8am – still fast asleep
I’ve been up since 630am. Knowing Littlebit will never wake before 8am (and sometimes closer to 9am) is great as it gives me a chance to get showered and do an hour or so’s work before she gets up.
This morning I have prepared this month’s Direct Debits for submission for business number one, gone through the close down accounts with a fine tooth comb and submitted them to Companies House for business number two, sent a few catch up emails which I’ve been meaning to send for over a week, played around on Twitter and ordered some stuff for Littlebit’s party. Productive!
840am – Littlebit wakes up
Littlebit generally stirs and I leave her for 5 minutes or so to properly wake up, by which time she’s either sitting or standing up looking through the cot bars.
905am – boobie drunk
945am – breakfast time
Mashed banana in porridge this morning.
1045am – all ready to go out
Littlebit is all ready to go out, first trip out in her new shoes. Unusually we are ready early so Littlebit is playing in her play pen while I have a hot cup of coffee (rare to drink a cup of coffee while it’s still hot these days) and read a mummy mag.
1130am – Jingle Babies
It has long been said that playing classical music to an unborn baby can increase his intelligence. For generations parents have soothed their newborn with a lullaby. To me it is obvious that music is vital for children’s development.
Dr Fred Schwartz, an acclaimed expert on the use of music to reduce stress in premature babies, has done research that suggests that playing soothing music and/or womb sounds within the incubator of a preemie can increase oxygen saturation levels, create and maintain healthy sleep patterns and increase weight gain in preemies. In addition, irritability (causing stress which forces the infant to expend much-needed calories) decreased, sucking ability improved, the length of the hospital stay was shortened, and head circumference – which indicates brain size – increased.
That’s enough argument for me that music therapy is great for preemies.
Littlebit had songs sung to her in the NICU and when we were rooming in, in the mum and baby room, I played music to her. I love music, her daddy loves music, the whole family love music so it was always going to be a big part of her life.
So, once we were home from hospital and through the freezing cold winter I set about finding a baby music class for us to attend. I stumbled upon Jo Jingles Jingle Babies and we’ve not looked back since. We’ve been attending since Littlebit was just 5 months old (3 months corrected). Of course she couldn’t ‘do’ anything back then. She’d just lie on the floor. But, I would see tiny responses to the different kinds of music that were being played and as the weeks and months went on she could do more and more. Now, we’ve gone from a baby who could do nothing but lie and listen, to a little girl who waves her maracas with the best of them and crawls towards Jo Jingles when the instruments come out. It’s amazing to see and makes me SO proud.
100pm – lunch with Glenn at Roody’s
Lunch with my good friend Glenn at the usual haunt, Roody’s. Love it! Not been in for a week and really missed my Mrs Roody and Miss Roody fix, oh and of course their scrummy food.
Really good to catch up with Glenn too. I am one of those friends who is utterly crap at keeping in touch with people who I don’t see on a regular basis. Months and months will go by if it’s left up to me as I’m afraid life gets in the way. But I love them, my friends, and those who accept this crap side of me and accept me for who I am (and by this I mean those friends that get on my back to meet up for coffee or lunch) are the best!
300pm – waiting
Waiting in the car at the hospital for Granny who is visiting Great Granny. Great Granny has been in hospital for 6 weeks and is really missing Littlebit. I keep showing her new photos whenever I visit but it’s not the same and she gets tearful whenever we talk about Littlebit. They have an unexpected bond and my usually depressed and generally sad Gran lights up whenever Littlebit is around. Hopefully she’ll be home before too long and Littlebit and her Great Granny can be reunited.
Hospitals… the time Mummy, Granny and Littlebit have spent at this hospital over the last year is ridiculous. Waiting, always waiting. Appointment after appointment, week after week in hospital.
Granny was amazing when Littlebit was still in hospital and hubby had returned to work. She ran me to and from the hospital and was a brilliant practical and emotional support. I don’t know what I would have done without her. Thanks mum 
500pm – having fun with her cousin S
600pm – Granny song time
The music obsession runs in the family as Littlebit inevitably gets sung to whenever Granny is around, and she loves it!
630pm – dinner time
Lancashire hot pot, mmmm!
700pm – more fun with her cousins S & K
Littlebit’s cousins love her, and I mean LOVE her. They absolutely spoil her rotten and completely dote on her. It’s lovely to watch. Her arrival has brought us all even closer as a family and I adore it.
800pm – cousin it?
No, actually, cousin K seeing what Littlebit would look like with hair. Ha!
900pm – asleep on mummy’s lap after night time boobie
I didn’t enjoy this evening’s boobie time one bit (I usually look forward to this intimate part of the day with just me and her). Littlebit has developed an unfortunate habit of pinching me, really hard! I’m finding it difficult not to shout at her (innate response to the pain) as she’s not doing it to intentionally harm but my poor boobies are black and blue. Need some ideas for distracting her.
Fab day all round. I love Mondays. Mondays are always filled with music, family and friends. The perfect day!
Oh dear..littlebit has taken up the boobie biting! Funnily enough Smidge has started using me as a teething ring too.. (thankfully no teeth yet though!) I don’t know how to resolve this problem..but if you find out then please let us know! :-/
Owww painful….great photos though, looks so sweet.