not a happy bunny

well I have two teeth now - they started poking through last week and it does really hurt.

I also have developed my own will and will protest if I want a toy or Mummy's phone or the remote and will stop crying as soon as I get my way. Mummy is slowly cottoning on to it though so I will have to change tactics soon!

Cousin Finn

I have a well cool cousin, he is about 3 months older than me and can show me loads of tricks. Last time I saw him he taught me how to screech at the top of my voice and now I am doing it allllllllllllllllllll the time!

Here is me and Finn!

In every babies life

there are days, when you just look a bit dodgy or a bit off colour! Even I have days like that! what can one do...

My friend Leoni

My friend Leoni has been here last weekend and we were playing in the garden. She can crawl and I was watching her very carefully, took notes and am currently training to crawl - not quite there yet but watch this space!

Posing for the camera

I realise now that this silvery thing Mummy has is a camera and that it takes pictures of me - and since it is making Mummy and Daddy go aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I am happy to oblige and pose for the camera!

Here are a few recent photo session shots

Fun Day with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa or Oma and Opa, depending which language I am speaking were up today.

I had so much fun, I was cuddling loads with Grandma and we went to the park and I had a go on the slings and the slide (with Daddy) and it was so nice. For a change Mummy didn't get wet - that was nice.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Long time no hear

uuups so sorry - we haven't updated for a long time.

I have been ill and was in hospital but I am much better now and then Mummy was so busy and she doesn't give me the password to the computer so I can't get on her without her.

I will update over the next few days!

Dharma
XXX

Bank Holiday Weekend Fun

Yay it was a bank holiday weekend and Mummy, Daddy and I did loads of stuff. On Saturday we went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens - it's lovely there. I made a mental note that they have a brilliant play area and a kids discovery area for when I am older! Have a look yourself! http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/

On Sunday we went to Dudmaston Hall in Shropshire - it's a National Trust Place and has a great park - the house was a bit of a disappointment because we could only go in a few rooms. There are some pictures here - not that we've taken them as our camera broke again!!! No luck with those digital thingies...

Today we just chilled at home as the weather was not very good.

Happy Birthday Mummy

It's my Mummy's birthday today. She is 34 now, so quite old really compared to me. Daddy got her a lovely perfume from Bulgari and a DVD of "Gone with the Wind" - she likes soppy films. I myself am more for the Teletubbies, but am not hugely interested in TV - who needs TV if you have three cats.

Anyways, Mummy and Daddy are going for a meal and Melissa and Matt are looking after me. Well, I will be sleeping - hopefully!

This is my Mummy a few weeks ago! The other baby in the picture is Ophelia one of my babyworld friends!

Fun in the Garden

The weather has been beautiful the past few days and today Mummy and I have been sitting in the garden. Tiggles was outside too and played with a stick while I was reading my book!

I am not hungry

Well I am not hungry at the moment, so Mummy and Daddy are worried! I went from having about 38-50oz a day to have only about 18-22. Mummy stopped giving me solids for now as she didn't want me to take even less milk. Doctor and Health Visitor don't care, I am still quite happy though and look forward to the walk today as it is super lovely weather.

We are mud

Mummy and I picked the cup and plate up today that we painted at WE ARE MUD on a day out with our NCT antenatal class girls and babies. Mummy is not very creative and if I am honest I think I could have done better - well what I've done on it is the best part as both the plate and the mug feature my foot prints!!!

Daddy loves his mug - I wanted to wait until Father's Day but I just couldn't! Need to think of another pressie now, doh!

Daddy's first day at a new job

Just a quick post to say "Good luck with your new job Daddy" - remember you promised me a pony!!!

Proud Mummy moment

Dharma sat yesterday by herself for the first time and did it again this morning!!! She is 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days old. I am totally reconciled with the fact now that she hates tummy time, lol!!!

my 10pm feed

I still get a 10pm feed, my daddy does this feed and it is our fun time together. Mummy says that I wouldn't make it through the night without the feed so it's best I still have it.

Here is my daddy and me in action, sooooooooooo much fun!

Dharma's mummy here - How she was born

Dharma was born at the Birmingham Women's Hospital, it was all pretty much straight forward - well at least from my point of view. Labour had to be induced on Thursday morning at 06:00 am, I sent Anthony home to have some sleep as I didn't expect much to happen for hours. He was gone for half an hour and I was in full on labour - 3 contractions in 10 minutes lasting well over 2 minutes.

At 08:30 I was given the choice between a paracetamol and pethadin injection, I took the pethadin. Didn't take the pain away but made me not care about the pain. I was lying in the delivery room and saw end credits of films rolling in front of my eyes and tried to figure out which film it was - needless to say that I never got to the bottom of it.

At 10:00 they examined me and hurray I was 4cm dilated, as I was officially in labour now (pain before that point doesn't count... yay!) I was allowed gas and air, loved it I gripped so hard on the handle that my knuckles were all white!! I had no idea how long it would take to deliver so I thought I better order an epidural - thanks to my friends Micol and Gesa who told that it was fab and they were so right!!! The anathetist will be on my christmas card list for the rest of my life.

Anthony came back at 12:00, when the epidural just started working. He regrets not having been there earlier as he couldn't take a bit of the gas and air...

The afternoon was spent in a very relaxed manner, midwifes checking my progress (my midwife Molly was an absolute star), Anthony having cups of tea and me dozing. At 6pm I was fully dilated, but the midwifes needed to have dinner first. So I started pushing around 6:45, the epidural had worn off so I could actually feel the contractions (although I am sure they were still softer than they normally would be), after almost 2 hours of pushing the midwifes decided that we weren't getting anywhere and the doctors were called for a forceps delivery and my epidural was topped up.

At 9pm exactly Dharma was born... we didn't know what we were having and I was looking for the evidence and saw she was a girl - Anthony and I cried. Dharma got examined and they pediatric nurse saw the dimples. Best day of my life really.

I had to be stitched up in the operating theatre which took ages. It was very funny as the team there (8 people!?) were talking about the football championship in Germany and how Germany was a rubbish football team etc. I let them talk for a bit and then I just said "oh by the way I am German" - priceless!!!

An hour later in recovery I met my little girl again - now all cleaned up and I was the first to dress her and I got the best cup of tea and toast with marmalade ever.

My cats

I just thought I tell you a bit about my cats as well as I haven't mentioned them before.

I have 3 cats: Amber, Buxton and Tiggles (left to right), they are fascinating and I have to look at them all the time. Today I stroked Tiggles she is very friendly and very soft so this was fine. I wouldn't stroke Amber as she can be a bit temperamental (some people would say vile), Buxton is most of the time at our neighbour's house these days so I only see him occassionally.

My first blog

Mummy and Daddy have decided today that it is time for me to have my own blog. It's very fashionable now and since so much is happening in my life, they said that I should starting to write things down.

I am Dharma Louise Martin and I live in the West Midlands, UK, with my mummy Melanie (who is German) and my daddy Anthony (who is English).

I was born on the 7th of December 2006, weighing a nice 7lb and 9oz and am now 4 months and 3 weeks old weighing well over 15lb (mummy hasn't taken me to be weighed for 3 weeks).

I hope you will enjoy my blog, mummy and daddy will write things down as well.