As a lover of high summer, the scorching heat of the last week which arrived out of the blue has been welcomed with open arms. But it has left the Muzza household completely unprepared. I have been despairing about having NOTHING to wear, which is almost true as I spent last summer in a variety of oversized tents. Maggie hasn’t fared much better. She has little t-shirts and leggings but no appropriate ‘baking hot’ summer clothing like playsuits or vest tops. All week she has been collected from nursery wearing nothing but a vest! And her toys aren’t blistering-heat-friendly either. They’re a bit indoor-sy: all cuddly toys, books and flashing plastic things. No sandpits, no slides and no paddling pools. So until we got time to do a spot of emergency shopping we improvised by wearing nothing but a size 4+ nappy and bringing the bath outside for a splash about.
Exactly this day last year Maggie was due to make an appearance but held off on the big event for another 2 weeks. It was a strange time as it turned out to be the hardest days of my pregnancy thus far- those 13 long days after Maggie was due but before she arrived. I had waited very patiently for my precious bundle to arrive, over three years in fact, but now it seemed my patience had finally run out. I had two membrane sweeps hoping they would show that the baby was ready to come (or that I was ready to be induced). But no – on both occasions I was told that I had an ‘unfavourable cervix’ which would suggest I just keep waiting. Unfavourable? The worst score I’d ever had in my life was ‘satisfactory’ so I wasn’t too pleased about being ‘unfavourable’ to start with. But joking aside I surprised myself by getting so worked up that I was a quivering mess for most of that time. I found myself becoming so jealous of mothers on the street with their little babies and wondering, completely irrationally, if I would ever get to see mine. Of course, everything changed on the 9th of June but that good news is for another day and another blog post.
It’s easy to think that I still have a newborn baby as sometimes I’m sure Maggie has only just come into our life. But she’s definitely growing up. This weekend – along with a new summer wardrobe – Missy got her first haircut at Toni & Guy. Her da insisted on it; I had suggested I give her the same DIY bowl cut we all had growing up but he was having none of it. I wasn’t convinced that she would sit still for long enough but she surprised all of us by indulging the hairdresser for long enough to allow her to cut a fringe and trim the rest of her hair. The hairdresser told us that Maggie is blessed with not one but two cows’ licks, and proceeded to give her a hairstyle that wouldn’t look out of place in trendy Shoreditch. It also makes her look about six months older which in baby terms is a long, long time. Afterwards, we took a walk along the river at Kingston and celebrated with a 99, another first for Maggie.
Now the planning starts in earnest for baby’s first birthday party. It’s going to be a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party on Barnes Green with her best cousin Nancy and all her friends. We can’t wait !
Ach Maggie Moo..you duck!!never mind six months older,you look about 6!!!!you are growing up soo quickly- and your new hairdo is only the funkiest I’ve ever seen on a 1year old!we cannot wait for the party of the year on June 9th!!(just don’t tell Molly and Ella) love n hugs Aunty Mairead and Nancy x