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I just hate them!! They mean well and they try to help, but overall seem incapable of getting through a thirty minute conversation without saying something either incredibly stupid or incredibly patronizing, usually both at the same time!
Ironically despite my low opinion of their competence I always get very paranoid before they arrive that they may think I'm a terrible mother who isn't coping and that they will try and take my baby away. It's totally unfounded and unlikely to happen but I just can't help worrying so had to spend the morning tidying up and worrying, and secretly being annoyed at Luke for totally unjustified reasons....well apart from that he didn't put the cushion cover back on like I asked him to!!! ( I know the depths of his crimes are quite shocking!!)
The health visitor was actually very sweet, though they almost always are annoyingly, she was very careful to ask lots of questions about how I was coping and checking that I had access to activities and support so that Edward had things to do and so that I wasn't isolated. She gave me some details of a children's center we could go to and suggested that if I felt I needed it I could have someone come round to help out and offer more advice and support on a regular basis. While I'm well I don't feel I need much help as we get along fine, but it's nice to know it's there as from past experience I know how fast it gets hard the second I am unwell. She also suggested a father and baby group she knew of and is going to send me the details, I REALLY can't see Luke going to anything like that as he finds people rather boring however it's good that it's on offer.
We had a bit of chat about the weaning, she wasn't very impressed that I was giving him finger foods as she thought he may choke, obviously you have to be careful but I honestly don't think enough actually goes in for this to be much of a hazard. Overall she seemed to think I should be feeding him more and cutting back his milk, I'm a bit dubious about this as I don't want him to loose weight, and I'd rather take things slowly as we are only about a week in and he's not eating enough variety to cut back, and isn't taking any diary or protein yet, just veggies and fruit. I'm going to continue to stick to the guidelines in the book I got from the library as it seems by far the most sensible thing I've read on the subject.
She then asked to see his red book (this is a thing given to him by the health services to keep records of all his visits to doctors and all his jabs etc.) I laid him on the sofa at the back towards the groove and walked the whole meter across the room to where his book was, only to be told off and that he could roll to his death!! Again obviously you can't leave him laying around especially now he's rolling, but seriously there's no need to get silly and paranoid I'm not going to put my baby in danger for goodness sake...she seemed to think otherwise however and gave me a very informative leaflet about all the terrible dangers in the home such as ovens, glass and plugs...all capable of permanently maiming or killing my child...so all in all a typical health visitor visit.
I spent the rest of the day faffing about, though did finally manage to get the breast pump I hired sent back. I then started feeling really sick and tired, and so went to bed for a nap. It wasn't a particularly good nap as someone was doing some building works or something, upstairs were thumping about and then some woman started having an argument at the top of her voice in the courtyard. Then Luke came in and asked if we were going to the supermarket, I said he could if he wanted and if he did could he get garlic and onions...not long after that I gave up on my nap, and came out to find Luke changing Edward and cursing the reusable nappies bitterly hehe!
I then fed Edward and then cooked our dinner which was really hard to do as I was still feeling really queasy, however it turned out to be well worth it as it was very tasty. Luke thought it was the best pasta bake I've done so far, which though nice of him to say, kind of annoyed me because this was the first time I've used a jar and not just made it up myself. I think next time I try to cook one from scratch I may try using mascarpone as that was in the jar and gave it a nice creamy texture.
Edward and I had a lovely time playing this evening, he was practicing his sitting up and rolling THE CUBE around. I've also been teaching him all week to blow raspberry's and he's coming very close, last night he kept poking out his tongue, I must get a photo of him doing it because his little tongue is so small it's so sweet :o)
I've started making another sling out of the left over fabric, I have all the pieces chopped up and am going to sow it while I'm in hospital. I figured I can hand sow it, give it a try and if it doesn't feel strong enough go over it with a machine next time we visit Greatham.
I really enjoyed giving Edward his last feed of the day, though it did make me quite sad knowing there are so few left to go before I go in and can't do it any more for a while.
Luke and I then went to bed and cuddled and talked for ages, it's always so hard being separated, neither of us really wanted to go to sleep as we both knew it was our last night together for a while. Much as I hate it though, I think it does make us both appreciate each other more and we keep that magic of the simple joy of going to sleep and waking up in each others arms.
I was a little late leaving the house this morning and then managed to get on the wrong bus. I had planned to go to Hyde Park corner and then walk down to Green Park where I was supposed to be meeting my new mummy-chummy Louise. Instead however I ended up getting on a bus to Oxford St. there was a bus from there to Green Park but it didn't look like it was going to arrive soon, and I was already running late and so walked down. It was quite a long way, and some of it was uphill, but I made it there and never saw the bus go past so clearly made the right choice.... go little lungs go!!
We then had a leisurely wander through the park chatting about lots of different baby things, such as births, weaning, dummy's etc. it may not sound very exciting, but I still find it very enjoyable to talk about it with other mummy's and find out what their opinions are. It was really nice as though I think Louise are in some ways quite different people (she's much more sociable and into going out than me) our attitudes to our babies are really similar.
Neither of us are sticklers for routines or any kind of evangelical extremes, though we know when to put our foot down (for example controlled crying) mostly we appreciate that babies are babies and that just going with the flow seems to be the happiest approach for all.
We had a nice tasty lunch, all the waiters and waitress' at the restaurant kept coming out to make a fuss of our babies, though I love the attention and it's nice to have people excited to see Edward and tell me how beautiful he is, I always feel a little bit shy about it and never know quite what to say. Little Amelie loved the attention and was smiling and chatting away. It was so amazing to me to hear her little voice, though she made similar noises to Edward her voice was SO different, I'd never really thought of Edward sounding like a little boy before, but having heard her there is clearly a difference.
After lunch we wandered back up to Trafalgar Square so Louise could get her train home. I was going to get the bus home, but decided while I was out I could go and find some fabric for making a sling for Edward. I went to Liberty, I've never been there before, and I couldn't actually afford anything they sold, but it is the most beautiful shop full of stunning fabrics, clothes, jewelery everything really. There was so much creative talent crammed into their products I left feeling really inspired. If I ever had the money to do a proper interior design project in my home I would defiantly go there. I also plan to take Thea as it is just the kind of gorgeous arty place she would love.
A woman in the haberdashery department gave me directions to some shops nearby that she thought may sell what I was looking for (Liberty is too posh for fleece!) I got a little lost, but I'd actually looked at this part of town on the map before I came out and so had a rough idea of where I was headed and without too much drama found my way to Berwick St. I looked in one store that had a fantastic array of colourful and interesting fabrics, however sadly no fleece. They suggested a different store, that did have some fleece, however having had a chat with the assistant I ended up getting a sort of thick cotton/jersey type fabric in a shockingly tasteful grey/blue which we both agreed would probably be more appropriate.
Thoroughly exhausted I headed home. I fed Edward his dinner (see his blog for piccies). I then made the sling which I'm quite pleased with, however I feel it's a bit big for Edward at the moment and he can't really see out of it that well, unless he dangles out the side of it like a cheeky monkey! I then ate very tasty Korma made by the very tasty Luke :o)
A blurry Edward keeping a VERY tight hold on the sweeties!Saturday was a very quiet day, none of us ever really got going, we just laid about cuddling and sleeping all day...it was gorgeous. We watched 'The Hulk' and I really made Luke giggle because I held Edward's arms up in a sort of body-builder pose and went 'grr' !!
Sunday we were a bit rubbish at getting-going again today, I think a bit of a hang-over from yesterday. We were supposed to be going to Vince's barbeque down in Worthing, however missed the 12 o'clock train, then left to get the 1 o'clock train with what we thought would be plenty of time to spare, however the buses conspired against us and despite trying to get a taxi to Victoria managed to miss that train too! Both now starving we each got a drink and a sandwich and sat and ate those, we then got some sweeties and hula-hoops for the long train journey.
We finally got to Worthing and Mr Vince picked us up from the train station. It was VERY weird to see him driving as though I knew he could I've only ever been with him in London and he never brings his car up here. Lots of his chums were over, and of course the ever gorgeous Lady Karolina. The girlies were very excited to see Edward and all thought he was gorgeous and very big for a six-month old...I think there perception may be rather Chinese based as he's kind of small because of being so premature....however I of course loved showing him off to new people as he is just so gorgeous :o) My cool sexy boys!
We all sat around eating and chilling....as it was very chilly in the wind hehe....and admiring Vince's fantastically well constructed barbecue, it was very enjoyable to be out of the city for a bit with friends in the sunshine. After a bit though we had to head home as we were both falling asleep and didn't want to get back too late.
Luke and I had lots of lovely cuddles that evening and watched a documentary following the story of The Kinky Boot Factory together while I did my physio and waited to be able to give Edward his last feed of the day. I've seen the documentary before and it's very moving, and reminds me of my own parents and their struggles and triumphs with their business. In the TV guide it implied that this was a follow up documentary and so we watched it all the way through hoping to see that the company had gone on to great success in the years since the program was first made. Sadly the TV guide lied... however a bit of googling later and we found that the company are very much alive and well hurrah for eccentric British business!!
Monday I had ambitious plans to go and buy fleece today as I found a pattern for a no-sowing Mei-Tei baby carrier which I plan to make. I would quite like to get a sowing machine so I can make a more advanced carrier, but even on ebay they are just too expensive to justify.
The hospital bed manager (who sounds terribly camp on the phone and makes me smile whenever he calls) called and said that he's going to do his best to get me admitted on Thursday. We had a bit of a joke over how it was SUCH a shame I had multi-resistant bugs as it means I have to have my own room, it's hard I know, and of course I'm much rather be in the bay with all the loud snoring sleep-apnoea patients with their constantly bleeping machines but my pseudomonas and I are just not that sociable haha!! Part of me is looking forward to going in, it's kind of nice to have the time and space to really focus on my lungs, and to have other people do all the hard work and motivation for me, however part of me is worrying about Luke and Edward and how they will possibly cope without me.
I then got distracted into doing the washing, and then going over the budget which is something I've been putting off for days. We have spent FAR too much this month, though most of it has been on bills and relatively essential 'new house' stuff too much of it has been frivolous. To help get our spending under control we are planning to print our budget out and stick in on the fridge as it's too easy to forget about it when it's tucked away in an Excel file. I've also bought a little book to write down everything I spend, this has two advantages 1) I will feel guilty if I have to write in it and so will think more carefully before spending the money in the first place 2) we will be able to see where the money is going, especially from those hole-in-the-wall withdrawals. While I was still feeling good and poor I went to the supermarket and managed to pick up a chicken for just £2 so tasty roast for us all.
Edward has really got into rolling now, however can still only do it one way and so keeps getting stuck on his tummy crying to be rescued and making himself sick!! Poor little monkey! He is also developing quite a hankie fetish, he loves covering his face with them and flapping them around, it's very funny to watch :o)
Luke and Karolina are playing WOW tonight with their cows, and I am watching them and laughing as Karolina keeps getting terribly annoyed and it's very cute!!
Edward shamelessly flirting with Karolina...watch out Vince!
Well it's been another fantabulous day in my sparkly little world.
The morning was relatively chilled, I had LOVELY long cuddles with Luke as Edward was having a lie-in. I then pottered round the house and replied to a few e-mails.
Around one-ish I headed off to clinic where the news was ok. FEV1 was 1.23 or 38%, which was down a tincy bit, FVC was 2.20 or 59% which was up a bit, O2 sats were 95%. Overall I'm steady but I think things are on the brink of a down-turn as the sputum is looking thicker and greener and tasting pretty nasty. I want IV's so I can have a new port-a-cath fitted and still have plenty of time to recover before uni starts in September. It is also not really practical for Luke to find a placement when he knows he's going to have to take two weeks off in the near future to look after Edward, so it's best to wait till it's out of the way. I got put on some orals until they can get me a bed, and then they are going to try and sort out a theater slot to time up with the end of my IV's so I will be nice and well.
When I got home I changed and fed Edward, and then got on with cooking dinner :o) Steak and ale pie tastes better the longer you cook it. Edward came and sat in his bumbo and helped (i.e. chewed his wooden cooking spoon) while I chopped up the meat, I then sent him back into the lounge when I did the onions as I didn't want them to sting his eyes.
I then attempted to make potato cakes again (mainly as an excuse to use my new griddle pan) it was a very messy process that seemed to cover everything, including Luke who only popped his head round the door, in grated potato!
After a while Andy and Chris arrived, I commandeered a wine bottle as an impromptu rolling pin, cooked the veggies and the potato cakes and then dished up. Edward sat at the table so he could watch everyone eating, and I gave him some broccoli to play with. The potato cakes weren't that nice, Chris didn't like them at all, but Andy did, I think overall they still need work, next time I'm going to cook the potato then mash it and then try and fry it. All in all, aside from the dodgy experimental porme de terres dinner was very tasty :o) Everyone appreciated their pastry boobies (Chris had three) however a few nipples fell off along the way!
After dinner, having eaten Atari (as well as boobie) pastry, we decided to get the Mega-Drive out, yes you did read that right and no it's not 1990, we are just SO cool we've gone retro! Luke and Chris had lots of fun playing Golden Axe and then Streets Of Rage, however failed to get anywhere as they spent more time killing each other than the gribblies. While they did that I fed Edward some apple puree, and Andy fixed my wireless after struggling to find any guidance on my laptop, seriously even the company that made it are so embarrassed by it's crapness they don't support it on their site!
We then put in Micro Machines and the extra controllers and all played that, Luke owned everyone with his character who was rather shockingly called Ganja, however sadly just as things were getting intense and I was finally managing to stay on the screen for more than half a second the console crashed and we couldn't resurrect it...boo :o(
Chris's guide to girl hunting ....Find girl....take girl home and show her room of geekyness...if she stays booyah MOTHERLOAD!
(note Edward sleeping in the corner hehe SO cute!)
It was a lovely sunny day thankfully, perfect for our mummy-chummy meet in the park. I spent a bit long faffing and trying to make myself look presentable so left a bit later than I'd planned, as I didn't want to feel rushed and panicky I got a taxi over to the park, a bit of an extravagance considering I'm supposed to be being poor, but it was a special treat!
I walked up to the cafe and there were a couple of ladies sat there with buggies looking suspiciously like they were waiting for people. So I walked up and asked if they knew Charlotte (the lady that had arranged things) and one of them said yes that was her. Hurrah!!
It was a really pleasant afternoon, I think we were all sat chatting for about three hours! We talked about lots of things, all baby related pretty much, we talked about the hospitals where we had our babies, the joys of sterilizing all trying to work out at what point we can get away with not bothering any more haha, and the eternal evils of negotiating public transport.
Although obviously none of it was particularly earth shattering, it was really nice to just chat about these sorts of things with other people who are going through it at pretty much the same time as me, as just by chance all our children are around the same age, just a couple of months apart at most. Although I have some online mummy-chummies and both my mum and Luke's mum have been great it's not really the same, it was really nice to meet other mums, and their babies.
Edward thought it was quite fun too, I think. He had a good look at the other babies, it was quite amusing when I sat him opposite the only little girl that came as she started giggling, he just stared at her looking mildly surprised, while all of us mummies laughed at the pair of them!
After the group broke up I walked back a little way with Charlotte towards her house, and then as it was so sunny and nice I walked the rest of the way home.
Across the rest of the afternoon and evening a few e-mails have been sent out by the girls who came and it seems like everyone had a really good time and the plan is to all get together and do something together again soon.
When I got in Mr Vince was here playing puters with Luke. I changed and fed Edward and had some food, then went for a nap, stupidly I thought it would be nice to take Edward with me and snuggle, however he just wriggled and wittered and was generally a monkey so in the end I rolled over to get away from his kicky legs!!
When I woke up I warmed up the spicy chicken bake for Vince and I which we both ate. I was still hungry after though and so Luke and I were naughty and ordered BAD fried food hehe yummy yummy mozzarella sticks..... lots and lots of creon for me :o)
Monday I took Edward to the baby clinic where he weighed in at a hefty 7.32kg. I was impressed with the clinic overall as it was much more professional than the one we used to go to in Caterham. I then went up to the gym to register and then the library for the same purpose, whilst there Edward spotted a gorgeous puree book which we got out. That evening I had planned to go and see the very sexy Freedom High, however sadly I was so shattered I didn't feel like I would enjoy it if I went, also Luke was raiding and so wanted me to keep Edward out of mischief. I felt a bit guilty as the band are friends of mine and I haven't seen them in so long, however I'm sure I will make it along next time.
Edward posing with one of his old vests' before we packed it up for Oliver....this used to be BAGGY on him!!!
Tuesday Luke and I had the understandable whim that we wanted bacon sandwiches, however sadly did not possess a frying pan, so together we braved the outside polleny world and headed out to Debenhams which I'd heard had a sale on. The rumor was true and so we were able to afford a nice tefal one, we also got a carving set as we often eat roast and so we thought it would be a wise thing to own, as trying to carve without one is annoying, difficult and actually kind of dangerous. We started looking for clothes for Luke but his hayfever got too bad and so we had to head home to closed-window safety. Abandoning the plan for bacon sandwiches (despite our new pan) we stopped in at Baskin and Robins and bought some ice-cream yay! That evening we invited Karolina over and had roast and used our fantastic new set. Edward joined us at the dining table and covered himself in asparagus and broccoli, it was so amusing that we decided we should hire him out for corporate entertainment!
Baby for hire ....weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and corporate functions!
Wednesday Another busy day of tootling about doing paperwork type things. I posted a box of tiny baby bits to my gorgeous friend Charlotte as well as arranging Edward's child trust fund and his modeling contract, sadly Halifax have made a total mess of his other savings account so I'm going to have to start from scratch with that tomorrow. I made a nice dinner however Luke didn't like it as it had too many veggies in it and so I had to nip out and get him something else as I didn't have much else to feed him. I've had lots of fun with Edward today,he's been really cute, smiley and chatty, he also rather impressively managed to roll all the way over and has looked highly pesty and pleased with himself as a result ever since :o)
Argh Mummy I'm going over!! Not even the blanket can't save me now!
Looking back on this now I actually realise I've done a lot more than I thought I had, haha no wonder Luke says he never sees me and I'm always busy!!
Tomorrow I'm going to meet some mummy-chummys, it's very exciting, but I'm VERY nervous as under all my loud noisy front I'm actually quite shy....best not to think about it too much or I will woss out!
I had a pretty chilled out weekend. Saturday I floated about not doing much for most of the day as I felt kind of tired. Luke and Karolina slept in till gone 1pm after their late night WOW exploits. I spent the morning trying to find something to do for Fathers Day as well as just looking at general things to do in London for free or very little. In the evening I made a nice dinner with lots of help from Edward, Shellie and Simon came round as they had a party in Camden and so were staying the night with us. It was most amusing as Simon said hello to Edward who though it would be delightful to smear rusk on Simon and his nice party clothes, and when Simone exclaimed 'ew' Edward burst into tears, obviously very distressed that his 'decorating' efforts were not appreciated!
Sunday we had planned to go to a posh restaurant who were doing a special Father's Day lunch, however poor Luke felt so ill with hay-fever that we canceled it in the end. However he did of course still get his lovely card which Edward 'made' me cover in glitter hehe, as well as some hankies with 'Daddy' embroidered on them which I ordered ages ago specially.
I think Luke felt a bit down, a bad combination of hay-fever and his ongoing struggle with being a daddy, that wasn't helped by the fact it was Father's Day. He is a perfectly good and capable daddy and he loves Edward very much, just in typical Luke fashion he constantly thinks he isn't good enough and that he's not ready, as always it just comes down to self belief and self confidence, both of which I'm sure will grow in time.
As Luke wanted to sleep, and we were hungry, we left him to it and went off down the road to the same Thai place Shellie and I went to last time she was here, and yet again had a very scrummy lunch. We then walked across Hyde Park, where we parted ways, Shellie and Simon went off to Victoria to get the train home and Edward and I had a think about what to do. I was going to just go home, but then decided it was such a nice day it seemed a waste to stay inside, and that I was bored of being inside, so we went to the Marylebone Summer Fayre.
I have noticed that I'm almost a bit manic at the moment about 'doing stuff' I think that I'm just so aware that my lung function is really low, and having seen the stories of so many end-stage cf people who just become totally trapped indoors I am desperate to make sure I don't waste the time I have. I'm going to be trapped inside for months if not years capable of doing next-to-nothing, so I feel I should make the most of the freedom I have now, while I'm still lucky enough to have it.
The fayre was very busy and there was lots going on, mostly foodie, Edward particularly liked all the people Salsa dancing in the street so I lifted him out of his buggy so he could get a better look. Overall though it left me feeling a bit bummed out and lonely, as though Edward is fantastic company you can't really chat to him about stuff, or appreciate things on the same level, so we walked home. It did make me look forward even more to this chummy-mummy meet next week, and more determined to be brave and go ahead with it.
That evening Luke and I had a bit of a chat about stuff, as I've been getting a bit frustrated with doing stuff on my own all the time, and him being apathetic about almost everything. His hay-fever, daft as it sounds, is a major obstacle as it just prevents us going outside and all the free stuff is outside really, such as park visiting. He is also painfully shy and not really into going and meeting new people. I'm shy too, but much better at forcing myself to be brave and ignore it, and I REALLY want to make some new chums in London. Though the ones we have are awesome we don't have many, and they are often busy so it would be nice to have more.
Overall it turned out to be quite a constructive conversation and left me feeling a lot better about things. Luke is very sneaky and does things in the middle of the night and never tells me about them...like applying to Google....I wish he would tell me as I always get cross with him for doing nothing and then find out actually he's done loads!!
I will never learn :o)
Well as you can see, down on the right, I've started a new blog http://edwardtedward.blogspot.com/ to track Edward's weaning. It's not going to be hugely exciting I don't think if you aren't into the gory details of the process but will be worth checking out for the many amusing photos of the boy smeared in food!
In other news the council have confirmed/granted our housing benefit claim. I was pretty certain we would qualify but it is nice to have the worry gone from the back of my mind. I really feel confident now about putting down roots here and so have started looking into making some more friends. I have found a mother and baby group who meet up informally, there is a trip planned for next Thursday which I'm pretty tempted to go to as it would be a good opportunity to make mummy-chummies :o)
I've had a productive day, and got lots of paperwork sorted, including things like paying the huge water bill and getting the TV license, though not very exciting it's nice to know I've got things sorted and in order. The next task is to change all direct debits and benefit payments over to our joint account.....yep you read that right Luke and I are a proper official couple now we have a joint account....because obviously the baby didn't qualify us as such hehe!
And finally, very excitingly, our dining table and chairs bought for a stunning total of £6 on my beloved Ebay were delivered today hurrah!! It will be so nice to eat at a proper table, and set a good example for Edward, I'm planning to sit his little chair in the center in the hope the food he throws everywhere will land on that rather than the carpet.
Right I think I'm going to head to bed, leaving Luke and Karolina to a late night of WOW....it will never to cease to amuse me knowing how much it would make most WOW players dribble if they knew just how gorgeous Karolina is, and that she plays.... the perfect girlfriend hehe I'd best watch myself :o)
Well it's been another few exciting days.
Monday we had Andy and Chris over for dinner. I made nachos and cheese, followed by fajitas. We had a pretty chilled out evening ,though we were all so tired that we kind of sat in a bit of stupour by the end!
Tuesday I had clinic. It was great to see everyone and they were all very excited to see Edward. he had marvelous time lapping up all the attention. My lung function is holding steady around the 35% mark however we've decided to add in another drug to try and calm my asthma down, with the long term aim of getting me off steroids.
Wednesday we went to see the Telectroscope. It's an art installation based on the child-hood dream of being able to dig a tunnel right through the center of the Earth and coming out of the other side.
This fantastical contraption is the end of the tunnel that apparently goes from London to New York. You can look down it and wave at all the Merkens the other end.
I had hoped to be able to arrange to time a visit with out family that live in Brooklyn so that we could wave at each other down the 'tunnel' but it wasn't possible in the end, so we just made do with the random people that happened to be there at the time. Unfortunately Luke's hayfever was so bad that we had to head home straight away as he was miserable and in a lot of discomfort.
I left Luke at the tube station and headed off to Camden to finish off getting the last few bits for my planned dinner party. I took Edward with me so that he got more time out of the house looking at the world. Popped into the umpteenth chemist we've looked in, in recent days and FINALLY found poor Luke some flixanase so hopefully that may make him feel a bit better.
Then to the thai shop which is absolutely fantastic and very reasonably priced. I managed to get everything I needed and stock up on coconut milk as our local supermarket is always running out. The staff there are also all really nice, friendly and helpful.
We then stopped in at a little organic cafe and I had some very yummy tomato and basil soup. Edward had a bit of a lay down on the sofa while I ate. We also got a chocolate muffin to take home to Luke to cheer him up as I'd snapped at him and been a bit mean because I was annoyed that he was ill!! I know I know terribly unfair, coming from me of all people, I just get annoyed with his hay-fever constantly stopping us from doing things, but then in the grand scale of things it's nothing compared to what CF stops us doing so I shouldn't be so nasty.
Some other people sat around the sofa's with Edward and I. Edward thought the woman in the group was fantastic because she spoke in French, he got all excited and started jabbering away to her, it was very cute. Not even six months old and already bi-lingual clearly :o)
I then had to put Edward back in the sling, which was a bit of a nightmare as the very kind people sat with us tried to help! I know they meant well, but I got all flustered and embarrassed by the fact it looks so complicated and like you are going to drop your baby when you put it on, and so it ended up being the most dodgy tie I think ever done, but it was enough to hold him on till we got home so it kind of worked.
Today has been equally exciting. I had meant to go to the baby-cafe but didn't in the end as I had a bit more of a read of their website and found out that if you aren't currently breastfeeding and seeking breastfeeding support then they don't encourage you to come and advise you seek a different group. I was a bit disappointed as I'd hoped to go along and meet some other mummies, but I shall find another way.
I have decided it is time to wean Edward, I have tried to give him some rice-crackers the last few days but he hasn't been remotely interested and so I bought some butternut squash and some sweet potatoes which I pureed and froze this morning, I also did some apple.
However I didn't really have time to feed the purees to him, and didn't do it at the right moment in the day, and so in the end just decided to see what he did with a rusk.....
The answer.....spread it all over his face, legs, sleeves, tray, carpet..walls!!! haha I'm joking about the walls, but everywhere else was fair game!!
It was VERY cute and amusing, however prompted me to go out and buy a scoop bib as it became apparent that cloth ones are no use with food!
We first went to John Lewis to see if they did them, they didn't but we did get him a doidy cup which I may try out tomorrow. I almost got him some PVC matting but when I called Luke to ask him what colour to get he said not to get one as it would be a pain to wipe down, and that we could just sit his chair on the table and wipe that instead. I remain unconvinced but we will see how it goes, and hopefully not trash the cream carpets in the process.
We then went to Boots and got a scoop bib, and a variety of porridges, baby rices and rusks as I had a bunch of vouchers. I did debate buying Edward a different teething ring as most of the ones we have are too big for his mouth, but in the end decided I'd spent too much money recently and that he could make do with what we have for now, especially as ice-cubes wrapped in a hankie are the best thing really and practically free.
After I'd finished faffing in there and admiring other tiny babies that made Edward look huge, I went to HMV and met up with Luke and Vince who'd gone to buy Company of Heroes so they could play together. Then a quick trip to The Ginger Pig (the best butchers in the world!) and Waitrose before heading home. It was by now about 5pm and I had to get cracking on the dinner so it would be ready in time.
The menu went as follows...
Starter
Thai Prawn Crackers
Thai-Marinated Skewered Chicken
Home-made Sweet Chilli sauce and Home-made peanut sauce
Spicy Coconut Soup
Main
Thai Red Duck Curry with Coconut Rice
Pudding
Lemon Torte
Lemon Sponge Cake
It all took quite a while as it was the first time I'd cooked most of it, and I made everything including the curry paste from scratch, however it was well worth the effort as it was utterly gorgeous :o)
It was also fantastic to have Raj over, as it was the first time we've seen each other outside of hospital for about 18 months! He is such a fantastic friend and ALWAYS visits me when I get stuck in, so it was nice to be able to return the favour and make a big fuss of him for a change.
All in all a lovely evening spent with our gorgeous friends....and to top it off Raj bought me *cough* sorry EDWARD a present :o) It's a very funky cube that makes lots of noise and has lots of different textures on it no doubt it will keep me *cough* sorry EDWARD amused for hours hehe!!
Yesterday Edward-Tedward and I went to the park with Alex and Faith and had a yummy picnic, even Edward had some, he tried the pitta-bread and some carrot, he didn't really eat either but sucked them very convincingly.
In the evening Aaron came round for a bit, though was stressed as he was having problems with his girl and about to fly out to Hong-Kong to represent the family at his grandfathers funeral. That aside though it was lovely to see him, and he had fun playing with Edward.
Today very excitingly Edward went swimming for the first time. I had really hoped Luke would come, but he felt too ill in the end so we left him sleeping. Thankfully the life-guard was really nice and took some photos for us so the moment is forever captured :o) We swam for about half an hour then Edward got a bit cold and tired, so we got out and he had some milk and then went to sleep and stayed that way for most of the day!
I then did some bits and bobs round town, before coming home and having a rest :o)
I meant to tidy the house this morning but got utterly distracted into planning for my dinner party tomorrow, well I thought it was tomorrow, turns out it's actually next Thursday, but at that point I was still blissfully unaware of this fact and so Edward-Tedward and I headed out into the sunshine to buy in the bits I needed leaving a very poorly Luke sleepily dying of laryngitis at home.
In need of wooden skewers I headed to Woolies, who I also thought, quite correctly, may sell baby sunglasses. After trying on all the ones they had we finally settled on the ones in the above photo, tempting as the Spiderman ones were we thought that at five months old velcro straps were going to be alot better than plastic ones.
The supermarket didn't have everything we needed so we headed up to get the bus to Camden. As we sat waiting Aunty Shellie called to ask if we were still on to meet up for lunch. I'd totally forgotten about it, but said 'of course' and that I'd meet her down by Marble Arch in about 20 minutes time. I nipped home to change Edward and pick up some of his milk then up to Marble Arch where Shellie was waiting.
We decided to go out for lunch and started looking for a nice place round where we were. Nothing really took our fancy, and by that time we were almost level with our flat, so I took Shellie in to see it. She liked it lots, though as we arrived the oxygen man was also there so he gave me my new cylinders which are not liquid booo!!
Mummy called while we were there to ask how Shellie's appointment at the brain hospital had gone. The doctor decided that she just had a very severe type of migraine, (the type that makes you lie bed bound in a dark room for almost 4 months straight!) and that he had a few drugs he could try, however he didn't know why she was getting all of the wierd symptoms that she gets and he can't offer her a follow-up appointment for 8 months even though he would like to see her sooner. Grr it's such frustratingly crap service, it makes me realize how lucky I am being looked after by the Brompton.
After I'd suitably showed off my lovely new (though still very messy) flat we headed out to a nearby Thai place I'd seen in my scout of the area that I did when we moved in. It was VERY tasty and very reasonably priced, the staff were all lovely too and made a big fuss of Edward. He had such a good time that he started to drool!!!
After lunchie munchies we decided to wander down to Hyde Park, which we did, it was very lovely. You just don't realize how big it is, and it's amazing how you can be in the center of the city and yet just see trees, it's fantastic :o) We just both kept exclaiming that we couldn't believe how nice the park was and that it was so close to my house. We eventually came to the lake where we had a nice long sit down, we also had lots of fun looking at the geese and ducks :o)
We then mooched very slowly and in a very lost fashion all the way to Victoria!!! I can't believe how far I walked, but like I said to Shellie seeing Sam waiting for her transplant and tragically not making it combined with my horribly low lung function has made me even more acutely aware that I have very little precious time where I will even have half a chance to wander about as freely as I do now, all too soon I'm going to be tied down to a wheelchair by oxygen tubing permanently, so few and far between as days like today may be I'm going to do my up-most to enjoy them.
Once at Victoria we went to Costa upstairs to get a drink and wait for Simon to finish work. I did wander off for a bit to see if I could buy some milk for Edward as he was getting hungry, but nowhere sold it. Simon then arrived so I sent he and Shellie home, and resumed my original plan to go to Camden and get the last few bits for the meal tomorrow.
While on the bus I got a call from Luke to say the gang were coming round as agreed and when was I going to be back as they were going to be there in 20 minutes. I don't actually remember remotely agreeing they were coming round today haha but then I don't appear to have a good grasp on what I've arranged of late so it's quite possible! I was unfortunately already on the bus to Camden and though I abandoned my plans to go there it meant it took me ages to get back as I had to go a very convoluted route.
The gang were already here by the time I arrived. We spend the rest of the evening chilling and chatting, and ordered some yummy noodles from a place recommended by Vince. Karolina got very excited as Luke helped her with her WOW account so now she can play all summer while she's home in Poland missing Vince, and Rabia entertained us with tales of how she was planning to work in immigration and decline the entry of all Canadians to the country!!
It is most certainly now time for sleepies......goodness knows if my legs will actually still work when I wake up tomorrow!!!
Edward all packed up and ready to go for Sunday lunch in Greatham :o)
Edward 'hanging out' in Greatham after tasty Sunday lunch.
We haven't made it down to Greatham for FAR too long! Between various people being ill, and general disorganization it just hasn't happened , but finally this weekend we made it down and had very tasty lunchy-munchies :o)
It was nice as lots of the family were down, including Cousin Emily and Duncan, and Luke's Uncle Tom who usually lives in Thailand, aswell as Luke's Aunty Deb, his other cousin Camilla is getting married on Wednesday and so everyone has gathered there before heading over to Ireland for the big event. We wanted to go but sadly in the end just couldn't afford it :o( however we were treated to seeing Uncle Fred in his fantastic and very dashing outfit....sadly not with a pink shirt despite Tom's valiant attempts!
We thought it would rain but thankfully the weather picked up and we ate outside on the big table. We've done it before, but still there is something just a bit wrong about eating roast outside like barbecue food, my brain just doesn't like the break from tradition!
We all sat about feeling nice and fat for a while before heading home 'accidentally' kidnapping Aunty Thea on our way out of the door YAY!!
Aunty Thea and Edward on the sofa, I suspect that Edward may actually be sneakily laddering Thea's tights which is why he looks so pleased with himself!!
When we got home Luke went to bed as he was feeling really tired and rough. Thea sat up with me while I did my treatment and we looked through the photo albums I've made. I know I have them all on the puter, but there is just something special about proper printed out photos. We made it to bed around midnight me in the full knowledge Thea was going to sort Edward so I would get a lie-in in the morning yipee!!
The next morning after my lovely lie-in we all headed out to do something touristy in London. We stopped in at the photo shop to get Thea and the family some proper photos as they only had one rather naff one printed on normal paper. However we'd failed to actually put the photos on the USB key and so had to go home and try again. At that point Luke decided he was actually feeling to rough to come with us and so we left him and went of to Selfridges where Edward flirted with the models that were advertising hair-care things while Thea and I looked at lots of overpriced clothes and tasted the most vile chocolate stilettos ever made.
We had wanted to go to the Tate Modern but there sadly wasn't time as Thea had to get home and there were some delays on the trains, so after collecting our photos we headed to Victoria. I bought us some lunch, and some polos for Uncle Fred as he hadn't been able to come to London and packed her off home. Edward and I then sat in Victoria and ate our lunch as we were both starving, we then got the bus home. I 'popped' into the supermarket to get some milk and Ribena, and ended up burying the sleeping Edward under a weeks worth of shopping haha!!
That evening Luke and I had roast dinner again as I'd picked up a reduced 'posh' chicken, though it smelled a bit strong it was actually ok, and the best chicken out of the three we've had recently :o)
