Last Sunday (20 January) Jessica was 11 months old. Can’t believe it’s almost a year now…! Time has gone so quickly, it’s like she’s been with us forever – in a good way: it’s very hard to imagine life without her.
On Wednesday (23 January) Jessica and I were over at her farmor Diana and farfar Albert’s for the whole day for the second time. Ian drove us over, as he will be taking Jessica there on Wednesdays in future, and it was a good test run to see how it would all work. We left at about 8.15am and it took us as long as half an hour due to traffic, so next time we’ll leave a bit earlier and see if that helps.
In the afternoon, Diana and I took Jessica over to the health visitor weighing clinic to have her weighed as close to her 11 month day as possible. It wasn’t very busy but Jessica still had time to explore some of the toys and beam at a couple of babies. When another mum and baby arrived, she was suddenly off into the hallway, one hand touching the side of the archway and then the side of a bookshelf as she hurried past…! It was a new experience to have to hurry after to catch her, but I was so proud of her confidence and how steady she was on her feet. When she got to sit on the scales she kept very still, so her weight was quickly noted as 11.4 kilos (25lb 2oz) – in line with her previous progress.
Jessica seems to really enjoy staying at Ian’s parents, busy walking around exploring their house, and Diana and Albert are building up a bit of a toy collection for her, so that she’ll have plenty of new and exciting things to entertain her when she’s there. She’s also slept in the cot in their library a few times both morning and afternoon now, so she’s getting used to that too. I’ve popped out every so often to get Jessica used to the idea of me not being there, though unfortunately mainly while she’s had her morning nap… Next time I should probably keep away for a bit longer, maybe pop out for lunch. Diana and Albert seem to be enjoying themselves very much too, which is lovely. Both Ian and I are very keen on them being active grandparents (which they certainly seem keen on too) and for Jessica to build a close relationship with them – that can only be a good thing for everyone involved.
Yesterday Jessica and I went over to one of the mums from the post-natal group for lunch again. Some of them see each other more often but Jessica and I are a bit at a disadvantage as I don’t drive (yet) and can’t just hop in the car on impulse to go to Redhill or Reigate, and we hadn’t seen anyone since December some time. The other mums have offered us a lift but it’s also down to me being slightly disorganised… Not everyone could make it this time but there were still five of us mums with babies, including the hostess Lisa with her Tommy. It’s so nice to see them all grow and develop! Jessica impressed everyone by happily walking about the place. Although the others are now pulling themselves up to stand and some walk with the help of a little trolley, they’re no quite there yet. So I was a proud Mummy, of course…!
We’ll have all our babies’ (well, toddlers now, really) first birthday coming up now soon, of course – the first one being Paula’s Kai on 31st January. The Jessica is next, together with Kelly’s Lily, as they share a birthday on 20 February. I’d like to invite them all around for some birthday cake but am not sure how practical that would be, as I’ll be back at work and we’ll probably have double-glazing put into the house round about that time too… Maybe I’ll think of a way.
Jessica’s room still isn’t ready, as we’re waiting for the damp problem to get sorted and the new windows to be put in. But often after Jessica’s naps we linger a bit to explore what there is to play with up there. There are a few books in her bookshelf that haven’t been brought downstairs and she likes tearing them down from the shelf and look through them. Another fun activity is to grab the bars of her cot and shake. As she’s quite strong now, I half expect the cot to crumble when she does that…! We’re currently looking for a cot bed for her, which will last her a few years, so that her current cot can be passed on to the new (and not quite as strong…) baby.
Unfortunately, Jessica’s suffering from a bit of a cold at the moment. It’s not been too bad so far – she’s just been a bit sniffly – but today she’s got a bit of a cough and is more tired than usual. She’s still cheerful and it’s not a case of her having a temperature, but she runs out of energy quicker. Jessica and I were due to go over to Cara and Daisy’s this afternoon and we still will, but might not stay too long – will see how it goes. Jessica was falling asleep while drinking her morning bottle, though thankfully (with the help of a few nudges) she finished her formula and then I brought her upstairs to bed already for 9.30am. Will see how long she sleeps for.
Gabriella