Sickies

Una gave me a nice lie in this morning, I woke up at 7.50 to her peeking out through the bars of her got and chatting. Too cute. This morning I've hoovered, mopped and cleaned the bathroom, channeling my inner housewife. Una is napping and when she is up we will head out in the glorious sunshine.

I finally feel like a normal person again after going though the hellish experience of a double whammy stomach bug. Una, the little carrier, had it and when she was pretty much recovered it was our turn. Two sick parents and a little baby needing to be fed, changed and entertained was not a good combination. But we lived to tell the tale.

Behind every advert there is a sexist pig...

This morning I have been to the GP for a follow up appointment they called me in for, only for the GP to say she didn't know why they had sent me a letter, I didn't need to come in. Cheers for that. At least I didn't have to wait for an hour to be seen as I have in the past...
Now I am chilling at home, catching up on watching Real Housewives of New York (yes, this is my favourite show...) while Una snoozes. When she gets up I will give her some lunch before we stroll (and by stroll I mean walk briskly for an hour and a half) to St James park to meet Ema and little Solo, the boy she nannies. Then home and dinner for Una before I head to a body pump class tonight with Aga.

If anyone reading this wants to be enraged by obscene sexism and cementing of gender roles, please watch this Christmas advert by Asda. Words fail me.

Una at 9 months

Yesterday Una was 9 months. She has now been in our lives for as long as she was in my tummy (give or take). It has gone so unbelievably quickly, when I look back at photos of her as a newborn I can't quite believe she was ever that tiny. I love having the blog to look back through and remember all those little things I would otherwise have forgotten. Here are some notes about Una at 9 months.

She weighs just over 7,5 kilos. She is definitely tall, but since it is not routine to measure babies in England, I don't know how tall. She is long and lean, with long legs. I struggle to find leggings to fit her, as the ones that are the right length are big and baggy and loose around her waist, so now I mainly buy tights instead!
She is not yet crawling, but drags herself forward at a pretty impressive speed. She can clap her hands and in the last few days has learnt to point. She loves books and being read to whilst pointing at the pictures and "chatting".
She has started "dancing", rocking back and forth to the beat. She likes hip hop and urban music, just like her dad.
She isn't shy and is happy to be held by just about anyone, but she is a little reserved and careful, likes to have mummy close by at playgroup and often looks to me for re-assurance in social situations.
She does the funniest little angry face, scrunches her whole little face up. I try my best not to laugh at her, though I am not always successful. She gets especially cross if you tell her "no".
She can be a bit particular about food, she will eat anything off my plate but is often suspicious of the food in her own bowl. Her favourites are spaghetti bolognese, greek yoghurt and porridge with date and apple puree.
Her teeth are growing, those next to the top front teeth are just visible though the gums and should come through any day now.
She is very entertaining and fun to be around, loves cuddles and is best company I could ask for. Love her.


Una, 1 day old


Una, today

Recent events

I have been get plenty of wear out of my red jeans. 

Una has been enjoying herself at playgroup.

Una has discovered scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach. I love how we can have the same thing for lunch now.

Though she doesn't crawl yet she makes her way around the front room rather well, pulling herself forward on her tummy. She is 9 months today!

A weekend past

So what has been going on with us over the weekend, you might ask (though you probably didn't). Not a lot, as it happens. I met up with Australian Heather and her sister for a smidgen of wine on Saturday afternoon. Some crazy South American lady was being all touchy-feely with Una and kept asking to hold her. I tried to say no, politely but firmly, but in the end felt like decking the woman. Some people have no concept of boundaries, though it is possible she may have been truly crazy, alternatively high on crack. In any case, she was NOT holding my baby. We made it out of there unscathed, thankfully. Got home only to find out we were locked out, James had gone to the pub and I didn't have a key as he had taken mine. There is a constant lack of keys in this house, because James in wholly incapable of holding on to a key for longer than five minutes. This means that every time anyone wants to leave the house we have to have a long conversation about who will be out the longest, who will be back when etc. You might think a good solution would be to get another key cut, leaving us with one each. But no. We have tried that in the past, to no avail. James does has made it his mission in life to maintain the status quo and will promptly lose the original key, thus making the newly cut key the only key, bringing us are back to square one. And so it goes on. Anyway, after an abrupt phone call he made his way back from the pub to let us in, all is well that ends well.


Sunday we went for a stroll down Portobello Road, in the evening James cooked a lamb curry. Today I have done nothing except a body pump class, the weather is rainy and miserable. London winter, I suppose. This evening we had delicious duck breasts with celeriac puree, roasted sweet potato and wilted spinach. Now I am enjoying a class of red and some chocolate. Una is snoozing happily in bed, her sleep seems to have sorted itself out and she is going down much easier. I had to sneak a photo tonight of her sleeping in my arms, passed out after drinking her bottle. She is so funny these days, she has started dancing in the last couple of days. She kind of rocks forwards in time with the music. She prefers urban music, preferably hip hop. Takes after her father.

Friday

Yesterday morning we met up with Aga and Kai for a coffe in Kitchen and Pantry. Una slept in her buggy for the first half an hour, leaving me time to enjoy my coffee in peace. Afetr she woke she had cuddles with Aga (very sweet how she always instinctively cuddles in to Aga as soon as she holds her) before we went for a stroll to the playground. Una and Kai went on the swings while Aga and I talked about many important things. We could talk for hours!

Una and Aga doing their thing. Note Aga's lovely jumper, I want one.

Una has yet to master the art of holding on whilst on the swing, so she tends to slide to a reclined position. Looks kind of comfy.

We went home and had lunch and chilled out before heading over to see my dear friend Heather, who has made a surprise return from Australia (more about that in another post), yay! We popped over to her sisters around the corner from us, where she is staying for the next few months. A glass of wine, some Una cuddles and lots of chatting. Then home to put Una in bed and indulge in Friday night dinner of nachos and beers.

Redemption

I have succeeded in purchasing a winter coat, gloves and scarf for Una, thus completing her winter outerwear wardrobe and redeeming myself as a responsible parent. We walked to the Brompton Road Gap (where I finally managed to get the right coat, after an unsuccessful trip to the High Street Ken store where they had the wrong one on hold). 12 kilometers there and back, with a coffee break for me in Pret and a milk break for Una in Hyde Park. Pretty autumn colours and fallen leaves all around, I tried my best to live in the moment but obviously the phone had to come and a few photos were snapped. Products of our time and all that....

Una, full of milk

Our view in Hyde Park

Coldy baby

Una has cold and is constanly coughing and sniffling with a runny nose. We had to skip playgroup yesterday and Rookie Rockers today so she doesn't pass it on to the other babies and has a chance to rest. She woke up at 6.50 this morning but once we were up and she was having her morning bottle on the couch she fell back asleep for another 2 and half hours. Poor thing must be feeling ropey. I was really looking forward to playgroup, but there is always next week. I'd really like to find some more activities for Una, I am getting a bit bored sitting around the house. When we are at home it's too hard to relax, I just see things that need to doing and end up doing housework instead of spending the time with Una.

The sun is shining outside and we have just had our breakfast after Una's long nap. I am going to give her a bath and get myself ready before taking her out. We'll go to the swings for a bit on our way to High Street Kensington, where I have a jacket on hold in Baby Gap. Yes, that's right. I have finally found a jacket for Una! I also need to give the flat a good clean and do some cooking for Una. My photos arrived yesterday as well, so no excuses not to start her photo album as well. She has been very unsettled in the evenings recently, which makes it hard to get anything done. Last night I ended up just picking her up and taking her in to the front room so she could sleep in my arms. I think it's the cold that is bothering her, hopefully it will pass in a few days.

Busy social life

It's gloriously sunny outside and when Una wakes from her nap we will go for a long walk to Scandi Kitchen to meet my sister for fika. Una has had a few late nights this week, with the dinner at Aga and Steve's on Monday and then on Thursday we were back at their house, this time with James. We went to books for cooks for lunch during the day and there we bumped in to Aga and Steve (great minds think alike!). They we're going to an event at their local butchers, Ginger Pig that evening and invited us to join them. We ended up staying late drinking cocktails at their place. Una slept happily in my arms as I sipped a Gin & Tonic. It's time like those when I am so happy that we didn't end up going down the strict Gina Ford routine route. Una is so chilled out and flexible and we can still enjoy socialising and keeping some spontaneity in our lives. Obviously not at Una's expense, if she seems unhappy or fussy we make our excuses and leave. But as long as she is happy and contented there is no reason why we have to adhere to someone else's rules.
Last night my sister invited us over for dinner, she cooked a gourgeous mushroom "risotto" made with orzo pasta and we had a delicious bean dip with crudites to start. Yum.

In other news, I STILL have not got Una a winter coat. Bad, bad parent... We have however managed to get her a winter hat, so at least her ears aren't cold.