Sophie is walking… at last, and now there’s no stopping her. The word toddler is so accurate as this is exactly what she does: toddles about doing a funny wobbly walk. She occasionally falls over, but gets straight back up again and carries on walking. It melts my heart that she is so determined.
When she was crawling she seemed to permanently want to crawl about in the dirt when we were out and about, which meant she finished most days looking fairly grubby. Now she is upright I can finally dress her in pretty dresses without fear of them being concealed beneath a layer of dirt.
We have to keep our wits about us though as she can be fairly speedy when she wants to be – and as we live near a road it opens up a whole new world of danger. We have invested in some baby reigns and a wrist strap, and even though they limit her freedom it’s better to be safe than sorry.

My little girl walking like a pro:

Sophie had her eight-month check this week. Amongst other things her weight, hips, legs and head circumference were measured, and I was asked about her speech (she’s certainly very vocal if she doesn’t get her own way but I’m not sure you can call it speech!).  The doctor commented on how strong her legs were; Sophie definitely has a chunky pair of pins, I just hope those ‘thunder thighs’ don’t haunt her in later life when she’s trying to squeeze in to a pair of skinny jeans.

The doctor also asked if I had any concerns and so I mentioned the umbilical hernia she has had since she was born. I know in times gone by they used to bandage them with an old fashioned penny, and I wondered if we should be doing anything like this to help it heal. The doctor assured me that it would go away of its own accord and it was nothing to worry about. It doesn’t seem to bother Sophie so I am happy to wait for it to disappear on its own.

Other than that she passed with flying colours and we proudly filled in her red book to mark the milestone. She even impressed the doctor by waving ‘bye bye’ as we left the surgery. I think she was just relieved that this time she didn’t have to have any nasty needles stuck in to her, and so was I.

Sophie can crawl, hurray (I’m not sure I will be saying that in a few weeks when she is running me ragged and has filled our DVD player with crusts of bread). She has been ‘nearly crawling’ for about five weeks – sometimes we have both been holding our breath we were so sure that she was going to do it and then she would just fall on her face or collapse, bless. The great thing was that both Andy and I were there to see it. She only managed a few paces but we celebrated the milestone with a drink after she had gone to bed (any excuse). I can’t believe how much she has changed since she was born last July, my baby is growing up fast.

Last night Andy decided to have a bath with Sophie so I could have a bit of ‘me time’. I’m not sure that washing up exactly constitutes ‘me time’, but at least I get to stare vacantly out of the window and think about Brad Pitt. Next thing, as I am elbow deep in suds, I hear a distressed yell from the bathroom for some help. I rushed up expecting to find something terrible as I entered the bathroom.  Luckily the situation wasn’t as bad as Andy’s panicked call for help suggested. Sophie had decided to empty her bowels in the bath and Andy was surrounded by floating poo. I nearly chocked trying to stifle my laughter as I grabbed Sophie and wrapped her in a towel. Andy was left with the pleasant job of catching the poo in a piece of tissue.

As Sophie is now on three solid meals a day she has turned in to a poo making machine, and I am changing 3 or 4 pooey nappies a day. I worry about all the nappies we use and the effect on the environment. I did try using the terry nappies when Sophie was first born, but when you can hardly walk because of your stitches, your baby is screaming, you are suffering from sleep deprivation and have cracked nipples, cleaning poo off a terry toweling nappy is the last thing you need. I decided my sanity was more important than the environment. Am determined to invent a fast-degrading disposable nappy, make a million and help save the environment at the same time. Watch this space.

Sophie’s first tooth has appeared, which explains why I have had a few ‘ouch’ moments while breastfeeding recently, and why she has been a bit grizzly. I think she must’ve had ‘tooth envy’ as one of the other babies in our mum and baby group had her first tooth only a few days before and the next thing I know, there it is. You have to stare quite hard to see it, but if you put your finger in her mouth she can bite… and it hurts.

Because the new tooth is sharp we may have to give up the breastfeeding in the near future. It’s a sad thought but has to be done at some point. Breastfeeding has been great for getting rid of the baby weight so when I give up I will no longer have an excuse for eating what I want. Bye bye pizza and chocolate, it was great whilst it lasted.