Around our dining room table

One of the memories I want to leave my children is that of sitting around the table as a family, enjoying food and conversation together.  As with seemingly every other aspect of parenting, it turns out that modelling the behaviour you want your children to adopt is the best route to take.  So the best way to teach table manners, healthy food attitudes and good conversational skills is to display them on a regular basis.

Part of our weaning strategy (if you can call it that) is having the children sit at the table as part of the family.  It feels awkward at first, to try and make conversation with a toddler while still maintaining some semblence of order.  Every day we ask the same question and let that lead us into a conversation.  "How was your day?"

It feels daft to ask a toddler what they did that day and what their favourite part was.  Especially when you then use closed questions to get them to tell you something you already know.  "Tell Daddy what you saw in the carpark."

But it's paying off, because now, the three year old is asking us how our day was.  And the two year old copies her brother.  And we're actually having a conversation.

On the 11th of May

You're in some brand-spanking new 3-6 month babygros (your cloth bum is too big for the slightly shrunken hand-me-downs you started the month in). You wear cloth nappies all day but disposable nappies overnight and when we go away.

You've learned to hold toys in your fists and pass from one hand to another. You bring everything to your mouth to be chewed! You've found your feet! You like to fiddle with your toes. You happily play on the floor or in your chair.

You've started arching your back and twisting so you'll be rolling soon. You pull yourself forward to sit up and you love to stand up. You're not so sure about tummy time but you'll tolerate it for longer than your siblings ever did! You've started to pull yourself forward to sit up.

You smile and laugh at funny noises, singing and being thrown around. You have found your voice; cooing, burbling and shrieking! You sleep in the car, but not every time any more. You still don't have a daily routine but you sleep well overnight with only one night feed. You settle down happily for your naps and nighttime sleep.  We know you're tired when you start rubbing your eyes or yawning.

You've found your thumb! You feed well but have started getting distracted and looking up at me to smile. You still have horrid wind and spit up after most feeds. You weighed 15lb 7oz at your four month check. You've had your first two sets of immunisations. You have another snotty cold.

You are a happy, smiley sociable baby.  You'll go to strangers without even blinking.  You find your brother fascinating and hilarious.  You find your sister slightly scary.

On the 11th of April

If you've been reading this blog for the last couple of years, you'll understand that 1 day isn't that late for one of these posts!


It's funny to think that this time 3 months ago we didn't know whether we were having a boy or a girl. I was in early labour and Andy insisted that this time we'd be ready to leave for the hospital without a last minute panic.

It feels like this little man has been part of our family forever and yet also that he can't possibly be 3 months old already! I keep double-checking that I have all the children in the car before we leave; at some point I'm going to forget him, he's so quiet when he's sleeping!


You're still exclusively breast-feeding, even if I keep almost offering you food by mistake. I've had mastitis this month which was a pain but quickly sorted with antibiotics. You've just started looking around while you feed and you smile at me when you catch my eye. You're still really windy and quite sicky with it. I'm going through fewer muslin cloths each day though so it must be getting better! You still have nasty cradle cap though your hair hides it well.


You sleep really well but we have no pattern AT ALL so far. Occasionally you sleep through the night but usually you wake once or twice. Half past five is my least favourite feed-time because there isn't quite enough time to go back to sleep properly before we have to get started for the day. You tend to have one long nap and several short ones during the day. Some evenings you sleep, some you spend on the sofa with us. You will always sleep in your carseat or the sling if you're tired but resisting a nap. Like Anna, you often whinge to yourself before dropping off.


You tend to wake up and feed, have a nappy change, play then nap again. You cannot stand having a dirty nappy! You're mostly in cloth nappies but we've been really relaxed about using disposables when we need to. The only times you cry are when you're hungry, dirty or tired. Or if someone has just jumped on you.


You've found your hands lately & you chew them with gusto. You've started grabbing things and pulling them but more by luck than judgement. I've started giving you toys to hold and you lie on your mat, looking at the dangly things quite happily. You love to stand up and only need support for balance. You look really cute as your head bobbles around!


You suffer from third child syndrome and get left to your own devices a lot. It's lovely watching Isaac be a bigger big brother; he thinks you're fab and keeps bringing you things that he's made for you. Anna is so affectionate but she doesn't realise when she's being too rough.


You coo and gurgle and growl at us a lot. You like people and you smile at them readily. You love it when I sing to you and grin back at me! You seem captivated by the baby in the mirror but you won't smile at the mummy there with him!

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On Sunday 23rd February

Reading... Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. He writes so concretely and practically about Christian spiritual formation. But his style is dense and complex requiring a lot of concentration and sometimes rereading of sentences, paragraphs or whole sections! There's a lot of thought-provoking stuff in this book. (For less brain-heavy reading, I keep turning to my Feedly to catch up with some blogs.)

Relishing... the 9 hours sleep I got last night, though not the crazy-making day that preceded it.

Watching... Dollhouse on lovefilm. Loved this series the first time around!

Feeling... tired, despite the aforementioned good night's sleep. My brain still isn't functioning brilliantly; I'm easily distracted & keep losing the thread of conversation halfway through a sentence, even if I'm the one speaking.

Thinking... how badly our living room floor needs vacuuming.

Folding... mountains of laundry. I laughed at my friend (with a 3 year old and 8 month old twins) who said her washing machine is on non-stop. Couldn't believe she needed to do that much washing. Now I know better; this baby vomits. And real nappies with two? Hard. Work.

Eating... far too many treats. I need the extra calories for breastfeeding but I'm falling into bad habits. It's good to be aware of your body's needs. It is not good to be stuffing your mouth all day and never feeling hungry.

Wishing... my body would snap back to a proper clothing size. Preferably a size 10 on top and bottom. (I have never been that size in my life!)

Buying... things for the children. New furniture, new clothes, food. I've turned into *that* woman. "I never buy anything for myself these days."

Speaking... the positives about life with three children. It's far too easy to whinge about lack of sleep and not mention the baby smiles, curly ponytails and snotty kisses that make life fantastic right now.

Looking forward... to my time tomorrow. The older two are still going to their childcare Monday to Wednesday. It saves my sanity. I occasionally feel guilty about driving away from my children to spend my day without them. That feeling is pretty much gone by the time I get home.

Loving... watching Isaac being a big brother again. Seriously, the best thing about having more children is watching them be siblings.

Hoping... our new neighbours get the noisy parts of their DIY done soon. They've taken on a big project but they've been really considerate about noise & inconvenience to us. Looking forward to them being able to move in & getting to know them a bit more.

Sitting... post-feed and listening to the rest of my family eating tea downstairs.

On January 11th

Apologies for my absence.  It's been a little busy round here.

Samuel Robert Longden Ingram

Born 11th January 2014 at 11:16pm

Weighing 8lb 14 1/2oz

He's beautiful, the children love him and I'm very tired.  But what else is new?!

Actually, things are pretty great right now.  I'm tired and busy but really enjoying my time with my littlest.  He's growing before our very eyes.  He sleeps, he feeds, what more can you ask for at this stage!  Normal service to be resumed at some point.