8 months old

N is 8 months old! She weighs 9.1kg (20lbs) and is 28 inches long. Each month gets faster and faster.... She is so much fun, recognising us and smiling all the time. She charms the pants off everyone. She seems to have really developed in her communication skills this month. She is starting to form words! She is saying mamamama and she has tried very convincingly to say cat a couple of times. She definitely recognises the sign for cat. She took her first train journey (to a local station) but didn't seem particularly impressed! She had been dancing on her bum to tunes that she likes and trying to sing. She LOVED watching Dolly Parton performing at Glastonbury in TV. She loves banana toast and satsumas. She is pushing up onto her knees, and is desperate to crawl. She is using her pincer grip! Even when her whole fist would work better :) She really loves a book that we borrowed from the library called "Peter rabbit I love you" from the library. She loves you peekaboo mirror in it. She loves mirrors in general at the moment! We had a bit of a scare this month. We noticed that N had starting twitching a few times a day so I called the health visitor expecting her to say that it's a normal thing as they develop control of their muscles but instead she told me to take her to the doctor. The doctor wasn't too concerned as N is otherwise thriving but told me to try and get some video footage of it. That evening we managed to get some footage and the twitches in the footage were particularly strong and scary. It was a Friday night and so we had to wait all weekend to see the doctor again and we were really scared and thinking the worst - that it might be epilepsy or a brain tumour or something awful. On Monday morning we saw a GP and she arranged for us to take N to the paediatric assessment unit at the hospital that morning. The GP wasn't overly concerned but she knew that we were due to go to Spain on the Wednesday so understood that we wanted some reassurance ASAP. We spent all day at the hospital. Lots of waiting and seeing various doctors who were all really helpful and informed. They said that N would need an EEG to help them work out what is going on. They managed to get us an EEG that afternoon, again to enable us to be reassured before going on holiday which was great. N had a little net put over her head and little sensors attached to it. She played, fed and slept quite happily as it was done. We got the EEG report the next day and as N actually twitched during the EEG they were able to confirm that the twitches aren't related to epilepsy and they diagnosed Benign Infantile Myocolonic Spasms which basically means that they aren't harmful, don't need treatment and will probably go away by themselves by the time N is 2 years old. This was such a huge relief and we were so grateful for the fast diagnosis. We're really learning more each week what it is to be a concerned parent! So we went on our first family holiday to Madrid. I was a bit nervous about travelling with a baby but it went pretty smoothly. The only difficulties were in travelling to and from the airport. We booked a private transfer car and asked for a car seat. They had one in the car, for a small child not a baby and it was broken! So in both directions N had to sit in my lap which was pretty scary. Also, N got conjunctivitis while we were away and so we had to call a doctor to the hospital. Other than that she was a great travel buddy and she completely soaked up the experience. She had lots of firsts on this trip: first flight (she was a dream passenger), first subway ride, first time she had mint choc ice cream (and loved it as much as mum and dad do!), first trip to the zoo (particularly loved the aquarium), first gay pride parade! D is now off work for the summer and so my daily routine has changed a little. It's great to have extra help with N and enjoy quality family time together. Over the last few days I've felt a change in my hormones. I've got spots around my chin and I've been feeling premenstrual so I've been expecting my period to start again, but nothing just yet...

6 months old

N is six months old. Half a year already! Although the time has gone by quickly, I also feel like she's been in our lives for so much longer. It's amazing to see how much she has developed in six months and how capable she is of so many things. We had our first trip away from home with N this month. We visited her Uncle and Aunt and it all went pretty smoothly. She travelled well in the car and coped well with the change of scene. N is very strong and she's standing and sitting when supported. She rolled from her back onto her front this month and a few days later she rolled from her front to her back. She doesn't always remember how she did it and gets REALLY frustrated when she is stuck on one side or the other. But she's making progress with moving around almost every day and often I'll turn my back for a few seconds and not know how she has come to be facing in a different direction! It's definitely time to start baby-proofing the house. She has tried to get into the fireplace a few times... She is responding to her name when we call her and she has smiles for everyone when we are out and about. People often comment on her lovely smile and how sweet she is. I've put together a sensory basket and a fabric sample basket for her and she loves delving through them and investigating all the items by shoving them in her mouth. She loves watching The Simpsons, I guess it must be the bright colours. You really knows what she wants and is very determined. She has learnt how to scream this month and she has had lots of fun playing screaming games with D! She definitely has a sense of humour. She's having some solid food every evening now. Her first meal was baby rice with my milk and puréed apples and bananas. I'm giving her a mixture of spoon fed purees (baby rice, baby porridge, mashed vegetables, pureed fruit) and also finger foods. I had intended on doing just baby-led weaning but gave her some rice and porridge intially and she loves it. Plus I can see how frustrating it is for her trying to handle food and so I want to be able to give her something that she can actually eat. I'll reduce the mash/puree as she becomes better able to feed herself. She's also gagging quite a bit with the finger foods so I'm not entirely sure how ready she is for them but don't want to wait on solids any more as she is definitely interested and I'm conscious that she needs to get going with it sooner rather than later. She has quite a selection of fruit and vegetables and the only things that she doesn't seem as keen on so far are blueberries. We'll try them again soon though. She weighs 18lb and 10z now and she's about 26 inches tall. She's heavy! I'm physically shattered! She has had three colds in the last couple of months and her sleeping has been eratic. I go to bed not really knowing what kind of night lies ahead. Sometimes she'll sleep from 10:30pm-6am and then go back to sleep after a feed and sometimes she might wake several times in the night including staying awake for quite a while and babbling away to herself! I'm feeling the effects of sleep deprivation and looking very tired! My 40th birthday is approaching and for the first time I'm really feeling my age! The back of her neck is ridiculously soft. Her hair is getting thicker, blonder and longer. We're using the big bath now as she has grown out of the baby bath. We keep the water low so she can lie right back and kick freely which she loves. We FaceTime and Oovoo with D and his family in America and N is starting to respond to the people on the other end :) I think that she is starting to experience separation anxiety already. She often cries the moment that I leave the room and immediately stops when I reappear. We started Sing and Sign classes last week. My sister in law said that signing really helped with her kids and it makes a lot of sense to me to give her the opportunity to be able to communicate with us more effectively before she starts to talk. We also tried a class called Creation Station where the babies can have messy play with paint, etc. She seemed to like it and we'll probably go back again when Sing and Sign has finished. At the moment I'm feeling like I need to stop trying to cram so much into each week. It's difficult as I like to have something on every day to get us out the house and I think Nia is happier for it and less fussy. But if we have a busy day it definitely takes its toll on both of us. I'm definitely feeling more worn out at this point than I have since she was born and the last few days she has been quite fussy and she generally seems irritable and frustrated so the smiles and giggles seem a bit few and far between at the moment. D insisted that we celebrate American Mother's Day as well as the British one and took me out for dinner while Granny babysat. It was weird and lovely to have some time together. Mostly we talked about how great N is and how wonderful our lives are with her in it :) Granny (my Mum) loves her visits to see N. So much that sometimes I don't feel like she would be bothered if I was around or not!! I try and shake this off but it's not always easy. Mum has started to take N out for a couple of hours a week which she loves and it gives me a little bit of time to get some things done at home (like writing this blog!). I put in my request with work to take the whole year of maternity leave and to take my accrued annual leave before returning to work. I've also asked to go back to work part time (3 days a week). So if this is approved, I'll be going back in early December. I've been given the impression informally that this will all be OK but my boss is being a bit vague about confirming it officially which is frustrating. Hopefully it will all work out.