Train journey problems

On the train journey home tonight was fraught with concern.

Sue had come into town with Emily and passed her on to me like an Olympic baton while she had a well deserved night out with friends.

I made my way to Victoria with Em and then the problem arose. Normally, I've taken Emily back on the train from London Bridge which is pretty much always 1) at least 8 carriages and 2) has a wheel chair area.

Tonight's excursion from Victoria was neither of these things - it was 4 carriages and not a wheelchair or pram area in sight.

What's a dad to do?

Well, I found a "this is for old people" area and pushed her pram in there - taking up 5 seats in the process. In my defence, when we got on the train it wasn't all that full. By the time the train left and people couldn't get on the train due to capacity, I did begin to feel quite guilty.

Thanks to the British resolve, no one actually challenged my brazened theft of good seats, but I surmised that I was doing a favour to one and all in keeping Emily entertained and thus not screaming her lungs out. I also refused to make eye contact with any other travellers.

By the time we got to Thornton Heath, the train had emptied considerably and by Wallington we were one of the last remaining few on the train.

I think in future I need to figure out a decent plan B because this plan A stressed me out more than a trip home with my daughter probably should.

Scoocher McGee

Over last week or so, Emily has become an increasingly mobile little creature... and it's worrying.

It all started with her pushing herself off her change matt with her legs. Now it's got to the point where she's "back surfing" around the living room, starting off on her baby gym and ending up across the room in pretty record time. This has all been documented on camera phone by Sue.

It was all smiles and giggles until yesterday when Emily decided to back surf into an ottoman we have near the dining table. Sue was very careful to cover any dangerous surfaces on the coffee table with pillows, but you can never hold a dedicated scootcher down and Emily went careening into the ottoman.

Many tears ensued and we decided sooner rather than later is when we need to baby proof the flat.

So far we have her wriggling and almost being able to turn over on her back, now we have her moving around the room. Her development has been quite interesting to witness.

----------------
Now playing: U2 - With Or Without You
via FoxyTunes

Being a Weaner

The last week or so Sue and I have been contemplating the next phase of Emily's life - real food. Most of the books suggest that this phase doesn't start until six months. For Emily that would be September, when she's in Australia with mummy.

However, Sue has been reading another baby book that suggests that weaning can begin as early as four months, depending on size of baby, etc. Well, four months is TOMORROW!

All I can say is, we are not really all that ready to begin the weaning adventure.

I understand it just means you blend the hell out of real food until it's bland and as runny as milk, but I need to read up - do you serve it in a bottle? How much do you give? What if they don't like it? Do you have to play that damn airplane hanger game with them to eat it?

Thankfully my babies guide for dummies is handy, so I'll be doing some weaning boning up when I get home.

----------------
Now playing: Men at Work - Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive
via FoxyTunes

Sleep, my friend, why have you abandoned me?

Ok before I have a go at Emily, I have to offer a mea culpa. The last couple of nights we've kept her up WAY past her bedtime and she's retaliated the only way she knows how - by screaming. (Last night just after arriving home around 10.15p, I'd left her on the sofa while I took my shoes off. When I put her down she was crying, when I looked back after removing said apparel, she was asleep.)

Having said that, we're going through another phase now - ROLLING!

Emily used to just lay there like a doll or a log and if you wanted her to move, you moved her. Now she's figuring out the rolling thing and moving her head, it's becoming increasingly difficult for Sue to feed her without Em's little eyes darting everywhere and her focus on anything but the feed. Invariably she lets go to look at what she's found interesting, realises she's not feeding any more and screams. WONDERFUL!

But I digress, along with the rolling has come the "I don't wanna sleep" phase of life. Sue has called me the last couple of days with tales of how Emily just seems to be missing her afternoon nap. This is setting us up for a fall, as when I get home at night her eyes are glazed over and she has rings around them like an all night factory worker.

We've just got used to her old regime and it looks like we've been thrust into the middle of a new one we've got to learn pretty quick.

At least she's sleeping through the night still. Although, being awoken at 6am is still jarring on the system, it's not as bad as it is for Sue who has to feed the little tyke.

I'm just getting used to showing up at work with my own bags under my eyes and the constant yawn.

Birthday!

It's my birthday today, and as a special treat, I got a present from my daughter. My first birthday as a dad.

The birthday cards sitting on the "mantle" now read - "to my husband", "to our son", "to my nephew", "to my dad" and ... oddly.. "to my sister-in-law".

Went out for steak tonight at Smith & Western and Emily was way over tired and didn't take kindly to not being at home or in bed. Sue eventually took her outside to rock her and feed her, leaving me at the table to guard the possessions - keys, phones, wallets, etc.

Em eventually nodded off during the main course and we had a nice quite meal (apart from the kids at the other table - which we hope to God Emily doesn't act like at that age!)

----------------
Now playing: Oingo Boingo - When the Lights Go Out
via FoxyTunes

Partying and baby sleeps

This weekend we went away overnight to a friend of Sue's for a birthday party in the country.

Again, Emily was the star of the show, with her grinning face illuminating the room and everyone wanting a cuddle. One downfall was we didn't really get Emily to get until about 1.30am. Not too bad, except her usual bedtime is about 7.30pm... 9pm at a push.

The benefit of her being absolutely exhausted was that I could get her to go to sleep with just a little persuasion. Lately, she's not been going to sleep on her own and has needed a last feed to "knock her out" as the case may be.

Sue and I are a bit worried that this will continue and she'll be 15, sitting at the dining table with her face in her food as the only way to get her to sleep.

----------------
Now playing: Foo Fighters - Hell
via FoxyTunes

Enjoying the holiday in the sun

We've now been in Spain for almost three whole days, and Emily is having quite the number of first experiences - from extreme heat to swimming pools. The last couple of nights she's been quite active during her sleep, which I take as a sign that she's processing all the amazing things she's been through.

Today we went to a Sunday market near Quesada, where Paul's folks live. We got about an hour into it before Emily gave up and just became agitated. (Sue had already given up, having been cornered in a children's clothing stall by two women who didn't seem to understand English or the word "no").

The constant sun in Em's face and the heat obviously played on her with great effect. We eventually retreated back to the car where we turned the A/C on and Sue fed her. She was quite good after that.

This afternoon, we did what most people do in a hot climate on holiday - we hit the pool! This involved - for Emily - donning waterproof nappies and a nice little wetsuit, as well as lashings of SPF 50+ sunscreen, baby sunnies and a hat. As she was quite tired and agitated from the mornings activities, there was no way the sunnies were staying on, so pool time was enjoyed through squinty eyes.

We played a few games in the water and did a bit of playful horsing around before Emily finally succumbed to tiredness and began to grizzle. A quick feed later and she was out for the count in the shade.

I think we're all having a nice laid back time, just doing things as they come. For Emily, especially, there are so many things she's experiencing for the first time, I'm surprised her mind doesn't explode.

The pain in Spain falls mainly from the plane

We made it to Spain for our long weekend getaway finally.

The plane was an hour late and we were already hestitant about how Emily would handle the whole thing.

I had visions of bleeding ears and blood curdling / passenger deafening screams surrounding the take off and landing pressure changes. As it was, she was feeding off Sue at take off and gave a few pained cries, but nothing monumental.

When we got the cruising altitude, she collapsed in a stressed out, exhausted ball on my lap and stayed that way until the announcement came over the tannoy that we were beginning our decent. Again, there was visible discomfort from Emily but nothing major.

The plane however, after the two hour delay, was horrendous. Monarch fobbed us off onto a Thomson plane which is pretty much akin to a sardine tin.

I think things will be much better when Sue travels to Australia with Em in September. For starters, Em will have a basket to stay in, not Sue's lap with a dodgy orange "baby" seatbelt.

We finally got to Quesada, where Paul's folks live, around 11.30p local time. Had a few bevvies and checked out all the baby stuff that we rented for Emily. We then collapsed in a travel-induced exhaustion, ready to start the holiday properly.

Latest set of jabs today

Had an appointment this afternoon to get Emily's latest set of jabs done. This time they started her course to combat meningitis as well.

She was quite good, all things considered, and really only grizzled slightly during the jabs, even though there was a bit of blood (thankfully the cotton wool to most of it).

Last round of jabs, we gave her Calpol and she was knocked out for most of the evening. This afternoon, we've not been as lucky. Most of the Calpol ended up on a muslin or on her dress and she kept breaking into crying randomly. Sue's been able to send her off to sleep with a feed, but we're not sure for how long.

While at the clinic, we also got the little tyke weighed. She's now clocking in at over 16 lbs! That's quite the heft, but they're quite happy with her progress and so are we.

The next major hurdle is how Spain is handled...

The Great Baby Cot Debate

It's come to the point in Emily's life where she's outgrown her Moses basket and the grand decision has to be made - do we completely rejig our bedroom to fit her cot or do we move on to another milestone and make her sleep in her own room.

Logistically speaking, our bedroom - without some major furniture removal - could not accommodate Emily's cot. We could try a number of other options, including army bunks or sawing things in half, but this is not really a good idea.

Thus, due to logistics, we've had to embrace the milestone that is baby sleeping in her cot in her room ahead of the six months that Sue was hoping for.

I've since done some research to find out whether we now qualify for the worst parents of the year award and I've discovered that 3 months is the usual limit that parents can cope with the little person they've created sleeping near them. Things like snuffles and constant shifting restlestness mean that the parents get a better sleep without baby there. A work colleague told me that his son was wise to the awake parent anytime of the night, so a 4am loo visit automatically became a "hey, you're up, let's play" session.

We're now debating baby monitors, and I think there's a real tangible sense of guilt manifesting in cot death worry, but I think statistics will bear out that we're doing the right thing.