Harry was 10 months old this week and, looking back, I find it incredible how much our lives have changed.
The focus of everything we do is now Harry. What’s also incredible, though, is how quickly he continues to change. His character is really starting to come out now and I think it’s fair to say we’re going to have our hands full for the next few years.
Not that I’m complaining. When I get home at night now, I spend the first half hour on all fours crawling around the floor with Harry chasing after me, laughing. It’s great fun, although I’m not sure Melissa appreciates us dashing around the floor while she tries to tidy up around us.
Anyway, Harry’s energy seems never-ending. Combined with the fact that he’s also pretty strong, this means life is never dull.
Take nappy changing, for instance. Whereas once we were able to keep on his back relatively easily by distracting him, now it often takes two of us – one holding him down like a wrestler, with the other changing the nappy as quickly as possible before he manages to squirm free.
If I find myself on my own with a dirty nappy, I just give him something he knows he shouldn’t have to keep him still. This can be messy as his favourite distraction is a tub of nappy cream – and he is now an expert at getting the lid off and his hands in.
And, as I say, he’s getting really strong. We bought drawer locks for the kitchen but, within minutes of fitting them, Harry had managed to break two of them and get among the pots and pans anyway.
Keeping an eye on him is a full time job. We’ve tried Harry-proofing the house – stair gates, blanks to go in the plug sockets and so on – but he still finds any number of ways to get his hands on things he shouldn’t.
By the time he goes to sleep at night, Melissa and I are exhausted. And by six in the morning, it starts all over again…
Sunday 22 November 2009
Friday 13 November 2009
Why I'm the bad cop of the house
Unfortunately, I’ve become the bad cop as far as Harry is concerned. Why? Well, we’ve been trying to get him into the habit of putting himself to sleep at night which, as you can probably imagine, has caused one or two tantrums.
Unfortunately for me, Melissa finds it hard to listen to Harry crying so the job of putting him down at night has fallen to me. It’s not easy. I put him in his cot, read him a story (we’re currently half way through the original 26-book Thomas the Tank Engine collection), give him his milk, turn off the light and stand outside waiting for the crying to start.
Before I’m accused of being cruel, I don’t let him cry for long. I calm him down and the process begins again; this goes on until Harry drops off. On a good night, it can last for 15 minutes; on a bad night, it can be more than two hours.
To be fair, Melissa has done it a couple of times. The first occasion, I was working late. When I got in – to the sound of Harry screaming – Melissa looked shattered. This was when we decided I should do it on a regular basis.
Anyway, things have improved. Not only is Harry putting himself to sleep now, he’s also sleeping better at night. Of course, Melissa and I are both delighted at this. However, there is a downside.
Harry now regards me with suspicion, particularly when I pick him up and take him to his room at night. Also, when he’s having a tantrum after being put down, he tries to fight me off if I attempt to pick him up – looking at the door and, presumably, hoping Melissa will come and give him a cuddle instead.
The other night, he woke up and was standing at the end of the cot, shouting but not crying. I went through to put him back down and, as soon as he set eyes on me, he started crying.
In contrast when Melissa goes to him, he’s all smiles and holds his arms out waiting to be picked up – knowing full well his mum won’t be able to resist.
So, Melissa is the good cop and I’m the bad one. I just hope Harry doesn’t hold a grudge.
Unfortunately for me, Melissa finds it hard to listen to Harry crying so the job of putting him down at night has fallen to me. It’s not easy. I put him in his cot, read him a story (we’re currently half way through the original 26-book Thomas the Tank Engine collection), give him his milk, turn off the light and stand outside waiting for the crying to start.
Before I’m accused of being cruel, I don’t let him cry for long. I calm him down and the process begins again; this goes on until Harry drops off. On a good night, it can last for 15 minutes; on a bad night, it can be more than two hours.
To be fair, Melissa has done it a couple of times. The first occasion, I was working late. When I got in – to the sound of Harry screaming – Melissa looked shattered. This was when we decided I should do it on a regular basis.
Anyway, things have improved. Not only is Harry putting himself to sleep now, he’s also sleeping better at night. Of course, Melissa and I are both delighted at this. However, there is a downside.
Harry now regards me with suspicion, particularly when I pick him up and take him to his room at night. Also, when he’s having a tantrum after being put down, he tries to fight me off if I attempt to pick him up – looking at the door and, presumably, hoping Melissa will come and give him a cuddle instead.
The other night, he woke up and was standing at the end of the cot, shouting but not crying. I went through to put him back down and, as soon as he set eyes on me, he started crying.
In contrast when Melissa goes to him, he’s all smiles and holds his arms out waiting to be picked up – knowing full well his mum won’t be able to resist.
So, Melissa is the good cop and I’m the bad one. I just hope Harry doesn’t hold a grudge.
Wednesday 11 November 2009
Breakfast in bed? No thanks...
As a new parent, I’m learning all the time. This week I learned that trying to feed an eight month old in bed is not only difficult but incredibly messy, particularly when the eight-month-old in question has been eating chocolate spread.
You might ask how on earth I got myself into that mess and it’s a fair question. Basically, I was trying to help. I woke up before the alarm, got up and showered, leaving Melissa and Harry asleep (Harry joined us in our bed about six and went straight back to sleep).
They were still asleep when I’d finished getting ready so I decided to make breakfast in bed. Harry had his usual Ready Brek, while it was toast for Melissa and myself.
Unfortunately, feeding Harry in bed turned out to be a real challenge. He was bouncing round the bed happily and, despite Melissa’s best efforts to keep him still, getting the food into his mouth was a real test of my coordination.
We managed it eventually, but not without a good portion of his breakfast ending up on the duvet and one or two frayed nerves. Things were to get worse, though. Melissa decided Harry should try some of her chocolate spread on toast. This was a mistake.
Within minutes, there was chocolate spread everywhere. Harry of course was having the time of his life – but I won’t be making breakfast in bed again any time soon.
Anyway, all this mess meant more washing. I just can’t believe how much washing one small baby makes (even without the breakfast in bed disaster).
To be honest, Melissa handles this side of things and I don’t envy her. There is washing everywhere – a pile to be washed, a pile in the washing machine, a pile in the airing cupboard and a pile waiting to be ironed.
Somehow she manages to keep on top of it which is a good job because, if it was left to me, the house would be in chaos.
You might ask how on earth I got myself into that mess and it’s a fair question. Basically, I was trying to help. I woke up before the alarm, got up and showered, leaving Melissa and Harry asleep (Harry joined us in our bed about six and went straight back to sleep).
They were still asleep when I’d finished getting ready so I decided to make breakfast in bed. Harry had his usual Ready Brek, while it was toast for Melissa and myself.
Unfortunately, feeding Harry in bed turned out to be a real challenge. He was bouncing round the bed happily and, despite Melissa’s best efforts to keep him still, getting the food into his mouth was a real test of my coordination.
We managed it eventually, but not without a good portion of his breakfast ending up on the duvet and one or two frayed nerves. Things were to get worse, though. Melissa decided Harry should try some of her chocolate spread on toast. This was a mistake.
Within minutes, there was chocolate spread everywhere. Harry of course was having the time of his life – but I won’t be making breakfast in bed again any time soon.
Anyway, all this mess meant more washing. I just can’t believe how much washing one small baby makes (even without the breakfast in bed disaster).
To be honest, Melissa handles this side of things and I don’t envy her. There is washing everywhere – a pile to be washed, a pile in the washing machine, a pile in the airing cupboard and a pile waiting to be ironed.
Somehow she manages to keep on top of it which is a good job because, if it was left to me, the house would be in chaos.
Remote control
I’ve often heard people say how clever babies are. Of course, I think everything Harry does shows just how clever he is – but then I’m biased and I’m pretty sure every parent thinks the same.
In any case, Harry continues to amaze me with his ability to grasp things so quickly.
Harry has, for a good while now, been obsessed with our Sky remote control. He is forever trying to grab it, particularly when he thinks we’re not paying attention. Sometimes, he will climb onto me as if he wants a cuddle, only to make a desperate dive for the remote at the last second.
When Harry does manage to get his hands on it, he starts chewing it immediately, channels flicking away in the background, while looking extremely pleased with himself – at least until we wrestle it back off him.
It’s a constant battle and neither side is prepared to give up. This week, though, we thought we’d made some progress when Melissa came up with the bright idea of giving him the remote control for an old television that we no longer use.
Initially Harry seemed happy enough with his new toy but he soon got tired of it. I’m not sure how he worked it out, but he seemed to realise this wasn’t the remote he was really after. Suddenly, he was hunting the Sky remote – and the battle started all over again.
So our bid to deceive Harry failed miserably. Perhaps that’s a lesson for us; after all, if he can see through us at the age of nine months, what’s he going to be like in another two or three years?
In any case, Harry continues to amaze me with his ability to grasp things so quickly.
Harry has, for a good while now, been obsessed with our Sky remote control. He is forever trying to grab it, particularly when he thinks we’re not paying attention. Sometimes, he will climb onto me as if he wants a cuddle, only to make a desperate dive for the remote at the last second.
When Harry does manage to get his hands on it, he starts chewing it immediately, channels flicking away in the background, while looking extremely pleased with himself – at least until we wrestle it back off him.
It’s a constant battle and neither side is prepared to give up. This week, though, we thought we’d made some progress when Melissa came up with the bright idea of giving him the remote control for an old television that we no longer use.
Initially Harry seemed happy enough with his new toy but he soon got tired of it. I’m not sure how he worked it out, but he seemed to realise this wasn’t the remote he was really after. Suddenly, he was hunting the Sky remote – and the battle started all over again.
So our bid to deceive Harry failed miserably. Perhaps that’s a lesson for us; after all, if he can see through us at the age of nine months, what’s he going to be like in another two or three years?
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