Dear Boy - 15 months young #flashbackfriday

My dearest gorgeous boy,

this week you've turned 15 months - that is 1 year and 3 months in regular people's money ;) - but both you and mum were too sick, so this letter is, in fact, a bit late. Still, you are at such a lovely age that I couldn't let it go by without writing you a few lines.

The day you turned 15 months, we had a friend visiting with her lovely boyfriend and we took them to two of our favourite places; the park and Lilly's - our local tea shop. We all had a lovely time and mummy was super proud with her friend's comments, they kept on saying how lovely, beautiful and smiley you are and I know R really wanted to be able to spend more time with you. Unfortunately that evening you came down with the same cold mum had and from there on I have tried my best to make sure you have some fun but still get some rest to get better soon.

Cold or no cold our days are always filled with loads of laughter, dancing, cuddles and tantrums as well, why not? This is what you look like when you get a bit cross - usually because you can't get your own way:

One of your favourite things to do right now, is rolling around with mum and dad, laughing and being silly. You like TV time - why wouldn't you if your parents are addicted to it? - but you also look forward to reading your books at bedtime. You will pick up whatever you want to read - at the moment the favourites are All Aboard and Letter to the Zoo - and bring it to daddy or to me so we can read it for you while you sit and watch the pictures, sometimes you will simple run around the room whilst listing to the stories.

Lately you have started to eat on your own like a big boy, however, the mess is too big so we are taking baby steps on that one. You have also turned into a big muncher, you don't eat EVERYTHING but most times you're seem willing to try most foods. This is what meal times look like:

On Sunday we went to our local park to the End of Summer Festival and you had such a lovely time, we found you a balloon and from there on, all you wanted to do was to play with it. You also seemed really excited about the bouncy castle, unfortunately even though you are a biiig boy now, you are still not big enough for this amazing bouncy experience, in fact you haven't learnt how to jump yet - you very well try but instead your feet won't leave the floor and your knees bend giving you a a springing  motion...which is really cute!

Mummy and daddy are always so proud of you for being such  a good boy and so determined to learn new things and explore the world around you. As you grow, your speech is coming along at great pace. Since you are learning two languages at the same time, it is normal that you don't say actual words yet but you do chat all day, I have notice a few "words" that you say over and over again and I'm sure one day they will make sense to us as well.

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Harry is a big boy now - Flash Back Friday

I took a few weeks break from certain things in life, mainly to look after myself but also because I lost the space bar on my laptop :) I will write about the ME time part soon but for now a nice little post for Flashback Friday!

So my last post here was about Harry turning 14 months, what I didn't know was that he really was growing into a big boy. The day after my boy became one year and two months young, the one thing I have been waiting for, has finally happened; my gorgeous little boy stopped breastfeeding.

I never had a set time that I intended to breastfeed Harry for, I hoped I could do it for at least 6 months but never really planned when to stop.

When Harry was very little I used to pump milk and leave it with my mum whenever I had appointments to go to, breastfeeding was really stressful in the beginning so that was a big help. Looking back I realise that even then and even being my milk, he was never a fan of the bottle. If I left him milk on a Monday he wouldn't even try a bottle on the Tuesday. Basically he would take a bottle of my milk when needed but of course, wasn't too keen on it.

For some reason, I decided that whenever Harry turned 5 months I would start replacing his bed time feed by a bottle of formula and as you can probably guess, easier said than done. A couple of months later we found out that lill guy had an ear infection.

At that time both formula and food were no no so I had no option but carry on breastfeeding. That wasn't a problem then, I was working my KIT days from home and my gorgeous boy was sick for months so I was glad there was something I could do for him.

Once He was better from all the non stop ear infections and finally started to eat some food - not until he was 9 months old - we tried the bottle malarkey again, no success. Lill guy would scream and kick at the mere sight of that stuff. I knew then; weaning wouldn't be all that easy.

A whole lot of attempts and a bunch of months later, Harry turned 1. At 12 months of age milk is no longer a baby's main source of nutrition so we decided it was our best chance to give it another go.

It took us about a month and a half from start to finish and our little guy done so well with his new routine, he is such a good boy! I will write a post on how we've done it to share our experience and to hopefully help other parents out there, who might have the same problem - but that will be another day.

At this point I am still trying to get used to the idea of not breastfeeding my gorgeous little boy AND since we don't plan to have another baby, don't ever breastfeed - ever again. It was such an amazing experience and it thought me a lot about the kind of person I am. I had my reasons to stop  - a number of them - and am glad we've managed to do it in such a swift way but if I am 100% honest, I will miss those lovely unique moments. No nostalgia though as I don't believe in that!

Letter to Harry - 14 months

My dearest gorgeous boy,

today you turned 14 months that is 1year and 2 months young. And what a lovely day we had as well.
We visited a nursery, where you seemed really happy and had no problems playing with the other kids at the playground.

For some reason today mummy couldn't stop kissing and cuddling you, maybe because taking you to visit a nursery might remind her of how quickly you are growning and that one day my mummy cuddles won't be all that welcome OR it might be because you've been so independent since you started walking that now, since we no longer  have our day time feeds, I miss having you in my arms and that is hard to get used to.

I'm sure you will be happy at the nursery, if we take time and chose the right one. I just wish you could have nanny S's attention for longer as I'm sure that makes a difference but at least, whatever happens it will only be a couple of days a week.

After the nursery visit and an afternoon session at the Library and a lot of running around you sat on my  lap this evening and ate a whole punnet of blueberries, to think that last night you hardly touched your tea.

Your favourite toy at the moment is your Lightning McQueen, you love pushing that around the front room but will also be rather happy pushing your pram around the park, i love how you seem to enjoy the simple things.

Teeth count, 6 but I'm sure that will change soon. Milk feeds, 1 a day - or a night really - but that will also change soon as you seem happy eating your food instead of mummy's milk. Number of head bumps whilst in the bath? I lost that count, the most amazing thing is that those bumps only seem to happen when you about to go to bed so mummy spends all night watching you as she is never sure how bad you actually hit your head - the bath makes it sound very bad!

Oh yes, I almost forgot. For the past couple of weeks daddy has been  putting you to bed at night, now we are taking turns and you seem ok with it, that is a great seing that up to now mummy was the only one who ever gave the last kiss goodnight. Well done little boy, you are so so good.

our breastfeeding story - part II / World Breastfeeding Week

always loved the sight of the milk running down his cheek

so as I told you yesterday, Harry, Dave and I had a rough start with breastfeeding but after a few weeks we were finally "in business". Harry was still relying on the breast shield for his feed though, that meant a lot of fussing, crying, pinching and stress - for the two of us. He would get really upset with the slow flow, grab the nipple shield and throw it far away from us.

One lovely day, after attending a friend's baby shower, we were stuck in the district line for a while, it was hot as hell and little guy screamed for about 7 stops. I thought he was just hot and stripped him down to his nappy. When we finally arrived at the right station to change trains, I finally realise my screaming was in fact hungry and the awful truth hit me; I would have to BF my fussy fidgety baby at the underground platform whilst trains would arrive and leave and people would come and go passed us.

For a second I thought; we can probably make it to home. That thought didn't last as the scream escalated and I realised that it wasn't fair to let my little baby boy cry in hunger just so I could keep my decency. So I set on the bench, grabbed the breast shield and tried to cover up with a large cloth. BIG MISTAKE!!!

As soon as Harry felt something over his head he started to wave his arms and scream even harder. in the blink of an eye the silicon shield was on the floor and no longer had how to feed him. Luckily my mum was still with us then, she grabbed the shield, gave it a clean with hand sanitiser and washed it off with some water we had in our bag then we were stuck at that platform for a good half an hour while Harry gladly enjoyed his milk.

After occasions like that I kept a bottle of ready made formula in Harry's bag, just for emergencies. Of course little guy had other ideas in mind and that "break the Glass" plan never really worked.

When my mum returned to Brasil, little guy was 2 1/2 months and I finally ventured out to our local breastfeeding cafe. I hoped they would be able to help me in teaching Harry how to feed without the bloody shield. The room where they gathered was so so warm, so about 2 minutes from our arrival little guy was already demonstrating the power of his lungs and very soon the ladies running the group realised things weren't as simple as they assumed it would be when I first arrived there. I was offered a home visit but my baby brain forgot to call them back and that never happened.

A couple of times I was told that unless he learnt to BF without the shield by 3 months of age he just wouldn't at all and a few weeks later I proved them wrong!

We used to attend a Sure Start group for new mums, one day I set off with Harry and had this feeling that I have left the shield behind - by now I used to walk around with 2 pairs in his bag to avoid problems. After the playgroup meeting it was feeding time, little guy started his routine and I just did not know what to do. I double checked the bag and just could not find any shields so to try my luck I picked him up and offered the breast...surprise surprise! He had a lovely long feed and I felt like I had just reached a huuuge milestone. I spoke to the other mums about it but don't think they really understood how amazing that was for us.

That day I arrived home determined to carry on BF Harry with no shield. Unfortunately things weren't that straight forward but with a lot of Patience and having learnt to read little guys cues to feed, I took my time and we finally managed it.

I then started to count the days, it was one, two, three....seven....15 days and finally I could proudly say; my little guys needs no more shields to feed :-)

Life was now a lot easier, I would feed him wherever, whenever! More! Because he got used to the slow flow from the shield he would now feed in 10 minutes - at first that got me worried as he wasn't even 4 months but after a few phones calls to health visitors we got to the conclusion that he was just good at his job of feeding and got what he needed quickly so as a bonus we no longer had to stay stuck for half an hour every feed time.

The best thing of all? His maaaassive smile - with lips and eyes - whenever he finished a lovely feed as to say; look mummy, we did it!

pretend play

 

Yesterday I arrived home after a real hard day. I was feeling tired, frustrated and rather irritated as well. The thought of bedtime routine seamed daunting and I wasn't looking forward to it at all.
As if Harry realised mummy was rather tense, he set in the bath, cup in hand, dipping his little fingers into it then taking his imaginary food to his mouth. He then shared with daddy and after some persuading he share a bit with me as well. It was such an amazing thing to see my little boy, who was still a baby just a few days ago, sitting there, playing pretend.
With a big smile on my face I finished bath time and got him to bed feeling a lot lighter and calmer. The night wasn't the best as he is teething but I still find hard to process how was it that he managed to change my mood in such a simple and sweet way.

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Bye Bye baby boy, a walk and the first battle injury.

resting after his ordeal, the photo isn't brilliant but you get the idea.

So the moment came when mum and dad look down to see that their cute little baby has become a cheeky toddler and now, this is life, but not as you know it.

In a matter of days Harry went from taking the odd step here and there, to walking through the room turning around and walking back again. He loves nothing more than being on the floor and free to roam.

With toddlerhood, comes another wave of milestones and behavior regression; restless nights, separation anxiety and all those things I thought were well over by now.

Today we went down to the local park to play on the swings for a while and it wasn't long until he asked to come off the swing so he could walk around for a while.- yes, he asked. no, he isn't speaking just yet but this little boys is becoming a very expressive kid who is starting to find ways to make himself understood.

This was the first time he ever walked outdoors, so exciting. Off he went until he got to his favourite bit under the slide then turned around and headed to the gravel and before I could get closer to avoid a tumble there he was, on the floor, face first. Poor lil guy screamed and screamed. It was hard work calming  him down but that right there was history. His first graze.

1 year of milestones

if you look carefully you will see Harry's first tooth.

So since Harry's birthday I have been super busy taking my brother and sister sightseeing around London and ended up not having much time to stop by and write a little first year update.

Harry turned one weighting a whole 10 kilos - that is 22 pounds. He is 75cm tall - 2 feet 5¹⁷⁄₃₂ inches.

12 months MILESTONES

 
Have one to eight teeth - hurrah! His first TWO teeth cut trough 5 days before his 1st birthday.

Stands by his or herself - yes - and put on a very proud smile every time.
Sit down without help - if intentionally falling on his bum counts as sit down then yes, he does that well.

Bang two blocks together - and laugh and laugh

Turn through the pages of a book by flipping many pages at a time - he loves doing that and is a great way to keep him happy on long journeys

Picks up a small object using the tip of the thumb and index finger - and since he learnt that I'm no longer allowed to feed him his food unless we are talking yogurt or porridge.

Sleep 8 - 10 hours a night and take one to two naps - I wish. He does go down from 12 hours but will feed 2 to 3 times during that period. Although at the moment he is feeding all night as teething won;t let him sleep. He still takes 2 naps a day and whenever he skip the afternoon nap bedtime can become a battlefield.

Follows a fast moving object - and people, animals and aliens.

Can say momma, papa, and at least one or two other words - oooohhh yes!!! he has been saying Dada for a while but on the day of his birthday party he started saying monn monn monn and that melts my heart.

Understands simple commands - in both English and Portuguese

Understands that objects continue to exist, even when they are not seen (object constancy) - that is so well sorted in his head that he makes it a challenge to hide away something that he get hold of and shouldn't be playing with

Points to objects with index finger - aaaaaaaaalllllll the time.

Experiences separation anxiety and may cling to parents - I get a feeling that my over cuddly behaviour had something to do with him overcoming that stage very early. These days there are, of course, times when he will not want to be away from D. and I; mainly if he is hungry, tired or needs changing. On his birthday party he hardly saw his dad and I during the day, he was happy playing with his uncle and aunt and friends of the family but you could see his little eye light up whenever he realised D. and I were still around.

Mummy's milestone

So after ear infection, sleepless nights with baby waking up to attempt crawling yesterday we had 24 of fever up and down as well as terrible smelly diarrhea. With all that going on, plus me working from home I haven't had the time to stop by - neither here or other blogs - which is a shame as everyday we seem to have something new going on and it feels like sharing with everyone.

Despite been poorly for so long lill guy is a trooper and manages a big smile to everyone who cares to looks at him. He is babbling all day - and night - trying to craw and pull himself up. He rolls allover the room trying to get to where he wants to be.

He has finally started to eat a bit better and reduce his feeds - of course that wasn't true yesterday with him burning up so badly - but still won't take formula, or water, or any other liquid for that matter.

Harry is certainly growing and learning a lot all the time and his little caterer is just so captivating, everyone i meet  can tell he is a happy baby and that is priceless.

A lot is going on but this week's big milestone really was mummy's. We have a nanny helping us a few hours a week so i can get my work done. She is just lovely and you can tell she likes Harry and that he likes her and at home I'm happy to let them play and I won't get involved until is milk or kip time.

A couple if weeks ago after spending a whole night on the rocking chair with crying lill guy in my arms and end up crying for hours myself,  i thought i would send them out to a play group so I could catch some sleep and get myself together. Easier said than done. There we were, baby and nanny dressed and ready to go. i had him in my arms, ready to go into the pram. There he was, smiley little boy, the most precious person in the whole world. i couldn't let go. just could not let a "stranger" take my baby away from me. In my head she was going to disappear and I would never see my gorgeous boy again. I could feel something holding me back - it was physical - then i had to look at this lovely girl who never gave me a single reason to feel insecure and say I wasn't ready to let her go out with him. Luckily she is a mum herself and i don't think she felt offended.

On the past couple of weeks i spoke a lot to her and tried to find out as much as I could about her family life. i met her little girl who has been visiting us during this week as it is half term. She loves playing with Harry and you can see she is happy and loved. Still the idea of letting them go out with Harry felt daunting to me. This afternoon however I really wanted to take lill guy out, he was stuck at home yesterday and seemed ready to play today. I still didn't feel like letting them going on their own so i called a local mum who i knew was going to go to this local play group and arranged for them to go together  It was a good excuse as Harry is used to her and her boy, also that way she could show nanny S how to get to the group.

Baby was ready, local mum rings the bell and i was ok. Girls came out with Harry, I made sure to say goodbye so he would know i wasn't coming. Off they went and i thought; this is ok.
Went back in to get myself some lunch before heading out to meet them - breastfed baby, can't leave him for too long.

I felt a bit funny, maybe I came up the stairs too quickly?

Cooking my omelet i thought nothing could happen, after all someone i know was with them. following that reasonable thought was a horrible feeling, my legs started to shake - what if she kills the mum and take my by away? Yes, I did think that.  You see, when you suffer from anxiety the worse case scenario can often pop up in your mind and you just lose reason. Following that thought i was in a full on anxiety attack. Shaky legs, hot flushes, heart going 100s of times per second..

I did try to convince myself that was been silly but failed.

Once i was done eating I got change and headed out to meet my little guy who would hopefully be at the play group and not vanished never to be seen again. On the way I kept on trying to relax but that was just impossible. I felt so dizzy i had to take a bus!

There i was, outside the church hall where the play group takes place, it was really dark in there and for a moment i thought there was no group going on. I shivered head to toes. I then walked in and could see kids playing inside. Harry's pram was in the reception and playing happily on the mat was my precious son, who hasn't winged not even a single time since he left home - so i am told by nanny S and local mum.

I was happy, really happy. it was hard not to show. i have met my son again and didn't feel like letting go ever again. For a second a felt ashamed of myself for been so silly but really I couldn't care less what people would think if they knew what happen. All i know is that i love my boy and we have been stuck to each other for the past 9 and a half months and letting go isn't something i do that well.

i did suffer a lot still i do think that just letting them go out was a big milestone to me. A good thing as well as working from home will only last for another couple of months and we both need to get used to  be apart at some point.

Have you ever left your child with someone who wasn't family? How did you cope with that?

6 and 7 months - my little guy is so big now

Monday the 14th Harry turned 7 months but it sure feels like it was just the blink of an eye. With all that has been going on - ear infection coming and going - I almost left this post for the next month, but that already happened on the previous month so today I found a bit of energy deep inside of me to stop by and let you know how we are doing.

Well after 3 course of antibiotics he seems to be settling in and hopefully the infection is now gone gone. 

Of course teething is still here - although there are no teeth to tell you of - and that means sleepless nights and fractious days. I really cannot wait for those little chompers to cut through and hopefully bring him some relief.

On the feeding front we are still going with breast. Little monkey won't take a bottle. I've been trying all  tricks i read about on the web but no results. My next step? I'm planning on leaving him with a childminder for a couple of hours - I have a good recommendation for a local one - to see if not only he starts getting used to other people but also if she can get him to take a bottle. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to wean him off the breast just yet but with him feeding every 3 hours 24/7 for most of the past few weeks, i could do with a break every now and then.

All the infections and antibiotics and side effects means there hasn't been that much activity on the solids front. Partially because he doesn't seem very interested and partially because up to here it just felt like I had too much in my hand to also have to persuade little guy into experimenting with new things. On the past few days I felt he seemed a bit more interested on what I eat so I'm hoping to start the while solids story a bit more seriously this week. Of course I need a certain amount of planing and organisation to get anywhere but there is still hope.

Despite all the challenges of the past 2 months lill guy managed some to learn some new skills and whenever he is calm enough you can see his lovely character coming through. So our smiley little boy is now 17lb5oz - 7.850kg and about 28 inches, that around 72cm. Wants to sit up all the time and only recently started to do this fake cough whenever he wants some attention, cheeky!

MILESTONES

 

Sits without support - CHECK! i am particularly proud of this achievement because with the ear infection and the cold we haven't played on the floor for over a month so he had to learn to sit up on the soft sofa seat. He still a bit unstable but his skills seems to improve by the day.

Reaches for things with a sweeping motion - OH yes! I still amaze myself watching how agile little guy has become. 

Imitates speech sounds (babbles) - not much, he's making up his own new noises but i don't think he is imitating anything as yet.

Combines syllables into wordlike sounds - not at all but he has a very cute new trick, whenever we get to a a new place, or he wakes up somewhere different he looks around in admiration and says uuuuuhhhh. The cutest thing ever!

Begins to crawl or lunges forward - he started lunging forward as soon as he started to sit up. Harry isn't bother about rolling over as he found out he can get to his tummy by lunging forward from sitting postion. 

Stands while holding onto something - nope...but he sure loves when we hold him up so he can bouncy like a tennis ball.

Waves goodbye - not sure about that one, he does try to copy our hand gesture whenever we tell him to say goodbye AND for the past couple of days he starting waving both arms so hard it looks like he's ready to fly.

Bangs objects together  -AAAAALLLLL THE TIME

5 months, my little guy is growing so fast

Well a whole other month is gone and this little boy surprises us with something different everyday.
He is still teething and I truly hope it won't be long until his tooth comes out as for the past couple of weeks he's been extremely fractious and in a lot of discomfort. For the past 3 nights I decided to give him some Calpol on bedtime as he got into a routine of not sleeping well at night and having proper grumpy days. it took me a while to understand that it was teething but I'm happy at least now I'm able to help him.

When he isn't kicking off in pain he is a lovely little boy full of personality, a right smiler who loves to look around and make the funniest faces whenever he realizes he is in a place for the first time.

He loves playing time with daddy and seems always that little extra happier whenever he get both mum's and dad's attention at the same time.

His morning smiles are still the most warming thing in this world. I love the fact that he giggles and smiles when i decide to give him a cuddle with a side order of hundreds of kisses and hugs.

He is now 7.28kg, that is 16lb 1oz, we haven't been able to measure him yet as he doesn't stay still long enough. I can safely say he's grown a lot as this week I already had to go out and get him some sleeping suits on size 6-9...poor boys, his toes curl inside the ones he has at the moment.

That's it. I'm hoping he will soon have a break from teething and be able to enjoy exploring his new found skills. For the next few weeks I'll be getting myself ready for solid foods, I've been looking forward to it and can't wait to give Baby Led Weaning a good go!

MILESTONES AT 5 MONTHS

• Can distinguish between bold colours - hm a hard one to tell but he does get very excited with strong colours
• Can roll over - we are almost there, rolled from his tummy to his back a few times and have being rolling to his side. His favorite thing really is to plunge forward from sited position to then lay down on his tummy. Of course whenever he gets there he has no idea of what to do and after just a while looking around he will ask for help.
• Amuses himself by playing with hands and feet - he has been playing with his hands for a couple of months now and althought he is very curious about his feet he doesn't play with them yet.
• Turns towards new sounds - oh yes!
• Recognises own name - a bit hit and miss here but he has answered to us when we called his name a few times
• May be ready for solids - a bit of a controvertial one as acording to doctors he won't be ready until  6 months but he is definitely showing curiosity about everything we put into our mouths. 
• May sit momentarily without support - yap
• Mouths objects - and fingers and hends and anything else he can get hold of
• Stranger anxiety may begin - not sure about anxiety but he isn't as smiley at strangers as he used to be, he will go with people he doesn't know but only on the best times of the day.

Mum's milestones

Harry killing time on the Jubilee Line

Half way through pregnancy since I was living in East London and working in Wappin I decided I did not need to go Central London for a while. I simple did not fancy facing the masses whilst wearing my truly large and heavy bump. In fact the last time I remember going into the West End was in February when I treated by other half to the best burger and chips in town - at the Hawksmoor Seven Dials if you're wondering - followed by Shrek the Musical to celebrate his 40th birthday. Back then my bump was only small but it was already a challenge to dodge waves of lost tourists and rude Londoners mocking about Covent Garden

So by my maths I haven't been to that neck of the woods for about 9 months. When Harry was born my mum came to help us for a couple of months, I truly wanted to take her to the west end but that really was a forbidden destination for me at that time. In the end I shipped a friend all the way from Dublin to do the tourist thing with mummy as this was the first time she ever been to London.

When The Hawksmoor announced the soft launch of their new restaurant just by Piccadilly Circus I found that was the perfect excuse to venture into Central London to try their amazing new Surf and Turf type of vibe and being there catch up with my lovely friend SH.

I must admit in the very beginning I was a bit worried about going to the West End on my own with Harry as the other half couldn't join us this time. My main concern really was walking down Piccadilly with a pram and my precious little boy. The tube was also a bit of a challenge as not many stations have wheelchair access and I have never ever gone on the escalator with the pushchair so the whole logistics was a bit trickier than usual. Luckily Green Park station has lifts and although it took me 15 minutes and 3 lifts from platform to the street it certainly was better than having to go to Piccadilly Circus and hope for some good soul to give me a hand.

Thankfully Harry and I have been on buses, train, DLR and the tube many times since he was born, a proper little Londoner he is. Apart from one single episode on a very hot carriage of the district line when he was about 2 months old, the poor thing cried his eyes out and there wasn't much i could do really. In the end I was set at the platform in Mile End breastfeeding him while people ran from one train to another. Gladly on this trip he was his usual curious self looking at everybody in the tube until he got bored and decided to play with his hands until nodding off to sleep.

Once we got to the street the actual trip to the Air Street wasn't too bad but you sure feel the difference when you live in pram-town where everyone will let you pass because, of course, you have a baby with you. Not in Central London they don't. The ramps are narrower and crowded-er as well. Some people will tut at you because they need to rush by and you will tut at some other people because the are a group of 6 strolling around and feel the need to take over all the pavement.

In pram-town you apologize every time you notice there is someone waiting for you to move so they can carry on and you will always hear back: - no love, you are alright. Not in Central London you don't, if anything they will stand behind you checking their watches every 2 seconds just in case you lost the capacity to tell the time when you gave birth.

Still after 6 years living in London and visiting the West End in a regular basis I was alright with all that.

At the restaurant we had a lovely time despite of a very fragile Harry who is still teething and doesn't want much to do with anyone who isn't mum. That was a shame as he is usually a sweet thing around other people and would've normally loved to play with auntie SH. He did eventually hang out with her for a bit but done a bit more crying than I was expecting. Luckily auntie SH is used to that and I have by now developed this amazing skill which is; eating with the one hand. The food was truly fabulous as always but I'll be talking about that on a separated post.

Even going home after dark wasn't too bad of an experience so I am proud to say I been to Central London with Harry on my own and it all went well. Most importantly I was really happy to go out for a lovely meal with a very dear friend, it was good to feel like myself again. For a few hours - even though I had the baby with me and was still on breastfeed and a nappy change duties - I felt like something more than just Harry's mum and almost 5 months down the line that sure felt great.

Happy 4 months Harry, you are a big boy today!!!

Little guy is 4 months today, hard to believe. Time has flown by. Funny how it feels like it was just yesterday that I first heard him crying and held him in my arms for the first time, still it is as if he has always been in our lives

Harry is now 6.66 kg and 68 cm or 14 lb 7 oz and 26.5 inches. He is also this big smiley boy full of personality who loves a cuddle but also enjoys daddy's funny games of bouncing up and down on the sofa.
He is a curious little thing who during day time will rather look around than spend a whole 10 minutes feeding - that of course is tricky for mummy but we are getting used to it and feeding as much as possible when he is half asleep; the only time he will be calm enough to feed for a bit longer.

He still likes his big red balloon but not enough that it can be his baby sitter anymore. He can hold a toy on each hand and seems to tense his whole body on the attempt to grab something he dropped a bit further than his hands can reach.

Harry has also gone from sleeping 12 hours a night waking up once to feed to sleeping 10 hours and waking up whenever...yap, keeping mummy on her toes!

MILESTONES AT 4 MONTHS

• Holds head up steadily - CHECK
• Can bear weight on legs - CHECK ALTHOUGH IT ISN'T HIS FAVORITE SPORT
• Coos when you talk to him - OOOHH CHECK

• Can grasp a toy - AND MUMMY'S HAIR AND HIS CLOTHES AND ANYTHING ELSE HE CAN LAY HIS HANDS ON
• Reaches out for objects - OR TRY AND GET FRUSTRATED WHEN THEY ARE JUST TOO FAR
• Can roll over - NOT THERE YET BUT HE IS TRYING

• Imitates speech sounds - baba, dada - NOT THOSE SOUNDS, HE DOES IMITATE SOME STUFF BUT THERE'S A LOT OF JIBBER JABBER GOING ON
• May cut first tooth - NOT YET BUT THERE CERTAINLY IS ONE IN THE MAKING