Why My Child Is Awesome

My boy - I am not going to lie to you people, he is actually awesome.

Why?

Well, first of all, look at this photo of him in his new PJ's...

He is delicious!

Second of all, on many occasions he actually makes my life easier. Today is an example.

As a teacher, you get paid pretty poorly, especially if you only work three days a week like myself. Money is definitely not flowing, and every day I kick myself for not saving while I was on a full time wage. That is why it is really awesome when I get asked to relieve. The money is good, the planning is done for you and, best of all, I can bring my little man along with me.

So today we trotted up to work, and from the beginning I knew it was going to be a good day. He smiled, cooed, giggled, drank his milk, ate his food, took two spectacular naps in his pushchair, and managed to impress every single staff member and child we came across.

And, because of that, we are allowed to come back.

Child of mine, you are awesome!

Can you think of a time your little one has really impressed you in front of other people? Feel free to comment away!

Water Baby!

Swimming lessons for babies - wow, what a fad right?! Squeezing your postpartum body into a pair of togs and singing songs with a bunch of other crazy mums. Sounds ridiculous!

Well, actually, it really isn't. In fact, I think it is one of the most sensible decisions I have made as a mother. There is nothing more amazing than seeing my little man kicking his feet, paddling with his hands, and smiling after diving under the water.

Over summer, you are constantly reading about children falling into the pool or getting caught in a rip and not making it out. I am not taking that risk with little guy!

Finn started swimming lessons at five months. Hilton Brown do free lessons for babies 3 - 6 months old, but there is a bit of a waiting list, hence the five month old start. The awesome thing is they actually go until they turn seven months old, so we have been at it for nearly two months!

It is amazing how far my man has gone in these two months. He reaches out for the side of the pool or out to a board, he closes his eyes and holds his breath when you, "Finn, ready, go!" and he is super chilled out after a submersion. These lessons are teaching him to not be afraid of the water, and know what to do when he falls in.

We often underestimate what our little babe's can do, but here is a video of my wee man with his daddy.

Yep, that is my little man kicking his legs on a board! At only six months old!

So, my advice to all of you is get your  babies enrolled in lessons as young as possible. Let them have a life long love of the water, without the worry of lack of confidence!

Baby Daddy!

Ever since having Finn, I have a whole new level of respect for single mothers. Raising a baby is such hard work, but having somebody there most of the time definitely takes the edge off.

I am really lucky in the fact that my other half is an amazing, hands on father. Little bug is his second son, and Dom is nearly nine. We work really hard to ensure that we have a close relationship with his mama, and I am lucky in the fact that her and I get on really well. It makes life easier for everybody.

So, how does a relationship change once you've had a baby?

Well, this is Alex and I when we first started dating, nearly four years ago...

We used to do really cute things like this...

And then we had a baby! And at first we put our relationship on the back burner to make time for bubs. But it became really clear really quickly that we needed to keep working on our relationship at the same time as caring for a newborn.

I can definitely understand why a lot of couples find it hard to survive when having a baby. Once the initial euphoria has died down, and the visitors halt, you find the time to be exhausted, to notice the washing hasn't been done for three weeks, and that all you have eaten for the past month has been takeaways. And this adds serious strain. Because I was breastfeeding and therefore the sole person feeding our baby, I resented it when Alex was sleeping at 3am. On the flip side, I was at home every day and Alex was at work, and he resented this.

It is all about compromise. And understanding that sometimes you will be tired and cranky and the idea of being nice to your man makes you spew. But be nice. Appreciate your partner in crime. Most of all, take lots of cute photos!

Cabin Fever

So five days straight of being at home with a sick baby is not great for me. I have been reluctant to take him out anywhere because he has been so unwell, and it has definitely started cooling down. Today, though, I had had enough. We were up nice and early walking the dog, and then I decided we needed to go and have a "mum and bub date".

Back in the day, the thought of going out and eating lunch by myself was rather daunting. I get pretty bored with my own company after awhile, and would normally scoff it all up and leave. However, now that I have my mini me, I am more than happy to sit down at a cafe for an hour or so and lap it up!

Unfortunately, I stumbled upon something that I have done my best to avoid.

Coffee groups.

Now, I know many of you disagree with my view on these, and make life long friends. However, I am a bit of a grumpy old bitch at the best of times, and have made no attempt to start one of these up, or join in with one.

Why? Because I really can't stand listening to other people go on about their babies. I do my best to not go on about Finn too much with my friends because I understand the absolute utter boredom it brings upon them. I save these tales for my other half, and the internet!

I ordered my lunch and coffee, and found a warm outside seat. From here, I was forced to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"My baby..."
"George can..."
"I would never...with my boy..."

Oh my goodness people! You are out talking to human beings that aren't under the age of one and all you can talk about are BABIES?! Why not discuss interesting things like politics, exercise and THINGS THAT DON'T RELATE TO YOUR CHILDREN?!

As you can imagine, I swiftly moved and played with Finn in the grassy area out the front. Yes, I prefer the company of snotty, coughing six month old over women that want to make a competition of baby rearing.

And this is why I don't do coffee groups. Ever.

As a side note, don't ever feed your kids shepherd pie. All they do is spit it out every where and end up smelling like mince. Gross.

That "Mum" Look

I have been off work for the past couple of days with little man due to the croup incident, and I have seen something happen to me that I am not proud of.

Because I knew nobody was coming over today, I chucked on my track pants and an old top, and tossed my hair up in a messy bun. I hadn't even given it two thoughts before I looked in a mirror and thought, "Oh my god".Yes, today I have been rocking your stereotypical, advert loving, self loathing "Mum" look. And oh my word, it is scary.

This is me today. But she is wearing nicer clothes.

I always wondered how mums could be this way - lose all pride in themselves, stop caring about how they look, decide that no matter what you wear your husband will never leave you - and, I am not going to lie, it disgusted me. Even in the early days of Finn, I would get up, do my face, brush my hair, and get on with the day. I take a lot of pride in the fact that I left the hospital wearing nice clothes and with make up on.

However, today I get the women who look like I do every day. The mum's who have babies that won't sleep, the mum's who have to do the school run with a toddler in tow, the mum's who are so exhausted that they are surviving on caffeine alone.

And I apologise. I am sorry for being a judgmental bitch. Rock your top buns with all the energy you can muster. Even if it isn't a lot.

Croup = Creepy Baby

So one of my earlier posts was about how awful croup is.
My sister gave me a hand today and managed to capture this amazing video!

NB He normally sounds like your typical baby!!!