Little M's political phase

Little M has had a big week. He’s been a busy guy. He’s developed his own signature crawl. It’s a cross between a belly flop and the worm. He expends a lot of energy in this endeavour but he seems to think he’s really on to something.

He’s still got no teeth like. He’s become partial to pulling a series of faces in homage to the late Les Dawson for which it is quite useful to have no teeth. I think he’s just decided to sack off growing them now.

I think he’d also want you to know that he is no longer sporting a Bobby Charlton style comb over and now rocks a resplendent head of blonde hair. He’s wisely sprouted a lovely pair of eyebrows to match.

He did all this in time for his first protest as he thought there may be press around. As I was in work, he took his Daddy down to Calderstones School to join a group of staff and parents in a demonstration to raise the profile of a campaign against the proposed closure of Church and Mossley Childrens’ Centre. The plan was to present a letter from the Parents’ Forum to Minister for Education Michael Gove (who was actually substituted by Schools Minister Nick Gibb on the day) which pointed out the need for and benefits of this Children’s Centre and to request the ring fence on funding to be re-introduced.

Parents & toddlers stage Bob the Builder protest against Sure Start closure - Local News - News - Videos & Pics - Liverpool Echo

He is a very politically aware 9 month old. He thinks its pretty ridiculous that an over-subscribed, brand new, purpose built centre (which is even newer than he is!) should be under the threat of closure.

I mean, he didn’t actually have to say this, but I can tell he’s outraged by the fact that if we take out the money allocated to Liverpool’s schools, Government Ministers have decided to cut the money for children and families by 35 per cent. In the city with the greatest needs this is a reduction of one third of the budget for children and families.

I reckon he’s fuming. It's probably what all the Les Dawson face-pulling is about.

Through the Children’s Centre we’ve accessed safety equipment for our home, First Aid training tailored to parents of babies and young children, family passes for Lifestyles gyms, baby massage classes, baby club and more. But most importantly, we’ve had a place to go to, to get out of the house, meet other new mums (and new babies!) and to share the experience of life as a new little family. In those first few months it is nice to know that ‘you’re not the only one’.

A month in the life of Little M

What a difference a month makes. Since I last wrote a blog post Little M can sit up, roll over, bomb around in his walker and he's on 3 solid meals a day. He also sleeps through the night! Joy of joys!

After 5 whole months of sleep deprivation, Big M decided he was just going to be strong and not stick a bottle in his mouth when he woke up in the night and after a couple of nights Little M slept through. It was a miracle. We were like new people. Energised, with a spring in our step.

Then Little M got a cold.

I shudder when I think of it now. One night he woke up every half an hour SCREAMING. And he was like a different baby in the day too. Really clingy and whingey. Wouldn't let me put him down. In the haze of it all I thought the cold had changed his personality and he was going to be like that forever. It lasted two whole weeks. Every time he sneezes I get a flashback.

Yeah and he started sitting up on his own about a month ago too. I actually think he could have done it a bit earlier but I just stuck him on his back or his front all the time. One day in baby club I sat him up and he just sort of stayed sitting up for about 10 minutes. He's so chilled he probably would have stayed on his back forever if we hadn't sat him up. Now he's in his big boy pram which meant shelling out for a 'Flavour Pack' for the iCandy. I chose 'Grape', which is clearly purple but Big M still says 'It's pink' every time he looks at it.

The rolling over thing started maybe the week before Christmas. He's still really funny with it. Rolls over and then looks at you like 'ta da!'. Then he doesn't know what to do with himself. He's trying to crawl but I don't think he'll be able to drag his mammoth weight around any time soon.

He got this walker for Christmas and absolutely loves it. He bombs around in it for hours and got the hang of it really quickly. I have to make sure we have the gate shut in the living room because he's worked out how to get out of the door sideways.

Speaking of the gates, if you are pregnant or have a baby you can get your house assessed by the fire service for child safety and they fit door gates, fire guards, smoke alarms, etc for free. They give you socket protectors, non-slip bath mats, corner covers, etc too. I filled in a form at my local Children's Centre and they came round later that week. The man told me to let people know because the funding for it is ending in March and they have lots of gear to give out so sign up now!

I think the whole weaning situation could probably do with its own blog so I'll save that for another time but I'll leave you with a clip my friend posted on Facebook. It reveals the ultimate secret to getting your kid to behave. Sorted.