What a great couple of months we've had since I last posted here. We've had our first family holiday to Cornwall (including Catriona's first steps in the sea!), done lots of work around the house (all of the things that we've been putting off for the last eighteen months), and watched our little baby change and grow, turn into a little girl and begin being her own wonderful, wonderful person.
It's amazing to see the changes in her from day to day. Just last week over the course of two days, she learned six new words; teeth, cheese, Janey, Phoebe, bed and Volvo. (D is particularly proud of that last one!) She understands things in a way that we've never really appreciated. She has a sense of time passing, she knows who she is in the context of her own world and she is happy in it.
When we came back from our holiday, she finally moved into her own room. A little later – well, a whole year later – than we'd planned, but wow! what a difference it has made to us all. It's a lovely room and a space that I would've loved to have had as a child. It is very much her own room though, with her bed and her clothes, books, toys, a mobile, lights and pictures (although the latter aren't actually up on the wall yet.) We bravely took the decision to take the sides off her cot to give her a big girl's bed and true to her own unflappable nature, she slept in it completely unfazed from day one. And boy, does she sleep. When her cot was at the bottom of our bed, she would wake up four, five, six times a night. I'm a restless sleeper and, to be honest, we wound each other up. But now – and I truly hope that this will last – she goes to bed and stays in bed, asleep until we go upstairs to wake her up the following morning.
And waking her up is now my new favourite time of the day. She always wakes up with the most spectacular bedhead and a breathtaking need to chat. She can go from sound asleep to full on blabbermouth in less than five seconds. It's astonishing. And lovely. And the only way to distract her from her early morning monologue is to ask, "Catriona, would you like some breakfast?", to which the answer is unswervingly and resoundingly, "YES!"
And then we start our day and the rest of our lives together. Love that girl!
Our baby girl is one month old today! I can't quite explain where the last month has gone other than to say that it's been a flurry of feeding, changing, cuddling and getting to know each other. Catriona Hazel arrived safe and well at home in a birth pool at 8.11 on the morning of Friday the 10th of January. She was helped into the world by our wonderful midwife Jacqui accompanied by the dulcet tones of Jose Gonzales and illuminated by fairy lights! At a mighty 4.415 kilos (9 lbs 12 oz), she was rather larger than we were expecting and she has turned our world upside down in the most wonderful way.
Nothing can prepare you for the depth of feeling that having a child will create in you and sometimes when I'm gazing at her beautiful little face I find myself almost overwhelmed by love. She is perfect and wonderful, unique and precious; and we are so glad that she has come into our lives.
However, all this extra loving has rather put the kibosh on any non-baby related activities. I am still reading the same two books that I started before she arrived - the brilliantly clever and starkly witty Symposium by Muriel Spark and the haunting modern fable, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. It's strange not having time to read and I miss it a great deal, but as each day passes, I think we get a little bit better at this and I know that there will be more time in the future. Also, I find that I appreciate my reading time all the more for its scarcity.
Craft has also been put on hold for the time being. I have managed to get to my knitting groups, but unless someone else is happy to cuddle the little miss, it is impossible to engage with sticks and string. I am so close to finishing a cardigan for her (to match the dress that I made just before she arrived too big to wear!) that it's silly. I only have to weave in the ends and we'll be good to go, but even the time for that tiny task seems too hard to come by. Her knitted name is also incredibly near completion - I just need to shape the wire and fix it to a supportive backing.
I am typing this while she sleeps, curled up like a frog, on my chest. We've both had breakfast and if I can bear to wake her up, we should have a bath before starting the day in earnest. We are going for a walk every day and have visitors or meet up with friends most days and I can't tell you how touched we have been by everyone's friendship, support, kindness and love. (Sorry, will stop being so sentimental now - must be the hormones!)
When we came back from our holiday, she finally moved into her own room. A little later – well, a whole year later – than we'd planned, but wow! what a difference it has made to us all. It's a lovely room and a space that I would've loved to have had as a child. It is very much her own room though, with her bed and her clothes, books, toys, a mobile, lights and pictures (although the latter aren't actually up on the wall yet.) We bravely took the decision to take the sides off her cot to give her a big girl's bed and true to her own unflappable nature, she slept in it completely unfazed from day one. And boy, does she sleep. When her cot was at the bottom of our bed, she would wake up four, five, six times a night. I'm a restless sleeper and, to be honest, we wound each other up. But now – and I truly hope that this will last – she goes to bed and stays in bed, asleep until we go upstairs to wake her up the following morning. 
