9 WEEKS OLD | THE BABY'S NO LONGER A NEWBORN

Over two months has passed in the blink of an eye.. Sylvie seems so grown up it's crazy. I know she's not 'grown up', but she's not a smushy little newborn barely opening her eyes any more - she's an alert and excitable little baby. I forgot to get her weighed today (she's fine.. I'll try and get there next week..) but last time I did she was growing at a rate of half a pound a week. She's suddenly creeping into age 3-6 months in some items and is kicking around furiously, smiling, cooing, still sleeping well and also playing hell when she wants to. We've taken her swimming a few times and she's really enjoyed it - going between smiling and just looking fascinated with the new sensations around her while we're in there.

Vivienne is amazing with her. Still completely besotted. She's helpful, kind and rushes to see her when she gets in from school. We haven't had any sort of transitional period with her going from only child to one-of-two so *fingers crossed* we may have skipped that part.

Sylvie is still in our room, in the Snuzpod, and we still have muslins and sleep suits spilling out onto the floor most days. Our room isn't particularly big so the floor fills up quickly, and I've started looking forward to reclaiming our space again, in hope that it won't always be a noisy crowded room with four of us on the bed and baby paraphernalia everywhere. I've got plans to paint, decorate a little more, and make it into a little adult sanctuary where we can actually relax and it smells of something other than baby milk and nappy bags.

In other news I've finally got round to sorting out a new car.. one that actually fits things in! We are hoping to do a little road trip to celebrate. I'll be sad to say goodbye to my little Honda Jazz but I always felt a little too tall for it and probably expected too much of it running up and down the country for work.. I'm sure it was designed for little old ladies popping to the shops.

The next big thing happening is planning to go away to Mallorca for our first family holiday. I'm there for work but so glad we turned it into a full blown trip away - it should be mild and lovely to just hang out. We have an apartment in a resort where Vivienne has kid's clubs and we have a room each so we can take turns with the baby. I forgot, however, just how much STUFF you need to take. I made a packing list and Sylvie's section is the longest by far. We've also been talking about transporting milk and feeding equipment out there pretty much all day and weighing up different options (this may be where breast feeders have it sorted - the alternative is bringing sterilising kit, bottles, bottle brushes, roughly 11 litres of formula milk, muslins.. the lot) I'm going to write more about this, if only so I don't have to spend hours researching and rewriting a crazy-long packing list again in the future..

I also had my first full day back at work when I shot a wedding in Derby. I loved being back out there and luckily didn't feel too tired or worn out. It was on the day Sylvie turned 6 weeks old, and as much as I missed her, it felt great to go out and be 'me' again. My friend Hannah helped me on the day and it made a huge difference. Physically I felt fine, but mentally I think I needed a little boost here and there to be as sharp as I should be. The next one is 1st April but I'm itching to get out there again, though something else in my head is telling me to enjoy this quieter month first.. I think I'll try and take it easy a little longer while I can..