Monday 30 October 2006

Rosemary woke up at 6am and we came downstairs. She had a little feed and then went back to sleep in her chair until 8am, while I had some tea and breakfast (of birthday cake!) and caught up on the Internet. We then had lots of chattering and then Rosemary and I took Wesley to the park. This is what I'd been wanting to do for ages, but hadn't been able to because Rosemary didn't like the carrier. Now she does like it, hopefully we'll be able to make it a much more regular thing, as I've really missed walking Wesley.

I have to say, though, he didn't really make it pleasant! He was pulling very hard and the poor thing got very confused (and quite scared, it seemed) when I tried to get him to stop and sit whenever he pulled. I'm afraid I gave in and let him pull a bit near the end, just so we could get to the park. He was great in the park, with the lead extended - always coming back when I called him. He's just not very good walking along the road. He was better on the way back, though, probably because he was tired out.

Rosemary was great and seemed to really enjoy herself. She was looking around a lot and happily gurgling away. She particularly liked the park, I think, as she really likes trees. Then we came home and spent some time singing and reading and playing in her chair (with me on the sofa). She dropped off at about 10.30am, but woke up again within a few minutes.

She spent the next couple of hours giggling, snacking, nodding off and waking up after anything from 5 to 15 minutes. Watching her, it reminded me of nodding off on a train/bus and then waking when your head lolls onto your shoulder and you think 'Have I missed my stop?' (not that her head was lolling as such - but the way she kind of jumped awake. Anyway, she finally got off to a proper sleep at about 12.30, with a bit of help from me giving the chair some extra bounce (i.e. not just relying on the automatic vibrations).

And she slept until about 3pm, during which time she was transferred to her buggy, pushed into town and sat in Bar Nine while we had a birthday lunch. She woke up just after lunch and was quite happy and chatty, but then did get to the point where she wanted food, so we had to go and have pudding (hot chocolate and chocolate cake for me and a coffee for Chris) in Costa Coffee while I fed her. We then wandered round town some more, looking for birthday presents for me, though not really succeeding. She got quite upset in the second-hand DVD/games shop, so Chris stayed to do the Somerfield shopping and I walked her home. She actually cheered up on the walk, perhaps because I was giving her my full attention and also because of the movement. We had a nice chat all the way home and then she got more food.
The phone hardly stopped after we got home, with people phoning to say happy birthday to me. This was very nice, but it got to the point where I really needed to actually be talking to Rosemary, rather than just making funny faces at her and bouncing her chair, so I was relieved when no-one phoned after Granny's call. Chris was busy cleaning the kitchen up and making dinner, so Rosemary and I sat in the living room and chattered and read books and sang songs. I tried to watch The Da Vinci Code, but eventually gave up, because I just wasn't interested.

Emma and Holli popped in about 8.30pm (I think) with some birthday presents and a batch of Holli's delicious Chocolate Brownie and were pleased that Rosemary was awake and alert. Emma commented that she still can't get used to seeing Chris and me with a baby, even though she's here once a week. Interesting, because I find it difficult to remember a time when didn't have a baby, she's so much my world these days. Chris also commented yesterday that he's amazed it's only 3 months (almost) since Rosemary was born, as it seems a lot longer.

I gave up on The Da Vinci Code at 9.30pm and went up and put Rosemary in her bedclothes and then got into bed to give her her last feeds and try putting her down. She settled into proper sleep at about 11pm and slept through until... 5.30am. That's six and a half hours. And I'd pretty much call it sleeping through, as we did end up getting up at 6am. I fed her in bed and tried putting her back in her crib. She might have settled after another snack, perhaps, but she was sounding very phlegmy (seems to be the thing in the mornings) and unsettled, so I brought her up here instead... (to be continued in Tuesday entry!)