One year of baby

And so she is one. There have been parts of the last year which have trudged ever so slowly – the nights, mainly. But in many other ways it’s flown by in a blur. That moment when I first laid eyes on my brand new baby girl, soaking wet as I lifted her out of the birthing pool she’d just been born into. That moment feels like it happened this morning.

It’s been an intense, joyful, emotional, gruelling, surreal year.

Baby Girl has slotted into our lives like she’s always been here. Those early baby cuddles on the sofa watching Netflix, how I miss those days. There’s something about those first couple of weeks that feels almost like a dream. We existed in a cotton wool haze, our new family of four all bundled up against the outside world in a cocoon of new baby.

And then the NLM went back to work after paternity leave and the fun really began. School runs, juggling a four year old’s seperation anxiety with a baby who wasn’t keen on sleep. Those days were tricky. But in amongst all that chaos there were moments of blissful calm. More sofa cuddles during the day when Frog was at school. Catching up with baby mum friends over coffee and plentiful amounts of cake. Gasping at how quickly my baby was growing, laughing at those first smiles and the way she was already drawn towards her big sister.

Holidays, days out, afternoons at home. Time together just the four of us. Trips to see family and show off the new member of the family. Watching her little chest rise and fall as she slept on me, snuggled up like a puppy on my knee.

And now, now we have am emerging toddler. Loud, always laughing. Shouts a lot. Hilarious. Exhausting. Fun.

Baby Girl was so eager to celebrate her birthday she was fifteen minutes early to the party. She was born at 12.29am on the 6th October. She started her birthday celebrations at 12.15am on 6th October, approximately an hour after my head had hit the pillow. She continued them two hours after that, and two hours after that etc etc. My baby has learned many new skills over the past year, but sleeping is not one of them.

Once it was actually light we started the day as all good birthdays begin: with balloons, presents, cards and a special breakfast of pain au chocolate. The rest of the day was spent at The Eden Project. We’re away for a few days (more on that later) and The Eden Project is a short drive away from where we’re staying.

Later, there was cake with a candle. Baby Girl clapped as we sang Happy Birthday. She doesn’t need persuading to get into a party mood. A sign of future birthdays to come, perhaps.

It was a brilliant day, although the NLM couldn’t be here to spend it with us due to work commitments. We have a little birthday party planned at the weekend that he can get involved in though, and I’m told he made up for missing his second baby’s first birthday by enjoying a full night’s sleep, so it’s not all bad.

I’m now the mum of a one year old and a five year old. I feel old.