Month: February 2006

Day 2 of Eddie’s expedition across the World and we have survived our first night alone with William waking up just once at 3.00am! Mol kept watch all night in the corridor and I woke up every couple of hours paranoid about either the baby or potential intruders. East End is so quiet that I panic if I hear a car go past after 10.00pm….

NCT Sam came to see us with Jude today and we had a natter and then hit the hills with our babies strapped to us in their little papooses. It was arctic, but great to get out and breathe in the fresh air. As per usual Will fell asleep in his sleeping bag-esque blue pram suit which is still so huge his hands and feet are half way down the legs/sleeves. Still, at least it keeps him warm which is the main thing.

Otherwise he was, as ever, pretty grouchy (in other words, loud) and is feeding like a ravening beast. Maybe he’s going through another growth spurt?

Today I have taken the draconian measure of putting the moses basket stand away – scary, because sitting on the nursery floor and rocking him has been a sure(ish)fire method of getting him to go to sleep for us. Alas, there are now mere inches between the top of his head and the back of the basket, so the day is not far off before he has to be a big boy and sleep in his cot. From tonight, his basket is in the cot, to get him used to the view and to settling without an invisible hand rocking him to sleep.

Next stop – baby gro-bags! It’s non-stop excitement chez Houghton.

I was so worried that William was going to scream the place down again that I nearly didn’t go, but with Eddie away in Madrid and Joburg all week I decided festering at home was an even less appealing option.

My fears were completely ungrounded as it turned out and William behaved impeccably throughout! We even made it through Waitrose without so much as a whimper and he has subsequently sent himself off to sleep this evening like the little angel baby that he is. Soon he’s going to be too big for his moses basket can you believe it? We’re going to have to start aclimatising him to sleeping in the cot soon.

On the one hand it’s wonderful to see him growing, he talks to us now, cooing and ahhing with the most amazing smiles that melt your heart. He is so alert and has started reaching out for things now. He’s also much more settled – partly because of his age, but also I’m sure that the osteopath has made a difference. He loves to snuggle into my shoulder and even went to sleep there this afternoon – unheard of before.

William is developing his own, special personality, it’s wonderful to watch, but at the same time I miss my newborn Will sometimes. This year is absolutely flying by.

It only works if you keep walking… 🙂

Today I took Will to see a lady recommended to me by Anne, just because I’d like to know whether the trauma of his birth has any bearing on his behaviour. The osteopath was ever so nice and as she looked at William’s head, immediately said that she thought the back of his head felt very tight and could have been giving him a very mild headache all this time. He wouldn’t notice that it was there, but he would notice once it was gone. She also said that there is a slight misalignment in his jaw which could also be causing him discomfort. So she moved whatever she needed to move to eleviate the pressure, and we’re going to go back next week to see if things have improved.

I don’t know how much effect any of this might have on William, but he’s a bit ‘all or nothing’ and I’d like to see if it helps him settle for longer periods. Apparantly cranial osteopathy can either cause babies to be very grumpy or sleep brilliantly. I clearly got the latter, because William’s been shrieking since we got home and has only quietened down when fed….I’ve just fed him again, and he was fast asleep, but as soon as I pick him up to put him in his crib, he wakes up and starts crying. It’s a vicious circle.

William’s started to smile! This is him at playtime today, listening to Mozart and watching Mummy pull daft faces 🙂

Had an excellent morning, running around Cannons car park with the girls in the driving rain, pushing our plastic-encarcerated babies around. We must have looked absolutely deranged.

William’s been so well behaved today, it only took me half an hour to get him to sleep at nap time this morning and then he was an angel the entire time we were at Cannons. We played this afternoon and he’s so alert now that he keeps me on my toes – God forbid he should get bored with twirly things! I’m learning to speak ‘Will’ much better now, so when I spot a yawn it’s time for a cuddle followed by bed and some wildly flat singing by Yours Truly and he’s away in baby dreamland.

We had a less than successful attempt at this yesterday afternoon as William decided to scream as soon as we arrived and only early tea could persuade him to shut up. Of course as soon as all the other angels had been massaged, cooed and sung to, he decided to chill out and turn back into the angel I know him to be. Never mind. We had a crack at it quietly this morning and he loved it, so I’ll keep doing it every day while it’s quiet at home and maybe next week we’ll be able to join in.

We also had a good visit from the Hy, the Health Visitor, Will is now 10lbs!! So I’m really happy with his weight gain. We put him in his room for the night yesterday and he slept from 7.30pm (after some protest) to 12.00 and then through to 7am. Amazing. He is a fantastic little boy. I must remember that and learn to relax when things don’t go perfectly – which let’s face it, is pretty rare really.

Had a much better day today (well, it couldn’t really have got any worse), and despite having to take Will out in the Baby Bjorn first thing to get him to sleep, he was very well behaved. Eddie cooked the most incredible fry-up for brunch which helped enormously too.

In the afternoon Lisa and Rob came over to meet William and it was lovely to see them. While Eddie and Rob went off on another, obligatory cricket-bonding session, Lisa and I set off in the driving rain with William to make sure he got fresh air and a nap before tea and bedtime. Two anorak-clad BEAUTIES.

Today I finally cracked. We tried and tried to settle William for his nap this morning, but everytime his head hit the mattress, he woke up and screamed blue murder. Eventually, after 4 goes (2 each) Eddie swooped down on the baby and whisked him off to Tescos in the car – it took all of 10 seconds for him to pass out…

All the tiredness, trauma, anxiety and newness of the past 6 weeks suddenly washed over me in a huge flood. I burst into tears which wouldn’t stop. I cried and cried. Eventually Eddie persuaded me to go and have a lie down, and I did finally manage to sleep for about an hour. Now I know how William feels when he’s overtired and upset.

The rest of the day went relatively peacefully, until the evening, when I couldn’t get William to feed on the right hand side for some reason. He just cried and got into a state. Eventually I tried a new position, tucking him under my arm like a rugby ball so that he didn’t have to lie on the left side of his head. It worked like a charm. I’m not sure what to do now, I’m worried sick now (neurotic mother). Is it time for cranial osteopathy? Has he got a headache or something? He fed on that side earlier, so why this evening has he suddenly decided he doesn’t like lying like that? The health visitor’s coming on Monday so I’ll see what she thinks.

Will now attempt to calm down and enjoy the evening with Eddie and Dave, but it’s hard – I’m completely overwrought and there’s only Curling left to watch on TV, boring as all hell.

One, two three…..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

He’s gorgeous 🙂

Poor little Will, he spends 3 days coming into this world and is suddenly in a very strange place with weird people making funny noises and faces at him all the time. It can’t be easy.