Mama!
My giggly, smiley boy!
For a while now, Xander has been giving it the old “Mumumum”, “Dadada” and “Bababa”, but this morning, I think I was treated to my first proper “Mama”!
He was in his bouncer while I was on the computer, so I wasn’t looking at him, when suddenly he shouted “Mama!” which made me look up in surprise. He then bounced a couple more times, then raised his arms to be lifted and said it again, “Mama!” like he was specifically asking me to pick him up out of his bouncer!
Of course, I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat now! It might be a fluke, but I’m choosing to see it as Xander finally recognising my new name. And just a couple of days after my first Mothers’ Day too!
How time flies!
Xander in his walker
Six months old today
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I updated this blog, but when you’re running round looking after a baby, time passes quickly and before you know it, everything you planned on doing goes out the window as you get caught up in whatever hilarious little thing your little one is doing!
I can’t believe that Xander is six months old today! He’s no longer a little baby and is now a little boy – and what a “proper” little boy he is too – he’s fascinated by cars and football and whenever they’re on the telly, he’s glued to the screen (we’ll have to make sure he doesn’t watch too much television!). He also loves the Direct Line Insurance advert with the little red phone on wheels – no matter what he’s doing, if that comes on the TV, he’ll whip his head round to watch it – he even recognises it by the little jingle AND when it’s on silent and reflected in my spectacles!
He can now sit up and is almost-but-not-quite rolling over. He’s also doing a lot of push-ups and almost getting ready to get crawling (he gets frustrated because he scoots backwards instead of going forward). We’re also weaning him at the moment – he adores egg custard, banana custard and porridge, but he’s not so keen on savoury things and tries to avoid them in favour of sweet things. Thing is, he’s already learning that he won’t get anything sweet till he’s had some savoury, so he twists his face and eats some of his vegetables and whatever else he’s having, but makes it a bit of a chore by being reluctant to open his mouth till his pudding is being offered! What a cheeky monkey! Still, despite offering him a lovely range of food, Xander still seems to prefer being on the breast. He never did take to the bottle, so I’ve been breast feeding for six months now and will continue to do so for some time yet, I think!
His first Christmas was wonderful. We all went round to my sister’s new flat and Mam and Pappy came up to visit too. Xander got so many presents that he hasn’t even played with all his new toys yet!
He’s also now an old hand at weddings, as we went to my Dad’s wedding at the beginning of January, where Xander was an absolute star – he slept through the ceremony and was happy to be cuddled by everyone all day. Unfortunately, shortly after that he hit the clingy stage and refused to go anywhere near anyone who wasn’t Mummy or Daddy. It’s only been the last week or so that he’s been willing to sit on knees and be cuddled or played with by other people (regular visitors like his Auntie Leni, Auntie Kerry and Uncle Stu, for example).
His favourite toys seem to be his bouncer (he would bounce all day if we let him!) and his walker (which plays lots of tunes and has lots of lovely buttons to press), although he’s only worked out how to move backwards in the walker so far. Xander also likes to look through books and is fascinated by faces, hands and feet (his own feet get played with at the slightest chance and he grabs our hands to inspect our fingers all the time). He’ll also very delicately touch the pages of whatever book or magazine I have in my own hands – he seems to be very careful with mine, like he knows I like them to be kept nice – we’ll see how long that lasts!
We have a very giggly little boy who rarely whinges and he constantly babbles things like “Dadada”, “Mumumum” and “Bababa”. Music is also enjoyed – he loves us to sing to him (big smiles all around) and favourite songs to soothe him at night might surprise you – “If I Had Words” and “Shaddap You Face” (yes, that last one surprised us too!). Whenever “Up” by the Saturdays gets played, he loves to dance (I think he likes to look at the pretty girls, to be honest!) and somgs like “Banana Phone” and “Why is the Rum Gone Remix” send him into fits of giggles.
Still no sign of sleeping through the night as yet – he still wakes up every two-to-three hours through the night, and naps (when he decides to take them) can be as short as ten minutes or an long asn one-and-a-half hours. I think that, like me, he’s a very light sleeper, so I don’t get much sleep either at the moment, however, he makes up for the night-waking (and early morning “it’s time to get up” with lots of gummy, soggy kisses.
His teeth aren’t through yet, but we think they can’t be far away as his gums seem to be bothering him (we’ve got some teething powders that dissolve right on the gums and so don’t get licked away like the gels do). Still, he rarely gurns – just chews on his fists and goes “Hmmmmmm!” a lot, while trying to gnaw on anything he can.
Top of the list of Xander’s favourite activities must be bath time – he ADORES splashing about in the bath and playing with a ball or one of his bath books. He giggles like mad and doesn’t even mind when he gets water in his face – not even when I’m washing his hair! I think he’ll enjoy swimming when I get round to taking him…
I can honestly say that it’s an absolute joy being a Mum! Not so long ago, I would have laughed out loud if someone had told me I’d one day say such a thing. Yes, there are tough times, like when Xander decides not to sleep for longer than an hour at a time and I’m suffering all the effects of sleep deprivation, or when I can’t guarantee to be out of the house at a given time to meet people because it all depends on whether or not Xander feels like cooperating, but they are far outweighed by the great moments, like when he goes to sleep for three or even four hours straight, or grins at me and reaches out to stroke my face, or laughs at some silly face his Daddy pulls for him. Simple pleasures, eh?!
And I have a whole new batch of friends now too. I started a group on a baby website for Mums in the Aberdeen and Shire area and some of us meet up about once a month for lunch, babies and all. It’s lovely seeing other Mums and little ones of all ages. Xander seems particularly fond of one Mum called Kerry, and her little boy, Sonny, who is three and a half weeks younger than Xander, which is lovely because I rather like them too.
I still don’t have much time to myself – my reading these days is spread out and sporadic, but I do get to soak in the tub twice a week on Dale’s days off and spend about an hour in there with a good book, undisturbed – it’s bliss! And I’ve also taken up cross stitch again (which I haven’t done in about six or seven years!) and manage to find five minutes here and there to work on small projects, several of which I have planned for Xander in the form of toys, books and samplers for his room.
I’m not looking forward to returning to work though – it’s not that I don’t enjoy my job, because I do (and I have lovely colleagues too), more that I would love it if I could just stay home and be a full-time Mum, at least till Xander goes to school. Unfortunately, in today’s economic climate, it’s impossible for me to do, so I’ll be returning to work part time as of the middle of June. We’re lucky in that Dale is home in the afternoons, so when he gets home, I’ll go to work, and we won’t need to put Xander in a nursery while we work, at least until I go back to full time, which will be next year.
And it will surprise some people to hear that I desperately want to have a second baby (although not immediately). Yes, I’ve gone from “I don’t want to have any children at all,” to “I’d love to have two kids,” in one fell swoop. If we won the lottery, I might even stretch that to three! Of course, we want to move to a bigger place to have more room before we make any pans in that direction, but I’m hopeful that in the next couple of years we’ll be able to announce that a little brother or sister for Xander is on the way. He’s such a lovely-natured boy that I’m certain he’d make a wonderful big brother!
Life gets in the way... 