Tag Archives: dummies

The Big 100!

Posted on by
10

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaaaaah…. whizz bang *sound of fireworks going off* – this post, this very post wot I is now writing (sic), marks my 100th blog post since I began the Richmond Mummy blog back in February this year.  I thank you, *takes a bow*.

Truly I can’t quite believe that I have made it this far and that this is my 100th post – 100th POST!!! I shall allow myself a celebratory pat on the back (I would have allowed myself a celebratory glass of wine, but I had quite enough of that last night – see exhibit A, photo blog of yesterday).  Ahem.

Anyway, I have been thinking about how to mark this momentous occasion and decided to write a post capturing the first 100 days of my beautiful baby girl’s life.  She is, after all, the inspiration for and reason behind me blogging, and so it seems fitting that to mark my big 100, this post looks at those first 100 days.  So, here we go…

Day 1:  Allegra Christina Cox born by c-section, Adele’s “Feel My Love” plays on the radio

Day 2: We’ve already fallen completely in love with our little bubba, who loves to snooze

Day 3: We’re still approaching nappy changes as a two person job, but gradually learning

Day 4: Discharged from hospital, once home we discover the joyous power of dummies

Day 5: We survive our first full day with bubba at home – success!

Day 6: Cousins Jo and Claire come to visit and fall in love with our little baby bug

Day 7: The Young Family visit and little Josh brings home-baked cakes, yum!

Day 8: Nonna (my mum) comes to visit and helps, helps, helps, helps, helps!

Day 9: We officially register Allegra’s birth, comedy… (see here). Aunty Chrissy visits

Day 10: We begin Gina Ford routine (ignoring advice like when to eat your breakfast)

Day 11: Granny & Grandad Cox visit and take many many many photographs!

Day 12: 9 nappy changes in 24 hours – this baby sure can poo and wee!!

Day 13: Our first night out, with baby, for cousin Claire’s graduation dinner – lovely!

Day 14: I start to just about get adjusted to what 4.30 in the morning looks like…

Day 15: Lovely NCT friend visits to talk about what it’s like being induced… I lie!

Day 16: Pancake Day at a neighbour’s house – I eat pancakes, baby sleeeeeeeeps

Day 17: Regroup with 2 NCT girls for first time post birth – swap notes on poo, wee, etc.

Day 18: Discharged by midwife as Richmond Baby now weighing in at 4450g

Day 19: My first time away from baby – 2 hours at the hairdressers – strange but needed!

Day 20: The ongoing cycle of feeding and nappy changing continues…

Day 21: What day is it?!?… the ongoing cycle of feeding and changing continues…

Day 22: Wee & poo, wee & poo, wee & poo, wee & poo, wee, wee, wee & poo, poo & wee

Day 23: More visiting from grandparents.  Lots more photo taking!

Day 24: First time at “the baby clinic” – Allegra wees on me, I have no change of clothes

Day 25: Aunty Susan visits…. lots of photos are taken!

Day 26: 3am, 7am, 10am, 1.40pm, 4.40pm, 6pm, 7.30pm, 11.30pm – she loves her milk!

Day 27: Allegra meets Andy & Siobhan.  Andy & Siobhan marvel at how big she is!

Day 28: Wee/poo/wee/poo/poo/wee/wee/wee/poo/wee

Day 29: More visiting from the grandparents.  More photo taking :-)

Day 30: Baby Annalie comes to play, she shows Allegra how to work the baby gym!

Day 31: More visiting from grandparents.  Lots of cuddles, lots of kisses, lots of photos!

Day 32: NCT group reunion at tutor’s house – comedy photo of babies lined up on sofa

Day 33: A spring walk in Richmond Park with bubba and fellow mummy friends

Day 34: NCT group reunion with mummies, daddies, and babies – chaos and cake!

Day 35: We fill in the Census,  logging details of baby’s residence in our household!

Day 36: Wee/poo/wee/wee/wee/wee/wee

Day 37: 3.30am, 6.30am, 10.30am, 2pm, 5pm, 5.50pm, 6.30pm, 11pm – milk, yum!

Day 38: My first “worried first time mum” visit to the GP with baby – she had sniffles…

Day 39: NCT girls movie afternoon – we talk all the way through – poo, wee, feeding, etc.

Day 40: I start Richmond Baby on the Infacol – wow, that creates some loud burps!

Day 41: My first proper night out – karaoke, with girlfriends – Daddy’s in charge at home

Day 42: My first Mother’s Day – a very special day spent with family and lots of love

Day 43: Tristanne and little Zach visit – Zach introduces Allegra to Toy Story’s Woody

Day 44: Poo and wee, poo and wee, wee, poo, wee, poo (lots), wee

Day 45: Poo, wee, wee, poo and wee, wee

Day 46: Kat from work visits, looking glamourous, but brings biscuits so I forgive her

Day 47: 6-week postnatal check up, GP: “fine to start exercising now” – ahem, yeah right!

Day 48: Efe and little Josh visit, Josh eats gravel in garden (note: start baby proofing)

Day 49: Lunch on sunny day with the Youngs & Bells – fight with baby re wearing sunhat

Day 50: Back to the baby clinic – 7 weeks old, weighing 11lbs 12oz, measuring 22 inches

Day 51: R. Daddy goes to Israel on business – my first experience home alone with bubba

Day 52: Weeeeeeee, poo, wee, poooooooo, wee, wee, wee

Day 53: Nonna babysits, I go out to dinner (fun but wishing I could use time to sleep!)

Day 54: Wee, poo, wee, wee, poo, poo, poo, wee

Day 55: The lovely Boon family visit and cook us lunch and do all the washing up! Bliss!

Day 56: Jenny and little Archie visit, Archie enjoys terrorising the cat hee hee

Day 57: Wee, wee, poo, wee, poo/wee, wee, wee

Day 58: 8 week jabs – heartbreaking :-( but made easier by lovely nurse at the surgery

Day 59: Allegra has hip scan, she’s given all clear and pees all over the examination bed

Day 60: I begin logging every poo, wee, feed, sleep on Baby Geek iPhone app (obsessive!)

Day 61: Jo & Fraser visit with beautiful dress for baby, we find excuse to drink Champers

Day 62: Not sure what happened this day, but probably lots of baby cuddling and kissing!

Day 63: Easter Sunday with the grandparents, we eat all baby’s Easter eggs for her (ahem)

Day 64: Richmond Daddy returns to the golf course…

Day 65: R. Daddy has a night out (I know, I’m too good to him – golf then a night out…)

Day 66: Baby Clinic again – bubba now 13lbs and in 91st percentile… what a chubber!

Day 67: Baby’s first train ride – we bring her in to my work and R. Daddy’s (showing off!)

Day 68: It’s the Royal Wedding! And baby’s first street party :-)

Day 69: Melissa comes to visit giving baby a little toy dog, toy dog is now a favourite

Day 70: Lunch at the Gaucho Grill with friends, Richmond Baby charms the waitresses

Day 71: Jenny & little Archie come to visit again (Pigalle the cat hides this time… :-) )

Day 72: Fun with the grandparents – lots of giggles, lots of cuddles, lots of photos!

Day 73: I brave the trip up to London with baby without R. Daddy for lunch with friend

Day 74: Take baby to Infant Massage Workshop; Allegra feeds throughout and misses it!

Day 75: Friday PM drinks, discover baby monitor works when we’re in next door’s lounge

Day 76: Nonna on babysitting duty again as I go on hen do – baby sleeps like a dream :-)

Day 77: Thankfully not too hung over to deal with baby waking at crack of dawn!

Day 78: We start Gymboree – so much fun, baby is slightly bemused and confused!

Day 79: I manage to lock myself out.. thankfully take refuge at NCT friend’s house!

Day 80: Check, check, and triple check I have my keys before leaving the house again…

Day 81: Attend Home Safety Workshop – start panicking re level of baby proofing needed

Day 82: Bring baby to the GP with a cold – GP: “she’s fine, it’s just a cold…” – hmmm…

Day 83: Move baby from moses basket into by-the-bed crib, she’s outgrown basket!

Day 84: R. Daddy goes back to the golf course.  Aunty Chrissy visits for kisses and cuddles

Day 85: More Gymboree fun – Richmond Baby gets fond of the maracas!

Day 86: We send off Allegra’s passport application – with the cutest photo ever!

Day 87: 12 week jabs – a brave little girl, but still lots of tears…. :-(

Day 88: Attend weaning workshop, to swot up in advance – panic at thought of mess

Day 89: Bring R. Baby to Uncle Cy’s 70th Birthday party, she sleeps through festivities!

Day 90: Saturday afternoon stroll on the Green, with snoozing boo in buggy

Day 91: A day in the park, with alfresco nappy changing – a new experience…

Day 92: Hooray, it’s a Gymboree-day… R. Baby discovers the joys of ball pools

Day 93: Lunch with NCT girlies and babies – lots of cake, lots of baby talk, more photos!

Day 94: @The Pottery Cafe – painting a Father’s Day mug for R. Daddy with baby’s feet

Day 95: Think about starting to plan the Christening. Put it off for another day…

Day 96: Think about researching baby-friendly holiday.  Put it off for another day…

Day 97: Go to hairdresser, discover they serve you wine while you have hair done – result!

Day 98: Christening planning phase one – start going to mass again…!

Day 99: R. Daddy accompanies us to Gymboree – gets stuck in to the singing/dancing… :-)

Day 100: Start Mother & Baby Yoga – baby is bemused, mummy is seriously decrepit!

So there you have it.  The first 100 days of life with Richmond Baby, to mark the 100th post on Richmond Mummy.  Good times.

This much I now know…

Posted on by
10

Richmond Baby was 12 weeks on Monday.  12 weeks!?!  how did that happen?!  It seems to have gone in a flash and yet when I think back to those early days, particularly the first night home from the hospital (shudder), it seems like a lifetime ago.  But, 12 weeks on, and this much I now know (in no particular order):

  • that you really don’t need to buy a top-and-tail bowl #pointlesspurchase1
  • nor an electric bottle warmer #pointlesspurchase2
  • nor a fancy pants top of the range steriliser #pointlesspurchase3
  • that you really do need to pull the elastic out fully at the side of a nappy if you don’t want to end up with the contents oozing out onto your lap
  • that you spend an incredible amount of time going up and down the stairs on an average day and yet your bum gets no smaller and your legs appear no more toned as a result
  • that when, pre baby, you declare “I don’t believe in dummies” or “no dummy for my baby”, you soon realise how naive you were and rush to Boots to clear the shelves just to make sure you’re never likely to be without one
  • that after obsessing about sterilizing everything to within an inch of its life in the first few weeks, you start to implement the “3-second rule” when a dummy falls on the floor from about week 3 or 4 onwards (unless of course you’re out of the house, then no)
  • that when you get dressed in the morning, you pick up your trousers from the crumpled heap in which you left them the night before and if they were only puked on once or twice yesterday they are still perfectly acceptable for another day’s wear
  • that dry shampoo is your friend
  • as are big knickers… big Bridget Jones waist-high knickers
  • that you need and therefore drink a lot of tea to get you through the day, but it’s usually drunk cold and in fact sometimes just made and not drunk at all
  • that 6.30am is now a lie-in and no longer, as was once thought, “the middle of the night”
  • that despite your household only being increased by one very small person, your laundry quota has increased tenfold and while baby always has clean clothes to don, you and your other half are having to sniff clothing to deem whether or not it might still be acceptable to throw on again or else you’ll have to go out in your pyjamas
  • that you really can never have too many muslin cloths
  • or bibs
  • or dummies (if you’re reading this and pregnant, about to become a first time mum – can I stress again, stock up on the dummies!)
  • that babygros and indeed baby clothes in general are bloody difficult to get your little one in and out of and poppers in particular are a nightmare to do-up when your baby is wriggling like the wriggliest of wriggly worms in a world championship wriggly worm contest
  • that when your baby smiles at you and chuckles at your attempts at singing, it’s the best feeling ever
  • that being a mummy really is the best job in the world and you look at your own mum and indeed mothers generally with a whole new perspective and new-found respect 
    My Granny and my Mum: two of the best mothers I know

     

Wah, wah, wah…

Posted on by
3

It’s hard to believe that Richmond Baby will be 8 weeks old on Monday – time flies!  I have had to pack away the newborn clothes and now she’s firmly in 0-3 months, going on 3-6 months attire rapidly.  And since “b-day” it’s been an intense but wonderful period of “getting to know you” on both parts.

8 weeks on and what have I learnt?  well, that it’s true, all cries are not the same – there’s a cry for “I’m hungry”; a cry for “why are you trying to wrestle me into this babygro?!?”; another for “I’m weary get me to a calm, dark place and sing me a soothing rendition of Cecelia; another still for “don’t put me down, I want cuddles”; another for “my butt is wet…” – and gradually I am learning to figure out which means what, mainly by process of elimination, but it certainly helps to have a mental checklist and that’s where I have to thank “The Baby Whisperer”…

My best friend lent me a copy of Tracy Hogg’s Baby Whisperer book, saying she found it incredibly useful and I have to say, it makes a hell of a lot of sense!  There are some bits that while no doubt probably effective, I haven’t gone in for – for example, introducing your baby room by room to the house on your return from hospital and the like.  But overall, it is a great guide in particular to understanding just what it is your baby is trying to tell you in their own inimitable way – namely crying, but also other physical signs and clues.

On the subject of crying, Tracy talks about it as your baby’s way of talking to you, which I found has helped reassure me that crying doesn’t equal baby in emotional and physical turmoil, it means “listen to me I’m trying to tell you something”.  In the early weeks, the crying really upset me, but now – while, don’t get me wrong, I don’t enjoy it - I can see it more as baby talk, her way of telling me something and on the whole once I’ve managed to figure out what it might be, she stops.  Magic.  Of course a dummy also helps – but really only if I’ve managed to also figure out the reason behind the crying in the first place. On the subject of dummies, the Baby Whisperer is actually reassuringly supportive, highlighting they help satisfy a baby’s inherent need to self-soothe by sucking – so hooray for the dummy! She also reassures on thumb sucking, which is another thing that Richmond Baby has progressed to in recent weeks.  According to Tracy, thumb sucking does not lead to buck teeth as legend would have it and does in fact give baby it’s first taste of control over it’s otherwise flailing limbs.  Bravo baby.

I’m still working my way through the book – finding the time to read (and blog it would seem) can be tricky – and have much much more to learn, but for any new mum I would highly recommend giving it a look.  I’m finding it to be a good practical but also realistic and gentle guide and a more relaxed approach than Gina (which I did find helpful in getting a basic routine started, but it can be a bit unforgiving).

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, Tracy Hogg with Melinda Blau:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Baby-Whisperer-Connect-Communicate/dp/0091857023