Winter warmers

SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, Grace is rather perplexed by the white stuff falling softly across her face from the sky. It's going to take a little getting used to, although no worries there - according to the forecast the cold snap is here for a wee while yet. We have had plenty of fun over the last few weeks trying out new games and activities to keep Grace busy. We're still going swimming every week which she is enjoying more and more and she is becoming increasingly interested in watching us grown-ups go about our day and doing the usual chores... all to her inquisitive delight.

Grace is spending time daily on her tummy to help strengthen her upper body and neck, although we have yet to see her roll by herself. She's doing plenty of hand and finger sucking which is great for us as it means she's able to self-soothe herself back to sleep at night if she wakes. We're blessed now with regular 10+ hours each night from when she goes to bed at 7pm after her bath. Thank you Grace!! (I hope I haven't jinxed that now as she has had a bit of a snotty nose for the last day or so and fear a winter cold may be on its way... so stay away winter cold virus, and keep Gracie sleeping soundly!)

At last her hair is slowly beginning to re-grow after over a month of fighting a losing battle to cradle cap. After trying a myriad of treatments, we've settled on Dentinox Shampoo, following by Oilatum smothered from head to toe, topped off with Aloe gel for good measure. I can't wait for her fluffy little crown to come back.

Oh and one last nugget of news, GREAT NEWS!! Grace has been signed off by the paediatric cardiologist at the hospital... after a full examination and echocardiogram last week, the asymptomatic heart murmur that was present in the neonatal period has resolved itself and she has been given a clean bill of health. We can now breathe a sigh of relief... our little girl is in the clear.

Anyway, a few pics for the last few weeks... (and more to follow from a visit from the Grandparents soon). Ciao peeps!

My favourite sleepsuit to date - outgrown.


Catching a snooze in the car.


Copying Daddy doing air-guitar.


Practicing for Christmas...

A full Quart!

Darling little Grace is three months old already and I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown. Already she is developing her own little personality and we can see she is going to become a kind and contented child. My heart melts every time she treats me to one of her gummy smiles and her whole face lights up with delight. Grace has taken to sucking on her hand rather a lot and dribbling so I do wonder if we are in the early stages of teething? According to the Dentist it is possible for her to teeth this early, so we are keeping close watch.



All of a sudden this week we have seen her taking more interest in the toys on her rocking chair, and we have so enjoyed watching her chatter away to the toys, particularly Crinkly Caterpillar, who she seems to have a soft spot for. One of the most heartwarming things is listening to Grace talk away to her toys if she wakes in the night (she is making a good range of sounds now) and then often after around twenty minutes or so she drifts off back to sleep. Matt the Husband and I have been blessed this week with a beer-worthy milestone... Grace has been sleeping through from 7pm until somewhere between 6am and 7am. What initially we thought was a fluke, we're now on the 5th night on the trot so "CHEERS" and finally some uninterrupted sleep. Or at least that is the theory. I have all at once developed insomnia that hasn't kept me company since late pregnancy so I am darned frustrated to be thumb twiddling at night when I should be sleeping. Hey-ho, it's nothing to lose sleep over.... ha!!



We did have an out of character grumpy stretch with Grace the other week, where we were treated to the kind of baby one might like to muffle the sound of with a jolly good set of ear plugs. I have experienced meltdowns in Mothercare and the supermarket, the latter of which I walked the aisles for what felt like half an hour trying to calm her down. Turns out she was suffering with wet eczema, and a little under the weather from her 12 week immunisations - nothing that a little Calpol didn't fix, a blessing in one dose.



We now have our regular cheerful Grace back, and at the 3 month marker weighs in at 15lb 8oz. If I had some time to spare I'd sit and work out how much milk she's had to drink to get to that weight, but I have supper on the go and mental arithmetic has never been my strong point.

The walking week

Autumn is upon us now the clocks have gone back, with it bringing beautiful mornings and the most wonderful colours in every direction on a walk. Combine with this early teething for Grace and a super energetic Daisy-woof, and most days this week found a tired and harassed first-time Mum pounding the pavements with a buggy. Pavements, park, woods. You name it, we walked it. For when walking, the world is quiet - no pestering from the dog, and a generally serene and sleeping (or at least content with the motion) Grace.

Grace taking in the flora at Newmillardam.


Asleep on a walk, a moment of serenity.


Daisy back home and content with her rawhide


The first-time Mum always feels better after a walk. The air clears her head, and provided she doesn't fall fowl by pushing the buggy through something, well, fowl, it usually serves well to get the day off to a good start. Thank heavens for brilliant sunshine and crisp mornings, and a note to the man upstairs if he's listening - lets have more of the crisp and sunny, and less of the damp and blustery. I look bedraggled and unkempt as it is at the moment, without throwing a dose of damp and blustery. The first-time Mother does NOT need help looking like a windswept scarecrow. She can achieve quite naturally what make-up artists and stylists on film sets in Hollywood take hours to achieve. I am a lost talent.

Anyway, thank you good weather, and thank you autumnal beauty for making our walks this week so wonderful.

As for the nightmare of early teething - that can wait for another post.

God bless x