4 months!

Where has the time gone? 17 weeks has flown and the tiny little thing that was delivered to us what seems like only yesterday has turned into a proper little baby girl. I can't get over how far Grace has come along... and she's not so little any more! At the moment our 'little baby' is 16lbs 10oz, measures around 25 inches tall and is comfortably filling size 6-9 month clothes. She is very tall and taking after her Daddy there. Her weight is consistently on the 91st centile which show steady growth in line with her birth weight.

Grace gets weighed once a fortnight now at the Childrens Centre in the village where both of us are making some new friends. We also go to play group there once, sometimes twice a week depending on what else we have on. It's so nice watching Grace interact with the other babies. She's the youngest by a few weeks, and some are up to a year old now. She has taken particular liking to baby Berrie, Scarlett and another Grace. It's such a warm feeling seeing her make eye contact with them, watching them communicate by gurgling and babbling, and sometimes trying to grab each others hands as they lay on the mat together. It's taken a while and someone particularly brave to start the ball rolling, and thanks to Berrie's Mummy, Joanne, who lives in the next village to break the ice and invite us over for a cuppa and a play date. I took Grace with other Grace's Mummy, Emma last week, and it made a lovely change just to sit and natter about this and that in the comfort of the home environment.

I must admit we have all struggled with getting out and about in the snow and ice of the last fortnight. In the first shallow snow we were able to push the buggy and when it iced over it was still ok-ish, just very hard work on me! Since the heavier snowfall it became impossible to navigate the buggy over the uneven terrain where the snow was deeper and car wheels had caused ruts which had then frozen. With the car snowed in for 4 days on the trot, we resorted to walking with the harness but even that became a toughy with Daisy-woof pulling on the lead and me freaking out about slipping over and squashing Grace! Anyway, its thawed out a bit temporarily (more snow forecast this weekend) so we have been making the most of getting out and about in the brief reprieve.

Grace is sleeping like a dream right now. I keep touching wood but each time I write this blog she's still sleeping beautifully and it's the one thing she is very very consistent about. We've had the bedtime routine down to a fine art now, and she going to bed around 7pm and sleeping right through till around 6-7am. We had a few night time wakings the other week as she has just been through the 4 month growth spurt (which saw her milk consumption shoot up by 20% literally overnight!), but she is back on track now with normal milk input and good nighttime sleeps. I have been a little sneaky of late as I am battling with the dark mornings in my head - Grace has been going back to sleep after her morning bottle which has let me enjoy the rare opportunity to sleep late, sometimes until she wakes again at around 10am! I am very lucky! (And lazy at times, but if a first-time Mum can't take a duvet day every now and then, who can??)

BIG stretch!


Matt the Husband undertakes the bedtime routine with Grace every night at 6pm when he gets home from work. He's been late home twice with the snow causing travel disruption so I've had the fun task of reading bedtime stories and bathing Grace ready for her bedtime bottle. Her favourite book is "We're going on a Bear Hunt" which has some wonderfully indulgent sound effects which she smiles so widely at and anyone having the pleasure of reading it to her relishes in the 5 minute chance get into character, and see her enjoying the show to the max. Sometimes I watch her enjoying life and I can feel my heart brimming with love for her and find myself a bit doe eyed. This motherhood lark is taking some getting used to, but moments like that are definitely priceless.

Developmentally, Grace is on track. She loves being on her front, reaching and grabbing for toys and wriggling alot as if she's trying to crawl. She hasn't yet mastered rolling, so we are encouraging her and helping her and when she does manage one she looks so surprised! We're sitting Grace up in the bath now so she has a new perspective on the bubbly world, and is taking a real interest in in the 3 little ducks that share the bubbles with her... tentative splashes and gentle little waves. So sweet to watch the excitement on her face - wide eyed and giving her wonderfully gummy grin. She's also spending a fair amount of time propped up with pillows so she's sitting, or spending a little time in the Bumbo we bought for her recently. It's great - she sits watching me do chores and its great knowing she's seeing things from he level now instead of seeing everything from the floor up. I'm loving this phase she is going through right now. Time is going quickly... too quickly at times.

Saying night-night before I go out for the Mypetstop Xmas Party.


So while Grace is growing, Mummy is trying to shrink!!! I kid you not. I'm so lucky with where I'm at for 4 months post-partum, 6lbs to shed to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Now that's not to say that's my ideal weight, but at least it's in sight and not unachievable. I'm very proud to be able to say that. I've started Ashtanga Yoga again and have been dragging poor Sheli along with me for company. I look up to my yoga teacher so much, and already I can feel the benefits, even if I am only practicing once a week. Got to plod on through the depths of winter though and I don't much relish the drive to the far side of Leeds each week to class, but it has to be done... I will be trim again!!

Nanny Roberts visiting from Norfolk.


Well, as I come to the end of this update for my blog readers, I am starting the countdown to my return to work. BOO! HISS!
I have completed six Keeping In Touch Days already and have one a week planned in for January before going back 3 days a week from the middle of February when Grace is 6 months. I'd like to take longer off to be with Grace, although honestly, I believe she will get better quality Mummy time on the 4 days we'll spend together once I've had the chance to mingle with grown-ups and do some big-girl work. Let's not think about that too much for now, eh?

Grace is taking a daytime nap at the moment while Daisy-woof and I have a snuggle on the sofa, watching a documentary we recorded almost a week ago, while the washing machine finishes it's load and the kettle boils so I can make a coffee before she wakes. Being a stay at home Mum for the moment is busy... never a dull moment... lonely a times, but I know there are always friends I can call on to have a chat or share a laugh with. You know who you are... thank you! x x

Daisy-woof enjoying Doggy Day Camp (photo courtesy of James Kundi).

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

Halloween Treats

Gracie hoarding the Halloween treats...

It all went swimmingly...

It's been a good week here in the Big-Mother House. So much so in fact that the the big-mother is now just about able to squeeze into her pre-maternity jeans which had her dancing round the house like a monkey. And a giddy one at that. Of course the fact that I can't yet sit down in those jeans is irrelevant, I am just happy to be wearing something with buttons at the waist as opposed to over-stretched elastic. Hurray me! Actually the real hard work starts next week when I dust off the yoga mat for a six week kick start to my practice with the yogi legend that is Joanna. Sheli has bravely agreed to join me so we can whine about our aches the morning after... got to love peer support.

As for Grace, she has been a busy little lady. As well as putting on a stiff upper lip for her first shot of immunisations at the clinic, she's donned her water wings and made her first splash in the local pool. Like Mummy, she is also a fan of peer support, so she was joined by not one little friend from our ante-natal group, but three! Eleanor, Ava and Logan all took to the water in their 'happy nappy' swim pants where they learnt the soggy version of 'the wheels on the bus' ('the babies in the pool go splash splash splash...') and had a great time bobbing around the waves getting used to being wet somewhere other than the bath. Next week her little friend John is also coming along!

Hanging out on the play mat


Grace has become rather fond of smiling now - it's becoming a regular thing and the best ones are certainly those she gives when she's greeted after waking from a nap in her nursery. She's also started seeking comfort from hugging and her little arms are learning to embrace and grip which is ever so heart warming when she does it. We like bear hugs in our house.

As for team triumphs, Matt the Husband and I have finally mastered the supermarket shop. After a disastrous attempt during week two, we have put the fear behind us and tackled the 'baby trolley' once more. Success is a) finding a parent and child parking space, b) finding a trolley suitable for carrying a baby, and c) finding the aisles clear enough for dawdling as shopping with a baby inevitably takes longer. THANK YOU TESCO!!

Grace showing off in her hired wheels


The only other thing to mention this week is that I have gone back to work. Not literally, but I have taken my first 'keeping in touch' day which passed in a flash and gave me a dose of grown up conversation (almost Roger), a round of buffet sarnies, and an Apricot muffin to bring home for the Mother-in-law as a thank you for looking after Grace for the day. Typically heavy traffic on the way home saw the muffin reduced to crumbs although I'm aware it's the thought that counts. Yummy. So yes, happy to be back in the chair, albeit a different one now that I have changed job roles, but a good feeling nonetheless. And my old role? The job couldn't have been offered to a more deserving person... WELL DONE SHELI!

Heart Murmur

Dear little Grace,

We had a follow up appointment with the Consultant at Pontefract Hospital this week. He wanted to listen to your heart again to see if the murmur that was present at birth is still audible. He confirmed it is, although he did say it is quite quiet so it may be that whatever defect is causing the sound is starting to correct itself naturally.

Your ECG trace was normal which is excellent news at it means the electrical activity of your heart is functioning as it should be and the defect is not having any effect on this measure. We now have to wait for a referral to see the Cardiologist at the Childrens Hospital in Leeds for an ultrasound scan which will tell us what defect is present. At the moment he thinks its either a PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) or a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), both being a hole in the heart. I'll tell you more about those as and when we get a diagnosis.

Overall though he was really very pleased with your development, commenting you were thriving - gaining weight very well and being quite advanced for your age - we're very proud.

So keep on growing big and strong, and remember that your Mummy and Daddy love you x x x