Sippy Cup to Beaker?

Alongside my ongoing concern that the babe should be using cutlery, I am now thinking that I should be thinking of moving her onto an open cup. She discarded her bottle at 12 months and has happily used a hard spout sippy cup for all her drinks ever since. She is however taking more or more interest in drinking from my cup or mug and I have always been led by her so ….

Amusingly, her attempts to drink from mummy’s cup are, whilst successful, more like lapping than drinking. In the manner of a small dog!

The Doidy Cup may just make all this easier and is recommended by all the Amazon Mum’s out there. I’ll give it a go and report back.

I am however aware that the babe will reach these milestones in her own time, whether or not I stress about it. Motherhood – easier said than done.

That sinking feeling…

I may have come to sound like a stuck record on issues around being a working Mum but I do seem to come up against its challenges week after week with no let up!

Yesterday my lovely babe woke up looking like something not right. I don’t post pics of her for the slightly overcautious reason that I want this blog to remain anonymous but I was tempted by this particular sight. She has a bad case of conjunctivitis. This manifested itself in hard bright green discharge from her ears to the bridge of her nose across both eyes. Compounded by the solid green snot running nose to mouth she looked like a little baby alien child. Poor thing.

After I had prised all this from her face with 101 water soaked cotton wool balls I was forced to confront the next issue; Who on earth was going to look after my highly contagious child for my working week? Despite only working a three day week this seems to be a common issue. So the sinking feeling comes in. It starts with concern for my gorgeous girl, builds to panic when contemplating the reality of the situation and usually ends on feelings of inadequacy that I have to leave her with others when she’s not feeling great.

Thank goodness I have childminders that are not only accomodating of the common illnesses of childhood but that I really trust and value their influence over my little girl.

In other news I am very excited that the warm weather has eventually allowed me to break into the babes summer wardrobe. Below is a fab coral romper that I bought a few weeks ago at George at Asda. A bargain at £6 and right on trend both in colour and style. Even with gooey eyes – supercute!

The coral one is no longer available online but this denim version packs a similar punch. http://direct.asda.com/george/younger-girls-trousers-shorts/heart-print-denim-playsuit/GEM234287,default,pd.html

Her Own Place at the Table

I wanted to start this week by telling everyone how great my high chair is! It isn’t actually a high chair it’s one of those table seat’s that attaches to any table and its just fab. Not only does it mean that the babe eats at the table like the rest of us but it means that when we have guests we can just move the seat to the big table in the dining room and she can lord it their too! Genius! I have seen them poorly reviewed before but I really think its great for eating as a family. It’s also a great alternative to a Bumbo or the suchlike if you are busy in the kitchen and you need somewhere to put a pre-walker. Before she was so active the babe regularly waved at me from her exalted position at the table whilst I made the dinner! Bless. I’ve linked mine here for anyone interested. It’s made by Chicco, comes in under £30 and in a variety of styles and colours.

Chicco Table Seat

The reason I was reminded of the baby seats greatness this weekend was because we had friends to stay. Having these particular friends to stay is always lush. They are old friends but they don’t live nearby so we treasure our weekends and holidays together. However, they have three boys. A nine year old and seven year old identical twins. We are really close to the boys as we’ve always been around in their lives but they are a full on combination of busyness! When they left late last night I had to give the toilets an extra clean to remove the huge amounts of wee that had hit the floor, back of the loo and the loo brush holder to name a few! One of the benefits of girls perhaps.

It’s unfortunate that their is such a big age gap between the boys and the babe but they don’t seem to mind. One of the twins is a real softie with her and now that she’s mobile they all just find her fascinating. After a ropey start, (where all three boys and their parents pitched up in her box room size nursery before 8am in the morning), she let her guard down and I was able to take a back seat whilst they all played together. Another good reason for another baby maybe. Lovely to watch her grow in confidence anyway. The hubby is now concerned that one of the twins could be a potential suitor in a few years time as the age gap is only as big as he and I. Bit of time before I need worry I reckon!

Moving between babies

Sometimes things are just meant to be. I am off work this week really because the child minder is away but I’m really glad I am. The babe is teething in epic fashion. It’s fair to say that she is a good baby, eats well, sleeps well and is generally smiley. Not so this week. She started with the teeth v early at 5 months and she’s had 7 or 8 for a few months now. A quick peek in her mouth this week and I can see 5 more coming through all at once! No wonder she’s grumpy.

With the babe being under the weather she has been sleeping more and likes to cuddle up on me in the morning something she hasn’t done for months. It’s been lovely and has made me think what it would be like for the potential baby number two. I can’t help thinking that I wouldn’t have the hours to devote sitting while he or she slept. I know it’s always different for a second baby and they wouldn’t know any different but it’s all food for thought. I do think the babe would like it though, she shows more and more interest in smaller babies. Bless.

The second baby thinking has led me and the hubby to talk about moving house. We love our current home and are seriously sentimental individuals. It is our first home together, I was married from it and we brought the babe back here from the hospital so it will be hard to leave. But the reality is that we are at least one bedroom short and would benefit from a much bigger kitchen. This house was bought when we were a professional couple who hadn’t thought about kids. How things change…

So, I think we should move before we think about getting pregnant again. Just need to detach the hubby from the house. Easier said than done me thinks.

Back to baby fashions tomorrow. My best mate’s little girl is getting christened on sunday and I need to think outfits!

Flowers & photo shoots

Well I write this whilst drinking wine and tucking into a massive box of Hotel Chocolat Serious Dark Fix. Although the day did turn into a bit of a tour of the countryside seeing mother, mother in law and godmother I was broadly very well looked after by the hubby.

He’s very good on gifts for major birthdays and Christmas but he’s never really gone in for valentine’s etc so I only really expected a card. Instead i got a huge bunch of roses delivered yesterday just as I was about to burst into tears from sheer knackeredness, then today the chocolates and a lovely card that he’d had the babe hand print. Bless.

I am deep in the comfort zone of my second of four days off work and the babe has just about realised that I won’t be leaving her for a while. Saturday was spent with her almost entirely on my hip as she began shrieking as soon as I so much went to the loo….not good.

Daddy was at the football tonight so we had a nice tea and bath and a little photoshoot for a giggle. I have recently redecorated the kitchen and wanted a big canvas of the babe for the wall. We were given a little cooks outfit when she was born so I dressed her up and got shooting! The result was a lovely shot of her in nothing but her nappy, apron and chef’s hat brandishing a spatula – perfect for the kitchen wall!

No top tip today but a bit of a lust item for the little ones. My best mate’s little girl was sporting her new Barbour gilet when I saw them yesterday. Not cheap but very cute and I’m assured will last for at least a year….. They are £40 I believe if that’s your thing.

I am also sharing a pic of the gorgeous mirror I just purchased for the babe’s room. My blog is not really about interiors but this is so gorgeous it’s worth a shot. The butterflies are magnetic which is lovely for the babe and the cage style bars open and close. I buy lots of baby stuff from this site. http://www.vertbaudet.co.uk It’s lovely for clothes and nursery stuff and you never see other kids in it. Always a bonus.