So yesterday the big day came: Jessica’s first Christmas. We celebrated it at our place – to make it as easy as possible for Jessica to have her naps and go to bed in the evening when she needed to – and Ian’s parents and sister came over for the day. Ian and I had tried to be organised in preparing a lot of the food over a few days beforehand and putting in the freezer but last-minute preparations and heating things up till took a little time, so farmor, farfar and Auntie Wendy entertained Jessica in the living room while Ian and I sorted lunch out.
The day went really well. Jessica enjoyed all the attention she got, of course, and seemed to like her Christmas lunch, which was boiled Quorn-mince with sweetcorn, baked potato, cream and cheese followed by half a banana and some mandarin pieces. (By the way, only a few days earlier she started eating banana the same way most grown-ups do, although one of us holds it for her and she sometimes tries to take bites that are a little bit too big for her. It’s nice to see her practising her biting and chewing, although she’s only got a little bit of a tooth yet.) The Quorn-mince was a first for her. Jessica was happy and cheerful throughout lunch but when crackers were being pulled, the noise startled her and she started to cry. It didn’t take long for her to be put at ease again, though.
After lunch, while Ian, farmor Diana and Auntie Wendy took care of the washing up, farfar Albert sat with Jessica in the sofa looking through some of her books together.
The day was a bit tiring for Jessica, probably partly down to her showing the signs of the start of a cold, and she went to sleep pretty promptly after farmor had given her her afternoon bottle and I had carried her up to her cot. The rest of us decided to open our presents while Jessica was asleep so that we could concentrate on her and her presents later. When Jessica woke up, it was obvious she hadn’t quite slept enough: she was rubbing her eyes and acting quite subdued for a while (and then started to act ‘delirious’ after not too long – a sure sign of her being tired).
The process of opening Christmas pressies seemed mainly bewildering to Jessica. Daddy and Auntie Wendy helped her tear ribbons and wrapping paper off the first lot of gifts whilst Mummy took some photos, and then Mummy and Auntie Wendy swapped duties. Apart from labels and ribbons, some of the books and toys attracted Jessica’s interest, but the clothes she got – not quite unexpectedly – didn’t seem to generate much interest (they were much more appreciated by Mummy and Daddy on her behalf).
During tea Jessica was rambling away in her high chair, the volume being a bit all over the place as it is when she’s really tired. But we weren’t surprised – it had been a full day with lots of new things happening and lots of people to play with! She ate well (with melon pieces for dessert, which also was a first for her), but Ian soon changed her for bed and I took her upstairs to give her some formula and put her to bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as I put her in her cot.
Gabriella