Like father, like daughter

One of the first things people do when you have a baby is comment on who it looks like, the mum, or the dad.  I think if you know both parents you can make a fair judgement but if you only know one parent you seem to see their features more clearly.  We think Chicken looks mostly like Andrew, its the chin you see, but she has my little nose and my families sticky-outey ears (outey is a word btw).  When I took her into work the people who know Andrew thought she looked like him and the others thought she looked like me, I think they're being nice!

To find out who she looks most like we got Andrew's mum to send  us some photos of him as a baby, and when my mum can find my pictures, she'll send them too.  But for now, I'll leave it up to you to decide... I know who I think she takes after!

Whats in a name?

Chicken, Possum, Stinky, Chubba wubba, Froglet and many others are not actually our wee girls names, she is in fact called Eilidh Margaret Green. 
When we found out I was pregnant we didn't think about names until after our 12 week scan, didn't want to jinx it and all.  From then on, it was open season on name suggestions, and Andrew and I played the name game much like Ross and Rachel in Friends:

Rachel: How about Dayton?
Ross: Veto. Stewart?
Rachel: Veto. Sawyer?
Ross: Veto. Helen?
Rachel: Veto.
Phoebe: Is it me, or is "Veto" starting to sound really good?

The biggest issue I had was that I could only think of boys names I didn't care either way if our Chicken was a boy or a girl, I just couldn't think of girls names!  That, and the fact that Andrew is a planner (to put it mildly), were why we decided to find out what we were expecting.  Fast-forward to the 20 week scan, the sonographer went through all the checks and then asked the magic question, "so do you want to find out the sex of the baby?"  We said yes please and he had a closer look.  Being the private person that she is, Chicken never liked any of the scans (at least 6 in the end) and decided to be camera shy, so all the sonographer could say was, "well, I think its probably a girl".  And with that, the dozen or so boys names we'd discussed and shortlisted were shelved till the next time and a new list was created, slowly I might add.

The first thing we agreed on was Chicken's middle name.  Margaret is my mum's name and Andrew decided that our girl should have a name from my side of the family since she was getting his last name.  Then it was down the her first name. 

Andrew suggested Stephanie and Alexandra which didn't tickle my fancy.  One of the reasons I wasn't keen was nicknames.  My full name is Jessica but I go by Jess, Andrew is an Andrew and corrects anyone who calls him otherwise.  I could see myself using Stephie or Alex but what if in ten years time, she said no, its blah blah?  So, veto.

The other reason it took us so long to find a name was our (rather differing) sets of rules about names, Andrew's were: no flowers, no colours (both due to Green as a surname, can you imagine a Holly Green, or a Scarlett Green (which I suggested while standing on the platform at the station on the way home from the scan-blame it on the excitement!)  He also said; no proper nouns, e.g. India, Skye or Mercedes, and all names had to be spelt properly, not phonetically.  My list was shorter; not super popular in either the UK or NZ.  So there you had it, more and more names that were off the list.  My biggest faux pas was when I suggested Olive, a little Olive Green, can you believe it, probably only Teresa could be worse!

Finally we settled on four names Zoe, Hannah, Penny and Eilidh.  Zoe was the first to be dropped, followed by Hannah.  So then it was two, Penny and Eildih.  Both are lovely names, and both a little unusual.  My father believes that when you choose a name for a child, if you know a person with the name you like they should be a good person.  I know a Penny and we both know an Eilidh, and both are good people. 

Eilidh is a Gaelic name from the highlands of Scotland.  It means 'light' and is pronounced Ailee.  When we first moved to the UK we lived in Strathcarron and I worked with an Eilidh at the local pub.  While no one in England has heard of it, its actually in the top twenty names of 2009 in Scotland. We also found out-completely by accident and after we'd chosen it-that it's from the same family as Eileen (Andrew's Grandmother)

It was quite a hard choice giving our child an unusual name that most people think is pronounced "eyelid".  We could have changed the spelling, but that would be breaking the rules!  My surname is hard to spell and its never bothered me!  I also asked my friend Leilia how she felt as a child having a different name.  She did say it was at times a pain, but now as an adult, she loves it! So there you have it, why we chose Eilidh.

And now I wouldn't have it any other way! 

Spring Fling

Its been a glorious week here in the UK (well in Berkshire anyway), and Chicken and I have been out and about making the most of the warmer temperatures.  On Wednesday we had my ante-natal group catchup in Marlow.  Usually I drive but Andrew needed the car so I decided to take the train to Marlow and walk the 5kms to Karen's house.  It was such a great day and because there was a hill in my way some good exercise!  After our lunch I was all set to walk back but kindly I was given a lift, I might have been incapable of walking for the rest of the week otherwise!

On Thursday I had to spend the day in the house as I was waiting for a delivery, it was due between 1 and 4pm, and by half five I was getting a little sick of waiting! While the day was sunny, there was enough wind to keep our backyard quite cool, definitely too cold for a baby!

Friday was another cracker and Chicken and I went to catch up with my friend Alice and her son Robbie.  Robbie was born ten days before Chicken.  Alice is also a teacher and we worked together for four years and it was really great having a friend to go through pregnancy with.  Alice and I went to Chiswick House to have lunch and a walk around the grounds.  It was sooooo hot and the crowds were out in force.  After lunch we sat down and the babies got to have their first kick about on the grass (on blankets of course) It was a perfect spring day!

However, the perfect day finished when I went to pick Andrew up from work and we got stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour.  By this stage Chicken was sick of being in the car so we took a long cut home, it did take longer but since the car was moving she slept the whole way, babies don't like the start stop of traffic jams.

Saturday was not as hot but still nice and today was also near perfect.  Daylight savings has started and in addition to the extra hour of sun we had our first BBQ of the season, and Andrew cooked a perfect steak!  While the UK doesn't do great summers, springs are usually pretty great!

Walking the moors

Yesterday we went for a walk along the moor that backs on to our place.  The moor was one of the reasons that Andrew wanted to live here, and before Chicken was born he went running out there.  One of the main reasons (in his eyes) that we got the pushchair that we did was that it has huge wheels and is built for off roading.  It certanly is a tank and is not made for London streets and the tube anyway! 

We walked for about 6km which took nearly two hours (I think), the weather wasn't as beautiful as Saturday but it was still a nice enough day.  The moor is mostly paddocks, some of which are privately owned but people have right of way.  There are lots of tracks that you can walk down, but they basically all lead to Cookham, which is where we headed.  The way there was mostly flat and had very little bumps, thankfully it hasn't rained here for a week or so, which meant the ground was dry.

On the way back we took a different (if slightly more adventerous) route.  The first hurdle (literally) was a stye, then it was a couple of cows in a field.  From there on we lifted Chicken over fences, and around gates that let people through but not pushchairs.  All was going well until we got 5 mins from home and Andrew picked out a stick from one of the back wheels which had caused a puncture.  We limped home and got a puncture reapair kit from the cycle shop.  Andrew is in the kitchen as we speak fixing it for me.  Good thing too, we (Chicken and I) went to town today using the baby bjorn and man my back hurts!

The rest of the photos are from Saturday when we went to a local garden centre, Andrew is totally in love with the place and I'm sure he'll be taking Chicken for a weekly excursion!

A vest from counsins Sasha and Alia

A t-shirt from Aunty Anne and a cute tutu!

A t-shirt from Uncle Scott that now fits!

Growing, growing, growing!

I know babies grow, but I'm still amazed at how many outfits that Chicken has grown out of in only ten weeks!  When she was born we had newborn size clothes, but unfortunately many of them were too big.  We got some 'early baby' sleep suits on sale, which I have to say are super cute.  These were the first to get packed away.

The purple elephant is one of my favs!

The next set of outfits she grew out of was her very first outfit, a cow-print suit!  She was definitely the star of the show in the maternity ward, no pale pinks for my girl!  She also grew out of another set of bright sleep suits, also favourites!

We're now wearing more and more 'real' clothes, and today she wore an outfit from Uncle Scott for the first time, very cute, shame the Crocs don't fit quite yet!  She wore the top below yesterday and it became obvious (the sleeves were half way up her arms) that it too would have to be relegated to the too small pile.

And that's not all, just all the outfits I've got photos of, there are heaps more!  She has been a very spoilt girl, both from her family and friends and her mum!

I had a post all written

And then the computer crashed, so I'm just put up some cute Chicken pics instead and blog tomorrow, enjoy...

High five with Dad

Enjoying The Adjustment Bureau at the cinema

Early morning smiles

Having lunch in Richmond with Michelle

My favourite place to play

Staring at something, who knows???

Hipstamatic Camera App

When I got my iPhone I downloaded the Hipstamatic app.  It takes retro photos in various styles.  Yesterday Chicken and I were waiting for Andrew to finish work and I decided to download some extra parts for it.  I've spent around £5 and so far its money well spent.  The photos are funky and I can't wait to take more!

Shrove Tuesday on Ash Wednesday

Todays photos have nothing to do with pancakes, Chicken has just been particularly cute the last couple of days!

I've just finished the most amazing plate of blueberry buttermilk pancakes.  I was supposed to make them yesterday for Shrove Tuesday, or as it is known in the UK, Pancake Day.  I was in the supermarket yesterday around 5pm and they had completely sold out of flour - that is commitment to the pancake!  Anyway, I didn't get to make them because Chicken threw a hissy fit last night and we went to bed early. 

A week ago I wrote about our attempts to a night time routine, and well, it hasn't been going well, in fact the score was Chicken 6, Parents 0.  She'd have a bath, a feed and fall asleep but the second we put her down, she was wide awake.  We decided that we'd persevere with putting her down (she's a very stubborn Chicken, much like her parents) until it was time for dinner.  Tonight however (fingers crossed and touch wood!) it worked!  She's been asleep for nearly two hours now!!

This has meant that I could make the pancakes, and write my blog, happy days!  I do know however, that this might be a one off special, but it shows us that she can fall asleep and stay that way for a long period of time.  My little Chicken is growing up!

Immunisations

Yesterday I took Chicken for her first immunisations.  I was a little nervous, my friend took her son last week and she cried, and well if she cried, I was going to bawl!  I fully support immunising your child, to me its a very important thing to do, the only thing I was worried about was having my baby poked with sharp needles!  My fears were confirmed when a little boy in front of us screamed the house down.
Chicken had two shots, one in each thigh, they were:

• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib, a bacterial infection that can cause severe pneumonia or meningitis in young children) given as a 5-in-1 single jab known as DTaP/IPV/Hib
• Pneumococcal infection 

(thanks NHS for the info)

And then the screaming (her) and crying (both of us) began, poor girl looked so scared and I felt like the meanest mum in the world.  The nurses warned me she might get a temperature and would probably be quite ratty for the rest of the day, so I got prepared.  I did all my jobs straight after so we could get home and cuddle.  I was in the supermarket loading the groceries onto the belt and Chicken started to really scream so the nice woman in front of us unloaded my basket for me.  We were talking about how bad I felt, and then she said, "I know it hurts you to see her unhappy, but you wouldn't want her to get any of those diseases would you, so really you're doing a good thing"  What a kind thing to say!

Once we got home and Chicken was very subdued, sleeping on me all afternoon, with the occasional piercing howl when she was put down or bumped.

When Andrew got home I handed her over, and he commented on how clingy she was, not like our little girl at all.  All this time I (like any over-protective first time mum) was checking her temperature to see if we got to 37.5c, the time when Calpol could be given.  She got close (37.2) but just before bed it dipped, which coincided with her perking up a bit.  She was still quite quiet but did manage to flash Andrew a big cheesy grin! (which of course I didn't capture, this is just how she spend most of the evening, chillaxing with Dad)

She slept really well, and on the whole I think we got lucky, I mean most adults are slightly grumpy when they get shots!

On a completely different note, shes found her hands and is now stuffing then in her mouth to suck on at every opportunity!

Chicken turns two months old!

Yep, that's right, Eilidh aka Chicken is two months old today!

Sometimes it feels like only yesterday we were at the hospital cuddling a very small bundle.

And then we came home...

And then we had to look after her by ourselves!  In her first few weeks Chicken did little more than sleep on our chest, like a chicken (hence the name) and feed.  So so so much has changed!

Chicken is now much more alert, and is much more demanding (in a good way mind)

She can now roll from her back to her side, scary!  We definitely can't leave her alone on her change mat now!

She follows you when you move around the room, and notices loud noises! She also makes a few loud noises of her own!

Chicken also gives us some cracking smiles, and is generally a very happy baby.  She is very quick to let us know when she is unhappy, but also very quick (usually) to calm down.

We were talking today about what I do at the moment, and I realised that while its a bonus if I get to do some things for me (scrapbooking) my main job is to look after her, and I have to say, its a pretty great job!