The Twelfth Month: October
3rd
T – You are 11 months today! A visit to the exuberant Picard household at the weekend, where you enjoyed the company of Rosa ((almost 4) and Lola (19m), playing with their marvellous toy collection, drawing with crayons for the first time, handling Lego and these wonderful coloured plastic discs which slotted together. You were confident enough to babble and grunt in your lovely, low voice, noticing birds in their garden. We ate lamb shanks together and travelled on Saturday night on the tube, walking across Millennium Bridge to the Tate. Poor you, you were very tired and screeched a lot while we walked around a crowded exhibition (Freda Kahlo). You wanted to crawl, impossible in a busy room of feet. Best of all, you have been standing alone without holding onto anything for 5-10 seconds, very exciting. John and Natasha thought you were beautiful and big, we also walked in Richmond Park with Kriss, where you saw a great herd of 150 or so deer, who you talked to. Kriss thought you looked like a real baby, an archetypal baby I suppose, and suggested we got you modelling!
5th
You walked 2 steps today! It was in the kitchen, from your Trip Trap chair to me, while I was talking to Dada on the phone. I almost missed it. You are standing more and more, for longer stretches, so exciting! When I fed you to sleep tonight. I lay down with you in the dark an d wondered if I would remember all these pleasurable moments, the many times I have fed you, sitting in bed, and in the white armchair downstairs, reading books, or staring into space, or looking at you. I have felt so much love and gratitude that you have come into our lives. You are such a delight. And in the early months I used to think ‘I don’t care if I never go to the cinema again, or work , or do all the normal things people without babies do, because it was all, and still is, such a joy. Now you are more challenging, because you do things I don’t want you to, like eat cat food, and climb the stairs alone. You’ve fallen down backwards onto your head, twice in 2 days because of my negligence. Philipa came for lunch today, she thought you were wonderful and you were so responsive to her; talking to her when she held you when you looked out the window together. She calmed you when you woke up crying from your sleep.
10th
Beautiful, warm autumn day. We were in a garden in Cranham, Gloucestershire, acquaintance of Grandpa. There was a jack Russell Terrier who yapped at you. You cried, and made your funny, laughing/crying sound whenever he yapped. Later it was just us two on the lawn, and you sat next to me and looked up at the trees, huge, tall beeches, and open blue sky, and exclaimed at the birds ‘aw’, round mouthed, low sounds, so many new sounds now. Lots of ‘la-la-la-ing and sticking your tongue out while speaking in this musical way, and you also do lip –twanging (as P. has just described it), using your fingers to make burbling sounds with your lips. I think you were in awe at the great outdoors today. We saw rabbits and a deer, and felt clean country air on our skins. You were so lovely, exploring, but wanting to be near me. You sat on the grass, bouncing up and down on your bottom and then turning round 360 degrees, very impressively, to survey the hills and valleys we could see from the garden of Haregrove. You even ate your supper, in between hiccups, standing on a wooden bench in the sunset.
My gorgeous boy, you are growing up so fast, exploring the world, no longer my babe in arms. It’s at once gradual and instant. Now when I breastfeed you, it is for snatches, in between your explorations, and sometimes only for a few minutes. I’m not even sure if you’re that interested in mama milk, except at night when sometimes you seem to suckle all night. Or like tonight you fell asleep on the drive home from Cranham, but still awoke when I put you in the cot, then cried in a horrible howling way. When I came to you, you were doing your peculiar writing, twisting and when I tried to make eye contact, you couldn’t or wouldn’t. After 15 minutes I gave you my breast, although you had already fed 30 minutes earlier. This always calms you, which is why usually I don’t hesitate to offer you the magic boob solution. Which is unfortunately no go if you are alone with Dada.
17th
You fell asleep on the way home from Stroud today, and woke just as we arrived home at 6.15. Charmingly, as you woke up you clapped your hands, then looked around, perfectly content. I think you were remembering the concert from yesterday, Gasworks choir at St Georges, where I was singing. You sat attentively listening for an hour or so, until you were mobbed by a gang of 5-year-old girls eager to pat you and play with you. You played gentle head butting, so your Dada told me.
27th
Your discoveries – putting small cardboard packets into larger cardboard boxes; thowing things into other things – toys/towels/hairbrush into the bath; objects downstairs/into cat basket; posting spoons through the cat flap; playing ‘root-ti-toot’ into a plastic funnel I use for refilling the dishwasher salt; picking small objects from the floor and sucking them; gravel, old bits of food, silver foil, chocolate wrapper; pulling and patting our Burmese cats Mia and Coco; pushing round sliding objects and saying ‘brrm’. You exclaim ‘gat!’ every time you see or hear them. ‘Gat’ is also said in response to birds and rustling leaves.
We saw Auntie Dominique in Brighton last weekend, and Robert and Rhonda (Grandpa’s 2nd cousin). Robert, who is in his 80s, made a wonderful observation. “How wonderful it must be to have all the things in life ahead of you to discover and find out, to be at the beginning of life’s adventure.” How true I thought, everything is exciting for you, so many new things to learn. Robert played a game of giving you a brick, and you kept giving it back to him. He really engaged with you. You smiled as soon as he opened the door to you, and he just thought you were a delight.
T – You are 11 months today! A visit to the exuberant Picard household at the weekend, where you enjoyed the company of Rosa ((almost 4) and Lola (19m), playing with their marvellous toy collection, drawing with crayons for the first time, handling Lego and these wonderful coloured plastic discs which slotted together. You were confident enough to babble and grunt in your lovely, low voice, noticing birds in their garden. We ate lamb shanks together and travelled on Saturday night on the tube, walking across Millennium Bridge to the Tate. Poor you, you were very tired and screeched a lot while we walked around a crowded exhibition (Freda Kahlo). You wanted to crawl, impossible in a busy room of feet. Best of all, you have been standing alone without holding onto anything for 5-10 seconds, very exciting. John and Natasha thought you were beautiful and big, we also walked in Richmond Park with Kriss, where you saw a great herd of 150 or so deer, who you talked to. Kriss thought you looked like a real baby, an archetypal baby I suppose, and suggested we got you modelling!
5th
You walked 2 steps today! It was in the kitchen, from your Trip Trap chair to me, while I was talking to Dada on the phone. I almost missed it. You are standing more and more, for longer stretches, so exciting! When I fed you to sleep tonight. I lay down with you in the dark an d wondered if I would remember all these pleasurable moments, the many times I have fed you, sitting in bed, and in the white armchair downstairs, reading books, or staring into space, or looking at you. I have felt so much love and gratitude that you have come into our lives. You are such a delight. And in the early months I used to think ‘I don’t care if I never go to the cinema again, or work , or do all the normal things people without babies do, because it was all, and still is, such a joy. Now you are more challenging, because you do things I don’t want you to, like eat cat food, and climb the stairs alone. You’ve fallen down backwards onto your head, twice in 2 days because of my negligence. Philipa came for lunch today, she thought you were wonderful and you were so responsive to her; talking to her when she held you when you looked out the window together. She calmed you when you woke up crying from your sleep.
10th
Beautiful, warm autumn day. We were in a garden in Cranham, Gloucestershire, acquaintance of Grandpa. There was a jack Russell Terrier who yapped at you. You cried, and made your funny, laughing/crying sound whenever he yapped. Later it was just us two on the lawn, and you sat next to me and looked up at the trees, huge, tall beeches, and open blue sky, and exclaimed at the birds ‘aw’, round mouthed, low sounds, so many new sounds now. Lots of ‘la-la-la-ing and sticking your tongue out while speaking in this musical way, and you also do lip –twanging (as P. has just described it), using your fingers to make burbling sounds with your lips. I think you were in awe at the great outdoors today. We saw rabbits and a deer, and felt clean country air on our skins. You were so lovely, exploring, but wanting to be near me. You sat on the grass, bouncing up and down on your bottom and then turning round 360 degrees, very impressively, to survey the hills and valleys we could see from the garden of Haregrove. You even ate your supper, in between hiccups, standing on a wooden bench in the sunset.
My gorgeous boy, you are growing up so fast, exploring the world, no longer my babe in arms. It’s at once gradual and instant. Now when I breastfeed you, it is for snatches, in between your explorations, and sometimes only for a few minutes. I’m not even sure if you’re that interested in mama milk, except at night when sometimes you seem to suckle all night. Or like tonight you fell asleep on the drive home from Cranham, but still awoke when I put you in the cot, then cried in a horrible howling way. When I came to you, you were doing your peculiar writing, twisting and when I tried to make eye contact, you couldn’t or wouldn’t. After 15 minutes I gave you my breast, although you had already fed 30 minutes earlier. This always calms you, which is why usually I don’t hesitate to offer you the magic boob solution. Which is unfortunately no go if you are alone with Dada.
17th
You fell asleep on the way home from Stroud today, and woke just as we arrived home at 6.15. Charmingly, as you woke up you clapped your hands, then looked around, perfectly content. I think you were remembering the concert from yesterday, Gasworks choir at St Georges, where I was singing. You sat attentively listening for an hour or so, until you were mobbed by a gang of 5-year-old girls eager to pat you and play with you. You played gentle head butting, so your Dada told me.
27th
Your discoveries – putting small cardboard packets into larger cardboard boxes; thowing things into other things – toys/towels/hairbrush into the bath; objects downstairs/into cat basket; posting spoons through the cat flap; playing ‘root-ti-toot’ into a plastic funnel I use for refilling the dishwasher salt; picking small objects from the floor and sucking them; gravel, old bits of food, silver foil, chocolate wrapper; pulling and patting our Burmese cats Mia and Coco; pushing round sliding objects and saying ‘brrm’. You exclaim ‘gat!’ every time you see or hear them. ‘Gat’ is also said in response to birds and rustling leaves.
We saw Auntie Dominique in Brighton last weekend, and Robert and Rhonda (Grandpa’s 2nd cousin). Robert, who is in his 80s, made a wonderful observation. “How wonderful it must be to have all the things in life ahead of you to discover and find out, to be at the beginning of life’s adventure.” How true I thought, everything is exciting for you, so many new things to learn. Robert played a game of giving you a brick, and you kept giving it back to him. He really engaged with you. You smiled as soon as he opened the door to you, and he just thought you were a delight.
posted by f at 1:00 PM
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