…since I had any spare time to blog or to surf the internet. The hardest thing about being a working Mum is finding time for me. Baby Piglet takes up endless amounts of time and physical energy, then there’s work and at the end of the day I just kind of collapse in a heap on the sofa and fall asleep.
Work has been going well recently, after taking nearly a year off due to problems at the end of my pregnancy and the problems I encountered after giving birth, it feels good to be back and I’m enjoying the thrill of making things happen again.
Baby Piglet is well, she’s coming up to 11 months now, how time flies! I am starting to plan her first birthday party and turning Mr Piglet’s junk room into a playroom for her. She is still not walking or crawling and whilst I’m making the most of this relaxing time, I can see that she is itching to move and unfortunately she does get very frustrated. “Tummy time” was recommended to help build up her core muscles but bless her, as soon as I put her on her tummy she just flips over onto her back!
Little darling Baby Piglet appears to have a fierce independent streak which no doubt will bode her well in time but much to my dismay she decided to stop eating last week. After days of worry that she was ill I took her to the Doctor who cheerfully informed me that Mademoiselle was playing games and that there’s nothing wrong with her! Lo and behold she then proceeded to eat perfectly normally that evening. Score: 0 Mummy, 1 Baby Piglet.
She has also started chatting and saying Dada and Nanan very well. It’s ironic as Mr Piglet wanted to be called Papa and she says Dada perfectly and I wanted to be Mummy or Mama and she is desperately trying to say Maman but can’t get her tongue around the M. Oh well, I can cope with that as it’s helpful that she calls Dada when she wakes during the night.
As for the house, we’ve so much to do! The cold has finally gone, the heating is working and I’ve mastered the fire. The farmer mowed the fields and now we have to tend to the veggie patches, the grass and work out some sort of plan to plant a hedge. The first signs of spring here are all the weeds growing back, oh joy!
Baby Piglet will have you dancing to a right merry tune! She is very intelligent 🙂 Babies/children constantly test us as parents, even in to adulthood.
You need to get some rotted manure from your farmer neighbour to dig in to your veg patch. Does he grow his own veg on a small scale…could be worth getting in with the locals to see what grows well.
How is the pear and cherry tree – did they survive?
Hi Mum, yes, the trees survived (goodness knows how though, it was so cold!) – they currently have little buds growing.
Rotten cows dung? Are you joking? Honestly do you not know me? They put some on the field across the road and it stunk to high heaven. Thank goodness the wind changed.
Yes, I can see trying times ahead where Baby Piglet is concerned although her little eyes get me everytime… Am going to have to learn not to look at them LOL!
It’s amazing that you manage to work with a baby of that age! I have one of the same age and I find it really difficult. What type of work do you do? Do you get out of the house and leave Baby Piglet in childcare? Because I’m starting to feel that might be my best option!
Hi Emily,
Well, Baby Piglet has been going to a nounou since she was 4.5 months. I realised that that was the only solution which would allow me to work, I just couldn’t concentrate with her here and wasn’t doing anything very well (work, being a Mum, housework).
Unfortunately though I work from home so I am in the house pretty much all the time. We did have offices but the tough economy meant that we had to scale back for a while. FIngers crossed that we can get offices again soon though as I do get cabin fever!
Work wise I deal in private finance and mortgages. Been doing it since 2003 and really enjoy it.
What are you considering doing?
Great that Baby Piglet has a mind of her own..well, great for her, that is!
Great that Baby Piglet has a mind of her own…well, great for her, that is!
I’m really pleased that she’s independent as it will help her as she grows up, so as you say great for her and god help me!
It all sounds lovely. I hope all the pain and worry from the past months is gone for good. I love how babies decide for themselves the names of those around them 🙂 My husband had the (not so) brilliant idea that our baby boy would call him by his real name ! Baby boy promptly said Dada before he said Mama !
Babies…. they are such fun 🙂
Thanks Candice, I hope so too!
LOL for your husband and baby, isn’t that funny? You can be sure that if your husband hadn’t wanted that then he probably would have called him by his real name! Always works out the opposite doesn’t it?
Our stubborn kids and their independent streaks.. just wait till we’re blogging about the horrors of our teenagers and wishing our biggest problems were temper tantrums or hunger strikes 🙂 Loved the latest picture you posted of her on Facebook. She’s such a little doll!
On a side note, tonight’s “Zone Interdit” on M6 tonight was about the struggles new or young mothers have and about the inconsistencies in help they receive. It was really interesting if you get a second to catch it on replay. They showed a lot of cases where moms were on sick leave for 2+ years and living at home with their parents, raising their little ones. Luckily I didn’t have that option, but it does kind of make me wonder how we all got through those first couple of months without doing the same. So far I’m feeling much better with the toddler phase and being back at work and it sounds like you are too! A neighbor commented to me the other day that V was so lucky to be going to a nanny (as in, how wonderful that you can go to work and know he’s well cared for) and I had to agree. Some days, she’s all I’ve got to keep me sane!
Thanks Amber *blushes* she is such a cutie but I am biased so when someone else says it I feel so proud!
Thanks also for the heads up on Zone Interdit. I didn’t get to watch it last night (such a bother to plug in French tele) but I will watch it on replay probably tonight. It definitely sounds as if we’ve been lucky despite our ups and downs. I am enjoying this “fun” stage more so than the early days, interacting with Baby Piglet is great!
You can’t post about baby girl without showing us a picture of the queen. Babies rarely starve themselves. It is amazing how quickly the learn to power struggle with us on food. Ugh! I you find more energy soon and so happy that you are enjoying being back at work. Happy Spring minus the weeds in the garden.
Whoops! Will post a pick soon!
It’s good to hear from you. I know exactly what you mean about lacking enough time to everything. I recently made lists – yes plural – of all that must get done before summer arrives. Good luck!
Lists are great! I have lots of lists too but then I lose them! Good luck in working your way through yours 🙂
Sounds like cabin fever is finally gone! Glad to hear that you all made it through and hopefully you will have nice vegies this fine spring. Little ones are so time consuming and I don’t know how you do it with working. I stayed home while mine were little and that was all I could handle!
Ashley