The Adventures of Maddie and Daddy

It's been busy since we got back from London. And wet, very very wet. This has meant that I haven't been able to walk Leanne to work. Having said that the days have been filed with the usual classes. Wednesday: We went for Maddie's swimming lesson where she was a little more upset than usual. I think she got a bit scared by the grey haired granddad who was in the class (something to keep an eye on, especially with the christening coming up). Even so, they really ramped up the skills and Maddie didn't falter, and now she has her first swimming badge! Or will do when I remember to pick it up from the reception. Afterwards were popped in to see Nanny and then picked mummy up from work. Leanne and I spent the evening picking out pictures of Maddie to display at the christening. As with seeing Emily on Monday, it was nice so many pictures of how much Maddie has developed and changed over the last 8 months. Thursday: It felt like we didn't stop today. I dropped Leanne at work then gave Maddie her porridge. Then I thought it would be a good idea to test out the buggy we bought from the nearly new sale on Sunday. It needs a bit of a clean and fitting a bit better to Maddie's size. We took Jack out as he had a dodgy stomach this morning then it chucked it down with rain the furthest point from home. I wrapped Maddie in my body warmer and made a mad dash for home! We then headed off to Tots Play in Cannock and had a good sing and play. We catch up with Maddie's fellow NCT babies Thomas and Esme there which is always nice. In a similar vain to Jo Jingles last week Maddie made attempts to kidnap Totsy the monkey and Elsie the demo doll! Gemma and Hannah (Thomas and Esme's mums) are in the process of returning to work which is a bit of a shame but all good things come to an end! After that Maddie and I popped into town for a few bits, she got a few funny looks on my back (she was in the carrier) but she was happy enough singing away and making as much happy noise as possible. We drove around for a few more errands, had some lunch then Maddie didn't settle of until half an hour before we went to pick Leanne up from work. Lucky she settled straight off again on the car. Maddie is just starting to find her voice again which is really nice to hear. She likes to make a lot of noise and she concentrates so hard to make us understand. Jo Jingles tomorrow, then a busy weekend preparing for Maddie's christening on Sunday.

Another 'simple' day. It can't always be like this? Right? AM: The morning followed the same same route as many others. Maddie gets up super early, one of us wakes up and tries to get her to sleep or keeps her company. This morning Leanne was up at 04:30 and couldn't get her back to sleep in her cot. I had no idea and slept through until 5:45 when Leanne asked me to take over so she could have a snooze before work. This meant we left for work a little later than usual with Maddie in the pushchair. It was still a little warm and I didn't want her to cook! Jack walks really well with the pushchair too so that's a win. Then after getting back, we had porridge then a mad dash to get to Penkridge in time for Jo Jingles! As I alluded to yesterday this is a baby/toddler class that focuses on music and making noise. I love it! Maddie seems to enjoy it too. We haven't been for around 4 weeks so Maddie was a lot more mobile and went to kidnap Jo Jingles (a 3ft tall blonde child shaped teddy with sleigh bells on its ankle) on 3 occasions! Also, her interactions with the other kids is incredible to watch. They are so switched on and Maddie is learning a lot from them. Also, all the mums seem to find Maddie super cute so she seems to get away with endlessly staring at their children. As we were out in the car, I opted to pop to Stafford for a coffee and a stroll around. I also went to pick up the pictures for her 6 month photo shoot (which are super cute). She didn't thank me for waking her from her snooze though. After a wander around I stopped at Cafe Nero for a cheeky iced coffee and a biscuit then noticed that the wafer snacks for Maddie were gone from her change bag! I was then very unpopular as I was eating and she wasn't! We hot footed it back to the car but Maddie still wasn't happy. A combination of tired and hungry meant that she cried most of the way home but a quick lunch, Bonjela and a bottle soothed that soon enough. PM: As soon as the bottle was done she slept! For over an hour! Ha! Until we went to get Leanne from work. Due to the severe monsoon, I opted to drive but it did make me realise how very wet ones back can get when loading the baby in her car seat! Thankfully not as wet as some of the poor souls walking! Leanne and I have been taking it in turns to put Maddie to bed and it was my turn tonight. Well at least until she slipped from my grip in the last inch putting her in her cot! This lead to a very upset Maddie and took some Mummy assistance to put it right. She was really tired so I just felt horrible! It took nearly an hour to settle her back off! Thoughts on the day: It was really nice to see Maddie interacting with the other kids at Jo Jingles. In truth, it felt like I have had to do very little today. Even though I had her for the exact same amount of time as I normally do. Speaking of which, I have realised that I look after Maddie for a lot less time each day than Leanne did when I was at work. This is because I worked 7 hour shifts but was out of the house for at least 9 hours at a time, whereas Leanne's day is 6 hours long and she works 10mins drive away. Therefore, by the time get home after walking Leanne to work, I don't actually have that much time to fill! Plans for tomorrow: I'm not sure if I will blog as frequently over the weekend, we are going to London on Sunday until Tuesday (catching up with friends and family and other babies!) so I might just upload some pictures instead. Thanks for reading.

Really looking forward to Jo Jingles in Penkridge in the morning. Making noise and singing songs is right up my street! Maybe pop to Stafford for a coffee and an explore afterwards.

As I alluded to in my rather lengthy introduction, I had Maddie for the first time today after my wife returned to work having taken 39 weeks of Maternity Leave (and a half term holiday, and two days of a phased return). I have had Maddie for long periods of the day before but this was the first full solo day where I am completely in charge (at least I like to think so) of proceedings. Life with a 7 month old can be repetitive so I forgive me for going over the simple things that happen every day. I'll try and pick out some interesting bits. AM: Maddie woke at 04:30, probably by how warm it was and didn't want to settle again. She slept first on me but didn't want to be put back down. In an effort to get her into a deep sleep, I got comfy on the sofa in her room and waited. Next thing I know, Leanne wakes me two hours later and I have no feeling in my feet as my legs were dangling over the arm of the sofa. At least we both didn't lose too much sleep! I appreciate this might have happened when I was going to work and is not especially relevant now, but it felt appropriate to mention it! Leanne and I have agreed that when it is not raining, I will walk her to work with Maddie and Jack (our 8 year old Cocker Spaniel). It takes about 30 mins so a good hour out of the house every morning and a sizable hill to walk over. Today we took the buggy as Leanne needed to carry some heavy brochures, I prefer the Little Life child carrier rucksack we have but the buggy isn't too bad on the pavement. Home by 08:30 with a sleeping baby, I did a few bits in the kitchen before Maddie woke up and had some porridge (with liberal additions of "Ella's Kitchen" Prunes Prunes Prunes!). Like her dad, she enjoys a good breakfast. On Wednesdays, Maddie goes swimming at 12:30 so the morning centred around play time until about 11:00 then packing and snack time. For once, it went with no delay and I did almost everything I wanted before leaving the house early(!) to go swimming. PM: We go to swim classes in Burntwood which is about a 15 minute drive. I managed to change Maddie with no drama (which I am quite proud of) and we joined the other mums and baby's waiting for the previous class to end. Common discussion topics included how warm it was last night, and Health Visitors' advice on weaning. Once in the pool we sang some songs, moved Maddie around the water and had a good time, despite Maddie head butting the water and being surprised it made he cough! She is teething so wasn't quite as smiley as normal. I still think she enjoyed it though. I managed to shower Maddie without dropping her then dress her. I didn't really manage much of a shower, but my cleanliness is not of importance. I have no idea how mums (or dads) with long hair manage!!! She was due a bottle feed at 13:00 so by the time we were out of the changing rooms, it was a little over due. Significant gulping followed before strapping her in the car to go and see Nanny (a post swim tradition). Only Maddie was so tired,and snoring so soundly,I left her in the car seat and ate an Ice Cream at Leanne's mum's sat on the drive with all the car doors open. Leaving Nanny's at 14:45, we picked Mummy up by car and were home after a decent two hour snooze! Leanne wasn't feeling too bad after her first day back so played with Maddie before Tea while I went for a proper shower and a shave! Usual teatime/bedtime routine followed, both Mummy and Daddy chilling on the sofa by 20:00! Where I have been getting to grips with Tumblr! Thoughts on the day: No great dramas and a lot of fun, which is a good start! Plans for tomorrow: Weather forecast looks good so a rucksack walk taking Leanne to work then a walk home through the woods so Jack can have a good explore. No classes so need to try and break up the middle of the day, maybe a trip to the park? Apologies for typos and auto-corrects, this is the most I have written on my Kindle Fire! Thanks for reading.

Thanks for reading.