Miss Independent...

I haven’t blogged for a while and that’s testament to me getting more of my life back. Last weekend, I went to my good friend Ushi’s 30^th birthday bash in Reading, and rediscovered what it was like to have girlie fun with great friends and my sister. It was just like old times!

Mummy and Daddy have also rekindled our ‘couple time’ together! There’s definitely merit in date nights and, after testing the waters logistically, we’ve committed to having one a week and it feels great!

The first post-Laila date night was at a Greek restaurant called Entelia and it proved a fantastic choice – impeccable service, romantic atmosphere and… no Laila! Entelia say that “the sharing of food and conversation is a human ritual as old as time. Meze is the ultimate expression of this passion. In the old times in Greece, the offer of numerous small selected dishes was a sign of generous hospitality” - right up our street!

We had a meze feast of halloumi, tiger prawns in white wine, calamari, manitaria fournou, slow cooked pork in brandy, and oven baked red peppers stuffed with feta cheese: A-MA-ZING! Not only was it delicious, but it was so good to rediscover why we fell in love before our little Laila came along. It was also nice to put the cooking utensils away for the night and let someone else sweat it out in the kitchen!

Second time around we went to Bella Italia and tried taking Laila with us. Ok, many lessons were learnt this time! Next time she accompanies us, I’ll also take baby snacks so Laila doesn’t gaze longingly at our non-baby-friendly seasoned food, licking her lips, along with her Bumbo seat and tray to protect her from table germs (and protect the table from Laila!). Miss Independent wants to feed herself lately, especially while we’re eating, and will tirelessly reach for her spoon while she's being fed. She has her own baby spoon which naturally makes an awful mess when in her hands, but Boots do some great plastic bibs which mean I don’t have to wash her fancy ones after each and every use! Much to the entertainment of other diners, I think Laila’s auditioning for her own talk show these days, and she really believes she’s making perfect sense judging by the expression on her face. She’s starting to use consonants now too; the oohs and ahs are suddenly baba and meme. All I keep thinking is "say mamma first, say mamma first”!

Back at home, Laila’s more mobile than ever. Crawling on all fours and attempting to climb onto her legs to walk!

We’ve noticed she can now pass an object from one hand to the other, with a particular affinity to remote controls… It’s obvious that the concept of object permanence is also firmly engrained in her mind since she would once think her Tigger was gone forever when it dropped on the floor and out of her sight, but Laila’s no longer as easily duped. It seems to be great fun, however, to see how many times we can catapult toys over the bed and see how many times Mummy will pick them up and pass them back! Although this is because babies are fascinated by cause and effect, it feels like she’s just testing me! She has one particular toy which seems to indulge her newfound interest in science though – a push-button toy which spins a sphere to reveal different faces. That keeps her busy for at least, well, 120 seconds.

One thing which could keep her entertained for hours is water. After going for a splash in the local pool since Laila was 3 months old, we started swimming lessons with WaterBabies last week, to add more structure to her learning. Once I’d got over the shock of how much they cost (!), I couldn’t wait to get started. The classes are small and intimate, and I’ve met some lovely more like-minded mummies already, as opposed to some of the ones I met at antenatal classes!

In terms of entertaining ME and keeping the old creative juices flowing, I’ve spent the last month recording snippets of Laila in her Quinny Zapp Xtra for our second QuinnyCasters assignment. When I saw the brief, I was raring to go straight away – capturing your child having fun in their Zapp Xtra. Here’s Episode 2 of our QuinnyCasters journey and, when you get over the cringing, hopefully you’ll sense how much fun it was to film!

My little Laila just loves to laugh!

Laila is still very much the centre of my universe, growing faster than I'd ever imagined, and becoming more gorgeous and irresistible every day. She loves playing on her tummy now, and can even push up on her arms like a little gymnast.


Hello world!

This mini yoga move is supposed to help her build the muscles she needs to roll over both ways, but she's been doing that for a few weeks already; I swear my girl wants to just skip the crawling stage and 'jump' straight to walking...

She seems to enjoy experimenting with her newfound knowledge of cause and effect, by dropping her Tigger and waiting for me to pick it up - she gets a kick out of doing it again and again and again which, for the first 7 times was utterly adorable... but now...! My little comedian is also developing a sense of humour. I practice my stand-up routine as post-nap entertainment for Laila, watching her laugh hysterically as I pull faces or play peekaboo! I have to admit, I'm amazed at how it elicits squeals of delight every time.

Laila's perfecting her ability to grab and reach now, reaching for Mummy and Daddy in particular when she wants to be picked up or be fed. I've noticed glimpses of stranger anxiety here and there too - times when she only wants Mummy. Others (usually grandparents) can't help but comment on how she needs to spend more time with people other than me to avoid this but, guess what, it makes me feel like the best and most loved Mamma in the world!

Life continues to change. It's funny how breastfeeding has now become like going to the bathroom: I no longer think about it, I can do it in the dark and, no matter where I am, I can find a place to do it if I have to! With solid meals just around the corner, Laila's dining chair is no longer my lap; she sits in her Bumbo seat while I spoon the odd snack into her mouth - I tried mashed banana today... Laila seemed a little confused at the new taste and was more interested in my chicken korma and naan (no, I haven't become an Indian Nigella - this one came courtesy of Sainsbury's), but she still managed a decent portion.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm in tune with Laila's every cry, coo and whimper now. This parenting lark isn't as tough as everyone makes out after all. Now, if I could just figure out how to unfold the pushchair on the first try...