On the 31st January 2008 W turned thirty six, and – because wouldn’t it be lovely? – I took a pregnancy test. We’d been trying for four months at that point, and there was nothing to suggest that that month would be any different from the other three.

Except for the two blue lines.

As birthday presents go, that was a big one.

This year will be a more understated affair, especially given that baby!W* has the same stuffy nose that he’s had off and on for the past seven weeks, hasn’t managed to sleep for longer than four hours in one go for the past week, and has frequently woken after an hour, for hour after hour. (Sadly it seem that breastfeeding hasn’t protected him from everything.)

However there will be kedgeree, and florentines, as requested, and presents and cards. And though the handspun jumper – shockingly – never managed to spin and knit itself while I was busy getting a hang of this parenting lark, there is at least, the promise of said jumper at some point in the future.

He’s an amazing man, and a brilliant dad. And I love him very much.

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(* Small amount of random housekeeping: I’ve decided to refer to baby!W as FB from now on, since two W’s in one blog is going to get very confusing, very quickly. ;)

Today I solved a problem that had been really bothering me – how to keep baby!W warm when he’s in the babybjorn. And while I wouldn’t claim to be the first person to think of it, I’ve never come across it before (I don’t think), so I thought I’d share it here.

See there isn’t really any room for baby!W to wear a jacket when he’s in the babybjorn, and while his front is next to mine and is nice and warm, there are gaps at the side and around his shoulders that are all exposed.

And since I didn’t buy a maternity coat, I don’t have any clothes big enough to cover me and him together.

However.

It turns out that a triangular shawl, knotted and worn around the neck like a giant neckerchief, covers him up really well and can be tucked into the sides of my open coat.

(Of course it’s also a giant ‘Look at my knitting’ beacon*, but it’s also a good opportunity to wear some shawls that tend to get passed over, in favour of more shaped, faeroe style versions that are less likely to slide off my shoulders.)

I’m quite pleased with that bit of problem solving, especially given the amount of sleep I’m getting right now. :)
(*A baby + knitted goods almost guarantees at least one conversation in the street or in a shop. Which is always good fun. Even for a quite shy person like me.)

Through the wonder of my phone camera I was going to show you the sleeping contents of my lap.

It’s pretty cold here at the moment, and it’s rained since the early hours of the morning. Plus my boy is going through another growth spurt, and so is constantly hungry and sleepy.

Apparently only my lap will do, given that it’s warm, and convenient should he get peckish.

However…

… the shutter noise on said camera phone is really loud.

And so the calm moment was lost.

(Only it wasn’t really since I’m typing this now with the boy back asleep in my lap again. Bless him.)

…and whenever I have done I promptly forget them. (Handy huh?)

However W’s return to work after christmas, coupled with baby!W being three months old and us having three months of parenting under our belts, adds up to a great opportunity to restart our morning walks.

This isn’t a resolution, since it’s something we used to do all the time, and the only reason we stopped was that I just couldn’t manage the distance the more pregnant I got. And then, obviously we had a tiny baby to get our heads around.

But now things are starting to settle down a bit it been lovely to throw on some clothes and bundle ourselves out of the door and out into the crisp frosty mornings. It carves out time to chat, a balance to the mad rush that the evenings can become.

It’s always worth the effort.

On Christmas Eve we went for a walk around my home town, as we do every christmas eve that we spend up north with my side of the family.

I told all the stories that I always tell, and pointing out all the places that I normally point out.

We walked past the house I spent my teenage years in. It looks well loved these days, which made me happy.

I bought a copy of Interweave Knits from the news agent across the road from said house, which was flabbergasting, given that it’s a tiny, not-very-good news agent in a small, obscure seaside town, and it’s hard enough finding IK in Borders in Oxford.

We bought licorice and blackcurrant sweets from a jar (my grandad’s sweet of choice), and walked down the prom, chewing happily.

I haven’t lived there for about twelve years. But it’s always nice to look back.

2008 has been a bit of a blur for me. Most of it was dominated by baby!W in some way – growing him, and then living this new life with him in it. It’s been exciting, and scary, and overwhelming, and amazing, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I’m looking forward to 2009. Looking forward to watching my son grow, and dyeing more yarn, and knitting new things, and learning to be a better spinner. I’m looking forward to having adventures as a family, and carving out time for W and I, and the prospect of a bit more sleep.

I’m planning to laugh alot, and learn lots of new things, and continue to be grateful for all the precious things in my life.

Happy New Year!