This Week #2

Here is how we spent our 2nd week of 2013:

Monday

Mr C is originally from Liverpool and we met there when I was at University. When we moved to be nearer to my family, we left a lot of upset C's behind, especially Mr C's mum who adores Freddie. Because of this, we try and visit as often as we can. Mr C was still off work this week as they are especially quiet so today we took the opportunity to drive over to Liverpool to visit them. We went out for a nice lunch and did a bit of shopping in a nearby town where me & Mr C lived prior to having Freddie. It was nice to take Freddie there to show him where mummy & daddy met! We then got Freddie ready for bed and drove the 1 1/2 hour home where we transferred a Mr Sleepyhead straight from the car into his cot! 

Tuesday

On Tuesday we started our baby massage course. I originally applied for the course when Freddie was 4 weeks old but apparently,  it is very popular and over-subscribed so we've only just been given a place. It will go on for the next 6 weeks and I am very excited about it. We had a lovely time & it provided me with a great opportunity to meet some new mummy friends. Freddie was supposed to get his jabs but, as I posted before, he had a viral rash and the Dr said no jabs for him today. I finished the evening off with a lovely meal in a nearby restaurant with my two best friends. Neither have children but we are all always exceptionally busy with work and me with Freddie so it was wonderful to catch up and I had a lovely evening. 

Wednesday

On Wednesday, my mum was off work so we planned to go for a shopping day. Freddie woke up with a sore on the back of his head so we ended up at the doctors yet again! Mr C is still off work and I think we are all getting a spot of cabin fever so we went to my mum's house for the evening where she cooked us a lovely meal. Freddie enjoyed lots of laughs and cuddles with his Nana & Grandad!

Thursday

Today was baby clinic day. I enjoy going to baby clinic as it means I can see lots of other mummies and Freddie can see his little friends. He got weighed and I was astonished to find out he weighs 18lbs 6oz. Big boy! Mr C who never normally cooks, decided that he was going to cook for us and some friends so we went to our local farm shop to buy ingredients. It has a lovely little cafe so we had a sandwich and saw all the animals. Once we got home, our friends came over and we ate Mr C's yummy meal. I was very proud of him! 

Friday, Saturday & Sunday

We haven't done much over the weekend so I don't want to bore you with our mundane antics. We have spent our weekend with lots of walks, food and tv! Mr C & Freddie have enjoyed watching the Liverpool V Man U match today and we are now snuggled on the couch watching films eating pizza whilst our boy is tucked up fast asleep! 

Fashionable Friday

(Shy) Freddie is wearing:

Jeans: Next
Aztec print shirt (under Body warmer): Next
Body warmer: Next Sale (last season)
Hat & Glove: Next Sale
Shoes: Converse at Harvey Nichols

In the Wars...

Freddie is well and truly in the wars recently.

As his mummy, even if he had a cold, I feel deeply saddened. I would take it 15 times over instead of him having to suffer. 

We went for his 16 weeks vaccinations on Tuesday but whilst I was changing him before setting off, I noticed he had a rash all over his body. I took him to the surgery and asked the nurse to take a look at it before he had his jabs.

The doctor came and said he had a high temperature and was not allowed his vaccinations because he seemed to have a viral rash. We took him home and he had some Calpol and all seemed to be fine.

He is also struggling with his teeth and I have a sneaky suspicion that it may only be a matter of days till on cuts through.

To top it off, when he awoke this morning, he had an awful weeping graze on the back of his head that had seemed to appear overnight. We went back to the surgery and it turns out that he's rubbed his cradle cap in the night and it'd become infected! 

He seems OK in himself. He gets that off his Daddy; soldiering on. He didn't mind the Doctor checking him over, in fact, he liked him that much that he wanted to chew on his finger! 

Laughing with Daddy regardless!

Obviously these are only minor problems and I am very lucky that my boy is healthy. I count my blessings and thank God everyday that Freddie is well. It got me thinking about those parents whose children who aren't well. My heart goes out to you. 

Manners cost Nothing.

Growing up I always had the importance of manners drilled into me. They cost nothing, and mean everything. Whether it was saying please and thank you, excusing yourself or holding the door open, my parents did an exceptionally good job of ensuring that myself and my younger brother were raised with morals and manners.

That's why it continues to amaze me that some people fail to have them, or if they do have them, fail to use them. I'm not talking about young children here, I mean full grown adults who should know better.

Over the last few weeks I've had several encounters with people who had forgotten to use their manners. People swearing in front of children, not saying thank you when you hold a door open, even people that barge past you in the supermarket. It is down right rude and certainly not setting any sort of example for the youngsters. People moan about the 'youth' of today; I am a firm believer that children learn by imitation so what chance do they have with these people as role models?

It isn't everyone mind and I certainly wouldn't generalise however one particular situation made me question where exactly manners have gone.

I got the train home from Leeds with Freddie in his pram. I have a Quinny Buzz so not the smallest of prams which meant it wouldn't fit on the train as it was rush hour. I was with my mum so she put the pram down and held it whilst I held Freddie in his car seat. The train was packed out and Freddie decided that, although he'd only been fed an hour before, he wanted milk and he wanted it now! I tried to soothe him but he pretty quickly started becoming extremely restless which soon turned into a full blown screaming tantrum. 

I realised I'd have to get him out of his car seat to feed him or he'd be responsible for deafening the whole of the 5.22pm train from Leeds! 

I was stood up on the train; one arm clutching Freddie and the other, desperately clinging onto a pole for dear life! There was one free seat but a woman practically clambered over the car seat and dived into it, leaving me to stand once the train had started to move.

So here I was, 'lady with a baby' so to speak. The train was moving at a pretty fast pace and I was stumbling about all over. I looked about for a seat, petrified that I was going to fall over and squash Freddie. I caught the eyes of about 6 or 7 different people, both men and women, and not one offered me their seat. 

Now I wasn't expecting a seat because I was a woman. I am something of a feminist (although I certainly aren't burning my bra!) and I believe that men and women are equal so I didn't expect a man to give up his seat for me.

I expected a man, or a woman to give up their seat because I was holding a baby on a fast moving train and it could have been dangerous if I'd have fallen over with him in my arms.

Was I expecting too much?

This Week #1

As part of my blog in 2013, I am going to include a diary of the adventures Freddie & I have been up to in the past week.

Here's how we've spent out first week of the new year.

Monday

Monday was New Year's Eve. Both myself & Mr C are not big fans of New Year's Eve. I find it ridiculously overrated and overpriced. I refuse to pay £10 into my local pub when I can go there any other night of the year for free! We spent a lovely evening in our PJ's at my mums however we were home well before the clock struck and spent 12 o'clock dozing on the couch. My mum had made lots of yummy food and I had a final blow out and stuffed my face before I was to begin my healthy eating regime!



Tuesday Tuesday was a boring day. Freddie & Mr C spent the day with my Dad watching New Year's football whilst I went at kept my mum company for a few hours at work. We then went to our local Farm Shop to stock up on organic veggies for Freddie and finished the day off with long walk. The Christmas tree is still up in our village so Freddie enjoyed looking at the twinkly lights before he nodded off! 


Wednesday
Wednesday was a family day. Mr C is soon back at work so he wants to spend as much quality time with Freddie as possible. He is a true water baby so we went to the local swimming pool to take him in the baby pool. In the end, the pool was shut for repairs so we had to trail around to find another pool which ended up being cold! For a supposed baby pool, it was bloody freezing! Freddie enjoyed himself nevertheless and loved snuggling in his new fluffy dressing gown once he'd gotten out of the pool.

Thursday
On Thursday we went to nearby Saltaire to the Pandora shop. It was my best friends birthday on Saturday and I wanted to buy her a special gift to celebrate as well as thanking her for being the most wonderful friend and godmother to Fred. We finished off the day with a lovely Spag Bol.

Friday
Friday was spent in Leeds shopping with my mum. We go on the train quite regular and have a mooch around the shops. Today we ate lovely cakes and drank tea Al Fresco as it was such a lovely mild late Afternoon. Freddie was very well behaved as normal and slept around most of the shops. I planned on treating myself to new clothes as I've still not updated my wardrobe since giving birth but instead, I wanted to treat Freddie to some new Ralph Lauren boots. He really is a spoilt monkey but I just love treating him! The day ended quite sourly once we got the train home and I certainly won't be getting the train again however, I'll post about that later!


Saturday
Our lovely friends came over for the day from Liverpool and we enjoyed a lovely stroll around our local reservoir. It is a lovely walk however, as normal, I was unprepared and ruined my new Uggs! We rewarded ourselves with a lovely lunch as our local gastro pub sat next to the log fire to warm ourselves up. Saturday was also the night of my best friends birthday party. It was strictly fancy dress but, as a new mummy who hasn't got her figure back from before baby, I opted to cheat rather than don a skimpy fancy dress. I wore my lovely pearl dress that I've been dying to wear for ages combined with some glasses and tah dah!... I was a movie star! Mr C went as Elvis and provided the comedy factor for the evening, finished off by a flying fall across the garden lawn on our exit! 

Sunday
Today we awoke feeling a tad delicate. I never seem to sleep after I've had a few glasses of wine! When my alarm clock went off, I was tempted to roll over but I then remembered that I had to pick up my beautiful boy who had slept at my mum's house overnight. It was lovely to see him and even though it'd only been a 12 hours, I'd missed him lots! Sunday is football day followed by Sunday lunch at the golf club so we all enjoyed a yummy roast minus Freddie who ravished his porridge! I'm now relaxing after a lovely bath, revelling in the fact that normally, I would be back at work tomorrow after the school holidays but because of my maternity leave, I'm not! 

Fashionable Friday

Freddie wears:

Navy Polo Shirt: Ralph Lauren
Denim Jeans: Next
Shoes: Converse

4 months: For You, Freddie x

Freddie, or shall I say Freddie Boy as you are now affectionately known.

You are now 4 months. 17 whole weeks. This week saw a year go by since we found out we were expecting you. What a difference that one year has made. I have found a place in my heart I never knew existed. A place with love for my boy.

Every day provides a new laugh. You are quite the comedian. Always laughing or smiling. Today I took you on the train to Leeds,  the man who sat next to us said you were the most well behaved baby he had ever seen. You thanked him with your signature gummy smile that lightens up your whole face. I was a very proud mummy, in fact, I'm always proud of you. Only the other day, I was told you were 'a breath of fresh air', and you are.

You are so close to sitting unaided now but mummy, being mummy, refuses to move away from you incase you fall over! You are very strong and often mistaken for a baby of 7 or 8 months. You are in age 6-9month clothes and costing us a small fortune in designer gear! You are more than worth it.

Your first Christmas was amazing. We spent it with both sets of your grandparents and you kept us all entertained with your first proper 'belly laugh". You idolise your Grandad Rich and he is the only one who can get one of these hysterical laughs from you. You got lots of presents and, Mummy enjoyed dressing you up in comedy fancy dress. Mean mummy! 

After much deliberation, Mummy & Daddy made the decision to start you on solids when you turned 17 weeks. You are such a big boy that you were guzzling bottles at a phenomenal rate, faster than I could keep up! We are taking it one step, a day at a time but you are a lover of sweet potato which is fast proving your firm favourite. 

As always, I Love You.

Forever & More,

Mummy x