Monday 31st December 2007

Well it's New Year's Eve, and what a year it's been. Mummy says there was a time when she didn't think I'd make it through to Christmas, but here I am, and I'm fit as a fiddle. Christmas was super. I had loads of attention from everyone, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'll give you a quick run down. On the Sunday before Christmas I saw Granny and Grandpa Meikle, plus Auntie Emma, Uncle Philip and cousin Daniel. Auntie Cath and Great Auntie Rosie also arrived from Liverpool. We had a nice lunch, played with toys and looked at the Christmas tree. On Christmas Eve I went to Church for the first time. I saw a real donkey and some lambs, and jigged along to the Christmas carols on mummy's lap. Auntie Shellie and Uncle Chris arrived in the evening, so I just had time to say hello before I went to bed to wait for Santa to arrive. And arrive he did! I had so many presents that I didn't finish opening them until late on Christmas day. A big thank you to everyone who bought me a present. I'm going to start writing my thank you letters this afternoon. Look at me riding on the car that Granny and Grandpa Meikle bought for me, and holding onto my giraffe walker from Auntie Shellie and Uncle Chris. I did a clever thing on Christmas Day, although I did cheat just a little bit...I rolled over with the help of a cushion. I can't quite do it without a cushion yet, but I'm nearly there! Mummy says she'll have to have eyes in the back of her head now. Anyway Christmas day was lovely. Mummy made a lovely lunch, helped by daddy, Chris and Cath. Aunty Shellie gave me my breakfast and Great Auntie Rosie fed me my lunch. I got lots of attention - lucky me! On Boxing Day we drove up to Birmingham to see Great Granny Jackie, and give her her presents. I gave her a book with lots of photographs of me in which she liked a lot. I saw Godmother Becky on Thursday and Godmother Jenny on Friday(that's me and her chatting in the photo), so I was more than ready for a quiet weekend with mummy and daddy. Except I'm so used to having so much attention over Christmas that I was a bit naughty and wanted mummy and daddy to play with me all the time. I've also been waking up in the night because of my teeth hurting, so they weren't very impressed with that. But it didn't stop them from hitting the sales yesterday and buying me lots of lovely new clothes from NEXT, and a Bumbo seat from Mothercare. It helps me to sit up. Don't I look cool in it. It's a lovely cheery red colour. They've also ordered me a new lightweight buggy and a lovely wooden High Chair - so I'm excited to try them both out when they arrive. So what will 2008 bring? Well 3 new cousins for a start (Congratulations Auntie Shellie and Uncle Chris!). The first 2 will come in March and then another one in July. Mummy will go back to work (eventually), and I will start going to Nursery which is exciting. I'll also go abroad for the first time when we visit our friends in Austria in May. But first things first I've got an exciting trip to a pantomime with Cousin Daniel on Thursday, and then a weekend away at Centreparcs with Granny Judy later on in January, so I'm looking forward to that. No staying up late for me tonight, I'll be getting an early night, whilst mummy goes and rings the bells for the New Year. Happy New Year to all of you who like to keep up with my exploits, and thank you for all your support in 2007. You'll just have to keep tuning in to see what I get up to in 2008!

Saturday 22nd December 2007

It's busy, busy, busy at home gearing up for my first Christmas, how exciting. Mummy and daddy are rushing around cleaning and tidying and wrapping up presents, and as for me, well I'm trying to help by smiling and giving them encouraging looks! I even went with Daddy to Waitrose to get the turkey. You can see me wrapped up snug in my buggy with my furry hat on. I've seen more of my pals this week. I met up with Nia and Ava on Thursday, and then with the boys Oscar and Gene on Friday. You can see them in the pictures, don't they look well. We've all grown so much since coming out of Special Care. In fact I got weighed on Friday, for the first time in 3 weeks, and you'll never guess what - I've put on 27oz since the last time I was weighed, which means I'm now 16lb 3oz. Mummy was very surprised, but very pleased with me. I'm making an extra special effort to eat all my food now to make sure that I keep growing big and strong. I did a very clever thing when I was at Ava's house on Thursday. Mummy sat me up and then took her hands away, and I stayed up. That's right I was sitting by myself for about 5 seconds - until I noticed mummy had let go and fell over! But I felt very pleased with myself. I've also learned to lean forward over the side of my playnest, and hold my head up. I'm seeing lots of my family tomorrow including cousin Daniel; and Auntie Cath and Great Auntie Rosie are coming to stay for Christmas. I'll see Aunties Shellie and Uncle Chris on Christmas Eve, and then Great Granny Jackie on Boxing Day. I'm even going to get to see both my godmothers over the Christmas Break. I can't wait!

Wednesday 19th December 2007

Well, only 2 days until the shortest day of the year, so mummy tells me. Mummy and I did some last minute Christmas shopping today, and then we went to visit my friend Christopher and his mummy Kirsty for lunch. We also saw Imogen and her mummy Diana. Imogen was telling me that she had her first taste of baby rice yesterday and that it was yummy. Christopher was jealous and said he wanted some too, so I think his mummy is going to oblige. As for me, I had some banana yoghurt for breakfast - a new thing, I've never had yoghurt before, and then some yummy carrot, cauliflower and sweet potato for lunch. For tea it was baby rice with a bit of apple and peach. My friend Isobel has had some cottage pie, so I'm looking forward to when I can have some too. I've been grabbing and holding things today. Look at me holding one of the rings that Granny Judy bought me, plus a fishy from one of my cloth books. I've had some lovely presents sent to me today from mummy's friends in Austria. Mummy says I've got to say 'Gruss Gott' to them all and 'frohe Weihnachten'. Karin sent me a beautiful teddy (I'm going to call him Heinz) and some socks, and Veronika sent me a book of nursery rhymes with CDs, so mummy and I can listen to them in the car, learn the words and practise our German. I also got a Christmas card from Alyssa and Aaron. Mummy and daddy missed their parents' wedding in the Summer because of my early arrival, but I'm hopefully going to meet them next year, when we go and pay them a visit in Austria. How exciting. I'll need to get my passport sorted out quick smart!

Tuesday 18th December 2007

I've been a busy bee since I last updated my diary. So much has been going on since I got back from my holidays. On Wednesday I travelled all the way up to Birmingham to see my friend Poppy. I gave her back all the 0-3 month clothes she had lent to me, and she gave me all her 3-6 month clothes to borrow. Isn't she nice? She also lent me a bouncy chair, which makes chirping bird noises, which I like to listen to. I've grown out of my bean bag really, so the bouncy chair is a nice replacement. On Thursday I caught up with my mate Isobel and her mummy Jayne. I met a new friend called Thomas and his mummy Sharon, and then I met up with my mates Alex and Christopher to do pottery. On Friday mummy and I were feeling like we needed to get fit after our holiday, so we went to Buggyfit again with Ava, Imogen and Alex, and then I spent the afternoon with Ava. We played on my gym and went shopping. I had a special weekend with granny Judy. She came down to give me my Christmas presents and babysit me whilst mummy and daddy went out. I'm afraid I didn't behave very well and woke up a lot because of my teeth, but granny didn't mind, it meant she got to cuddle me more! She bought me loads of fabulous presents including a new playnest that I can sit up in, a Christmas bib and some trendy hats. Yesterday mummy and I went to Buggyfit again to work off a few calories prior to Christmas. Daddy was away in Brussels on a business trip, but I behaved myself for mummy and slept through until 7am. That's much better than Sunday night when I woke up at 2am and at 5am. I think the extra milk and calpol definitely did the trick! I missed daddy a lot. Bathtime just isn't the same without him. I'm looking forward to seeing him when he comes home later. Today I had Christmas lunch with my NCT pals. I slept through most of it like a good girl, so mummy was very pleased with me. I've tried some more yummy new things today. I had blueberry and canteloupe melon for breakfast, but mummy thinks I'm allergic to blueberry as I was a bit out of sorts this afternoon after I ate it - and the same thing happened when we were on holiday. I've also tried broccoli and leek which I like too. All this solid food means that my reflux has got a lot better, so I'm not taking any of my reflux medication anymore which is good news. I'm seeing the consultant again at the end of January, so we had to send off a urine sample to the hospital yesterday in preparation. Mummy sat with me on my change mat for half an hour waiting for me to do a wee! I love being on my mat kicking about, so I strung it out as long as possible. I'm looking forward to Christmas. Auntie Cath and Great Auntie Rosie, plus Uncle Chris and Auntie Shellie are coming to stay. And I'll be seeing cousin Daniel, Auntie Emma, Uncle Philip and Granny and Grandpa Meikle on Sunday. But before that I'm seeing my man Oscar and my mate Gene. I'm having lunch with them on Friday and I can't wait.

Tuesday 11th December 2007

I've had a lovely day today with Granny and Grandpa. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, as I had a lovely long sleep last night. That's right, I slept right through from 8pm to 7am! That's the first time ever that mummy hasn't woken me up for a late night feed at about 11pm. I think it proves that I'm having enough food during the day, and I can now cut down on my milk intake a a little bit. Anyway, we put the Christmas tree up and I had lovely cuddles with Granny and Grandpa. It's not a real Christmas tree, but mummy says that when I'm a bit bigger we'll have a real one. I love looking at the twinkly lights, and I can see lots of presents under the tree already- and most of them are for me - hooray! I'm getting stronger too - yesterday I pulled one of my toys off my playgym. I enjoy tugging and pulling on things now - it's good fun. Mummy keeps putting bonjela on my gums when I get upset, but my teeth have been alright today. Much better than Saturday when they really hurt a lot, and I couldn't get to sleep properly. Nothing puts me off my food though - today I've eaten some pear for breakfast , and then some carrot, swede and cauliflower for my lunch. I'll be having melon and rice for tea. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as I'm going to get to try some nice food at my friend Poppy's house. Her mummy Helen is going to make me lunch - so I'm excited to see what it is! Mummy has also bought some mango and nectarines to puree for me, which I'll try over the next couple of days. I'll be seeing my friend Isobel on Thursday and also a new pal Thomas. His mummy Sharon was also in hospital with my mummy and Isobel's mummy Jayne. Thomas was born 2 days after me, and was nearly twice as heavy - weighing in at 4 1/2lb! I'm looking forward to meeting him for the first time. By the way, do you like my pink stripey outfit. It's from Baby Gap and was a present from mummy's friend Ros - I'll be seeing her this weekend, so I can say thank you in person.

Friday 7th December 2007

Well, I'm nearly at the end of my happy holidays. My first ever holiday in fact. We travelled up to my Great Aunty Rosie and Great Uncle Ron's house near Durham last Friday after I'd been weighed and had my lunch. I bet you're all dying to know how much weight I'd gained. Well, I hadn't been weighed for 3 whole weeks because of feeling under the weather. And guess what, I'd gained 18oz. So I'm averaging about 6oz per week according to my maths. That's a much more normal rate than my previous weeks prodigious gain! That means I'm over a stone in weight now, as mummy tells me that there are 14lb in a stone and I'm now 14lb 8oz - hooray! Another milestone. Apparently babies are supposed to treble their birth weight by the time they are 1 year old - well I think I'm about 6 times my birthweight already! Anyway, I had a lovely time with my Great Aunty and Uncle. I stayed in 2nd cousin Harry's bedroom, and slept in his cot, so I felt very privileged. Harry is the son of mummy's cousin Hannah. Great Aunty Rosie fed me my banana, and gave me special cuddles. On Saturday it was 1st December, a very special day. Do you know why? Well it was my Great Gran's 95th birthday! Yes she's 94 and a half years older than me! I went to visit her, and we had a jolly time together. I sat on her lap and she sang songs to me. I did enjoy myself. I got to see cousin Cath as well, and had a lovely snooze on her - she's very comfortable. After seeing my family it was off to our cottage in Northumberland with mummy and daddy. We had a lovely week altogether. I've started showing off a bit this week, and doing some new clever things. I'm now eating 3 meals a day, and I've had some yummy organic baby food this week that mummy bought for me. Normally mummy makes it for me, but as we've been on holiday, I was allowed to have posh organic food from the supermarket. It's a special brand called Ella's kitchen and is all natural. I had some nice flavours like broccoli, pear and pea or sweet potato, apple and parsnip. I gobbled it all up like a good girl - sometimes a bit too much and a bit too quickly though, which makes me sick, so mummy and daddy are keeping an eye on me to make sure I haven't had an adverse reaction to any of the food. I've been learning to swim too this week. There was a nice swimming pool where we were staying, so we went 3 times. I'm beginning to get used to it, and it's a lot of fun kicking my legs in the water sitting in my rubber ring. We travelled back to Durham today and are staying with my other Great Aunty Rosie. We'll be back home tomorrow evening and I'll be back in my own room in my own cot, which I'm looking forward to. I have behaved myself whilst I've been on holiday though, and slept through the night virtually every night, but I think I'll sleep extra specially well once I'm home, eating my lovely homemade food again, and playing with all my toys. I've learned to reach out and grab my toys this week, so I feel very pleased with myself. I lie on my playgym and grab at Gertrude the giraffe and Marvin the monkey - it's great fun. I've even grabbed mummy and daddy's glasses a couple of times, which is a bit naughty!

Wednesday 28th November 2007

I'm disappointed, as I missed out on a pottery session with my NCT pals yesterday because mummy was sick. But today finally I think we we're on the mend in time for our holiday. We're all still coughing, and I'm still sleeping a lot, but I haven't gone off my food. Mummy says that's typical of our family - it takes a lot for us to go off our food! I have refused some food this week though. I didn't like the courgette that mummy tried to feed me, but I'll try it again in a few days. It's not surprising really, as mummy and daddy don't like courgette either! I've eaten everything else I've been given though. We're off on our holidays on Friday. We'll go to visit Great Auntie Rosie and Great Uncle Ron first, and then it's off to see Great Granny Foreman, and we'll also see Cousin Cath and her mum (another Great Auntie Rosie - I've actually got 3 of them!). After that it's off to our cottage in Northumberland. It's really exciting, there's a leisure centre there with a pool that I can play in with mummy and daddy and practise my backstroke. Before I go, I'll be catching up with Oscar and Gene tomorrow. I don't want them to miss me too much whilst I'm away, so we'll all have lunch together and a good natter, and I'll see them again when I get back. I'll get weighed before I go on holiday on Friday. It will have been 3 weeks since I was last weighed and I'm curious to know how much weight I've gained. Last time I was weighed I was 13lb 6oz, so I reckon I'll be pushing towards 15lb now. With all the yummy food I'm eating, I'm chubbing up nicely!

Saturday 24th November 2007

I've had a really rotten week. I've been feeling really grotty. Mummy and daddy were worried about me on Thursday because I wouldn't feed for longer than 5 minutes in the morning, so mummy called the doctors and I got an appointment straight away. The doctor checked me over and said that my cough sounded a bit 'bronchialitic', and that I'd probably had a touch of bronchialitis. But she said my chest was clear and that my temperature was fine, so mummy was reassured. I've been having calpol all week to help me feel better, and sleeping a lot. Being ill has put me off my milk a bit, as I can't really feed and breathe very well with a blocked nose, but eating solid food is easy, so I've really enjoyed that. I've tried so many new things. I've now had : pear, apple, papaya, galia melon, sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot and swede. I like them all, but melon is my favourite. I'm learning to open my mouth when the spoon comes near and to take the food off the spoon with my lips. Granny and Grandpa Meikle came to see me on Thursday, which cheered me up, and then Ava and Nia came to see me on Friday with their mummies - I hope I haven't given my cold to either of them. Ava has had a poorly tummy - get well soon Ava (that's me and Ava in the picture with Ava's mummy Rebecca). Today I've been to visit cousin Daniel and Auntie Emma and Uncle Philip. You can see Daniel sitting with me in the picture. Auntie Emma, who is a doctor, listened to my chest with her stethoscope, and thought it sounded okay, but I still feel poorly, and needed mummy and daddy to cuddle me a ll the time. Mummy has had to cancel my trip to the pub to see Oscar and Gene tomorrow, as I don't want to give them my cold, and it sounds like Oscar and his mummy and daddy are also coming down with something, so we don't want to exchange germs! Particularly as I'm off on holiday to Northumberland with mummy and daddy on Friday, and I'm going to finally get to meet Great Granny Foreman (Granny Meikle's mummy). I'm also going to get to meet some of my great aunties and uncles, so I'm really excited and I want to get well, so keep your fingers crossed that I can get rid of my lurgie soon. Daddy is pleased today, as his football team Aston Villa won 3-0, but mummy and Grandpa are not very happy, as Sunderland lost 7-0. I think I'll suport Aston Villa based on those results!

Tuesday 20th November 2007

Special Care Community Nurse Michelle came to see me today. The results of my urine sample have come back, and my testosterone levels are a little bit high, so I need to submit another sample in December, so that the results will be back in time for my consultant appointment in January. If my levels are still high in January, then I may need to have some treatment to sort them out. I am still feeling ill. Michelle told mummy that she has to watch out that my cold doesn't develop into bronchialitis. We premature babies are more susceptible to it apparently, but I'm hoping that I'll start to feel better soon. Mummy went to have her hair coloured today and so Granny Judy came down to babysit me. She tried to bottle feed me, but I had a big strop. Apart from that I had a lovely time with her. She bought me some lovely ducks to play with in the bath, and fed me my lunch of sweet potato, which was yummy. Apple for tea, so I must dash, otherwise mummy might eat it herself!

Monday 19th November 2007

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. That cold of daddy's has finally caught up with me, and I started to feel rotten over the weekend. I've got a horrid cough and lots of phlegm in my throat which makes it really hard to breathe when I'm feeding. Especially from a bottle - which makes me hate bottle feeding even more. I've been eating lots of interesting foods though. I've tried carrot, apple and pear, and tonight I'll be having butternut squash for my dinner. I should have had it last night, but I was feeling too out of sorts to try anything new. I hope I feel better soon. I'm seeing Granny Judy tomorrow, and I want to be on top form. Snoozing with daddy helps me to feel better I find! I saw my friends Oscar and Gene on Friday. Gene is nearly 9lb now, and growing fast - that's him in the photo on the left. Well done Gene.

Wednesday 14th November 2007

Well, I'm 5 months and 5 days old today believe it or not, and I celebrated by seeing my great pal Isobel for coffee and milk (coffee for mummy and milk for us). Unfortunately I managed to sleep through most of it! That's because I'm feeling a little under the weather. Daddy brought home a nasty cold from work, and mummy caught it off him, so I think I'm coming down with that too. Mummy's given me some calpol, and I've slept for most of the day - fingers crossed I'll still be able to sleep tonight. It means my weaning schedule has somewhat gone adrift already, as I don't really feel in the mood to try new things. I had some pear puree yesterday and today, but I prefer just to stick to breastfeeding whilst I'm feeling crock, and try some different things when I feel better. I hear my friend Isobel had broccoli and sweet potato for her lunch today, so I'm looking forward to trying some of that. I saw Auntie Shellie and Uncle Chris on Sunday - we went for lunch in Stratford. I'll see them again at Christmas, as they are coming to have Christmas dinner with us. I don't think I'll be quite ready for a full turkey dinner, but I may have a bit of carrot and a bit of swede or something like that, to celebrate the festivities. Mummy doesn't like carrots, but she's still made me some carrot puree - except that daddy had to put it in the blender for her, as mummy doesn't like the smell! Look at me in my fancy dungarees. Mummy's friend Ros bought them for me from Baby Gap. Guess what - they are 3-6 month age group! As I now weigh 13lb 6oz, I need bigger clothes, and particularly ones that fit round my big nappies. I'm a bit concerned that they make me look a bit podgey, especially as I'm seeing Oscar on Friday. Oh, well, I guess a diet of fruit and vegetable puree washed down with a bit of milk is about as healthy as it gets, so I shouldn't worry! I'm off to see grandpa and granny Meikle tomorrow if I feel well enough. I'll also see Tait the dog, who is feeling poorly at the moment too - get well soon Tait.

Saturday 10th November 2007

Well I saw my man on Thursday and he's very well. We sat next to each other and chatted and talked. We had a lot to catch up on. Oscar was telling me all about the yummy food his mummy has been giving him. I was very jealous, but today I tasted some for myself! That's right, I had some baby rice for the first time this morning with my 11am milk feed. It was quite nice actually. It was all mixed up with mummy's milk, so I couldn't really tell there was rice in there. but mummy gave it to me off a spoon, which was very different to my normal feed. I'll have a teaspoon of rice in 15ml of milk for the next couple of days with my 11am feed, and then on Tuesday I'll try a little bit of pear puree, which I'm very excited about. Mummy and I went to Waitrose yesterday and bought all sorts of interesting fruit and vegetables for my first month of solid foods. We got Butternut squash, sweet potato, courgette, swede, carrot, apple and pear. As you can see I am being very healthy! Mummy has told me she won't like changing my nappies now that I'm on solid foods - oops, I think I'd better learn to hold my nose!

Thursday 8th November 2007

I had a lovely weekend, and I've been out and about like a busy bee this week too. On Monday I got all dressed up snug for buggyfit, as it was very chilly. My natty yellow outfit came from Auntie Emma. Grandpa came to see me on Tuesday, and my friend Isobel and her mummy Jayne came too, and we went for a lovely walk. Isobel was telling me all about how she goes swimming every week, so I thought I'd give it a go too. So mummy and I went to check out Abingdon leisure centre yesterday. They've got a speical pool for babies, so we had a bit of a paddle and a kick. Here's a picture of me in one of my swimming costumes. I'm tied down on a changing station to keep me safe when mummy was getting changed. I then spent the rest of the day with my friend Ava, who lives in Abingdon. I'm excited today as I'm getting together with Oscar - I'll have to decide what to wear to impress him. I keep telling mummy that my bum looks big in my fleecey nappies, but she keeps putting them on me! Gene's mummy isn't very well, so we won't be seeing him, but hopefully we can catch up soon to hear what he's been up to. Mummy and daddy are going to start giving me solid foods this weekend. That's right - I've started to show all the tell tale signs. I keep waking up in the night at about 3.30am, I'm sucking my hand like mad, and I'm getting very bored with milk - so I'm going to try some baby rice on Saturday, and then we'll see what happens. I shall be asking Oscar what his favourite foods are today - he's eating all sorts of excting things already, so I'm very jealous. I love spending time with mummy and daddy. I smile a lot at them, and we stick our tongues out at each other. I've also learned to show them I'm hungry by putting my hand towards my mouth. Daddy gives me a bath everynight, and mummy feeds me. I go to bed at about 7.45pm and then mummy and daddy wake me up to give me a little bit more food and change my nappy before they go to bed. It's a good routine, and I always sleep well, and fingers crossed I'll be able to sleep for a bit longer through the night with some baby rice in my tummy!

Saturday 3rd November 2007

I'm about to embark on an exciting adventure today. My first night away from home since I came out of hospital. I'm going with mummy to Godmother Jenny's house in Birmingham. We're going to have a girlie day, just the 3 of us, so that should be lovely. Daddy is at the football supporting my team Aston Villa - remember my bear that was named after them? Anyway I'm sure you're all dying to know what my weight is.....well I managed to break all records and put on a whole pound this week! That's right. I now weigh 12lb 15oz, so I'm nearly a teenager. Mummy says I've got longer, as my feet touch the sides of the chair when I'm feeding now. I can't remember if I told you, but I've come off my phosphate as my levels are all back to normal. Mummy tried taking me off my gaviscon too, but it didn't work - I'm not quite ready to ditch my reflux medication yet. I saw lots of new friends this week. Here are pics of Lucy and Farrah, and also mummy's friend Katie who is pregnant with another new friend for me due in January. Auntie Emma has had her 20 week scan this week, and my cousin Daniel tells me that all is well with the twins. He's very excited about their arrival, as am I. It means I won't be the youngest grandchild anymore, but I don't mind. I've got a big get together with all my NCT chums and their mummies and daddies tomorrow, so I'd better get the good night's sleep to make sure I'm on top form. I've slept right through the night from 11pm to 7am the last 2 nights, so mummy is hoping that I'll just keep doing it - well I'll see how I feel. I'll be sleeping in my travel cot for the first time tonight, so I may not be very comfortable. Anyway - I'd better go , or mummy and I will be late - bye for now!