One year on - highs and lows

By Baby Blogger Kate Richards
Strange as it seems, Ben has been around for a whole year already! Time certainly flies, as they say, very often in relation to children.

When he was small I kept being told by people in shops to make the most of it as "it doesn't last long". Well it does feel a long time when you're up half the night (I thought but didn't say). But now I know exactly what these well-meaning strangers meant.

He's up and walking already, ok only about five steps, but he keeps on trying. So now he seems a lot more like a toddler and a lot less like my little baby.

Looking back over the past year, I'm beginning to get some perspective on what we did right, mistakes we made, and the best and worst times.

Actually the worst aspect is probably the only really bad thing - the old chestnut sleep deprivation. However, my brain decided not to let me sleep even when he did, and even now I'm struggling with insomnia. Ben still wakes once most nights, and I expect I won't get back to sleeping normally until he consistently goes through. Then I'll appreciate it like never before!

Apart from that and the exponential increase in housework, there aren't any other downsides to having Ben in our lives. It's by a long way the best thing I ever did, and I could talk at great length about how brilliant he is (but I'll spare you!)

He had his MMR vaccinations today and it was a bit traumatic, but more so for me - he had a bit of a squawk but was fine after a minute or two. Although I was dreading it, I'm so glad we live in a time when we're able to protect children against so many life-threatening diseases. Just a shame the needles are so sharp!

More on MMR vaccination: www.nhs.uk/conditions/mmr/