And now you are a big brother

On Christmas Eve there was a special delivery at your home - a baby sister called Bea. I think you were actually having a nap when she arrived. I wonder how you feel about the new arrival?

Sprogwatch

It is two days before Christmas and we are awaiting the arrival of your baby brother or sister. Meanwhile you have been making the transition from baby to boy.
You have now walked five steps all by your self.
You have given Daddy, then Mummy, big sloppy kisses.
Mummy cut your hair with the clippers as it had grown very long at the back.
You no longer have bottles of milk and you don't often have jars of baby food. You are getting better about eating - but you would much rather feed yourself than have someone feed you. The only trouble is, you like dropping things on the floor and making a mess as much as you do putting things in your mouth and swallowing them.
You may not be able to tell us in words what you do want - but you have a very nice line in head shaking to tell us what you don't.
And you have discovered books. Especially books that do things. Elephant Wellyphant and Oh Dear are two of your favourites.

Bouncing

Ever since you were able to sit up on your own you have loved to bounce. Whenever you hear music – the pipes and drums of the school band, songs on the radio – you happily bounce up and down.
That’s why it seems entirely appropriate that your first word (uttered this morning in the presence of both your parents, so there can be no mistake) was Tigger. After all, bouncing is what Tiggers do best.
I seem to remember that the Tigger you were talking about, your toy Tigger, looks like the Tigger drawn by a man called Ernest Shepard who painted pictures and illustrated books for a living.
Some of these books were written by a man called A A Milne and were about a little boy called Christopher Robin, his teddy bear Pooh and their friends and adventures.
Tigger made his first appearance, I think, in a book called House at Pooh Corner, where we learned that Tiggers don’t like honey, haycorns or thistles for breakfast and, indeed, that Tiggers don’t climb trees.

The newer Tigger – the one you will probably get to know even better – is like the original Tigger only more so. Stripier, orangier, bouncier. He appears in a series of Disney cartoons and in order to make lots of money, people did deals with each other so that toys and clothes and plates and lots of stuff could be made with pictures of this Tigger on and sold to Mummies and Daddies and Aunties and Uncles to give to their children.
But I still like the original Tigger best. How about you?

One small step for Finn

Well not quite. But according to your Mummy today was momentous nevertheless - you not only pulled yourself up to standing (which you've been doing for a week or so) but you then let go. And you stayed standing on your own two feet. For at least five seconds.

Nine months

Nine months is the length of a pregnancy. Nine months is how old you are now.
This is what you can do:
Crawl
Put bits of grownup(ish) food in your mouth
Eat bananas and Weetabix and scrambled eggs
Say Ga and Da
Go on the baby swing (you've been sitting up for ages)
Bang things together
Shake rattles and other musical instruments
Pull off your socks (good game)
Pull off your sunhat
Pick up little things with your thumb and forefinger
Find things hidden under other things
Recognise familiar people with a big smile
Know what we mean when we say No
Open some drawers and cupbaords (see above)

News for the tooth fairy

Seven months now and your smile is about to change for good. That's because your first tooth has just come through. It will be some time before you get a visit from the tooth fairy, though . I wonder what the going rate is these days?
You have just started to edge forward when you are on all fours. Time to think about what you will be able to reach when you come to stay.

Little Star

Six month update:
You have started at nursery because your Mum has had to go back to work
No surprise then that you have had your first chest infection and your first lot of antibiotics plus inhalers (what fun!) and your Mum and Dad had to take time off work
You sit up at dining table in your new clip-on babyseat. It’s lovely to see you sitting at the very same pine kitchen table where your Mum used to sit when she was a baby
You like banana
You have started eating mushy baby food and like to grab the spoon
You put everything into your mouth to chew
You have visited one stately home (Longleat) and one National Trust property (Dyrham) in the baby back pack
You have had nappy rash but it seems to be clearing up nicely
You can sit for a few minutes before you topple forwards or sideways
When you get upset and start crying your Mum sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – and you stop

Just for the record

What's new?

You are now a bottle fed baby.
Last weekend your Mum got a horrid tummy bug and was ill all night on Friday. She had already been giving you a bottle or two of milk during the day, instead of breastfeeding, because it made it so much easier to go out and about - and because you will soon be going to nursery anyway.
Because of the bug, she couldn't feed you herself - and so the decision to switch you over to bottles completely was taken out of her hands (your Dad did really well).

What else is new now that you have reached five months and a week?

You can roll over from your front to your back, even in your sleeping bag thingy - which is really annoying because you don't like going back to sleep on your back.
You can move forward, sort of, by pushing your knees forward and your bottom up in the air.
You have discovered how to arch your back to look at things upside down.
You can get your thumbs, fingers and fists in your mouth whenever you want.
You can grab the toys that dangle in front of you when you are in your car seat (which you don't like because you really, really, want to sit up straight).
You can support yourself so well that you can go in the hip seat position in the sling
When your Mummy puts you in the sitting position on the ground you can almost stay like that by yourself without collapsing.
You have had a taste of banana (which you liked) and a taste of baby cereal (two mouthfuls went down, two came out).
You now have less hair than your Dad.
You let people know when you are not happy - but you don't mipp nearly as much s you did.

Mothers' Day

Years ago, when your great, great granny Gertrude was a housemaid, the young servants who worked in the grand houses were only allowed one day off a year to visit their families. That was on Mothering Sunday. Sometimes the housekeeper would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home to their mother, sometimes they were allowed to take some eggs, or some flowers from the garden or hothouse.

When I was a little girl, people didn't go into "service" any more. But the churches still marked Mothering Sunday and we made cards for our mums in Sunday School and gave them little bunches of flowers to mark the day and tell them how much we loved them.

By the time your Mummy was born Mothering Sunday had become Mother's Day. And this year she gave her Mummy - me - a special surprise. She came to visit with you and your Daddy - and so we celebrated her first Mother's Day together. Your Uncle Guy was there, too, which made it even nicer. And that's why we got your grandpa to take this photo.

By the look on your face, though, you weren't very keen of any of this. And you certainly weren't going to smile for the camera.

Peepo

Here's a little baby. one, two, three
Sits on the sofa - what does he see?
(in homage to the Ahlbergs and in memory of Janet)

What's new?

It’s February 20 and you are now 18 and a bit weeks old. You mummy has started to give you bottles during the day – you take two now – as well as feeding you herself three times. You have a bath every evening, then a last feed before bed at around 7.30. Then you sleep through until about 7 in the morning. You quite like your sleep, it seems, as you also have several naps in the day. I wonder what you dream about?

You still get very mippy in the evenings and being carried around by Mummy in the sling is the only thing that you really like then.


You can suck your thumb now – and you do when you are going off to sleep.

Mummy is a bit upset that you have got baby eczema – and when she and Daddy took you swimming for the first time last week the chlorine made it worse – but she’s got some special cream from the doctor and says it’s already looking much better.

You’ve had your second lot of jabs (and they made you yell really loudly).

You can be very charming when you are in the mood and Mummy says you enjoy Jolly Babies sessions more than you did at first.

Finn's first Christmas

You won't remember your first Christmas, so here are some pictures.

You had two sets of grandparents dancing attendance, besides your Mummy and Daddy.

Poor Daddy had to eat his Christmas dinner standing up with you in a sling.

I remember that I had to put your Mummy in a sling so I could eat my Christmas dinner, too, when she was still as new as you. But at least I managed to sit down.