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December 31 A visit to LondonUrs took Katie to see our friend David at his office in London a couple of weeks ago.
I was too ill to go so stayed at home.
Nice views from David's terrace
. Stairgates are upTop and bottom of the stairs (had to allow for slightly tricky positioning) and in the kitchen doorway.
Mamas and Papas pressure ones. £29.99 each from Argos. Nappy count breaks 1,700End of week 45 and the nappy count is 1,724.
We're now onto size 4+, if that means anything.
Actually it means the nappies are for babies that are supposed to weigh between 20 lbs and 44 lbs.
They are the Nature Babycare nappies. Details at: http://www.naty.com
Meeting PandaOne of the cuddly toys at Katie's granny's and grandad's is Panda, whom Katie met for the first time on Boxing Day. Then there were threeKatie still loves dou-dou - the little character that she sleeps with (see previous post for pics). Whenever she picks him up in her right hand she sucks her left thumb.
We have four dou-dous now. One in the cot, one in the buggy, one at nursery and a spare.
Well, we did have four. We now have three. She dropped one out of the buggy and when I went to look for it the following day, retracing Urs' steps, it had gone.
I suspect I shall be popping back to the Petit Bateau store near Bond Street tube station in London soon to buy another one... Standing more oftenKatie's legs must be getting a lot stronger as she is now hauling herself up regularly every day.
In the photos below she is getting agitated because she wants to get dou-dou, the little rabbit-type character she sleeps with.
December 25 A Very Merry First ChristmasMy best present: having a hug with Katie this morning.
Here are all the presents Katie received over the subsequent few days:
Remember: you can never have too many unicorns. December 21 Nursery Christmas artworkKatie came home from nursery with a special package.
Here's what was in it. The glittery box contained a key ring with a small photo of Katie in her Santa hat (the same pic as the one on the blue cracker background below). It was just so sweet it made her parents cry.
We will give it to Ursula's mum at Christmas.
A feline friendSome friends of ours bought Katie this pink cat a while ago.
She likes playing with it and if you brush the cat's tail under her chin it makes her giggle.
PercussionDo kids need expensive toys that do everything for them and require no imagination?
Or are they happier finding something themselves and working out what to do with it?
Take two plastic measuring cups and a metal pole in the kitchen...
Katie falls (five places in a survey)The name Katie has fallen in popularity as a baby name in the UK. Latest Office for National Statistics numbers show Katie is now 19th, down five places since last year's survey. The top 20 girls' names: The top 20 boys' names
New weightUrs took Katie to be weighed on Wednesday. Katie now weighs 17lbs 14.5oz. She has put on 11.5oz in the past three weeks. December 18 WavingI think I may have got Katie to start waving.
I went into her room this morning where Urs was holding her and Katie turned her head and flapped her arm in my direction. Very sweet.
All my waving at the Teletubbies when they say: "Eh-oh" has paid off! Second tooth appearsIt's next to the first one. December 16 Standing. AlmostKatie managed to stand up last night.
She hauled herself up by holding onto the fire guard.
It didn't last long and she hasn't done it again yet but she's trying hard. December 07 The cost of raising a childI used to be a financial journalist.
Among the many subjects I covered was the cost of raising a child.
This tended to be costed out and bunged in a press release by whichever financial institution was looking for some free PR.
The latest survey is commissioned by LV= which you will probably know by its more sensible previous name: Liverpool Victoria.
I reproduce its blurb below.
Before I became a parent I was pretty sceptical of the numbers in such surveys.
This explains why I post a weekly nappy count - some surveys in the past included the cost of nappies so I wanted to see if the numbers used in the survey matched my experience.
Alas, that's not the case in this survey. Presumably it's lumped in with 'Clothing'.
We'll spend about £7,500 on childcare in 2008 (not taking into account the tax benefits) so maybe the survey's overall average childcare costs map to ours reasonably well.
But we don't intend to pay for education when the state provides it well enough so I hope we won't end up forking out £47,310 on schooling, which is what the survey has found to be the average cost.
And will we be buying Katie her first car? I do hope not!
Opportunity cost
One thing you have to consider when looking at your finances when you become a parent is forgone earnings. In addition to the obvious costs we incur, Ursula now works part-time (three days a week rather than five days), which means our overall income is less.
Here is MSN Money's take on the increasing cost of raising children.
And below is the original press release:
REVEALED: THE £186,000 COST OF RAISING A CHILD
· Cost up 33% over last five years and set to rocket 42% by 2012
· Childcare costs alone hit £50,000 for each child
· Central London remains the most expensive place to raise a child
· It would cost £140 billion to raise all UK children born in 2006
· Parents cutting back pocket money
The annual Cost of a Child survey from insurance and investment group LV= (formerly Liverpool Victoria), now in its fifth year, shows that parents could spend £186,032 on raising a child from birth to the age of 21. This is equivalent to £8,859 a year, £738 a month or £24.30 a day.
The survey shows that the cost of raising a child has increased by 33% over the five years since the survey began in 2003. Childcare and education remain the biggest expenditures, costing parents £50,538 and £47,310.
Where the expenditure goes
The £186,032 total cost of raising a child in the UK is spent in the following principal categories:
December 05 All smilesI arrived home last night to see Urs and Katie at the top of the stairs.
Katie gave me a huge grin and clapped her hands.
A nice welcome home. December 01 Katie's view of tonight's Strictly Come Dancing performancesI was trying to blog about Strictly Come Dancing today, a blog I write for MSN.
But when Katie sees a keyboard, particularly if her daddy is typing on it, she wants a go.
So I opened a Notepad document and let her tell the world what she thought of the show. Here's what she wrote:
v.cxvc`x \vnchx x \m\\,\,m,\ vb v` n m bng` zxv bx`cnnbbbbbbbbbbbbbnbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb` acv x ggg..........................;.///sssssssssssssssvrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggssss
vg `b wqqaaaaaa zszssssssssssssssssssssssxxzxx
So there you go.
Profound, I'm sure you'll agree. New weightI got a text message on Wednesday:
"Hello Daddy. I've put on 2lb 3 oz in six weeks. I now weigh 17lb 3oz. Love Katie x." |
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