Baby sitter

Tomorrow we're getting our first real baby sitter. Hiring a professional to come in and look after the child while we go off to an evening wedding.

I really don't know the etiquette for this. We don't have a TV. I don't have any computers in the house I'm comfortable letting a stranger use. Do I give the sitter our Wifi key and tell her to bring a laptop or phone? Tell her to bring a good book? She's going to sit in our house for 7 hours – maybe 5 or so after the kid's gone to bed.

Do I provide food for her? The sitter, not the baby. The baby gets all the milk she needs (L's been pumping). Do I leave something for the sitter? Um, there's oatmeal and lemonade and some left-over pasta sauce in the fridge. And help yourself to espresso. Somehow I don't think that'd be too appealing.

And looking at our house from the perspective of a stranger — man it's unevenly cluttered. Yes, it's a bit messy. that we can tidy up. But a lot of things just have no "away". They came into the house after the baby was born and have just sat on a sofa or chair or table, and that's as away as they get. At least through some rather hard work in the past week from L we can now walk from one end of the nursery to the other without having to jump over something (which I can kind of pretend was a makeshift baby gate).

On a similar note, today she found the off switch for the router. She just crawled over and cheerily flicked the switch on the surge protector. Fortunately the PC plugged into it was off, but it killed the internet for a bit. Perhaps it was because I stopped her from pulling the books off the shelves? Regardless, I've got to find a way to have my stuff and her stuff coexist in the same rooms.

Now we are walking

She started walking for real on Tuesday. L gave her the bottom end of a crutch, which she used as a cane. Quite successfully, too. The girl used it to keep her balance while walking, and even tried to use it to help her stand from sitting.

By Thursday she no longer needed the crutch. Which was good, since we lost it. She was standing easily on her own and walking without being prompted. And opening cabinets, because she's not just picking up one skill at a time.

Today, L and I were playing catch with the child. L sat on the floor about six feet away from me, holding the girl, and I'd beckon her over. She'd walk to me giggling the whole way. I'd turn her around, and she'd walk back to L. Repeat over and over. It's really quite fun.

Three legs for elevenses

I tried an experiment last weekend. We were at the park with some friends. One of their kids had a pinwheel on a long somewhat sturdy stick. I wanted to see how the girl got by with standing if she could use a cane.

She stands easily enough holding on to things, but up till then had never stood for more than a few seconds. So I demonstrated to her how she could hold the stick braced against the ground and stand that way. She understood, but not in the way I expected. She held on the stick and stood for a bit. Then lifted the stick in the air, still holding onto it tightly. And she stood for the next 30 seconds or so. Then she took a single step before decided this was too much, and sat down.

Clearly, she understood it was the stick that helped her stand. Though she didn't get that it helps her stand by bracing it against the ground. But, whatever works for her. I need to get a stick like that for her, so she can practice this at home.

Edited to add: Turns out she's done much better since then. I took this shot the next day, but it illustrates this story quite well.

Things that didn't happen

Just about every post for for the past year has been about the baby. For a change, this one will be all about me. Specifically, things I've not done since the baby was born. Here's the list I've come up with for all the things I've not done since the baby was born:

• Bought new clothes (for myself).
• Bought new shoes. And mine are really starting to fall apart.
• Seen a movie in a theatre
• Bought anything at a comic shop
• Washed the floors (there's always someone on it)
  
• Played a video game
• Rode a bike
• Gone on a proper holiday
• Gone to Camden Town for anything besides dinner
• Made something new from a cookbook
• Had a meal on the terrace
• Gone to an art museum
• Did something with the leftover materials from the construction last year

And that does not count the number of things I've hardly done since she was born.

Made of straw

The girl's been making a huge mess when drinking lately. She's pretty much given up on the sippy cup and now just treats it a chew toy she can bash food with. We've been giving her water from an actual cup for a couple of weeks. She drinks it, but ends up soaked. We've tried shallow and wide and narrow and deep, but she finds a way to spill most of the glass all over herself and the high seat tray.

Today, on a whim, I tried a straw in the cup. She immediately started chewing it, then spent a few minutes blowing bubbles in the water, She liked that. Then, just as I'd resigned myself to an afternoon of her blowing bubbles in water, she started sucking up the water. The flow was more than she could swallow, so some dribbled out. But for the first time in weeks she drank a whole cup of water without drenching herself.

Of course a few minutes later she realised she could take the straw out and play with it. But that just means I have to hold the straw in the cup. For now (I hope).

She ended up drinking over 250ml after dinner. Which means I think we're in store for some very wet nappies overnight. Mixed blessing that.

Intent

Just a small note today. The lass has been quite awkward to get to sleep for the past several days. Last night we tried to get her to sleep in the cot several times before giving up. We ended up just holding her while watching a documentary.

Eventually she just started fussing again, but more so this time. So I asked her What do you want? I stood her on the floor and held her hands and let her lead me.

She walked straight out of the room, to the stairs and I carried her down those. On the landing, she led me straight to the next stairs (the ones she fell down the other day) and I carried her down those. On that floor, she walked straight past all the doors and right to the next set of stairs. I carried her down those. She walked past the loo and into her room. I turned on the light and she led me to a stool, which she grabbed hold of, finally letting go of my hands.

I've never seen her so directed. This was not explore mode, but Don't you get it, I'm tired and want bed mode. It's good to know she's gotten to the point she can express herself to us. In a vague sort of way.

Out and about

Yesterday I got to live the life of the "yummy mummies" that live in the neighbourhood. L and I had a nice long lunch at a local cafe with one of our neighbours. The neighbour brought her 3 month old, we brought our 10 month old. We sat there chatting for over two hours.

This is one of the reasons I was attracted to this area. So many places I could hang out during the day that would be baby friendly. This is pretty much the first time since I've moved here I could take advantage of it. It took ages to recover financially from the move two years ago. So that summer and fall had us going out very little. Finally, this week we had the combination of it being warm, and me having the day off. I liked it. It's given me insight into what life would be like if L got a job and I was the stay-at-home parent. The idea is appealing. Though I wonder if it'd completely wreck my career.

After lunch and a nap from the girl, I went to meet coworkers who also had off today. I brought the lass, partly to give L time to get some work done, and partly because it's nice to get more time with her, and also partly because my coworkers really like her.

She was her usual charming self. Enjoying all the attention and playing with anyone who'd give her the chance. I'm really glad she does not get separation anxiety. It meant I could hand her off to people to get a break and have some non-baby conversation time, while not having to worry or leap across the room to fix a meltdown.

I also really liked showing off her skills. I'm proud of this lass and enjoy the praise she gets. I wonder if that's the road to becoming one of those parents?

On the buses on the way home, the girl tried to catch the eye of everyone she could. I ended up chatting with the woman sitting next to me on the first bus, and smiling a goodbye to the couple sitting behind me on the second. Similar stuff happened to me on the tube yesterday.

This is really unusual for London, and rather shocking to me. Just chatting to random people who just happen by. This happens pretty much every time I take the girl anywhere. I kind of like it. I suppose I'll miss it when she's older. I doubt I'd be able to do this without a baby in tow.