Big pram - Little pram

Mother in law (MIL) is knitting furiously away creating a whole wardrobe of baby clothes. I can’t help thinking that it is all a bit too premature since there are still over 6 months to go and what if things go wrong and we would be left with lots of baby things? But when I saw the miniature jump suits and cardies she created my heart melted and I was reduced to a cooing softie. They were indeed very cute although MIL has yet to perfect an appropriately sized bobble to go on the hat she made – it was far too large and looked like a football.

MIL also made us take home a Mothercare catalogue. I flicked through it and zeroed straight in on the guy stuff – PRAMS. Jeez this is a whole new world of technical gadgetry. I have yet to fathom just how much they seem to have changed since I remember them as a kid. Gone are the old fashioned Nanny prams. In come Formula One styled, aerodynamic, fold into any position contraptions. They are also very expensive – at least £200 for a basic and you tend to need all the extras like car seats, attachments etc which instantly doubles the cost.

I chatted on the subject with my German pal who’s baby daughter is just two weeks old. He already did a thorough research of the market and came to the conclusion that three wheelers, although trendy, were bad since they were unstable and were longer when folded, making fitting into the boot of a car much harder. He opted for a Swedish model which was remarkably unpretentious. Just a bog standard pram – which I thought no-one made anymore. He also got it second hand which he claims means less harmful fumes from the plastic and PVC than a brand new one. Typical scientist.
Speaking of prams. It seems Cat and I will eventually need an adult sized pram. One that has five doors and lots of room in the boot. I have my eye on a Renault Scenic as it is very stylish, fairly inexpensive. It’s one of those mini-MPV type cars that make you feel like there is lots of room inside (even though it is barely bigger than the Punto). I need to investigate more on prices, models and insurance before purchasing one.

Family Coincidences

Just heard the news that Cat’s cousin is to have a child due for early November too. So what, you might ask? Well, let’s look at the family history. Her father has only one sister. A sister who married around the same time I believe as her brother. Who has four children – the same number as in Cat’s family. They used to meet up loads as children so are a very close family – the number of coincidental similarities are too numerous to mention. Now – the baby thing! If I were a betting man, what do you think are the chances of our two babies being born on the same day???Morning sickness is being held at bay with combination of copious acupuncture courtesy of Mum and ‘ear seeds’. Small blobs that you stick to your ear and press on occasion to elicit movement of chi energy – or something like that. Seems to work as she is puking less, but still gets worn out come the evening.

First photo

As a precaution. The hospital gets Cat an earlier than usual scan. Here it is:



Happy birthday. Today you are 9 weeks and four days old.
Welcome to the world little baby.

An evening in the hospital

Cat suffered an episode of severe stomach pain on the way home tonight. A kind hearted stranger accompanied her in a taxi all the way to our home where I was waiting to whisk her to hospital.
Needless to say we were both very worried but a full battery of tests and prodding by the doc at Homerton Hospital ensured that all angles were covered. He found nothing wrong but recommended she get an ultrasound in the morning.
Cat thought her pain was a bout of urinary tract infection but the tests proved negative. So the pain was a mystery.
Luckily, the pain has now reduced to a low rumble of discomfort and I half joked that maybe it was wind.
The positive news to all this is that it was reassuring to see the mechanics of the hospital running with pretty good level of efficiency. It was almost as if we were practising some sort of dummy run, 7 months too soon. We also get to have an ultrasound scan earlier than expected so maybe for the first time I will see the little nipper in all it's foetal glory.

Chunder Express

Poor Cat. We thought we knew what morning sickness was all about when she has so far felt mildly queasy and nauseous. But oh no, today and yesterday has seen her head almost permanently glued to the toilet bowl, chucking up all her food, all her stomach acid and pretty much anything else to boot. It happens every few hours and means she could not even go to work.
She got so bad that I took her to the doctors and he diagnosed that she was dehydrated and prescribed some anti-nausea tablets.
Cat is reluctant to pollute her body with medicines so we called Mum and she came to treat her with acupuncture. It seemed to do the trick temporaily and just now, has managed to nibble on a tiny bit of Ryvita and two of my tortellini pasta pieces - her first solid food for over 24 hours.
Crossed fingers, hope this morning sickness ting passes by quickly.

A Taste of things to come

Cat and I travelled down to Wales over the weekend to visit my friends and their 15 month ‘baby’. I say baby – but at 15 months old this girl was already running around like a toddler and commanded a vocabulary bigger than most people on a Monday morning. She is a delightful, playful, loving, bundle of fun and we had a great weekend. But it was clearly very hard work as just one look at my friends, with their happy but worn out expressions said it all. I was surprised to note how many tumbles and falls she took, some of them alarmingly hard, but she simply got up and carried on her activities without a blink. Clearly she was made of hard stuff.

It was a nice introduction to life in the company of a small child. I don’t think for one minute it will be easy, but on the other hand, I think I get on well with the idea of being a parent. I really like children and their playful innocence. Even the mini-tantrums and tears did not grate on my nerves as I thought it might. Of course I may have to eat my words come the time when I too am knee deep in poo, vomit and nappies.The weekend was nice for Cat too as she could get all the sympathy and wisdom of a person who has only recently been through all that before.

I finally have got round to using Cat's digital SLR. It is a technological thing of beauty and takes simply wonderful pictures. I can't believe I have persisted with my hack of a camera before. My friend told me he brought his videocamera to hospital the day after his wife gave birth and thus began his record of events - he has reems of tapes of his daughter growing up and looking back, he says, it never ceases to amaze them how fast she grows. I too will now record these momentous events in my life having got the hang of the SLR.