Some Like It Hot...

...but I don't. Neither does Graeme. At the weekend, we discovered that Francis doesn't either.

We were up pretty early on Saturday and by 11am were on our way to New Mersey Retail Park. (This might not seem early to you, but it's a small miracle for us. Since Francis came home we've rarely got out before 2pm.) We were expecting Paul and Becky at 4pm so knew we had to be back well before then to tidy up and prepare the tea. It was a sunny day so I slathered factor 50+ all over Francis and put on some factor 25 myself. However, it wasn't until we arrived at the retail park that we realised just how hot it was. It was scorching.

Almost immediately Francis was unsettled. We grabbed some lunch in Boots, and I got a new Ladyshave with my birthday money as I managed to break my last one, then headed over to Mamas & Papas to use their feeding room. Francis didn't feed for too long, so I suspect the heat had just made him thirsty. To help cool him down we stripped him down to his vest. While in Mamas & Papas we picked up a parasol for the pram and I treated myself to a new mega-sized changing bag as my old shoulder bag just wasn't big enough to fit everything in. While I was paying for them, Francis was sick down Graeme's t-shirt. Oh how we laughed.

Our next stop-off was Next so I could spend the Giftcard that Steve and Sandra, Graeme's Mum and Dad, had got me for my birthday. Usually I have trouble choosing something, but I immediately spotted a lovely pair of bermuda-short-style jeans. I was less than surprised to discover I'd gone up a size, but it was nice to wear a pair of non-maternity jeans for a change! I used the money left on the card to get a little sun hat for Francis.

While in Next Francis had a small nappy explosion so we popped in to Starbucks to use the changing facilities. We decided we deserved a rest so found a table and ordered a couple of Frappuccinos. Francis chose this moment to become unsettled again; warm weather clearly doesn't agree with him. We decided to make a swift getaway; I went and sat in the car to feed Francis again while Graeme popped to Marks & Spencer to pick up a few bits and bobs for tea.

The heat had obviously got to all of us as when we got home we all fell asleep! Luckily Paul and Becky let us know they were going to be late, so we had plenty of time to recharge our batteries and do a bit of tidying up. Paul and Becky arrived at 6:30pm laden with gifts! I got an HMV Giftcard for my birthday and Francis got a playmat. He seemed to really like it, although he is a bit young to fully appreciate it. I'm sure he'll really love it once he can roll over and properly interact with things. Graeme did all the cooking (Thanks Graeme!) so I got the chance to relax a bit. We watched a couple of films and Paul and Becky left at 11pm. We had a lovely evening and hopefully we'll do it again soon.

Steve and Sandra came to visit the next day, so it turned out to be a pretty busy weekend. By Monday I was knackered and the continuing hot weather certainly wasn't helping matters much. The warm weather has continued for the past couple of days. It's been too warm to have Francis in the sling and he has been fussing quite badly at feeds making it a tough few days for me. At least nighttimes are now under control thanks to co-sleeping. Last night Francis fed at midnight and 4am and settled straightaway, something which was unheard of when I was struggling every night to get him in his basket. It once took me over 3 hours to settle him and he ended up in the bed anyway; co-sleeping just cuts out all the intermittent stress! It's not without it's drawbacks though - I woke up this morning to find both of us covered in sick. Nice.

The weather has cooled off a lot so I plan on getting Francis in the sling again so I can have my arms back! Also, on the advice of the health visitor, I eat my lunch while Francis has his lunchtime feed, so at least I'm getting something decent during the day instead of living on biscuits and Muller Rice! The next plan of action is to get Francis sleeping in his pram during the day. I've given up on his moses basket - he HATES it!

Lisa xxx