withersea

2012-01-28T07:15:00.003Z

I spent two days in the office in Oxford, meeting everyone, having inductions, and generally getting very enthused (and only slightly daunted) by my new job. All my new colleagues seemed delighted to see me, and it seems like a wonderful place to work. I'll be home-based for the next while, but look forward to the lovely gym/choir/restaurant/cycle facilities in the future.
This was quite a logistical operation as, although W coped fine without me for the two whole days (first time without at least a lunchtime pitstop), he still needs me at bedtime and through the night. So we all stayed in Swallowfield, with me doing a bus + train commute and Marc looking after the boys there, with great assistance from Mum, Dad, AJ, Victoria and Gunny. AJ took them to soft play and made a video.

Marc's book deadline has been brought forward by a month, for an excellent reason which I will let him relate, which means he's working like made on footnotes, pictures, and index, and the boys and I will be spending much of the next week elsewhere!

2012-01-17T08:03:00.002Z

For Christmas, Peter got a keyboard from Nana and Grampa...

2012-01-07T10:22:00.002Z

Hallelujah. Triumphant new year's performance, following a great deal of hard work by my mum. Both mum and dad are visible under the conductor's right arm.

2012-01-04T08:10:00.002Z

"Mum, pick a number."
"Okay, er, seven."
"No, I think you should go for twenty-two."
"Alright then, twenty-two."
"Yes, we prefer twenty-two."
Reaches into empty purse, proffers invisible object.
"Now mum, I would prefer twenty-one."
"Okay, here you are." (I proffer invisible object.)
Pitying look. "Oh come on mama, it's in here."

This on the same morning that he came up with the God remote. ("Press select mama, that makes the sun come out" and so on for about a dozen weather/crops functions.)

2012-01-01T12:56:00.001Z

Happy New Year!

Reserve your copy now! We thought maybe the cover needed reshooting...

2011-12-23T20:53:00.002Z

Making a start on the festivities with the niece-cousins and Marc's family. Off to Berkshire in the morning.

2011-12-17T16:01:00.002Z

And normal service is resumed, with pictures of delightful boys. Seen here enjoying the pirate ship in the Coastal Park, the Christmas market at Rochester Castle, a neighbourhood ramp, the local winter grotto, and a pear.

2011-12-15T14:27:00.011Z

Brace yourselves, it's a post about me, and my professional life, for a change. I've decided not to return to work at the BBC Pronunciation Unit, and will be starting work for Oxford University Press as (ahem) their new Head of Pronunciations in January. This means working across OUP’s English dictionaries to ensure good and consistent practice on the implementation of print and online pronunciations, both as phonetic transcriptions and audio sound-files. I've been doing occasional freelance proofing and checking for OED and other dictionaries for a couple of years, but this presents many more long-term opportunities, and it's very exciting.
At the moment, it also fits in well with family life (not just W and P being small and needing me, but also wanting to be available for mum and dad), as it is part-time and almost entirely from home. In a year or two, when the boys are older, I will work more of the week and we will look at moving nearer Oxford, but for now it is extremely flexible. This set-up is one of the reasons that I was sure this was the right move.
My field as a pronunciation specialist / phonetician / orthoepist is tiny and specialized, and in many ways the Pronunciation Unit is a dream job, but after several years and a lot of thought, as I refocus on my career a bit (emerging somewhat from the haze of early motherhood perhaps), I feel ready for a change too. The saddest part will be not going back to work with my wonderful colleagues Martha and Jo (right), I will sorely miss them both and can't quite believe that they and the Unit will finally be moving from Television Centre to Broadcasting House without me - although I will be pestering them for consultation far too frequently for them to pine for me too much.

2011-12-08T20:27:00.004Z

A brace of seasonal tunes from Peter. But which one should be the A side?

By the way, the orange thing he is waving around is a plastic bag samosa, as demonstrated by the peerless MsHedgehog.

2011-12-04T16:56:00.004Z

Advent update:
Dec 2: angel / choc / make yuletide cupcakes
Dec 3: cow (though P thought it was a giraffe) / choc / sing carols with friends at a very jolly party (and eat cupcakes)
Dec 4: cockerel / choc / put up some decorations

and tomorrow, we are going to leave a boot outside the front door at bedtime, just in case Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet might drift west a bit ...

2011-12-01T11:59:00.002Z

Advent is here! P has been very excited about Christmas, and now that it is December, let the anticipation commence. M has taken him out in the late afternoon a couple of times already to see our jazzy street decorations.
This pocket calendar was from Gunny, and the contents (paper piece from advent calendar - this one, still going strong - and numbered choccy) from Nana and Grampa. In each pocket I'm also putting a slip of paper with details of that day's festive activity. Here's today's:

2011-11-18T20:31:00.003Z

A sudden enthusiasm for painting. Note the snazzy House of Lords teddy tabard. Also the fantastic "wheel o' the week" that we made out of a pizza base. It is the deluxe model, including miniature clothes pegs to mark regular nursery and swimming days, and three-pronged "yesterday/today/tomorrow" arrow. YOu may have to click and zoom in to appreciate its full majesty.

2011-11-12T21:10:00.001Z

Down at the fountains, making the realization that W really needs one of those all-in-one waterproof outfits.

2011-11-05T21:06:00.000Z

At Canterbury Cathedral.

I am embarrassed to relate that, among W's first words, one of them is unmistakeably "Bob".

2011-10-29T20:34:00.002Z

The boys and I went to London for a few days, leaving Marc to knock another couple of chapters into shape in peace. We met up with Kate at St Pancras; Juls and her girls at Westfield; Jo, Martha, Marieke and Nick at Television Centre and MsHedgehog nearby for lunch; Jane, Robert, Ellie and Emily at Gunny and Chris's... but sadly not Sarah in Putney as planned, since William came down with a nasty puking thing on our last night, necessitating an early trip home.

Thank you Gunny and Chris for having us. P and W found the most delightful corner in between Southwark Cathedral and the back of Borough Market, which had ramps, steps and little walls to climb, and a fantastic view of an elevated section of railway line AND several cranes at work on the Shard.

2011-10-23T09:03:00.002Z

Today I am mostly orthoepizing. And wearing some marvellous, much-appreciated, socks - thank you Romney!

2011-10-20T19:26:00.000Z

Down at Port Lympne enjoying another sunny autumn day.

2011-10-03T20:31:00.001Z

Watching the scaffolders over the road.

2011-09-30T09:47:00.002Z

Yesterday we made the most of the Indian summer and spent all afternoon at the beach and fountains.

I have some fab videos but cannot get Picasa/blogger to work with them as they are mp4s :( I just don't have the time to faff around with reformatting just now, sorry.

2011-09-28T13:11:00.000Z

A picture of us for a change. At one of P's Tonbridge friends' birthday party - there's been a run of them lately, which has been a lovely opportunity to see our old friends. I am sporting that very stylish crown because it was my own birthday, and M's very presence was a bit of a treat as he is working flat out on the book.

2011-09-10T15:06:00.000Z

These rope matrix tunnels down at the Coastal Park are really high up! W was desperate to join P in climbing, but for now we were watching from the ground. P has started a couple of mornings at nursery this week, a bit of a wobbly beginning with a few tears, but we're going to persevere gently, at least for now, and see if he settles in. M is working hard to get the book finished in the next weeks, and I'm finding myself extremely busy despite having arranged an extension in my leave from work.
A party for M and Dad's birthdays and to welcome W and celebrate his 1st birthday too tomorrow.

2011-09-02T07:51:00.000Z

Practising their sulky poses for their first album cover.

2011-08-15T07:22:00.003Z

We've just returned from a wonderful planey trainy weekend in Eastbourne with Gunny and Chris, who took these photos:

Our visit coincided with Airbourne, which everyone found very exciting, especially P, who kept saying "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-AirShow!" on the way there, and fell asleep like this every night:

2011-08-10T10:03:00.001Z

P and his good friend Oliver at Port Lympne animal park, having been inspired by the moloch gibbons...
... and at a (very wet) day out on a play farm with another friend, Lenny. (Modelling lovely car coat birthday present from Nananana.)

2011-07-31T11:17:00.004Z

Picul and Jim came yesterday, we went to the beach for paddling and sandcastles, saw some triennial things (had scampi/mackerel and chips, and ice creams, and a ride on the cliff lift (celebrating its first year of being reopened):

2011-07-14T16:00:00.000Z

The Folkestone Triennial is in full swing - and will be until late September. This is P's favourite installation (although he also likes the big bell, the mermaid statue, and the boat church) - this one involves choosing the pantone colour that matches the sea that day from the spinner, and then flags dyed the same colour being hoisted.

2011-07-11T15:53:00.002Z

Here's William at the zoo - sorry, animal park - at Port Lympne. Peter likes to go there with his good friend Oliver, his favourite animal is the moloch gibbon.
W, as you can see, is doing a lot of standing up, cruising and walking along if someone holds his hands. We'll be surprised if he he's not walking alone very soon. He's a pretty happy chappy most of the time, though he gets furious if you take something unsuitable away from him.

2011-07-02T10:11:00.002Z

A lot of blog catching up to do, I know. I have dropped the ball on a lot of things lately, there never seems enough time.
Meanwhile, here are two photos from our short trip to the coastal park yesterday. I think P looks very grown up, and W looks slightly like Quentin Crisp. I'm telling myself it's the hat.

2011-06-07T20:52:00.001Z

2011-05-22T11:07:00.001Z

Behold, the standing-up boy...

2011-05-07T18:23:00.002Z

On the little train at Beale park.
Just back from a week with my parents.
ETA @ Picul: why yes indeed:

2011-04-30T17:47:00.001Z

An April roundup. We were too busy looking at tigers, elephants, wolves and all sorts of primates to take pictures at the zoo, except for this one: "no apples, no ladders", P says. Mint choc chip is still the preferred ice cream flavour. The faded red kepi is a permanent fixture, he would wear it to bed if we let him.
And here are the other lads:

2011-04-19T20:16:00.003Z

The weather has been amazing, putting us in holiday mood.
Rob visited over the weekend, so we went to Canterbury (cathedral, gardens, city walls, and of course Italian food) and then to the sandy beach.
Mooching about in town Sunday, visit from friends and another beach trip Monday, and a coach trip to the zoo today.
Tomorrow we are off to meet Nana and Grampa for a bit, on their way home from a few days in Eastbourne.

2011-04-11T08:38:00.002Z

Niece/cousin Esme's baptism yesterday.

2011-04-09T14:32:00.003Z

.
Crawling and castle-building.

2011-04-02T10:15:00.002Z

Blue April skies :)

2011-03-28T16:09:00.003Z

I keep going back to look at the photos and videos on here from when P was the age that W is now. Broccoligate, commando-crawling to get at the paper, that sort of thing. W is a bit more vocal I think, and a tiny bit less mobile - although he can now roll over both ways, and rotate on the spot/shuffle a bit if laid on his tummy.
They are both a bit under the weather, and I have twanged my back while loading the dishwasher, but otherwise all is basically well.

2011-03-24T19:45:00.000Z

This two-in-a-trolley caper lasted all of thirty seconds.

2011-03-18T08:37:00.000Z

W, having passed the six month mark, is starting to have his own adventures in baby-led weaning. So far, mashed banana on rice cakes, fiddling with pasta and chicken stir fry, and wielding one plastic spoon in each hand and waving madly, with perhaps a little of the gloop they're loaded with encountering his mouth.
We are reminding ourself that it will, with a little faith, quickly go from this:

to this (kindly overlook the fact that P was dipping grated cheese in his glass):

Am gaily ignoring the imprecations of the health visitor assistant who weighed him last week (a pleasing 8 kg, thank you for asking) and, on being told that we were weaning this way, opined that no no, he must be spoonfed meat immediately or plummet into anaemia. Because she is an ill-informed twit, I didn't ask for her thoughts, and this isn't my first time around the block.

2011-03-16T08:18:00.002Z

We are spending as much time as we can visiting my parents.

"Coastal management" sounds dull. "Hey, there are diggers and dumper trucks on the beach!", not so dull.

I went on a marvellous babywearing instructors course, which gave me a real boost in lots of ways. Met some lovely people, had the chance to spend some son-free time, and have got inspired for the sling meets I run around here. Very fortunate that the UK outpost of the Dresden Trageschule runs courses near Canterbury - some people had come all the way from Scotland for it...

2011-03-08T19:11:00.001Z

Sorry the blog has gone a bit wordless of late. I tend to stick up the pictures, which live on the big laptop M works on, with the intention of adding text using the other one when I get a few minutes' leisure. You can probably guess the rest.

Anyway, check out our new rug :)

2011-03-03T08:28:00.004Z

Our train trip to London to visit Mike, Kate, Martha and Otto. On the way there...

...and on the way back.

Last week, we went to Liverpool to visit Nananana. Will post more here, but here are some beach pictures:

2011-02-12T21:17:00.002Z

2011-02-04T19:11:00.002Z

Went to Canterbury with Nana and Grampa this week. We all admired the new Gormley sculpture in the cathedral, and had dinner at Peter's favourite Carluccio's. Breadsticks, OJ with a straw, big bowl of penne ragu, very grown-up chocolate icecream, colouring pencils and jigsaws, what's not to like. My saltimbocca and glass of white weren't half bad either.

2011-01-22T09:28:00.002Z

Yesterday we went to a leisure centre near Maidstone and met some old friends. It was W's first time in the water (not at a pool though, we tried last week but he opted for an hour-long poolside nap in his carseat instead). He really loved it, and so did P, jumping in off the side and splashing in the weir feature. After the swim, we had some chips and hit the soft play. To P's delight and my great relief - I'm not sure it would be doable with just one adult - M was able to swap work around and come with us, so he's working today instead.
They're both doing brilliantly. W is chunky and cheerful, and starting to roll slightly and lift his body up when on his front. He's developed a squawk like a baby dinosaur. P has relinquished the dummy which he had still been using to get him off to sleep. He handled it really well; after three nights in a row without, we ceremonially threw them in the bin. He is rising a bit earlier and needing a bit more at bedtime in the way of songs and stories, and appears to have ditched his daytime nap, but it's a change that he was clearly ready for.

2011-01-05T12:53:00.005Z

Happy New Year. I will interpose another post before this one with some Christmas pictures when I'm on the computer with the photos on [ETA now done!], but currently snatching a few minutes on the little laptop while W sleeps on my back and the lunchtime bhajis are cooking...
We had a delightful week at my parents' over Christmas, although all of us have been laid a bit low by the virus that's been going around. M's Christmas dinner was Coke (lovingly fetched from the 24 hour garage by my brother) and paracetamol, and he was stuck in bed. W has had a lot of congestion, which makes feeding hard (stuffed up nose means he can't suck properly, plus when he does swallow, the gunk was making him vomit whole feeds back up), so I'm not surprised his weight gain has slowed down a bit. He was weighed today at 16 weeks, 7 kg exactly, which is still a fair weight though, so we're not worried.

Things are just starting up again after the holiday lull. I took both boys on the train to Tonbridge yesterday to meet up with friends there; we spent the afternoon at the leisure centre soft play that P still enjoys. He was very happy to see his girl friends (for some reason, every child he's got to know here so far is male), especially Cordy, who let him nap in her bed, and Jasmine, whom he's always had a soft spot for. We miss them a lot, and will try to get over for a visit as often as we can, though not to the exclusion of making friends and finding new groups here.

We think P might be ready for nursery, though it's hard to find a nice one with spaces before this September, and I'm also getting some stuff going with NCT and slingmeets. Also keen somehow to find a few hours a week to do a bit of lexicography work, now that my maternity pay has fallen to the statutory level and I can contemplate spending an hour or two separated from W
I'm finally seeing the physiotherapist this week, as my PGP is still not really banished, although I am more mobile than I was. It aches when I walk, more if I push a buggy (W has not been back in since the shopping trip), and lying on my side - which is necessary when feeding at night of course - makes some bones in my pelvis hurt quite a lot by the morning. Exercise would help, but working out quite when and how is still a bit of a challenge.

2010-12-24T17:39:00.002Z

Playing at Gunny's on a pre-Christmas visit. If you ask Peter "What does Gunny say?" he replies "'What are you doing with my trains?'". Nana, Grampa, Nanny, Grandad, Mama and Daddy's signature phrases are "Come on, villain", "What's the plan?", "Helloooo", "Oh, scissors!", "Good morning" and "Ugh, they're foul" respectively.
Here's two taken by my brother, on Christmas Day at my parents':

2010-12-07T17:09:00.001Z

W having his first outing in the buggy (a few days shy of the three month age limit, but he is a sturdy chap with excellent head control), and wearing his very snazzy owl hat from Sarah. Hollis from Watchmen anyone?

This was taken on the way home from a foolhardy but enjoyable train trip to Bluewater for late night shopping with the Tonbridge Mumbridge massive.

2010-12-03T17:06:00.001Z

Ready for the snow! Note especially the wearing of gloves, which has recently gone from nice-to-have to non-negotiable. The wellies were a gift 'from the new baby', we think they've done much to endear W to P.
P's developmental assessment was very entertaining. He preferred to sort the blocks by colour and build "Tidmouth sheds" rather than a tower, he resisted drawing circles until he was given a green crayon, he sat down on the scale platform and wouldn't stand up, he was meant to kick a small ball but insisted on picking it up and bowling it instead... she was unconcerned about all of this except for his inability to jump in the air (which he truly cannot do, he skips instead, despite "Jumping up and down on a big red tractor" being one of his favourite songs). Friends who recall his early crawling, walking, and running off in the park will probably find it as strange as we do that his locomotion is now under observation!

2010-12-03T11:41:00.004Z

Here we are last week at M's parents, a rare shot of both boys together.

Vanishingly small amounts of free time here, or even time to do non-essentials. Snow is very deep (we soldiered off to playgroup yesterday and were the only people there) but we are still hoping for a thaw to enable us to go to a Christmas party in Tonbridge - assuming the M20 has reopened by then - we didn't make it to London this week to meet aunty P and Gunny for belated birthday doings, but will reschedule soon for something even more belated.
P has a developmental assessment with the health visitor next week, which should be fun. They are looking for this sort of thing, to identify any problems, which I don't think he has. I think the motor skills he's more-or-less average, but to nobody's great surprise his language and numeracy is pretty advanced - although he does need persuading that "12" is not "one-ty two", even though it really should be.
W meanwhile is measured only in pounds and ounces, at which he continues to excel.

2010-11-07T17:58:00.002Z

Drawing with Nanny.

2010-11-07T13:48:00.000Z

Tiny gingerbread men, and some dough to make more;
"one, two three and a whee" over puddles;
sitting upstairs at the front on a double-decker;
special skittle sellotape on the floor;
breadsticks, OJ, penne ragu and chocolate icecream for P;
cuddles, songs and a button-down shirt for W.

Thank you Aunty Gunny x

2010-11-03T17:46:00.003Z

W is seven weeks today, and looking very bonny if I do say so myself. His face has lost the newborn spottiness, his bald head is getting fuzzy, and he continues to thrive and grow plump (12lb4, 75th %ile, into many of P's old 3-6 month babygros). P likes to give him his elephant and other toys, tell people that he likes milk, stroke his head, and inform me when he is in need of 'a cuddle and a feed'. He (W) will only drop off to sleep when held in arms or in the wrap, but I have mastered wrapping him high on my back about the house which allows me more freedom to play with P, make lunch and so on, though front wrapping is still easier for out and about.
I took them to Tonbridge on the train Monday to meet up with friends, which was daunting but ended up going pretty well. I've become the webmaster/webmistress for the local NCT branch, so W came to his first committee meeting yesterday. M is away for much of the rest of this week, speaking in Surrey, Oxford and Stratford, but Gunny is coming to visit us to help me out and see the boys. Perhaps another bus trip to Canterbury is in the offing.

2010-10-31T22:51:00.001Z

Feeding the ducks at Brockhill Park.
All well with us, just not a lot of online time!

2010-10-24T22:43:00.000Z

With Nana in Canterbury.

2010-10-24T17:49:00.001Z

I love this photo, from a train trip to Deal.

2010-10-15T09:51:00.003Z

The Dudes, on the occasion of W being one month old. Not a great picture, but they weren't playing ball really - P has a nasty cold and W has a tendency to posset everywhere.
Will post more later when I have both hands free...

2010-10-02T15:37:00.003Z

Today we have Made Progress. M has finished creosoting the megashed and washed the windows before the builders take the scaffolding down, P has sorted his toys into new tidy boxes, W has had a nice long afternoon nap which has allowed me finally to sort my wardrobe out by stashing away any clothes which are maternity/summery/impossible to breastfeed in (and gaze despairingly at what remains). Small victories.
We have had lots more visits from family and friends, who have been generous with presents for both boys and also in filling our freezer and fridge. W seems to be thriving, and I have ventured out with both of them a couple of times now, to playgroup and soft play, although so far not without grandparental/paternal back-up.
M had some good news this week; it looks as though Windmill (Random House, who published the Edward I book and commissioned the forthcoming Norman conquest one) are going to bring his castle book back into print.

2010-09-22T20:30:00.003Z

So, his name is William. He arrived a week ago (Wed 15th), three days before my due date just like his brother, weighing 4kg / 8lb 12. Sorry to those who got told 9lb by text, for some reason I was incapable of converting metric to imperial properly... He is doing very well, spending his days snoozing, shouting and feeding. Peter seems to feel benign indifference, though after the initial excitement of the first days when Nana and Grampa were staying, he's been a little wary. I'm trying to get as many moments to reconnect with him as baby William will allow, since M has been doing so much with him in the last months while I've been immobile. My PGP hasn't gone away yet, but I'm hoping it will ease off soon.
This is not the place for a detailed birth story but, briefly, when labour started in the early hours, I knew the baby was still malpositioned and decided we should go in to the midwife unit at the hospital rather than stay at home. After a few hours in the pool there were sudden concerns about the baby's heartrate, so we were transferred upstairs to the labour ward with the prospect of an emergency section, in a flurry of consent forms, cannulas and monitors (this is why M is wearing scrubs in the picture). However, things stabilised so the consultant backed off a bit to wait and see whether he could turn, descend and emerge without intervention - which, after a couple of very difficult hours, he did.
It was a bit of a shock after the smoothness of Peter's waterbirth, but despite the scary moments I felt very happy with how respectfully and carefully I was treated. We were discharged straight back onto the midwife unit, which was great because it meant a single en-suite room with Marc able to stay the night, rather than a four-bed postnatal ward. Picul was there to support us both, having got herself to St Pancras well before the first train, and both sets of grandparents came to visit us that afternoon, with my parents staying on to spend time with Peter.
We have spent the last week getting to know each other, recovering, and adjusting to being a family of four. The best illustration of how full-on and exhausting this has been is the fact that it has taken us a full week to settle on his name, since opportunities for coherent discussion have been rare. For the avoidance of doubt, he is not named after the hospital where he was born, nor after the bastard conqueror, nor indeed after any 19th century socialist textile designers you may have heard of...

2010-09-19T08:54:00.002Z

2010-09-13T15:50:00.001Z

Some pictures from Aunty Picul's visit:

2010-09-11T06:49:00.003Z

Still here, mobility much the same, but nights even more broken as P's back molars have chosen the last few days to assert themselves, making him very restless, feverish and grumpy during the small hours. He's sunny during the day though, and we've had wonderful visits from Gunny and Picul this week to keep him entertained and cared for while I rest and M gets things sorted out with work and the house. Nobody who visits at the moment escapes a visit to P's favourite Folkestone attraction - the cliff lift - "one goes up and one goes down!".
The neighbour's blown-down fence now fixed, we have a mirror on the wall in our room so I can now see myself below the neck (a definite mixed blessing in this subcutaneous beachball stage), and the builders and external painting guys are beginning work - we are promised - on Monday, with the glazier coming to fix P's window on Tuesday.
The reflective among you will wonder quite how calm, private, relaxing and oxytocin-promoting an atmosphere this will create at home if I go into labour before they are done. I wonder this too, and although we could of course tell them to clear off for the day, the "go to the birth centre" plan B is feeling like an ever-more-likely scenario, with the combined factors of ill-timed building work, the PGP issues, and the fact that despite all sorts of efforts this baby is still OP ("back to back") which seems likely to lead to a longer and harder labour with possible eventual need for intervention - unless s/he deigns to turn around in the process, which I'm assured "may well" happen. I'm not sure though, I still feel like I'd rather be at home if the timing is right, and the midwife is happy to go with an eleventh-hour decision. This is of course one of those things I should probably accept I can't change or control and just wait to see how it all pans out. Hmm, I'm good at that aren't I.

2010-08-30T08:22:00.005Z

Dummy run with the pool has taken place - useful to know that floor preparation, inflation and filling takes about 90 minutes all together. M and P are now in the garden assembling our new garden bench. The house now has scaffolding at the front in preparation for some minor renovations over the next couple of weeks, and the shed finally has a new (and very expensive) watertight roof, so we can store things in there at last. We had a three-day visit from Nana and Grampa, which was wonderful, allowing M to work, me to rest and P to be generally indulged with trips on little trains, mint choc chip icecream, enormous biscuits and the like. Grampa also got him a new pair of shoes which flash, which are highly prized, insisted upon daily, and worn with great and endearing caution near puddles.

2010-08-22T19:09:00.004Z

Physio was useless - no assessment, no manual therapy, no advice on exercises or pain relief ("can I try TENS?" "No idea, probably, but I doubt it'd help much"), and much use of the phrase "grin and bear it". Pffft.
M has been a star, as well as looking after P and doing all the domestic stuff we usually share, he did battle with the replacement of our washing machine door seal for most of yesterday and emerged triumphant and without too much swearing.
I'm finding the immobility especially frustrating as I'm beginning to have the strong urge to nest, so I actually want to be sewing, cleaning, laundering and baking and so on, but I can do none of it. I knelt on the ground for ten minutes or so while measuring and cutting fabric (turning old sheets into moses basket sheets), and have been repaid by two days of literally being unable to put one foot in front of the other.
I have cast on three knitting projects though, putting kits together for myself with yarn, pattern, the right needles etc., so that I can pick them up whenever I get the chance without having to do the preliminary thinking part.
P was singing songs yesterday morning when he climbed into our bed (he has been in his own room at night for a couple of weeks now!) and I asked him whether he'd like to sing one to the baby, since s/he was wiggling around appreciatively. I suggested 'twinkle twinkle' but he decided that both verses of 'Pop goes the weasel' delivered con raucous brio a few inches from my abdomen was more the thing. He enjoyed having visits from three of his Tonbridge ladyfriends this week, and didn't mind his first trip to the dentist too much either.

2010-08-13T14:30:00.003Z

Just had another look at everyone's favourite American fruit/foetus comparison guide, and I would appear to be firmly in melon territory. Canteloupe last week, honeydew this, and something called a crenshaw melon (?) next week. Odd, it feels like at least a watermelon under my ribs... and I'm sure honeydews sold in this country don't weigh 5 lb.
Anyway, have crutches, will travel - and am feeling a little more comfortable with the rest I've had over the last couple of days, but still very achy.

2010-08-11T19:11:00.002Z

Since the last post, Jill the midwife has come round to talk over our prospective home birth. It can only happen if everything stays low risk with the pregnancy and the birth happens within the 37-42 week window, and I can decide even at the last minute that I'd rather go to the midwife unit in Ashford, so we're keeping our options open. M is starting to get his head round the logistics of situating and inflating the birth pool (I've been given one of these), then coaxing the elderly combi boiler to supply enough suitably warm water in a timely fashion. A dummy run in the next week or so seems like the way to go.
Meanwhile, I'm getting a batch of dictionary work under my belt whenever I have the chance. I've had more chance than usual in the last couple of days, as my pelvis has got a good deal worse, so M (and his mum) have taking care of P since I can't move around. I can do lexicography though, so am getting a bit of that done now. It's become extremely sore to walk or roll over or basically do anything that puts pressure on my pelvis in an asymmetric way. After a lot of phoning and nagging, I'm getting an emergency physio referral and also working on getting some crutches so I can get around without wincing whenever I put any weight on it...

2010-08-03T15:51:00.000Z

M went to Norwich for a conference for five days, but we had lots of visitors to keep us company. Picul came for the day (she reports that the high speed train makes her feel queasy, and a £1 fake Ped Egg from a market stall may not be money well spent). Then two of P's friends from Tonbridge came, just in time to try out the reopened water-powered lift down to the shore. Nana and Grampa came to visit for a long weekend, which included sandcastles, little steam and diesel trains, potted shrimp, a brass band and a silver band, a "big anchor which fell off a pirate ship" (apparently), the coastal park, and P sleeping for the first time in his own room for pretty much the whole night.

2010-07-27T11:34:00.003Z

We explored Folkestone a bit with Greggor this morning. To P's unutterable delight, the "sunny sands" beach just beyond the harbour features a series of concrete bays perpendicular to the waterline, with tunnel arches running all the way along linking them up. Here we are exploring them (Greggor's photo). The plan is to go off to Canterbury this afternoon.

I've been requested to post bump shots. I'm getting seriously big; I found a lot to agree with in Viv Groskop's article in last week's Guardian, not only her thoughts on people's discomfort around size, but what she has to say about people's insistence on precise details of when the baby will arrive - I've found few people to be satisfied with the response "hopefully during September", even though that's all the precision I feel I can muster. Anyway, Since P's head handily obscures my abdomen in the shot above, here's one where it's all too visible, for girth-gawpers and gender-speculators everywhere.

2010-07-23T18:00:00.001Z

It is a lot sunnier down here by the sea...
This week, P and I have met some local NCT mums and babies/toddlers on a walk along the seafront, been to two different children's centres for playgroups, and had P's friend Cordelia (and her mum and baby sister) visit us on the train. As a family, we've also been to Dover Castle for a quick visit, and met up with Ann, the doula whom we hope is going to come and give us some extra support for a few hours a week in the couple of months after the baby arrives. She can spend time with P, or the new baby, or on things like laundry and preparing meals, whatever I wish her to do - in the interests of M getting back to work, me being able to get breastfeeding kicked off nicely and generally recover and readjust. This does not mean that visits from friends and family will not be very welcome!
We have also had a range of builders, plumbers and cooker repair chappies coming around, which M is mostly handling in a very man-of-the-house sort of way.

M and I visited the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, just in case that's where we end up - useful to check out the drive, the parking and the general facilities there. It has a lovely new midwife unit (pools, rebozos, single en-suite rooms where partners can stay, patient kitchen - but the low-risk criteria for coming here are pretty much the same as for delivering at home so I probably won't go there unless we have a change of heart about home birth) and an, er, unlovely but functional consultant unit (four-bed ante- and post-natal wards, limited visiting even for partners, cramped delivery rooms where, although they might not mind you bringing in balls, beanbags and things from home, it was hard to see where they could go). It's fine really - there's a theatre and a NICU and I'm sure if things go really pear-shaped we'll be glad of it, but I'm still hoping very much to avoid pre-37 weeks labour, induction, baby turning breech or any other development that would mean "go directly to consultant unit, do not pass go, do not collect £200". We shall see.

Next week we're looking forward to visits from Greggor (over from Ohio), Aunty Picul, and Nana and possibly Grampa too at the weekend. M is off for a day's work in Rochester then five days of networking at a conference in Norwich, so P and I and these visitors will be making our own entertainment.

2010-07-18T19:06:00.004Z

Have had a little blog spring clean and am resolving to post more often. Also, have switched comments to moderated as we were getting some comment spam - please do leave them, I'll okay those from real people as quick as possible.

Since the move we have been settling in, deciding which things about the house don't need fixing, which things we can fix ourselves and which we need to get in professionals to fix. M has been remarkably canny at installing a passed-on dishwasher and making the TV aerial work, saving us enough money for a mad trip to IKEA to buy rugs, storage boxes, kitchen bits and so forth. P and I have been checking out children's centres and playgroups and generally trying to bring about some sort of social life - though of course lots of things stop for the summer hols quite soon.
We also have had a couple of train trips away - up to London last week for Chris's 50th and to meet friends visiting from Vienna, and then today P and I went back to Tonbridge for a 2nd birthday party with old friends (mine and his) whom we miss very much. The high speed train gets to St Pancras in <1 hr and is very swish, and if you time it right not much pricier either. We have also had visitors here, from Romney and family; Gunny Chris and Peter; P's Nana and Grampa - more very welcome.
I've got all booked in with the new midwife, who seems nice and to my relief to be fairly pro home birth. Blood tests and so on seem fine, we are visiting the hospital next week just in case and also meeting up with a possible doula to come and give me some postnatal help and care for a few weeks postnatally. I seem to be getting dizzy dips in the mornings when my BP drops down, but lots of water, bananas and iron supplements seem to help a bit. Assuming all continues well we will have a home visit to discuss, arrange and set up everything for a potential home birth in a few weeks time.

2010-07-05T15:30:00.001Z

Some pictures from the move. Words to follow...

2010-06-29T19:19:00.003Z

I tend to wake up at 3.30 - 4 am at the moment and not get much more sleep because of my pesky pelvis. This morning I gave up and snuck out of bed at five, leaving the chaps snoozing, and headed down to our new kitchen. I dug out the radio and had a lovely early morning pottering about, listening to the world service / shipping forecast / start of R4 while planting a window box, eating some toast, unpacking the last couple of cardboard boxes of baking stuff into a low cupboard, making strawberry jellies and other silly things. And most exciting of all, I got to peg washing on my own washing line in my own garden, which I have literally never been able to do before.

2010-06-25T21:36:00.001Z

P's second birthday went off very well. He had a three-day event as he saw each set of grandparents in the days immediately before the day itself.
We are getting packed up ready to move into our new house on Monday, but will post updates when we get the chance.

2010-05-21T11:03:00.003Z

Oh, you like my trike? Or is it my stellar jimjams you are admiring? Or perhaps you just think I could use a haircut...
P has not been quite himself lately, a bit feverish and off his food; there's a lot of chickenpox about so we're almost expecting to see the spots in the next couple of days. Fortunately we've both had it (and I'm far enough along in my pregnancy that it's not a threat anyway), and in a way it would be better for him to get it out of the way - just a shame there's a few very warm days coming up, and we were going to go to a 2nd birthday party tomorrow. Ah well, we'll see. He is 23 months old today and very talkative. Favourite things at the moment include flags, arrows, swings, aeroplanes, cranes, squirrels, blueberries and tunnels.
We're progressing with house stuff, anticipating a move to the new place towards the end of June, beginning of July (if sale goes through and so on, please hold thumbs/ cross fingers/propitiate gods on our behalf). I've arranged to take annual leave then start my maternity leave to coincide, so I'll be stopping my trips to White City in a month or so. I'm feeling fairly well though, but my PGP is coming back and causing me to have rather achy hips and to walk increasingly slowly.
I have started making a couple of things for this new baby, 3-6 month sizes given that s/he's due in autumn and seems to have a very big head, I've made another one of these hats in turquoise, and a fantastic Elizabeth Zimmermann baby surprise jacket. Her seamless designs are so ingenious, they're a lot of fun to work on. This one's a classic, made all in one piece, shaped by increases and decreases - the stripes highlight the structure.

2010-05-04T16:50:00.004Z

I've just had a scan and all seems well, so am now telling those readers of my blog who haven't seen me and my girth in person lately that we're expecting another baby in September.
The apple ticker (above) will keep track for us. I'm not paying too much heed to its to-the-day precision though, a "due month" will do fine. Hoping s/he manages to score a birthday all to him/herself though, as September is rather crowded with them in our family.

2010-05-03T18:39:00.004Z

Tonight's pre-bedtime winding-down activity: roadieing (sp?).

2010-04-18T06:59:00.002Z

One of P's obsessions at the moment is these red cars, which are given out in a shopping mall in Tunbridge Wells. One lunchtime recently M was wondering aloud what to do that afternoon, and P said "Tunbridge Wells, go station, train, train go tunnel, woo woo, get red car". So that's what they did.
Dad seems to be recovering well, and he and Mum drove over to see us at the weekend for a ride on the little train.

2010-04-06T10:13:00.001Z

Easter at Nana and Grampa's. P did not get the hang of Easter eggs (mostly calling them "mangoes", and apparently not realising that beneath the foil lay chocolate) but he did eat his own body weight in hot cross buns. He also enjoyed playing in the new shower cubicle and visiting the koi at the garden centre. M and I enjoyed seeing family, relaxing a bit, and going to the cinema together (Kick-Ass) for the first time in about two years.

2010-03-22T20:19:00.002Z

Oh no, same outfit as the last photo... A rather damp but still enjoyable trip to Stratford and Oxford this weekend. Here's P enjoying the drain outside Shakespeare's house, but not as much as he enjoyed the prawn crackers at the Thai restaurant later that same evening, or indeed rising at 5.30 the next morning to ensure a hearty appetite for his first-ever hotel breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, beans, little box of cereal, bits of my toast) after a bracing exploration of some gravel.
Lovely to catch up with friends in and around Oxford too.

2010-03-02T11:03:00.000Z

P had a fantastic time yesterday afternoon, jumping in the puddles at the park. He was irredemably soaked within minutes, but didn't seem to mind at all.

2010-02-07T10:03:00.002Z

Sunday morning is HOOVAH time!

2010-02-03T20:05:00.004Z

A recent visit to Gunny's to try out the charity-shop Brio and catch up with Rob while he was in the UK.
Sorry for no post for the entire month of January, must try harder - it mostly featured snow and the resumption of work for us and fun like playgroups, swimming and musical bumps for P. We have been house-hunting again, casting the net a bit wider, but nothing to report yet. I am taking a few days off work as I seem to have amassed a lot of annual leave which must be used or lost before the end of the financial year.
P's hair is getting quite long, but is not in his eyes or in his way, so we're in no great rush to cut it - though this is more through inertia than any devotion to his angelic blond curls. Well, mostly.
His speech is coming on a lot, with two-word imperatives ("read it", "in there"), complex sequences ("carry ... kitchen ... door ... bar" when he wants a particular snack), and new words every day. His Pompa is particularly amused by his unfailing response to the question "have you done a poo?", which is not "yes" or "no", but "check".

2009-12-21T12:22:00.002Z

A happy Christmas collage...

2009-12-18T12:29:00.001Z

Snow day! Peter and three of his chums, all seriously weel happit, down the park this morning. It must be said that the mummies were rather more enthusiastic about it all than the children were, P seemed rather bedazzled and in need of snacks.
He is cutting at least two molars at the moment, so is rather grumpy with it, but otherwise seems dandy. I'll have to do another vocab roundup, he has a lot more to say lately.

2009-12-09T19:56:00.002Z

Peter and cousin Niamh having a bit of a boogie.

2009-11-30T12:28:00.001Z

Ooh! Ahh! Fireworks at the end of November in Tonbridge, to coincide with the switching-on of the Christmas lights, and a parade through the town. This last consisted mostly of the local minicab/limo firm's be-tinselled fleet advertising itself, our friend Anna on a Pickering Cancer Care float, and an implausibly large number of girls twirling batons. How can a small Kent town support what seemed to be three separate troupes of majorettes?

2009-11-09T07:48:00.001Z

In the last few weeks, P has been eating like crazy (as I write this he is shovelling his shreddies in with his hands). He has a hobbitish second breakfast at about ten, usually out and about, as here - he shows he's ready for it by either pawing at the bag that contains the banana/peanut butter rice cakes/dried fruit/ham slices or climbing onto a nearby bench. We're taking advantage of this surge of interest in food to ditch the bottles of cow's milk he's been having in the daytime for the last few months, which he seems to have taken in his stride.

2009-11-07T12:24:00.001Z

Trip to Dover Castle with uncle AJ.
And a rather fine reinforced ruck there, wrap fans.

2009-10-27T12:16:00.005Z

Well, he is a phonetician's son, so I hope I can be forgiven for subjecting him to a little light analysis ... here's P's vocab at 16 months. I think he has a nice range of consonants coming along, got to work on those velars though!
[ˈbeɪbə][ˈbabi][ˈbabə] = baby
[baʔ] = back [specifically my back, to ride in the sling]
[bɛː] = bear
[bəː] = book
[a.a] with falling intonation = bye-bye
[ˈdəːti] = dirty
[dɔ] = dog
[dʌʔ] = duck
[(h)ɛjo][(h)ɛluə] = hello
[bʌʔbʌʔ] = hen [“buck buck”]
[ʔɔʔ] = hot
[nɔnɔnɔ] = no (!)
[ʃəː] = shoe(s)
[sɔʔ][ʃɔʔ] = sock(s)
[ʃjɛp] = step(s) [as in stairs]
[tuə] = toe(s)
[ʌp] = up
[d()us] = water [“juice” oddly, given that he doesn't drink it]

2009-10-10T19:20:00.001Z

So guess what we did today?
I've been wanting to install this bike seat (NCT sale bargain) for ages, finally tackled it this morning and we all went for a ride. Apart from having his non-negotiable helmet clipped on, P seemed to enjoy it very much. I did too - it was pretty much the first time I've ridden properly since mid-pregnancy. We took in a country pub, an interesting church, a riverside path and a newsagents to take the Guardian home afterwards, just the job.

2009-09-20T18:17:00.000Z

P down at the park yesterday...
In the last three days, four strangers have referred to him as a little girl (and, as I recall, none as a boy). He's generally been either wrapped on my back and wearing non-blue clothing, but I still really don't think he looks like a girl, do you? It doesn't bother me and I never correct people, just say "thank you!" - but it is odd. I'm sure a buzzcut would change things, but that's not on the agenda for now...

2009-09-13T19:48:00.002Z

Am a post or three behind - still sorting out holiday snaps (though there are some on Facebook). Meanwhile, this is how Peter wanted to spend a good hour of this morning...

2009-08-16T09:38:00.006Z

Back together again after the week in Swallowfield / Cambridge. P and I saw lots of Uncle AJ, Aunty Picul and Great Aunty Gil, as well as Nana and Grampa. P was harder work than usual, being a bit cranky, clingy and feverish following his MMR last week, but he seems chirpier now.
Here are a few photos from the week in Swallowfield:

Yesterday we spent the morning with Philip - the video is of us having a shottie on his fabbo recumbent trike -the afternoon with a group of sling-mad babywearing mamas who took over a playgroup in Reading. I had driven to mum and dads alone with Peter, first big drive and I was a bit nervous about not being able to stop on the motorways if he kicked off, but he was fine - when he wasn't snoozing he was burbling to himself or looking out of the windows.

2009-08-12T20:41:00.000Z

Get a load of those teeth! Six and counting...
P and I are visiting Nana and Grampa and Uncle AJ this week while M teaches in Cambridge. Nana bought him this cow cup, which is a big hit.

2009-08-02T20:50:00.000Z

Live Long and Prosper.
That's me and Rob in the background of the St James' Park sandpit, when we met up for a last day out in London before he was off to take up the Harvard chaplaincy. We will miss him a lot.

2009-07-31T18:36:00.000Z

P snoozing in his new carseat. He's already over 10 kilos and getting taller, so it was time to move out of the baby-sized one. This is a German make called a kiddy infinity; instead of a five-point harness, the child is secured by the adult belt going across a bolster which sits in front of the stomach. Bit unusual for the UK market, but they came out really wll in Which? safety trials and (since we found we couldn't fit a rear-facing seat safely in our small two-door car) seemed like our best choice. It didn't hurt that the shop found us an odd model which features attached toys and a "road" for him to play with.

2009-07-10T17:04:00.001Z

Shocking time lag since the last post. No very good reason, we have just been busy, or ill, or both... so here are a couple of photos until normal service is resumed. Am still wearing/wrapping P a lot, but we've moved on to back carries mostly. There are a surprising number of them, here's one of our better recent efforts.
We had P's first birthday and welcoming picnic. There are many photos here (should be accessible whether or not we are friends on Facebook, but if not, either befriend me or let me know!)
And here are M and P at the most recent swimming lesson. I love this photo.

2009-06-14T15:55:00.004Z

Thank you for my shoes, Nanny and Grandad!

2009-05-27T19:41:00.004Z

Today we were celebrating our niece N's 2nd birthday. This is my blog post and some pictures from two years ago! Here she is playing nicely with P; they have a lovely mutual-admiration society going on. Plans to hit the beach were shelved as it was pretty dreich, but we still had a good time.

2009-05-19T21:01:00.001Z

Especially for Ms Hedgehog, who has not been well - P standing up. He does this quite a lot now, especially when he has something in his hands to take his mind off it. In this case, we are at a sling meet at a friend's house, and he has just pinched another friend's half-eaten apple.