THREE PEAS IN SPRING

Spring was another blink and miss it season! Plenty of time at home, a little jaunt to Dorset and even a fortnight at work! Months 8, 9 and 10 of Baby P’s little life flew by, one milestone after the other, and (spoiler alert) they continues into June! He looks as amazed as us to get so quickly and smoothly to the 10 month mark (and card, which he crawled round the garden with before finally stopping for a photo)! Apologies for the baby spam in this post, but life does rather revolve around him and he works the camera so well!!

March is normally a month of birthday celebrations, this years was more reserved! Obviously I had fun and was spoilt, but the day still hinges around the baby – swimming, feeding, naps etc! I definitely did well getting presents from my husband and son and we all managed a drink by the fire!!

March brought with it nappy rash. Whoever called it a rash lied. It’s a burn or a scorch and my darling baby was in agony. Presumably one acidic poo or potentially a bug (as some of his little friends had similar). Canisten and yellow metanium sorted him out in a few days thank goodness. I actually took him too the doctors – he was in so much pain we were both in tears. As a result of the rash, we spent most of that week at home with a lot of nappy off time. It was a long (and messy) week, one in which I was grateful to own so so many muslins. That week included pancake day, sat on his changing mat butt naked! He’d only ever eaten food in a high chair before and so he wasn’t too sure if it was a toy or food! It was the worst days of my mothering so far, seeing him suffer so badly.

The day he got over his rash he woke up with conjunctivitis, which is what makes me think the rash started with a bug… Poor baby, he’d not been poorly at all, but in a few days he had two prescriptions. 111 were excellent, no out of hours appointment was needed. The phone doctor issued a phone prescription and I collected it from a nearby pharmacy within half an hour. Eye drops and fresh air and his eyes were better after a couple of days.

Along with baby being ill I picked some nasty flu-like bug as well. Being at home and not perhaps looking after myself as well as I should, it took an age to shake and made everything hard. I pulled muscles in my lower back one night when I was up with him at the same time as being poorly. That really was the start of a horrible few weeks when we barely left the house and I dreaded each time I had to lift him. Thankfully health insurance stepped in and got me to the physio the next day and with the right exercises I quickly recovered and built better muscles and habits for lifting. I managed to give my flu-bug to my parents, which cut all our arms off for help!

Normally international women’s day we mark at work with something special but this year there was no formal marker for me. I was just busy doing the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had – being mummy. Until Baby P arrived I had no idea just how much my mum did for me or what all my other mum friends were up to! I didn’t get it but I definitely do now! Success is always what you make it, the same applies for a mummy at home as it does to success in the office. Currently some days success is just getting to the end of the day intact whereas on other days it is about achieving all the things on the to do list or going on an adventure.

Eating had its ups and downs this spring. Affected by nappy rash, colds, teething he was in and out of keenness for his food. Thankfully we turned a corner in May and he’s been chomping through anything he can get his hands on or his lips around on a spoon. But it’s definitely a journey with switchbacks rather than a long roman road! Thankfully progress was made and pub lunches are enjoyable for us all again now!

New fun was found in playgrounds and shopping trolleys! The weekly shop takes far longer these days, his jewel like eyes draw crowds. And then he smiles and waves at his fan club… We speak to a lot of people, especially the older people who melt at the sight of him! I also now go out knowing where there’s a nearby play area!!

And it isn’t just the shoppers that love him! He got his first little job, as a brand rep for the gorgeous Cotswold Baby Co and I urge you to take a look at the lovely curated baby and toddler clothing they have. If you use PARKER10 then you get a discount (not an affiliate link, just a nice saving for you).

Our garden had a total makeover. We are lucky enough to back onto a field of grazing cows and we love the view. Mr P had a vision of a seating area at the end of the garden that didn’t disrupt the views from the house. It’s fab. We still need the planting to be done, that’s coming soon. But for now we have funky seating and a fire pit and I’ve found us a baby monitor with long enough outdoor reach! It was 6 weeks of work for the landscaping team and whilst they are lovely folk, I was glad to see them go and have peace and quiet again. I’m so thankful we decided not to do a house extension this year, saving that one for next year!

Swimming goes from strength to strength and he loves it. Highlights have been: actual swimming underwater, leaving Daddy and baby to go without me and getting some quiet time at home, seeing him grow in confidence in the pool and also at home in the bath!

We haven’t made it to the sailing club enough yet this year, but when Easter was unseasonably warm Mr P went for a sail and of course we dipped our toes. It wasn’t quite Abu Dhabi… Character building temperatures instead!

I started a phased return to work. Firstly a Friday KIT day which involved a lot of coffee dates, lunch with my boss and an extensive amount of inbox clearing! Since then I have completed a solid fortnight commuting into London each day whilst Mr P took charge of the little man at home instead.

It was great to get back into things, because it was only for a fortnight. I also made my life harder than it will be when I go back because I commuted 5 days a week when I will only do 2 when I return. I’m also having Tuesday’s off for the first six months to see how that goes too. Being back was good, despite missing the little man intensely and feeling like I was missing out on all the fun at home (I really don’t know how Dad’s leave the baby at home, it is heart wrenching). I definitely feel that it will take my mind a few more weeks to catch up and probably a bit longer for me to hold my own in meetings again. The skills I have learnt on maternity leave are equally helpful to doing a good job in the office. And I’ve done a bit of self-care reading too to get my mind in the game.

So many milestones in spring. The main ones for us were his first words – Mummy on one day and Dada a few days later. Clear progress from his mamamama and dadadada babble that we’d had for a while already!

And following on fast from that he started crawling and no longer happy with just crawling all he wants to do now is stand, stagger, cruise and climb. He’s a delight to be around as he uses his new found independence. That said, he isn’t always delighted when we leave him in baby jail. He stands at the door chatting to us and eventually shouting. And when we open the door he will crawl to us, or if it is mealtime, to his high chair! .

When he isn’t crawling around, then he can normally be found turning wheels on one of his many tractors or waving constantly, either at people or just so that he can watch his hands wave. Waving isn’t a new thing, but my goodness it’s incredible just how fascinated he continues to be by his relatively new skill! His favourite toys currently are anything with wheels. He just loves turning the wheels round and round. Windowsills and window handles are also favourites

We had ups and downs with sleep. Nappy rash, colds and teething didn’t help. Nor did a sudden need to eat more food. It’s taken effort to get him back into self-settling during naps and in the night but we’re making progress. He still ends up in bed with us before the night is out (the only way to settle him sometimes without giving him milk that he doesn’t need), but now it is 4am rather than 10pm! He has a little jellycat rabbit that he sleeps with and that he absolutely adores. He’s getting better at finding it in the dark in his cot, but his throw is also getting stronger which gives him more to do in the search and rescue operation! I’ve had a few days when he has napped on me. I’ve lapped them up, like the new born snuggles that ended too soon!

No change on the walking front, there were plenty of walks. And most involve a visit to the swings and playground as well. How times have changed, it used to be pub walks, now it is playground walks! Although actually we have had some excellent pub lunches recently too.

I am pretty sure the baby is bored with looking at and sitting with bluebells, but we had to see them all. Most days for about ten days we went on a bluebell walk. They are just gorgeous and the scent magnificent. Harder to photograph with a baby strapped onto you, but worth the effort!

We also took a little trip down to the coast and had three relaxing days in Dorset. Pretty much unplanned, and pretty much perfect! I love a fancy trip abroad as the blog documents, but with baby in tow and time short, a staycation is far easier and more rewarding.

A great spring! Summer you have a lot to deliver!