Sacking The Milkman

I wrote a long post about how we chopped and changed our childminding arrangements, and seem to have hit on a satisfactory answer at last, but it wasn’t terribly thrilling so I have just deleted it. All I need to record is that Bernard is with his lovely minder until Easter, and doesn’t have to be lugged off to the next village every day to the lady who refused to cuddle him.

In other news, there is a lot of other news, mainly Bernard-related. Because nothing happens in the world that isn’t Bernard-related. He is the world.

So, when Pete was in charge last week, Bernard’s bowels became terribly, terribly clogged, the poor lamb. He was clearly in much discomfort, and refused to eat or drink for a while, until Pete hit on the idea of holding him on a potty. This position appears to have helped to declog the little fellow, who is now pooing for Britain. I expect the increased milkfeeds and Alice’s magical prune and apple puree also helped.

More dignified milestones included the implementation of the Bigger Car Seat, for Big Babies who weigh over 20lb (9kg). This means sitting upright, facing forwards, and much staring around for a curious young man. We drove to the supermarket, where we found that the plastic trolley seats are also labelled up to 9kg, which means he now sits in the foldy-out metal seat thing. Not the most comfortable ride he has ever had, but made up for by the intensely stimulating experience of grabbing at all the things he can now see. Growing up is a very interesting thing.

Best of all, he rolled over. Pete says he did it on Thursday, but I choose to believe that that was just a dress rehearsal. On Friday night after his bath, he went over from back to front, and immediately back again on to his back! So much for the nonsense about the nappies impeding his development; he rolls like a pro. It’s as though he has been able to do it for weeks, and just hasn’t bothered. I’m not a competitive mum or anything, honest, but Stan still only rolls one way. And he wears disposables. An interesting aside on the matter of nappies: the old childminder told the new childminder that she actually finds cloth easier and nicer than disposables: my first real convert! Shame her children are all potty-trained.

Oh, and despite a really poor night’s sleep last night – my fault, not his – and mother and baby really not seeing eye to eye over the apricot porridge this morning, he is still the Best Baby.