Unfortunately no sooner had I returned to work, than I was given the news that I am going to be made redundant. Nice welcome back. There are four of us going so I know it’s not anything personal, but it was still unexpected.

Once we had gotten over the initial shock, and realised we wouldn’t be out on the street quite yet, we began to think that it might not be such a bad thing. I really hadn’t wanted to go back to work, and was already missing Sophie like crazy, so we’ve decided I will stay at home with Sophie for a while and just enjoy being a mum.

In some respects it seems such a shame to have settled Sophie in to nursery, only to have to pull her back out again, but it has to be done. She has finally settled in quite well, and after crying each time I left her for the first few weeks, now bravely crawls off to the nearest toy without even a backward glance. I just hope she isn’t disappointed when it’s back to just me and her again.

To save on childcare now that I am back at work Andy decided to take two weeks off work and spend some time looking after Sophie. At the end of the fortnight he was viewing going back to work as ‘a rest’ and admitted he had never felt so tired. I think he enjoyed it though, and my friends took him under their wings – he got invited to coffee mornings and two birthday parties. I was definitely jealous thinking about him enjoying himself with my friends whilst I was stuck in the office. After two weeks of him being househusband the house looked like a bomb had hit it, and we had very few clothes to wear as our entire wardrobe seemed to be sitting in the basket waiting to be ironed. When will men learn to multitask?!

Sophie is now at nursery four days a week and after enjoying it initially, the reality has hit her and she now cries as soon as we arrive at the door. It’s very difficult to walk away from her when she has tears streaming down her face and is holding her arms out to picked up and rescued. The staff assure me that she is playing and having fun with the others as soon as I leave, and let’s face it, she’s got to be having more fun than I do at work. The hours in the office feel very long until I rush out at the end of the day to pick her up. Then it seems like we have only been together for two minutes before it’s time to put her to bed. At the moment I very much envy some of my friends who have given up work permanently.

Summer has arrived, hurray. I can finally dress Sophie in girly summer dresses – it’s so lovely to see her chubby arms and legs after covering them up all winter. She, however, hasn’t appreciated the hot weather at all, and definitely isn’t going to be a sun worshiper when she grows up. Any attempts to relax in the sun are greeted by a hot, grumpy, sticky Sophie reminding me that I am here to answer her beck and call, not enjoy myself soaking up the rays.

Getting out of the house is now even more of a palaver than usual. Trying to rub suntan lotion on to a moving target is no easy task, and I’d probably have more chance of winning the lottery than getting her to keep a sun hat on. I’m planning to attach under the chin elastic to all of her hats… that’ll fox her.

Mum 1, Sophie 0… maybe.

Sophie sporting summer chic

I can tell Sophie is going to be a real daddy’s girl. When he comes home from work she is so excited, she smiles from ear to ear and her arms and legs are flapping so hard I think she is going to take off.

It’s great to see their relationship developing and Andy is a great dad, very hands on – even after a long day at work he’s right in there, giving her a bath, playing with the ducks and making silly quacking noises. I always knew he would be a great dad, and it doesn’t take a lot for him to entertain her, probably because he’s just a big kid trapped in a grown up body… aren’t all men?