We've hit the 8 month mark where by everything is of interest to Finley, nothing gets by him without a hand grab, and full study and then the exploration by his mouth. Board books don't seem to stand a chance and he has managed to suck the designs off 3 books already lol.
As he so inquisitive about everything meal times have become a battle of wills over who is going to hold the spoon. Ive tried tricking him with giving him his own spoon while i feed him but he's gotten very wise to that and makes a grab for the food laden spoon sending the contents flying. He also is not a great highchair passenger either as he wants to be reaching out to snatch items.
I took him for lunch out with my mother to a restaurant yesterday, as soon as we put him in the high chair his mouth was wide open like a little bird expecting to be fed. The waitresses was given the best smiles of course and anything on the table was reached out to. We managed to eat out lunch without too much trouble by giving him a piece of cucumber to chew on - this piece was huge so he took a while looking on in awe of the green watery goodness. He then got bored and decided to do his latest party trick of squealing at a pitch only dogs can hear - this is a great game but the couples on the table next to us didn't look amused.
The piece de resistance, the grand finale was when he decided to make a sudden lunge for the glass of diet coke on the table sending the contents flying across the table and soaking the floor. Finley thought this was the funniest thing he had ever seen, even giving the onlookers his biggest toothless grin! We had no napkins so managed to stem the flow with some baby wipes until the waitress came back with our bill to see the destruction, we used a pile of napkins but the table and floor were going to be sticky for a while i think.
We paid and ran - and yes we did give the waitress a big tip! Don't think we will be going back there for a while :o)
Scarlett x
Friday, 25 March 2011
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Mummy Scrum Down
The doors opened as we all were clicked in, then women started charging down the hall through the doors to the second hall, power walking it was not, more like a stampede. I followed to the second hall and it was complete madness with grabbing of clothes and toys and the stuffing of shopping bags. I located the 1-2 year rail as thought i'd pick up a few bits for my boy. I was barged out the way by a heavily pregnant woman who also sent the rail flying forwards, narrowly missing the lady on the other side, there was a tut and a huff and we were all back on trawling the rails. Baby Gap was at a premium and these items were first in everyone's bag. I saw a few items very overpriced and by the time I left the sale these bits were hanging lonely on the rails to be collected by the owner who will probably rethink her pricing.
The toy tables were about 3 women deep, I could hear a lot of moaning about prices again there, and a lot of items being inspected then tossed aside. I witnessed two women go for the same soft toy book but one strong tug from the older of the two won the book war.
I'd had enough and joined the queue (which also snaked around the whole hall), even being in the queue I wasn't safe from the barging! Two women in front of me said they travelled all round going to the nct sale and with 7 children between them they got a good deal! Sod that, one morning was enough for me lol.
Finally got to the pay tables, got some good bits of clothing which will be good for nursery but I needed a good sit down and feet up when I left, I thought I was a die hard bargain hunter but these women especially the ones ready to drop really took the bargain hunting crowns - they were made of stronger stuff than me lol.
So that's all over and done with...unless I decide to brave the october sale, maybe nct sales are like child birth, you forget how painful it is until you go through it again!
Scarlett x
The toy tables were about 3 women deep, I could hear a lot of moaning about prices again there, and a lot of items being inspected then tossed aside. I witnessed two women go for the same soft toy book but one strong tug from the older of the two won the book war.
I'd had enough and joined the queue (which also snaked around the whole hall), even being in the queue I wasn't safe from the barging! Two women in front of me said they travelled all round going to the nct sale and with 7 children between them they got a good deal! Sod that, one morning was enough for me lol.
Finally got to the pay tables, got some good bits of clothing which will be good for nursery but I needed a good sit down and feet up when I left, I thought I was a die hard bargain hunter but these women especially the ones ready to drop really took the bargain hunting crowns - they were made of stronger stuff than me lol.
So that's all over and done with...unless I decide to brave the october sale, maybe nct sales are like child birth, you forget how painful it is until you go through it again!
Scarlett x
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Teething
When Finley was younger every 'crying' situation was blamed on the dreaded teething - used freely as an excuse as to why my little bundle of joy was purple in the face screaming the place down. I will admit that we were wrong, he wasn't teething, how do I know this?...Well he is actually teething now as it is nothing like the odd screaming fit, he's now being grumpy for most of the day lol.
I realised we had hit the teething time when after getting used to the luxury of 7 hours unbroken sleep we now have a little man who wakes in the night upset. His cheeks have a lovely gnome-like ruddiness to them and he's dribbling like crazy. I can see those little buggers under his front gum but they are staying put and causing nothing but trouble. Cue the teething rings, a flipping rubber giraffe that cost £12 and suspicious looking teething powder which I'm apparently supposed to put on his tongue dry??? Hmmm not sure how the manufacturers' came up this this little bit of advise but I'm sure if they tried to prize open a 7 month old mouth while keeping the mouth and indeed their hand free of dribble then they are are superhuman.
So fingers crossed they break through soon and give me my happy boy back again, then it'll be the next lot...How many teeth exactly does a child get? Oh I hate to think....lol.
I realised we had hit the teething time when after getting used to the luxury of 7 hours unbroken sleep we now have a little man who wakes in the night upset. His cheeks have a lovely gnome-like ruddiness to them and he's dribbling like crazy. I can see those little buggers under his front gum but they are staying put and causing nothing but trouble. Cue the teething rings, a flipping rubber giraffe that cost £12 and suspicious looking teething powder which I'm apparently supposed to put on his tongue dry??? Hmmm not sure how the manufacturers' came up this this little bit of advise but I'm sure if they tried to prize open a 7 month old mouth while keeping the mouth and indeed their hand free of dribble then they are are superhuman.
So fingers crossed they break through soon and give me my happy boy back again, then it'll be the next lot...How many teeth exactly does a child get? Oh I hate to think....lol.
Friday, 25 February 2011
The 'first' coffee morning..
So I faced my fear and went to a mum and baby 'coffee morning' - not out of my own free will but because a friend I was meeting said we should do this instead. No way out Scarlett this thing going to happen...
First challenge was getting myself and Finley washed, dressed fed and ready to leave the house...all by 9.30 am. It was like a scene out of matrix with nappies, wipes and bottles being thrown into the bag at break neck speed while dressing Finley and making sure his favourite toy was packed for the car journey.
We managed to make it out, all be it 15 minutes late, and we were ready to meet the mums and their bundles of "joy" - I use that term loosely as follows:
The hall was set out with loads of play equipment and split into two halves - one for the babies and one for the walkers and up - I later found out that this divided room was a complete waste of time as the walkers plus were freely stamping all through the baby area regardless of babies laying playing or not. These children's mums were too busy having their 'coffee' and chatting across the room to notice the stampeded through the baby mats and I caught one boy twice before he landed on Finley. I decided the safest measure was to sit on the floor with my legs either side of him as a buffer, I then became a target being hit by a sensory ball!
The dressing up box seemed to be a popular port of call for the children and one girl obviously got the first pick as she was running towards us wearing a fairy costume covered by a Mexican poncho and a huge sombrero while screaming 'eeeeeeeeeee'.
I did get chatting to a lovely lady with a 10 week old baby girl who had that slightly frazzed look that I had when Finley was that age, she introduced herself to me and together we chatted while being a combined force against the surrounding rampage. She even managed to latch the baby on and feed her while continuing eye contact with me...now that's an expert skill to have learnt, I never managed to accomplish this when I was breast feeding Finley.
I also was a rebel of the group by not signing in...I was approached by the group leader to advise that next time I must sign in and I was handed a form to fill in with all my details for the 'next time'...hmmm, they now have my telephone number and know where I live eek!
So what is the etiquette regarding telling off other peoples children? If a child does something dangerous or hurtful to your child is it frowned upon to say to them that "that wasn't nice"? I kept it safe and just smiled sweetly while edging Finley ever closer to me for protection from some of these wild children. Maybe there is an unwritten 'coffee morning' rule that I have yet to learn.
I must also add that with it being half term there were numerous school age children there so maybe I had picked the 'dangerous' week to go, they will be back in school now till Easter.
Will I be going back you probably wonder...Well Finley seemed to enjoy the element of danger and slept soundly as soon as we had left so maybe I will brave it once more just to make up my mind....
Scarlett x
First challenge was getting myself and Finley washed, dressed fed and ready to leave the house...all by 9.30 am. It was like a scene out of matrix with nappies, wipes and bottles being thrown into the bag at break neck speed while dressing Finley and making sure his favourite toy was packed for the car journey.
We managed to make it out, all be it 15 minutes late, and we were ready to meet the mums and their bundles of "joy" - I use that term loosely as follows:
The hall was set out with loads of play equipment and split into two halves - one for the babies and one for the walkers and up - I later found out that this divided room was a complete waste of time as the walkers plus were freely stamping all through the baby area regardless of babies laying playing or not. These children's mums were too busy having their 'coffee' and chatting across the room to notice the stampeded through the baby mats and I caught one boy twice before he landed on Finley. I decided the safest measure was to sit on the floor with my legs either side of him as a buffer, I then became a target being hit by a sensory ball!
The dressing up box seemed to be a popular port of call for the children and one girl obviously got the first pick as she was running towards us wearing a fairy costume covered by a Mexican poncho and a huge sombrero while screaming 'eeeeeeeeeee'.
I did get chatting to a lovely lady with a 10 week old baby girl who had that slightly frazzed look that I had when Finley was that age, she introduced herself to me and together we chatted while being a combined force against the surrounding rampage. She even managed to latch the baby on and feed her while continuing eye contact with me...now that's an expert skill to have learnt, I never managed to accomplish this when I was breast feeding Finley.
I also was a rebel of the group by not signing in...I was approached by the group leader to advise that next time I must sign in and I was handed a form to fill in with all my details for the 'next time'...hmmm, they now have my telephone number and know where I live eek!
So what is the etiquette regarding telling off other peoples children? If a child does something dangerous or hurtful to your child is it frowned upon to say to them that "that wasn't nice"? I kept it safe and just smiled sweetly while edging Finley ever closer to me for protection from some of these wild children. Maybe there is an unwritten 'coffee morning' rule that I have yet to learn.
I must also add that with it being half term there were numerous school age children there so maybe I had picked the 'dangerous' week to go, they will be back in school now till Easter.
Will I be going back you probably wonder...Well Finley seemed to enjoy the element of danger and slept soundly as soon as we had left so maybe I will brave it once more just to make up my mind....
Scarlett x
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Today I will be wearing baby sick...
From the first day of Finley being outta the womb he hasn't failed to sick up some milk at the most inappropriate moments and normally it is caught by what ever I am wearing that day.
Today for example at a formal family gathering (cue routing around for smart clothing to wear as my chilled mummy look just wouldn't be received very well lol) he managed to be sick all down my trousers, one nasty burp and I was doused in milk, and back to smelling of baby sick. I've become so used to it now its quite strange to see people going 'Oh no he's just been a little sick!!' whenever we visit the 'non baby homes' - you know the ones they tend to have beautiful fluffy carpets, immaculately clean sofas and glass objects at ankle height. They also look bemused that I am so blasé about the fact my offspring has brought up white substance that has narrowly missed their pristine rug but has been caught by a) his clothing b) my clean top or c) both.
I have no idea when this little phenomenon will end but in the mean time Fairy Non bio and my water company are being kept in business and my house resembles a Chinese laundry on cold or rainy days. But in the mean time I'm making sure I have that handy Muslin cloth to hand at all times. So if you're a mummy too I'm sure I may be in good company with some of you also knowledgeable in 'eau du baby sick' :o)
Its a shame, I've never looked good in white....
Scarlett x
Today for example at a formal family gathering (cue routing around for smart clothing to wear as my chilled mummy look just wouldn't be received very well lol) he managed to be sick all down my trousers, one nasty burp and I was doused in milk, and back to smelling of baby sick. I've become so used to it now its quite strange to see people going 'Oh no he's just been a little sick!!' whenever we visit the 'non baby homes' - you know the ones they tend to have beautiful fluffy carpets, immaculately clean sofas and glass objects at ankle height. They also look bemused that I am so blasé about the fact my offspring has brought up white substance that has narrowly missed their pristine rug but has been caught by a) his clothing b) my clean top or c) both.
I have no idea when this little phenomenon will end but in the mean time Fairy Non bio and my water company are being kept in business and my house resembles a Chinese laundry on cold or rainy days. But in the mean time I'm making sure I have that handy Muslin cloth to hand at all times. So if you're a mummy too I'm sure I may be in good company with some of you also knowledgeable in 'eau du baby sick' :o)
Its a shame, I've never looked good in white....
Scarlett x
Saturday, 19 February 2011
7 month wonder
So Finley is just coming up to the 7 month mark and its so amazing how much he has changed. Its great to see his personality coming through and to see what a real cheeky little chappy he is.
He has now mastered the rolling bit from front to back and is grabbing everything in sight and putting it in his mouth - now comes the real test of my house cleaning abilities. One missed bit near him on the floor and you got yourself a 'choking hazard' (I blame the NCT first aid course I went on when he was 8 weeks old for this traumatising thought!). He can stand on his feet with supports and he also has developed a thing for the ladies and is all too keen on giving the 'love me' smiles to female passers by, men he's a bit wary of still although Daddy get the smiles and giggles (especially when he been having a grumpy crying day with mum).
The other 'good' bit is that he still isn't fully on the move yet so I know I'm not going to turn my back in the room and he's going to be shooting towards the door! There are a lot of mummies I have spoken to in my family/friends circle who couldn't wait for baby to be crawling/waking but to be honest I'm just enjoying him being my baby and not wishing the time away - plus I don't need to have eyes in my bum yet!!
So come one own up - Who swapped my newborn??
Scarlett x
The other 'good' bit is that he still isn't fully on the move yet so I know I'm not going to turn my back in the room and he's going to be shooting towards the door! There are a lot of mummies I have spoken to in my family/friends circle who couldn't wait for baby to be crawling/waking but to be honest I'm just enjoying him being my baby and not wishing the time away - plus I don't need to have eyes in my bum yet!!
So come one own up - Who swapped my newborn??
Scarlett x
Thursday, 17 February 2011
New Mummy Confession...
I'm going to confess something now....I'm scared of mother and baby groups. There it's now out in cyber space, I've admitted it. My whole fear of these groups was summed up by a trip to Sainsburys yesterday...
I stopped to have lunch with Finley in the cafe there, loads of space and highchairs so I don't feel bad if Finley has a tantrum or squeals at the top of his lungs (a new talent he has just learnt). Well looking around I noticed this cafe seemed to be the local mummy haunt - literary every few tables there was a groups of mummies, having tea and cake and discussing the latest child care techniques. One group of 'la de da' mummies took up residence on the table next to mine. There were 4 of them, immaculately dressed and all their babies supporting the latest lines in Baby Gap. The high chairs were scrubbed to the bare wood by their disinfecting wipes and the babies safely secured - now came the battle of the lunch boxes. Each of the mummies seemed to take pride in discussing what their baby had for lunch, how long it had taken to make, what organic ingredients they had used and how WONDERFUL it was that their babies seemed to eat everything offered and never would a jar of food cross their lips...
...Hmm there was I spoon feeding a organix fruit pot into Finley's mouth feeling guilty that I hadn't picked the fruits from my organic orchard and crushed them with my bare (disinfected) hands into a puree which I then froze within 20 minutes of crushing to preserve all the fruity goodness. This is was just a small section of the yummy mummies discussion, they went onto put the world to right about putting a baby in nursery, how to offer finger foods and of course how well behaved their babies are. THIS is why I am scared of Baby groups - I imagine all these type mummies concentrated into one room. I never was any good at competition! I cant just imagine the guilt complexes that would be installed into my brain!
So for now I'm just hanging out my my regular friends, some have children that Finley socialises with, he will also be put into nursery when I go back to work part time so he will most definitely not be missing out any interaction that the baby groups can offer.....maybe one day I'll be brave enough to visit one and who knows my fears will probably be unfounded and they may just be mummies like me who are learning on the job! :o)
Scarlett x
I stopped to have lunch with Finley in the cafe there, loads of space and highchairs so I don't feel bad if Finley has a tantrum or squeals at the top of his lungs (a new talent he has just learnt). Well looking around I noticed this cafe seemed to be the local mummy haunt - literary every few tables there was a groups of mummies, having tea and cake and discussing the latest child care techniques. One group of 'la de da' mummies took up residence on the table next to mine. There were 4 of them, immaculately dressed and all their babies supporting the latest lines in Baby Gap. The high chairs were scrubbed to the bare wood by their disinfecting wipes and the babies safely secured - now came the battle of the lunch boxes. Each of the mummies seemed to take pride in discussing what their baby had for lunch, how long it had taken to make, what organic ingredients they had used and how WONDERFUL it was that their babies seemed to eat everything offered and never would a jar of food cross their lips...
...Hmm there was I spoon feeding a organix fruit pot into Finley's mouth feeling guilty that I hadn't picked the fruits from my organic orchard and crushed them with my bare (disinfected) hands into a puree which I then froze within 20 minutes of crushing to preserve all the fruity goodness. This is was just a small section of the yummy mummies discussion, they went onto put the world to right about putting a baby in nursery, how to offer finger foods and of course how well behaved their babies are. THIS is why I am scared of Baby groups - I imagine all these type mummies concentrated into one room. I never was any good at competition! I cant just imagine the guilt complexes that would be installed into my brain!
So for now I'm just hanging out my my regular friends, some have children that Finley socialises with, he will also be put into nursery when I go back to work part time so he will most definitely not be missing out any interaction that the baby groups can offer.....maybe one day I'll be brave enough to visit one and who knows my fears will probably be unfounded and they may just be mummies like me who are learning on the job! :o)
Scarlett x
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