The Grandparents Join Us

One consideration for the arrival of Child #2 is what to do with Child #1 during the birth. We had every intention of a hospital birth, and we knew that Junior could not come with us - if I'm really honest, I didn't want him to be there either. Local friends offered to watch him if I went into early labour, which was a huge relief. But even better than that, the grandparents came.

S's parents arrived a few days before my due date, and Junior was thrilled to spend time with them.

While they adjusted to Junior's routine and our toddler-oriented lifestyle, we kept ourselves busy and enjoyed the sunshine.

Cannizaro House, Wimbledon

The 30th of March was British Mothers' Day, the start of British Summer Time, and my due date. It came and went; still no Juniorette.

My parents arrived on the 1st of April, increasing the house count to six adults, one toddler, and one bump.

Days passed. I had picked my ideal birthdate for Juniorette: April 4th, 2014 (4.4.14) but still she kept us waiting.

And then...

Preparing for Juniorette

Funny how priorities change when you're awaiting the birth of your second child. Before Junior was born, I started maternity leave at 35 weeks and used the time to research and buy all the baby stuff I hadn't had time to acquire until then. With Juniorette, we already had most of the things we needed. The biggest purchases were a used Phil&Teds double buggy, and a new travel cot. I didn't buy many clothes in advance - I was overwhelmed by the proliferation of pink - and it didn't even occur to me to buy any new toys. It was unclear until the very last minute when my maternity leave would start, but I was again able to stop working at 35 weeks.

So I relaxed as much as possible while Junior was at nursery.

I booked a facial.

I had my hair cut, coloured, and blown dry.

I finally organised my office after living here for nearly six months. We prepared the house for visitors by buying a new sofa as well as a new dining table and chairs.

We put frosted film on the windows to give us privacy in the living room without sacrificing light - nice for breastfeeding without feeling exposed.

I finished reading The Cuckoo's Calling, which S had given me for xmas. I watched a few films that had been on my list for ages.

At 38 weeks, I finally packed my hospital bag. I felt better prepared in terms of what to bring/not to bring, but even still I didn't pack enough clothes for Juniorette, and S had to bring some on the first day.

I also started to panic about the birth. What if she came early? Who would watch Junior? Would it be better if she came during the day while he was at nursery, or on a weekend when friends would be more likely to be available to watch him? What if she came in the middle of the night? What if S had to stay home with Junior? Would I be prepared to give birth alone? Would S be prepared to miss it? How would Junior handle the sudden disappearance of his parents? And the appearance of a whole new person?

Junior's 2nd Birthday: As It Happened

Following is a live blog of the events of Thursday 12 December, 2013, to the best of my ability and memory. Junior is K, I am B, and S is S.

7.30        B and S set up K’s birthday train in his playroom

7.35        Went to K’s bedroom to wake him up; he was groggy, crying

7.36        B softly sang ‘happy birthday to you!’ but he shushed her - twice

7.40        Went downstairs for breakfast

7.41        Perked up immediately when he saw the present from Grandma F & Grandpa A that they had left for him this summer – ripped it open

7.42        Threw half of the books on the floor

7.43        Interested in the placemat: ‘dinosaur’

7.44        Started reading the nature book: ‘squirrel!’

7.45        S gently pointed out that it was a rabbit.

7.46        Turned the page: ‘squirrel!’

7.47        Again, it was a rabbit

7.50        B brought her breakfast to the table; K reached over and took a piece of cereal

7.51        B prepared a bowl of cereal for K

7.55        K proceeded to eat his cereal, then reached over to B’s bowl for more

8.00    Picked up a piece of cereal covered in yogurt. Licked it. Put it back in B’s bowl.

8.10        Once breakfast was done, S took K upstairs to get dressed

8.15        After he was dressed, K rushed back downstairs to play with the fridge magnets

8.16        B put his cake and candle in a bag to bring to nursery. K helpfully added a letter ‘m’ from the fridge.

8.17        B stealthily removed the ‘m’

8.18        In the meantime, K added several more letters to the bag, then went back for more

8.25        Eventually, S and B were able to wrangle K into his jacket and shoes. He added a few more fridge magnets to the bag as they left the house.

8.26        K happily ran down the street toward nursery, picking up the compost bins along the way and giving them to Daddy.

8.30        All of a sudden, he stopped, cried, and indicated that he wanted Mummy to carry him across the street to nursery

8.31        At nursery, he got back down and knocked on the door

8.32        Inside, he was happy again. Then not so happy. Then happy again.

8.35        As Mummy & Daddy left, he sat down for second breakfast: Cheerios

***

17.30   Picked up K from nursery

17.31   Nursery staff reported that K had had a good day; enjoyed his cake and was generally good

17.32   Nursery staff asked if we ever play Daft Punk at home – he sang along to ‘Get Lucky’ when it was on during the party

17.33   Nursery staff also praised K’s recent verbal developments. When shown a picture of a ‘bird’ in a book, he corrected his teacher by saying ‘penguin’

17.34   K blew everyone kisses and said ‘bye bye!’ as B and K left

17.35   Outside, K started running down the street. Then stopped, looked up, and said ‘mooooon’.

17.36   Arrived home. K rang the doorbell. B had forgotten that K had previously changed the doorbell chime.

17.37   Ran inside looking for Daddy and headed directly upstairs.

17.38   Daddy joined him and supervised while K explored S’s office and the guest room

17.45   B coaxed K back downstairs with the other present from Grandma F and Grandpa A. K opened it with great enthusiasm. ‘Pajamas!’ Then proceeded to name everything on the different pairs of pajamas: rocket, snowman, digger, truck.

17.50   K opened the new sleepsack that Grandma F had made. ‘Car! Steering wheel!’ Then lost interest. Then found the crocodile card from Aunt S. Then found his toy airplanes.

17.55   Proceeded to the kitchen to play with the fridge magnets again

18.00   Webchat with Grandma F and Grandpa A. He showed Grandpa his airplane, pretended to eat it, and rubbed his tummy as if to say ‘mmm, delicious.’ Grandpa obligingly imitated K, and K laughed and did it again. Grandpa did it again. K did it again. Everyone laughed. Finally, Grandpa had to leave so we said ‘bye bye’ and logged out. K immediately demanded to call back and do it again. Despite a bad connection, he continued pretending to eat his plane and rubbing his tummy.

18.05   S put on ‘Get Lucky’ to test K. Sure enough, he started dancing and singing along.

18.10   Discovered, much to his delight, that the magnets fit under the fridge. But wouldn’t come back out again.

18.12   B found a long, skinny pole to use to retrieve the magnets. K thought this was a fabulous game, and slid several magnets back underneath.

18.15   Dinner was served. S made spaghetti bolognese. K wanted to play with the magnets. A minor meltdown occurred while he refused to sit in his chair or eat. When B settled him on her lap, he grabbed her fork and shoved some meat sauce in her mouth, imploring her to ‘eat it!’

18.30   K demanded a tissue to wipe his nose, except that we have kept a roll of toilet paper on the table for this purpose for a few weeks now. K figured out how to rip off a square, wipe his nose, open the rubbish bin, and throw out the tissue. Guess what happened next?

18.35   After filling the bin with balled-up toilet roll squares, B and S intervened. A minor meltdown occurred.

18.40   B coaxed K upstairs, explaining that it was nearly time for bath, stories, and bed.

18.45   K discovered the train set in his playroom. All was forgiven. ‘Choo choo!’

18.50   K happily played with the train set. B showed him how to work the farm silo; K pushed her away and shouted ‘leave it! Leave it alone!’

18.51   K went back to the trains. Every time a train derailed, he said ‘oh boy’. B and S remarked that they had never heard him say that before.

19.00   B started to get ready for K’s bath. K ran into S&B’s bedroom and jumped on the bed. He then proceeded to look out the window at the cars and trees, drink some milk, climb off the bed, climb back on the bed, and repeat – all the while, chattering about…well, we’re not entirely sure what. He started shushing again, and warning S and B about the ‘baby sleeping! Shhh!’ Hmmm. Where did he pick that up?

19.25   Bath time. K played with his toys, sang songs, and kept saying ‘baby sleeping!’

19.40   Bath time finished too soon for his liking. Minor meltdown when he was removed from the tub. Brushed his teeth and hair, but showed his annoyance.

19.45   New snowman pajamas softened the blow a bit

19.50   Pushing aside their better judgment, B and S offered K some more milk and 2 animal crackers to make up for the fact that he had not eaten dinner

20.00   Story time. K showed no signs of being tired, so B did not reinforce the 3 story limit. They read Owl Babies, It’s Time to Play (a most unhelpful bedtime story), Room on the Broom, and every word of Cars and Trucks and Things That Go.

20.35   K relented and put on his sleepsack

20.40   After a brief cuddle, B placed K gently in his cot, rubbing his back

20.50   K popped back again and demanded another cuddle

21.00   After being rocked and reassured, K drifted off to sleep. Sweet dreams, big 2 year old!

Junior turns 2!

News

On the 16th of September, nine years and three days after I first moved to London, we got the keys to our new house!





Buying a house in England has been a learning experience for me. (Actually, buying a house at all has been a new experience for me...) Offers are not legally binding until exchange of contracts, and in our case, that took six months. We were relatively certain throughout the process that the sellers would not back out, but it still took much longer than we had hoped it would. We hit a few bumps along the road - negotiations on repairs and price, delays while the tenants moved out - but we are very pleased with the result.


And in the same week, we got to see Junior 2!





It feels different being pregnant the second time around. I have better knowledge of what to expect, which has been alternately helpful (I feel better prepared and relaxed) and scary (I know what I'm getting into this time!) It has been harder chasing after an energetic toddler while battling the ups and downs of the first trimester. But ultimately I am relieved that the pregnancy is going well so far and I'm looking forward to watching my growing bump.


The big question is: will be it Junior 2 or Juniorette? We'll find out in November...

Junior's first haircut

We had hoped to wait until Junior turned two to get his hair cut, but at twenty months he was starting to look like a mad scientist. When he started pushing his hair out of his eyes the other day, I decided it was time to book at appointment. So we took him to Shiny Stars in Wimbledon this morning.





He chose the seat shaped like a Hummer (as opposed to the Mini Cooper, which was occupied, or the airplane) and held onto the gingerbread biscuit they gave him.








He was remarkably patient and cooperative, with only minor wiggling.





His only protest was due to the blow dryer.





But he seemed pleased with the product they put in at the end.














And he was very pleased with the plastic giraffe in the gift bag when we left.








His curls aren't gone completely, but he looks like a big boy now. I wonder if people will keep calling him a girl...

Compact living

As we prepare to move from a 2-bedroom maisonette to a 6-bedroom house (!), I'd like to go on the record as saying:

I really DO love this flat.


S bought this flat ten years ago, before we ever met, before we ever dreamed about getting married or having a kid. It was an awesome bachelor pad. It was great when we were dating. It was lovely when we were newlyweds.

It was only when we started preparing for Junior that certain ...inconveniences... became more apparent. S lost the sole use of his office when we put in Junior's cot and changing table. We both cleared out bookshelves, stuffing Things We Don't Use All the Time in the loft (and in the crawl space, and in the closets, and in the airing cupboard, and underneath the stairs...) We rearranged the living room several times to make it more Junior-proof. And on the whole, it's perfectly fine.


Having said that, however...

Let me show you a typical trip home from the grocery store. We don't have a car, so I use Junior's buggy to carry home heavy bags. We have a small kitchen and a v.e.r.y. small under-the-counter fridge/freezer, so I can't bring much home anyway. I don't bother with online grocery shopping because it's not worth it - we simply can't store enough food to justify the extravagance. It means I go to the local Sainsburys/M&S almost everyday, but on the other hand: most of our meat and veg is fresh, we don't tend to buy what we can't use, and it's only about a ten-minute walk from here. It virtually guarantees I have to leave the house everyday, and I get a bit of fresh air and exercise.


Exercise.


The hardest part, and this is the part that I won't miss at all, is getting everything back inside the flat.



Two shopping bags filled with heavy groceries, Junior's scooter, my water bottle, and Junior's milk bottle, at the bottom of the stairs



Add to that Junior's nappy bag, some shopping from M&S, a towel returned by a friend, and a sleeping toddler



Not pictured: two letters that came in the post, my cardigan, and Junior's sweatshirt


So, that took three trips up and down the stairs to carry the bags, post, and extra layers. Notice that we have self-enforced a rule not to wear our shoes inside the flat. Is it any wonder I wear sandals in summer and slip-ons in winter?

Then there was a fourth trip upstairs to bring Junior inside and place him gently in his cot.

Then I had to retrieve the buggy.



We chose a folding buggy because - well, we didn't really have an alternative. Before Junior was born, my dad rigged up a clever mountain bike hook with a luggage strap which serves to hold the buggy at the bottom of the stairs, and it has been a lifesaver. Still, it requires folding every time we come home, and unfolding every time we go out. I'm looking forward to the new house where we can just wheel the buggy - and Junior and all the bags - inside and leave it open under the stairs unless we choose to fold it. Choice! Freedom!


I'll say it again: I really DO love this flat. But I'm looking forward to having just a little bit more space...

france en famille

What is more entertaining (and challenging) than visiting France with one toddler? Visiting France with two toddlers!

Junior, S, and I went to the Breton town of Perros-Guirec on the pink granite coast with my parents, my sister, her husband, and their son. We rented a lovely holiday home with a view of the ever-changing tide and settled in for a two-week stay.

The weather did its best to make us feel at home - we could have stayed in London if we had really wanted rainy, chilly 'summer' days - but we did have occasional sunshine, especially toward the end.

Unlike most of our travels abroad, our focus was less on sightseeing and more on spending time together as a family. So we read books, played with toys, chased balls in the garden, and played on iPads.





At first, sharing was not their strongpoint. There were battles over bath toys.





There were fights over territory.





Grandpa only had one lap.





So did Grandma.





Sometimes time spent alone was more fun.














But by the second week, they were used to each other, and even started enjoying themselves together.














We explored the local beaches.








We took advantage of every local playground.














We cooked some great meals, and ate out when we couldn't face another trip to the Super U.





We laughed, and talked, and walked.








We took a few day trips to neighbouring towns, but we discovered that much of Brittany observes an inconvenient siesta right in the middle of the afternoon, making it hard to coordinate schedules around lunch and naps. But we were well-situated for beaches, carousels, restaurants, and playgrounds between Perros-Guirec, Louannec, and Ploumanac'h, so we didn't need to venture far to keep ourselves busy and amused.


As with most toddler-related activities, some of the best moments weren't captured on camera. P kept a running commentary on everything we did, and Junior was just content to keep running all the time. Junior befriended every dog. P read every book, même les livres en français. They discovered that rolling a toy car along the top of the radiator makes a satisfying grating noise. They put olives on their fingertips before eating them.


Two weeks came and went too fast. We were lucky to have a few extra weeks with my parents in London, but seeing Junior and his cousin together was definitely the highlight.


À bientôt!