EV is throwing her teddy out of the pram

A bit of poetic liscense here since EV doesn't have a pram, or indeed a teddy. She has, however, worked out how to let go of/ drop/ throw things. Of course, she immediately wants them returned. And returned again. And returned again.

EV is holding up

EV helps me change her nappy by holding onto her feet whenever I put her down on her changing table now. She has got quite a good grip on them and loves waving them around, making her bottom one less thing for me to have to juggle when cleaning up.

Speaking of cleaning up....! That's becoming a bit more interesting now EV has started weaning. It's not as smelly as I dreaded it might be but definitely a whole lot stickier! The flushable liners have really come into their own.

EV is happy

Had a lovely, calm and happy day with EV today. She seems much less agitated than she has been over the past couple of weeks. It might be because she is less hungry (having started having 2 meals a day today!) or just falling back into the predicatbility of her normal routine. I think she is starting to understand what to expect in certain situations (e.g. getting her nappy changed when she goes in the bathroom, going out somewhere when she's put in her car seat) and to communicate a little what she wants (hungry, bored, tired, sore etc.)
All in all she's had a lovely day, long may they continue.

EV is the big girl in class

EV was back at her swimming classes today, after the Christmas break. Last term EV was easily the tiniest baby in the class, having started at 5 weeks old halfway through the last term. Now most of the babies from the last class have moved up to the 6 month plus group and EV is one of the big ones! There was even a tiny 5 week old baby there - I can't believe EV was that small when she started. The little baby just wanted to sleep and feed and cuddle mum the whole class through.

Meanwhile, EV is now into swimming (floating to be precise) on her front. The instructor, who is wonderful, said she couldn't believe EV was wanting to float on her front already, she has to stay little a while longer!

EV is singing

EV loves bedtime these days. She smiles up at me as I put her into her cot as if to say, "Thanks, Mum, I've been waiting for this all day."

She has a bedtime routine: change nappy and into bedtime clothes, brush her gums, feed in the bedroom with just a lamp on so it's dark, into bed and a few nursery rhymes before I switch the lamp off and kiss her good night.

Over the last few nights, EV has started "joining in" with her bedtime rhymes, chattering along tunefully as I sing. She stops when I stop and joins in most wholeheartedly with the rhymes I sing most often. I know parents often imbue their children with abilities they can't really have but I'm convinced EV recognises the songs (she's heard Baa Baa black sheep and Rock-a-bye baby practically every night since she was born) and thinks she is singing along. It is amazingly cute.

EV is catching up

Sorry for the lack of posts, settling back into the New Year Routine has been tough (for me not EV!) Not to worryt though because I'm sure that, unless you are a baby food fiend - I'm let to believe that such oddballs do exsist - you would probably have been bored to death with the last 5 days of blogging, which, I imagine, would have looked something like this...

2nd Jan: EV is weaning!
Got the green light from the health visitor (are all mothers scared of health visitors or is it just me?) to begin weaning EV. She was ravenous over xmas and the New Year and her weight gain is slowing down. I am very excited about weaning and have already spent several hours day dreaming about which foods I am going to give her first and what exciting pairings I can think of. Yes, I am aware of how sad that sounds, thank you.
Disappointing then that the first exciting meal is... Potato! Wooo! Potato! Okay, so not as exciting as I had fantasised it might be. Barely two minuscule spoon fulls made it past EV's lips but she did enjoy the experience of having her mum and dad fuss over her and make her smile whilst getting to sit in her new high chair. We also got some lovely "first food" photos, in which she looks like she is actually eating.

3rd Jan: EV is having carrot and potato
Some mild success. EV finds it much easier to eat off my finger than the spoon so I tried alternating the two. This meant that she got to eat some of the food and start getting used to the idea of having a spoon in her mouth.

4th Jan: EV is having sweet potato
Bring on the root vegetables! She sucks her thumb between mouth fulls. Not sure if this is to stop me being able to force feed her and give herself a rest between mouth fulls or if sucking makes it easier to swallow, that being what she is used to after all?

5th Jan: EV is having parsnip
Not so much of a parsnip fan :-(

6th Jan: EV is having carrot and potato (again)
Success! Loved it. Got the hang of the spoon. Finished the lot. Even leant forward and opened her mouth obligingly. Tomorrow: Fruit!

EV is talking to baby V3

EV:V3.

Get it?

In the mirror I mean. She is quite interested in touching and talking to that strange mirror baby who is always getting carried around by her mummy and her daddy. She has no idea that it is herself, of course. But V3 can do all sorts of interesting things, like blow raspberries at her and smile.