WORDS OF WISDOM

Savour the good bits of now and remember the bad bits won't last - this is just a snapshot that won't last forever. That's my latest mantra to help me through when Charlotte's being a total munchkin with her food/sleeping etc.

It feels a bit odd for me at the moment because quite a few people who had babies around the same time or after me are now going back to work - and I'm not. If we hadn't re-located, meaning I left my job, I would definitely be going back now too. But it's a different situation when you have to look for new work - plus we've just bought a new house so trying to sort all that out while also looking after a 10 month old is stressful enough.

I have also learnt a very valuable lesson today. It's not much fun at all trying to look after a baby with a monster hangover. It's the first one I've had in probably two years, and I definitely won't be making a habit of it!

BUBBLES, BALLS AND BUMBLE BEES

Sat having dinner the other evening, myself and my OH worked out that Charlotte now recognises and responds to about FIFTY words! How the hell did that happen? Is that normal for 10 months?

She can point out the animals - from Bumble Bee to Octopus in her books, she knows what 'more', 'up' and 'high' mean among many others, and she does hand actions for things like 'star' and 'spider'. She's been saying Daddy (to most people), bubbles and ball for quite a while now, but it's the responding with actions or pointing to items that seems to be advancing at quite a pace. And she can do a rough attempt at about half a dozen animal noises. Brilliant!

Walking with support is also improving every day - and she's usually much happier up on two feet these days than sat down. Crawling still looks like it's going to pass her by. Interestingly - she'll happily sit for ages if she's got a few books to occupy her - in particular the That's Not My... series which are excellent.

FOOTBALL CRAZY

I had my first full baby-free day a couple of weekends ago, so it was Daddy Day Care. So he took her to the football!

We're a bit of a football mad family so it was only a matter of time. They lasted until half-time when it got a bit chilly, but she really seemed to enjoy it.

So this Sunday we took hner to see her Dad's cousin playing in a school's football match. Once again she looked like she was having the time of her life for a good half an hour. It helps that she's learnt the word 'ball' so was pointing at the numerous balls around, and delighted on being on Daddy's shoulders to see everything that was going on:

EASTER WITH THE GRANDPARENTS

It was my birthday last weekend, and the long Easter weekend, so we went to my parent's who live more than 250 miles away from us, and haven't seen Charlotte for a good five weeks.

She was an angel - slept well, played well, tried out a few steps while being supported (she wants to be stood up all the time now)...

... and delighted in her new words (bubble, balloon, ball). And despite being my birthday, she got nearly as many presents as I did, because people wanted to buy her something for Easter but realise she's too young for chocolate! So she got a load more toys instead.

Obviously her grandparents dote on her massively, and their enthusiasm and positivity towards absolutely everything Charlotte does is unending. By the end of four days, though, it made me feel a bit like we don't show our delight and enthusiasm enough - but it's impossible to be like that if you're with her 100% of the time, every single day - there are more practical and stressful things to occupy your mind, like getting her to take a daytime nap, or making sure you're feeding her enough of the right stuff - and things like taking her for a walk lose their novelty after doing it every day, twice a day, in the early months.

So what started off as "you're doing such a great job with her" - by the end of the week there were more 'digs' and suggestions as to what we maybe 'should' be doing. Grandparents are great - don't get me wrong - but four days at a time is about the limit I think!

NOISY MONKEY

It's felt like quite a tough week.

Charlotte has been very 'shouty' and extra noisy, and not always in a nice, happy way - but yet not quite screaming and crying. To be honest it's been quite waring, and it's been an effort to keep her happy and content most days.

I've felt bad about how difficult I've found it this week - with continued frustrations over feeding too. It's exactly two years since we lost the first of our 'little Prawns' and I still have our friends' terrible news at the front of my mind, so I should be so so grateful for our little girl because I do appreciate how lucky we are to have her, but it's impossible to enjoy and savour every moment of every day.

My OH thinks I'm putting too much pressure on myself to be the best Mum ever - but I just get angry with myself when I feel I'm not being the best Mum I can be. Because of how brilliant Charlotte is most of the time, it's often hard to remember she's still just a 9-month old baby, and not a 3-year old toddler, and I need to cut her (and me!) some slack.

NINE MONTHS OLD

Bleeuurrrghh - her mornings are getting earlier and earlier. 0530 this morning. No longer the more bearable 0710 that she was doing for so long. Over the past couple of weeks Charlotte's literally been up with the birds - no matter how dark her room is. Really hoping it's just a phase. Although I am very lucky that my OH works from home and most days is very happy to get up with Charlotte at first light and give me an extra hour or two in bed, so I really can't complain.

While some days and weeks can still drag, if I'm honest, I can't believe we've made it to nine months already. Over the past month or so, I can really see the little girl Charlotte is turning into - and she's definitely edging more towards toddler and much less of a baby.

We had a visit from a Health Visitor this week as we've only recently moved to the area, and while she was here she did Charlotte's 8-12 month development check. No concerns whatsoever - Charlotte 'performed' brilliantly with plenty of babbling (which at times can sound like full on conversations!), following some of our commands (clap, clap; kiss dog) and playing with her musical toys. She's getting so good at imitating some of our sounds - to the point where she's almost getting there with actual words (balloon, and definitely Daddy).

Not really any nearer crawling, but she's stretching further and further forward with her bum off the ground, and always gets to what she wants by rolling. She's also started pointing at things quite a lot. To be honest, I'm relishing being able to put her down in one place for a while and know she'll pretty much still be in the same place, and not yet needing the eyes in the back of my head!

Her eating's a bit more back on track after her illness. Still favouring the easier jars of food to my home-cooked, slightly lumpier stuff. And as she's still a small baby her portions are still pretty small. She's slowly getting a little better with finger food - no problem at all with her favourites: bread, cheese and some fruits - strawberries and melon particularly), but we're persevering with others like broccoli and carrot that mostly just end up on the floor.

Bizarre one today when we took her to the pub - she happily munched away on a pickled onion for ages. 

Perhaps some of my food is just too bland!

BRONCHIOLITIS

Not how we'd planned to celebrate my first Mother's Day. Charlotte's had yet another nasty cough and cold for the past couple of days, but Saturday night and Sunday morning were pretty horrendous with her really not being herself at all, and her chest was getting more and more rattly and wheezy.

So we took her to the out-of-hours doctor who told us she has Bronchiolitis and that he wanted her to go to hospital for observation. But when he rang them - based on the fact she was still eating just over half of what she'd usually eat -  they didn't want her admitted until she got worse.

Part of me was relieved not to have to see my little girl in hospital, but part of me thought that if the GP thought it was serious enough for her to be checked out there then maybe it was the best place for her. However, after a nice sleep in the car, she perked up enough in the afternoon for me to have a long relaxing bath while her Dad looked after her AND cooked us dinner, so I got my Mother's Day treats in the end :)

with her newly trimmed fringe which makes her look a bit like a boy!

Charlotte slept much better last night, thanks in part to a humidifier, and there doesn't seem much wrong with her appetite either. So she certainly looks to be on the mend, and is in very happy spirits today - albeit still with a rattly chest and cough, but hopefully that will clear soon enough.