Coming on in leaps and bounds

Well it appears that there was a reason behind The Boo having a few bad nights - she was cutting another two teeth! I discovered this news when she bit down on one of my fingers and I was left with four little indents on one side, instead of the expected two. My pain soon changed to pride, as I gently lifted up her top lip and found two more pearly-whites framing her two front teeth. I couldn't believe it! They were tiny, but sharp as hell! So that's now six teeth she has and her smile has been changing and getting lovelier with each new addition. 

 

She's really coming along in leaps and bounds lately. Her legs have grown longer and most of her little leggings and trousers now end at her knees. The health visitor who carried out her 10 month development assessment thought they were supposed to be cropped! I have started to dress her in the next size but the waist bands are a bit baggy still. 

I am very happy to report that The Boo did really well at the assessment and is meeting all the development milestones. She has also learned how to wave and give high-fives! She has mastered clapping and does it frequently. She puts things to her ear like a phone and says 'hiya'. She loves to point all the time, at anything and everything. The Boo has a sense of humour and an infectious laugh which makes my heart swell. She uses her high chair as a walker by standing underneath it, holding the legs and pushing it around. She has begun to shake her head when she hears the word 'no'. She can climb the stairs. (This fact frightens me somewhat.) She has learned how to undo the little Velcro straps and remove her shoes. 

New things The Boo has experienced recently:

Being on the sidelines at a football match, vomiting repeatedly all over herself in the bath (best place for it!), homemade chilli con carne, spaghetti carbonara and fish and chips.

Talking of food, I joined Weight Watchers last night and today is the first day of my new healthy eating lifestyle! I have not, and will not, call it the 4 letter 'd' word, as that immediately makes me think I can't have certain food and therefore want everything!! It's so true that you always want what you can't have! So the key will be to allow myself everything, so long as I am honest and include the proper points. That way I can really stay focused and in control. And hopefully, knowing I can eat cake, might mean I won't bother!!

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Autumn is just around the corner

I love this time of year. The weather is still warm but signs that Autumn is just around the corner are everywhere. The nights are cooler, the sunsets are striking, the leaves are turning orange, flowers have gone and berries are bulging. Blackberries are ripe for the picking and I have inky fingers to prove it!

Blackberries. They always remind me of the end of the school summer holiday and wishing that I had just one more week off! Just the smell of them makes me feel like a kid again. So it was to my sheer delight that I found lots of juicy specimens on my morning walk with The Boo and just happened to have an empty plastic bag with me! And if you're going to put them in a crumble, you must have apples too right? So off I went and scrumped myself some! Yes indeed. I took The Boo to the park, parked her pram on the side of the path, climbed over a number of shrubs and actually jumped up and down numerous times to try and reach the branches to grab those little beauties. Needless to say that some of them came crashing down on my head! I thank God that nobody else was around to witness that. The Boo had front row seats and sat there looking at me like I was crazy!

She's been a bit of a pickle recently. She's been settling down to sleep ok at night, but then waking up in the wee small hours and refusing to go back to sleep. Tonight The Boo went down at 8pm and then woke up at 11. For the last 3 hours or so I've tried standing over her and laying her back down every time she gets up. I've tried ignoring her completely. I've hated myself whilst listening to her cry so much she was almost sick and I've also watched her playing happily in her cot and laughing!! She finally went to sleep at about 2.30am. I'm hoping this is a phase which will pass! At least when The Boo naps tomorrow (or should I say later today!) I have the luxury of being able to crawl into bed to nap too.

Right now I feel exhausted. I feel like a failure that she doesn't sleep through the night yet and I don't know if I make things worse when I give her cuddles and milk to soothe her and get her back to sleep. I remind myself that she's only 10 months old. She's a baby who wants to feel loved, safe and warm when she drifts off to sleep. I don't blame her. I want that too. 

Faster by the day

The Boo is soundly sleeping. She looks so comfortable and relaxed and I can't stop looking at her! I really want to go over, cover her rosy cheeks with kisses and cuddle her, but I must resist that urge and let her rest. She must be worn out as she's really on the move now. The Boo has totally mastered crawling and is getting faster by the day! If she's on the floor, you can't take your eyes off her for a moment or else she'll be out of the room before you know it. I'm certainly worn out following her! The Boo loves to be on her feet though. Whether she's stood still or holding your hands and walking, if she's upright she's grinning and laughing.

She's had a lovely week, including a wonderfully long crawl exploring the local park. We met up with my best friend and her three sons for a picnic and had a wonderful afternoon. The sun shone brightly, we ate and drank, the boys climbed trees and attempted to make a camp and The Boo thoroughly enjoyed all the attention. Each of the boys wanted to play with her or crawl along beside her and they argued over who was next to hold her! We sent them off on a scavenger hunt with a list of things to collect so we could give The Boo some quiet time and to hear ourselves talk! 

Nanny (my mother-in-law) has moved in with us, so we've been getting used to having another person about the house. The Boo is very lucky to have all her grandparents and aunties so close by and I like that she spends lots of time with them. I can't imagine not seeing them all for months at a time. I think I'd fall apart. 

Food The Boo has tried over last week: mild chicken curry, nectarines, grapes, pesto pasta, digestive biscuit, tuna, peas (she liked them all).

Total teeth: 4 (another top one is out)!!