Survival & Celebrations!

SURVIVAL! 

Well I am happy to report that Baby R and I have survived me returning to work and him going to a childminder. I have now completed week 2 and I feel much, much better.  The first week was a bit traumatic for me, to put it mildy. I spent the whole evening after the first day back in floods of tears. I felt like the new girl in work and when I got home Baby R slept for an hour so this really upset me as I felt like I was missing out on his life. Then it got gradually better, by the 3rd day Baby R was awake when I returned home from work and reports from the lovely childminder were that he had been really good, with very few tears, so this helped a great deal. This week there were no tears at the childminder and he seemed to be really happy and content when I went to pick him up. He has taken a real shine to our lovely childminder (Mrs A) and also a shine to a cute little blond girl who also goes to the same lady. I know some people wouldn't like for their child to be really fond of anyone else but I am glad that Baby R is bonding with Mrs A as I know he is happy when I'm not there. Work isn't bad too, I work with a nice bunch of people and it's quite nice to get the brain working in a different way. I work in an eye clinic as an imaging technician and we see lots of elderly patients and I really like working with them, I feel it's a difficult time for them and I like being another friendly face they see. The work itself is repetitive but it is interesting which helps being away from my little R. So I think I just might be able to do it. The first week back I kept saying to my husband D, through tears, red eyes and a runny nose, that I just didn't think I could do it (the last time I said that was during contractions, a little over a year ago!), so I'm pleased to be able to say that I can do it, (needless to say I also did get through the contractions and brought Baby R into the world!). We did it, Baby R and I - we have survived!

Thank you all for your lovely comments and words of encouragement, it helped a great deal. You really are a lovely lot!!

♥♥ CELEBRATIONS ♥♥

In other exciting news Baby R turned One! So to celebrate this momentous milestone we had a little party last weekend and it was such fun. We don't have a lot of space in our house and I was worried about having lots of people in a confined space but in the end we just went for it and it worked out just fine. I make a sponge cake (I wanted baby R to have a little piece so I didn't want to make something too rich or sugary), would you like to see....

And I decorated it with bunting from the lovely Jooles at SewSweetViolet. I went for quite a simple and classic decoration, I wanted the bunting (it's such beautiful bunting, thank you Jooles) and the number 1 to be the star of the show and just added some candles when everyone arrived...

The cake went down well, my sister even had 3 slices, which I am taking as a compliment! Victoria sponge is the way to go with my family it seems.

We decorated inside (forgot to take a pic!) and out with bunting....

I just love bunting, I would love to keep it up all year round but D didn't agree. Maybe I can put it up again for my birthday in a few weeks!!! We had such a lovely party for Baby R, family and friends came and celebrated with us and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Baby R had a good play with 2 of his cousins which was so lovely. He got lots of lovely presents and even got a parcel from one of my bestest friend's all the way from Australia. I nearly cried my eyes out when I opened the parcel, Dr T made my little boy a little sausage dog of his own. I was so touched that she had thought of him and had gone out of her way (she is a very busy doll) to make him something for his birthday (she even stamped the labels herself, swoon!) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE handmade presents, the best type of presents in my humble opinion. Did I mention I also LOVE dachshunds? Well I do, I really do, I LOVE LOVE LOVE dachshunds too. I think baby R might just love them too!

Dr T even made me a lovely handmade birthday present which I have to confess I opened before my birthday (I was tooooo excited). A crochet hook bag, I eeped with delight when I saw this, how could she have known that I needed one and the fabric is soooo beautiful too. I know you definitely will want to see...

I'm such a lucky person to have such a lovely thoughtful friend (why does she have to live on the other side of the world though, boohoo) and to get such a lovely present. She also got me a really cool stamp and the pattern to the sausage dog in case he gets lonely and needs a wee pal some day. Lucky me, thank you Dr T! 

♥♥ 1 year on.... ♥♥

I can't really believe we have reached this milestone, it's hard to believe a year ago he was a teeny tiny baby that I fell in love with the moment I saw him. The first feed he had was the most wonderful thing in the world, I didn't want to put him down. At the same time I was scared of breaking him and worried about if I was good enough to be his mother (did I deserve him), yet here we are a year later and he isn't broken, he is thriving and such a joy. I'm sorry to gush but I just love motherhood and all the joys and challenges it brings. It has been a year of little sleep (even now we are up at 5am, but it's so much better than what it was) and hard work (they really don't tell you how hard breastfeeding is but I managed it until 9 1/2 months and still have my sanity - only just!) but it has been the most amazing year of my life. Happy Birthday Baby R - Mummy & Daddy love you very, very much.