Today I was going to write some dreadful, and probably very dull, 10 things you should know about having a baby in Spain (in fact I did and it is nearly done, so I am sure that it will appear eventually), but not today because I found it all a bit too negative. Undiluted negativity for pregnant women is not good. It may well turn out to be a little bit more upbeat and useful if written on another day.
So having put aside grit and harsh reality, I offer instead something distinctly more fluffy and puffy. I am doing here online what I do in life, which is to block out thoughts of childbirth by turning my attention to the child herself.
This post is devoted to a favourite subject and the inspiration for this blog: my daughter, the eponymous Bibsey, otherwise known as the Bibsey-Wibbler, Wibble, Bibble or Miss Bibbley.
So, about my Bibsey. She will be 10 months old tomorrow! She struggled into the world with the aid of ventouse, so she could be forgiven for being a little grumpy, but she’s not. She is generous with her smiles and laughter, which to me are like sunshine. She has a gorgeous little moon face, fabulous mofletes and looks incredibly like her Dad.
After a tricky and painful (for me) start on the breast she quickly became my boobs’ No. 1 Fan. Here in Spain, where they ADORE babies, people have marveled at what a gloriously plump and healthy gordita she is. People being the nurse, the midwife, the pediatrician, the little old lady in the village, her niece, her sister, the butcher, the baker… you get the picture.
These days Bibsey is mostly cruising round the furniture, crawling everywhere and climbing the stairs – eek. The words of the week are ‘ello and Da Di Day Day Day. This of course makes Totally Smitten Daddy a very happy, happy man. They go out walking together every day. We bundle her into the backpack and off they go. Meanwhile I might catch up on housework (ha! I try but I just can’t seem to get on top of it) or dash upstairs for a bubble bath. When Bibsey needs rebooting we find that a walk is often the answer. That or holding her upsidedown.
Bibsey is very much into Ten Little Ladybirds, Waybuloo, Charlie and Lola, avocado banana & yoghurt with crushed weetabix, milk, crawling and climbing into places she shouldn’t, and watching the neighbours’ little girls do star jumps – this last makes her laugh like a drain. She also loves to clap her hands – this is her fall-back response if she is ever in any doubt as to how to respond to a situation. Hooray! Mummy has put Waybuloo on: clap hands. Get off me! I don’t want my nappy changed: clap hands.
Enough puff. Enough fluff. In short, our Bibsey is a dear little thing who has completely transformed our present and our future and who we couldn’t be without. In the immortal words of Lola (Charlie’s little and very funny sister) Lucky me, lucky, lucky, lucky me.
