The value of supply #HorsemeatScandal

A year ago, I don't think we could have imagined a major retailer issuing a full page advert in a national newspaper to make this kind of statement. It is quite extraordinary. I'm telling you, it's all about supply chains.

Like A Kelling #GrowthWatch

He wouldn't be a true Kelling if he didn't fall off his growth chart, and sure enough Small Fry has joined his cousins in alarming the local health centre with his lack of weight gain, dropping from the 75th to the 50th percentile. Not much to worry about and could be an outcome of viva stress, but they said mama needs to take it easy and eat well so that next week the stats are better.

Or I'll just do what the other Kelling mamas have done and ignore them. After all, he's developing well.  Seems it's not just in the UK that they are preoccupied with the numbers.

Still, chocolate...massage...doctor's orders right?

New Skills #GrowingSoFast

Three months is a lovely age. Small Fry is picking up new skills almost by the day, it feels like. Here he is with the latest one - grasping his Sophie Giraffe toy and sticking it in his mouth. Yay! I feel so proud! 

He's still not a fan of tummy time, but he put up with it long enough for me to take a photo, even though he doesn't look super happy.

Birth Announcements #FamilyName

While I was away, three birth announcements arrived. And we are so pleased to celebrate the safe arrival of these little ones.

And then I also spotted that each of the envelopes used our new family name. Word is spreading :)

Smells of home #Lenor

Do you remember those adverts from when we were kids when a small child goes on his first school trip and is feeling a bit homesick but then he smells his clothes and the washing detergent reminds him of his mum and makes him feel better?

As I sorted out the clothes that had just been washed before leaving Scotland, I experienced the same nostalgia and ache.

3 in 3 #AlwaysGotAFlightStory

Let's face it, there's always a travel story.

The flight back to Paris marked Small Fry's third flight in three months, during which time we have encountered every type of helpful and unhelpful person as well as inconsistent applications of airport and security rules.

This time, while a lovely steward in a neon yellow jacket at Edinburgh airport removed barriers in order to allow us to skip all queuing to get to security, the woman at security then told me I had to take off the sling.....and my boots. Cue enormous amount of moaning, groaning, complaining and a final 'that wasn't very nice' from me. I even told her that last time I hadn't been asked to remove either the sling nor the boots, but clearly the woman didn't have children of her own (or at least had never flown with them) and insisted. The nice steward heard the exchange and helped me take out the laptop from the carry on, undo the sling and pick up my discarded boots, but the problem was really on the other side of security where all forms of yellow-jacketed help had disappeared. I now had six separate items to put back together one-handed. Eventually, it was a fellow passenger who took the baby while I sorted myself and our stuff out.

I carried on towards our gate and on the way managed to pick up another bag at WH Smith (ah, books!). The Air France flight between Edinburgh and Paris is operated by CityJet who use such small planes that most hand luggage is tagged at departure and put into the hold. I knew this would happen to my carry-on, but it also gave me a chance to catch up with a member of the Ground Staff, whom I regularly see at Edinburgh airport when departing with Air France. When our flight was called, she searched me out and escorted me to the front of the queue, wheeling my little case, and then took me down to ground level in the lift. This involved the keying in of various secret codes and then a long walk down a very cold corridor. I think it would have been far less trouble taking the lift.

Boarding is always a bit dramatic in these small planes with the low ceilings and exceedingly narrow aisles and I can see in the eyes of fellow passengers that they are desperately hoping that woman with the baby isn't sat beside them. But on this occasion, as we pushed back from the stand and the stewardesses started their checks, one of them spotted me trying to nurse with my elbows crammed by my sides in order to not hit the woman sat beside me. The stewardess then moved the woman beside me AND the woman beside her so that I had two free seats and plenty of space to leave my growing baggage count. I was pretty grateful until I realised she was moving them forward in to first class. Hey! I'm the breastfeeding mother needing a free meal instead of this crummy pack of pesto covered breadsticks.

SF didn't seem to mind - he had mama, milk and cuddles.

Froggy Style #LittleOlympian

It's our third visit to the pool and Small Fry has already come along in leaps and bounds. The first time in the water he managed less than 10 minutes and had a permanent frown on his face. This time, he was on his back kicking his legs like he was riding a bicycle or doing 'froggy style' with both legs. He seemed a lot more comfortable this time and we've got our little nifty routine organised...Oma does the swimming while Mama stays dry but takes sneaky pictures and then does the changing and feeding. 

Baby's First Seminar #LittleAcademic

There is a monthly lunchtime seminar hosted in the centre of Stirling on a range of interesting topics. This month's meeting was originally scheduled for the 6th of December last year and was to be led by the kind friend who facilitated Small Fry's arrival into the world by driving us to the hospital. Snow and ice led to its postponement, otherwise SF would have been a mere 2 weeks old. He still was the youngest participant ever today and made only a couple of noisy contributions (which earned him plenty of attention).

Seafood Supply #ValueChain

This is one of the companies I interviewed in Bangladesh. I was sat in the Managing Director's Office of a processing plant, interviewing him about his export. Suddenly, one of his importers arrived and began talking to a colleague. I spotted a potentially brilliant opportunity to speak to an importer (they can be a bit difficult to get an interview with) and as I was leaving after the interview, I went over and introduced myself. We met later at a restaurant in Khulna and he provided my first real insight into the value chain beyond Bangladesh's borders. And here they are, deliving seafood to my local Chinese restaurant in Stirling!

The ByeBye Lady #LeDoc

I popped into the office of the Management School's secretary this morning in order to let her know that I would wait in my office until called to the examination room in order to defend my thesis. As I was leaving, I bumped into a fellow student who exclaimed, 'ah the bye bye lady'.

'What?' thought I. 'Does he know something about the outcome of my viva before I do?'

And then it dawned on me. He's a Spanish student, who pronounces a 'v' like a 'b'. The viva lady.

The defense lasted for 1.5 hours, which surprised me as it felt like 15 minutes. And then disappointed me as I felt I still had a lot more to say. Turns out I can talk about my research for a loong time, which is ironic, as my Brussels-boss pointed out that I had originally told him that I found fisheries boring. The external and internal examiners were both sufficiently pleased with the work that they identified only four minor corrections along the lines of 'could you please shorten the abstract?'. Although they didn't count my erroneous mention of Norway as a European Member State. Well, you can't win 'em all, but you can still call me Le Doc.

Reward from El Puma:

Holding Pattern #VivaPreparation

WaterBaby #Fish

Yesterday, small fry had his first trip to the swimming pool. The University pool has no chlorine in it (UV filtered) but also no baby pool, while Stirling's leisure centre has a baby pool stuffed full of chlorine but also water spouts, slides and an elevated water temperature. So it won.

Oma took him in while I stood ready with a huge towel. He seemed to enjoy it but he's just not a tummy baby - not on land and not in the water. So instead he swirled around a lot on his back and kickedy-kicked. 15 mintues ain't bad for his first go. We'll make a fish of him yet.

And then, result:

Another result we found is that while he might have Gonzales skin colouring, he's got Kelling sensitivity and came out the water all blotchy.

Happy Mass Marketing Day! #ButStillKindaNice

Sleigh bells ring again #WinterWonderland

Oma has also invested in reusable nappies, which now adorn the radiators thanks to the snow falling outside. Above our heads: little plastic clouds of nappy pants.

Chubby Cheeks #Life'sABath

There's no bath in Paris so at Oma's we finally get to splish and splash:

El Puma Returns To Paris #DoingTheNightsAlone

The effect of Gravity on Cheeks #AndAFamilyResemblance

Happy at Oma's #ButNotBeenMissingTheWeather

Return Flight #ThoroughlyModernMummy

Lights, Camera, Action #Gymboree

Gymboree is an all-singing, all-dancing franchised play and music centre for children. One of the other mums at the English toddler group suggested I might like to check it out with small fry. I didn't want to take photos in the class so these are pilfered from the internet, but at least you can see how the room is set up.

The session starts by introducing the theme (balance today) and then each child is welcomed in songs and claps. The songs have actions which assist with motor skills apparently and are led by an enormous rag doll held by the teacher. Then there is a slight pause to discuss a particular topic (method of choice for carrying baby and whether we are happy with it) and then a moment of learning for adults (4 ways to carry baby that are best for both of you). Then it's on to some free playtime on the equipment with the teacher showing us how to use it in line with the day's theme. Finally, we all come back together for some group time using other props such as bubbles and mirrors and we close with the goodbye singing routine.

Although I really enjoyed it and can see the benefits, small fry is still a tad on the young side. He was attentive to the vibrations coming through the floor when he adults clapped it in time to the musi and entranced by the bubbles until one popped in his eye and then he could only be coaxed to lie flat without crying when the colourful parachute was billowing over him. Also, it's not really an option for us in the short-term - it's really on the other side of Paris and too much effort to coordinate wakeful periods with feeds, sleep and over an hour on public transport (which tends to keep this curious boy awake). And it's also really, really expensive. We only gave it a go because the first class is free. Still, I'll nick some of the ideas in the meantime and think about it again in the future.

Themed Expressions #CartoonCharacters

 

Blooming and Beau #OneQuarterFrench

So I finally have the statistics to back up all those 'wow, he's a big baby comments' made by French mums, colleagues and officials. 

Small Fry is weighing in at 6kg and is perfectly following his growth curve. He's on the 75th percentile (which means 75% of UK babies are smaller than him at the equivalent weight and age, while 25% are larger). 

But I am now in possession of his French medical notes, and in them, the exact same age and weight figures put him on the 97th percentile. A whopper indeed.

Which means good bye to all those gifts of 0-3 month French outfits we received. We have just revamped his wardrobe and 3-6 month outfits are IN (well, on really).