Vomit warfare - my current weapon of choice

Mummy’s been getting a bit too cocky for my liking recently – she’s able to get us both up, dressed, fed and out the door before lunch, AND we both have brushed hair.  She even managed to paint her toenails last week!  Time to bring her down a peg or two – after all, I wouldn’t want her getting any funny ideas about having another baby, seeing as she’s coping so well!

She thought the other day that, with the sun shining, she would dig out a summer dress from the depths of her wardrobe. Aha!  A golden opportunity, too hard to pass up!  She’s been living in black since I was born – she says it’s because baby puke doesn’t show up so much and you can just rub it in (gross!) and not because she’s mourning her old life, although she often looks like someone’s died.

This little, floaty number is very pale blue, and baby puke shows up a treat!  I don’t know what they put in baby food, but it is very stubborn and won’t come out again!  Indelible carrot, mmmm.    I timed the barfing to perfection, even if I say so myself; we were in the bank, she had her hands full, and her important “telephone voice” on, talking to the painted lady behind the screen.  I’d screamed with such passion that I couldn’t see that Mummy had lifted me up to try and avoid a scene. 

The thing I love about hurling on grown-ups is the succession of expressions; the initial surprise, like you’ve sat on something unexpected, that morphs into mild unpleasantness as the sick soaks in (or rolls down Mummy’s back, as happened in the bank) that in turn becomes discomfort as it goes cold and sticky, and complete horror as they spot someone’s clocked them and they have to think about how to handle the situation.  I can’t help but grin at that point.  And when the smell gets them!  Triumph!

Mummy’s pretty good these days at being able to counter an attack with wipes and muslins always within easy reach, but I figure that’s about as far as she can go – she’ll never be able to predict the next strike, so with that, I have the upper hand.  A gentle reminder that I’m in charge around here.

CB

Bag a Bargain!

I thought I'd let you know about another of my great finds; it's my kit bag!  Have a look at http://www.gladbags.co.uk/ for lots of great bags and gifts.  I love my bag so much I've had Mummy order another one as a gift for a friend.  It's the "nursery bag" and it has designs for both girls and boys in various colours.

The fabric is durable and washes well, and the lining is either gingham or a water-proof material, which means it's great for swimming costumes and damp towels. I take mine with me everywhere - it's a great size to take all my things (toys, change of clothes, bottle etc) and Daddy prefers to use it to the more 'traditional' change bag that we have.  Apparently it's better for his image!

I'm sure there are hundreds of things you could do with one, and at such good value for money, I'm not sure just one will be enough for me.  Mummy says you can never have enough bags, and aside from nursery bags, Glad Bags offers various other models and designs.

Let me know how you get on.

CB

The end of 'baby food' - joining in with family mealtimes

I’m talking about food again today, but it’s a big part of my day at the moment.  I am a growing baby, after all!  Although I don’t have many teeth yet, it’s still important for me to start trying foods with a bit more ‘substance’ so that I can practice chewing – up until about 9 months, most babies tend only to have very smooth foods, pureed or boiled to mush, and I was one of them.

Thankfully, I’m far more involved with the family mealtimes now, and I get to share what everyone else is eating.  A baby we know has developed a bit of a fussy habit now and has some problems with anything with a bit of texture because he didn’t learn to chew properly.

Mummy says it’s quite easy to cook for me now – she doesn’t use much salt in her cooking anyway, but if she is putting some in a dish, she just takes my portion out first.  On the days the rest of the family is eating something not good for me, I’ll have something they made before, or a pre-prepared meal from a supermarket.  Some of the jars or pouches are really yummy!

I’m also enjoying practising feeding myself, although Mummy finds it quite a messy experience if I’m in charge of the spoon.  We find a happy compromise is finger foods.  These are some of my favourites:

·         Breadsticks, or ‘soldiers’ of toast or bread

·         Pasta shapes

·         Vegetable batons (cooked is probably better now as I can bite bits off now which can pose a choking hazard if it’s harder.  I’m thinking things like raw carrot here)

·         Batons of cheese

·         Strips of cooked chicken or meats (well-cooked, so it’s nice and tender)

It follows that as I eat more ‘proper’ food, I’ll need less milk.  Milk is still important and I’ll keep having a fair bit till my first birthday.  Some days, I drink more than others; it might be that I don’t like the food, but it might also be because I still find a bottle comforting, or I’m just thirsty!

As a guide, up until about one year old, a baby should drink roughly a pint a day (as milk levels drop, water can be introduced).  Like grown-ups, babies want more to drink when it’s hot outside, so make sure we have plenty of water available when the weather’s nice.

Milk, and dairy products in general (yogurts, fromage frais etc) are a good source of protein and calcium, which help growing bones and teeth.  Mummy gives me my bottle now after a meal to make sure I don’t fill up on it and it stops me eating enough ‘proper’ food.  That is unless I’m really thirsty and I demand milk first!

CB

Teething is a right pain!

This week, I’ve been busy working on my teeth.  I have a few at the front already, but I need more.  Some of my friends have had no problems at all getting theirs through, but, not wishing to sound like a wimp, I’ve been having a bit more trouble.  Looking into it, I’ve been showing classic symptoms:

• Rosy cheeks
• Plenty of drooling!
• General grumpiness – I’m not even in the mood for Daddy’s comedy dancing
• Rubbing my gums
• Chewing anything I can get my hands on
• Less tendency than normal to nap during the day
• Reduced appetite

Pressure on my gums does seem to help, so I’m trying to chew anything I can get my hands on.  Mummy has a solid teething ring for me that she puts in the fridge for me to help ease the pain.  She says she worries about the liquid-filled ones leaking, so I don’t use them.  We’ve also tried vegetable batons, like carrot or cucumber, which are tasty, cold, and offer a bit of resistance when I’m chomping on them.  But, since the first tooth came through, Mummy’s not given me carrot so much in case I bite off a little bit and choke myself.  I think that would be the final straw for me if I were affronted at the teething experience anyway, and then had to cope with my hysterical Mummy thwacking me on the back trying to dislodge my snack!

A strip of muslin square, knotted, and popped in the freezer is also pretty good, and of course there’s always drugs!  By that, I mean paracetemol or ibuprofen, naturally, and only now I’m over 3 months old!  If you’re not sure, check with your GP or pharmacist, especially as there are lots of things that can be confused with teething.

I reserve the right to reject all of this though, with little or no notice, and demand only cuddles as therapy!

What do you wear to a birth?

My mummy’s friend is just about to have another baby, so the whole birth thing is a the top of my mind at the moment.  If I’m honest, I don’t remember too much about mine, other than it was a bit of shock turning up in a noisy hospital having spent so long in a comfy, quiet, warm place.  Mummy says the hospital looks like it sailed with the Ark; I don’t know, because that was long before my time.

It seems to me that mummies are more relaxed if they have an idea about how and where they want to give birth.  I think classes are definitely a good thing, although in my experience, and I’ve only been born once, the best thing to come out of the classes is other mummies and babies going through it at the same time – you have someone to talk it through with.  Believe me, I’ve heard my Mummy talk to her new mummy friends about stuff she won’t talk to Daddy about! 

I would say that it’s a good thing to have a plan, but be prepared to have different variations of the plan. My Daddy says that “failing to plan is planning to fail,” so my mummy had a plan, but I don’t think she ever took it out of the bag at the hospital.  It had done its job by then though – Mummy and Daddy had talked it through and discussed various scenarios, so they were as ready as they thought they could be.  (Between you and me, it didn’t work out as Mummy had thought, but that’s why it’s good to consider various options, in case the rose-tinted glasses are already being worn by someone else when you arrive. 

There are pros and cons for water or ‘traditional’ births, home or hospital, and I’m not going to debate those.  I only know about mine, so I can’t pass comment.  I do think though that it’s important for any mummy or daddy—to-be to think about what they’ll need for the The Big Event.  (Or anyone else who’s going to be there, for that matter.)

Most hospitals have limited space, so think about that if you’re going in.  Obviously, if you’re going to be at home, you’ll have as many cushions, pillows, blankets etc as make you feel comfortable.  My mummy packed two bags; one for labour, during the birth, and then the second for afterwards, in case we were in hospital for a while.  Daddy went to get that from the car after I was born, so we didn’t have too much with us in the room.  If you're staying at home, it might still be sensible to gather the "Birth" things together and the "Post-birth" things, too.

For your “Labour/Birth  bag:”

-       A birth plan, or various versions of it

-       Your maternity notes

-       A nightie or t-shirt.  Don’t take your best one though – the midwives won’t  notice, and chances are, it will be ruined during the birthing process.  Let’s be honest!

-       Slippers and dressing gown – my mummy was so thankful for them after I was born because she could go and have a bath on her own and gather her thoughts

-       We had snacks and drinks, but Daddy ate most of them.  Still, it meant he didn’t need to leave!

-       Mummy was grateful for the things Daddy wouldn’t have thought of, like a hairband, lip balm, chewing gum etc

-       Perfume or make-up; apparently , it can make a huge difference to how you ladies feel.

-       If you’re planning on using a TENS machine, make sure that’s in this bag.

-       A change of clothes for your birthing partner – even if they don’t get messy, they might be wearing their clothes for a long time!

For your “new mummy bag” (sounds much nicer than ‘post-birth’)

-       Something to wear home! You’ve probably spent ages agonising over what we’ll wear home, you’ve forgotten yourself.   Choose something comfy and loose – you lose a lot of weight in one hit, but you probably won’t fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans just yet!

-       Toiletries, including some lip gloss, perfume, hair brush etc.

-       A clean nightie.   My mummy bought a couple of very cheap nighties than button down the front, just for the hospital.  Apparently they look like something my great-grandmother would wear, but Mummy didn’t mind then if they got messy, and the buttons meant it was easier when we practiced feeding.

-       Old knickers, as above – you don’t mind if they get ruined, and they probably will.

-       And for the really ‘unsexy’ things that you might not consider – if you’ve never had a baby before, why would you? Nursing bras, breast pads, maternity pads – being a new mummy is not that glamourous!

And don’t forget us!

-       We’ll need our car seat, obviously.

-       Take a hat for us, even if it’s Summer.

-       Something to wear home.  If you want practical and easy, that’s fine, and if you want to go totally over the top with a “coming home” outfit, that’s fine too.

-       A blanket – we’re not very good at regulating our own temperature to start with.

-       Some vests and sleepsuits.

-       Nappies, of course!

-       Some socks or booties, if our outfits are not all in one.