Weaning Fayre, New friends and fresh air

This morning we met up with 5 of the other mums and babies from the baby massage group to go along to the local weaning fayre. We've been lucky that the mums and babies are all very similar in age and live within a few minutes of eachother, so we've decided to meet up regularly once the massage class stops next week. So today Curtis had his first trip out with his new pals Leo, Milli, Zoe, Isla and Erin. We sat in a small lecture hall with many other mums and dads to listen to the speakers and I'm amazed at how peaceful it was considering all the little people there...the event timed perfectly with Curtis' morning snooze and so he slept the entire time!



After a pit stop at home for lunch we then took advantage of the good weather to go for a stroll around Queens Park. It was such a mild warm day today that for the first time I was able to take Curtis out of his pram to sit with me on a bench and get some fresh air without being choked by the gusting Glasgow wind. He seemed very content watching the seagulls and swans and whilst there we got chatting with another new mum and her wee girl Ailie.

14.5lb of giggles

Curtis reached his 12th week yesterday and today weighs in at 14.5 lbs. Health Visitor Caroline popped in to see us this morning & gave us the all clear for post natal depression and with wee man doing well says we dont need to see her now until his next immunisations are due. Curtis was on good form and very smiley and even persuaded a reluctant Caroline to pose for a photo for his blog. Then after a lunchtime snooze which involved me laying next to him to hold his ever jiggling arms down to make him go to sleep, we packed up our bags and jumped in the car for a long overdue trip to see my friends at work. Curtis was so well behaved and all smiles, everyone must have thought I'd been making it up that we ever have any difficult days. It was really lovely to see everyone and luckily Lynne was in (who I usually share an office with) and we were able to share our excitement and stories of new parenthood...Lynnes daughter Molly being just one year old.

Today saw the launch of 3-4 different giggles for the wee man, all enthusiastically tested for my entertainment during the day ... he even paused a few times during breastfeeding to laugh or squeal ... it's like he was on laughing gas much of the day. All the way home from our trip to work I could hear him giggling away in his car seat, and back at home I challenged him to a giggling contest (hear recording below! that is once I've worked out how to load it!!)

Oh, a visit to work meant yet another lift and another funny face from Curtis!

Nurseries, massage and still feeling drowsy

Well little man woke at 6am today and it was so nice to get up at a decent time, instead of 4-5am then sleepy on and off (if lucky) till 7am. This was great as it gave us good time to get ready for two nursery visits today. The first was a smaller set up but seemed a bit chaotic and we took an instant dislike to it even though it was not too bad, the second was the same company as one we'd previsously seen and yet again we came away feeling that we'd be happy and confident leaving the little guy here...the facilities, staff, gardens and activities are all great...so a decision could be made soon. It brings tears to my eyes already to imagine leaving him with anyone other than family...making it all the more important that we find the right childcare for him.

In the afternoon we went to our 4th massage class which we both enjoy. Curtis seemed more chilled out today and even fell asleep...I'm sure however this is down to the immunisations yesterday and not my massage skills! His drowsiness again led him to have a 2 hour daytime sleep which gave us time to blitz the flat...we even hoovered under the bed! Little mans bedtime was therefore again delayed to ensure he got some up time b4 8pm.

No time to upload a photo from today, so I'll find one on the PC that we've nto posted b4. Here are a couple of pics from his first week at home to remind us how much he's changed and grown.

Ouch!!!!

Curtis had his first set of immunisation injections today, two wee jags, one in each leg and he said 'OUCH!!!!!!!!'. He was smiling away at me as usual as the health visitor did the first injection and it was horrible to see his little happy face turn to shock then tears. He cheered up very quickly however and we took him for a walk around the park to get some sunshine and air. Whilst there we met Emma from the baby massage class and her wee man Leo, both also circling roung the park! On our return home little mans day got a little worse as the drugs kicked in, leaving him sleepy but very cranky and unhappy...there was a fair bit of yelling and if he screamed much more we thought his tonsils might fall out but luckily tiredness won and he slept on and off all afternoon. He only woke up and smiled again at 6pm so we kept him up to have some fun awake time till 8pm and thats him just off to bed, his bedtime routine played out 2 hours later than usual...hopefully all will be back to normla by morning.

His later bedtime however did ensure that he got to watch the start of the Liverpool game with his dad and it was amazing (or disturbing) to see just how transfixed he was on the TV. He also spent some time batting toys under his playarch ... he now gives all toys in his reach an almighty whallop to send them jingling and rattling and tonight for the first time he grabbed hold of one of them too. He has also begun to take an interest in looking at his right hand and arm finally and also seemed to discover his right knee. Yesterday he also started putting his two hands together and today used this to grab two hands around a toy...it all seems to be coming together quite fast all of a sudden! He'll be playing the guitar and kicking a football in no time!

'Oh where did you get that hat...'

Not much to report today as Steph & Curtis spent the day at home. Part of the morning was spent giving the little man a good wash, clipping fingernails etc and trying to remove the last flakes of cradle cap from his head. He has looked like he has had crunchy nut cornflakes stuck to his scalp and ears the past 3 weeks but some cream prescribed by our health visitor Caroline seems finally to be shifting it, that and a little help from placing a warm flannel on his head (see below) before brushing whats left of his hair. Steph then rang some more nurseries and arranged to visit them later in the week before taking Curtis out in the pram for 7 circuits round our local park to ensure he got some sleep.

We knew that maternity leave was going to fly by but it feels like it's nearly over before its begun and it seems so sad to think that soon we may only be able to report on the blog 'dropped Curtis at nursery at 9am, went to work, picked him up at 5pm, fed him and put him to bed by 6.30pm'. Boo hoo. Our plan is to each look after him 2 days a week with Steph working when Gareth is not, so this way we only need 3 days nursery each week...which really I'm sure will be very good for him giving him the chance to interact with other little people and explore new surroundings.

Lunchdate with daddy

We had a snowy start to the day here and Curtis gazed at the snowflakes from the window with his mum. Then they set about having a lazy morning which included a massage for Curtis and a little snooze in the big bed with mum as she listened to part of sons and lovers on CD - a clever gift from Uncles Jamie and Dan knowing Steph wont have much time to read now that Curtis is here. Curtis continued his fascination with his left arm today (he really will be left handed wont he?, as the right arm doesn't get any attention yet) gazing at it whenever he got the chance. Another new friend of his is a new bear which arrived for him from friends Sophie, Fred and Lou-Ann in France, along with cool trousers and T shirt. Lou-Ann has a very similar toy as her dou dou and so it seems appropriate that his french bear be his dou dou. We have christened the little bear Lenni after Freds dog and already its a hit with the wee man as it's super soft and a perfect size for him to cuddle and hold.

As Curtis is usually in bed by the time his dad gets home Steph thought she'd take the little man up to see him for his lunchbreak. Curtis wore his funky 'little man' top and jeans and had many an admiring look. As is common now, he was in good spirits. Another indoor shopping centre, another lift...and yet another hilarious face from Curtis!

Calderglen Country Park with Uncles Jamie & Dan

This morning began with an early morning visit from Curtis's auntie Lisa. Lately Lisa has only seen Curtis towards the end of the day when he's quite tired so this morning he had a chance to show off some of his best gurgles and smiles and told Lisa a few stories. Then as it was a sunny day we got the car packed up to go off to Calderglen Country Park with Jamie and Dan and the doges Bailey and Milli. I put Curtis in his lovely dungarees for his day out and just as I was picking him up to leave the house he pooped a huge poop which went up his back and all over his dungarees! Ach well, we're getting used to this now.

We started our day at the cafe where Dan and I left Jamie looking after Curtis and the 2 dogs which all seemed fine until a gust of wind took Curtis by surprise and left him crying...then as Jamie quickly tried to settle him Milli took the chance to reach over and grab a donut out of the hands of the 4 year old girl stood nearby so soon Jamie was left with 2 dogs and 2 screaming children...not the best start. Food and drinks arrived and our day settled down but as the weather turned to hail and wind I headed for indoor animal gazing with Curtis (who slept the whole time) while Jmaie and Dan took the dogs out by the river. Curtis didn't get to appreciate any of the animals or sites but it felt good to be in a place like this with my own wee boy rather than being there thinking what a lovely place it would be to take a child to. I'm sure he'll love the place as he grows up as it has some very cool animals and lovely walks.

That's two days in a row we've seen sunshine now so we invested in some sun shades for the car, shaped as a panda and a cats head our first instinct when we got them out of the box last night was to stick them to our foreheads by the suckers which should attach to the window (G and I). Hence today looking like a pair of idiots with what looks like big red hiccys on our foreheads. Hopefully Curtis will grow up to be more intelligent than us!

[oops, we are still taking photos in our kitchen which in its half dismantled state is not the best backdrop!]

My mum is hilarious

In the past two weeks Curtis has been more interested in speaking with people than playing with any toys. He has also been smiley and laughing at every noise you make or expression you pull which has been great for my ego, as in Curtis's eyes everything I do or say is hilarious.


Today we went to The Fort shopping centre and again we made a lunch stop in the car. Curtis was great fun to be with and I'm already so looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.


Below are a couple of video clips - please excuse the odd angles / poor recording but I have to try to record him without him knowing, as the minute he sees the camera he is distracted and stop chattering.

Power to the people

Baby Development
" Your 2 month old baby will start to be able to focus on objects approximatly 20 cm away. Your baby may then start to regard their own arm".
- The Baby Centre (www.babtcentre.co.uk/stages)






























Power to the People!!!!!

A day at home with my dah

Dad was off work again today which was a real treat for the little man. After a long lie in till 10am, they spent the day larking about and telling eachother funny jokes and stories.