harriet went shopping. Mummy says I'm not big enough to go shopping yet, and that I'll just have to wait until I've put on a bit more weight. I've been cluster feeding tonight which is great fun. I feed every hour, and don't give mummy and daddy any peace. I think once I'm a bit bigger this may not be allowed, so I'm making the most of it now! My sister dressed up as a fairy today for Granny coming, you can see a picture of her here. I think she looks very cool.