Bloody teeth!!

Tonight I have a million and one things to do. My to-do list tells me I have bills to pay, bags to pack, washing to do, clothes to iron, rooms to tidy and the all important Christmas card designs to finish. Unfortunately Henry has other plans. The poor little thing is getting two molars through as well as another incisor at the bottom. He's never been in pain this badly from teething; he's just screaming out in pain, his little cheeks are red, he's chewing everything in sight and his nappies are hideous. So the to-do list has had to wait and for now I'm snuggled up on the sofa cuddling a very sad little boy. Thank the Lord for prosecco and Calpol! 

This too shall pass

When you've had a bad few nights sleep due to teething or a baby who has been cluster feeding for weeks, experienced mummies always tell you that it's just a phase...and it will pass. At the time, it's not always what you want to hear. Sleep deprivation is a funny old thing and 4 nights with no sleep can often feel like 4 years. But they're right, even the tightest of routines change so quickly when it comes to babies and looking back now, I can't believe how quickly this last year has gone. How many phases have passed us by.

I remember asking a friend for advice when Henry was cluster feeding for weeks when he was tiny. She told me to sit down, take control of the tv remote, have my husband bring me plenty to eat and drink and enjoy putting my feet up while Henry happily fed...constantly...for hours...night after night. Genuinely without exaggerating, he used to feed for up to 5 hours at a time. Apparently totally normal newborn breastfeeding behaviour, but enough to make the calmest of yummy mummies crack. It wasn't the advice I wanted to hear. I didn't think she understood how bad it was; it was lasting forever, or so it seemed by week 12. She was totally right though. Some nights now while I'm chasing around a very active 1 year old, cleaning up banana which has been smeared into the dog's hair, removing little hands from toilet seats and toilet brushes and bins and laptops, I long for those easy evenings where I could watch 6 episodes of Kardashians whilst eating cake and drinking pint after pint of orange squash. That phase did pass, she was right.

It was the same with the up all night phase, the nap battle phase, the phase where he wouldn't entertain his cot for longer than 5 minutes at a time. The phase where he screamed really loud for attention, the one where he woke up 6 times before we'd even gone to bed, the phase where only mummy would do. The one where he hated having his nappy changed, where he hated Tesco, where he wouldn't be put down or play with any toys. The one where I used to long to be left alone in peace in the bath for longer than 3 and a half minutes, the one where meals out seemed impossible.

I think next time around I'll be a lot more laid back about these crazy phases. I now know first hand that these phases do pass, things do improve and despite every protest at the time, I absolutely will miss the crazy sleep deprived days, the days where I had a baby attached to my boob for 20 hours of the day. I might even (heaven forbid) refer to those days as the best of my life. Maybe.

Turkey and Apple meatballs - cooking for a toddler

I LOVE cooking for Henry, he's such an easy baby to feed and always enjoys his dinner. Tonight I tried something a bit new and it was a definite hit with my little one, so thought I'd share on the blog in case anyone else is looking for some inspiration.  I saw a recipe for chicken and apple balls in my Annabel Karmel recipe book which is what inspired me to make these, with a few tweaks here and there. They're actually really healthy too, I think we'll all be having these for our tea in the next week or two.

Turkey and apple meatballs

Makes around 30 balls

Ingredients 

300g minced turkey

50g fresh breadcrumbs

1 onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

2 apples, cored, peeled and grated and then the juice squeezed out

Salt and pepper

1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

Plain flour for coating

Olive oil for frying 

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.

Roll into small balls and then roll lightly in the flour.

Fry until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Henry had his meatballs served with green beans and sweetcorn which he loves, but you could pretty much have them with anything; we might try them on pasta next. The apple in them makes them really sweet and the herbs make them so tasty. A lovely Saturday night treat for my little hen.

Boring adult life

Today I had to call out an engineer as our boiler is leaking and I also spent £387 on having my car serviced, new types and brake pads. What an expensive bore off. Very boring adult things to have to do.

Other boring adult things that happened today were a huge Tesco online shop sorted to be delivered tomorrow, an afternoon nap with Henry, a Thai take away for tea and a glass of prosecco with Mr B. Again, very boring adult things, but all things I love. I'm such a simple creature to please these days really. As long as I'm not tired, I'm warm, well-fed and watered, I'm a happy mama! It's also very nearly the weekend, just a lesson to teach, a meeting to attend and I'm free as a bird until Monday. Life doesn't get much better.

How could a nap with this little one not make you smile?

The Mummy Tag

Now I haven't officially been tagged and I probably won't tag anyone else, but I've read this tag on a few other blogs that I follow and enjoyed reading it so thought I'd give it a go, especially as I'm lacking in inspiration for my blog this week.

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

I work part time: 5 mornings and 1 afternoon a week. Henry stays with my mum whole I work.

2. Would you have it any other way?

Honestly, yes. I'd stay at home with Henry all day if money was no object. But working part time is a happy compromise for now.

3. Do you co-sleep?

Henry always goes to sleep in his cot but is very rarely still in it come 7am! So yes, we co-sleep for some of the night every night.

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?

A sling. I absolutely couldn't live without our Connecta Baby Carrier, I just wish we'd discovered it earlier. I can't wait to use it with a newborn next time around.

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

I'd love 5, Mr B wants 2, so I think we'll compromise on 3...or maybe 4 if I'm really lucky.

6. Date night? How many nights per month?

Once a month, if that. Date nights these days usually consist of a take away, bottle of prosecco, Prison Break and our sofa. I wouldn't have it any other way.

7. Your child's favourite show?

Waybuloo or In the Night Garden.

8. Name one thing you bought before you had your baby and never ended up using?

Soft toys, taggies and soft comforter type toys. As I didn't use a dummy, I really wanted Henry to have some kind of comforter but he just wasn't interested in anything we tried.

9. Your child’s favourite food?

Watermelon or beef casserole.

10. How many cars does your family have?

2. I have our family car and Mr B has a company car with his job.

11. Weight gain before pregnancy, during and after and now?

I gained 26lb during pregnancy, lost it all plus another 24lb...just realised this means I'm 50 pounds lighter than I was just over a year ago. Wow!

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

I can't wait to do Disney and Florida  when all of our children are older.

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

The Maldives. We went for our honeymoon and loved it. We won't be going on a holiday without our kids until they're all grown up though...I really don't understand why you'd go on holiday without your children.

14. How has your life changed since your baby has been born?

I used to love to sleep, I got about 10 hours every night and more on a weekend. Now I'm lucky if I get 6 hours of broken sleep each night. On a more positive note, I've never been happier than I have been this year. I LOVE being a mummy.

15. Finish the sentence: 'It makes my heart melt to see … '

My baby boy smiling and laughing.

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

M&S, H&M, Monsoon, Next and Sainsburys are the most common places that we buy clothes.

17. Favourite makeup and skincare products?

Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation is amazing and my favourite skin care product is definitely Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant.

18. Huggies or Pampers?

Pampers Baby Dry are the only nappies we've used that haven't leaked. We always use Huggies Pure wipes. 

19. Have you always wanted kids?

Yes! When I was little I used to tell people when I wanted to grow up I wanted to be a mummy.

 

20. Best part about being a mum?

That total, unconditional love that you feel for such a tiny little human. Nothing compares.

A thoroughly lovely Saturday

Weekends are SO much better when you work all week....it's nearly worth going out to work for...nearly!

Mr B was going out to the football today so we met a friend and her little boy at a lovely play group this morning. It was so nice being able to take Henry myself for a change, obviously that's the downside to working every morning. Henry and his Marmar have a lovely little routine during the week and go to a different class or group every day and it was nice to finally be able to take him myself today. He did lots of playing, craft activities (mainly done by me with him making a mess beside me!), singing and had snack and juice with the other children. Cute.

My baby's Autumn masterpiece (very talented mummy!)

We then met my Mum for a really tasty lunch in Zizzi. Their children's menu is fab because they do a special 'tiny tummies' section which is a small bowl of tomatoey pasta with dough sticks, which was a perfect size for Henry's lunch. We did a bit of shopping in town too and picked Henry up some new shoes and slippers in Clarks, he's now a size 4G, such a little cutie patootie.

Messy boy at lunch!

Henry then fell asleep in his pushchair which bought us some quiet shopping time and a peaceful cup of tea in a cafe before heading home.

Fast asleep wearing his shiny new shoes.

I went back to my Mum's for a little while this afternoon before coming home to play with Henry for the rest of the evening. Mr B is on his way home with pizza and then I'm off to bed. Can't wait for my Sunday lie in in the morning!

New slippers, so adorable.

Dear Henry (September 2014)

My little Pigwidgeon,

You are now one whole year old, I still can't believe it. You had such a lovely birthday and were thoroughly spoilt by everyone. You got so many cards, I'll keep them all for you to look at when you're older. You also got so many presents and lots of money too, such a lucky lucky boy to have so many kind family and friends already. We had a party at home the day before your birthday and then on your actual birthday we went to Marmar's house for breakfast, then Mummy and Daddy took you to Wagamama for your lunch, then to the soft play centre and finally to the farm to see the animals and go in the park. You were such a good boy all day and needless to say we all had lots of lovely cake that weekend!

You've been poorly this month, your first tummy bug. I felt so sorry for you, you were really poorly with it. You were sick lots and had awful diarrhoea too. Mummy and Parpar also caught the bug but we weren't as poorly as you. Marmar took good care of you while I worked and we spent lots of afternoons cuddling and napping that week until you were all better.

Ever since you have had the world's biggest appetite; I can't fill you!! I honestly can't believe such a little boy can eat so much!! I'm trying to get you to use your fork and spoon at the moment but you still prefer to use your hands or for Mummy to help you with the spoon. You'll still eat absolutely anything and lots of it, I hope you're always like this, you're so easy to feed.

We only have 3 more weeks until we're off to Disneyland Paris for a few days, I can't wait!! I'll tell you all about it at the end of next month in my letter.

That's all for now beautiful boy, Mummy loves you so much, always remember that.

xxx