The Life of Matthew

Yesterday evening was rather a sad time for me. After what I reckon is around 250 goes I have had my last bath in my beloved Tummy Tub. It is time to realise that I am probably too big for it. I mean, it’s meant to be used up to 6 months (although it does say to continue longer if you wish) but I am a big boy now and I should be having real baths. I think. Maybe.

I think the real reason is that ever since I was introduced to the fun of the swimming pool I have turned my Tummy Tub into an enormous splash session which leads to half the kitchen (certainly seems that way to Daddy who has to clear up) being under water.

So tomorrow night it seems that I will be washed in the grown-up bath. Sounds a bit scary although I like the idea of being able to splash around more.

Until next time, bye bye

This has been a very exciting week for me.

I spent the weekend sleeping at Mormor and Morfar’s house because they were away and we were house and dogsitting. For the first time I slept in my travel cot that Grandma and Grandad bought for me. It was very comfortable and I slept really well. Normally I use it as a playpen. Mummy and Daddy were really pleased that they didn’t have to dismantle my own bed because apparently that would have involved a lot of hard work for Daddy!

On Sunday I was giving it beans in Mormor and Morfar’s dining room when I became interested in one of Mormor’s pot plants. I picked a big lump of earth up and tried to eat it! Fortunately Daddy stopped me in time. But I haven’t been interested in putting things in my mouth for ages. Daddy thought, ‘Ah ha!’ Could this mean that I was ready for finger food? So that evening at dinner a little bit of Mummy’s and Daddy’s food was put in front of me and I picked it up and ate it. And then I wanted more. That was a little bit of sausage. Next night it was pasta, yesterday it was apple (thanks to Auntie Veena for that tip) and today it’s been pita bread, pasta and Wheetos. Tomorrow we’re going to try carrot.

On Monday I grabbed the coffee table and properly stood upright for the first time.

Following on from that, tonight I pulled myself up by the stairs and then, with Mummy steadying me, I put my little right foot on the bottom step and the left one quickly followed. Then I moved my hands up to the next step and then my feet. With Mummy’s help I climbed up the stairs in no time at all! I had some help on the last two steps because it suddenly got much wider and when I got to the end I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I have climbed the stairs for the first time! Somehow I just seemed to know what to do. Mummy of course thinks this means that I am super intelligent but I’m sure all babies know this.

Today I also crawled properly for the first time. I must say I’m a little wary about this and I seem to get stuck and a little bit scared so I start crying for someone to come and rescue me. Matilda’s Daddy says that she did something similar when it came to walking. Whoa! One step at a time please.

I haven’t had my afternoon nap today so maybe tonight will be the first time I can sleep through the night having missed it. Somehow I don’t see that happening. No doubt I will fall asleep for 30 minutes and then keep Mummy awake till 1am. She says she doesn’t mind now that Sex and the City doubles are back on TV and she can watch them while I have my milk. So I hope tonight’s episodes are good ones!

Until next time, bye bye.

Today I went shopping with Mummy and Mormor and I got my first pair of real shoes! Big thank you, Mormor
I was a really good boy in the shop and I let Mormor (she used to be in the shoe business) try them on me with no fuss at all. Not at all like Mummy when she was a baby apparently. Obviously I am much more mature than she was.

My first shoes are ever so smart. Little trainer-sandals with velcro straps just like Daddy has. Mormor says I have quite wide feet.

This morning I pulled myself up all by myself for the very first time. It wasn’t completely into a standing position, more of a hunched over type of thing, but it’s still a big step for me. My new shoes have a good grip to help me crawl, stand and walk.

Until next time, bye bye.

P.S. Mummy says I should be a good boy and tell the whole truth. I was very good in the shoe shop because I was asleep while they tried the shoes on me. Giggle.

Last Tuesday I went for my ten month check-up (sorry about the delay in telling you but I’ve been very busy).

There were no injections (hooray) but apart from the normal prodding and poking my doctor asked Mummy and Daddy lots of questions to see how I am developing. She asked things like can I sit up by myself (yes), do I react to my name (yes), can I crawl (sort of), do I understand things (yes), do I react to strangers (yes - I don’t like them) etc.

After all of the questions and examinations my doctor pronounced me “a perfect baby” and that I was “very intelligent.” This made Mummy’s day, week, month and she spent the day looking very chuffed.

For the record I now weigh 11.15kg and am 77.5cm tall. A very big baby for my age but perfectly proportioned!

The picture shows me playing in a little paddling pool that helps me cool down in the hot weather. I like splashing a lot.

Until next time, bye bye.

I thought you all should know that just because I can’t speak yet doesn’t mean I don’t understand things. I’m very clever.

I know how to give high fives when asked in both English and Danish.

If you ask me to I’ll lift and waggle my feet.

Best of all, I can make my scary face, my “bisse ansigt” on command. When Mummy says, “Bisse!” this is what I do:

Until next time, bye bye.

I’m so sorry for not writing more these days but so much is happening and I’m such a busy little boy that there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Let me start by saying that Mummy got better quickly and I didn’t feel any effects from the medicine she was taking so that was good.

A bit of sad news for me at the end of last month - I had to wave bye bye to my beloved Amby Baby, my first bed. I finally had to realise that I was just too big for it. Because I didn’t want to give it up Mummy had been opening the feet flap for me so I didn’t knock my feet against the end of the hammock while I was sleeping. Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks that was no longer enough and my feet were sticking out the end! I really am a big boy.

I want to say a great big thank you with lots of special hugs to Grandma and Granddad for getting me my first bed. I slept so well in it and I wouldn’t have been without it. Neither would Mummy and Daddy (especially Mummy since she was the one in charge of any mid-night feedings!). I didn’t sleep very well in hospital on the hard, flat surface but in the Amby I slept like a … well, like a baby. Mummy and Daddy think it’s because of the Amby that I started sleeping through the night just before I turned two months and why I only ever used to wake up once during the night. So I have been a happy little sleeper because of my Amby Baby and I will miss it.

I now have a new bed from Stokke, the same people that made my high chair. It expands so I can use it till I’m a really big boy (7 years old!) and then it turns into two chairs. I want to give special thanks and great big hugs to Mormor and Morfar for getting me my new bed. I must say I sleep very well it and I can now sleep on my side which is something I’m keenly exploring. I look very small in my new bed and I try to stick my feet out through the bars so at the moment my nursing pillow is arched around my legs at night. It was arched around my head but I picked it up and dropped it on my head and scared myself so that didn’t work very well!

I’ve nearly learnt how to crawl. I try to arch my back like a cat and then get up onto my knees. Mummy and Daddy tried pulling themselves across the room on their stomachs like I do and they decided it was very hard work. We had a race and I won! When I’m in my exersaucer I can stand up for a few moments. I’m very pleased about that. I’m also trying to pull myself into a standing position whenever possible.

I’ve also had my first swim! It was ever so exciting. Mormor and Morfar got me special swimming nappies and a special “swim seat” like my girlfriend has. (Psst - Matilda - xxx). Daddy and Mummy held me in the pool and I kicked with my legs and splashed with my arms and it was ever so much fun. I sat in the seat and leaned forward and try to propel myself across the pool. Daddy says he’s going to teach me how to swim. I like being in the water. Mummy says I’m a water baby.

So as you can see I’ve been a very busy little boy. I’ve also learnt how to roll my ball towards Mummy and I’ve nearly understood the difference between throwing and dropping. Sometimes.

I promise to try and write more in future.

Until next time, bye bye.

Oh dear, things are not very well at the moment. Mummy is ill. Mummy has a special breastfeeding Mummy illness called mastitis.

Yesterday morning Mummy woke up with a pain in her left breast. At first she thought she’d just slept badly but then she started feeling week and drained. She was getting chills and feeling nauseous and had a horrible headache. Then she started getting a temperature. Daddy said it might be mastitis and then Mummy looked up the symptoms and it seemed clear that was what it was.

By this time it was getting quite late (for me anyway - I start getting ready for bed around 8pm) and it was my dinner time so Daddy had to stay home with me while Mormor took Mummy to the doctor.

The doctor confirmed Daddy’s diagnosis and Mummy is now on antibiotics and anti inflammatories. He gave her a book to read about how the drugs he prescribed (penicillin g and ibuprofen) are safe for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Mummy is feeling a lot better today and doesn’t seem to have a high fever anymore so that’s good news. She has to keep taking medicine for another 4 days. I have to help her get better by continuing to drink lots of milk.

Now for the science stuff: it seems that mastitis is an inflammation of the breast with swelling, redness, tenderness and pain. Infection is also possible so you should see a doctor as soon as possible. If it doesn’t get treated, it can cause a breast abscess that has to be drained. That doesn’t sound nice at all so I’m glad Mormor took Mummy to the nice doctor. It seems to be caused by clogged milk ducts so you should make sure you either breastfeed or express milk regularly. You also shouldn’t sleep on your stomach, wear tight or under-wire bras or allow yourself to get run down or stressed. If there is a sudden decrease in the frequency of feedings this can lead to mastitis. What caused it for Mummy she doesn’t know. She hasn’t done any of those things and it’s weeks - months - since I stopped feeding so frequently.

Daddy is of course taking wonderful care of her and of me. Yesterday Mummy didn’t have the strength to lift me. She has to drink plenty of fluids, relax (it is an illness you know), get lots of rest, apply warm and cold compresses (which as far as I can see means a wet towel), sleep without a bra, massage the sore area and - most important of all - keep feeding me. Only I have the strength (!) to unclog the ducts. I am super baby!

It seems that some people say you should put cabbage leaves in your bra. I do know that cabbages are out of season so Mummy is a bit stuck there. Apparently that helps ease engorgement but Mummy seems to have gone beyond that stage.

I might end up with a little diarrhoea as I react to Mummy’s medicine but I should be all right. As long as Mummy gets better.

Until next time, bye bye

I’ve just managed to sit up all by myself! I was lying on the floor and the next thing I knew I was sitting up. Got to go now and practise this new found ability.

Until next time, bye bye.

Today I’m nine months old and as a special treat I didn’t have to go to see my baby doctor. I didn’t have to have any injections so I’m able to miss a month as I’m such a good baby.

This means that I don’t have any vital statistics to report so instead I’m going to catch up on things that have happened over the last couple of weeks.

Relations Leave and Relations Arrive

Mormor and Morfar went on a cruise so I wasn’t going to be seeing them for a while but my great-uncle from Denmark came to look after their dog (and house I suppose - no he definitely came for the dog). He brought me some presents one of which was some bibs. I’m wearing one of them in this picture and the text says “That’s it. I’m ringing Grandma”. As the second picture shows, I really need to wear bibs!

I’m eating lots of lovely food that Mummy and Daddy prepare especially for me. Every Saturday we go down to the market to find fresh fruit and vegetables. I’m even eating stews, cottage pies and spinach.

Mummy Away so Daddy and I Play

Mummy hasn’t really gone away but she’s been very busy with work and has had to leave the house a lot. This means that Daddy and I have had lots of time together. We’ve gone for walks down to the beach and have been to see some horses. As the picture shows, I thought that the horses were really funny.

My First Balloon

Mummy and I went to town shopping one day and the lady in one of the shops gave me a balloon to play with. I liked playing with it although it was very difficult to hold on to and kept flying away. It took a lot of concentration to grip it. Mummy and Daddy were waiting for it to pop but it never did.

Wet Grandma-in-Law

Last week Daddy was going to fix Matilda’s Grandad’s computer and I was going to go with him. As Daddy was going to be working, Matilda’s Grandma was going to look after me. Unfortunately the heavens opened and the heaviest rain I’ve ever seen came down. Daddy phoned up to say that we would be over after the storm had passed but unfortunately Grandma-in-Law was out shopping and didn’t know about the postponement. Instead of waiting for the rain to stop she walked back through it so that she didn’t miss seeing me! I had a really nice time with Grandma-in-Law and she kept me entertained. I didn’t realise ’till after that this was the first time that someone who isn’t a relative has babysat me.

In Conclusion

I’ve had a very busy time recently and there have been lots of new experiences for me to take in. I’m also teething at the moment (two top front teeth) so I’m not always the happiest of chappies but apart from this I’m developing very well and can almost crawl! All this excitement takes it’s toll and every now and then I have to have my siesta.

Until next time, bye bye.

Today was a big day for me - indeed a big day in any young man’s life. I had my first date AND, best of all, my spot cleared up in time for it!

I was a little nervous at finally meeting Mathilda. She’s been writing to me and telling me that I’m cute I suppose I was worried that she might not think so when she saw me in real life. Daddy said that on his first date he wore a brushed denim jacket/trouser number and a floral print shirt so I made sure that Mummy dressed me! She stepped up to the plate and I looked great in my Ralph Lauren outfit. Mummy and Daddy said I looked very handsome but they’re supposed to say that so I hope Mathilda thought so too. I thought she was very cute.

She is older than me, though, so she’s a lot more experienced. I mean, she can stand up! I can’t stand up. I’ve only just learned to sit up properly on my own. And she crawls! I was happily playing with her toys and suddenly she was zooming around the room. It looked very exciting, I can’t wait until I can do that. And she has many more teeth than I have and a lot more hair and she can say real words. She doesn’t have to wait for someone to sit her down and feed her, she can take food herself and eat it. She was eating something called a biscuit. I don’t really know what that is except that Mummy eats biscuits and she likes them very much.

We sat together on the play mat and on the settee while the grown-ups chatted. Mathilda let me play with her toys and she patted me on the back and tried to grab my ear. I tried to hold her arm and everybody said, “Ahhhhh.” But, like I said, she is older and more experienced and at one point she started trying to take my clothes off. That was just moving too fast for me, I’m not ready to commit to such a relationship yet. Even our mummies were scandalised. Mathilda got moved away and I was able to keep my socks on for the rest of the date.

We had a lovely time and I know Mummy and Daddy enjoyed the chance to talk to other grown-ups about babies and all the developmental stages and everything that they’ve just gone through. Mummy’s done that before but for Daddy it was a first. And Mathilda’s Mummy and Daddy (future in-laws?) are very nice and we all liked them very much. They gave me an England rugby shirt to match Mummy’s and Daddy’s. I can’t wait to wear that. I had wanted to take flowers for Matilda but Daddy said that was being a softie and that girls don’t like flowers on the first date. I sometimes wonder how he ever managed to woo Mummy!
My favourite toy out of Mathilda’s was a mobile phone with buttons and lights and sounds. I’m going to get my own phone because I like things with buttons on them, like the TV remotes. Maybe having my own phone will stop me from wanting to play with the remotes - not likely!

Mathilda is coming back again in six weeks time. I hope I’ll get a second date.

Until next time, bye bye