Month Five as a Family of Four

You can read what we got up to last month here.

My littlest man is FIVE months old. We’ve been a family of four for five whole months.  Actually 5 months and about 5 days but hey I’ve been on holiday. Cheekier than ever and definitely developing his own personality.   I couldn’t wish for a more chilled out baby, except for those occasions where he decides he doesn’t like something and then we know about it.  Like the car seat.  We have a mass hatred of the car seat.  Not sure what the seat has done to him but still he hates it.

Five months means so much learning going on in that little head but more than that it means a month away from weaning!  And five months means I am also very nearly the owner of a three year old.  I am so not ready for the threenager years.

The past month has been a funny old one, with holidays left right and centre which has meant a topsy turvy routine.

The Toddler Terror

As I said, is coming up three.  My baby.  Three.  Some of his little friends have started school this year, him being one of the eldest in the year has put off that mummy trauma for another year.

As we’ve been on holiday we are still not back at nursery and it’s showing.  I miss the routine.  The energy sapping running round.  The socialising with friends.  The offering of activities that I just wouldn’t think to do with him.  He’s beginning to get a little bored with my offerings and I’m beginning to get a little bit repetitive with what I do offer.  On top of that while we have been in Dubai we are still at oven temperatures so have been limited to soft play, though it’s getting cooler now so pool time will be coming back especially after all our holiday pool time.

The Toddler isn’t great in the water, he’s very cautious and needs his feet on the floor.  Something which we started to overcome with swimming lessons before Baby Boy arrived but let fall to the wayside.  A week in Thailand and a week in Portugal with plenty of pool time has started to increase his confidence again.  And while he needs a ring on he surprised (and terrified) both of us by “monkey hands” around the pool one day. Without the ring.

And having built my confidence with having both of them in the water with the husband I am now ready to take both of them on my own!

Plus we have a gym membership that offers access to 3 pools, one of which has a baby water slide.  Hours of fun!

Toddler Sayings This Month

Baby Tuna
-babychino
You go pay for it
– spoilt much??
You need to go to thinking time
– guess what our discipline technique is??
You made me cry
– after he’s told he’s made the baby cry
You make snake on the fire
– you made steak on the barbecue

We are starting to discipline using thinking time.  In theory this is great.  In reality we need to hone the technique.  The problem is that he wants to send everyone to thinking time for making him cry.  Even if he’s not crying.

Baby Boy

Is rolling!!!!!!  Life will no longer be the same it’s only a matter of time before he realises that he can get around by rolling like his big brother did before him.

Those pesky teeth are pretty much there, the amount of dribble we have is unreal but being kept at bay with bibs, hopefully by next update he will have them. But then again I’ve been convinced for months that he will have them when I wake in the morning.

We have a loose routine I guess. Kind of. Maybe. Ok not at all! He naps roughly 3 times a day and doesn’t like to sleep past midnight on his own. That is when the hourly wake ups start and I am trying to savour the sleepy cuddles but to be honest at the minute I’d just savour the sleepy! Still maybe when his teeth are through??

As the Toddler goes back to nursery today we have four mornings on our own that I want to fill with meeting new people and a class or 2 for the little guy. The Toddler got to do a variety of things and I want the baby to have the same opportunities. Second child guilt and all that.

The Husband and I

Have been on two holidays and managed two date night’s! The first in Thailand at the hotel and the second at home at my mums in the local Indian. It’s tradition for us to head to the Raj every time we are in Derby and has been for the past 8 years. Even though they’ve had to move from their original site to make way for the third Co-Op in a one mile radius it’s still walking distance and the food is still amongst the best British Indian I’ve ever eaten. Maybe one day I will branch out but I ordered my usual once again:

Prawn Puri
Chicken Korma
Plain Naan
Pilau Rice (to share)

Well if you can’t beat it??

I’ve also been interviewing, which would have changed our plans a little bit had I got the job, as it turns out they decided to go with the other candidate. Whilst I am disappointed with this, I’d spent my first pay in my head, I am feeling positive and trying to look on the bright side. I got down to the final stages, it was a case of experience won out. I get to spend more time with Baby Boy on a one on one basis. And maybe, it just wasn’t the right time. Fate and all that jazz. These things happen for a reason so maybe I should just watch this space. Last time I didn’t get a job I got Baby Boy instead.

I’ve also started my #MilesForMAMA challenge to run 500km by July 13th. I haven’t started particularly strong but the weather and the holiday is my excuse – now we are back myself and the husband are getting ready to seriously run. We find out shortly whether the husband actually got a place in the London Marathon ballot in his 6th year of trying and we are arranging a couple of half marathons for him to run. If he doesn’t get a marathon place then his aim is to beat his personal best half time.

Other than that we are feeling slightly gluttonous from the holiday. While the husband is headed for a Forever Living Clean 9 detox I can’t as I’m breastfeeding, so I’m just going to eat healthily. Meal plan meticulously. And try out the shrinking violet home body wrap which is said to make you lose inches from problem areas. I’m hoping for goodbye mum tum!

That’s it for now – see you next month!