Day three of looking after Sophie and I’m on my own for the first time. Sophie loves autumn. It’s been a long time since my childcare work, I was nervous about being in my own with her. Rose spent the first couple of days showing me the ropes. We did a trek through the city trying out different kinds of baby wearing approaches. I really like the sling, but the ergo is far more comfortable for long walks. We did nappies, bottles, snacks, getting her to sleep, distraction, and games. Sophie is 20 months now and very independent. She likes to hold her own bottle for feeds and is off exploring the world with a surprising turn of speed at every opportunity! Leaves are the flavour of the month. We’ve also tried wearing adult shoes, making mud in a bucket, singing in the bath, feeding the dog, and hiding small bits of cheese in my jacket.
I’ve gone from very anxious to super chilled, thanks to awesome teaching and support from Rose. I’d hate to be holding a baby for the first time coming home with my own little one! It’s so nice to be able to use times like this to brush up on skills, have conversations about parenting, and remember what we’re working towards.

Sophie’s Dad is gradually getting better and he’ll be home from hospital soon. I’m snatching nap times to work on the three projects I have due on Monday and get some clean washing happening! I was talking to Rose about how awesome it would be for her to be able to offer to other new mums the support she just gave me, practical hands on learning about baby wearing and so on. There’s so much information out there to try and make sense of, and having a kid can be like trying to learn to swim by being tossed in the deep end and then yelled at by everyone else in the pool! I’m so very lucky to have a Goddaughter, I’ve waited such a long time for this and I feel very blessed. 🙂