Seven months ago tonight, I was in hospital regaining the feeling in my legs. Maisie Elizabeth Rose (or Maisie Maisie Mouse, which is her official title according to Phoebe) was born at 9.08am, a perfect 8lb 8oz bundle with sticky-uppy hair and a great set of lungs. When I was pregnant with her, people continually warned us that after two exceptionally placid babies, we were in for a screamer with the third. (In retrospect, they were the same people who predicted I was having a boy because I was carrying out in front, and the same people who thought 3 babies so close together must have been a happy accident...) Nobody predicted that Maisie would be the easiest baby imaginable, sweet, happy, and a fantastic sleeper. She even made breastfeeding easy, and even now makes me laugh by diving under my blouse and looking up with big blue eyes, while one little hand clutches on tightly. I haven't been in any hurry to wean her onto solids, although she has now discovered the joys of spreading vegetable puree all over her face and pieces of banana squished between her fingers!
I must admit we were a little concerned about jealousy and roughhousing from the big kids when we brought her home from hospital. However, Maisie has adored Jack and Phoebe since Day 1, and greets them with outstretched arms and a big open-mouthed dribbly kiss every time she sees them. I think the fact that Phoebe has named evert single one of her dollies 'Baby Mais' is an indication of how much she loves her little sister! And only Jack can get away with practically sitting on top of her while she growls and squeals with laughter at him. We have discovered that her shoulders are ticklish (weird, I know!!), and the laugh that comes out of her when you tickle her comes right from her boots. She loves her dolly, Ruby, and Phoebe's pink WotWot, and readily shows her affection by chewing their feet! Yesterday we discovered a new beloved toy - a piece of Jack's wooden train track. Give Maisie a piece of track, and you've got entertainment covered for at least 20 minutes!
Being our last baby, I suppose I have held onto every baby moment a little longer that I needed to. If you pushed me I might even admit to inhaling the soft baby scent from her outgrown clothes before sadly packing them away to be donated to other families. (And if you pushed me even further I might let on about the secret stash of baby clothes that I just couldn't bear to be parted from...the 0000 suit all three of my babies wore...Jack's little blue booties...a little pink onesie that once swam on Phoebe....a pair of red-and-white polka dot shoes that I insisted Maisie wore at every opportunity until her feet protested...) I know I have carried her around more than I should, fed her to sleep when I should let her settle herself, and taken her into my bed for a cuddle more for my own comfort than hers. But I need to squeeze as much out of Maisie's babyhood as I can (and luckily for me, she's a Mumma's girl so she loves it as much as I do!!)
Like her big brother and sister before her, Maisie is not at all interested in rolling or crawling yet. Instead, she is already trying to talk. At the moment it's just random shouting (in glee, joy, frustration or simply to get our attention!) but I swear I've heard 'Ma' being called in the middle of the night...and the other day Christian came into the room to be greeted with a shout that sounded distinctly like 'hello!' I always find it funny when babies get to about 6 months old and people exclaim about their emerging personalities. As far as I can tell, babies make their personalities known in utero, and by the time they are born this amazing little person has very distinct likes and dislikes, and some unique characterisitics. Every day, I am asked whether Maisie is more like Jack or Phoebe. Personally, I think she is a perfect mix of the two of them - she resembles Jack very strongly, with Phoebe's facial expressions thrown in. Like both of them, she is funny, stubborn, determined and affectionate. Already Maisie can show love by grabbing your hair quite roughly (ironic, I know!!) and pulling you towards her for a kiss. She has a terrible addiction to television which I acknowledge is almost entirely my fault. She is also fascinated by trees being blown by the wind, lights on the ceiling, and her Winnie the Pooh mobile. She has just today discovered her toes, so I am sure they will provide much entertainment in the weeks to come!
Happy 7 month birthday, Maisie Maisie Mouse. Your mummy loves you to the moon and back again xxxxx
1 comment:
Sal I look forward to reading your every word - keep it up.
Post a Comment