Joseph @ 7 months - 20th January 2009

So it's an old photo now, but one of my faves all the same. The little man is really growing up now. 7.5 months old, 5 teeth (with a 6 on the way), confidently sitting up for play time, exploring absolutely everything, full of smiles most of the time, non-stop chatterbox and an absolute joy. He currently has another cold, and has been pretty poorly with it, but it hasn't bothered him at all. Unfortunately, he hasn't yet settled at nursery, but it's still very early days. He's done 2 full days so far; the first day went pretty well, he was very clingy, but was teething and suffering with his cold, so would probably have been clingy at home. He did get upset at times, but on the whole, coped very well. His second day was a different story. He seemed to spend his day crying, taking a break only to eat and sleep. It's such a shame, as I know he'll love it as soon as he lets himself, but it's difficult to know what to do in the meantime. We'll have to see what Friday brings. He may have just been tired on Monday, after a busy weekend.

Nursery for me, however, is going well. I have been based in a room now, which will help me to settle back in quickly. It always helps to know where you're going to be. Makes you feel more useful. I'll be working with 1-2s again, but in a different room - we have 3 for that age group. The children are great, and I'm confident that I will be able to work well with the staff. I am also due to finally start my NVQ very soon, which I am so excited about!

We are slowly making changes to make things work better at home and to make us feel better about the house, as we really can't afford to move, and I am loving this website for inspiration and ideas. I am starting to build up a wish list of things to get from Ikea, but need to get the thumbs up from Adam before I make the journey as, unfortunately, he holds the purse strings now.

I went to the crop a couple of weeks ago and managed to complete 6 layouts for Joseph's scrapbook, which I'm thrilled about. Had such a lovely time doing them and think I am starting to refind my mojo, so now need to keep the momentum going and find more time to create. There's another crop this weekend, so need to convince Adam that he would like to spend a day at home spending quality time with his son!

Now that I'm all caught up, I'm hoping to be able to post brief updates every couple of days from my iPod...

15th January 2009

Today Joseph has decided that he no longer wants to play lying down, something he has always loved to do. He is now much more confident in his sitting ability and wants to show off his new skills. He's still very wobbly, and I wouldn't dare to leave him without cushioning around him, but he really has come on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of days.

Last weekend we travelled down to Leicester. We visited family, and, as mentioned in my last post, Adam's mum & step-dad babysat for us so that Adam could take me out for a lovely birthday meal. Much as we love our little man, it was great to have some time to ourselves, and to eat a meal without little hands trying to grab everything on the plate!


I went to work on Monday and didn't have the best day. I was working in the younger pre-school room, and the children were a nightmare! They didn't listen, they hit each other, threw toys, got everything out, wouldn't tidy up, wouldn't listen, shouted etc etc. There are a lot of children who have only just moved in to the room and I don't think that helped matters. Not a room I'm keen to be based in! Adam and Joseph had a good day though. Just one more to go. Joseph has 2 settle-in sessions at nursery next week, and then he does his first full day the week after.

Rhythm Time went well again on Tuesday. Joseph is definitely enjoying it now. I enjoyed it more this week too, although I still prefer the old class. Yesterday we went in to Macc. I had some cheques to pay in to the bank from Christmas/birthday, and some clothes to return. I also popped in to Boots and discovered that they had massive sale on their Christmas gift stock, so bought a whole load of things that were just too good value to leave behind. I was really laden up, so had to take it all back to the car. I then went back, and got a second load and had to take that back too! I then went back and did the other things I needed/wanted to do. Got some absolute bargains, but boy do my arms and legs ache today from carrying it all!

So, what do you do on a day when all your muscles ache? Well, if you're me, you decided to move a load of furniture around! I decided to rearrange our bedroom. We had planned to do it together, but I got sick of waiting til we were both free and had the energy to do it. Basically i swapped the ends of the bedroom over, which mean taking everything off 2 shelf units and removing the stuff and the units from the room. Moving the wardrobe to the other end of the room, moving the bed to the other end of the room, returning the shelf units and stuff and adding a 3rd shelf unit!! Can't believe I managed to do it alone and in 1 day, especially as I went out for a couple of hours too - I took Joseph to JJ's to meet up with some friends from work and their babies just after lunch.

Joseph now has 2 teeth, and I think his third might be about to make an appearance too. His gum has been swollen for around a week, and I think I can see something there, but he won't let me look properly. Still, we'll know soon enough.

You'll be relieved to hear that "a week in the life" is over, and I will no longer be blogging my days in quite so much detail!

This week, we had Rhythm Time on Monday, as usual. Joseph didn't enjoy it much this week, but he did manage to stay awake. I really need to try and schedule our routine on a Monday so that he is alert for the class. We had to make the decision about what we wanted to do next term, which starts in January. I'll be going to work part-time in February, and will be working Mondays, so we've had to request to change session, to a Tuesday. I think by the time January comes along, he'll be really enjoying it, so it'll be a shame to stop.

Joseph also had his final injections for this round on Monday afternoon. They seemed to upset him more this time, and he was also a little bit grouchy. I'm glad they're over as I hate taking him - I feel so mean. Especially this time, when he had to have three. On Tuesday Sally & Elliot came round for a chat and a play respectively. Unfortuantely Joseph was fast asleep until just before they left, so Elliot had to play on his own! On Wednesday the plumber came to remove the old boiler, and on Thursday we were confined to upstairs whilst the new one was installed. We managed to get out for an hour in the morning to go to the baby clinic. Joseph put on 11oz, so I was really pleased, as I'd been getting pretty concerned, even though he is clearly a healthy, happy baby. On Friday we went to Buggyfit, and yesterday, we went into Macc for the afternoon. Adam bought me a new Singstar game, and we spent yesterday evening playing it. Makes a change from Rock Band!

Joseph has been feeding loads recently and I've even had to feed him in the night again, so we've been counting down to his 17 week birthday to start solids! It finally came on Friday, so yesterday we got the baby rice out. It went surprisingly well. There was no crying, and no spitting and, although not much actually stayed in his mouth, I'm pretty sure he managed to swallow a small amount. We've tried again today, and I would say it was a success. He kept nearly all of it in his mouth and even seemed to enjoy it, whinging for more between spoonfuls. He managed to eat all of the bowl that I made up as well. Very proud of the little man, although he's growing up so quickly.

6.05 – Joseph wakes, I go and get him and bring him to our bed for his feed

6.30 – Adam’s alarm goes off and he gets up. Me and the little guy go back to sleep

7.30 – adam comes to say goodbye, and joseph wakes up. Poo! He woke lots in the night and I’m shattered (even though Adam was the one who got up most of the time!) and was hoping for a bit more shut eye.

8.00 – change joseph’s nappy and get him dressed. He starts crying just before I finish. I need a shower, so getting dressed myself will have to wait til he’s in a better mood. We go downstairs, I put the playmat down, turn on the tv, but the little man is still whingy

8.15 – I give in and feed Joseph. He definitely seems more hungry now, and I guess weaning isn’t far away.

8.30 – put joseph back on his playmat, and he seems happy again now. Check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

8.40 – chat with adam on the phone

8.45 – watch piece about HSM3 on BBC breakfast

8.55 – send message to a friend

9.00 – watch Dawn French on BBC Breakfast

9.15 – take joseph upstairs and put him to bed.

9.20 – take a shower and get dressed

9.50 – laundry. Horrible weather today, and coupled with no heating, I’m not sure how I’ll get it dry. Check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

9.55 – make and eat breakfast of porridge, orange juice & coffee

10.15 – joseph wakes up. He’s got a dirty nappy, so I change him before taking him downstairs.

10.30 – joseph is still crying. Hungry. Again. I feed him while watching Supernanny. 2 hourly feeding is going to drive me nuts!

10.55 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

11.00 – feeling tired an unmotivated to do very much today

11.10 – feeling peckish, so make myself a coffee and grab a banana

11.20 – cuddle up with the little man on the sofa and watch some tv

11.55 – put joseph to bed

12.00 – put another load of laundry on. Check email, facebook, flick, blogs, uks

12.05 – can’t decide between getting some rest myself while the little guy sleeps, or ploughing on with the housework so I can rest later. Adam will be home late as it’s his badminton night

12.10 – make lunch

12.30 – chat with adam on the phone. Boiler is terminal and we will need a new one. Eat lunch of pasta in sauce

12.40 – I try and find places to hang wet clean laundry to dry

12.55 – joseph wakes and I take him downstairs

1.00 – I start working on some household admin

1.30 – I feed Joseph then change his nappy

1.50 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

2.00 – I continue with the household admin

2.20 – chat with adam on the phone. Chat with mum on the phone

2.30 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

2.45 – put Joseph to bed

2.50 – bravely peg washing on line

3.00 – Joseph still awake so I stay upstairs with him til he goes off

3.15 – chat with adam on the phone

3.20 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

3.30 – make drink of hot honey & lemon – my throat is really sore. Devour 2 fun size boxes of smarties

3.35 – return to the admin whilst watching Countdown

3.45 – knock on the door from, Luke – it’s raining, so dash out and bring the washing in

3.50 – Joseph wakes up. Go and fetch him and bring him down. Play with him

4.05 – return yet again to the admin – rain is lashing down
4.10 – feed joseph

4.30 – change the little guy’s nappy

4.35 – put washing in tumble dryer

4.40 – little man whingey, so abandon all hope of getting any more jobs done until after he’s gone to bed for the night!

4.45 – I play with the little guy, chat on the phone with mum, cook my tea, eat my tea, prepare a bath for Joseph (not an easy task with no running hot water), bath Joseph, get him ready for bed, feed him, put him to bed, put the wet laundry on the airer, make the bed, fold the dry laundry, put more wet laundry on the airer, sort the rubbish, tidy the kitchen, fold the dry laundry from the tumble dryer, clean the lounge and sweep and mop the downstairs floors.

7.45 – collapse on the sofa with the Sky remote and a glass of sherry!

Today's pictures are here

*I would like to say that I've been using a Word document to keep track of what I'm doing and that on a normal day my computer wouldn't be on all day and so my internet usage would be considerably lower. When its on I just can't help myself!*

I'm taking part in this project this week, and today is my first day. I'm sure I won't post a full run down like this every day, but this is what I've done today:

6.25am – Joseph wakes. I go and get him up and change his nappy

6.30am – Adam’s alarm goes off as I bring Joseph into our room for his feed. Adam gets up.

6.45am – Joseph finishes feeding and I lay him down next to me in our bed

7.00am – clock radio goes off – listening to Chris Moyles

7.30am – Adam comes in to say goodbye to us both. Joseph cries when Adam kisses him – his little face just crumples. (Adam’s just had a week off work and today is his first day back. Does the little guy know what’s going on, or is he just tired?)

7.45am – I get up and take photos of each room as it looks at the start of the day. A real mess after a few days away and from having Adam at home during the day!

8.00am – Joseph falls asleep. Still in our bed. I check my email, facebook, flickr, blogs and UKS

8.15am – go downstairs and cook breakfast and start tidying things up. Jamie Oliver talking on radio about his Ministry of Food show

8.40am – eat breakfast of sausage, bacon & beans

8.50am – make coffee and go back upstairs to get dressed

9.05am – little man wakes up and has a kick about on his playmat while I straighten my hair

9.30am – do laundry

9.35am – dress Joseph

9.45am – Joseph’s world ends for the first time today, as he is put down while I go to the loo and get myself a drink before feeding him

9.50am – feed Joseph while watching Supernanny. Cuddles with the little man

10.35am – get ready to go out to Rhythm Time

10.45am – pick Sally & Elliot up

11.00am – Rhythm Time

11.25am – Joseph falls asleep and misses the last 10 minutes

11.35am – drive home, dropping Sally & Elliot off on the way

12.00 – arrive home – let Tigger in. Open post

12.05 – Joseph wakes up

12.10 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

12.15 – hang washing out to dry and put another load in machine to make the most of the beautiful weather

12.30 – eat lunch of jacket potato and beans – more Supernanny

1.00 – feed Joseph and have some cuddles

1.15 – change Joseph’s nappy

1.20 – chat with Adam on the phone

1.30 – put Joseph to bed. Check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

1.35 – attempt to make bed but fail, as Tigger is sleeping on it

1.40 – clean loo and wash basin. Finish making bed now that contrary cat has moved

1.45 – look up book on library website. Joseph falls asleep

1.50 – head back downstairs to tidy up

2.30 – joseph wakes. Check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

2.35 – bring Joseph downstairs and put him in his bouncy chair while I finish off my jobs

3.00 – washing machine finishes so go outside to peg laundry out. Put Joseph on his playmat in the lounge while I finish off in the kitchen

3.30 – jobs complete, I sit down with a hot chocolate and watch a bit more Supernanny while I check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

3.45 – cuddles with the little guy

4.00 – feeding time

4.20 – change nappy

4.30 – go out for a walk to meet Adam

5.30 – arrive home, have a drink, bring the washing in and start preparing tea

5.50 – check email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks

6.05 – Adam joins me in the kitchen to make his lunch for tomorrow

6.15 – tea is served

6.30 – tea over, I prepare joseph’s bottle and begin tidying the kitchen

6.40 – adam feeds joseph while I wash up

7.00 – adam tries to run Joseph a bath, but discovers the boiler is broken

7.20 – joseph goes to bed. I check my email, facebook, flickr, blogs, uks while I wait for him to go to sleep

7.35 – little man fast asleep, I head downstairs to spend the evening snuggled up on the sofa with my husband

Photos can be found here

Well, I’ve had a busy few weeks, but have achieved everything I wanted to do before the baby arrives. All the furniture we ordered arrived, and I have assembled it and put it all into place. Barr a couple of lampshades and a new bedside lamp, the bedroom is about finished. The nursery is complete – the only thing missing is the baby! And now the lounge is about done too. We still need to buy some new curtains and choose a new armchair, but other than that, it’s ready. We have a sofabed on order, and it should arrive in about 6 weeks. The house is now starting to really feel like home, and I am finally happy to bring a baby in to it. You can see the progress at Flickr

We still have about 3 weeks before baby is due to make an appearance, but we have a feeling it may arrive sooner. Whatever happens, we feel ready now and I am finally resting.

I've decided to take part in this project. I started a month late and have decided to make my day 26th, but you can see my May pics Flickr. Next month should be very different! I am hoping to find more time for scrapbooking now, and this project has inspired me so I’m feeling ready to get creative again.

Well, a day and a half into my maternity leave (well, holiday if we're going to be picky) and I've accomplished loads. I went to Tesco yesterday, and to ikea. I also went out for a walk to the library and the chemist. I washed the pots, cooked the tea, and changed the sheets on the bed, replacing the quilt with one with a lower tog. So far today I have caught up with loads of outstanding messages on Facebook, chased up a couple of utilities companies that still owe us money from the move and ordered next week's groceries. This afternoon I am off out to meet a friend who is going to loan us a load of baby goodies.

The week is over, and I feel we've accomplished loads. The pictures don't really do what we've done justice, but we're really getting there. All that's left now is to decorate the lounge and kitchen, buy the storage unit we want for the lounge, and a couple of other pieces of furniture for the bedroom, furnish the nursery (current state in pic above) and get rid of the huge amount of stuff on the get rid of pile! House pics are here. Before pics, at various stages are here