Friday evening was my first day back at work and Jessica’s first full day at nursery. Jessica decided to sleep for a little bit longer than normal that morning, so I had lots of time to run around and sort out her food, my work stuff and other last-minute things. The hand-over at nursery was very efficient (though friendly). I’d written a sheet with notes on Jessica’s routines and behaviour regarding eating, sleeping, etc., which I handed over with her and her bag, kissed her good-bye and then I was off to the station. No time to think much about the fact that I’d be parted from her all day, which probably was just as well…!
I knew it’d take me a while to get back from work. Ian was fetching her from nursery, as he will every Thursday and Friday when she’s there, and sadly I didn’t get to see Jessica before he put her to bed. I was missing her loads and wanted to give her a kiss and cuddle… The nursery staff had told Ian that Jessica had slept at 10.15 to 11.35am. Later they had tried to put her in the cot for an afternoon nap as well (as I’d told them Jessica normally sleeps for a couple of hours and she had seemed tired) but that had been unsuccessful. As a result, she was of course really tired at the end of the day and went to sleep a bit earlier than usual. Unfortunately, I think this might be the pattern for the days that I’m working: I won’t get back from work in time to see her before Ian puts her to bed… (Hopefully she won’t see me as the baddie, handing her away in the mornings – then Daddy realises she’s gone and comes to the rescue…!)
I arrived home only minutes after Ian had put Jessica in bed, which meant that Ian could dash off to fetch my sister Malin, who’d just landed at Gatwick, flying from Stockholm Arlanda. This meant of course that Malin and Jessica didn’t get to see each other that evening either. But Jessica was up at 6am the following morning, and after she’d had her breakfast, wash and change, Malin was awake to and keen to see her.
Over the Day Saturday, Malin and I went into London to go shopping, to Upton Park and central London (Oxford Street/Tottenham Court Road), while Ian was looking after Jessica. We made sure to come home in good time in the evening, though, to spend time with Jessica and the following day we had no other plans, so Malin and Jessica got as much time together as possible. They seemed to really enjoy each other’s company, with lots of giggles on Jessica’s part. As Jessica’s cousin, Malin’s little boy, is only 3 months older than Jessica, Malin of course had plenty of up-to-date experience of kids Jessica’s age…! It was sad to see my sister go again – we don’t get anywhere near enough time together, but I was so pleased that she could stay with us for a couple of days and that Jessica got to see her again too.
Monday and Tuesday (4 & 5 February) this week, Jessica and I have been hiding out at Ian’s parents, as they’re busy putting in new windows in our house. They’ve done the bathroom, living room, Jessica’s room and our bedroom so far, and it’s staggering the amount of condensation there ISN’T collecting on our window panes now…! Today is supposedly the day for the back door and hallway window. As the house is very unpleasant (freezing!) to stay in with big gaping holes in it all day, Jessica’s farmor and farfar have kindly offered us refuge. As Jessica loves it here, we’re both enjoying the change of scenery (and hopefully we’re not getting under anyone’s feet – though, judging by the affectionate attention that Jessica’s receiving, it doesn’t seem that way…!).
Unfortunately our landlord has asked the window fitters to do another few jobs around the house, like checking and possible fixing the roof, which means they might be in there for the rest of the week, even if the windows are done by tomorrow. I’m keen to have our house back as soon as possible, so that I can get on with the things I need to do without worrying about other people being there, but the sooner the do things, the sooner they can finish, I guess. It’s just not knowing how close to Jessica’s birthday it’ll all get… Both Ian and I have taken a few days off and we’d rather be able to relax about our house in peace. (Plus it’d be the nice to have done some hoovering and tidying after all the work that’s been done – we’ve had to shift lots of things to make space around the windows and they’ll take time to put back in place.)
Saturday Ian reported that Jessica had pulled herself up in her cot for the first time. He’d come into her room and there she was standing up by the bars looking mightily pleased with herself. And Sunday the ‘trouble’ started… For the last few days, as we’ve laid her down in her cot for her day-time naps, she pulls herself up to standing within seconds, then bounces up and down, walks about the cot, kicking and dragging her pillow and muslin about and tries to reach things on shelves around the cot. If you lay her down again, she’s up before you even get the chance to put the blanket over her.
It wasn’t too bad Sunday, but yesterday – although she was evidently knackered – she insisted on pulling herself up again every time I lay her down, so at regular intervals I fished her out of the cot and bring her downstairs again for some play (just in case I was wrong and she wasn’t tired, after all – babies’ needs do change, so I was prepared that I could have been reading her signals wrong). When she finally went to sleep it was at ten to one – after I’d stroke her hair, let her suck my finger (something she’s not done since she was a little baby) and sung a lullaby (“Vyssjan lullâ€). At that point she had been awake for 7(!) hours and was shattered, with tears streaming down her face. As soon as she allowed herself to stay horizontal, she was asleep within minutes…
Today I managed to get her to fall asleep at 11am, sitting by her cot singing a lullaby again, and it was obvious that she was shattered. So I don’t think it’s her need for sleep that is changing, even though I’m sure that’ll happen and quite possibly soon: at the moment it’s the excitement of being able to stand up in the cot that’s mucking things up. Maybe when the novelty wears off, she’ll stay lying down in her cot and go back to her previous sleeping pattern again.
Gabriella