We're on the move

I'm on borrowed time. Like a tiger waiting to pounce, Miss E is biding her time, patiently lingering until my back is turned so she can make her move. I am about to face life with a mobile baby.

She's done it in breakneck speed. It was only three weeks ago that she started rolling over, but almost as soon as she'd accomplished that, she focused all her efforts on moving with purpose. When she started to get herself up on her hands and knees and rock forwards and backwards I knew we didn't have long left until she was off.

But it's still taken me by surprise. She'd perfected backwards crawling (getting stuck under the sofa a few times - I laughed, she didn't!), and then today she suddenly mastered a forward movement. It's not pretty, it's somewhere between a proper crawl, a commano crawl, and an ape-like amble, but she pulls and drags herself bit by bit until she's where she wants to be.

And I have to own up, I was caught out twice on Monday when I wasn't watching properly and she took a couple of tumbles. The first off the sofa (it's pretty low so nothing too dramatic), but then she rolled off our bed (again I was very lucky and she was absolutely fine, just shocked and alarmed). She's just so quick and I'm too easily distracted.

I need to change my habits, become more watchful, be more cautious. And we have to work fast to provide a safe area for her to play in. We've moved the dining table into the kitchen so the dining area can become a playspace, and at the weekend we'll get to work making it as babyproof as we can. Something I read recommends getting down low for a baby's eye view so you can see the hazards for yourself - I'm thinking this could make an interesting vlog!

Dear Diary...

My mum shamed me last week by showing me the notes she'd kept while I was a baby. They were so detailed - keeping record of every tiny development and milestone I reached. I've been a bit slack about this (the 'development' section in the babies' red books that I'm supposed to fill in, is conspicuously blank) so I've decided action is required.

I've been treating this blog as a kind of diary - I did lots of 'diary' posts when I started writing but they seem to have tailed off a bit, so I'm reinstating them, and sooner or later I may go through the blog and try to put together a notebook as a keepsake, though somehow I doubt I'll find the time! These diary posts are probably not of much interest to anyone but myself (and grandparents) but if I don't make a note of all the little changes I know I'll never remember them.

So this week we've been:

Rolling over: Granted it seems to have been something of a fluke and not occured since, but both Miss E and Mr A have rolled from their fronts to their backs.
Interacting (fighting?): When you sit them close to each other, the babies get really excited and kind of shout/growl at each other (especially Miss E). They open their mouths wide and lunge at their sibling as if trying to eat them. I'm sure it's affectionate. Possibly.
Dream feeding: For the first time this week, the 11pm feed has become a true dream feed for Miss E. She doesn't open her eyes during the feed at all, simply finishes her bottle and goes back to snoring softly. It's lovely getting to hold her when she's sleeping - it's a rare treat.
Sleeping with one arm free: They are successfully taking their morning nap with one arm unswaddled. It may seem like a small step but I'm hopeful that both arms will be flying free before we know it.
Sitting up: Miss E and Mr A can sit up like little pros now. It's just a shame their sense of balance is worse than Young Daddy's on an icerink. A Bumbo is on it's way (courtesy of ebay) so that should help.

But by far the biggest and bestest thing in the Young house this week without a doubt? Thumb sucking. Apparently it's The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (not that these little lovelies have had the pleasure of sliced bread yet). We managed to ditch the dummies during their colds (they wouldn't take them then so we jumped at the chance to send all the dummies to the Dummy Fairy), so their thumbs are a great replacement. And they look super-cute when they're doing it so it gets a thumbs up (boom boom) from me...