We live on a remote island, a place where our son is free to play, explore, experience and enjoy being a child! Is it really so bad to hope that he becomes a bit of a trouble maker? What does that even mean? Lesson Learned: Woollen hats are for outdoors Milestone: Alert and aware Gifts: Welsh decorations Gifts: A basket full of clothes Saturday 13th OctoberFor the best part of the morning I was sitting in my chair, hugging my baby Ronnie with his favourite woollen blanket on top of us and his brand new red bobble hat on his head. He'd just had a good feed and we were having a lovely cuddle, full skin to skin contact with him on my chest so he could hear my heart eternally beating for him. Lesson Learned: Woollen hats are for outdoors We sat there for a good while, until I noticed that the baby had become really hot and sweaty! His hair was damp, there were sweat droplets running down his face and his little outfit looked soaked! The baby was too warm! I quickly took the baby into the bedroom, cloth-washed, hair-dryer dried and changed the baby into a nice dry outfit all the while thinking that the knitted woollen hats were probably best saved for venturing outdoors! Was this another lesson learned? I would think so! Milestone: Alert and aware Today we noticed that Ron was becoming more present and aware. He was awake a lot more and his dark-grey eyes were often wide open and looking around. . . His little face has developed many expressions, portraying sensations and emotions that helped him communicate his needs (as well as using his melodious voice). Eyes wide open also presented a good opportunity to show him various things, so James took Ron into the kitchen "where magic happens" and showed him his demijohns filled with freshly brewed wine, telling the baby that he will be joining daddy in making the next batch! He also told Ron all about the different ways of cooking parsnips, which I thought was super adorable too! Then it was time to change Ron's nappy and I noticed that the nappy rash looked a lot better, but he had developed some sort of new rash on his legs. There were little red spots going all the way from his hips to his toes. Slightly concerned, I called James over and he came in with an empty water glass. I looked confused as James put the glass against Ronnie's leg and then was very relieved when he said "it is not meningitis!". Meningitis? Sounds like it could be serious. . . and what was that water glass test? Concerned and still confused, I was about to call the midwives for advice, but then James exclaimed "didn't you say that the baby was very warm and sweaty earlier?". I explained to him that it was the case, but most likely due to wearing a woollen hat indoors, to which James said "in that case, this rash is more likely to be a prickly heat rash and is nothing to worry about!" That reassured me a little bit, but we decided to keep an eye on the rash and call the doctor if it wasn't better by tomorrow! Gifts: Welsh decorations The postman came bearing really exciting gifts from our Twitter friend Mrs G who lives in Wales and always manages to make James wipe a quick patriotic tear from his eye! She had sent Ronnie some gifts before he was even born (namely the Welsh outfit which we are yet to try on), but she sent us some more unexpected presents and they arrived today! There was a lovely Welsh blanket, a bunting (who doesn't like bunting!) and a whole bunch of decorations for the little baby's corner (because we have no baby's room)! I was so happy to see all the lovely little things, especially because they were totally unannounced and completely unexpected. Gifts: A basket full of clothes In the afternoon we had a house full of people, if only for 10 minutes. Neighbours and friends turned up to say hello to our little man, and brought a lovely wicker Moses basket that they found in charity shops. It was also full of adorable baby clothes! We are ever so blessed to have such lovely caring friends on this island! We had a chat about life on Eday and agreed that we live on a beautiful remote island, far away from busy roads, crime, pollution, advertising and other modern vices. . . We live in a place where our son can be free to play, explore and enjoy being a child! I mentioned that I really want Ronnie to grow up to be a bit of a trouble maker, to which my friend said "be careful what you wish for!". . . That got me thinking - what if Ron really was a trouble maker? And I realised that I honestly believe that "good children" tend to be quiet because they carry the world of pain and worries on their shoulders and harbour a lot of insecurities within, thus not wanting to step out of line. They always appear to be "good children" because they do as they are told, they strive to fit in and seek approval with every step they cautiously take. . . I know this, because I was a good child, and I genuinely don't want Ron to feel like he has to do anything or be anyone but himself in order to be loved. I want him to be confident and brave, creative, innovative and resourceful. I want him to question the rules, not just blindly follow them. So yes, in simple terms - I want him to be a trouble maker! We vowed to save as many of the gifted outfits as possible and hand them down to the next island baby (whenever that may be). We had received so many gifts during my pregnancy and in these first weeks of baby's life - I feel like we owe some good karma to our community!
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