One Year Check Up with No Pediatrician

Here in England, you do not see a pediatrician.  The entire family is assigned a general practitioner.  Cora was checked by a doctor once at 6 weeks, and she has only seen a doctor a few other times due to an unending diaper rash and sickness.  The "health visitors" here take care of developmental checks for babies and children.  So, instead of our one-stop appointment at the pediatrician, we had 3 separate occasions to cover all that would take place at the one year check up.

1. Getting weighed: I took her to a "Crafty Tuesday" play session in the town hall where 2 health visitors set up to check and weigh babies on a first come first serve basis.  She loved seeing all of the other babies and playing with the toys.  She's also really into the songs they sing at the end.  It's not a bad idea if you have an hour and a half to spare (by the time you park and wait your turn).

She weighed 20lbs. 1oz. which puts her just above 50% for weight.

 

In the town hall playing while we wait her turn to be weighed

Taking blocks in and out of the truck is fun!

They have tables set up with puzzles, books, playdough and various crafts.

The entire wall of the room is packed with pushchairs (strollers).  Most people walk everywhere.  You can see they just pop on the raincover and go.

2. Getting Shots: We receive a letter in the mail every time she is due for immunizations (which they call "jabs").  They give immunizations on Mondays at the surgery (doctor's office).  The appointment time is given to you in the letter.  Thank goodness I am not a working mother right now.  They really move the babies through on Mondays.  They have one doctor who has a very quick chat with you about the jabs, and then the nurses quickly do the damage.  They open the door for you to exit as the baby is just catching her breath from screaming.  I don't know any of the doctor's names since we always see a different one.  I miss having that relationship with a pediatrician who knows you and your children.  

Oh, and we carry this "Red Book" with us to all appointments.  They document her immunizations, growth charts and routine visits in here.  Her immunizations are kept on file in the computer at the doctor's office as well.

 

 

3. Developmental Check: Our health visitor made a house visit to see how Cora is doing developmentally.  We discussed eating, sleeping and several developmental milestones.  She was very impressed with Cora's ability to kick a ball, follow it and kick it again.  We think she got some of the soccer genes from Grandpa Trost!  Cora is doing very well in all areas.  She is saying about 20 words and beginning to take steps.  The health visitor could have weighed her at our house, but I already had her weighed the week before her birthday.  The health visitor wrote down a few notes in Cora's red book and was on her way.  She did not physically check anything on Cora's body.  Clothing was kept on at all times.  It was just a very different experience from our pediatrician check ups in the states.  

No one measures the length of babies here, so we did that ourselves.  Cora was 28.5" long, which puts her just above 25% for height. We are just so blessed Cora is a healthy baby.  We couldn't ask for anything more.

Cora's First Birthday!

It is SO hard to believe our sweet Cora is turning ONE!  It seems like just yesterday I was rushing off to the the Birthing Centre to have her.  I remember how shocked I was to be home on my couch with my new baby girl in my arms just 5 hours after she was born.  Now, and entire year has gone by so quickly.

What a first year it has been for Cora too.  She vacationed in London, Paris and Wales.  She flew on 4 international flights to the U.S. and back.  She went to Missouri, South Carolina and spent one night in Georgia.  Cora traveled on a double decker bus, a packet boat and a train through the Chunnel.  She has a picture next to Big Ben and she went up in the Eiffel Tower.  She attended a gold medal Olympic soccer game in London.  We think she is going to be a traveler when she grows up.  Not bad for your first year!

Cora is still our chilled and patient child.  She adores her big brother and sister!  She is taking steps and into everything.  She loves music, and she starts to dance as soon as she hears a song.  She is crazy about books, and I often find her looking at books on her own.  Cora uses signs for some words, and she has about 20 words in her vocabulary.  Of course we think she is brilliant and SO adorable!

Usually for a first birthday, we have a big party with 30-40 people.  Cora's first birthday was just the five of us.  She received many calls, cards and gifts.  I still decorated the house and made her a cake.  I was going to have her wear the party hat and shirt I made for Amelia when she turned one, but I decided to make Cora her very own hat and shirt.  I also made her a matching tutu.  It was hard to catch her smiles, but she was a very happy birthday girl.  Here are some pictures from her big day...

 She would not keep the hat on for more than a few seconds. :)

Ok, you won't sit on the couch...

Let's try the floor

 

Opening gifts

Amelia and Dylan with the birthday girl and 

her new Juicy sweatsuit from Uncle Tim and Aunt Paola!

I love those blue eyes!

Opening her card from Gigi and Grandpa over and over again

Her double decker bus board for her room

The boys with the birthday girl

She did not want to sit still for anymore pictures.

I enjoy making the cakes for my kids' birthdays.

Cake time

What is going on?

Daddy helped her blow out the candle.  She made her silly scrunched nose face.

Mmmmmm, this is yummy!

  Being one is so much fun!

 

What I Missed Today...

People often ask me what I miss about home.  Of course, I miss my family and friends the most, but there are often foods, stores and just "things" that I miss from the good old U.S.  I have to be careful here.  I don't want to sound like I am just complaining.  Truthfully, I am enjoying England more than I thought I was going to 6 months ago.  Living away from home, especially this far, has taught me more than I ever would have imagined.  I have learned about different cultures, foods, education systems and priorities.  More importantly, I have learned about myself.  I have learned about my own strengths and weaknesses.  I have deepened my relationship with my husband and our children.  I never thought I was going to leave St. Louis.  After living in two other states and one other country, I would say to anyone who has the opportunity to live away for a while to go for it.  It will not always be easy, but you will gain so much from the experience.

Having said that, here are the things I missed today...

1. Parking lots:  I missed being able to run to the mall or a store and park in a parking lot that was free of charge.  Instead, I drove around looking for a free spot to park on the street and then walked 2 blocks to the mall to purchase one quick item. 

2. One-Hour Photo:  I missed being able to sit at home at my computer and upload pictures to a store's website and then pick them up in the store just an hour later for a reasonable price and good quality.  Instead, I waited in line at a Kodak photo machine for 15 minutes with a sleeping baby wondering if I was going to get my errands done before she awoke.  I paid 39 pence (58 cents) for each picture.  You can upload pictures online and they will be mailed to your house in about one week, but there are no one-hour photo places nearby.

3. Hobby Lobby: I think I miss Hobby Lobby at least once a week.  I miss having a one-stop shop for all of my craft and sewing needs.  I found a scrapbooking store that sells colored cardstock, a curtain store that sells fabric and ribbon and the pound store sells little Easter crafts.

4. Kinko's: I missed the convenience of having your 5 minute job done as you wait.  Even after calling ahead, I had to leave what I needed done and return 2 hours later.  Yes, that meant I had to drive around looking for another free place to park!

There are pros and cons wherever you live, but today was just one of those days where I missed some conveniences from home. I did, however, enjoy the blue skies and sunshine today.  It was a perfect day for our 20 minute walk home from school.    

Baby food in England

The food here in England is much different than in the U.S.  I figured that baby food, however, would be pretty similar.  Not so much.  First of all, they use the term "weaning" here to mean, "introducing your baby to solid foods."  In the U.S., we use "weaning" to mean, "ending breastfeeding or bottle feeding."  I learned that when a health visitor came to our postnatal group to discuss weaning.  The philosophy here is to use "child-led weaning".  They encourage you to let your child feed herself, and they say it is not necessary to puree foods.  In fact, they do not encourage spoon feeding.  The health visitors here (which are the informational specialists for babies and children since you do not see a pediatrician unless there is a medical reason) suggest that you begin introducing solids around 6 months.  With child-led weaning, you steam vegetables and cut them in long pieces that are easy for the child to hold.  You can offer anything soft and easy to chew.  The idea is to get the child to eat what you eat and be in charge of her own amounts.

 

 It sounded really good to me, but I started both Dylan and Amelia on rice cereal.  I was afraid if I went straight to solid foods, she would choke.  So at 6 months, we gave her rice cereal out of a spoon.  She did really well.

 I started giving her these Farley's Rusks.  It mushed up easily as she chewed on it.  You can actually mix these with water to make a rice cereal.

I started steaming veggies with our dinners and cutting them into pieces for Cora.  She did really well with carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans.  I took a look at the store just to see what they offered in baby food.  I found that most baby food here comes in glass jars.  I was fine with that, but it was a change from the plastic cases in the U.S.  They do not have Gerber here.  The main baby food brands are Cow & Gate, Hipp Organic and Heinz.  I was very surprised to find the various flavors of veggies.  My older kids ate green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes.  Check out these jars...fruit muesli, baby cauliflower cheese, my first bolognese, carrot potato & lamb hotpot, and apple & cookie crumble.

How about these...

sweet squash & chicken, pasta in a tomato & ham sauce, spaghetti bolognese....

They do sell these in plastic tubs.

 And these are great for on the go

 

 Cora also likes the various rice cakes.

One health visitor said not to even purchase food from the baby aisle.  She said most baby food has added sugars.  She told me to feed her what we eat.  Other than a few baby food items, Cora pretty much eats what we eat, including oatmeal, Cheerios, vegetables, chicken and meatloaf.  It is convenient, and I think she's getting enough.  What do you think? 

Snow in England!

It does not happen often, and never usually this much, but we were here for a big snowfall!  Usually 6-8 inches of snow would not be a big deal in most areas of the United States.  In an area of England where they are not prepared for this amount of snow, it was a very big deal!  The day before the big snowstorm, everyone went crazy and stocked up on groceries and petrol (gas).  The head teacher (principal) told everyone to check the website and the radio stations because they would most likely be closed.  The snow started early on a Friday morning and continued all day long.  We enjoyed our snow day!  Eric walked to work instead of riding his bike in the snow.

The view from our kitchen window that morning
 

The kids could not wait to get bundled up and get out in the snow!
 

The view from our front/playroom window

 

As soon as Cora went down for her nap, I took Dylan and Amelia out in the snow.

Hey Mom, let's have a snowball fight!

 

We did not exactly have proper snow gear for Amelia, but we layered up and made Dylan's old pants work.

Our driveway leading out to the street, which was never cleared. 

 

Making snow angels

Walking in fresh snow is the best!

  

This is my favorite picture.  Dylan was giving Cora a kiss.

Cora loved watching the two of them throw snowballs at the sliding glass door.

They spent the next day, Saturday, outside with Daddy.  The snow was perfect for snowmen, snowballs and even a snow slide!

Amelia and Daddy pushing a huge snowball in our garden (backyard).

They were proud of their snowman!

Amelia enjoyed the swing while the boys worked hard.

The early stages of the snow slide

The snow slide was lots of fun!

On Saturday, I drove to the little market just a few streets away from us.  Nothing was done to the neighborhood streets, so they were very slippery and icy.  The main road was salted, so it was not too bad.

I made it to the market.

 

Lots of people were out walking, as usual, but many of them were walking in the streets since the sidewalks were sheets of ice.

Yep, I was driving on ice.

Most cars were covered in snow for several days.

I only saw one person shovel his driveway.

I made it home!

Sunday morning, I went into town to run a few errands.  

The neighborhood streets were a complete sheet of ice!  Salt?  Anybody?

 

At least they salted the streets and sidewalks in town.

Not many people were out shopping.

The River Avon looked pretty with snow around it in downtown Chippenham.

On Sunday, Dylan built this snowman all by himself.  We were so impressed!

 

I wondered if the kids would be back in school on Monday since the neighborhood streets and sidewalks were a sheet of ice on Sunday.  Despite the fact that most students walk to school on those icy paths, they had school on Monday.  Here are some pictures of the conditions that morning.

I nearly bit the dust getting the pushchair (stroller) out of the boot (trunk).

Getting ready to walk on the icy path across the street to school.

We made it to school safely!  The students who brought wellies (boots) and hats and gloves were allowed to play in the snow on the field at recess.  There were about 15 snowmen in the field at the end of the school day.  I think it is great that they allowed them to play in the snow.

Cora was bundled up for the snow, but she did not want to smile for the camera.

Someone was sleepy!

There's my happy girl!

Here is Cora enjoying her bottle on Thursday, almost one week after the snow. 

Most of the snow melted, but our snowmen were still standing.  It was fun while it lasted, but I am glad it's gone.