The mysterious case of the travelling poo!

A funny thing happened to me this week, late on Monday night. We had the rare occurrence of Baby E waking in the middle of the night. This is so rare that it had only happened once before since he was 8 weeks old and has been sleeping through the night. I know we are very lucky to have a Baby who is so happy and calm at night and is comfortable to settle himself on his own when he wakes up so I don't mind getting up to help him when he needs us. Normally he only wakes up if he is feeling poorly, and true enough he was very hot and had a little temperature.

A quick application of Calpol, and he was back in his cot yawning and cuddling his teddy. My baby brain memory is guaranteed to let me forget something just 2 seconds after it has happened, and on this occasion it was on top form. I had forgotten that moments before it looked as though Baby E was having a poo. Sure enough, within half an hour of Baby E being in his cot, and just as I was dropping off to sleep I was summoned again.

Something clicked in my brain ... oh ... I think he has had a poo. My thoughts were correct, and I found Baby E with a dirty nappy. I kept the lights dim to remind Baby E that it was still night time, and quickly changed his nappy. With Baby E's bottom now clean and a new nappy in place, I began folding up the dirty nappy to place it in the bin. Just as it was nearly wrapped up I noticed the lump of poo was on Baby E's chest. It was sitting there, winking at me. Was it a relative of Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo? I felt like it was sitting there on Baby E's left nipple mocking me, saying 'ha ha, bet you don't know how I got here'.

I was completely taken by surprise, how did it get there? The last time I saw the poo it was in his nappy that I was folding up and was holding in my hands. Did the poo leap through the air and land on his chest? Was my nappy folding action too forceful and I had inadvertently flicked the poo into a trajectory that would make it travel a whole foot up the changing stand? Maybe I was mistaken in thinking I had seen the poo in Baby E's nappy? Maybe it had been sat on his chest since I first opened the nappy. How long had it been there?

Was it possible that Baby E grabbed it as soon as I opened his nappy. He had very grabby hands that were reaching for his willy, and on a previous nappy changing occasion he had grabbed at the wet wipe that I was using to wipe his bottom. My mind turned to visions of him picking up the poo and playing with it. Turning it in his hands like it is one of his toys or even worse some food! Help! What had happened to the poo???

Fortunately there was no sign of poo on his hands (or face) so I must live with the belief that my forceful nappy folding set the poo on a trajectory leading to Baby E's left nipple. Baby E seemed perfectly happy with the situation, and not at all traumatised with the poo/nipple incident. It shall forever remain the mysterious case of the travelling poo!

There's no place like home.

We have been away from home for three weeks now while the house is being rewired and the loft is converted into a third bedroom. Whilst some of my time away has been fabulous i.e. trips to the beach, visiting relatives and friends, I am now starting to get frustrated at not being in my own home.

I am very grateful to have relatives that want to have us stay with them, and know how lucky we are that they have large enough houses to accommodate all three of us. Baby E does not travel light!

I really miss toasters that have a high lift function so I don't have to burn my fingers getting my hot toast in the morning.

I really miss a smoke free house, where I can wash my clothes and they smell more clean after I have washed them than before.

I really miss my wireless Internet connection, where I can log onto my laptop where ever I am in the house.

I really miss my T.V. where I have many hours of programmes series linked waiting to be watched.

I really miss some privacy, where I can play with, feed, change Baby E without running commentary.

I miss my lovely big comfortable bed, with my fluffy pillows and marshmallow like duvet.

Hopefully we are coming to the end of our nomad existence. I want to return to living in my own home this week. I return to work in two weeks and would like Baby E to be settles in his own home once more before his world is changed once more by spending his days with the childminder. Before that is possible, I need to clean and tidy a whole house that is still in the middle of being developed. Fortunately I have a strong will, and the determination to see this project finished.

I can't wait for our little family to be back in our own home.

Baby E is crawling

Baby E is now 7 months old. After a month of rolling around to get to where he wants to, this week Baby E has started crawling. Nothing is safe that lies in his path. So far we have had;

* Magazines ripped up (Baby E was caught enjoying a copy of OK magazine)
* Shoes being chewed (Baby E loves flip flops and the rubbery soles of trainers)
* Cables being chewed (Baby E likes to eat black cables and especially loves the black box of the laptop lead)
* Tables being pulled over (Baby E attempted to pull himself up on his Grandads fine legged coffee table. A big crash followed but no harm was done to any babies in the process)
* Buttercups in the garden (Baby E loves to pick the flowers)

So now we have to baby proof the house. This is proving hard as we are staying at relatives for a few weeks while the builders are re-wiring and converting the loft into a master bedroom for me and my Fabulous Boyfriend. The only time Baby E is out of trouble is when he is strapped into his car seat on the long journey between his Grandma's house in Dorset and his Bonne Maman's in Staffordshire.

Soon we will be home, and Baby E can explore in a new exciting way.