Okay I know I haven't posted for a while but oh my gosh!! How on earth is the little one starting school in a couple of weeks!? This is crazy!

I've arranged playdates this summer with children also starting school (though not the same school) and there is a huge difference between an October baby and a July baby! You would think I'd know this as a teacher but I think reality really set in this summer. 

It's most evident with confidence especially when meeting new people. LG is very shy initially and then warms to people after a while. When the children were playing I found she plays by her own rules and other children may not necessarily agree. An example being that she was playing with a fire engine and people. She did put some firemen on the engine but then put regular people on and claimed they had mistaken the engine for a bus. The other child was baffled by this concept and couldn't accept that other people could be on the fire engine and eventually moved away and played another game. LG enjoys role playing games and likes to think outside the box. Perhaps the older children have already been through this stage?

She is excited about school but I am anxious. Fortunately, (for working parents) her school only have 2 settling in days but I really hope she warms to the other children quickly and finds some common ground! There will be other summer babies, right?

Well it has been a long time since I last posted and things have definitely changed.

I left my job as my Headteacher was an idiot (putting it nicely). His loss not mine. I have found an amazing job - albeit only maternity cover. I hope it will be extended! (Please God!)

Having changed my job has meant that we have had to uproot Baby LG once more. The first time was bad, when her nursery closed. The second time was worse. They were amazing! The support LG got developmentally was incredible and in the few short months she was there, I saw such a difference in her.
It’s no surprise that I cried on her last day and to make it worse all the staff cried too as they did not want to lose her.

We searched for options local to us but, as we all know, childcare is blooming expensive! Not only that but some just don’t have the hours you need as working parents. We decided on a childminder. This wasn’t what I had hoped for but actually it has worked out really well. The childminder is flexible so when my husband has been called into work at short notice the days have been easily switched. She even brought my child home on the days I had parents evening until 8.30pm so that my husband didn’t have to brave the weather without the car.

The childminder takes LG out and have other children that she works with. They go to the farm regularly and to the park, garden centres (?) and other playgroups. I think LG in her pre-school care has had the best of both worlds.

She has reached the terrible twos where everything is said in a whiny voice and if she’s told no, the tears are quickly turned on. We are getting better at ignoring her demands and letting her calm herself down before reasoning with her. We have had one major meltdown on holiday where she was taken away from a swing she had been using to swing her doll. (She recently refuses to go on any park equipment and instead “baby” gets to play whilst LG supervises). My husband pulled her away as other children wanted to use the swing after 15 mins of the doll having a go. Oh my word... the tears!!! There was screaming, legs kicking... it was embarrassing. We quickly removed her from the area and after a few minutes more, my husband calmed her down until eventually she fell asleep in my arms. I hope that is the worst episode we experience!

I have been fortunate to have extended holidays this Easter so we managed to visit family. She had three days with the childminder on day trips and this week she is all mine!
We are going to visit her nursery tomorrow which I am very excited about (as are they!). I am hoping she doesn’t become shy and that they can see how she is blossoming.
With 3 months until she turns 3, she is growing fast. Already she is wearing 4-5 year old clothes. Everyone comments on her vocabulary for her age. If only we could get rid of the pull up pants and dummies...

After my Soft Play today, I've discovered there are different types of soft play parents. Which one are you?

1. Sit and drink coffee parent.
  This parent just sits and chills with their friends and let's their child run     free responding occasionally to the child's cry or shouts.

2. The over-eager-to make-friends-parent.
This parent may not stay with their own child but instead latch on to another parent and their child. Only realising several minutes later that their own child has gone off to cause chaos elsewhere.

3. The nervous parent. 
Won't let their child do anything independently in case they fall.

4. The professional soft play parent.
They want to show they know where everything is and throw their children around whenever there is another parent nearby and laugh loudly.

There may be more but hey.. it was my first time.

Today I decided that as I needed to walk to the post box (and with LG's current adoration of the pram) we would walk to the other end of town where I had been told there as a 'fun' soft play area.

It was pretty pricey - I think - £5.95 for a just-turned 2 year old who is a bit too small for the majority of the activities and then an extra £1.50 for my pleasure in accompanying her (as if I could send her on own?!).

It actually was quite a surprise inside as the soft play area was quite large. There was an area for under 2's but that was literally just a ball pit. I parked up my pram near an empty table and then ushered LG to go and play besides me. She, of course, clung to me as there were a couple of other children there so off we went. I'm not kidding... I feel like I have been on a bootcamp obstacle course! I had to climb, crawl, squish myself between rollers and not to mention squeeze my non-child size bottom down a slide. I was most definitely unprepared for this and I'm not sure if my red cheeks were embarrassment or due to exercise!

I ever so slightly panicked when I reached the top of a rather long slide and LG tried to push me down. I avoided the embarrassment by the art of distraction!

I left with a rather dubious wet sock and knee but LG had fun which was the main thing and even made a friend before we left.

I will be more prepared next time! The bonus of course was the 2 hour sleep LG had on our return home and my enjoyment of a nice hot tea and control of the TV remote!

This is hard to write as I didn't expect to be even thinking of this until LG reached the age of four and started Reception.

LG started nursery at the age of three months. This was a huge decision based on finances as well as my career as a teacher. I put her into a nursery close to my place of work incase of any emergencies and to ensure I kept a good work/life balance. 

Over the last 21 months, I have watched her confidence grow and loved the pick up where her key workers gush over what she has been doing or saying. 

The closure was a shock to say the least. This nursery is part of a large chain (but is probably one of their smaller venues) and due to the government's initiative for 30 free hours in September it has meant that our nursery cannot afford essential refurbishment as they would not be able to recuperate the costs. I can't frown upon the free hours as hopefully I will benefit from these when LG turns three but it is disappointing the impact that it has on some of these small nurseries. The nursery staff were told they would try to fit them into other branches but lots of these have had to look for more local options and therefore are also leaving the chain. Promises to keep children within the chain have also been difficult with options being a distance away and limited spaces.

The nursery closes mid-August but we thought the best thing was to finish at the end of the month of July and then we can start a new nursery and LG has time to settle before the new academic year starts for myself. I visited three nurseries who were just about within budget and none of the them have truly captured my heart yet. I've opted for one where I know the staff due to my school and it's the one LG warmed to the most due to a lot of role play areas. Settling-in days begin next week so we will see how that goes.

One of the heartbreaking things is that LG has friends that she talks about constantly. She pretends she's on the phone to them at home and will tell me stories about them. Nursery have also been telling stories recently about how she's talking for the children e.g. saying they've finished their lunch and don't want anymore, that they have been pushed by someone else, etc. I decided I couldn't allow her to lose one of these friends in particular. She also started nursery at three months but a couple of months after LG and people used to get both babies confused. LG's friend also greets me every time I see her with a massive smile asking for "cuggles". I reached out and wrote a card to her parents. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm pretty shy (and unsociable because of this) so this was a big deal for me. My anxiety was that they wouldn't want to keep in touch and would laugh at my efforts. I gave the card to nursery on Wednesday and sure enough we received an email where her parents too said that they wanted to keep the girls together and that we would try our best to arrange play dates in the park. Phew! 

Thankfully my husband managed to leave work early to come with me to pick up LG for the final time. I couldn't have done it alone. LG was super excited to see Daddy there as I almost always do the pick ups alone. One staff member came rushing out to say she had come in especially to say goodbye to us and LG as she'd been off sick. She was dressed in her civvies and not uniform. They gave us all LG's books, extra pictures, cards they'd made and a story book. It was all too much for me as I tried to fight back the tears. I eventually managed a 'Thank you for everything,' and sharply made for the exit. As I walked out the gates tears rolled down my cheeks. It's hard to leave somewhere where everyone has been amazing and you felt your child was safe and happy and you're being forced to venture towards the unknown. LG is oblivious to the fact she won't be returning there so perhaps this change will be the easiest. As time goes on and she becomes more aware it can only get more difficult. We also had a card with our things from LG's friend's parents. This is my only comfort at this change, she will hopefully still see her friend regularly. They also said they know people at LG's new nursery and they've heard lots of praise about it.

I'm now trying to think positively for the future and hope that LG loves her  new nursery as much as this one and that she makes new friends quickly.
​

So my baby turned 2! 
I cannot believe it! Where did the time go? LG has developed into an incredible, intelligent little lady (and yes, of course, I'm biased).

We probably annoyed a few people this year when it came to birthday organising but as LG hates a lot of fuss being made about her, I decided we should take her somewhere rather than to a big family gathering. I do believe the in-laws started asking what we were doing sometime around Christmas (her birthday is July).

Looking at venues suitable for a 2 year old we decided to go to Willows Farm. http://www.willowsactivityfarm.com

We, obviously, chose the wrong day to go as it was raining but we didn't let that dampen our spirits and thankfully the sun came out later. If you haven't been before there are lots of things to do. You can pet the animals, there are lots of areas for role play (mini kitchens, etc.) and soft play areas.

LG was very excited by the Peter Rabbit and friends shows and she was very keen to stand in front of the stage and join in like the other children. The characters were beautiful. We went to an Animal Encounters show too but LG decided it was more fun to play in her pushchair in the pram park while my husband slightly mocked the poor assistant guy on stage who looked incredibly embarrassed to be there.

The food was reasonably priced for a change (even if a tad on the cold side) and even LG managed to polish a huge chunk of mine off. No potato though as my child is still against all things potato. We did walk through the big cafe area with lots of soft play activities but it was as if I had walked into my worst nightmare. It was overcrowded (the weather didn't help) and there were wild children running everywhere oblivious to anyone walking nearby. I quickly scooped up LG before she could fully assess the activities and made a super sharp exit to the (much) quieter cafe across the way. Phew...

Whilst it's tricky to always judge if LG has enjoyed something enough to do it again, when she wakes up the next morning demanding to go to the farm you know you picked a winner!
​

Well it's been a while since I posted but I thought it was about time.
It's ever so stressful at the moment. LG has been in nursery since she was 3 months old and is now fast approaching her second birthday.
I had a call this week from nursery saying that unfortunately, due to the new 30 hours free for 3 year olds and an urgent need for refurbishment, our nursery would be closing mid August. Absolute devastation! Not only was it convenient and good value for money but she absolutely loved it there and is talking frequently about all her friends.

We are now on the search for the perfect nursery setting which fits into our very tight budget. Eek. I viewed a nursery on Friday and the interior was old and didn't look great but the outside space seemed really nice. I know a few of the staff member from pick ups at my school and from teaching some of their children. They are a possibility.

I have two more nurseries to view but I'm hoping one of these will really stand out as the one. I am not looking forward to her last day at her present nursery as I love it and I'm going to be a wreck.

Wow the milk journey for a baby is pretty stressful for parents!
First there's the struggle to adapt to breastfeeding particularly for mum. As a baby LG had a tongue tie so struggled to latch on initially meaning a prolonged hospital stay due to weight loss and health concerns. Fortunately we were able to express and, after a minor op on the tongue tie, recommence breastfeeding.
Due to the switching between bottle and breast, baby didn't seem to favour one over the other and was just content to be fed. It was only at around about 2/3 months when baby started to self wean herself off the breast and we had to start the formula process. LG happily took the formula. We had to slowly reduce the amounts as she had taken large amounts of breast milk but this didn't convert to formula as it was over the recommended amount. Luckily she adapted to a routine quite quickly as she couldn't be fed as and when like she was when she was breastfed.

We thought the transition to cow's milk would be the same. The health worker said when she's one just change her over. Everything we read suggested the same. We decided to just change over one bottle. Within 2 days, nursery complained that she had been having loose stools. They called to say if she has 3 in one day they will send her home. I explained it could be due to teething, the fact she had a cold or the milk. They agreed to keep an eye on her bowel movements. In the meantime we changed her back to formula. The next day she was back to normal.

Searching the internet we struggled to find similar situations but when I spoke to my sister she said she'd had the same with my nephew. She had been told he had a milk allergy. We didn't want to say LG had a milk allergy when we know she is fine with cheese and yoghurts so we decided to slowly introduce the milk by reducing her formula and and topping up with cow's milk. So far so good! She still has 3 bottles which we are topping with milk. The hope is to completely remove one of the bottles soon.

I spoke to the health worker this week and she said oh yes you have to slowly introduce the milk by reducing and then topping up the formula! Why don't they tell you this initially!!!

Yesterday when I dropped LG off at nursery, she cried real tears. It was heartbreaking. This was the first time, when I've handed her over, she's reached back for me and then cried. Devastating. The guilty feeling is immense as you walk away...especially when you're not working and on your summer holidays. 
My wonderful husband (he asked for the wonderful ;o$ ) and I decided the best thing for LG was to keep her routine as much as possible. We had hoped to lower her nursery days to half days over the summer but we ran the risk of losing her full time place so we opted to think long term and keep her as she was. The idea is that we may keep her off a couple of days when my husband joins me for holiday time but that we have flexibility and I can go and collect her whenever I want to allowing me to get organised for September (school) and do chores. 
LG really enjoys nursery and socialising; especially with the slightly older children. It would have been cruel to her to make her spend six weeks bored at home with mum! Getting her back into her nursery routine after this time would have been hard too.
I apprehensively carried her into nursery today. We were greeted by her key worker who put her arms out for LG. LG turned gave me the biggest hug and then reached happily for her key worker. So different to yesterday!!!! I absolutely love that she is aware enough that I'm leaving to give me a hug and that she showed me she was happy to stay with the biggest smile as I've waved goodbye to her! Aw my little baby xxx

Now I'm sat at home thinking when is too soon to collect her haha!

I cannot believe my baby girl is nearly one year old! Where does the time go?

I am so fortunate to have a happy content child. So the story so far goes like this...

LG has been at nursery since she was 3 months old. She loves it! As a full time working parent, it was hard to put her in so young. She goes 4 days a week (all day) and on Mondays the hubby takes care of her. She is just around the corner from my work so it makes it easier as I know they can just call me if anything happens and I can get there quickly. LG is happy be handed over, loves the food and especially loves the other children!
She does not sleep much on nursery days, maybe 10 mins if we're lucky. However, the bonus is that she goes to sleep quite early at home and sleeps through the night.
LG particularly likes playing with the boys and the keyworkers struggle to contain her in the baby area as she prefers the company of the older children. She is still not yet walking but does a super speedy bum shuffle! 

At almost one, LG still has no teeth, however, she seems to be showing signs of teething so we're hoping to spots some teeth soon. This does not stop her eating the majority of things! (She really loves her food!)

On Wednesday (20th July) LG pulled herself up and stood on her own without any support! She was so proud of herself and I believe I may have squealed with delight! So many landmark moments still to come, I can't wait!