Week 30 – England

Well time is flying by and you’re already 7 months old.

So far we have been lucky to have a child that only wakes during the night for milk, which takes approximately 10 minutes to administer before you happily go back to sleep. There have been several instances where you decide to grace us with your presence and vocal cords for slightly longer than this (so far no longer than an hour and on most occasions 30 minutes, but as l can count these instances on my fingers and toes l’m incline to believe we aren’t doing to bad.

Food wise you will eat anything and everything. The strategy so far has been:

1. Pick a vegetable
2. Buy the vegetable
3. Stew it and mush it
4. Feed until it runs out – which means you usually eat a vegetable for four days straight with the other stuff thrown in for good measure.

Food to date includes:

• sweet potato
• cauliflower
• spinach
• apple
• pear
• banana
• lemon
• lime
• yogurt
• many types of cheese – brie, Camembert, Cheshire, Lancashire, blue, Swiss, cottage
• blueberries
• raspberries
• egg
• cucumber
• tomato
• mushrooms
• carrots
• plum
• avocado (there have been plenty of these)
• potato
• bread
• four licks of a Magnum (this was nanny and she was reprimanded)
• grapefruit
• rice
• sausage (again nanny and grandad, apparently you propelled yourself onto their plate from 5 metres away and snatched a piece – unlikely story but as it doesn’t contain sugar l decided to choose my battles wisely)
• bacon
• muesli (l’m not sure you are a fan of this but you still eat a little bit)
• porridge
• sprouts (you love this and lived off it for about a week)
• lettuce
• curried hummus
• croissant
• peanut butter

At month 7, you are also a mini adult. You can roll, sit, crawl, communicate without using words, play, laugh and throw a tantrum. You have a personality. Since we have been at nanny and grandad’s you have blossomed. I’m a little concerned that you like nanny more than me as you never cry with her and always give the biggest grin when she is around but l have put this down to the fact she gave you a magnum and you have confused the sugar hit with favouritism.

We had our 2nd official weigh in with the NHS. Patiently waiting.

At present you weigh 9kg, l’m sorry to say it is all thigh and tummy – a trait inherited through daddy’s DNA.

Apparently you are 71cm (l say apparently as last month you measured in at 67cm, it seems like a pretty impressive growth spurt so l am mindful they may of measured you wrong). If correct you definitely get this from the Lowe’s side as l am 5 foot 5.5 inches (yes the .5 is very important).

 

We had a busy week. Natalie and Chris gave us their National Trust passes so after a week of pottering around the Clarence Park, the streets of Bury and nanny and grandad’s house we got ourselves into gear and started exploring.

Our first destination was Yorkshire Dales National Trust Pennine Way Walk.

Around a large lake.

We searched for squirrels.

Before heading for high tea where you immersed yourself with a few cucumbers sandwiches.

En route back to the houe we saw a Yorkshire Dale cow on the side of the road.

Destination Day trip 2: Tatton Park

We searched successfully for deer.

This week was quite a social occasion for daddy and l too. After Tatton Park we went to the cinema with Mikes and Jo. Nanny and Grandad had a fun time with your wake up and we came back to chaos and a wounded grandad.

Mamma then had a night out with Paula.

Friday was spent with the Friend Family whilst daddy went to a sportsman’s dinner.

And we baked cupcakes with Daniel and Oliver.

Daddy took charge of Saturday sitting, whilst l had a night out in Manchester with Michaela, Natalie, Gabbie, Natasha and Rachel.

Sunday we explored Jumbles and fed the ducks.

After a walk around the lake…

We had a ladies lunch plus daddy, with nanny Janny.

As our flight to Iceland wasn’t until 4pm we pulled out the NT passes and made our way to Lyme.

In the snow we pottered around the gardens.

Surprisingly we were the only people braving the snow.

We learnt that the reason there are so many manors that you can visit is because during the war the death tax was 90% of the value of the assets. The country needed to generate funds during the war and the eradication of the upper class was in motion.

Before hot footing it to the airport we completed a tour of the manor.

 

Week 26 Budapest to Vienna

This week you learned how to:

1. Downward dog
2. Not much else as it was a busy ‘Brigitte’s development on hold’ week

It was inevitable, as soon as he arrived in Budapest, the pram belonged to Grandad.

Now it’s not in my nature to be an army sergent but as nanny Janny had booked the family to come for 3 nights someone needed to run a tight ship regarding the activities agenda. As we were now practically locals we offered some suggestions and off we trotted in the beautiful Brigitte approved sunshine to Budapest Castle.

We made our way across the chain bridge led by pram man.

Up to to the Cathedral.

Which housed 180 degree views of Budapest.

A family photo op! You were asleep.

A selfie opportunity.

The three man-kerteers carried you down the stairs.

Which made for thirsty work.

And hungry tummies.

Shish plates.

At 4pm each day we would leave the group for Brigitte’s play time which consisted of stripping you down to your nappy and letting you roll around till 6pm, at which point the bedtime routine commenced.

You were still refusing to drink boiled tap water but had become quite partial to bottled sparkling water.

When we went back for Brigitte time, uncle Mikey and Auntie Jo took the time to photoshop us on snapchat.

Have a few cheeky beers.

And joked about, regarding there long awaited engagement announcement – still nothing!

It was going to be a big day. We had the thermal baths and a boat trip locked in. Unwashed and dishevelled (l fear l look like a homeless person) l headed out across the river to the delish chocolate scroll shop, ordered 6 of their finest plus a coffee to go for good measure. It appears l also didn’t wash my face last night as my mascara seems to be flaked under my eyes.

The underground activities were almost as exciting as the trip to the museum. We needed to take a met to the thermal baths. Like sheep we all started following daddy down the escalators (the lift was broken), then with you in the pram (asleep) we all made our way back up the escalator (he’d taken us the wrong way) – safe sensible parenting at its finest but pram man and auntie Jo took the reins.

As the baths didn’t allowed children under 2 in the pool, grandad the trusty pram pusher took the pram reins and volunteered to skip to bathing. I think he had secretly planned on playing with you for 2 hours by himself but sadly for him, the noise of the baths kept you asleep the entire time we spent in the baths therefore pram man’s day consisted of walking around the outdoor thermal baths at least 50 times. I’m surprised they didn’t charge him more for wear and tear.

Daddy and l went in the sauna, followed by a zero degree plunge pool – hectic!

As grandad hadn’t quite got his ‘Brigitte time’ he commandeered you again. When on the boat, a Brigitte dance floor was created by the Russian.

YOU LOVE DANCING! The easiest way to make you smile is to sing ‘Brigitte’s at the disco’,

Brigitte’s at the disco, dancing at the disco,

Brigitte’s at the disco, bopping at the disco.

Brigitte, Brigitte, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, Brigitte’s at the disco

*and repeat.

Barcelona (Ed Sheeran) or Despacito (Justin Beiber) whilst bobbing you up and down.

Once the boat starting moving, you slept for the first half as we took in the sights.

Then auntie Jo and uncle Mikes entertained you. At this point, you seem to be afraid of uncle Mikey, you smile at him from a distance but if he tried to hold you, the blood drained from your face, terror washes over it and tears start flowing in enormous volumes. I think it must be because he’s the only person who head is bigger than yours.

At 4pm, we went back for Brigitte time.

The grandparents, Uncle and Auntie maintained their photobombing.

Whilst enjoying a few games of pool/snooker – l can never remember which is which.

Mum had a dabble of resembling Putin with a pint.

And uncle Mikey enjoyed Budapest’s finest heart attack on a donut.

Before Jo popped round and introduced you to cha cha slide. I’m not quite sure what you made of being flung around the room whilst being rapped to however, there were no tears and l’m quite sure l even saw a smile on some of the super energetic dance moves that made up the routine.

‘To the left, take it back now y’all

One hop this time, right foot let’s stomp

Left foot let’s stomp, cha cha real smooth

Now it’s time to get funky

Slide to the left, slide to the right

Criscross, criscross

Cha cha real smooth

The last supper was spent at an underground Hungarian restaurant.

Before pram man reluctantly pushed you home.

Uncle Mikey asked if pram man would notice if we went missing. Again l can’t tell you how much he liked to sing at the pram (asleep or awake).

The lyrics to his current song went as follows:

*theme tune – twinkle twinkle little star

Brigitte, Brigitte little star,

l will love you wherever you are,

Up above the world so high,

You’re as sweet as apple pie

We had been informed the night before that babies were unable to enter nightclubs so post dinner we left the party goers to enjoy their Cuban cocktails whilst we went to bed…

…Woke up the next morning to this.

.

It was time to say ‘See you soon’ to the fam. Next stop Austria by train.

 

We were lucky enough to have complimentary accomodation from daddy’s friend who he worked with in Germany. I was delighted to wake up and find that the coffee shop on the corner was highly rated on the net.

As l didn’t speak German, l tried to explain my complex coffee order (espresso shot with a tiny bit of milk and no froth) with a picture. Epic fail! The espresso glass l had shown clearly didn’t translate on picture and in its place the biggest glass of what l can only describe as hot milk with a dash of coffee. Thankfully l married the most amazing man on the planet and he took one for the team. I was allowed to drink his ‘not as bad’ coffee whilst he had my order.

As it was Sunday not a thing was open so we headed into Vienna city centre in hope of activity.

Which became a day of architecture.

And a visit to the imperial museum.

Random shot – you’re primary outfit since arriving in Europe!

The next morning and we were back exploring.

On the most epic met system l have ever come across.

First we headed to the outdoor food market.

Then to a traditional Viennese coffee house.

Before visiting the imperial palace.

 

A walk around the gardens.

Followed by a ‘we are freezing’ selfie’.

Dinner was schnitzels.

You’re newly found skill – squeeze the teat with your fingers when it isn’t in your mouth.

First stop of the day was Cafe Central.

As daddy isn’t into fancy things he moaned a little but frankly l loved it. High ceilings, grand lighting, delicious food.

After a couple of tourist snaps to share with my ‘Australian Breakfast Club’ – Kat, Sarah and Vasinee we tucked into boiled eggs, croissants and bread.  You passed out towards the end of our food…

…so we took the opportunity to visit the kunsthistorishes museum.

Again, you slept like a gem.

On our last night we headed to a Zimbabwe restaurant. Minutes before we finished eating, we saw the pram shaking. The Brigitte was awake and definitely wasn’t going back to sleep. After a quick trip to the supermarket to get chocolate and nappies we all headed home awake.

Sadly, when we arrived at home we realised in confusion over the word for nappy, we had purchased changing cloths, then came the exchange of changing cloths for nappies and we left the supermarket without the primary purchase, the chocolate.

You were a nightmare to get back to sleep so we were unable to watch the episode of Vikings daddy had downloaded but when you finally passed out we all went to bed.

Who could be mad at this face? After a morning in the city, daddy took us for coffee and cafe Viennese style.  You were the dream child (as you usually are in public places) and we all lived happily ever after.

It was the last supper (lunch) before we headed to the airport. I was mildly surprised at how much you seemed to be enjoying the tinned carrot. Nanny Janny was appalled that we had fed you carrot for breakfast, lunch and dinner and on numerous occasions had advised that her opinion was ‘if we give it to you, we should also eat it’.

When l went to throw the carrots out on the last day, l randomly googled ‘zucker’ to see what the other ingredient was…

…’sugar’ – no wonder you bloody liked them! Who puts carrots in sugar?

Week 25 – Budapest

Budapest with my beautiful pest…

This week you learned how to:

1. Plank
2. Lick your lips
3. Morphed bubble blowing into spitting (according to google babies who talk early do this, daddy researched it after l told him off for teaching you to spit at people)
4. Hold crawl position for 10 seconds however still unable to move
5. Eat kiwi

Budapest was our next destination. As we had booked with a budget airline, daddy and l had a choice of spending 3 pound each to sit together or receive a random seating selection. In true penny pinching style we chose the former. Grandad dropped us off at the airport and after a 90 minute delay, we clambered onto the aircraft into our separate seats, l transferred you from the Ergo into my lap, stuffed a bottle of milk in your mouth and watched you drift back to sleep whilst daddy sat 5 rows in front of us.

2 hours later l was feeling pretty pleased with myself. You were still asleep and there was only 15 minutes of the flight left. You are the best travel companion!

Insert daddy update. Yes that is him (tallest head) reading a newspaper. Note: I did not see daddy the whole flight (except the back of his head). The reason why daddy is able to read a newspaper, which is significantly to his left is because there was no one sat next to him. Instead of popping down and asking whether his beloved wife and only child would like to sit next to him, he took the opportunity to spend 135 minutes sans family.

This ‘life choice’ has been noted for future use.

After an interesting taxi ride which reminded me of the film ‘Taken’ we made it safely to our Budapest studio.

Following a good nights sleep we headed out into the streets of Budapest. Interestingly, one side of the river is Buda and the other is Pest. We were located on the Pest side so we walked across the chain bridge to Buda.

The pram was the gift that kept giving and we were able to lodge the milk in your mouth whilst daddy face timed Granny Lowes.

As you are a Leo, this picture seemed relevant.

It was freezing. Brigitte the seal was out in force so we headed back to Pest  for some lunch after a loop across the Elizabeth bridge and some thrift shopping for additional layers in a bid to stay warm.

Followed by a beer in a ruin bar.

Our night routine seemed to be working well so far. At 7pm we would pop you in the pram and go for dinner.

It was a tough start to the morning, we had to select a baby formula in Hungarian (choosing baby formula was quite a nerve racking experience after the nappy explosions that had thankfully subsided).

Then we stumbled across a cafe that served the best coffee and chocolate croissants, plus you slept for two hours. It was a rainy morning so we were able to lounge, sip coffee, chat and relax.

Until you got up…

Occasionally l think with my next child l will put less effort into their development. I appreciate that there is some level of nature and it isn’t just nurture but our daily routine before we left Australia involved mirror time, singing, ABCD, counting, body parts songs – there were many body parts that weren’t covered in known songs so l had to amend and introduce additional verses.

“Forehead, elbow, hands and fingers…

…hands and fingers

Forehead, elbow, hands and fingers…

…hands and fingers

Boobies and belly and cheeks and chin

Forehead, elbow, hands and fingers…

…hands and fingers”

Sit ups with pulsing (core strength), tummy time (back strength), dangling you upside down (balance), rolling pin Brigitte (tenacity), wheelbarrow (arm strength), crawling techniques (movement). Again songs were invented:

“Brigitte’s legs move up and down, up and down, up and down

Brigitte’s legs move up and down all day long.

Brigitte’s arms move up and down, up and down, up and down

Brigitte’s arms move up and down all day long.

Brigitte’s arms and legs can move in co-ordination, move in co-ordination, move in co-ordination,

Brigitte’s arms and legs can move in co-ordination, so she will eventually crawl.

Now let’s do the other side, you’ve got two arms and legs so we need to synchronise.

Now let’s do the other side so you will eventually crawl”

I’ve been thinking of getting the lyrics patented.

Just to name a few…

My point is whomever said 6 months is the best time to travel with a baby because they do not need much stimulation hadn’t met you. There are 20 mothers with babies in my mothers group and not one baby can hold their own weight whilst standing, in fact some of them barely roll – your favourite position is on your feet whilst being entertained by myself or daddy.

However, the benefits of an energetic child is that they need to sleep occasionally.

Daddy and l took the opportunity to visit the Hungarian National Museum which also had a rocky start. En route we needed to go through the subway which involved both daddy and l carrying the pram. Next thing l know some tea leaf is tugging at my handbag whilst we are carrying you in the pram up the subway stairs. Thankfully my purse is the size of my handbag so by the time she managed to retrieve it we were at the top. l caught a glimpse of my new Fendi purse making its way round her back, in her sticky fingers. After some high pitched yelling and a purse snatch back we continued with all our belongings.

You were oblivious to the whole thing and in addition to having nanny’s frown face, you appear to share her love of museums.

And you kindly stayed asleep until 5 minutes before we were done.

At which point daddy went to change your nappy and l took an unkempt selfie.

Next stop Budapest food markets where we indulged on some Langos and you screamed the place down.

The fact that you had now become a seasoned traveller and our Australian regimented daily development schedule had taken a nose dive was worrying me. Exploring was fun but we were also mindful that our baby Biddie’s needed some activity time. From this point onward our new travel rule was home by 4pm for playtime.

Mama time.

Roll around the bed time.

Woody woodpecker time.

Bedtime, which was more commonly known as ‘pramtime’ when travelling.

Daddy had found a little hole in the wall courtesy of trip adviser.

And we spent the rest of the night eating deer, drinking wine in our new Hungarian wool purchases.

As our new rule was to be back by 4pm, in true daddy style he decided to make the most of the outdoor exploring time we had.

The day wasn’t too cold so Brigitte the seal was no where to be seen.

However bi-polar Brigitte made an appearance every now and then.

You had learnt a new tantrum technique which involved pulling your head back so that all your skin and fat pushed forward onto your face whilst crumpling your face and holding your breath. It took a while to capture it on camera but below is a pretty good example.

Daddy took you on a slide.

We cooled your milk down in the snow when it was too hot to drink.

And pushed a 20kg pram uphill, carrying it at the points where there were only steps. We made our ascent to ‘The Fortress’. As it was a 90 minute uphill scale on snow and ice and l was the one with the pram, there was a lot of complaining coming from the females our of threesome.

After reaching the top and getting breathtaking views of Budapest, everyone was smiling.

Some obligatory selfies at the top.

The bus back down.

And the best chocolate scroll l have ever tasted.

After 4pm playtime, daddy and l went for dinner #twinning in our cream cable cardigans and black jeans which conveniently matched the pram.

Week 23 – Scotland

This week you:

1. Had a bite of a banana – your first solid food
2. Ate some lentil soup (which we believe was the cause of point 3)
3. Got your first temperature
4. Survived your first temperature without any medical or medicinal assistance (largely because we didn’t have anything to give you and by the time we found something you had normalised)
5. Pooh’ed through your nappy and clothes for the 10th time. Prior to moving to England you have never, ever done this. Daddy and l are blaming the change in water (water in England has to be different than the water in Australia) and the change in formula (we have tried tenaciously to order it online but l appear to have chosen the only formula not available outside Australia) so we are stuck with Aptimal – for now…

Sooooooooooo, travelling with a baby is definitely different. The first part of our morning was spent sat in the car outside Stirling Castle waiting for you to wake up. To achieve efficiency we gave you a manicure whilst we waited.

42 minutes later (your sleep cycle) and we were on our way…

It was the first time daddy and l had ever seen a rainbow start and finish.

We decided to be brave and tagged along to a one hour guided tour around the castle.

All was going well until the guide demonstrated the sound of a cannon. There was a definite ‘Brigitte jump’ in the ergo followed by a shocked facial expression that asked alarmingly ‘are we at war?’, which transcended quickly into a screwed up facial expression and frantic wailing.

The tour was cut short and we continued our wanderings solo around the grounds.

We finally reached our destination of the Scottish Highlands. You seemed to be as excited as me.

The B&B had a view of rolling mountains and a stream flowing into Loch Lubaig but by 3:30pm it was dark so we had some quality Brigitte time followed by a full scale man hunt…

Daddy announced at approximately 4:45pm that he was unable to find the car key. l’d like to say this is a one off occurrence but daddy has a tendency of ‘losing’ and ‘misplacing’ important items. An example of this is the time we went to Melbourne. At the airport they couldn’t find his flight booking. When he eventually logged onto the internet to find the booking, daddy realised he had spelt his own name wrong which is why they couldn’t find him and he had to pay for a new flight.

Whilst he ransacked the hotel room, l decided that the only place it could be was the post office (we had visited an hour earlier) and continued to proceed with Brigitte’s bedtime routine which consisted of:

• Shower (this is a new thing that we introduced when you started to pooh through your clothes, prior to this new development, weekly/bi-weekly showers were sufficient)
• Milk
• Reading

Before heading downstairs with our trusty monitor for a 3 course dinner with a bottle of Malbec.

Day 2 started by waking up in negative 5 degree temperature and swiftly pulling you into the bed with us at 5am before you froze.

After a quick trip to the post office, daddy found the key and we handed you a banana to play with which you somehow opened and started to eat. Introducing Brigitte to solids part 1.

We pulled out nanny’s marvellous purchase ‘the zebra walker’.

Before heading out on our first Highland hike.

Through pine trees.

Woodlands.

And a loch.

Daddy got a bit excited and had us trekking for an hour in the hills before l strongly suggested we head back for your next nap.

Hike two was a short drive to Loch Katrine.

It was freezing and l was getting the impression that you weren’t enjoying the steadily declining temperature. Brigitte the seal ‘uh uh, uh uh’ was in force and ‘Old Macdonald had a Farm’ got a thorough work out. You are now part of the song…

Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o

And on that farm he had Brigitte the seal, e-i-e-i-o

With a ‘uh uh’ here and a ‘uh uh’ there

Here a ‘uh uh’, there a ‘uh uh’

Everywhere a ‘uh uh’

The pictures don’t do this place justice.

Smiley Biddies.

Once home we warmed up with some tea and l allowed you to roam, naked for the second time since birth.

One word – disaster!

First you started to wee everywhere. Thankfully you were on the change mat so l was able to contain the leakage with toilet paper.

Just as the liquid was contained a mustard coloured hot spring started bubbling from your bottom. There was tissue everywhere.

Finally l wrapped you in toilet paper and we were all safe (note to self, no more naked Brigitte).

You had your second bath of the day with your light up rubber duckies and life was clean.

Night two we attempted to transfer you from the cot to the pram after we had put you to bed so we could have dinner in the local pub.

Fail.

Then you got your first temperature. You seemed fine except that we could of fried an egg on you.

There was only one thing for it. Cool you down with a walk in the snow.

#twinning2

Bidget’s temperature is now 97 degrees.

Your new favourite song is:

5 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack quack and only 4 little ducks came back.

4 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack quack and only 3 little ducks came back.

3 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack quack and only 2 little ducks came back.

2 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack quack and only 1 little duck came back.

1 little duck went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack quack and no little ducks came back.

0 little ducks went swimming one day, over the hills and far away, daddy duck said quack QUACK QUACK QUACK and all 5 little ducks came back.

I’m not sure how long it will be your favourite song for as daddy now knows the words and starts the song at ’20 little ducks’…

…but they say babies like repetition.

It was time to move on from Strathyre but as the carpets were tartan l thought i’d make the most of a photo shoot opportunity in auntie Lynne’s beautiful handmade outfit.

Followed by an antique chair shot.

Then on to Crainlarich for a pot of tea.

And a walk along the lake.

Next stop Cladich, with a mini detour around Kilchurn castle.

I’m convinced there are more castles than houses in the Highlands!

Up close and personal with a Scottish Highland Cow.

The new ‘naked Brigitte’ definition.

You were becoming a very impressive car sleeper which l credit to the Maxi Cosi Euro 6+ months. There is absolutely no way you and your chubster booty would fit in a traditional baby seat.

Inveraray was our final destination and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately, the climate was now negative 10 and you were hating life…

…Until l created a ErgoBugaboo hybrid.

We meandered around the Castle, the grounds and the town with you in a jumper, the Ted Baker jumpsuit and the Bugaboo footmuff attached to the Ergo.

With your newly created hub of warmth, you were smiley, happy and content walking around.

The following morning we decided to set off when you woke up in the middle of the night. It was 3:30am and frankly our idea could of gone one of twos ways. The trip back to Manchester was 6 hours and as you were due to wake up at 7am (your usual waking time) we were conscious that we may need to stop in another destination half way for the night but we planned for the worst and hoped for the best.

After a quick petrol and coffee stop, our favourite girl awoke at 9:30am with 30 minutes left to get back and we were back at nanny and grandad’s by 10am. Insert high five.

Week 22 – Scotland

We were off to a good start on our journey from Manchester to Scotland. You were sleeping well in the car but unlike daddy l wasn’t feeling confident that you would sleep for 3 hours straight (the time it was going to take to drive to our first sleepover stop at Barnard Castle). Although he was now technically your primary carer he still had a bit to learn about your sleeping patterns and ability to entertain yourself or lack of (a trait l think you got from me).

l was starting to panic, l couldn’t decide what was worse

1. Having you scream in the back of the car for two hours
2. Having to sing ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’ with a sore throat for two hours

Thankfully a sign for York popped up and we made a mini detour…

…It was a good call, 5 minutes from our destination you woke up and all hell broke loose until we got you out of the car.

After a quick whip around the new town.

Old town.

And an obligatory Cornish pasty.

We popped you back into the Maxi Cosi Euro and headed to our destination located in the middle of the most picturesque village surrounded by fields and sheep. Cheerful Brigitte had departed the vacation somewhere between Manchester and York but thankfully we were able to put you to bed and head downstairs to the pub where we enjoyed baked camembert with homemade bread followed by sausage, mash and gravy.

The village of Whorlton was even prettier in the daylight. It would of been rude not to do a hike along the river before breakfast.

I’m still not sure how you were taking the new climate but you seemed to remain toastie whilst inside the Ted Baker snowsuit.

After breakfast we decided to walk to the next town. It was risky as we had to get you back in time for the next nap (which we had planned for you to complete in the car) but it was a beautiful day, sunny skies and we decided to take our chances.

The walk was a little longer than we had anticipated.

And with about 2km to go, you were fast asleep in the Ergo. We hot footed it back to the car. Again daddy had anticipated that you would sleep in the car for 3 hours (in one stint)

Wrong on two accounts:

1. The first stop involved a pooh explosion in the car ten minutes into the journey. You were wearing your beautiful new jester tutu from Steve, Simone and Noa for the first time. Imagine two adults in negative 6 degree temperature, holding a naked screaming baby who is turning blue from the cold at arms length. Said baby has pooh all the way up to its shoulders and we are in the middle of a quiet village street, taking turns wiping your back with a wet wipe trying not to get dirty.
2. Then we had to do a random stop in a little town called Alnwick.

Which is where Harry Potter 1 & 2 were filmed when doing the Hogwarts scenes. It was a little disappointing as we weren’t allowed into Alnwick castle but l managed a couple of happy snaps outside the drawbridge.

After a pub stop for game pie (rabbit and pheasant) we finally arrived in Scotland.

Wee lass.

#tartantwinning shot 1

I’m not sure you were enjoying the matching outfits as much as l was.

Next stop: 24 hours in Edinburg.

It was wet and freezing, we spent most of the day trying to find gloves, scarf and an umbrella. You spent most of the day pretending to be asleep so you could remain dry and warm in the pram.

Daddy wanted to take a picture of your foot after we had trouble putting on your shoes. He’d like you to know it is your least attractive feature (which i’m sure he will regret when you eventually read this).

Brigitte Baldwyn Update: You appear to be sprouting some platinum blonde hair.

The evening was spent wandering the streets, visiting Edinburg Castle and purchasing 1/2 price microwavable peking duck from Tesco for dinner. Neither daddy nor l could face another ‘hearty’ meal and the place were we wanted to eat didn’t allow children so we were left a little stranded.

Week 21 – Australia

It was going to be a big week, we were travelling from Australia to England. Whilst this picture has zero relevance to my verbatim, it is a rare to catch my beautiful girl mid smile with a camera at the ready (especially when a little sick) – shame about the brown towel backdrop.

The idea was to spend as much time at the beach as possible before we moved to the land of rain, wind, nanny, grandad, Mickey and Jo.

It was short lived, our mini cold got worse, turned into man flu and my uncuddly, independent baby wanted cuddles, sleep and dodi.

However with 5 days out from Christmas, a unit to sublet and pack away, a car to buy and a few last minute presents to purchase we had to plough on with Bidgy in the Ergo.

Thankfully Granny Lowes was able to pop round (on a bi daily basis). At first she was a little reluctant to baby sit the angry baby bear but when she realised that mamma bear was coughing over angry baby bear and probably making Bidget worse she kindly attended to the angry baby bear meaning no more trips to the city and within a few hours we had gone from sad Brigitte…

…to l will survive Brigitte.

…to don’t touch me, l’m back being independent and no longer want to sit on you.

To daddy can #twinning me in the ergo.

We had the Faller family Christmas party where daddy ruined the shot with his ‘bad angle’. For clarification purposes we are both skin and bones, it really was a bad angle.

The following day was a ladies lunch with Cheryl.

It was t-1 day. The pile was getting bigger and l was becoming less confident that Brigitte and her 100kg requirement was successfully making its way through check in.

But rather than stress we went for breakfast with Granny, Oupie, Uncle Steve and Aunt Simone at the Skiff Club. Unfortunately you decided to be temperamental and mid way through breakfast l departed to take you home for a nap.

The final night of sleep before the flight was crucial. We tried to keep you asleep for as long as possible and ‘Brigitte in the big bed’ was a winner when delaying ‘up’ time.

Once up, we headed to Granny and Oupie’s house for Aussie Christmas day on Christmas Eve. As always there were far too many presents under the tree but don’t worry you aren’t a spoilt child (in fact we only purchased you one present). Oupie likes to save all his purchases for the past year and gets Granny to wrap them. I played Santa and there were 6 presents for Brigitte and Noa (Granny is a bit of a shopper), 1 present for Simone, two presents for Steve, 4 presents for mummy, 4 presents for daddy, 16 presents for Granny and 37 presents for Oupie.

Uncle Steve and Aunt Simone relaxing as Noa spent 4 hours sleeping unlike yourself who hates to miss out on the action.

Simone and her home made meringue.

Granny purchased the below outfit from Espanol, perfect for a Christmas Day ensemble.

Aperol Spritz.

Finally the airport.

Daddy and l may of had a couple of terse words about the quantity of bags but as we clocked in at 70kgs on the dot (our allowance before being lynched for $50US per additional kg over), plus a 36kg pram (this needed to be approved as apparently prams don’t normally weight 36kg) and a 15kg car seat (this also needed to be approved as apparently they normally weigh 7kg). Thankfully l had strategically ‘added’ additional content to the pram and car seat box.

Check in = success! Only a 24 hour flight to go.

The obligatory ‘fresh’ shot.

It started badly. We weren’t able to use the bassinet until we were up in the air. The flight was packed to the rafters. Who flies on Christmas Day? (except us who wanted half price flights). You were performing a rendition of a squealing pig crossed with an angry alligator. Finally after daddy has shushed you into submission you passed out.

We put up the bassinet with the CoziGo (the black thing that apparently blocks out 97% of light and sound).

And for the next 12 hours, from a 14 hour flight, you slept. Insert ‘high five’.

On occasion the pilot got a little trigger happy with the turbulence button and we were instructed to remove you from the bassinet but you thankfully stayed asleep.

Doha! Only 7 hours of flying to go before meeting nanny and grandad.

The second flight was a tale of two stories. On one hand l was elated that there were 20 passengers in total on the flight so we could peacock and take up an entire row however the pilot hit the turbulence button at least 30 times. Before you arrived, my aeroplane journey would consist of putting a blanket over my head to ensure complete darkness and sleeping the entire journey. l couldn’t work out if the triggering of the turbulence button was normal but l was miffed. We made a strategic decision to scrap the bassinet and we would take turns holding you.

I would love to weigh your head!

20 minutes into my shift and l had a dead arm. The choice of a dead arm over an awake Brigitte was an easy decision so both daddy and l stayed still and allowed you to cut off our circulation.

We managed another 6 hours of sleep from our air angel before it was time to meet the English grandparents.

 

Week 20

Well it’s official. I’ve taken that many pictures of you l have had to delete Facebook, tripadvisor, gumtree, messenger, hotmail and anything else that wasn’t essential…

…Whattsap, Instagram and my banking apps have survived another day.

It has been a big week. You are now in infant nappies and fitting into 3 – 6 month clothes (l do appreciate you are 4.5 months already but it’s still a sad day when you officially have to pack away a clothes size).

This week you learned how to:

1. Roll from your back to the right (previously only able to roll to the left)
2. Put the dummy back in your mouth whilst awake (unable to do this during the night) – this is a prolonged process and your not at a ‘quick put in’ level so if you are in a grumpy mood, assistance is still required to ensure minimal crying (you appear to have my temprement – which is not a good thing as people should not turn into a tiger)
3. Lift your stomach off the floor when doing tummy time and inelegantly remain in crawl position looking puzzled at what to do next
4. Advise of your requirement for singing ‘uh uh, uh uh’ (if singing does not follow this sound quickly, you start squirming like a worm in the Ergo which is extremely uncomfortable particular when one is housing a full bladder
5. Squeeze the teet on the bottle with your little fingers so the milk shoots out super fast
6. Trump in a manner that makes us think you have poohed (l have no idea why this is the case as your dietary intake has remained stable since birth)

I am growing more sure you are a lefty.

I’m not sure it was the best idea but there were a few trips to the city but as l managed to get my braces removed (after 4 looooong years of faffing with them)  – it was a worthwhile visit!

As mentioned you have learnt how to roll both ways which is kind of an issue. You insist on rolling whilst in the portacot (when you should be sleeping) and once you get into tummy time you cry.

Previously we had been able to wedge you against the side of the cot (when you were a one sided roller) but now you are your own worst enemy and nap time is an interesting tale of roll, cry, mummy/daddy rolls you back, repeat about 10 times and finally you work out that rolling isn’t a great idea.

It was Oupa Lowes’ birthday this week so l decided we should match. You decided that it was time to eat my feet.

I feel a tad mean as all the other mums are starting their babies on solids, however, as you are 85th percentile for weight (rolling in at a healthy 7.2kg) and we have a 24 hour flight ahead of us l am hanging back and for now feet and milk are on the menu.

You got your first pimple.

There is only 10 days left till we go to England so we had a trip to the beach (you also sleep like a Trojan after the beach so it’s a win win situation).

Girls afternoon with auntie Angelica and Chandon at Garfish. You were wonderful…

Skype call with nanny and grandad.

Bit of proud bubble blowing (learned from daddy – it’s his thing).

Apparently uncle Mickey still does this at the ripe old age of 32, hopefully you will grow out of it before you reach 2!

Visit to Wayne and Lynne on the only overcast day in the last 3 weeks, where you got the world’s best Christmas present for England (to be revealed next week).

And then we got sick. Well technically you got sick but then gave it to me. As l don’t get to go to bed at 4pm and nap throughout the day like you do l wasn’t recovering and l’m pretty sure l was giving you the germs back every time you were getting better. 6 days before Christmas daddy saved the day and started to do all the night time wake ups so l could get some rest to accompany the antibiotics the doctor gave me.

For the first time in 20 weeks you ‘hung out’. As previously mentioned you have particular proclivity to standing, rolling, sitting, boshing and basically anything except lying down so l knew you must be pretty sick as you were happy to be cuddled, snuggled and held. Sophie the giraffe from auntie Angela also got some cuddles.

It wasn’t the best timing for either of us to be sick for the following reasons:

1. Daddy and l leave everything till the last minute
2. We leave for England in 6 days
3. We had to pack
4. We needed to buy a car in the UK
5. We had a cleaner coming to clean your vomit stains off the sofa and carpet (which meant we had one square metre of space to play in)

There was only one thing for it…

Off to the library we go where you can roll around and l can do some quick research and posting for cars.

Week 19

This week you learned how to:

1. Sit up unassisted without falling over within 3 seconds
2. Dip your toes in the ocean without crying
3. Go in the ocean wearing a wetsuit
4. Conduct a rugby tackle roll

Walking around Manly with our shades on at 7am, me with a piccolo in one hand and a bottle of milk in the other whilst you kindly directed the milk into your mouth was becoming our early morning ritual.

I can’t tell you how much time you spend looking at yourself in the mirror. Renata (my Brazilian buddy from the mother group who l absolutely adore as she is as crazy as l am when it comes to babies) gave me a tip to determine whether you think you are looking at another person or yourself. I found the biggest red sticker l could find, planted it in the middle of your forehead and waited…

…nothing.

I was a little disappointed as the aim of Renata’s experiment is that you reach up and pull the red dot off your forehead (like some baby genius).  Instead you ended up with a red mark from were l had to rip the extra sticky red dot from your little head (said red dot may of been left on a little too long in hope that you would eventually work it out). l was left disheartened that my dream of avoiding school fees in lieu of a full scholarship for my child genius could be over.

Once off l was impressed at how quickly your skin recovers, the mark was gone within 30 minutes.

In a bid to assist the chances of a full scholarship, l decided we should increase your participation in sensory development. Off to the beach…

…it wasn’t that well thought out. I didn’t bring a towel or anything to wash the dodi when you dropped it onto the sand. 2 minutes in we had face planted and l was confident that the sensory lesson was well under way.

It also made for some super cute photos.

And in no time at all you were writing your own name in the sand.

Once home, we popped into the shower and for the first time since birth l allowed you to roll around naked sans nappy (yep my definition of Brigitte naked always involves a nappy) l figured the carpet cleaning man was coming in two days time so it was as good a time as any. You did me proud and all body fluids remained safely inside The Bidget.

Whilst naked l was able to check your leg rolls. The midwife told me that if you have matching creases on each leg then you don’t have one leg longer than the other…

…so far so good.

The previous days beach trip inspired me to get out your wet suit and spend the afternoon at the beach.

After a shaky start, largely driven by mamma dunkin’ your little legs into the freezing cold Pacific ocean, l managed to calm you down long enough for a lifesaving shot.

Thursday evening was spent at Manly Oval with the mothers group, Auntie Angelica and Daddy for carols in the park.

#twinning

As always you were a dream baby and at 7pm on the dot went to sleep in the pram so we could enjoy some beverages with Alex and Rowan, Husband Quinn’s parents.

l enjoyed some Aperol Spritz with Auntie Angelica and Monica, until Monica announced that she was a child minder and the last thing she wanted to do was spend her day off with a pile of kids (fair call).

Then the fireworks went off.

I’m not sure you were enjoying the display as much as us, like daddy you seem to have a nervous disposition to loud noises.

Until you saw the sky filled with fireworks.

Then for the next 10 minutes you stared at the sky.

Friday was Gymbaroo. Although l had no intention of keeping you in the tutu dress for the session (it would be very difficult to throw you around, flip you from side to side and dangle you upside down with so much material going on) l thought it would be good to get in a quick photo shoot with your fella’s and all the fun activities before the class started. I wasn’t wrong.

Styling credit: Mamma

Headband: Erica Newton

Unicorn Shoes: Cheryl Centen

Tutu: Manly Kids Market

You got to hang out with your husband Quinn.

This has to be one of my all time favourite moments. One moment you were on the left side of Husband Quinn and with a swift up-body, over-body roll you managed to land in the middle of Husband Quinn and Boyfriend Ilay with the perfect rugby tackle. Both boys lay there flattened whilst you practised your tummy time skills.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at home, channelling your South African roots.

Followed by a sofa safari where you saw a hippo, elephant and snake.

I would like to add at this point that l have been on maternity leave for 4 months so my entire day is dedicated to entertaining you and on occasions such as this, myself.

After a full weekend with daddy (l happened to take this as l was on my way past to meet Auntie Angelica).

Daddy provided the following snaps (he isn’t as trigger happy on the camera as l).

It was Monday Funday again.

We hired a beach umbrella and spent the entire day going back and forth from the beach to bed as your nap time required. As mentioned earlier, you held yourself up for longer than 3 seconds for the first time ever, which was great as it allowed me to capture the perfect beach shot.

In the morning we played it safe and stayed out of the ocean to ensure that you didn’t associated the beach with being wet and cold.

Then in the afternoon l brought out the butterfly big gun full body wetsuit.

And we braved the ocean.

Frankly l was freezing so l was pretty impressed that you allowed the water to go all the way up to your armpits and you didn’t complain. I was mildly concerned when a tidal wave nearly took you out but you didn’t seem at all phased.

The final stint at the beach was ocean free, there’s only so many times in one day a British person elects to go into the Pacific Ocean when they grew up in the Mediterranean Sea hot bath.

You seemed pretty happy to hang in the heat.

I may have overdone the sensory development today, bearing in mind we had played in the sand and been in the ocean.

However, l had learnt a new song at Bounce and Rhyme this week to improve core strength.

How to improve babies core strength:

1. Put Brigitte on knee, in a seated position and hold onto her hands
2. Bounce knees up and down vigorously whilst singing the following

‘Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate, wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly on a plate.’

Repeat twenty times.

Daddy kindly took you for a shower

Week 18

This week you learned how to:

1. Walk backwards graciously
2. Transgender dress, introducing your male alter ego Brian
3. Sleep unswaddled with both arms out every night
4. Sit in your pram, whilst awake for longer than 2 minutes without crying (think we managed a full 11 minutes before l had to pull you out and put you back in the Ergo)
5. Sleep in your pram whilst strapped in like a rally car driver
6. Vacuum

Mummy and daddy got to have a family day, we took you walking to North Head. Your walking name is Safari Sam.

Followed by lunch at Mortar and Pestle. Daddy chose your outfit.

Since 10th October you have loved to stand up. At first it was just two locked legs refusing to bend whilst l held your arms but as time has gone by those little legs are your powerful allies. This week your new ‘leg technique includes leaning forwards whilst sat, squatting up whilst holding my fingers (with no upward assistance from myself) and moving one foot behind the other. I have been told walking backwards is normal.

You put so much energy and concentration into mastering the fine art of walking and balance you usually vomit with excitement. Today was no exception.

Introducing Brian. I have found so many beautiful items of clothing that are borderline ‘boy’ however if you had hair you could of pulled off as ‘girl’ – see below for example.

4 months in and we have named you Brigitte Baldwyn Lowes (stolen from Ellie Baldwyn Newton who now at the ripe age of 4 has sprouted some locks and no longer requires the additional non legalised middle name). Even with a pink dummy nanny kept calling you Farmer Giles so l made an executive decision to loan this to Noa.

Now this outfit is worth being called Brian for. Brigitte Brian Baldwyn’s first denim dungarees, teamed with a bow neckerchief.

And some purple converse from cousin Noa to minimise ‘his name is Brian’ as an introduction to strangers after they ask ‘What is his name?’

As mentioned earlier, you LOVED being swaddled. Even when you became an angry alligator, if swaddled properly you would fall asleep with just your beautiful big head popping out of the pink cotton wrap overlayed with the beautiful sheridan blanket Terri bought you. As you have been a champion roller since Melbourne Cup we had been trying desperately to get you to sleep with your arms out. We had been (devastatingly) informed by the midwife that:

1. You could no longer sleep in a moses basket. This was a very sad statement as l had hoped that you could live in your beautifully crafted moses basket with custom made flower sheets (at $35 a pop) that sat perfectly in the space next to my bed and made it extremely convenient when manhandling you throughout the evening, until we headed North
2. You could no longer be swaddled. If you rolled over in your sleep and your arms were straight jacketed you wouldn’t be able to roll back and you would potentially die of suffocation, nothing like a pending death to prompt someone into action.

The problem was still that you liked to be swaddled. We had been given a tip that we should try one arm out for two consecutive nights, the opposite arm for two consecutive nights and then both on night five. We had been trying this since 3rd November (25 days) before deciding to finally rip the band aid off by allowing you to wake yourself up every 20 minutes by punching yourself in the face.

Day 28 and you finally stopped sucker punching yourself.

To ensure success we tried every option in the house.

Flamingo wrap.

Disney sleeping bag (with flamingo wrap around the stomach)

Ergo Coccoon – this is by far my favourite. You could manoeuvre your body in any position and it stretched like a second skin.

As we were on a bit of a roll with the sleeping l decided to push my luck with the pram. You still refused point blank to sit in it whilst awake. The Bugaboo Buffalo is not a cheap pram, you should like it! I even bought a pram liner to make it more comfortable but no you just look at me with your big blues eyes and silently ask (with tears) ‘Why am l strapped in this thing at dwarf level when you could just insert me in the ergo and carry me?’ It was a cold day so for added comfort l dressed you up as a polar bear.

11 minutes in and it was game over. You wanted out. I will park the pram for when daddy becomes your primary carer, as far as l’m concerned, carrying you around has given me a 6 pack stomach and i’ve only been to yoga three times. You’re doing me a favour refusing to go in the pram.

I did sling you back in for an extra 5 minutes so l could get a location shot.

Sleeping in the pram. There are rules.

1. Brigitte must enter the pram no more than 5 minutes before due nap time
2. Brigitte must be allowed a minimum of 10 minutes fussing time. Fussing includes; moaning; whaling; screaming; thrashing; numerous dodi ejections with the condition that said dodi is inserted back into Brigitte’s mouth within 4 seconds of ejection (if this is not adhered to thrashing gets worse)

Once asleep Brigitte looks like a peaceful angel who loves the pram.

And finally we now hoover the house every day. Since last week l have been losing hair like someone diagnosed with severe alopecia, apparently it is extremely common post pregnancy as hair gets thicker, l find this very unfair as this ‘thickness’ was not noticeable during pregnancy. You seem to like it.

 

Daddy builds the Bugaboo buffalo…

There was much excitement about building this pram, given the birth date was 17.7.17, l was surprised to find Anthony trying to build the pram in March especially as we live in the smallest one bedroom unit.

Thankfully after a bit of negotiating we agreed to build it on the due date.

However, there appeared to be an issue with the bassinet build. It was looking more like a backwards roller coaster ride at Blackpool Pleasure beach…

…but never fear, handy Tony to the rescue.

Anthony quote: These are office hands.

Job well done. Proud dad.

Momma styled.