1. Sleeping like a baby

2. The Trade Show

3. The Surprise Run

Son 2 aged 8m slept through till 0630 hooray hooray, thanks to the blanket on the window.  However.  Son 1 aged 3 and a half was woken at 3am by Son 2 shouting in his sleep, climbed into the big bed with us, tossed and turned and felt eyebrows and eyelids, kicked his heels, poked his elbows, chattered, blew raspberries and fidgeted, fidgeted, fidgeted.  The Man gave up and tramped downstairs.  And I ended up issuing threats at 4am.  “Mummy needs to sleep. This is why we can’t sleep with you.  It makes Mummy very grumpy when I don’t sleep.”  Son 1 decided to go and sleep in his own bed.  I set the alarm for 0615 - the latest I thought we could get away with - in case Son 2 chose this morning to sleep through.  

Wonder Nanny came round at 0700 to help us get out to The Trade Show.  We packed up two boys, a sled-load of food, snacks… clothing changes - I still say we should have had a rosette for Most Stuff In Car.  We picked up Mother on the way.  I went on our stand while they went in the play tent and we met up for lunch.  Son 1 hardly ate any of ours, preferring instead to raid Mother’s.  Son 2 had already polished off his lunch in the play tent, and ate yoghurt and Cheerios.  I went back to work and they went off to the bouncy castle and funfair.  I had a reasonable Day One, we had crowds of people in and I had some good discussions with contacts.  At close of play Son 2 had had a sleep, Son 1 was back in the play tent painting, and neither Mother nor Wonder Nanny had seen anything of the rest of the Trade Show.  But apparently Son 1 had a fantastic time.  Wonder Nanny bought him an inflatable England football team hammer.  “He insisted,” she said, with her wide smile.  “I said we won’t have enough money for any more rides if we buy that hammer.  And he said he didn’t want any more rides.”  Back home, The Man was thrilled.  We have all been repeatedly biffed by a madly-giggling munchkin.

It took ages to get Son 2 to sleep because he was more interested in what Granny and his brother were doing in the bathroom and bedroom.  As I sat there, nursing him endlessly in the hope he’d pass out, there was a soft knock at the bedroom door.  It was the Glamorous 21 year old Student, in her running kit, bearing a cup of tea.  Was I going running?  I’ve been to a Trade Show  I thought, and I’ve got to go again tomorrow and Saturday.  I’m too tired.  I’ve still got some Office work to do. “Yes,” I said.  So out we went.     We didn’t go fast, but we did our three miles, and afterwards I was so pleased I’d done it.               

1.  Sleeping/feeding/standing

2.  Football

3.  Arrivals

Son 2 aged 8m slept through the night in his cot.  The Man and I woke up in the same bed for the first time in… I have no idea.  I’ve taken a week off so that I can be around with the boys for the families visiting either side of the christening. Wonder Nanny and I decided to stay in because both boys were so tired after yesterday, and we were expecting Mother and Elder Sister this afternoon.  So Son 2 did today without a lunchtime feed even though I was around.  That’s three days in a row now, so here’s hoping we’re moving on now.  Son 2 also grabbed every opportunity he could to stand, stand, stand. 

A highlight today was Son 1 playing football in the yard.  With Wonder Nanny.  He giggled, he laughed, he squealed, he jumped, he kicked, he threw, his eyes sparkled… he was wonderful.   My major achievement was not having an oh-my-god-that-should-be-me fizzy fit… I just thought, actually, I’ve got a cold, I’m tired out, I’ve got The Family and the christening coming, and Wonder Nanny is in my life so that I can step back now and again.  I put the washing machine on.  And then Son 2 woke up from his 2-hour nap. 

Mother and Elder Sister arrived at about 2pm.   Mother told Wonder Nanny how she taught me to read when I was 3.  Son 1 hadn’t seen Teenaged Nephew since last summer, and was longing for him to arrive.  Which he did, with Teenaged Niece, Brother and Sister-In-Law. TNp is now 14, which we were expecting, and 5 ft 10, which we weren’t.  He’s HOOOOOGE. Son 1 buried himself in the crook of my elbow when he saw him.  Son 2 just kept staring at him with his “you’re fantastic” face.  TNc is 17, has the looks and figure of a goddess,  a mouthful of braces and her first driving lesson on Saturday.  She was three months old when The Man and I got married.  TNp couldn’t really cope with the throng upstairs - no room for him -  and he kept coming down to see me and Wonder Nanny as we got Son 2’s tea.  “I get migraines,” he said.  “Would you like to go out the back for some fresh air?” I asked.  “I don’t do fresh air,” he said.  “I’m going to give Son 2 a feed now.  You’re welcome to stay but - “  He was gone.  14-year-old boys and breastfeeding.  Nah. 

1. Sleeping through

2. The Cranial Osteopath

3. Running mates

So I book the cranial osteopath appointment and Son 2 aged 7m sleeps through the night.  7pm to 0630, barely a peep.   A murmer at about 0515, which brought Son 2 aged 3 and a half upstairs into our bed.  At one point I realised he was lying there with his hands over his ears.  The Man was snoring, and yes, it was rather piggy-like.  “Oink oink,” was how it was later described.  So Son 1 and I decamped downstairs into his bed.

I had a call on my mobile, the Cranial Osteopath had a cancellation, could we go that day.  Yes I said, and spent many merry minutes sorting everything out so we could.  Wonder Nanny tells me Son 2 has slept most of the morning, including being moved from car to buggy to house to cot.  Never in his born days has he stayed asleep after being moved from the car.  Anyway, the CO was a very nice lady, who sat with her hands on his head in various positions for a while.  Son 2 snaked round to look at her, chewed his shoes, giggled, fed a bit, kicked his legs a bit and then decided he’d had enough and sat up.  He’s just started doing consonants, and talked the whole time.  CO said he had a lot of stasis.  Membranes that need to be moveable aren’t.  Because he was Caesarian-born.  And babies with a lot of stasis feel the need to move all the time.  We will have another session and she will do more manipulation, today’s was more exploratory.  Has he just had a cold?  She was picking up a lot of virus.  Has he had antibiotics?  Never.  Just bathloads of Infant Gaviscon.    “Most babies have a good sleep after cranial osteopathy but I don’t think he’s going to,” she said.  Back home, Wonder Nanny says she thinks he’s coming down with something.  

I went running with the Glamorous 21 year old student and her Seriously Fit Friend.  “Can xx come? Don’t worry, she knows it’s slow.”  SFF hadn’t been out running for 5 weeks and thought it sounded perfect for starting herself off again.  It was a Best Thing - getting out and running always is - for a number of reasons… we ran on the beach, we ran up some pretty tough hills, we got to gaze out to sea.  G21 and SFF chatted happily all the way round.  And I chatted happily on the down hill bits.