Poorly Boo

Our little Boo has been very poorly. There is apparently some sort of sickness bug going about and lots of children locally have been unwell, poor little things. The Boo woke up last Friday, right as rain as normal, but her eyes got darker and heavier and she got quieter and more clingy as the day went on. (Her eyes always give it away!)

I thought she was just overtired, so I took her upstairs for her nap a bit earlier than usual. When I cuddled her in close and kissed her forehead, she was burning up! Her temperature was up high, but not enough to be classed as a fever thankfully. But something was definitely there that her body was fighting.

That evening she refused her dinner and only took some fine oat cereal and milk. She didn't want to play before bed and just sat cuddled into me on my lap. Then suddenly she just sat up, looked at me with a slight worried look and threw up. All over me. Repeatedly.

Poor Boo. Needless to say, we had to strip her down, wash her and change all her clothes. And mine. And strip the sofa covers. And scrub a large area of the carpet. She seemed a bit happier after the event and her interest in her toys returned for a while, but she wasn't right. We had a repeat of this over the course of the weekend and she was notably less active and off her food, only really accepting her milk or water. 

This week she has been gradually getting back to her normal, lively self, but has still not really wanted to eat. But yesterday, she awoke with a grin, eagerly wanting to play and welcomed breakfast, which I was really pleased about. I took her to a play group and she really enjoyed herself. Right up until the part when the children sat to have milk and snacks. She had some buttered toast and then a bit of apple. She coughed and struggled with a bit of the apple and as I picked her up and patted her back, she threw up on me again, but this time it was followed with a laugh! I blame the apple for that one, not the bug.

She's been fine since then so I hope that's the end of it now. It's been quite hard for me to watch as she's not really been sick like this before. Not for days in a row. She's had colds before but not a proper bug like this with vomiting and burning up. 

I confess that it made me worry a lot, do the usual thing of looking up her symptoms on the internet and fretting over all those horrible diseases out there. I've spent hours giving extra cuddles and kisses, feeling her forehead, taking her temperature, worrying if she's hydrated enough and hovering over her in the cot in the middle of the night checking on her for a lot longer than usual. I guess it's called being a mummy.

Autumn walks and cuddles

What glorious weather we had today! I went outside this morning to hang some washing on the line and couldn't believe how warm it was! What a treat.

I invited one of my sisters over for Sunday lunch and it was lovely for us all to gather in the kitchen with the back door wide open, my sister playing with The Boo, us chatting and sipping red wine, whilst I prepared and cooked the roast chicken and Frank Sinatra played on the iPod. (I love to listen to Frank when I cook.)

At the end of another week of my non-diet, I couldn't wait for some comfort food and I enjoyed every single gravy soaked mouthful! The Boo had her own portion served up and chopped in the blender. Thankfully she loves her mummy's cooking and ate hers up greedily. When lunch was over and the clearing up was done, I suggested we all get out into that warmth and take the dog and The Boo for a walk in the park to feed the ducks. It was lovely. My mum and her dog even joined us on our stroll.

The Boo had a lovely time and gave out lots of cuddles. Oh, how wonderful her cuddles are! She gave me her first one earlier this week. I was sitting up in bed with her on my lap, when she just leaned towards me and wrapped both of her arms around my neck tightly and lay her face against mine! I was so moved and blessed to receive such affection from this little girl of mine. I wanted that moment to last forever! I absolutely love her and can't get enough of her!

She's really trying to communicate now. Along with all the pointing, The Boo now talks away in her own little mumbled language and then looks at you as if to say "don't you think?" I would love to know what she is trying to say and I can't wait until the day we start having conversations!

It's her first birthday in just over 5 weeks time. I'd better get my party planning hat on this week! I have a head full of different ideas and questions. Do we keep it low key or go all out as it's her first? Or should we save all the best ideas for when she is older? I think I know what to do. I just need to make a decision and get on with it! We've already bought her presents and are starting to think about her Christmas presents! Where has the last year gone!?

This last week I have been working on a photo book of The Boo's first year. I'm a big fan of photo books! Since we went digital we never bothered to get photos printed unless they were for a frame, so most of the pictures we took sat on the computer or on CD's at the back of a drawer gathering dust and never looked at! I first did one with our wedding photos and loved everything about it. I do mine online and design it myself. You choose the layout and colour themes and put your own pictures where you want them. It takes ages but is fun to do and well worth all the effort. Then hey presto, you have a wonderful book, with pictures that can never fade, be lost or damaged and it can be taken from the shelf and enjoyed at anytime in an instant! Yep, if you have ever considered doing one, do it! You won't regret it. Great idea for a Christmas present too!

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.