A duck to water

Another first today: we took Samuel swimming. We've been wanting to do it for a little while, but have held off a bit because we were worried about the effect the water would have on his eczema, the effect the loud noise would have on him, and - in the main - the effect the military operation of getting a squirmy baby into a swimming pool would have on our mental health. But I have to report back that not only was it reasonably stress-free, but that it was also top fun.

It has to be said, though, that the logistics were astonishing. When we left the flat, we had in our possession a baby in a car seat and FOUR bags. A swimming bag for each of us, plus the usual change bag loaded up with a post-swim lunch for Samuel. That's a lot of luggage for a fifteen minute dip in the pool and I felt like a pack mule, but then I guess that's our life now.

Our pool of choice was The Spa at Beckenham. It's modern and clean, and the teaching pool for kids is right next to the changing and locker area, which makes life nice and easy.

First of all we just sat on the side of the pool, dangling our legs in and playing with Zachary Quack, his favourite rubber duck. The little man seemed unfazed by it all and was giving his surroundings a good eyeballing, so we popped him into the water and kind of whooshed him around a bit. He seemed to like that too, floating and kicking and splashing and checking out all of the other babies. Zachary Quack didn't leave his mouth at any point, so taking a familiar toy on a first visit definitely seemed liked like a good call. We loved watching him love it, and he looked incredibly cute in his wetsuit - like a tiny triathlete. We rolled a little floating ball to him and he really went for that. Then we got a bit cocky and sat him up and held him on one of those big flat float things. He wasn't too keen and soon let us know that he'd had enough for today so off we poddled, back to our four bags and the soggy socks that I'd forgotten to take off when we'd first walked into the soggy changing area (schoolgirl error).

Gratuitous baby photo of the week

There's no real story here, it's just a photo of Samuel looking cute (and a little bit like he's in The Full Monty, truth be told) with his Thomas The Tank Engine ball. He LOVES that little ball and is always mighty proud of himself when he manages to pick it up or roll it back to me.

Look, it's my blog and I can post gratuitous baby photos if I want to! And posting them on here means I'm less inclined to annoy my Facebook friends with my over sharenting.

Have good weekends all.

The post where I find peace of mind in Euston

If you've read even just a little bit of this blog, you may have gleaned that I'm a bit of a worrier. A neurotic first time mum whose concerns are many and varied. What if Samuel chokes? What if he gets too hot? What if I drop him in the bath? What if I'm watching so many episodes of Homes Under the Hammer that I actually start to think of myself as an property development expert, head to an auction one morning and lose us a fortune?

I'm pretty sure that worrying about all of these things come with the territory when you're a new parent. Apart from, perhaps, the Homes Under The Hammer one. But I figured that rather than stress about all these 'what ifs' and remain in the dark, I'd actually go and suss out what I should do if I ever have to face any of these awful situations. So, bright and early last Saturday I headed up to Euston for a baby and child first aid course run by the British Red Cross. I'm so glad I did.

The full-day course was really informal, really fun, and full of fellow parents, grandparents and parents-to-be who all shared the same concerns as me. It was kind of like a neurotics anonymous, so I felt right at home. It covered pretty much every nightmare scenario you could (and I did) imagine: how to administer CPR, how to tie a sling, how to deal with burns, bleeding, seizures, allergic reactions, choking and so many more. There were loads of opportunities to practice everything that we learned too (there were dummies all over the place), all in an atmosphere that wasn't intimidating in the slightest.

I think that if, like me, you care for a child and your first aid knowledge is patchy at best, then a course like this is 50 quid well spent. I was amazed to realise that first aid is actually really easy and not some form of black magic that only certain people know how to practice. You just need a few pointers in the right direction. I feel pretty confident that I'd know what to do in an emergency now and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't freeze in fear, worrying that I might do more harm than good.

The British Red Cross have also created a free baby and child first aid app which is super handy if you want to brush up on your knowledge. It's well worth downloading. After all, knowledge is power (just not when it comes to buying properties at auction - I must remember that).

Smell me

Actually, please don't smell me. The last thing you want to do on a day like today is smell me. A day where the temperature in our greenhouse of a flat hasn't dropped below 30. A day when I took Samuel on a train ride to central London and pottered around in the blazing sun and it was still cooler than being in our own home, even with fans on and windows open. Don't smell me.

What you might want to do, though, is smell some of the delicious produce at Borough Market, for that's where we went. The lovely L's office is just around the corner from there so I thought it was about time I went to meet her for lunch. I was ready to take on the hustle and bustle of London Bridge with Samuel in tow. 

We ate at Le Pain Quotidian, which was full of high chairs and very baby friendly. Samuel was completely taken with L, grabbing at her hair and trying to steal her jewellery. Once he'd eaten, we took turns letting him bounce around on our knees while we caught up. Well, while we caught up as much as two people can catch up with a crazed, grunting, attention-seeking trampolinist between them.

Afterwards, we strolled back through Borough Market, a bit sad that afternoon work commitments and motherhood meant we couldn't really indulge in the rows and rows of cooling Pimms cocktails and Prosecco spritzers that clever traders were making a killing on. As Samuel and I headed back to the train station, our noses were assaulted by the smells of the best cheeses, chorizo and truffles that London has to offer. They were definitely some of the the nicer smells that we experienced on a scorching day like today.

Treasures from Magpie and Hen

When you have a baby you are constantly buying things. 

There are the things that you need. The essential things that you have budgeted for like bedroom furniture, clothes and food. 

Then there are the things that you think you need, but that it turns out you really don't need. Things like the rocking chair you bought for nursing the baby but that the baby hated, so it now just sits in the corner gathering dust. Or that second sling that you need a degree in astrophysics to work out how to use. Or any toy ever that claims to help a baby get to sleep. THEY DO NOT WORK.

And then there are the things you want. The beautiful little things that you shouldn't really splash out on, but that you just KNOW will look super cute on your little one or keep them merrily entertained, no matter how fleetingly. The things that you feel a small pang of guilt about when your other half says, "Where did THIS come from?"

But only a small one.

I found a heap of these gorgeous things on Magpie and Hen, a local Mum's Etsy shop. We're talking pre-loved kitsch and vintage toys and clothes. We're talking 80s rompers and charming wooden pull-a-long ducks and caterpillars. Things that simply make you happy. I wanted the lot, but after much deliberation I settled on some lovely orange stripy dungarees (they're a tad too big for Samuel right now, but he'll be in them before the end of the summer) and a couple of 70s ABC and numbers books with gloriously random pictures that I adore. A wombat wielding a whip, for example. 

I know I definitely need to reign in my online baby shopping. I'll start next week.

Another day, another park post

Today we dressed Samuel up like an ageing lady golfer, slapped on some Factor 50 and made a beeline for Dulwich Park. It was gorgeous.

We passed the boating lake, wondering how long it would be before the three of us could get out there.

Then we made a dash for the ducks and showed Samuel how to feed them. He was quite keen on the little ducklings but not too big on the Canada Geese.

Then, sweaty and shattered, we headed home, stopping off for a shandy in a beer garden while Samuel slept. Lovely.

The brotherhood of fatherhood

On paper, Crystal Palace shouldn't be a very good place to bring up a baby. It sits at the top of several steep hills that tower above London. It's so high up that in the olden days, ill people were advised to move here to enjoy some of its fresh, clean air. Buggy friendly it is not. Yet, it's packed with oodles of families just like us, negotiating the knackering inclines every day. Head to any pub round here for a Sunday lunch and you feel out of place if you don't have at least one little person at your table. And while the battle for high chairs may sometimes get bloody, the thing that seems to attract families is the very modern sense of community. (The slightly cheaper-than-average London house prices are admittedly a big draw too, but let's ignore that for now.)

James thought that he had tapped into this community on Friday when he had the day off work. He took Samuel to Monkey Music - a very PC baby class that as many dads go along to as mums. Then later we all walked to the park and there were dads with babies all over the place.

"You know," he said as he pushed Samuel towards the play area. "I feel like I've joined a secret club. Every time I've seen a dad with a baby today, we've sort of smiled and nodded at each other in recognition."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's like there's a special brotherhood of fatherhood. Just watch this," he said, subtly pointing at the lone bloke with the buggy walking towards us. "He'll give me the special nod."

James smiled expectantly, but the guy stared determinedly into the middle distance and strode past without so much as a glance.

James looked a bit crushed.

"It must be his second child," he said.