Dear Poppy,
Boy, are we glad to see the end of the last two weeks! It was like a marathon of trying and testing moments; it all happened together but I would like to say that you and I, we passed with flying colours.And in the middle of all the misery and heartache there were some genuinely special and happy moments that took me completely by surprise.
Two weeks ago, you came down with your first cold. It is hard enough dealing with a runny nose, but then to have people attack you with a tissue to wipe it every 2 miniutes, that made you go crazy. Then you came down with the worst hacking awful cough that kept you up at night. It was not nice Poppy and it made daddy's heart ache so much that he actually cancelled an over-night stay at Oxford for his conference to be with you.
At the same time as your cold, daddy also fell ill and had a BIG conference that he had to present a paper at. It also meant staying in Oxford for a couple of nights, leaving home early in the mornings, coming back late at night and being SUPER STRESSED.
One Sunday, a week ago, when mummy finally got a tiny little break, she left you with daddy at home, and thought she would treat herself to her favourite mocha frappucino without cream from Starbucks. She left the house, put on her boots and ran to catch her bus. And she fell! She tripped, lurched forward, broke the fall with her left hand and lay sprawled on the side walk for a good five minutes before she could muster up the strength to get up again.
Two scraped knees, torn stockings and a not so good feeling in her shoulder was what she hobbled back home with. Sigh.
The shoulder and arm got worse, pain killers did not work and the nights were a misery. It was difficult to carry you and to feed you. Frozen shoulder, dislocation, fracture were all words that were muttered by the Consultant and each of them inspired dread and absolute helplessness about the days ahead and how we would manage.
We got some extra help from lovely V and M's nanny I. You got on very well with all these new faces holding you and playing with you. Mummy even managed to leave you for the first time for a little bit, with a baby sitter and go to High Tea with her mommy friends (This had been organised months ago).
In the midst of this awful misery, things started looking up a bit. The pain got better, mummy could contemplate pushing the buggy again which meant she could go outdoors with you. The sun decided to shine upon us and we had some beautiful Spring weather. Uncle N came by and took us to Regents Park on the Sunday when dad was away. We had a beautiful morning and you and he got on famously.
On another walk around the area the following day, we bumped into no less than three people from our NCT group. It was warm enough not to have to doll you up in your winter suit and sit you up on the park bench with your friend K. You loved watching the pigeons and got lots of attention from passer bys who stopped to say hello and were rewarded by your happy dance. It was the perfect day. But it was only about to get even better!
We came back home and mummy decided to once again try the bottle. This is a whole new post in itself, but in short, for the last seven months you have consistently and vehemently refused the bottle. It means mummy not having more than a three hour leash away from you. So once again, all set for another refusal, mummy offered you the bottle. You saw it, gave a big grin, stretched out both your arms, grabbed it and put it in your mouth. Most importantly you went suck suck gulp, suck suck suck gulp till you finished all of it. I cried, I cried and cried from the sheer relief and pure joy of the moment that I had been waiting for, very patiently for seven long months..
Poppy, you clearly are determined to go at your own pace and my role is really to follow your lead. I look forward to your next surprise.
Love you loads,
Mommy
