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!

A Daddy's girl in the making?

How times have changed -
look who had the
SMALLEST suitcase!

Hurray! We (I) survived our first holiday apart from each other! Whilst I had to be practically dragged kicking and screaming to the weekend away that my dear hubby booked for me, it seemed to do us all good... everyone has been advising (lecturing) me to get out and about without Laila, arrange time for adult conversation, treat myself, yaada, yaada, yaada. The truth is, I've not been depriving myself; I've just not wanted to! Perhaps I'm still in the honeymoon period, but I haven't wanted to miss a moment of her. Then I read that there are in fact good reasons to get away from your baby every once in a while, for their sake. Apparently short separations help them to adjust to other people, become more socialised, and possibly help to "inoculate" against full-blown separation anxiety before it hits. Damn. Hence Amsterdam.

 

Vodka
and...
MILK?!

As reluctant as I was to go, I hate to admit it but, I had a blast. Other than retreating to my room every few hours to express milk (an absolute pain in the rear might I add), I felt like I was 'normal' again. Don't get me wrong, I missed Laila like crazy, but it was quite nice to meet people as Anna rather Laila's Mum. In a strange way, I think I'd secretly hoped I'd come back home to cries of "thank God you're back!" and "we couldn't cope without you!" but, quite the contrary! I couldn't believe how well Daddy coped - he even had her sleeping straight through the night, for 12 hours, not even waking up for night feeds... whaaaat?!?!? I walked back through the front door and, much to my despair, Laila carried on playing without batting an eye lid - never mind the dramatic, slow motion, joyous, reunion I'd been imagining throughout my journey home! Although, since I've been back, my poor baby's been teething terribly; her first bottom teeth are now visible so, for the first time, we've had tears upon tears - welcome home Mummy!



Daddy gave Laila her first bath in the "big bath"

 I had some good news before setting sail in Amsterdam - Laila and I were chosen as winners for our first QuinnyCasters assignment! The next assignment is to catch your child in a happy moods whilst in their Zapp Xtra, all happy and smiley entertaining themselves... this is going to be so much fun to do, especially since Laila's developing into such a little chatterbox, trying her best to 'talk' to whoever will listen, babbling away in a lingo that only she can understand...

Ooh!

A new toy!

How do I use this
again Mummy?

I've lost count of how many times I've told her that the telephone isn't a toy or edible, or that rattles aren't for thrashing, or that my hair isn't for pulling. The text books say that, at this age, she'll begin testing my authority by refusing to follow simple directions, but she's not really being disobedient, just curious. Oh, that's ok then! Although, to be fair, they say babies simply can't remember things they're told for more than a couple of seconds at a time; I'm told that the best tactic is to use a simple "no" and then distract her... have these people met my Laila?! 

My first QuinnyCasters assignment - unpacking the Zapp Xtra

Can you believe that, after the excitement of receiving our Quinny Zapp Xtra on my birthday, I had to LEAVE IT IN THE BOX unopened for 3 weeks! It’s been like a prolonged Xmas Eve! Why ever would I do that, you ask? Especially when I'm the kind of girl who can't resist sneaking a peek at my pressies BEFORE my birthday...



How did I resist getting my hands on this?!

Well, to cut a long story short, those who know me are well aware of the major house renovation I’ve been submerged in for almost a year. This means that the majority of my belongings are in boxes, under dust sheets, in the loft, I think you get the idea. As our upstairs flooring is currently exposed floorboards, and the downstairs has been completed, most of our belongings consume the entire lower level, making living space limited. Put it this way, Laila and I live in the dining room at the moment! This also means that having an area to document the momentous unpacking of our Zapp Xtra has been near impossible, especially since I’ve done it all single handedly, hence the delay! I’d originally planned to do this assignment at my parents’ house as the Quinny delivery was due the week prior but, as it came on the following Monday, I missed that window of opportunity. In the end, my unpacking was in the corner of my kitchen!

Having seen various tweets from other QuinnyCasters about how easy it was to put together (and as an Engineer’s daughter!), I thought it’d be a doddle, so I admit I didn’t bother looking at the instructions – I usually figure these things out myself and get a worryingly great sense of satisfaction and fun from doing so! However, as a result of one particular part (which I think is supposed to be pre-assembled) not being attached, I just couldn’t figure out how to get the seat on. There wasn’t any commentary or annotation to the instructions either, so I ended up ditching them. There was a web link cited as an instruction video but, whilst it was lovely and glossy (which, as a consumer, I genuinely do appreciate) that hadn’t helped either. I spent about an hour trying to get the seat on! Frustrated, I ended up going to bed. It niggled at me. And niggled. And niggled some more…

I got out of bed at 01:00 (you may notice the 'straight out of bed' look in the last frame of my video - that's what I call dedication to the cause!), determined not to let our little Zappy defeat me. Low and behold, I discover this missing part in the box. I realised where it was meant to go, but was disappointed that the instructions didn’t indicate where the detachable parts were. Once that infamous part was attached, getting the seat on was easy. If it hadn’t been for that, I’m convinced that it would’ve been amazingly quick to assemble. I assume that this part is usually preassembled though.

So here’s my first QuinnyCasters assignment for your delectation: the unpacking of our Zapp Xtra. I had nothing short of a nightmare trying to get this uploaded, as Windows didn’t like how much was going on in our story when it was trying to save it – at one point, I thought my first assignment wasn’t going to see the light of day! I persevered, cut lots out, reduced the resolution, and finally got this end result...

Now that Zappy’s up and raring to go, I’m in love with it already! It looks divine (high on my list of pushchair priorities I’m afraid) and the reclining and rear facing features are what the youngsters would call ‘peng’! I'm really glad I went for Rebel Red too – looks hot, and I can’t wait to test drive!

Laila versus the bottle!

I've always worked better under pressure so, in theory, preparing everyone for my forthcoming time apart from Laila should be a doddle... until we discover that my girl has no interest in bottles whatsoever! Uh-oh, we may have a problem... and what's Laila's response? Take a look:

So Laila has taken a liking to Ella's Kitchen, so solids are sorted. However, when it comes to milk, breast is most definitely best in her eyes! Aside from my own enjoyment, it appears that Laila also prefers nursing rather than all the faffing, sterilising and warming/cooling malarkey involved when it comes to combination feeding. After trying all manner of bottles, beakers, sippy cups etc etc, she sees all artificial feeding methods as toys - having either a good old chew, rattle or general thrashing around in the air - all resulting in a milk shower for anyone within close proximity. Whilst funny to watch, this isn't boding well for my time away... although I accidentally discovered one means to an end; Laila seems to enjoy having milk sprayed from the bottle into her mouth, haha, but that's far from a long-term solution! I therefore began this week giving a few ounce of milk via a bottle before Laila's been allowed the real deal with a view to making her realise that bottles are here to stay... However, after consulting with our Health Visitor, it transpires that Laila may be one of those babies who decides to just skip bottles and go straight to drinking from a cup! I've given that a try and, hey presto, she seemed much more interested, so watch this space...

Look who can stand up!
I may be 7 months old,
but I think I'm a grown up!

I had to go to see the Dentist this week and, up until I got into the car, hadn't thought about what I do with Laila during my check-up. I now found myself just dealing with anything that comes along without the stressing which may have occurred pre-baby, so she accompanied me in and lay on my tummy throughout, watching intensely, much to the Dentist's amusement. Her hunger for knowledge is insatiable! Straight after, we went for a 'quick coffee' with Tina and Mickey which, of course, rapidly became a day of shopping with Tina and Mickey. We took a break from shopping for lunch and the babies had a little play together - adorable! Since Laila's been able to sit up, she's become even more adventurous and eager to explore the world i.e. grab hold of everything that falls within reach or manouvre herself towards anything that's not within reach. Needless to say, whatever ends up in her hands goes straight into her mouth. Over the past couple of weeks, as sitting has becoming boring, Laila's figured out how to crawl in her own fashion too; even sitting on my lap while I'm eating is becoming more difficult - she's eager to toddle I'm sure. We managed lunch on the basis that other diners around us were taken in by her cheeky smile so she had a few 'conversations' with them whilst I got on with eating! I love how she makes friends everywhere I take her - I can see the tables turning very soon - Mummy won't be able to get a word in edgeways!

Cheers Ella!

Can't believe this was FIVE months ago!

Laila is rapidly transforming from my Baby Doll to a proper little girl. Whilst amazing, I've been unexpectedly feeling a strange sadness at my baby growing up. Before having Laila, I'd always loved babies and could barely contain the excitement at the prospect of having my own. When she arrived, my feelings surpassed even that excitement - I didn't realise it was possible to feel such an overwhelmingly immense love for one person. Whilst I write this, I'm thinking it must sound so sickeningly corny that the whiff of cheese must be unbearable, but I can honestly say that even these words don't remotely do justice to how I feel about my little girl; she is my everything.

Laila's nursery furniture was finally due to be delivered from Mamas and Papas this week but, after a number of incidents (including encountering the rudest member of staff at their Bristol branch on multiple occasions), I wasn't happy with placing such a large order with them. If you've ever tried to call their "customer care" (the irony!) phone number, you'll know that you'll be placed on hold for at least half an hour, only to be offered a call back over the next couple of days. If a call back is necessary due to "busy lines", why not avoid placing the customer in an extensive queue before receiving this message? When I was eventually able to speak to a manager, I was assured that the area manager would address this employee's attitude and was given compensation, but we decided to vote with our feet and ended up cancelling the order in it's entirety out of principle. Although this puts us back to square one with Laila's nursery, I'll feel much happier getting something from somewhere like John Lewis or Mothercare where the staff can't do enough for you. I have to admit that I did momentarily cease my boycott when I spotted a perfect nursery interior for Laila, but we'll have to overlook that!

Laila's goodies! Ssssshhhh!

I'm beginning to think about next month's Champagne Cruise to Amsterdam - a luxurious 5* boat party, a chocolate therapy shopping session in Brussels, and fun and frolics with the girls! Whilst pre-Laila I would have relished the build up for the entire month running up to the holiday, I'm anxious about leaving her. How will she sleep without Mummy's goodnight cuddles? How will she feed on anything other than Mummy's milk? How will she have her daily dancing sessions while Mummy sings silly songs to her? How will I cope waking up in the morning without seeing her beaming smile? And, I may sound like a control freak but, what is everyone going to try and feed her in my absence?! Who'd have thought I'd ever be preoccupied with all these things over and above party time!

  

In preparation, with a sense of urgency since I realised we set sail in about 3 weeks, I've invested in a plethora of nutritional delights, ranging from 'combination feed' formula milk to Ella's Kitchen organic purée pouches. I couldn't believe how many varieties of milk there were - after standing there confused for half an hour, I ended up going home and asking my mummy friends on facebook for their recommendations! Aptamil it was, as the consensus was that this brand is the closest to breast milk... I'm still reluctant to use any formula milk at all but, while I'm away, I don't want to leave Laila short as she's a hungry little thing!

She's a determined girl!

I took Laila into Cabot Circus in town to open her first account yesterday. Despite recent announcements that the government is scrapping child benefit, and the nice little £250 bonus for a child trust fund, Laila still has generous relatives so we wanted to get her saving as young as possible! We went for lunch while we were out and I had my first sip of wine in about a year and a half... as you can see, Laila wanted to join in this indulgence! I can see it now - this little girl is going to grow up fast! 

'Xtra' special celebrations come in threes...

Up until now, my birthdays have been all about me, myself and I. I'd never have imagined that sharing the focus of my big day with anyone else could make it even more special... until Laila arrived. I spent the weekend at my parents' place in Bath and all my family came over to celebrate my birthday (today), Laila's 6 month birthday (Sunday) and Dad's 60th (last month) - a triple celebration! Dad even cracked open the bottle of Johnnie Walker's finest 'blue label' whiskey we gave him for for his 60th; it must have been a special occasion since each shot of that stuff alone is worth about £20!



Laila was, of course, the centre of attention - and she loved it! She may look like Daddy, but we can certainly see Mummy traits emerging! I think we also discovered a performer in her; we were all sat in the lounge and I laid her down on the rug to show everyone her trademark caterpillar move as her current preferred mode of mobility is on her back. Whilst in the spotlight, Laila decided to roll over for extra brownie points instead, which was met with a rapturous round of applause from everyone - she took great delight in lapping up the praise and rewarded her audience with a ginormous smile that could light up a city!



Laila on the snooker table with her Johnnie Walker

Last week I also found out that I'd been selected out of 3,000 to be one of 25 Quinny Casters in the UK! This means that I'll be testing out new Quinny products before they're introduced to the market, and share my experiences with other mums and dads. You can see updates on what I'm up to all over the wonderful world of the inter-web:

* My QuinnyCaster profile page

* My twitter page

* My facebook profile
* The QuinnyCaster facebook group
* My YouTube videos (via QuinnyCaster)

The first product which Quinny will be introducing in this way is the Quinny Zapp Xtra (made MFM's hottest buggies of 2011 list!), which is especially perfect for Laila and I since our current pushchair is the Mamas & Papas sport 3-wheeler which has been amazing so far, except for the fact that I struggle with it when I'm on my own (it's like the Range Rover of pushchairs). The Zapp Xtra was designed after Quinny had feedback about the regular Quinny Zapp which didn't have a recline feature, the ability to be forward and rear facing, or suitable to use from birth. The Xtra has all 3... happy days!

As a loyal Mamas & Papas fan, I had recently ordered their Nuna buggy, as it's marketed as 'fits in the boot of a MINI', so I thought that had to be more lightweight when I'm popping out to the mall for a quick shop. However, when I found out I'd be getting the Quinny Zapp Xtra, the Nuna was sent right back girlfriend! It's ironic that the first pushchair I was planning to buy was the limited edition Quinny Buzz 3 in black, as it looked super stylish but it wasn't yet on sale in England and, as Laila arrived much earlier than her due date, her Daddy ended up rushing out to get an emergency pushchair the day before she was born! Our Quinny Zapp Xtra was due last week so, after waiting (im)patiently all week, it finally arrived TODAY - on my birthday!

Open me! Open me!

Thus far, it has remained in the box, as I'll be putting some time aside to complete my first assignment as a Quinny Caster: MISSION QUINNPOSSIBLE - documenting the unpacking of our Zapp Xtra. This is will be particularly interesting since it'll be the first buggy I've ever put together; yes, I am indeed a buggy unpacker virgin. I can't wait to get started but am refraining whilst my creative juices flow and come into fruition before I get stuck in (and until the rain stops as I don't want my beautiful, shiny new Quinny getting dirty quite yet!), so watch this space to see how many girls it takes to put a buggy together!

Oh, and one last thing... I couldn't finish my birthday blog without mentioning my sexy new GHDs from my baby sis - check them out!!!

My bed is calling me after an exciting few days - I'd better get some beauty sleep so I've got enough energy for the rest of my birthday week!

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...