61cm

An ideal opportunity to measure Kitty arose today when she fell asleep in full stretched-out mode. She is now approx 61cm long. She has grown 7cm in her first month. I think she will be nice and tall like her dad.






















Kitty likes to have her hair brushed. She was so chilled out by it that I managed to cut her little nails for the first time.

Country bumpkin

Our little country bumpkin wasn't too impressed with the big city. She showed some interest in the sights Manchester had to offer today for about 10 minutes and then decided that sleeping would be better. Don't blame her, dirty smelly place full of over-done idiots. Fresh egg noodles from china town were good though.

Summer babe

It has been like this all day. Fog.

Before Kitty arrived, everyone kept telling me how lucky I was to be expecting a summer baby, as I would be able to spend my maternity leave outside in the sun. Hum....rain, wind, more rain and now fog. So when is the sun coming?

Pouch baby

Kitty quite likes going out in her baby pouch to walk the dogs in the morning, but feeding the goats is proving less popular. Climbing over an electric fence with a baby and a bale of hay just isn't working for either of us. I think I'll have to come up with a different solution for this.

Bamboo baby

Grandma and grandad Pih came to see Kitty on the bank holiday. She decided to wear her trendy jeans and t-shirt that grandad picked out for her. She looks like a big girl in these.






















Since Kitty has grown so much, today I decided to give the reusable bamboo nappies we got for her a try. They seemed way too big three weeks ago, but now they fit nice and snug. They are really soft and cuddly, but once the cover is on too they are quite bulky compared to disposables. Not sure we'll be able to get many of the 0-3 month clothes over these. Her little jeans definitely won't go over!

The first one lasted about half an hour before she filled it and unfortunately it leaked at the leg. The second was slightly more successful, but she certainly let me know the minute she had filled it.

I decided to put her back in a disposable for bed time, but will resume with the bamboo ones in the morning.

Also today, the health visitor came to check Kitty over. I was very pleased when she complimented Kitty on her pretty name and said that despite the fact that she covers the whole of the Pendle area, she hasn't come across another Kitty yet.

What a porker!

This little porker has been weighed today and registered in at a staggering 11lb 4oz.
At only 22 days old, from birth that makes an average of around 1.8oz per day she is piling on!!!!!!

Beanie baby

It's supposed to be summer, but Kitty still needs a hat. The one I made to keep her little head warm was a bit too small (since her 'little' head is well, not so little) so today I unpicked it and knitted a slightly bigger one. Hopefully this will last for a couple of months.

Before - Kitty with grandad Pih struggling to keep her hat on at the BBQ last weekend

After - now a much better fit

Emergency dum-dum and other adventures....

Yesterday we had to go into town for a few bits. While we were there we took Kitty to see some of my work.

Kitty got a bit grumpy waiting for me in Mothercare, so Peahead got her a dummy. She REALLY likes it.

Today it actually stopped raining for about 10 minutes, so I took the pram out for a trial run. I thought Kitty would like to have a look around, but she was more interested in sleeping. The dogs liked it though. We got them a new two-dog lead as I thought trying to cope with a pram and two dogs on their usual extender leads might be a bit much. Surprisingly, they took to it straight away and were very well behaved.

The big weekend

This weekend was a big one for Kitty. On Friday she went to both Grandma and grandad Pih's house to meet everyone and to the Simpson's. There were lots of people and babies at the Pih house, including her new cousin baby Olive.

Steven looked after the BBQ.

There were so many pictures, even I couldn't escape the camera.

Everyone had a cuddle with Kitty who was very well behaved. Kitty with Uncle Steve and Uncle Simon.

By the end of the day Kitty was whacked.

On Saturday we set off to mama and grandad Simpson's house. Kitty finally got to meet great mama Kitty.

Dad shows us his baby rocking technique.

Holly and Chris and baby Cas also came to visit us from Nottingham on Sunday. Forgot to take any pictures though. Doh.

What's in a name?

Today we took Kitty to the registry office to make her official. Andy wanted to give Kitty two names - Kitty Bean Simpson for everyday use and Moi-Moi Pih as her special Chinese name, but after some debate with the registrar Kitty has ended up with the longest name in the world as we had to glue the two names together. So officially on paper Kitty's name is......

Kitty Bean Moi-Moi Simpson Pih

I'll be calling her Kitty Moi-Moi Simpson

Andy calls her Kitty Bean

Oh so complicated. So what's it all about?

Kitty is my mama's name. As well as it being a cute name, I wanted to call Kitty after my mama as she is a very special person and I think much of the way I am is a result of her. Hopefully what I picked up from mama, Kitty will pick up from me too.

I love these pictures of mama and her brothers and sisters when they were children.

Mama Kitty, left and Auntie Mary (with the afro!), right.

Bean - this is Andy's pet name for anyone or anything he has a soft spot for. The name Bean has been part of our lives for many years. He insisted on including it. I'm not convinced.

Moi-Moi is a nod to Kitty's Chinese heritage. It means little girl and was suggested by Andy's Dad. Andy didn't want Kitty to have to use his Chinese surname due to the fact that he got a hard time at school about it. I don't see the problem, but he felt quite strongly that Kitty should be a Simpson and not a Pih. Even though we won't be using it on a day to day basis, I thought it was important to include the name Pih on her birth certificate so she can choose to use it at a later date if she wants.

Simpson - well, this is my family name. Already she is proving to be quite a typical Simpson.

Pih - Andy's family name. Luckily, Kitty seems to have inherited the Pih/O'Reilly good looks if not the name.

As not to ignore Kitty's Irish side from mama Pih, Kitty will be mainly be wearing green and drinking Guinness this season.

Trying lots of new things

On Friday, Kitty had her first day trip out to Skipton. We had a walk around the market, stopped off for lunch in a nice sandwich bar and bought some fabric for me to make a new laundry bag to collect the massive amount of dirty clothes Kitty is generating. Kitty's favourite bit was the car.

On Saturday, Kitty was one week old. To celebrate, Kitty had lots of visitors bringing even more presents.

Darren, Nicky and Ben came over and cooked us a really good lunch.

The Simpson's arrived later for a champagne and cake party, but unfortunately their arrival was a bit of a shock to the system for Darren, Nicky and Ben so they didn't stay for tea. (Don't be scared guys, they aren't as mental as they first seem!)

Pictured clockwise from top left: Dad Simpson, O'Neil Khan (Alison's new hubbie), Alison Khan (my sister), Brodie (Alison's son), mum Simpson with Kitty in her party frock and me.

Kitty was a little confused by Alison's 'boobie' t-shirt!

On Sunday the midwife came to visit and weigh Kitty. Ideally babies should be back up to their birth weight within two weeks. It's been one week and not only has Kitty got back up to her birth weight, but she has put on an extra pound! What a porker. The midwife was very pleased with this progress and said we were doing really well. Perhaps it has something to do with Daddy helping.

Settling in nicely

Kitty is settling in well and seems pretty happy with us. The midwife keeps visiting and says she is doing great, very bright, alert and healthy.

So far, we are coping very well with the new addition. Andy is in a constant state of elation and has taken to shaving every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am finding it all surprisingly easy and enjoying every minute. I'm sure things will get harder, but I think years of staying up late and looking after animals have prepared me well for taking care of a baby. All I keep thinking about at the moment is all the stuff we're going to be able to do while I'm off work. Where other people seem to think having a baby ends everything, I think for us it's the opposite. I feel like I have finally been set free from the demands of work and will now have the time to do the more enjoyable things.

Kitty likes to spend time lounging on the sofa.

















She is also keen on her vibrating chair.






















She has already been introduced to the daily walk down the lane.






















To add to the beautiful flowers my mum bought, work sent me another lovely bunch and for once the house smells wonderful. I'll have to make sure I buy really fragrant flowers from now on as it's not just the smell of the dogs and cats I have to deal with, but that of baby poo and sicky milk. Kitty may be pretty, but boy does she stink!

Something worth blogging about....

I haven't posted anything for a while as I have been busy making something new. It took a while to get right and was hit and miss at times, but after some really hard work myself and Andy managed to turn this......
















.....into this, and she is perfect.
Kitty Moi Moi Simpson. 8lbs 9oz. 54cm.






















She wasn't quite completed on time (just a week over though) and we needed some specialist assistance in the end to help with the finishing touches, but after years of planning, nine months of development, 16 hours labour and a few final snips and stitches, at 6.30am on Saturday August 2nd 2008 she was finally ready to meet the world.

Today we are home from the hospital, well and ready to start our new lives as a family. Thanks to all that helped along the way.