There’s been a break from the baby diary after a long holiday with no internet, and when I got home I continued to abstain for a while.  But like all pleasurable things it was difficult to give it up for long.

Baby Swimming

The latest event for the baby is swimming lessons. He’s
been twice now and each time cried and been quite upset. We’re puzzled because
he enjoys his bath times, and he kicks in the bath, smiles, even laughs but swimming
is not a hit.  Maybe it’s because he gets dunked in the pool by the teacher, or because there are a lot of other babies crying, and it’s all a bit confusing. But apparently babies like swimming underwater.
Speaking of which (I’m reliably informed) the baby on the cover of Nirvana’s
Nevermind album is 20 years old now and was only paid $25 dollars. On the plus
side he’ll never be embarrassed by his parents getting out the family album.

Weaning

We’ve not tried many different foods yet, so far it’s
been purees of carrot & potato, apple & banana, Farley’s rusks and baby
rice. Dillon still prefers milk, formula or breastmilk. I’d like to get him off
‘the boob’ as night-times can be pretty tiring. But I’ll miss it when
breastfeeding stops. Not sure when but definitely before he can say “ham
sandwich”.

Eczema

Dillon gets a really bad rash on the back of his legs when he sits in his Bumbo chair – so he may have an allergy to latex. Or it may just be a baby thing. I’ve tried Sudocrem, then Diprobase, now hydrocortisone, which seems to be working.  Lots of baby have rashes and sensitive skin in general as they gradually get used to all the different things in the environment. Hopefully it will clear up by he’s 12, in time for teenage acne.

NCT

I’m a member of the National Childbirth Trust which provides antenatal classes for new parents-to-be, and is probably the best way to get to know people who are having children at the same time as you. We take it in turns to host monthly coffee mornings – or afternoons! It’s invaluable to
have other people going through something the same time you are and to share
your feelings of confusion, guilt, joy, and fatigue. The dads haven’t seen each
other since the mums were pregnant but I’m sure they’ll meet again.

NCT classes really push breastfeeding and there is a lot to say on the subject – I wrote an article about the pros and cons vs formula here http://www.femalearts.com/node/49 – I think it is
difficult to breastfeed exclusively and take my hat off to anyone who’s managed
it.

Highchair

Was assembled today and Dillon sat proudly in his new
throne, played with his toy and ate his puree. It’s a Cosatto Noodle Zuton if
that means anything to anyone. It’s got different heights and vertical
settings, a big tray with different shape compartments, is big enough to
prevent the baby from knocking stuff off the table which he was doing before whenever
we had dinner. I’ve purchased a load of plastic glasses for me and hubbie, in
an attempt to avoid glass breakages.  I’m sure things will get worse the more mobile the baby gets and the house will slowly disintegrate (at the same time as my hair going grey and my husband’s
hair falling out). No one tells you how glamorous parenting is.

© Wendy Thomson 2011

Wendy Thomson is the editor of www.femalearts.com an online publication
which promotes women in the arts and in business.