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Hello 2013!

Elliot - 24 months

So now is the time to make New Years Resolutions. i love making lists, so let’s see if I can stick to this one:

1 – Blog more – My main driver for this blog has always been to document Elliot’s life and he is now 2 years old and I’ve not really done a terribly good job of that so far. So this year I’m going to try to add a bit more to this site and really find my feet in blogging. I want Elliot to be able to read all about his childhood, the days before his earliest memory (when does that happen?) and for us to remember together when he’s old enough.

2 – Read more – when I was little I would never be found without a book in my hand, I used to live, breathe, eat and sleep books and I could never imagine going for any length of time without having that means to escape into another world for a bit. Since then life has got a whole lot busier and I do find myself collapsing into bed unable to keep my eyes open long enough to read even half a page let alone a book.

But all that is about to change – I’ve been really lucky to get a kindle for Christmas and have so far managed to read one and a half books (in a week, that’s not too bad…) I’ll be putting my book list up here so would welcome any suggestions!

3 – Be healthier – 2012 was a topsy turvy year, and at some point this year I may even be able to talk about all of that on here as I do think it’s important for Elliot to know about, but for now I’m going to concentrate on regaining some element of control over the things I can have a say in. Mainly what I choose to fuel my body with – I do love nice meals and have an amazing chef as a husband so choosing healthy options shouldn’t be impossible but the sweet tin at work may prove to be a bit of a challenge – limiting alcohol (though to be honest I think the 9 months of no alcohol during pregnancy means I can’t drink more than a glass of wine now without feeling the effects!) as well as exercise.

On the exercise front, I’m going to look for us to do more as a family – we love walking in the countryside and I think it’s really important to get out and about together. I’ll also be aiming to get back running, as well as to continue with yoga which I finally got back to after a few years off at the end of 2012.

4 – Plan weekends better – Over the past couple of years we’ve fallen into the trap of just waiting until the weekend before actually thinking about what we want to do. When we didn’t have Elliot this was an awful lot easier – being spontaneous was fun! Now we have a toddler it’s just so much harder to do anything without planning, certainly in the past 2 years it’s been nigh on impossible to leave the house within an hour of deciding to go out, so leaving the decision making until the last possible moment has proved the deal breaker in our “being spontaneous” idyll. It just hasn’t happened. So, I’m going to admit defeat and become a planner. I’m thinking of making lists of things that we want to do and then booking them in to weekends and planning lunches (healthy of course, see resolution 3) to take along with us. Wish me luck!

So that’s my short and sweet list of resolutions… what’s yours?

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23 months and counting…

Dear Elliot,

Wow! In exactly one month you will be officially a two-year old. How did that happen so fast?

I now realise what so many people have told me in the past. It goes so fast! Maybe it’s because I’ve been back at work for the past year, but 2012 has gone so amazingly quickly I barely feel like I’ve had time to catch my breath, let alone keep up with this blog.

My new years resolution will therefore be to document our lives a bit more regularly. I find myself waiting for the ‘important things’ to happen for me to write about, when in truth I should be writing about every little thing you’re doing – like how you can now recite the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune, or do the actions to ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’, how you know your alphabet and can count to 12, and how you say ‘night, night’ every night as you rest your head on your pillow. You are amazing and I promise to take notes more regularly in future so we can all remember how fab you were aged 2!

In the meantime, one of my favourite pictures from Summer 2012, for reasons that you’ll understand one day when you’re a big boy.

All my love,

Mummy xxx

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A budding Picasso?

Dear Elliot,

This week we were invited in to your Nursery for a meeting with your Key Worker, Diana, for us to see your Learning Journey and hear how you are getting on.

We have been so pleased with the Nursery so far, you are really settled there and although you are only there for 2 days a week you are really making friends with staff and children alike. We very rarely have tears when we drop you off and it was great to hear that you are always taking an active part in the activities they organise for you.

Your Learning Journey

The staff in your room – Toddler 1 – make frequent observations of all the children and record them in a folder. These are categorised as per the Early Years Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum. It seems a lot of work for the staff, particularly at this age, but it does give us as parents a fascinating insight into your development, with a few giggles along the way.

The following are a selection of your masterpieces so far:

“Strawberries”

“Fish”

“Cars”

Your report was really good. Diana was very impressed with how you are getting on with other children and your developments so far. We’re all very relieved that you have finally bitten the bullet and started walking!

Lots of love

a very proud Mummy xxx

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I wish I’d known… Mummy tips

My sister gave birth earlier this month to my first niece- she is absolutely the most beautiful thing ever!

It got me thinking back to the early days with Elliot and noting all the things I know now that I wish someone had told me back then:

1. If you’re anything like me, do not pay any heed to any Gina Ford “you must eat toast at precisely 7.48 am”/ “place the drowsy, but awake, baby in his crib in the complete darkness no later than 6.30pm” types. The Contented Baby book stays in a pile of discarded shoes/ bags under our bed in our house, only to be dragged out whenever I just need to check if E is drinking enough milk! I personally feel that trying to shoehorn your baby into that strict a routine is bound to end in tears (yours most likely!) In my limited experience I’d say let the baby be the guide for feeds etc for certainly the first few weeks. You’ll then probably find that you can keep them going for 3 hours between the start of one feed and the next, even if they start looking hungry after 2 or 2 1/2 hours- we found that jiggling Elliot around/ rocking him/ putting a clean finger in his mouth made him last that little bit longer and soon he knew that he’d be fed every 3 hours.

2. Breast feeding is really tough, and doesn’t work for everyone. I managed to breast feed E for almost 9 months, with the last 3 months down to 2 feeds a day and supplemented with formula. I may rile some breastfeeding advocates here but I was formula fed as a baby and so far have suffered no ill effects so have absolute confidence in saying that there is no need to be a martyr to the breastfeeding cause for any longer than you feel you can. It really won’t harm your child to supplement with formula or feed 100% from a bottle. After all if that means a happier mummy I think I know what the baby would choose if it could talk.

3. Regardless of breast or bottle, make sure you share the load- express and get your partner (if possible!) to do the last feed before midnight and get yourself to bed early. This worked a treat in our house. I got to sleep and my husband got to watch QI and Top Gear on Dave! Win-win!

4. Trust your instincts. The baby hasn’t read any parenting books do you can’t expect it to follow any of the advice/ routines contained therein. I definitely think there’s no harm in making it up as you go along!

5. Best bit of advice I was given: your baby needs to be left alone for a while every day, obviously in your sight – in a bouncy chair in the room with you or Moses basket with some bright toys to look at – so that it learns that it doesn’t need to be held all the time. Also gives your arms a rest and allows you to drink a hot cup of tea or type an email!

6. Keep night-time dark and day-time light – try if possible to feed in the dark at night and only change a dirty nappy, if it’s just wet then leave it be – and then mark the morning by opening curtains and singing/ chatting animatedly. Do this from an early age and the baby will soon learn about sleeping through.

7. Right from the start, if I was at home during the day I’d put Elliot down for any day time sleeps in his big cot in the nursery rather than the Moses basket in our room. I think that this helped when he came to move in there at night as it wasn’t new and scary.

8. Sleep when your baby sleeps. I was RUBBISH at this and now kinda regret it as I’ve realised that with any future babies I’ll not have that luxury as I’ll have Elliot to entertain! Make the most of any opportunity to rest.

9. Go out with your friends. As soon as you feel able to. Even if it’s just for an hour. It makes you feel human again, honestly. Do this often!!

10. Make time for your partner too. Book a babysitter (you’ll probably have people falling over eachother to offer) and go to the pub for a drink, yet again 1 hour is enough to save your sanity (though you will talk about your child for 90% of the time you are out!)

Finally, it’s always worth remembering that however exhausted you are at the beginning, it honestly doesn’t last forever. You’ll feel totally different in a matter of weeks, I promise. That first smile makes all these hard weeks worth it!

What did you wish you knew before having children?

Xxx

Elliot and Mummy – aged 2 weeks

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