Evie- 20 weeks

Evie-liscious is .almost 20 weeks old (or young!). This isn't 5 months. That will be March 18th.

Actually, what age do we stop counting in weeks? I'm guessing that it's around the 6 month mark?

I had a brief discussion about this with a lady who hasn't had kids yet and commented that the 'X weeks old' thing confused her. She has a pregnant friend who is also counting in weeks and I had to explain to her that, in pregnancy, come the 35/36 week mark, pretty much most women start to count in DAYS!

So, Evie. What have we learnt about her in this past month?

• Well she has found her voice. Boy oh boy. It's a loud one! A squealy, dribbly, shouty one. But I love it. 
• At her last weigh in she was 17lb 7.5 oz. This is pretty big. She's now just under the 98th %.
• Our Baby Signing Classes have come along leaps and bounds. When I say leaps and bounds, she's not aaaaactually communicating with me as yet, but I think she's grasped the 'splash' sign when she's in the bath. She splashes on cue rather than whenever she feels like it. 
• She's started to really grab things. Rattles on her play mat, her Sophie the Giraffe, my skin! There is a little baby dolly that she goes ballistic for and holds out both her arms. 
• There are all sorts of absurd faces being pulled as she discovers that she can suck her lips in and contort them as she blows raspberries.
• Thanks to Aunty Rebecca, she has learnt the power of accessorising.

• Bedtimes have got easier. She enjoys her bath and certainly knows that after bath time it is booby and then bed. The power of routine and repetitive actions. She's falling asleep after feeding from both sides, I then let her slip into a deeper sleep on my lap before placing her into her cot. The other night she made my heart explode by blowing a perfect raspberry in her sleep just before I left the room. :)
• We acquired a bumbo. Well, 3 to be precise. I bought 2 for a bargain £10 each on eBay, unbeknown to me, my Mum had bought us one as a present. So we have them scattered all over. They are a godsend. Her thighs are a little chunky and we have wedging issues when putting her in and taking her out but she seems unfazed!

I don't just plonk her in front of the telly, honest!

• We have introduced a little half portion of porridge in to her routine. I was so reluctant to do this as I was so fiercely proud of her being EBF (exclusively breastfed). The reasoning behind it was a conversation with a BF peer worker and it was an attempt to fill her up a little more in the day as her night feeds were getting more frequent as opposed to tailing off at all. Has it worked? I'm not convinced. She now occasionally drops one of the feeds but not consistently so I can't pin this down exactly. However I don't let this replace a feed as it doesn't come close to the nutrition and calorific goodness that breast milk does. She bloody loves it though! Those arms and legs shake like crazy when I appear with her bowl and little weaning spoon. This also means that she thinks every bowl is hers. So I feel cruel eating in front of her now. It tugs on the old heartstrings to see her lean in expectantly all open mouthed and wide eyed! I now eat my breakfast behind her, hiding the bowl when she cranes her head 180 degrees to see me!

This is the video of her first taste of porridge. I'd made it too watery so it was a messy affair but I think it's better it wasn't too thick for the first attempt.

• One of the most amazing parts of mummyhood I've found is watching my gorgeous little person learn and develop new skills. These can happen in front of your very eyes but more often than not you'll suddenly realise that she's been doing this all week but you never really see the first time. Except that tonight I saw Evie discover that she can in fact get the feet she's only very recently discovered, into her mouth!
  It was on the changing mat as I was getting her undressed for her bath that all of a sudden, the foot started to clumsily make it's way towards the dribbling, gaping, squawking mouth hole. Her eyes widened in fascination and then before I knew it, the toe was getting a good old suck! Daddy raced over with his phone (iPhone4 trumps iPhone3 camera wise) and we snapped this.

• We are also lucky enough to get regular open mouth wet kisses. She kisses with gusto and I love it!
• There are definite teeth making their way through. It's painful for me to see my little lovely suffering and this is only the beginning. I can feel the 2 bottom teeth moving closer to the surface. there's no guarantee that they're actually close to breaking through though. This process could take months. Her fist sucking has become much more frantic and she whimpers and strains with it, really chomping down hard and grabbing at her gums. I use homoeopathic teething granules and teething gel as often as I'm allowed to try and ease her discomfort. Calpol is only for a high fever, I've only had to use it the once. Awesome stuff though! I did buy her this Mam teether that I refrigerate. She grabs it and chews on it but not the actual cooled get part but the hard ring. Maybe she things it looks suspiciously like a rude mans part too?!

These past few weeks have seen my Evie turn from a baby into a little girl. Her personality is really showing through. She's happy, content and the very joy of my existence. I didn't think it was possible to love her more now than I did when she was born but every day my heart grows more as she fills it. As lame as it sounds I can't help but gush. When she finally starts to talk and says 'Mummy' for the first time, I honestly believe I will spontaneously combust.

Until next time xx