IQ

DH and I sat down to do the BBC's Test the Nation quiz this evening. Out of 70 questions, I had 57 right answers while doing the TV version. Inputting my original answers to the online quiz where possible, I had 60 questions right. According to my age group, apparently this gives me an IQ of 124 doing the TV test and 145 doing the online test. Not too bad to one who enjoys reading 60p housewife's magazines and News of the World eh?

Botching up the devil's work

The news that a woman has sued over an apparently botched exorcism is yet another example of how things have gone out of hand in the litigation business. I mean, a botched exorcism? What in the devil made anyone come out with that?! Very soon people will be suing the Church because apparently God didn't hear their prayers.

Lung power

Puppy loves talking to Mr Parrot, Mr Monkey and Mr Elephant.

20weeks (2)

One of the things Puppy has been doing the past few days has been persistently rolling over. All very good, but he starts complaining about it, then you turn him on his back, and he rolls over to his front again, all the time making sure you know about it!

20 weeks

Puppy is now 20 weeks old. He is really responding to sound and gets amused by just about everything.

Guardian soft toys

At 11 weeks

So unfit

DH and I went to play badminton last night. It's the first time I'd done any proper exercise in ages (well, since being pregnant), and it was absolutely knackering! We brought Puppy along and parked his buggy at the court tramlines. 20 minutes into the session, Puppy decided to flex his vocal cords, so we spent the next 40 minutes picking him up, putting him down and making funny faces while trying to get a few more strokes in. Such is life with a baby eh?

Puppy has been rolling over with ease, all yesterday morning. Pity he doesn't know how to roll back yet, so just squawks when he's tired of being on his front.

Cik Rathia

I learnt today that one of my former teachers in secondary school passed away last week. Cik Rathia was a feared teacher during my time. She was a massive lady who took us in PE. I remember her always wearing T-shirts which would stretch round her body and 3/4 trousers. She would blow her whistle and shout our her orders, sometimes sat in a deckchair. Us girls would run round the field, or round the neighbourhood, or do starjumps, or whatever exercise according to her commands. Her most famous threat if we disobeyed would be to sit on us! That usually put the fear of God into us and made us run faster (or find shortcuts away from her sight and use those!). It's teachers with personalities such as these that make her memorable. She was loud, obnoxious at times, but within, you could see she was a kind soul.

She taught me from 1993-1996.

Cik Rathia d. 25 August 2006
Eternal Rest grant unto her soul, may perpetual light shine upon her, may she Rest In Peace.

Doppleganger

Looking back on some of the older videos of Puppy, I realised that he indeed looked very much like my dad!


At 7 weeks

Which Blog?

I've been flitting between Blogger and another webblog site (Multiply) for the past couple of weeks. The main reason being I'm undecided which site to use. The other site enables me to post little videos of Puppy at work, which my family loves, on the other hand, I think that site isn't very secure in that anybody could easily download the videos, as I post for the public to see. DH suggested I use a site dedicated to uploading videos, which then can be played in Shockwave format. I think I shall try this out instead....nothing is foolproof to the most determined I suppose, but at least it will set my mind more at ease.

Breastfeeding and obesity

All that talk about breastfeeding being good for babies. Throughout university and now as a new mother, the benefits of breastfeeding has been drilled into me. Yes to the bonding, increased immunity, decreased infections, decreased risk in obesity etc.

The Guardian had this article recently. Well and good about trying to withhold weaning until at least 6 months. I'm on the path to doing that (save a couple of incidents with rice cake and breadstick), but decreased risk of obesity? Puppy was on the 98th centile for weight until just a couple of weeks ago when he dropped down to 91st. I was almost afraid of getting an obese breastfed baby. I have to say though, that looking at the bottle fed babies from the antenatal class, even the lighter ones look flabby with loads of folds. So maybe it's not so much weight, but body composition, and true to form, the breastfed baby really does look leaner.

Anyway, what do babies in the USA eat?

Birthdays

*Posted retrospectively from August 31st*

Almost forgot that today is Deborah Gibson's 36th birthday. Yes, I am that sad, but she was (and still is, to an extent) my favourite singer. I still think she does one of the best song lyrics. Happy Birthday Deborah! She's a puppy too!

On the same note, Happy Birthday Malaysia.

Rollover

Puppy did another 3 rollovers to his front today, only I missed the first two. He has also been flexing his vocal chords quite a bit!

Trying to get through to the United ticketing office is worse than getting through a queue in a busy hospital A+E department. You flit between getting told by the automated system to 'try again later' and listening to horrendous on-hold entertainment for 15 minutes before getting total silence, with no indication whether you're still on-hold or not. I must have spent 90 minutes trying to get through to them today, with no avail. Did manage to write a snotty letter criticising their phone system though. Posted it First Class to whoever cares to read it in the United higher circles. Hrumph!!

We've also received the contracts to sign for the new house, as well as a hefty figure to pay upon completion *faint*. All that plus £800 on this month's Mastercard bill already! Where does all the money go?

Conversion or Martyrdom?

The recent news that 2 journalists working for the Fox news channel had been released following their conversion to Islam has made me ponder what I would do if in a similar situation. I would hope that I would be strong enough to refuse to deny Christ, and need be, die a martyr. Clearly I'd rather not have to be faced with such a desperate situation.

On another note, while watching Narnia yesterday, we started discussing briefly the character of Aslan as an allegorical portrayal of Christ, the sacrifice and destruction of the table being particularly poignant. I must admit that I've never read any of CS Lewis' works, although I have heard much about him. I suppose I will have to start now, since DH mentioned that it may be due to Elizabeth Anscombe that Lewis did not publish another theological work after Miracles. The lady is in fact the mother of DH's godmother.

Maldon and Tiptree

After mass today, we decided to go for a picnic in Maldon. DH had never been before, and the weather cleared up sufficiently for us to have a brilliant time. Later on, we visited Tiptree, where the famous jams are made. We didn't buy anything though, but had a nice afternoon tea of scones and cake. Puppy has learnt to make noise whenever he sees us eating, and for his efforts, managed to smear grissini all over his cute little face during the picnic. Pity I forgot the camera.

Today's the first day of the August Bank Holiday weekend. Instead of doing either of 2 more productive things, i.e. 1) Attending the Youth2000 festival in Walsingham; 2) Attending a long lost friend's wedding (only I wasn't invited ), I ended up having a leisurely day with DH and Puppy. The day began by DH opening the door at 0815h to the tree surgeon employed by the council to remove a couple of dodgy branches hanging precariously above our shed. We had a cheapo lunch at the golden arches before heading off to Ingatestone to add to our snag list on the new property, only to find out that the lady at the sales office had previously compiled one of her own which was 3 times as long as ours :) We then headed off to Tesco in Chelmsford to buy sleepsuits for Puppy, only to find that that particular branch did not have a baby clothing section. After that, we drove aimlessly around before ending up in the King's Head in Great Burstead for dinner. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough tomorrow for a picnic somewhere. I've got a load of food in the fridge that needs to be eaten!

CONGRATULATIONS LUKE AND ANDREA ENTWISTLE!!
MARRIED 26 AUGUST 2006 - OLDHAM

Rice Cake

After an hour of struggling and frustrated cries last night, DH and I gave in and handed Puppy a piece of rice cake. He grasped it and started gnawing on it. That certainly quietened him down, and after 10 minutes of the rice cake experiment, put him back on the breast.

I don't think he was all that ready or able to eat the rice cake, but I wonder if this signals the time when we should be introducing him to complementary foods.

3 weeks / 4weeks

My poor husband has been pulling a big sulk for the last couple of days since I announced my intention to go to .Sg for 4 weeks in November. Puppy hasn't seen any of my friends or relations (apart from my parents) since his birth, and everybody is wanting to meet him. He has, afterall, met all of his paternal relations as well as closest friends. DH seems to think that 3 weeks is enough, but it takes time to do the visits, as well as incorporate shopping, resting, eating and holidaying with the family. 4 weeks will fly by, and I'll be back in freezing England before long.

I shall miss DH, and he will miss both of us dearly, but ohwell.

18 weeks

Puppy is 18 weeks today - 4 months 11 days. He weighed 8.125kg (8lb 15oz) couple of days ago.


Skills already developed:
1) Arm flailing
2) Leg kicking
3) Screeching like banshee
4) Gurgling
5) Cooing
6) Smiling
7) Giggling
8) Focussing on objects/people
9) Rolling from back to front
10) Blowing raspberries
11) 'Coyness'
12) Propping himself up on the front
13) Holding onto things within reach, e.g. hair, rattle, finger
14) Reaching out for things, e.g. food, mummy's glasses

Today he's tried playing with toys while on his front.


He's also received his size 2 Tots Bots nappies and started wearing them today, after 10 days in smelly disposables.

Last week

The past week has been interesting. It was the puppy's first visit to his relations in Ireland. He was initially overawed by all the crowd and noise made by everybody, but soon settled down and by the end of the stay, was beginning to drown out the family squabblings with his own high pitched baby screeches. We took great-grandma with us, and spent an extra couple of days in the Cotswolds. Puppy loved it, and great-grandma, well, is currently missing him loads.

The past week has also seen puppy eyeing up our food a lot more. He twice tried (and managed once) to plunge his little fists into cream. As much as I am for, and will be going on the baby-led weaning route, I reckon one just turned 4 months might be slightly too young to start. I will bring him to be weighed tomorrow, and decide after.