Heidi’s week seems to have been at a slower pace in the last few days, picking up a little at the weekend just gone.

In the early part of the week she headed up to Chagford to buy some things and enjoyed her time in the sun although it is now getting cooler. She has been out again in the front loading papoose and loves seeing what around the corner.

Mid week and she was back at home and ventured into her new cot on Wednesday. She has been put in it a few times and seems happy with the environment. She has her toys and now has more room to stretch and wriggle if she wants. She now has been sleeping overnight in the cot and is happy, sleeping normally.

One of Heidi’s godmothers – Claire – her mum Margaret gave Fred a musical bedside light that moves and projects up on to the ceiling. He loved it and it played an important part in Fred’s nocturnal activities, annoying nurses in the dead of night as it was sound activated too. A slight noise and it would burst in to light and song and they would feebly be trying to switch it off whilst I peered through one eye at them in the gloom – usually about 0400h in the morning. Fred invariably dozed on.

Well, Heidi has it now and she loves it. It projects on to her ceiling through the mobile that over hangs her pit. A useful tool. Hearing the familiar tunes and words took me straight back to the ward in Bristol, and Rachel too. We have got used to it now.

Friday saw Rachel and Heidi coming in to the office before we went to a pub for lunch, and so the girls all cooed and made her entertain them. Heidi was wide awake and beamed a lot.

Saturday saw Rachel head off to a wood carving class near Bude, and I headed in the opposite direction towards South Petherton. Heidi came with me for a party at Violets house, as it was her third birthday. Her mum and dad I have known for many years, and their daughter Violet was in Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital for an operation whilst we were there. It was good to see then and I later returned there to see her when she had had an operation after Fred had gone. She seems fit as a flea now and she seemed to be enjoying her third birthday.

I met up with Frances in the morning as she lives only a few miles away and so we had a nice time in the garden and Daisy and Samuel kept Heidi entertained. A nice leisurely lunch saw Frances, Samuel, Daisy, Heidi and I head to the party for 1500h.
Lots of noise and general running around by the tots and Heidi observed from a distance. She had never met so many little people before and kept awake as long as she could. She really was fascinated by the noise, colour and movement.

Once we got back home on Saturday evening Heidi had a nice bath with Rachel who had missed her so much during the day. Lots of cuddles and sleepiness meant she went out like a light.

Sunday saw us head over to Torquay to get some stuff and the sun was shining too. Saw a few people we knew and we had some lunch in the pub – Yates. Heidi is a regular here as it is quiet and spacious and gives us a chance to sit down and have bite to eat. Heidi brings her own – this time mashed broccoli. It’s a first for her as we suspected it would not go down well. Clearly she was not sure at first and a blob of green hung on her tongue before being manoeuvred back in. Within a few minutes the two small ice cube sized pieces of vegetable had disappeared and was washed down with a bottle of finest milk.

In the evening Emily popped by and helped bath her. She took some photographs whilst I sat by the fire, trying to keep Heidi upright so as to strengthen her back and neck muscles. One looked as if it would be at home on the cover of “Hello” or something so I spent the evening trying to arrange a magazine cover off the internet……

Today Heidi’s Gran and Grampy came over for some lunch as Gran been on holiday for the week over in Northern and then Southern Ireland. Gran saw some big changes in Heidi after a week or more away and Heidi was pleased to see a familiar face.

Over the last few days I have been watching Heidi closely, as I have been for the last few weeks I suppose, as she now begins to develop her character very rapidly. When born babies do little other than lie there and jerk their arms and legs about in a random and chaotic way. Heidi discovered her hands some weeks ago and these are now becoming useful tools for her, in her journey of exploration. After our Sunday lunch I gave her a piece of kitchen towel rolled up for a second, and she clamped her hand around it very firmly and immediately brought it to her mouth to suck or chew. Realising that sucking paper towels was asking for trouble I tried to prise it from her grip, but this just enraged her immensely, and she went from a laughing bubbly tot to a real howler. Thinking it was a coincidence I let her have it, and she immediately put it to her mouth to suck. On a number of occasions I repeated trying to free her grip and each time she started to shriek most noisily, and going red in the face refusing to release her grip. It dawned on me that she was doing this purposely, and that she did not want to let go of her object. It was very funny to watch, each time (almost teasing her) to repeat the spectacle and which she continued to oblige with her new found rage.

It was funny at the time but gave me an indication that she is now thinking for herself a little more.

In the last week or so she has started to lean forward, or at least try to. Whether in her little bouncer chair or sitting on someone’s lap she tries to lean forward again using her hands to clumsily grab things. Her back muscles are not that strong but she’s plodding on. It amazes me how she can develop using her instincts.

In the last ten days we have also watched her try to roll over on to her front, but realise the previous attempts were just practising and having fun as she smiled a lot and was easily distracted. Today, at just over four months old we saw her desperately trying to roll. For the first time I saw that she pulled her head and spine right back, so she was backward-banana shaped, and twist her top half to the right position, keeping her arm underneath out of the way. Thereafter it was her right leg that just needed to swing over a bit to transfer the weight, and she would have rolled. No longer was it fun for her, but she became very focussed and quite angry at failing each time, although we encouraged her to keep going. It was a bit like cheering a horse that is about to win, though she put all her effort in to it, plus more. She became red in the face and I thought she would tire but she kept at it for half an hour on and off before getting a bit sleepy. She needs to shift the weight right over, as she has big nappies on which may give her the disadvantage over an infant with disposables which are more streamlined.

I wonder what goes on inside her head and body that makes nature force her to do these things. She has no need to roll as she is fed and moved around by us, but of course she needs to roll to get on her front. After that she can use her legs to lever herself along, and then I assume to progress to walking….

She tried it again when we are back at home and is encouraged by Rachel and Emily this time. Her energy levels are flagging by now but she knows she must do it. No success today though as she soon realises it’s getting dark outside, she’s had her bath and she is back in her slightly restrictive Moses basket. Again instinct tells her the day is approaching an end for her

On the changing station in the bathroom she tries again and leaves us with a real reminder that she can no longer be left even for a second on the mat even though it has raised sides. Not that we did, but the days of finding Heidi where we left her have almost disappeared now. I have noticed that her tongue plays a vital part in this activity in that its always out. When I concentrate my tongue pops out – or used to – especially when I used to be at the drawing board. I never noticed it but everyone else did.

I also noticed, as did Rachel that she now repeatedly brings the blanket over her head for a few seconds, covering her face completely, and then pulls it back to look out again. I did not think that it was done on purpose but she repeatedly did this this evening, even when purposely distracted and the blanket tidied up for her. In a second she’d tugged it free and covered her head for a few seconds.

She can pass things from one hand to another now rather primitively and keep things in one place. She is also very observant for things she has not noticed before and today stared in fascination at a plant. Move her and she keeps her eyes fixed on it. Give her a mirror and she is not that fussed. Give her a fork like I did at lunch time for a split second and she wants it to wave it vigorously and rather dangerously in front of her eyes. A spoon maybe next time but not a fork…….

Heidi in the last day or two has been a little unsettled, with a temperature on Thursday night that went up to 39.5c. We are nervous of temperature rises, having regard to what it meant for little Freddie, though Calpol sorts her rapidly. Soon she is fine again. The Braun “in the ear” thermometer gets an airing once again and we still have “Property of F J Wills” labelled on it, as there was always a chance that the thermometer would get borrowed by one of the nurses thinking it was NHS stock, and we never see it again.

Her rosy cheeks and hands in the mouth with additional drooling and a bit of grumpiness lead us to suspect that teething is occurring. They may not appear for a bit of course, but they must still grumble with her.

A side effect it seems is that she sometimes will not want to drink her milk, which again gives Rachel and I the wobbles. It appears to be gum-related and some local anaesthetic granules which lurk on her gums and seems to do the trick and she tentatively keeps drinking. Otherwise she gets very upset indeed and we have to try and console her to get her to take some feed. However a few hours later she will slurp with gusto, and apparently gums are no longer her concern.

Friday has seen her third day of trying pureed carrot and she now loves it. At least she smiles when eating it, some comes out of her mouth and is shovelled back in, and she seems fine with this. Its quite watery but at least gives her the opportunity to try something other than milk. Rachel reckons she likes it, as it all ends up gone, with no crying or protestation.

Friday also saw me take a call from my brother Duncan at 2130h. He was sitting in the Isaac Merrit in Paignton (a J D Wetherspoon pub) with a friend when he opened the Wetherspoon Magazine – “Wetherspoon News.”

He was not expecting to see a photograph of Fred on page 52 nor 1 ½ pages about our little boy and how CLIC Sargent helped us whilst we were in Bristol and then eventually in Exeter. I wrote the article in May this year and to’d and fro’d with both CLIC Sargents Press Office and J D Wetherspoons staff, to get the story right.

Today saw us rise extra early and head over to Newton Abbot to drop some stuff off at the CLIC shop and do some shopping. We headed in to the Richard Hopkins pub (Wetherspoons again….) and picked up a couple of copies of the magazine. It was strange to see Freddie peering out at us, and read the bits that Wetherspoons editorial staff had added in the introduction to my article. I was engrossed in my magazine, sitting drinking a cup of tea awaiting my breakfast whilst Heidi was fed by Rachel when Naomi appeared at our table. I used to work with her and she followed the ‘blog noticing on FaceBook that the article was now out, so sped down to the pub the following day to get the magazine. I handed her a copy which I had gathered and off she went to see what great words I had spun, with her family on another table.

Heidi is more active with her limbs now and we are beginning to lose socks and things as we go along the street. Today saw the first proper loss of a pink towelling sock. I re-traced our steps in the pub and found it carefully placed on the bar, where it was duly returned to her foot. Until now they have been found tucked away in the pram or the car.

Once back to home, Heidi was changed and fed and Hayley from the office popped by. They all had a good cuddle though Hayley experienced a period of heavy wind as Heidi obviously expelled windy carrots over a 30 minute time span. One burst resulted in a burp, fart and sneeze which even took her by surprise and gave her a fright. Eventually Heidi was carried off as she had had a poo in the excitement.

Afterwards I took Heidi off in mid-afternoon to go to Brixham to get a table cloth and napkins from the linen shop. It has been a nice sunny day and she has been very happy and observant. On the way past one of the pubs on the habourside I had to plough through the banished smokers who cluttered the pavement. I carried on regardless and “beeped” my way through, eventually passing clear of the human litter, when I heard one of them calling to me. I turned and a whiskery tattooed male lurched toward me waving “Milton”, Heidi’s pet cow which she had shoved out of the pram with her leg as she went by them. I thanked him profusely and we went on, this time with Milton safely stowed under the pram.

I bought my linen table cloth and half a dozen napkins (only 22” size though) and I noticed that we’d lost a sock once again. I re-traced my short journey and found a pink sock carefully sitting on a shop window cill. I wonder who picks these things up and worries that someone is looking for them. I had earlier handed my shopping list to Heidi to keep her occupied but when I went to search for it that too had gone. I found it in the gutter, where Heidi had dropped it.

I head over to mum and dads and she entertains them for a while. She is really trying to sit up now and in the right situations she can get up quite far, but does not have the strength. It’s good she thinks it is worth persevering with though, so at least nature is guiding her well. A few days ago I tried to pull her up off her back by holding her hands but her head was too heavy. Today I can do that exercise easily and she has worked out how to balance her head and can be pulled up in one easy movement to sit upright and marvel at the world from a new perspective…… She wobbles but laughs as she crashes back down on the duvet.

This week has seen Rachel’s birthday on Wednesday 10 and we planned a quiet evening in with a couple of friends, Mark and Emily.

Claire, one of Heidi’s godmothers popped in beforehand for a cuddle on the way home from work and we had a nice chat whilst Heidi showed off her social skills she has recently developed. Smiles masked her naivety in some areas, but she was rewarded with hugs and kisses for her efforts. Fat hugs really do work along with gooey, saliva-ridden smiles.

The evening was not meant to be too grand but we all decided on a curry theme so I started making three curries in the few days in the run up to her birthday.

This served several purposes; to keep fuss to a minimum on the night and to ensure that the flavours develop over a period of time. It was a trio of Red Lamb Thai Curry, Lamb Tikka Masala and Chicken Balti all created by me – with the help of some ingredients from the oriental food store. Once cooked they ended up in a foil container and stayed chilled to develop the favours for a day, and then were frozen for use on the day. A few naans, some pickles plus some fresh poppadoms made it a success. We started with jumbo prawns in a cocktail sauce though which may be a little 70’s, but always goes down well, albeit non-Indian….

Rachel had made a raspberry torte earlier in the day and so this was accompanied by some local clotted cream.

Heidi enjoyed the first part, but went upstairs as she could not hack the pace. The evening ended near midnight and hopefully everyone had a nice evening. Heidi had remained in deep slumber allowing us to chatter inanely.

Friday saw another gourmet gathering, this time at my mum and dad’s. It was fish and chips there, and was really nice. The six of us, including my brother Duncan sat down to plough through a mountain of chips. Heidi appeared briefly before retiring to the front room in her Moses basket and nodded off happily. We’d ordered five cod and four chips, but the portions were enormous as usual, plus I think they gave us an extra bag of chips. Five cod and two possibly three chips may have been adequate.

The weekend saw us shopping and we purchased Heidi’s cot for her. It only took a few minutes for me to build it, although when first unpacked I thought all the screws were missing, but this ended up not being the case. I was hopping temporarily.

The mattress we had for Fred fits perfectly although he only ever got to use it one night, the night before he was diagnosed.

Following the health visitors tips on starting weaning Rachel today gave Heidi her first taste of something other than milk. Heidi has experienced two lots of Calpol, and seemed to enjoy the change. Here it was heavily pureed carrot which looked really nice and orange, but clearly was not to her liking. Much face-screwing and tongue flapping by her, she managed to get ¾ of the ice cube sized portion down. We will keep on with the non-sweet stuff gently and see how she goes. I guess it will be orange poo from now on…….

I had hoped to post some photographs but again I have left my camera in the office so will add them tomorrow if I remember.

Today saw us go to the zoo for the day as it was sunny and we toured the usual bits in the what is likely to be the last of the nice weather. The new Crocodile Swamp is too crowded and far too hot and humid for her and it gets a bit congested in the area where there is the monsoon. It goes dark and there is lightning flashing, and the mists descend. In the gloom a little boy next to me wrapped his arms around my thigh presumably not knowing whose it was in the dark and what later appeared to be his terror. I shuffled nervously in the gloom trying to get him to go away, but when the thunderstorm stopped he wandered off out through the exit happily and none the wiser.

We headed over to my mum and dads and Heidi has started enjoying the rolling about bit on the mat. She is happier doing this now and is desperate to roll over though still does not know how to. She has progressed this week, and holds her head high for quite a while. Obviously babies heads must be heavy as after a while her head starts to droop, and it gets lower and lower. A bit like a battery running out. She finds it amusing and enjoys a different perspective on life.

Back home to a nice warm bath and a fluffy suit. As I type I hear Rachel getting her ready for bed, and dealing with a “bogey alert…”

She has big plans for the week and is looking forward to Rachel’s birthday on Wednesday, when she returns from the moors…..