Don't take a buggy to Hamley's

Another busy week for me.

Monday: Mental note to all Mums out there: don't go to Hamleys (big toy store on Regents Street) with a buggy on the first day of the Summer holidays when it's 26 degrees - no airconditioning, tiny gaps between shelves, hundreds of people, staff playing with toys looking like their jobs depend on it. We ran away toyless. And whilst I'm on shops: why are the lifts hidden away in the back of the shop and why are they so small?!
I had my first yoghurt today - strawberry.  Yummy!

Tuesday: Mum and I went to Gymboree: we sang songs, I had tummy time - I wasn't absolutely sure this was for me so I fell asleep! I seem to do this in public places - see swimming last week.

Do not disturb

Wednesday: 3 months old corrected - time flies.  Mum will probably be heading back to work in 3 months.  Eeek.  Tried to get to a meeting at Mum's work to sort out Mummy still having 2 days a week at home for me. We got into the car and then got stuck in traffic so had to turn back.  Quite annoying given the fuss surrounding getting me into a car with my kit.

Mum is feeling a bit low at the moment and is finding it difficult to stay motivated with her training.  I think she's feeling a little bit trapped. Getting out of the house if I've had a bad night is very hard and she can't go running with me as the buggy doesn't have the right suspension apparently.  Hmmm. I suspect all Mummys go through this phase, but I'm trying to do my bit by being extra cute and smiley. I hope it helps.

Dinner with P&L - yummy as always to see our dear friends who, along with so many others, have helped M+D through such a difficult start to the year.

Thursday: Went swimming. Didn't fall asleep!  Did my first underwater swim and didn't cry, so well done me.  Mum and I then went for lunch with some of the other swimming Mums.  Their babies were born in April so they are the same age as me, corrected.  And we all look roughly the same size and shape. Of course I am unique and utterly special in every way but I'm also glad I blend into the crowd quite well. 

Friday: Went shopping with Mum and may have looked so super-cute that she bought me some more clothes.  Mum pureed more food for me - yummy sweet potato and roasted red peppers. I'm a Waitrose child(!)
Mum went out for the evening leaving me under the watchful eye of Dad.  The house was still standing on her return - Dad looked a little frazzled. Frankly I think it's up to me when I choose to have a tantrum, and if it lasts all evening, humour me.

A brief moment of calm whilst I help Dad get the bottle in the right place

Saturday: Something seemed to be wrong with Mummy. She stayed in bed and blamed the "Cosmopolitans". I don't know who they are but I don't think it was nice of them to make my Mummy sick. Dad fed me breakfast of mango yoghurt. You can judge the success of this for yourselves:

More yoghurt made it into my tummy.  Honest!

Then we all went out to see Jill the owner of the Curwen and New Academy gallery in Bloomsbury. The gallery is Dad's favourite and Jill has given me very beautiful picture as a "hello" pressie. It was lovely to meet her and say thank you in person.

Sunday: Happy third birthday to my cousin Lydia! And a message to Katie, who was such a fabulous babysitter - well done on your new baby boy but, speaking as a fellow baby, ten days is long enough: he deserves a name now!

Dad read me "the Hungry Caterpillar" - the originally one with the holes (thank you to Dad's godmother Pippa). I like the hungry caterpillar, he's funny.

Apparently you want to read my little updates during Sunday - so I'll post this now but I'll have to tell you about this afternoon's party next week - remind me.

Love to all,
Arthur xx

Happy birthday to me!

Good afternoon everyone.

I know I get a week older every week; which is not surprising, but this Friday I celebrated my 6 month birthday.  No presents (tisk) but my parents did get me my BCG vaccination against TB.  Not quite what I was hoping for!

It was a busy week for me.  
Monday - coffee with twins, Ethan and Caleb and their mum Heather.   

I should have had an ultrasound on Tuesday, but Mum forgot!  Naughty Mummy!  I do have quite a lot of appointments on lots of different days and Mum has received reminders for the other ones but not for this one so it's not all that surprising that it got away.  Oops.

Wednesday was a day of rest for me and Mum so we stayed at home. 

I had my first swimming lesson on Thursday.  I took it in my stride and was so comfortable, I fell asleep whilst in the pool!  Mum was a bit embarrassed but it was my nap time and the water was nice and warm.  We did try some swimming.  Mum held me in the water and kept saying 'kick, kick, kick' whilst pulling me through the water.  I will kick my legs when I choose to not when you want me to, thank you.  Mum had training with Cat.  I helped by providing 5.5kg of baby to lift.  Mum can now get into her PP(pre-pregnancy) jeans.  This is apparently a BIG deal!  Well done Mum and well done Cat.

Who's a happy boy then!

Friday was SUPER busy.  Mum went training in the morning, Dad went to work, Mum and I drove to Northwick Park to drop off books for another registrar, did shopping, packed for the weekend, had my vaccination and then drove to collect Dad from work.  We then headed off for the weekend in Norfolk.  Phew!  M+D were are little worried the traffic would be horrid but once we were out of London we made good time and got to Erika and Rupert's in plenty of time for dinner.

I met Erika, Rupert and their children - Sarah, Crawford, Martin, Ellie, Bethan and Angus.  We went for a walk to the Broads nearby and saw swans and the grown-ups drank coffee; brewed fresh in the back of a tiny smart car (really) as it wasn't very warm even though it's July.  On Saturday afternoon we went to look at paintings in Norwich Castle.  Dad tried me facing outwards in the Baby Bjorn so I could have a look too.  I coped really well and didn't fall forward once.  I also started playing with toys with more purpose this weekend.  I held onto my firefly toy in the car and Angus showed me another toy with wooden bars and string that I held onto and moved around by myself.  This seemed to please M+D no end.

Holding on!

Now we are back in London and I am having my evening sleep having stopped being a vegetarian by eating chicken and sweet potato for dinner.  I am doing really well with my weaning and Mum is getting more adventurous with my food.  Bring it on.

Next week I turn 3 months old corrected so another birthday!  I will try looking super cute and see if I can get cake.  I'll let you know how I get on.

love to all,

Arthur xxx

Great British Weather

Evening all!

Another fabulous week in the British Summer and it was wetter than Norway!

Forgot to put this in last week - Me on the plane!

Mum and I had a fairly stress free week.  Dad went to work - slightly more stressful apparently.

On Wednesday, we went for coffee with other mums and babies from the area.  More baby chat (poo, weaning, sleeping, going back to work etc). 

Thursday was appointment day.  We all went to see the Neonatal Consultant to assess my development.  I was a bit tired so didn't really feel like smiling but I had a go at rolling and would have almost managed it if there hadn't been sides on the changing mat!  I now weigh 5.46kg and am 58cm tall.  All good and showing that I'm eating enough and that the weaning is working.  I have to see him again in September but he is happy with my progress and cannot find anything wrong with me at the moment.  Good good.  M+D seemed very happy indeed!

I can smile when I want to!

Mum and I went shopping on Friday to buy Dad a present.  They have been married for 2 years this year and so they are getting presents for each other.  We got Dad the Savoy Hotel book of cocktail recipes, an original from 1930.  That's 81 years old! Dad said it was one of his best pressie's ever - clever Mummy!

Saturday was really rainy so we went for a picnic, naturally.  We went to Wendover Woods to meet up with the Classic Car Club guys for a barbeque/picnic.  The sun came out as we arrived and Dad played some cricket (he took his first ever wicket!) and Mum took me for a walk with Poppy and Lily.  They pushed me round and gave me hugs which were very snuggly.

Sheltering with my new friends!

In the evening we went to friends for a fun poker night.  Mum hasn't played poker before and lost all her money.  Fortunately, Dad is better and made a £5 win.  It was good to see their friends Pieter and Nell and their friends David and Catherine too.  I slept upstairs for most of it but not before I saw the view of Canary Wharf from the flat.  Very pretty.


Today was a day of rest.  I am now on 3 solid feeds a day so Mum pureed a lot of stuff for me.  I get to try swede, peas and broccoli next week.  Currently banana and mango are my favourite fruits and I now like carrot when it's mixed with other veg.  I also tried sitting in my Bumbo now my head control is good.  I like looking round from my new position.  It makes me feel very grown up.  Mum didn't leave me in there for too long as she was a bit worried so I had a lie down on my playmat too.  Dad helped tidy up so now the hall is clear and my buggy can get into the house more easily.  Mum did more washing too as I am growing so fast that lots of my clothes don't fit me so the bigger ones have been brought out and made clean for me. 

All grown up!

Next week has me going to clinics and for my first swimming lesson. I'll let you know how they go next weekend. We are also meeting lots of friends for dinners - support for M&D and more hugs and attention for me!

Love to all,

Arthur xxxx

Norwegian exploits!

A week of many firsts. Mum and Dad decided they needed a holiday as my early arrival meant that they hadn't had one for a while. My friends Simon and Cathrine live near Bergen, in Norway; so we went to see them.
This meant quite a lot of packing. Daddy joked that we had packed everything we owned - and lots of outfits for me. Then we drove to the airport and I got on my first aeroplane.

I've decided I quite like flying and so I was good as gold throughout the short flight. Then M&D and Cathrine had to study instructions in Norwegian to get the car seat to fit. Fortunately Cathrine is Norwegian, otherwise this might have been a bit tricky! After the car we then got in a boat. A boat! This meant I had to wear a lifejacket, made super small specially for me. And Mum and Dad and their friends and me and all our suitcases, and bags, and changing bag - took the boat across to Simon and Cathrine's house.

Holding on tight!!

Bergen is famous for its deep red coloured buildings, the fjords and the rain. Simon and Cathrine's house is red, we went in their boat to travel through the fjords and it rained a lot.  It didn't stop us having a barbeque outside and seeing porpoises in the rain.

Simon persuades me into my rain kit!

It may rain a lot on Norway's West coast but we we're lucky - we had some fabulous days. Oh, and I got through all 12 outfits so they had to be washed half way through - weaning is super-messy!

Stunning day - view from the terrace!

Our holiday was over too soon and we were back on the plane home.  More good behaviour from me which was rewarded by a wonderful descent into Heathrow over the centre of London.  We saw our house and everything!  London really is beautiful.

Back in Blighty and the weaning continues.  I'm trying lots of different flavours and Mum is learning which ones stain badly (CARROT!!!) and which ones don't (everything else).  I'm also learning how to hold my own dummy in my mouth and finding my thumbs when I don't want my dummy.

I have a new playmate as well. Congratulations to Lucy and Tim on the birth of their baby boy!

Bye for now and love to all,

Arthur xxxx

Eh up me duck!

Evening one and all! 

It's that time again. Another birthday has been and gone, I celebrated my 2 month (since due-date) birthday on Monday and celebrated by going to Kensington to meet one of Mum's friends and her new puppy.  We had a picnic in Hyde Park.  It was very sunny so Mum kept me sheltered in my carrycot.  She didn't follow her own advice and got pink shoulders! Winston, the puppy was very cute and even smaller than me!  He has more hair though.  I got a present too.  Emma's mum and members of the Danish Church have been busy sewing and have made me a beautiful quilt.  Thank you!


On Wednesday Mum and I went for coffee with some Mums and Dads from the area.  They talked about the really important stuff like poo, sleeping, weaning and growing out of clothes too quickly.  Mum and I then braved Ikea (again).  This time for a bookcase.  This only weighed 20kg in comparison with the chest of drawers we bought last time that weighed 35kg!  That's 7 times my weight!  Mum and I were successful in our trip and got it into the car again and into the house at the other end.  The A team strikes again!

More smiling going on!

Thursday was an exciting day.  Mum and I picked up her new car.  It's very shiny and much quicker than her old one. I'm clinging on for dear life as she gets used to its acceleration!  In the evening we all went for dinner at James and Cat's.  They have 2 kittens called Mops and Tom.  They are almost as cute as me but not quite!

Friday was also busy - the pace of modern life is sooo hectic.  Dad went to work and Mum ran up and down the stairs a lot putting things into bags.  She then put all of it into the car, squeezed me in, and off we went to collect Dad and we all sat in the car for four hours on a car park called the M1.  This was my first night away from home (or hospital).  We stayed with friends near Leicester on Friday and I was my usual super-cute, fairly angelic self.  Ben and Sam have 3 children of their own but they are bigger than me.  I'll keep growing as fast as I can to catch up with them and then I'll be able to play with them in their lovely garden.

A total of nine hours sat here this weekend!

Saturday was more travelling.  This time to Ashbourne, where Mum comes from.  People in Derbyshire say 'luv' and 'duck' a lot.  We came to see Granny W, Grandad P and Nana and we stayed in a hotel nearby.  M+D and Granny W had dinner and I joined them but I slept 'cos I don't like wine.  Sunday lunch with Grandad P and Nana was also lovely.  We ate in the garden and heard the local band playing to celebrate the Ashbourne Festival.  Grandad P said it was the first time it hadn't rained for it!  My Aunty Jayne had bought me a hat from Majorca. It has a happy monster on it.  Thank you!

Contemplative cuddles with Granny W

Proud Mummy

 Another update is that I have started solids!  Now, I now I may only be small and technically 2 months old but my gut is now 5 months old and has been having milk for quite a long time now and I'm beginning to get a bit bored of it.  Mum went to Tommies to have a lesson on when and how to do it and now I've tried sweet potato, pear, apple, banana, carrot and parsnip.  The last 2 I'm not so keen on but I've been polishing off whole portions of the rest.  Yummy!  Mum and Dad are getting better at getting more in my mouth the more they do it and the dirty bib and muslin quota has increased significantly.  I try to help but I seem to get puree on my hands and then up my nose.  I'll keep trying.

Not such a fan of carrot!

We were so busy, we missed the tennis.  Well done to Djokovic and Kvitova - very good Scrabble scores, both of them.

Love to all,

Arthur xxx