The last week was fairly quiet (once again), Toby goes to nursery on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons and most of our mornings were spent at home as I continue trying to encourage Gabe to nap in his crib for longer than twenty minutes! I have found a way to get him to have a longer nap, without having to put him in the sling, and that is just to take a nap with him, so we managed a few of those this week too!

On Tuesday afternoon I walked up to our new drive through Starbucks, which does also have an actual inside bit too before you have visions of me pushing the pram through the drive through! It’s the first time Gabe has really slept in the carry cot of the pram too, so that’s progress too.

On Thursday afternoon I met up with some of the other mums from the pregnancy yoga class I went to before the summer. Our babies are all roughly the same age so it’s nice to meet up and compare notes, and just to have a bit of adult conversation! We’ve been trying to meet every week and it means we’re finding some new places for coffee and cake too, although as we discovered a few weeks ago, it’s not always easy to find somewhere that can accommodate eight buggies!

On Wednesday took both kids round to my friend Claire’s house in the morning – it was lovely to see Toby actually starting to play with her twins (they have loads of cool car toys so Toby loves playing at their house). They all go to the same nursery now and the twins are just about to move up into the toddler room where Toby is so it will be interesting to see if they start to really remember one another outside of nursery too. In the afternoon Toby and I made chocolate biscuits. Toby enjoyed himself I think but I found the whole experience very stressful! It didn’t help that Gabe woke up half way through and I had to do it with him in the sling, but I think I’m just a bit too controlling! Toby was cutting out the biscuits after I’d helped him roll out the dough but he was just putting the cutter willy nilly all over the dough so we had to keep re-rolling it – perfectly normal behaviour for a two year old but it was driving me bonkers! It was lovely to do something with him that wasn’t watching CBeebies though so we’ll definitely try again soon.

When I write it all down, perhaps the week wasn’t so quiet after all!

The weekend started with Claire coming round to our house for Chinese take away and a much needed catch up. We see each other most weeks but we’re usually trying to manage toddlers at the same so it was nice to have time for a proper chat. I had about half a bottle of wine, which is probably more than I’ve drunk for a year, although still not exactly a huge amount. I got a pretty decent night’s sleep as Barry got up with Gabe in the night but I spent all of Saturday feeling terrible, I don’t know if it was the wine or the Chinese but I felt sick all day. Barry’s parents were up visiting this weekend too, which was actually great because it meant on Saturday they were here to entertain Toby while I had a couple of naps with Gabe. Saturday night wasn’t great though, Gabe was up twice but unsettled for a lot of the night, Toby woke up crying (I think he was feeling a bit poorly after having his flu vaccination) so I ended up sleeping on his floor for an hour before dealing with Gabe’s second wake up… it was a long night!

On Sunday we’d planned a nice morning out at Deep Sea World – an aquarium near to where we live. I was feeling much better at least but Toby still seemed a bit under the weather and then he did something to his foot running about in the living room so was limping as well. When we got there he perked up a bit and so he went to have a look around with Barry and his grandparents while I fed Gabe in the cafe. Five minutes later Barry and Toby appeared again – Barry had put his back out and could barely walk! He’d done the same thing earlier in the year and had had a few twinges since but it had gone completely again. He spent the next hour or so sitting in the cafe trying to get comfortable while we had a look around but I think Toby just wasn’t really feeling up for it which was a bit of a shame. Barry was really suffering in the afternoon so I had to put both kids to bed and we got a relatively early night.

Gabe woke up about 2:30 and I got up to feed him. I’ve been bringing him downstairs in the night so we don’t disturb anyone and I could hear Barry moving about in bed upstairs. I then got a text from me saying his painkillers had worn off, he couldn’t get out of bed and he needed a wee! I got him some more painkillers but he could barely move and still couldn’t get out of bed. We managed something so he could relieve himself (I leave that one to your imagination!) but it wasn’t getting any better. We were just about to try and get some more sleep when his back went in to total spasm, it was really scary, he was shaking with the pain and could barely catch his breath. We didn’t really know what to do and ended up calling 999 as it seemed like an ambulance to hospital was going to be our only option. Apparently though it wasn’t enough of an emergency so we had to wait for a call back from NHS 24, and then nearly another hour for a call from one of the nurses. Thankfully the spasm did ease off after a while but it was really horrible to see him suffering so much and not being to do anything to help. Gabe had woken up as well so I was trying to keep him quiet and make sure he didn’t wake Toby too.

His back has been a little bit better today, as long has he stays dosed up on painkillers and he’s got an appointment with a physio tomorrow so hopefully they’ll be able to help too. I hope for everyone’s sake it does. Of course it’s horrible for Barry to be in pain, but also Toby doesn’t really understand why daddy can’t play with him or cuddle him like he usually does, he can’t really help with Gabe, I’ve had to do bedtime for both boys again… it really makes me realise how much I rely on his help normally.

Anyway, this has turned into a bit of an epic mind dump about what’s been going on this week when really I’m supposed to be sharing photos of the boys…. Here’s one more though – Toby has shown a bit more interest in Gabe this week and I even managed to get him to give him a cuddle. He wasn’t that convinced though and just after I took this photo he moved his arm away and said ‘I don’t like it’. I’m sure he’ll get to like it one day though!

We’ve not been up to much the last week…I’m trying not to do anything to out of the ordinary so that Toby has a chance to get used to his new routine with his new nursery and his new little brother. We try to get out most mornings, even if it’s only to the shop, and then he has nursery four afternoons a week. We’re still having lots of tears on drop off but he does seem to be having fun while he’s there so hopefully things will keep improving.

This week has also seen Gabe turn two months old and we’ve had the joy of his first proper smiles too. I know I am very biased but I reckon we do make very pretty children! He still looks like Toby did as a baby but he’s really starting to get his own personality now too.

On Saturday it was such a lovely sunny day that we decided to head to some woods near where we live for a walk, and to give Toby a chance to have a run about. I’m going to share some more of the photos in a separate post but I love this one of Toby having a rest and concentrating on his raisins. I can’t take credit for this picture though – Barry was in charge of the camera for this one…

Not much to report this week… Toby is settling in well to his new nursery, apart from rather dramatic wailing on being dropped off. He’s always had a good day by the time he comes home though so I’m hoping the drop offs get a bit easier this week. He’s got a cold as well at the moment and has generally being a bit clingy. I know he’s just a bit put out because he’s not getting all of my attention any more. I try and give him as much attention as I can but juggling the two boys isn’t easy. I have no idea how people manage with three or even more kids! Toby is getting so big, and he’s so clever that I think sometimes we forget that he’s still just a baby himself really and he’s struggling to make sense of all the changes that have been going on in his life lately. Everyone always thinks he’s older than he is and you can see why in this week’s photo…he’s wearing age 3 trousers and an age 3-4 t-shirt and he was only two three months ago!

Gabe has been doing OK this week. He’s still sleeping reasonably well – he’s going to bed at the same time as Toby (about 7pm) and usually only waking up once in the night. We’ve had a few nights this week though when that one wake up has lasted two hours which isn’t the most fun! He seems to be struggling with trapped wind a lot at the moment, every feed seems to end in screaming while we fight to get a burp up. I feel so sorry for him. We are getting into something of a routine during the day now at least. He’s usually going about three hours between feeds. If we’re lucky he has a morning nap in his crib and then his other sleeps in the baby carrier on me. Having to wear him all the time isn’t ideal but at least it means I can get things done, I have both my hands free, and the carrier is honestly like magic – Gabe nearly always falls asleep within five minutes of being put in it! The other Gabe news this week is that we have finally been treated to some gorgeous smiles! I’ve not managed to catch one on camera yet though so this week’s picture is this lovely contented sleepy face instead.

It’s been a fairly quiet week here, we’re slowly settling into some sort of routine. We’ve started putting Gabe to bed at the same time as Toby now which means we’re getting our evenings back and that couple of hours makes all the difference. Gabe is still sleeping really well at night too, although he’s not a huge fan of the daytime nap. I remember Toby was the same though – I spent a lot of time taking him for walks to get him to sleep in the first few months but from about three months his daytime sleep improved and he started napping in his cot without any trouble. I’m just hoping Gabe follows in his brother’s footsteps!

Speaking of Toby, he has moved to a new nursery this week. After a short settling in session on Thursday he went for a full afternoon on Friday and apart from a few tears when I dropped him off on Friday he was an absolute superstar. I hope he’s still so settled when we go back again tomorrow.

I managed a successful trip to toddler group with both boys this week too. I put Gabe in the carrier and he slept the whole time, and I had both hands free to play with Toby so it was much less stressful than the week before when I’d just been holding Gabe (after optimistically assuming I would be able to leave him in the pram!).

I had another outing on my own with both boys on Friday too. We went to the cafe in the big park in our town to meet up with two of the girls from our original NCT class. They both have toddlers the same age as Toby, and they’re both pregnant too. I wouldn’t say it was entirely stress-free – Toby was being a bit clingy and didn’t want to go into the little soft play that’s there, and then he was being a bit picky about the food I’d got him for lunch, and Gabe was crying while I tried to sort Toby’s lunch out because he wanted feeding, and Toby knocked a whole pot of yoghurt all over the table…but do you know what? We all survived, we went out, I did manage to talk to my friends a bit, everyone got fed and no one was hurt so I’m chalking that one up as a victory. Every time I go out with both boys on my own, whether it’s to toddler group, or a cafe or the supermarket, I think of ways I can make it easier for next time so things can only get better from here!

Anyway, to this week’s Living Arrows pictures…the first is Toby – today we went to one of those ceramic painting places near where we live. We didn’t do any painting but it’s got a nice little cafe and a small soft play area that is free and that Toby can just go and play in on his own. He was having so much fun in there and seeing him off playing on his own gives me a little lump in my throat – it really shows me how much my baby boy is growing up.

Of course my new baby boy is still very much a baby. He still looks really like Toby did when he was the same age, especially when he’s wearing Toby’s hand me downs. This sleepsuit was Toby’s before going to my friend’s twins, and now back to Gabe again. I reckon Gabe is even longer than Toby was though, his feet are at the bottom of this sleepsuit already and it’s 0-3 months! I wonder if he’s going to end up even taller than his brother?

Right, I’m going to take a cheat here and do two weeks of Living Arrows in one, otherwise I will be forever a week behind! Life goes on here in the Toby Goes Bananas house; Gabe is now six weeks old and things are starting to settle down slightly. For the last three nights Gabe has slept in his own crib, rather than next to me in bed, and we’ve even started putting him up to bed on his own in the evenings (with the help of Ewan the Dream Sheep who I have succumbed to buying)! I’ve also had some success in putting in his crib for a nap in the mornings too – I realised that maybe all his unsettled behaviour wasn’t hunger but tiredness and that he needed a bit of peace and quiet to be able to nap. On Saturday he napped for three hours straight. Hopefully if we can keep it up it will make my life with Toby in the mornings more enjoyable for everyone.

I love the dungarees that Gabe wearing in this picture – they’re from the Little Bird by Jools Oliver range at Mothercare. I was a bit worried that they wouldn’t fit – I bought them in the sale a while ago and the only size they had left was newborn. Gabe has already grown out of most of his newborn clothes (I think he’s going to be tall like his brother) but luckily there’s still plenty of room in these. I think this is actually the first time he has worn anything other than a sleepsuit too!

Toby is still doing great – he was poorly at the weekend, being sick twice on Saturday night which wasn’t much fun for any of us but he appears to be fully recovered now. It’s going to be another big week for him this week as he is moving to a new nursery on Thursday. This one is slightly nearer to home, and also quite dramatically cheaper than the nursery he goes to at the moment, meaning he can go for four afternoons for the same price as three afternoons at the old one. My friend’s twins go to the new nursery and they really like it, in fact the only reason Toby didn’t go there originally was because it didn’t open early enough in the morning for me to get to work on time, but now I’m not at work that doesn’t really matter. I just hope the change doesn’t unsettle him too much.

This picture of Toby was taken when he was dancing around to the music on his Fisher-Price chair. He’ll quite often stop whatever he is doing when the camera comes out but this time he was quite happy to keep performing…

So late this week I almost missed it altogether! I haven’t had much chance to do a lot of blogging lately and even when I do get time it’s usually only on my phone as I’m stuck under a feeding or sleeping baby. I’m hoping that Gabe might start letting me put him down for naps soon and then I might get a bit of time to get stuff done!

Anyway, needs must so we’ve got a couple of iPhone snaps this week. This first one is the infamous baby who, for now, will only nap on his mama.

The second is my biggest boy playing with his new camera – he always wants to take pictures when we get the big camera out but letting a two year old play with an expensive DSLR isn’t always the best idea so I got him his own wooden one to play with, which is a bit more forgiving of being chucked on the floor!

Another week done. This week was my first on my own with both boys as Barry went back to work on Monday. Toby is still going to nursery in the afternoons but as Barry leaves for work at 6:30 am I’ve had to get both of them up, dressed and fed on my own and then had to try and occupy Toby while feeding Gabe for half the morning. Actually, it’s been much better than I expected. I’ve been able to put Gabe in the sling for a large part of the morning most days, and Toby has been really good getting his toys and playing by himself if I’m busy with Gabe. There has been rather more CBeebies than is probably healthy but for now I’m not too worried about that!

Yesterday Barry had the day off work (so I only actually had to do four days on my own) and we all went to Glasgow to see In The Night Garden Live. It was brilliant! Toby loved it, shouting and cheering when his favourite characters came on and clapping and dancing to all the songs. I think Barry and I enjoyed it as much as Toby did too. Gabe slept through most of it only waking up towards the end and I managed to feed him sat on the floor in the auditorium. I think I’m getting the hang of this breastfeeding business!

After the show we had paid the extra £15 to meet Iggle Piggle (expensive, but irresistible) – Toby was a bit shy but he did give Piggle (as he calls him) a cuddle and then we all had our picture taken together. So, although this is just an iPhone picture of the the photo we got I couldn’t not use it as this week’s Living Arrows picture…

Although as I write this we are now a family of four and I have two ‘Living Arrows’ in my life this post is really about last week so I’m going to dedicate this post to Toby in his last week as an only child. These pictures were all taken last Sunday, when we got back from the beach I had the first sign that labour might not be too far away.

Toby is such a little boy now. He’s a little whirlwind sometimes and loves nothing more than a massive space to run around in. His still so unsure of so many things though, he doesn’t like things he isn’t sure of and can be very set in his ways and can get upset if anything is different.

When we first got to the beach I put him in some crocs that I’d got from Tesco but that he’d never worn before. First up he didn’t like wearing them without socks – when I come to think of it he’s never worn any shoes without socks before so I can see why he was confused. Then he didn’t like it that the sand went through the holes and got on his feet, even though he regularly comes home with sand in his shoes and socks from playing in the sandpit at nursery. Luckily we’d taken his wellies as well as the weather was a bit mixed so we put those on and he was much happier.

He still wasn’t that convinced about the beach though, although to be fair his dad and I don’t really like beaches either so I can’t blame him! I love this next picture of the two of them together though, I think they had found a shell and Barry was explaining what it was.

If Toby wasn’t sure to begin with he definitely didn’t like the sand after he picked up two handfuls and threw it into his own face!  After that incident we decamped to the field behind the beach where he had a lot more fun running around like a loon and running towards a blackbird shouting ‘BIRD, BIRD’ and then being surprised when it flew away.

He may not be the youngest in the family any more but Toby will always be my baby, no matter how big he gets. I love that I have the last 85 weeks of Living Arrows photos of Toby, and from next week I’ll be adding Gabriel into this fabulous record of their lives too.