September found Maya experiencing her festival - we went to Harvest with Shelley and Greg (who are far more baby-friendly than expected!). It was a big success, despite the fact Maya had a big poo whilst watching the celebrity chefs, and we managed to leave the raincover at home (again) when it poured with rain - but we coped with an umbrella. A fantastic day - although the fact I had to return to the car to express for half an hour took the edge of it slightly! We think Maya was the youngest festival goer.
It felt fantastic at the beginning of September to not be going back to work, no having to sit through two boring PD days, no having to analyse/discuss/defend GCSE results (sometimes it's just their fault okay!), no performance management, etc. I took Maya in for results day the week before and it was really liberating knowing that I wouldn't have to return for ages!
So what are we doing instead? Well our days now revolve around various baby activities. We have completed a term of Tinies with Lazy Daisy, and are just about to complete the first term of Wrigglers with them. I love love love these classes - originally I paid to do them more for my benefit for the social aspect, as the mums at the Treehouse and Ormiston centres are not the sort that I would want to associate with - and I don't care how snobby that sounds as it's an opinion I share with most of the new mums I meet! It's fantastic - a mixture of singing, movements to help with digestion and balance and relaxation. It's lovely to see all the babies being social and how much they are changing on a weekly basis. After each class we go for lunch which is a big treat, and I have made some good friends through the class - Hannah (who I knew anyway), Caroline, Karen and Amanda. We are all having similar experiences of motherhood (ie. trying not to be too mental about it) - and it is so much easier to talk to them instead of the mums at the children's centres who all arrive enmasse with their extended families, complaining about how hard it was to give up smoking!
We have also started swimming regularly - which is fab! Maya is a natural and doesn't even mind when James and I take her to the Arctic experience which is Felixstowe Leisure Centre - a pool which is very cold and not at all nice. We had a great time at Splash in Sheringham a few weeks ago - Maya wasn't at all bothered by the wave machine or being dunked, lots of people wanted to say hello to her, and it was warm! We do swimming lessons at Suffolk Swim School every week - which is lovely and warm and so relaxed and friendly. However the facilities are a bit crap for babies, as the changing rooms are small and not baby-friendly at all. Hannah and I have a system where we take it in turns to get changed and watch the babies - I was stuffed last week when she didn't come!
We are also embracing 'Baby Bounce' - singing at the library! So far we've tried out Kesgrave (good as is combined with the weigh-in clinic, but mega busy), Woodbridge and Felixstowe (also has weigh-in and is much quieter). I have been really impressed with the libraries and their facilities - so much nicer than I expected. I haven't braved the libraries more local to us for the same reasons I am not fond of the children's centres! The singing might be a bit crap but Maya seems to have a lovely time and we need more free activities to do as I am now on SMP only!
A few weeks back I discovered how you cannot expect to be able to drink as much as you could before giving birth. After four pints of cider at Isaacs I stumbled home completely wasted and in no fit state to look after Maya. Poor James had to deal with two night feeds (which she hadn't had for weeks), whilst I had been sick and retired to the spare room. The next morning I woke at 2am and felt hideous, and was well overdue a pumping session, but I knew I would just have to throw the milk down the sink so didn't bother. When I woke up again at 6am 14 hours had passed since I had last expressed so my boobs were rock solid and painful, which forced me out of bed. I felt such a disgrace that I have been much more sensible since then!
We have also been away twice in the last month - 2 nights in the cottage in North Norfolk, and 2 nights with Shelley and Greg in the Peak District. On both occasions Maya has been really unsettled on the first night, but excellent on the second. The only issue I have with going away with her is the way she finds it necessary to squeeze out an enormous poo just as we are about to get into the car (and all the changing stuff is packed) - our trip back from the Peaks was held up by an emergency bath!
Maya is now 4 months old and I can't believe how much she has changed. Back in July she was a tiny scrap of a thing who struggled to put on weight, hovering between the 2nd and 9th percentile for ages. She is massive now - between the 50th and 75th, although her weight gain is much more steady. She is the youngest baby at Lazy Daisy but certainly not the smallest. She now weighs almost 15lb and I can barely lift her and the car seat, even my dad complains how heavy it is with her in it - this is the man who a few years ago carried a washing machine into our house by himself! Maya is much more interesting now too - she has started to take a real interest in toys, loves her jumparoo and is always looking around taking everything in, so it is quite easy to wear her out. She sleeps through the night mostly too - and is getting a bit too big for her moses basket but I am not quite ready to put her in the nursery. We have almost got the routine sorted - regular settling time, regular feeds - fewer but bigger.
There are still days when she cries loads and James gets home to find me rocking on the stairs with the door shutting trying to block out the noise, and I find it hard to cope when she is teething as it's so hard to see her in pain and not be able to do anything. And one day I left the bottle warmer on so had to leave her at Lazy Daisy for half an hour – she didn’t care and was being used as the demonstration baby when I got back! All in all though I think we are doing a good job!
No comments:
Post a Comment