Nanny and Granddad

Happy 2nd Birthday

Tuesday 26th October 2010Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

A little belatedly but ‘Happy Birthday’ to my first born. Yes, Éowyn celebrated her second birthday last Sunday, although in true style she celebrated it all weekend and hence no updates!

As my family are still primarily based in the West Midlands and since Nanny Fran is still unable to drive, we headed to West Bromwich so that Éowyn could see her Nanny and Auntie Liz. We also took this opportunity to introduce Amélie to her Great-Grandma and to the husband of her namesake, her Great-Great Uncle Albert. Both enjoyed extended cuddles with Amélie but Éowyn was a little subdued, although she did have excuses. At Great-Grandma’s nursing home I think it is a little overwhelming to enter the common room and I think it freaked her out a little and hung onto Daddy’s leg for protection. While on the way to Great-Great Uncle Albert’s she fell asleep and so we had to wake her and I don’t think that anyone is at their best when they have just been woken up.

We were only at Nanny Fran’s for a little over 24 hours but I think that Éowyn completely wore out her Nanny Fran. Éowyn was so excited all along the motorway and couldn’t wait to get out of the car when we arrived at West Bromwich. She bounded into the house said ‘hello’ then headed for the toy corner and made herself at home. Nanny Fran was a star and looked after Amélie overnight so that we could have a (fairly) uninterrupted night’s sleep to try and put some hours back into the sleep bank.

We headed back home Saturday afternoon and while my 3 girls snoozed I managed to listen to another fine performance of West Bromwich Albion battling back from a two goal deficit at half time to draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford! The first time in Premier League history that Manchester United have let a 2-0 score slip at home in the Premier League (although they did let a 3-1 score slip to Chelsea in 2000). Amélie only knows West Bromwich Albion as a top 6 Premier League team. Boing Boing! (It can’t last can it?)

Sunday, (Éowyn’s birthday) we headed the couple of hundred metres up the road to Lucinda’s parents for Sunday roast with Lucinda’s immediate family and the girls’ cousins. Éowyn loves to play with her cousins including poor Finley who will soon feel left out as the only boy in the group. In fact he is the only great-grandchild of Granddad Badger (Lucinda’s granddad), outnumbered 10 to 1. However, if we take into account the second cousins then the ratio becomes a little more respectable 11 to 2, still the Cathrall family name is reliant on only two males to carry the name forward. I know the feeling. My Grandfather Bagnall had five sons, who between them have had 5 girls and me. It is probably the reason that I am interested in my family history but I think my girls are going to have to keep their surname for this branch of the Bagnall line to carry into the future.

I will leave the update there as this post is a little belated and as I am now back at work you will have to tune in next week to fine out how that is going.

Peace and love

Baggie

Nanny Fran and her Grand-daughters

Sisters!

Bagnall Hug!

High-Five!

Make a wish

Bagnall girls on da Sofa

Great-Grandma

Great-Great Uncle Albert

Auntie Carol

Birthday present

God gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to you

Rubber Ducky you’re so fine

Having fun at my party!

Can I open them?

My cousins are helping me get into my presents!

Make a wish, 2!

Close up

Snoozing!

To sleep: perchance to dream

Thursday 14th October 2010Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

Ay, there’s the rub! The updates have been non-existent for the last couple of days partly due to spending a bit more time together as a family, partly because we haven’t done too much that is worthy of an update and partly due to lack of sleep caused by a little one that has been crying throughout the night. Last night, in fact was the first night that both Lucinda and I got a full (ish) night’s sleep. We have been told that her current crying is probably due to the antibiotics that Lucinda is taking and that when the course has finished (which is today) then to see if there is a change in Amélie’s crying pattern. We have been carrying on with the Colief and Infacol though and hope that it has helped to a certain extent and fingers crossed when the antibiotics have worked their magic things may calm down. They have to, I am back to work next week!

So what have we been doing the past few days? Nothing hugely exciting it has to be said. Adjusting as a family, trips to see Nanny and Granddad and a myriad of those little jobs around the house including repairing the shower pump! (I am sure that houses react to the amount of attention you bestow. The more attention you give the more little (and big) things go wrong or need replacing, and it is not just that you notice them, as per the shower pump example. It is relatively new (although out of warranty) but decided to choose this week to go wrong.) Yes, while Lucinda was having a shower and myself and Éowyn were sitting on the sofa we noticed a dripping coming from the ceiling. The shower pump had sprung a leak. It was a good job that I was off and my basic plumbing skills now mean that it has all been isolated and just waiting for a spare part to fix it.

We have had a steady stream of visitors, mainly friends as most of the family saw Amélie in her first week. Amélie, apart from the crying, is growing well. The Health Visitor came today (as we have been discharged by midwifery care) and performed a hearing test (she passed with flying colours) and weighed her. She is now 3.9kgs (8lbs 9.5oz) so putting on weight at a good rate (above her birth weight in two weeks) sitting in the 75th centile. The Health Visitor was also enamoured with Éowyn (who wouldn’t be). For she was very chatty and busy (drawing and pretending to go shopping) while the Health Visitor was there. Éowyn also insisted on doing her flash cards (16 different words she now recognises) and the Health Visitor was amazed (especially since Éowyn is not even two yet!) She said she couldn’t wait to go back to the office and tell her colleagues. Which was nice.

Éowyn has also been settling in to the idea that Amélie is not going anywhere. We did have a couple of nights of a little resistance when we put her to bed. She was finding it hard to understand that Amélie was going to spend the night in mommy and daddy’s room and she wasn’t, touch wood, that has now gone. She also seemed a little subdued for a week but again that seems to have passed. All the time though she has been wonderful around Amélie. She will help you when you are changing Amélie, she will try to calm her when she is crying and she enjoys holding her, except when she starts crying and then Éowyn will look at you with eyes that say ‘Please daddy, she is too noisy!’ I think that Lucinda is dreading the day I go back to work! As since I was not the winner of £113,019,926 on Friday’s Euromillions then it is to work that I must return, but before that there is a small matter of Éowyn’s second birthday on Sunday.

So I will leave you now and give Lucinda a break and expect at least one more update before I return to work.

Peace and love

Baggie

The Bagnall Quartet

Éowyn asleep in Amélie’s cot

Gee up Neddy!

Jo and Amélie

Alice and Amélie

Jack and Amélie

Sarah and Amélie

Jack and Lau Lau

Just reading

On record!

Tuesday 5th October 2010Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

Today marks the end of Amélie’s first week out of the womb. (I was going to say on Planet Earth but she has been here for a whole 9 months; it is only the last week that she has been a separate entity.) This is also the day that she officially became part of the population of the United Kingdom for today we registered her birth at the local registry office. Today was also the first day that our family of four all travelled in the same car together. So it has been a momentous day in triplicate. But before any of that let me get you slightly up to speed with the midwife’s visit.

As I mentioned yesterday the midwife was due to come round to discharge us from midwifery care into the arms of the health visitors. The midwife weighed Amélie (she was 3.740kg (8lb 4oz), therefore she has only lost 44 grams or just over an ounce) and was pleased that she has not lost that much weight. Some weight loss is usual and babies can lose half a pound in the first few days after birth and should be back to their birth weight by their 2nd week. Therefore Amélie is right on track and will probably be back to birth weight tomorrow! That’s my girl! The midwife also performed the Guthrie Test (Heel Prick Test). This is to test for a variety of genetic conditions and one of those things that if all is well you will never hear about it. They only contact you if it is bad news, or they need to run more tests. Let’s hope we don’t hear back. The midwife also gave Lucinda a check up and so both my girls passed with flying colours.

Last night Amélie had probably her best night (or should that be, we had our best night). She took a little bit of settling after her middle of the night feed (0330) which Lucinda admirably dealt with, while I snoozed (O.K. snored). Then at 0700 both girls woke. I took Éowyn downstairs and Lucinda fed Amélie. Then Lucinda and Amélie snoozed until after 1000 this morning. So we both feel a little more human today. Amélie has been snoozing all day today (catching up on all that sleep she hasn’t had over the last few days) but this doesn’t fill us with any expectation of what the night holds. Only time will tell.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, today we registered the birth of Amélie Iris. By law this needs to be done within the first 6 weeks of a birth and it is one of those things that you may as well just make the appointment and get it out of the way. Also once you have a birth certificate you can claim Child Benefit (if you are reading this is in the latter part of the 2010’s you may wonder what this strange phrase means. Child benefit (actually Family Allowance) was introduced by a coalition government in the post war year of 1945 (although the first claimant books were not issued until 1946). It was a universal payment given to mothers to help ease the burden on families during the dark economic times of housing shortages and food rationing. Initially it was only given on the birth of your second child (and subsequent children) to encourage multiple births to repopulate the country. In 1977 it was extended to include the first child. In 2013 that is due to change. Here endeth the history lesson), open a bank account and obtain a UK passport. This will happen in due course.

So with my car’s odometer reading exactly 40,000 miles our first family of four car trip began. However, it was only to Lucinda’s parents (at the end of the road) where we dropped Éowyn off so that we could concentrate on filling out the paperwork, especially if Amélie began to cry. Éowyn loves it around Nanny and Granddad’s and in the end Amélie was no bother at all, so it was a very pleasant afternoon. After registering Amélie we headed straight back to Lucinda parents where we stayed for tea. Thanks Jenny! And now with Éowyn in bed and Amélie sated we await what the night may bring.

We had an interesting coincidence today. The registrar that registered Amélie’s birth was the same registrar that married Lucinda and I. Lucinda remembered her immediately, she has an excellent memory for faces. I admit that it wasn’t until she said that I remembered. Not really synchronicity but a nice coincidence nevertheless.

Until the next time,

Peace and love

Baggie