Slowly but surely...

The passport is safely on it's way to me now, I've booked my onwards flight in Sweden and am pretty much packed. Panic makes you efficient it would seem. I hope everythig goes well tomorrow, I am a bit nervous about travelling on my own with Una. At least now that I am getting everything sorted I can finally start to feel excited! I have waited so long to go to Sweden, last time I was there was in October I think. Nearly a year ago. My brothers have never even met Una and she is already six months old. I have decided that going forward I must make more of an effort to travel to Sweden more often, so that Una can have regular contact with her Swedish family. It is a bit more challenging, logistically, going to Sweden in comparison to going to Ireland, but that's no excuse. If I plan ahead and book cheap flights it should be doable anyway.

Fingers crossed that everything goes well tomorrow, we have a long day ahead of us. We'll need to leave here around nine in the morning and will arrive at my friend's, where we are staying for the night, after ten in the evening. Over 12 hours of travel, including a four hour wait at Arlanda in Stockholm, is a lot for a little baby to handle. Then on Wednesday we will continue our journey to my mums house, another couple of hours travel with a few changes. Once we arrive there, though, we can relax and get settled in for a weeks stay.  Now I am going to chill and wait for James to get home before going to bed, hopefully my nerves won't hinder me from sleeping, I need a good nights sleep after Una wanted to get up at 5.30 this morning!

Stress!

Our flight to Sweden leaves Gatwick at 13.10 tomorrow. James is still in Ireland waiting for Una's passport, to then fly back tonight at 21.10 with it. I can't handle the pressure, what if something goes wrong? I also have yet to book my internal flights to Sweden and am totally confused about where I should go and when. I wish I had a personal assistant who would sort all this stuff out for me! I hate travelling! (Not really, mainly the logistics and the flying...)

Sushi with Sabina

This afternoon Una and I went over to Putney to meet up with Sabina. We went to the Hare and Tortoise for sushi. I ate about half of mine before I remembered to take a photo, but I am pretty sure you know what sushi looks like. Sabina got plenty of Una-cuddles before we go away for 3 weeks.

Hose me down please

31 degrees today, BBC weather tells me. I am sitting in my front room with my maxi dress hiked up, the windows and the backdoor open, listening to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack playing from a neighbour's open window. Last night it was still so hot in the evening I really needed something to cool me down, so I made some homemade "ice cream". You know the old trick - freeze a sliced banana, blend with frozen raspberries and some greek yoghurt. Delicious.

Una is really enjoying her food now. I have started mixing in a bit of baby rice with her vegetables and she seems to like it better, I think it makes the texture creamier. Yesterday I started giving her a bit of food in the evening as well, working towards three meals a day. This morning while I had my breakfast she chewed on a piece of toast and seemed to enjoy herself. I really need to get a high chair for her, at the moment she just sits in her bouncy chair. Our flat is so small and cramped I think I will need to go for a fold up version, so that we can put it away when we are not using it. Babies are so small, but they need so much stuff!

Did I hear you say 8 hours?

It's nearly 30 degrees outside and I am staying in, I just can't take the heat! I got a very nice suprise this morning when I woke up for the first time since going to bed at midnight, looked at my watch and saw that it was 8.20 in the morning! Una had slept through from her late feed, for the second time in a week or so. I'm not getting my hopes up that she will sleep through every night, but it was definitely a nice surprise! I felt so rested, ready to take on the world. After a good, long skype chat with my friend Maria I whizzed around the flat cleaning the bathroom, tidying up, changing sheets... It's amazing how much energy a full nights sleep can generate.

I've just had leftovers from last nights dinner for my lunch, quinoa and black eyed bean salad with pan fried halloumi. I then baked some chocolate and hazelnut balls for something sweet with my coffee. I'm going to head out to Westfield this afternoon to check out the Nike shop, I am still not entirely sure about the shoes I got yesterday. I do really like them, but there is another colourway which I would prefer.

Another job I got done today was applying for Eurpoean Health Insurance Cards for James, Una and I. These cards show that you are entitled to free or subsidised healthcare in the European Union and can save you A LOT of money on holiday. My sister wanted to see a GP in Sweden and they where going to charge her the equivalent of £150, even though she is a Swedish citizen! Click here to apply now, it takes two minutes. There are some websites that want to charge you to apply, so go straight to the source to do it for free!

Bad bus behaviour

Yesterday on the bus I saw something which really annoyed me. When on my way back from Oxford Street another family got on the bus, a dad and his two children. One child looked to be 2 years and the other maybe 6. The kids were so loud and rude, screaming at the top of their lungs, standing and jumping on the seats, the younger one spitting on his sister and the seats. I have been in public with very "difficult" children and appreciate that sometimes there is nothing you can do to get kids to behave and that it can be very stressful for the parent.

I have total sympathy for parents with crying, screaming babies and children where you can see that they have tried their best to calm them down, I have been there myself. In this case, however, the dad did nothing to even attempt to get the kids to calm down. He did not say anything, he stood away from the kids and let them run riot. The only thing he did was to walk over, at one point, and slap the girl on her arm, with a few mumbled words. Without warning, without as much as a polite ask to behave. This astonishes me. So you say nothing, you say nothing, you say nothing and then you hit? Even for people who believe in smacking children as a form of discipline (which I do not) surely this is leaving out a few steps, such as a warning? Of course I don't think those kids were bad kids (I don't really think there is such a thing) and I have no idea of the circumstances surrounding this family. I just felt like if there is such a thing as bad parenting, this was it. Rant over.

Shoe shopping and fika

Today Una and I have spent some quality time with my sister Sabina.We met up at Oxford street, I walked the 7 kilometres there in an hour. I needed to go to the big Nike store to pick out some trainers that James was getting me for my birthday. I spent so long changing my mind back and forth between two pairs that I feared Sabina might actually kill me. We also went to Scandinavian kitchen for some lunch and fika. Afterwards we headed back to mine to have some dinner and a glass of wine. It was so nice to spend time with my sister after having been away for a while.

6 months today!

Una at the hospital, only a day old

Today it is six months since my world changed forever. Six months since Una came in to my life and I became a mother. Six months that have flown by far, far too quickly. Sometimes I wish I could slow down the seconds, minutes, days that pass.

She already has two little teeth in her lower jaw and has started eating solids. So far she really only likes banana. She isn't a very big eater, but I am not worried. I have pretty much let go of all my pre-conceptions of what she is supposed to do and when. She still has a bottle at 11.30 and another around 4 in the morning, but I don't mind in the slightest. I am sure she will sleep through the night when she is ready, just as she will eat as much as she needs. She sleeps all night and all of her naps in her cot (except when she sleeps in the push chair when we are out and about). She is pretty good at sitting up, she just needs a little support so she doesn't topple over. She flips easily from her back to front and back again. She makes lots of noises and sometimes gets upset she when someone she doesn't know very well wants to hold her, she cries and wants to come to me or James. She adores her dad and her eyes follow him around the room. I think her favourite thing in the world is when he plays music and dances with her.

My little Una, she's growing up too fast.

Una six months old

Back on track

I don't know how everyone else does it, but I find it impossible to stick to any kind of healthy eating when I am on holiday. All my good intentions go out the window, and it's bread, ice cream and potatoes all the way. I just like my food far too much. First thing on my list when I got back was a trip to the supermarket to stock up on some good food for the next few days, before I head off to Sweden next week. A nice chickpea, tomato and mozzarella salad for my lunch yesterday felt like a nice start.

A trip to the seaside

Our holiday in Ireland was all together lovely, spending time with James' family and enjoying the (somewhat unexpected) glorious weather. One of the nicest days was when James, Una and I took a trip to Dalkey, a seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin. We got the train there and spent a few hours strolling around, stopping for coffee and cake of course. The town was so pretty, with lots of little shops, beautiful houses and the gorgeous sea in the background. I fell in love with the place and wouldn't mind living there myself, how fantastic it would be to live in a beautiful little town with the sea at your doorstep, yet you are a 40 minute train journey from the centre of Dublin with trains running every half hour! We picked up some raspberries from a little fruit and veg shop before we headed to James' uncles for dinner, where we had them for dessert with strawberries and ice cream, they were so sweet and delicious, good Irish produce.

Holiday mode

I have not vanished from the face of the earth, I have just gone on holiday! We decided,on very short notice, do go to Ireland for a week. We spent the first few days in the countryside in Waterford, the weather was glorious and we spent two days on the beach, sunbathing and swimming in the sea. We then drove back to Dublin where we stay until Wednesday when Una and I will fly back. Yesterday we had dinner at Una's auntie Sophie's house and today we are hoping to go to the seaside, hopefully we won't get rained on.

Show Station

I mentioned before that I took Una to a music class run by my friend Ema, we went back again this week as I felt Una really enjoyed herself last week. Ema has a background in musical theatre as well as childcare and has combined her talents to create Show Station, a performing arts school for kids aged 0-12 years. She only started this venture in February but has already got a following among North London yummy mummies and hipster parents, all raving about her amazing voice and well thought out classes.

The classes are divided in to age groups, we attended Baby Bureau, a sensory music and movement class for babies and toddlers 0-2 years. Every element of the class has a thought behind it, aimed at encouraging babies development. Ema is probably the most animated person I know, which means the kids all gaze at her with adoring faces as she takes them through well known nursery rhymes, complete with fun actions for mums/dads and babies to perform. But the best thing about the whole thing is Ema's relaxed attitude and personal touch, making the class stand out from the likes of Gymboree and Monkey Music, the child entertainment Goliaths to her David. This business is her baby and she is passionately and enthusiastically ensuring each and every child gets plenty of attention and gains the most out of the 45 minute class.

Show Station offers a range of activities to suit all age groups, including Modern Music and Ballet Basics for older kids of 5 and up and Rookie Rockers, a Sensory Music class for little ones aged 2-4. Classes are a bargain at £7 for drop ins, or £5 each when you buy a course of 6. At that price, anyone in the area should check it out!

The elusive sleep

At the moment Una and I are struggling a little with her sleep. She won't sleep for more than three hours at a time and can't get back to sleep from around five or six in the morning. Even though I am very relaxed about her routine and sleep, I can't help but wonder sometime, when will she sleep through the night? Even if she slept from the late feed for a six hour stretch I would be happy. As the months of broken sleep add up, it undeniably starts to take its toll. Her night wakings haven't bothered me in the past as she always used to sleep in late in the mornings.

We are trying to structure her sleep a bit more with a set bedtime and she takes all her naps and sleeps all night in her cot. I love having Una in the bed with me but I have noticed that she wakes up more in my bed as I must be disturbing her sleep. Overall though I am maintaining my relaxed attitude, she will sleep through the night when she is ready. If there is one thing I've learnt in my 5 months of motherhood, it is to relax and just go with it!