Reading recognition

Emily is now able to recite - from memory - 99% of Hairy Maclary's Bone, which is amazingly impressive. She gets stuck on who can't make it out of the building site, all cluttered and stoney.

Today she unveiled the latest addition to her vocabulary - "upside down". Of course, this being a small child the words actually sound like "up is down". I thought at first that she was espousing some existential philosophy until I noticed that the book she was looking at was indeed "upside down".

Previously, she'd look at a book upside down, right side up, left side right, whatever and not really care, as long as there were pictures to be seen and a story to be told to her. It's quite impressive that she's starting to make the distinction between what is correct and what is off kilter.

Clifford the big red treat

As a treat tonight, I decided to see if I could find some YouTube fun for Emily. Mainly some Clifford the Big Red dog episodes or some In The Night Garden.
I found both.

We watched a couple of episodes of both shows and Emily was transfixed.
I don't want to her become a square-eyed boxhead, but I can imagine how cool it must have been for her to see Clifford come to life, having read his book cover to cover almost daily for the last few months.

Getting Healthy

Having endured a week of health hell, Sue is very slowly getting back to normal. Although she still has the voice of a 30-smokes a day smoker, she reports that her head is clear and she's actually been able to get into work and not need the naps in the afternoon.

In an effort to eradicate a repeat of any illnesses in the next few months - especially with winter approaching - Sue's turned to the Pregnacare tablets. Basically, they're multivitamins for the expectant.

Reading the pamphlet last night (I'm a guy, that's what I do), it says you can use them well into breastfeeding as well and that they should give the mother to be all the nutrients and vitamins necessary, but still eat a healthy diet.

Also of note was the NCT, plastered all over the box. The more I read about them, the more I think we need to join.

Reading and other issues

With a few months to go, I thought it prurient to start reading about what we're actually going to be bringing into the world.

It seems you could devote your entire life to reading the exacting a proper way to bring a baby into the world, what to eat, what to avoid, etc.

Before I crack open the latest tome though, I have to say I am still scared to breaking point about bring a new life into the world. On the way to work today I read about a loved private school boy who topped himself in his 20s as a smackhead who couldn't get clean. Then I walked by a nursery for children with problems.

On top of that, when baby does arrive I have to figure out how to drop it off at nursery after 8am and pick up before 6pm, even though I usually take the 7.53a train and never get home before 7p.

I just need to sit down and have someone tell me this is all doable and everything's going to be alright.

I really fret that in 17 years time, Sue and I are going to look at each other and say "where did we go so wrong?" In that, I hope I am very wrong.