Idris at 20 months!

Idris has begun to play with toys. He likes the baby dolls, wanting me to put clothes and shoes on and off them and covering them with blankets before kissing them fondly. The game degenerated soon afterwards into throwing the baby on the floor whereupon Daddy picked the baby up and made crying sounds and cuddled it which delighted Idris into fits of giggles before taking the baby and throwing it on the floor again - sigh!

Having said that, he shows real compassion when someone is upset - an anxious look comes onto his face or he copies the upset person's facial expression. Sometimes he is uncertain but then goes to the upset person and either pats them or cuddles them. It is very sweet, but no less than he gets when he is upset (except perhaps the copied facial expressions). He will also 'kiss better' if you ask him. He likes to be kissed better if he hurts a finger or toe, he will come over, pretend crying and hold out the offending digit until you kiss it then instantly stop crying and go off again!

He's very into clothes still and if he thinks no-one is looking will start putting his own clothes on, usually his trousers. The only problem is that he tries to put them on by putting his feet into the feet holes rather than the waist hole so some hilarious happenings have resulted from these attempts!

 He is beginning to connect words together to explain his meaning such as "cold - top, trousers" when it is bedtime and he is chilly without his pyjamas on. He also says "car - deep deep" because he wants to sit in the front and beep the horn, which I'm not sure the neighbours would find so amusing a second time!! He tells me when he's done a poo as well now but isn't any keener on having it changed and since the advent of him learning the word "no" about three weeks ago, we have had some tricky negotiations over getting dressed. Hence why he was outside one morning dancing in the snow in his pyjamas because 'no' he wouldn't get dressed, and 'no' he wouldn't put his coat on. I figured he'd realise it was cold pretty soon and come back for said coat, which he did!! Having tried out the power of "no" for a few days, he just uses it so say 'no' to things like more food or a drink now - phew!

 He loves to play jokes on people and will take their fork at dinner time and hide it behind his back with a big grin on his face! He's much more aware of who HE is now, pointing to himself when his clothes are being folded from the laundry basket, as well as naming every other family member's clothes. He has used the word 'mine' a few times as well as pointing to himself. He loves to jump with both feet off the ground, jump jump jump like a little kangaroo! I have also caught him standing on the sofa arm saying "two two two yay" and leaping off the arm onto the sofa cushions. He says two three times as it is the only number he says right now, although he knows it is for counting as he counts things in books and if I pick up two pieces of fruit for example, he will say 'two'. His other hilarious saying is "din din din din din din din din ba ba" which is copied from the girls saying 'dinner dinner dinner dinner dinner batman', accompanied by kangaroo jumping and general excitement whilst I serve the food up!! He had a huge tantrum one day staying with family as he was hungry for his breakfast and they didn't realise. I said to Dewi that he needed to learn a word for 'hungry' or 'food' so he could say what he needed. The very next day early in the morning he grabbed my hand, pulled me into the kitchen, pointed to the cupboard and said 'din din' very firmly, indicating that he wanted his breakfast - problem solved!!

He has started to sit and play with toys a little now - I picked this farm up second hand for him as I noticed he was looking for little animals to play with in another toy set the girls have. He really likes it and we play often. He has also got more into books too. For the first time today he asked me to read the same book four times, it has text in rather than just pictures and words and he listened carefully all four times before having had enough. Admittedly it is a book about making noise, one of his favourite subjects, but still, a special moment!! He still isn't into veg much - he will eat pasta sauces with chunks of courgette, aubergine, peppers, onions, celery, carrots etc in but won't eat steamed veg plain from the plate. Then one day at a friend's house for lunch, he saw a bowl of black olives and said 'grapes' and asked for one, I passed him the bowl expecting him to spit it straight out and instead he ate it followed swiftly by seven more! i was very amused that he won't eat carrots or tomatoes but will eat strongly flavoured olives!!

His new words this month are f(r)uit, bag, George (the baby of a friend of mine whom he is very keen on!), pancake, mine, d(r)awer, c(l)ose, 'earis' meaning 'here it is', Sam (his cousin), g(r)apes, no, down, up, head, toe, bott(om) (which he finds very amusing, especially making bubbles in the bath!), for(k), pee(ka)boo, c(l)ock, pig, (sh)eep (pointed at from the car window after seeing them at close range at a farm), (Dad)cu (his Welsh grandfather), table.

And the really amazing news this month? He refused breast milk and demanded JUICE at five o clock one morning - was not impressed when I returned with water from the bathroom and repeated his request firmly for JUICE!!!! He's now back to preferring my milk!!!!

An Underbed Storage Box and a New Baby on the way!

We are expecting a baby in the Summer and although I have banned my Mum from buying anything for this baby, as we have everything that we need, her generous soul couldn't resist knitting this gorgeous little jumper!! I have tucked it away in an empty drawer under my bed (yes I do actually have such a thing as an empty drawer now that I'm getting organised!) and open it now and again when I need to smile!

It struck me how things change as we have more babies. For my first, we decorated a room, chose furniture, and made pictures for the walls. For our second, we made a special place in the corner of what was our guest room then (laughs hollowly at the notion of a guest room), and put a wardrobe in there for all her things. Our third baby got a cot tucked up to our bed and a set of drawers in his big sister's room and this baby? Well this baby gets an under bed storage drawer...... and nearer the time I will really enjoy getting down the newborn clothes (well, 0-3 as I have giant long babies that never fit in newborn!), washing and folding them before tucking them away safely under our bed ready for the new arrival!

A Metal and Shiny Objects Treasure Basket!

I asked my Mum to keep her eye out for metal and shiny bits and bobs for a new treasure basket for Idris.... and THIS is what she came back with.... the most amazing, super-inventive collection all ready in a basket! She collected metals of different types and colours, as well as metallic items and it is so well put together....

It contains:

• A pile of disposable metal pie tins
• A solid non-stick black coated pie tin
• A couple of small coloured tins that open in different ways
• A mesh desk-tidy pen holder
• A red metal bucket
• A set of metal bangles
• A set of spanners in different sizes
• A ring of interesting keys
• A plug stopper
• A brass decorative kettle
• A balloon whisk
• A tea strainer
• A metallic bouncy cat toy
• A spiral metal egg cup
• A spiral toast rack.....
• .....with gold and silver metallic coated scouring pads slotted into it
• A metal drinks tin with a money slot in the top.....
• ..... and a packet of oversized metal paperclips just PERFECT to post into the slot (see Iddy below - he is really into posting things this last few weeks and sat down immediatly to post clips into the tin!!)
• Two blank CDs
• A mirrored coaster

I love this treasure basket and it has already provided hours of entertainment for Idris - treasure baskets are so easy to put together and you can add to them over time. Mum thinks all the things for this (some found, some bought) came to about £20 which is much less than commercially available ones.... go on, give it a go - it's what carboots, pound shops and the like were invented for!!!!

Idris is 11 months!

 I can't quite believe that my baby boy is eleven months old as of yesterday! He is such an amazing, happy little thing (apart from the tantrum he threw tonight when Daddy left for work!). He is 'such a boy' - if ever a case study was needed to prove nature over nurture then Idris is it. He has access to way more choice than my girls did at his age as I now child mind so have lots of resources to suit all sorts of children. Despite the choices, he wants to be outdoors all the time, preferably hitting, kicking, throwing or generally brutalising whatever he can find..... he has mastered the step to get out and cries if we shut the door!

 He loves pens - and has worked out that the tops come off..... if I give him a bottle, he will spend a little time posting them in and tipping them out.... posting is quite popular right now, as is putting things in and out of boxes and baskets.... Please note the gorgeous dungarees made by the talented seamstress that is my Mum - aren't they adorable?

 He quickly picks up anything new we show him and often has his 'concentrating face' on while he masters it - he is currently concentrating on trying to pull a pair of castanets apart out of the music basket - problem is, give him a few months and I think he'll manage it.... he is babbling away to himself as he does so. He started with bah and dah, then about six weeks ago move up to nah and lah and this week chatters away to us in a lovely little conversational voice and looks at us in an enquiring way as if to ask 'did you get that?' He knows some words - booby (I know, I know - this happened by accident but he does love his breast milk!), Daddy, Poppy (the dog) and ball, more if you add in gesture but he knows these ones in any context!

 This is his birthday swing hung under the covered patio - my parents thought he should have it early and he really enjoys it! He enjoys it as least as much as his favourite food - strawberries - I'm not sure if I dare take him fruit picking this summer - we might get thrown out for eating too many strawberries before we can pay!

He started to walk about six weeks ago, a few steps but three weeks ago really took to it and potters around the place now with very few wobbles! He was fascinated by the rain and I didn't want to disturb him to put his rain suit on - bath time is very satisfying these days as I watch my grubby happy boy become pink and fluffy. He never wears shoes, I'm sure he will have hobbit feet at this rate but it's good for him to have them free and he seems to enjoy the sensations on his feet.

Now on to Idris's biggest love - balls - any ball, any size, any material, just as long as it's a ball - it really amuses me that we take a ball everywhere we go for him! He kicks a big one round the patio, throws a tennis ball for the dog, bowls a wooden one down the hall..... and my oh my he has a powerful overarm for such a little guy! Dewi provided him with his first rugby ball this week, no Welsh boy can live without one apparently - I'm not so sure he's that convinced by it's odd bounce and lack of rolling ability but we'll see!!

We are so enjoying our little bumble bug - he is bold and adventurous and a real tough cookie, he would rather fall asleep under the apple tree than cuddled in my arms, but loves singing 'two little dickie birds' together at bed time, has a wicked sense of humour and an innocent 'who me?' gaze followed by a cheeky grin when caught quietly up to mischief -  we are so glad to have you brightening our lives!!!

Idris at 7 months

I am sitting here late at night writing this - I put the pictures on days ago ready to write this post but never got time. My house is so busy, the girls seem to need or want things often, they whirl in and out of the house, ever busy, ever noisy, ever wonderfully 'themselves'. And when we try and concentrate on something and Idris is testing out his mighty lungs at full volume and cackling at the dog, I sigh at how the girls struggle to concentrate because of the noise he makes. But I never once, til now, wondered about how he might struggle to concentrate because of the noise THEY always make!

It is nearly eleven pm and Idris missed his afternoon nap because there was just too much going on so he went to bed early and now he is up and playing. And guess what? Yes..... it is PEACEFUL - and he is sooooo focused, sitting on the floor and intently exploring a set of eggs and spoons that Faith was playing with today, after half an hour of eggs and spoons he turns his attention to his treasure basket - he can hear the sounds the items make, a soft rustle of kite fabric, the ting of a metal bowl touching wood, he coos softly at the harsh sound of the bear bell, then passes an egg cup from hand to hand.

There are no adoring sisters to leap in front of him and pull faces to make him laugh or grab him up for a cuddle and he is relishing the freedom! I must make more room for him to have this kind of peace!

This little bottom wiggles a lot these days, and those little knees pull up and then the arms give way and another belly flop ensues and I hear that frustrated sound of a thwarted baby! In the meantime he has discovered that he can fidget his way around the room on his bottom - I'm not even sure how he travels in that way but then I hear the clang of the wood bucket from behind me and yes, he's managed to move five feet across the room again!

Idris loved exploring the music basket - I showed him what sounds the xylophone made when you hit it and he really worked hard at hitting it himself! This xylophone was bought from a second-hand sale and it is really daft as two of the notes make the same sound as each other! I love the cheerful colours though and can't bear to see it go!

Balloons? Now they're fun! I remember Eve playing with balloons at this age too - and just look at that dimple!!

Here he is raiding my laundry baskets - baskets that were previously full of pants and socks sorted into neat piles ready for drawers!! Sigh!

Tonight he noticed that Daddy was in the mirror as well as in bed when I went in to wake him for work. he looked in the mirror then turned back to the bed, then back to the mirror. we laughed and laughed as he whipped his head around ever faster to try and catch Daddy out, but there were still two of him! He was so puzzled!

Well it is 11.40pm and I'm off to bed as Idris has finished wrecking exploring the lounge and is ready for some 'Daddy's at work so Mummy and I get the whole bed to ourselves' snuggle. My sweet boy really does consider that sleep is for wimps - night time is a wasted opportunity in his eyes if he hasn't fed at least five times!

Comparing Balls From the Treasure Basket

It was fascinating to watch Idris with his treasure basket the other night. he sat for about 45 minutes before bedtime, absolutely engrossed in it. He seemed to be most interested in the wooden balls. He spied them sitting together and started to investigate.....



The red one was small enough to be picked up in one hand..... quick taste......

Feels nice and smooth and it rocks back and forwards from hand to hand....

I can hold it in this hand too.......oh and I can pass from one hand to another - now that's a handy skill!

Oh look..... another ball, I'll just scoop this one up in my other hand.....

Oh......erm.... it won't scoop, why not? Come on ball, come on (add in frustrated noises and a scowling face here!).......

I wonder if I use both my hands if it might work....... it's hard to grip....

It's hard to keep hold of this one..... if I don't concentrate it plops back onto the floor.... and it's really heavy..... it helps if I use my chin as a third hand to help hold it!

Hey check me out.... I got it..... look no chin!!!!!

We LOVE Baby Led Weaning!

We are thoroughly enjoying watching Idris get to grips with solid food. I did the puree thing with the girls but since reading about BLW I knew that was the way forward this time around! No more hours spent steaming, pureeing, portioning and freezing, no more leaving my food to go cold whilst spoon feeding my baby, no more frustration at wasted time and effort and worry about limited variety. It's great - he loves to join us at the table and I make sure we have cooked a meal with things that Idris can grab hold of. It is then a simple matter of handing over tempting morsels at regular intervals and marvelling at his rapid progress! Same as I don't worry about how mich milk he is drinking, I don't worry about how much food he is eating, he will get there and there is plenty of milk on standby until he does!

To date his current favourites are leeks, spinach and mushrooms, as well as oranges, and rice pudding was a hit too! He thinks cherry tomatoes are far too tart (cue dramatic shuddering and pursed lips!) and he's not sure about boiled eggs either (a 'yeuch' noise followed by a determined sweep of the offending egg onto the floor told us that!)! I think his alltime high was the oaty apple and peach crumble my mum made though!! Very messy but very delicious!

We started a few days after he turned six months when he started grabbing food off our plates as we sat at the table. Already he has progressed to picking up things himself from the tray of his highchair (a lovely preloved wooden one!), whereas at first he always needed it put into his hand with a bit sticking out of the top of his fist for him to chew. He is now working on his palmar grasp - it grasps and he knows there's food in it but he can't always get to it - what a tease! The funniest is him using one hand to lift the other hand with food in it to his mouth!

This book by Gill Rapley has a great potted history of weaning and why/how spoon feeding started and why it isn't necessary. It has some good recipes that I had never thought of before also, things like lentil wedges for lunch, porridge bars for breakfast and some yummy dips for salad sticks too!

Baby Play for five-month olds!

I am really enjoying Idris being more alert and playful now - he likes to play very simple games for short bursts at a time. When I thought about them, they are based around communication and repeating the same simple action over and over. I thought I would put a few of his favourite games up on the blog for others to enjoy with their babies!

• Bath play - Idris loves to watch fingers gently splashing the water, then pausing and waiting for him to respond with a sound or a movement then gently splashing again. He also loves to watch water poured from a play teapot into a measuring cup. He clasps the cup and watches the water trickle in.
• Rhymes and singing - I had a limited repertoire so found some new ideas here
• Silky see-through materials gently floated down over him - he reaches up for them and gazes through them!
• Walks - watching animals and birds and looking at plants, trees and water (and he LOVED the fish at the aquarium!).

NEWSFLASH!!!! Whilst this post was still in draft format, Idris learnt both to roll over and to babble! Unlike my girls he managed to pull his arms free straight away and he actually likes being on his tummy! The girls hated tummy time and moaned as soon as they were over but he wiggles around and plays with things and is already pushing up on his arms strongly.

The babbling appeared late on Saturday night - he was finding it hard to get to sleep (teething) and eventually at ten pm I put him down next to me in bed and settled down myself. He went crazy, wriggling and squealing and laughing and then I heard some quiet, tentative 'dah' and 'bah' sounds!! By Sunday lunchtime there was nothing quiet or tentative about them at all - more like loud and incessant!! He is very pleased with himself!!

Loving My Little Boy Soooo Much!

He is developing his own little personality now - for example he loves music and was entranced by The Nutcracker when we went to see it as our Christmas treat with my mum. He just cooed and blew gentle raspberries all the way through!

We have little conversations now - he lay on my lap after feeding yesterday and played with my hand. I spread my fingers and we locked fingers then he let go, then he touched one of my fingers then i touched one of his and we did a gentle 'hand dance' for a few minutes until something else took his attention. Tonight Dewi brought him up to me whilst I was in the bath and he lay on my chest with his hands over my hands. I gently wriggled my fingers on his tummy, making little splashing noises, just for a few seconds, then stopped and he gave a tiny grunt (of approval I thought!). So I splashed again then stopped and he grunted and we went on this way for about five minutes until he was fed up.

He wanted to feed then so I sat up and he fell asleep feeding in the warm water! He is tucked up in towels and blankets on my bed now, still asleep!! I love that! He sometimes falls asleep chatting to himself and other times wants to feed to sleep or just snuggle up in bed together!

Best check he's still nice and warm as apart from our lounge with the log burner going, our house is pretty cold tonight!!

A Gift From Auntie Lorri!

 We had a package in the post today from my lovely sister in law - these gorgeous fleecy mittens and shoes for Idris!

 They are so warm and snuggly and he thought they were wonderful - great timing as the weather has finally started to turn nippy here! Idris likes chewing them until they fall off and then he can suck his fingers again - which he does a lot at the moment!

He loves to sit in the bumbo seat for a few minutes to watch the girls play - I think he likes being down at the same level as they are!

Thanks Lorri - you are a star - can't wait to see y'all at Christmas!!!!



What Can a Newborn Teach Us?

This is me missing Idris's smiles with the camera as he bestows them so rapidly

and I am too taken up with smiling back to react quickly enough!!! He's seven weeks old now and chats with me in little oohs and ahhhs! He's also gaining more control of his arms but only enough to bop himself in the face on a regular basis! We laugh at him and he beams back!!



A lot actually! And there was me thinking that I knew the ropes third time around but my sweet boy has plenty to say! He is so wonderful and making me into a better mummy which I never expected - I thought I would be tired and grouchy and therefore less patient and not such a good mummy but not so. Our pace of life has slowed to accomodate Idris and we are all reaping the benefits as Mummy says 'yes' more rather than 'maybe later' or 'not now, I'm busy' - I'm loving that!

Sometimes when Idris won't be comforted by anything that I have to offer, I put him down by himself somewhere peaceful where he can see out of the window. He becomes still and peaceful..... sometomes staying totally alert and other times going drowsy. It reminds me that we all need our own space at times, we all need time to re-fuel and re-energise by being alone. I try to find this for the girls when they show me that they need it and I protect some time for my husband to have space. I'm working on making sure that I get the alone time I need also!

Idris has also caused me to re-assess how much I may be 'micro-managing' the girls. I always thought that I was very 'hands off' but have realised that I had crept into bad habits and was doing too many things for them beacuse it was quicker or easier in the short term to do that. Having my arms full of a snuggly baby means that I am taking a step back and having the girls be more responsible for their own things again. Generally they are loving it but some things need a little more coaching. It is great for their language skills too as I sometimes have to give quite complex verbal instructions and the girls have to listen carefully to follow them!

Little Baby Feet!

Just look at these adorable little shoes - made with love by my wonderful sister in law. She even found some Welsh Rugby Union transfers to put on them as a nod to my husband's Welsh heritage (AKA fierce support of the Welsh National Team!). We were so touched to receive them - most baby shoes fall off straight away so aren't worth the bother but these stay put as long as you need them for. Not to mention the fact that Lorri is a busy mum of my gorgeous six month old nephew so how she finds time to sew gifts is beyond me! Thanks Lorri! XXXXX

Wallowing in Baby Bliss!

One week on and I am absolutely smitten with my baby boy.... before he was born I was unsure if I wanted a boy as having two girls already I 'know' how to bring up girls and wondered if I could do it with a boy. How daft of me... I can't think why I thought like that at all.... he's so perfect, such a peaceful little thing. He has amazing 'wakey' times when he gazes intently at me and we drink eachother in... just magical, I feel so blessed! These are rare pictures of him lying on our bed.... he's much more likely to be found in someones arms! Thankyou for all you kind wishes, Jenni x

We Had Our Baby!

We are delighted to introduce our son!

We named him Idris Graham

He was born at eleven minutes past eleven

On Thursday 21st July

He weighed 9lb 9oz

Mum, Baby, Dad and Sisters doing really well!

Baby Number Three

I always do a self-portrait the week before my babes are due and here is one for this time round! I am in my bathroom running a lovely deep bubble bath...... bubbles and the smell of washing powder are my cravings once again.... along with cucumbers and carbonated water. Very strange as I can usually take or leave cucumbers and don't like carbonated water normally either! Still what baby wants baby can have!!

I am writing this with my feet in a warm tub of water infused with ylang ylang, clary sage and lavender oils.... absolute bliss..... a good friend has taken my children out for the afternoon so I am alone..... apart from classic fm and a large stash of vegetable sticks and houmous!!

The oils have been provided by my hypnobirthing midwife..... ah hypnobirthing, for the first time I can honestly say that I am looking forward to giving birth! I have always looked forwards to meeting my babies but dreaded the birth but after one traumatic delivery and one c-section I can't wait. It has been a gift from God to feel this relaxed and positive, even if the birth goes topsy turvy the peace and tranquility in this pregnancy have been blessing enough! I feel empowered to say 'no' and to negotiate the birth that we need and want. My labour basket is packed with essentials to ensure my comfort as well as little bag for baby once I feel babe has had the length of skin to skin contact he/she needs. I am not bowing to pressure to 'hurry up' this time round!

Although babe will be sleeping in with us, I have cleared out and stocked the baby's room, and go there regularly to bury my head in little clothes and blankets and inhale deeply!!! I have so enjoyed getting out Eve and Faith's first clothes and blankets and washing them and putting them ready. The girls have loved it too! My mum has knitted a beautiful vest and cardy ready.... the same design as my gorgeous nephew Sam had when he was born in January! A dear neighbour from my childhood had a bushel of cardigans and hats knitted up by her friend for me.... all in different sizes and designs.... I was so touched! Mum also presented me with a huge bag of frozen home cooked meals for after the birth, they were so welcome!

I prepared all these things weeks ago, when I had loads of energy.... all gone now and my foot bath going cold so I shall sign off...... home schooling has quietened down as well as birthing draws nearer.... we are making the most of teachable moments and snuggling up on the sofa to read rather than planned lessons.... different but just as valuable and suiting Eve really well right now! I will of course post when we've had the baby!