Saturday 31 October 2009

six weeks!

well, CK pointed something interesting to me, at four weeks when the going seemed to be tough, a lot of people had pointed out that "at six weeks it'l be better, everything will have settled down" though we couldn't quite believe it at the time, hear we are at six weeks and it turns out to be true.

I have just settled her down, and at five-thirty/six she'll be ready for dinner, I'll bath her at six-forty (with a nursery rhyme cd in the background) and finger crossed she'll be settled  by half-seven.

We have had upto five hours between feeds (unfortunately not at night) so things are looking up.

As we get more confident we are venturing out more and the friends we made at NCT baby classes are proving to be an invaluable support network.

Her hair proper is being to grow and as we hoped its on the "ginger spectrum", she is also occasionaly giving lovely smiles which is really rewarding.

The house we are buying seems to be coming together as well as is my job.

Now if she'll just sleep through the night.....

Tuesday 27 October 2009

getting into a rythm

Well we are still trying (and still failing) to get a good nights sleep.

We are currently trying a feed/bath/sing evening routine and  hope that will help, I must say though, that whether or not baby's finding that way, I am finding it very relaxing and almost fall asleep doing it!

The weekend was very exhausting, she had a serous case of the grumbles and on Saturday I had to resort to taking her for a drive which worked like a dream, she was asleep in minutes!

Thursday 22 October 2009

secret signals

Here's the thing, before you start learning about babies you assume the only signal the capable of is crying, it turns out it is more complicated than that.

Crying whilst wiggling legs - change my nappy
panting like a dog - I'm too hot
making a face like a little bird pleading for a worm - feed me

just when you think you are getting the hang of it, though it gets more confusing, you see it seems just like us adults, when she's overtired she gets the munchies even though she's not really hungry.

so when the poor mite was trying ever hour to tell us she wanted to sleep we were responding by shovelling milk into her, whilst at the same time getting exasperated she was feeding so much!

Though I have a lot to learn, I wouldn't change it for the world

Tuesday 20 October 2009

big piles of lovely fluffyness

Okay, being of a theatrical persuasion I can sometimes be given too bitchy flourishes about life, but for a moment let me draw in my claws and set the record straight about fatherhood, it's great, every day I look at this little bundle of cuteness we've created I find myself smiling from the tip of my toes to the top of my head.

And further more, despite her currently having no discernible talent other than surprising creative nappy's I feel very proud of her and am convinced she is single handedly going to change the world.

Monday 19 October 2009

the joy of nappy changing

so, its 6am, I have the physicality of a zombie, the attitude of a drag queen with a hangover  and its the first change of the day.

I open the nappy to find she's been busy but eventually I get her clean and dry, I turn my back to get a clean nappy and when I return she's wet the changing mat, herself and her clothes.

So I strip her down, get her clean and dry with new clothes, turn my back to get something and its then shes all wet again.

ck's calling from the bedroom to see if I'm okay,  so whilst I'm standing there surrounded by sodden clothes, spoiled nappys, a half dressed baby and various changing detris, I call back "I'm fine!"

Sunday 18 October 2009

One step forwad, two steps back

Well AG has just had a first weekend away for home, we went up to stay with her grandma and great granddad.

We started off quite tired and hoped a weekend of being looked after would just be the thing to recharge our batterys, it was a fine plan and we were certainly looked after, unfortuntaly AG  decided that weekend not to sleep at any useful point for any longer than two hours, we are both exhausted.

serves me right for thinking she was settling into a routine!

Saturday 17 October 2009

settling into a routine

well it's happening, she starting to settle into a routine.

after about six she feeds every hour as if she's loading up for a good nights sleep, then about eightish shes off to bed maybe after a bath and a sing.

midnightish she wants the first feed which is what I do using a bottle of CK's milk, after she settles I take her back to bed and ck looks after the next couple of feeds.

not as much sleep as I would like, I grant you, but thanks to the healing powers of caffeine I am getting through the working day.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

sucking on the teat

Well yesterday wasn't a good day, CK was

When I got home CK looked completely exhausted, she had been run ragged all day by AG who was stuck in a constant loop of crying, feeding and nappy changing even an attempt of a walk to the park ended before they got to the end of the road by constant screaming.

I got home in time for AG finally settling down and for the first time I successfully fed her from a bottle of CK's milk so that mummy could get to bed at a reasonable time.

I hope we settle into a routine soon.
I

Tuesday 13 October 2009

sneeze

Well CK caught a cold the other day, and now baby has it.

Actually, its quite funny in way, as when AG has a sneezing fit she looks around the room afterwards as if too say "what just happened?"

hopefully the cold won't be too bad!

gurgle gurgle shoop shoop beep

Well what have we been up to, well yesterday we took AG to the registry office, this is the department of local government that officially adds AG to government systems and registers us as her parents, we had an appointment for them opening at nine, we of course got their early but found the door locked and found we were expected to wait outside in the cold, lucky a baby seems to act as a magic passport in these situations and were able to persuade another part of the building to let us wait with them.

My consolation for waiting I thought, would be that if they are a stickler for opening times, they must be a stickler for time in general, would be on time for our appointment, nope, after waiting twenty minutes in front of an advert for funerals (they register deaths and weddings as well) one of the co-workers of the person we were meant to have an appointment with took pity on us and took the appointment instead.

Well, the paperwork is done now, I am now officially the daddy and as I fall asleep am awakened by AG new trick, sound effects, she has sound effects now for every occasion, the funniest being her impression of a failing hot water heater that she does when feeding, I fall asleep with her making "gurgle gurgle shoop shoop beep" noises in the background.

Sunday 11 October 2009

marching to a babys beat

What time do we wake up? - Roughly when baby does
What time do we sleep? - Roughly when baby does

What time do you do anything, well...in the small islands of time when she's not grumbling,eating or having a nappy change we fit it  in whilst chanting the mantra "quick, quick, before she wakes up"

Saturday 10 October 2009

happy

last night AG gave us two four-hour sleep sessions,  hurrah!

Thursday 8 October 2009

sleep thief

I saw someone write "anyone got any sleep to spare, I'll pay cash", boy do we know what that means. I mean in the grand scheme of things we've been very lucky, with a "chilled" baby and as cute as a button, but we can't wait until she settles into a routine.

Sleep is something we have found to become something quite rare and limited and only through giving up a little sleep of our own to stay awake with baby that the other person sleeps.

I don't know how single parents can do it.

I realise I am not making any sense, probably because from 4:30 to 5:45 I was gently bouncing a wide awake baby to sleep whilst watching a documentary.

that all said CK has this all day, where as I go to an office who is having  a celebration week of quiz's, video games and pizza she is even making a hundred mile round trip with her dad to see her paternal grandmother and family.

She is superhuman and her love her to bits, oh and by the way "anyone got any sleep to spare, I'll pay cash"

Tuesday 6 October 2009

A strange silence

A strange silence has descended over the flat, any other day this would be great, we had a great weekend, AG slept like a log last night, CK made me a cooked breakfast, AG umbilical cord has finally fallen off, so why am I feeling strange?

Well, today is to be my first day back at work, its only a half day today but I feel unsettled, I've got used to my wierd world of disturbed sleep and daytime pram pushing and am wondering how I've changed over these two weeks I also feel a little guilty leaving CK with the hard work.

I wonder how my first day back will be and how I'll stop myself calling home to check everything is okay.

Oh well, time to stop staring into my own navel, time to get back to the office.

Monday 5 October 2009

Lessons learned

We went for my mum's legendary Sunday lunch earlier where AG met the whirlwind of energy that is her cousins.

AG's cousins are boys of three and six, the three year old could have a book of tales written about his exploits already, mainly because he has strong ideas of what he wants to do, doesn't wait for permission and has the brains and energy to carry them out! He surprise for everyone today was almost climbing out a first floor bathroom window so he could wave to his brother in the garden!

So lesson one for the day, just because it looks out of reach doesn't mean they can't work out a way to get it in-reach!

After a lovely big roast dinner we headed off to meet our NCT friends, AG was a bit grumbly but as we were running a little late we hoped a ride in the car would sort her out. This was to be the next lesson, investigate grumbles whilst its easy to do so, because as we drove along we treated to such a loud and regular bout of  wailing that made passers-by were  looking around for who's alarm was going off! We ended up risking the cars interior by changing her nappy in a car-park!

now daddy's lesson's are learned for the day, how do we teach baby 4:30am is not an appropriate time to be wide awake?

Sunday 4 October 2009

Daddy guns

Well "short shorts" and "tickles" visit here was fun, after they left we headed to the supermarket, AG was a bit grumbly as we headed to the checkout but luckily I found out if I rhythmically lifted her in her car-seat up and down as if I was doing "bicep curls" in the gym she would stop, so I did it until my arms hurt, but then she started grumbling again, so I did it until my arms really hurt, then she started grumbling again.....

At this rate I'll have biceps like Schwarzenegger and I shall name the phenomenon  "daddy guns"

Saturday 3 October 2009

I don't want to go back to work

Life is sedate at the moment and apart from the lack of sleep I am enjoying baby-led life!

On Tuesday however I will be returning to work which will be a very weird feeling, but mustn't grumble, one of my more energetic friends "tickles" is coming around this afternoon then in evening another friend "G-man" fly's in for the weekend from Ireland, I can't wait!

G's going to stay at my parents as sleep deprivation  is against European torture law and so on Sunday we are going to my parents for lunch and so Alice can meet the whirlwind of chaos that is her toddler cousins, I hope she's ready!!

Friday 2 October 2009

early in the moring and my lungs are burning

It's nine in the morning and somthing I thought was just a saying, is happening to me, my lungs are burning! why? well to give AG a garden and a little more space we are moving a little further out of London and into a house.

There are a few compromises of course, one of them being a steep hill I'll have to commute up on my cycle, this morning I'm giving it a trial run and needless to say, its a lot like hard work! That combined with the lack of sleep AG gave us last night and I'm ready to go back to bed!

Thursday 1 October 2009

soft girlie hands

I'm a big tall hairy guy, so why do I now suddenly have super girlie soft hands?

Well as we most of my recent odd behaviour, it's down to baby! Basically it seems not an hour goes by now without me thoroughly washing my hands and they were beginning to painfully crack!

So the solution has been to moisturise them every time with E45, will my march toward "thoroughly modern daddy" ever stop!

four hours

Last night during the nights activity's at one point we managed four hours in a row, how fantastic is that!

It followed on from a lovely trip out, CK's dad came over for his birthday and took us to a local gastropub, where I had beetroot, goats cheese and rocket salad, wild mushroom risotto washed down with a lovely wine.

We went there by bus which was a really easy way to travel as London buses are all designed now to let you roll the push chair straight on and into a designated space so you don't have to fold it up, and of course we took advantage of granddad to do all the pushchair pushing, he didn't mind though, he looked like the cat that got the cream!

four hours uninterrupted sleep, bliss!