Little bear climbs

Little bear is getting far more active. He has just had his second birthday, and aged me several years.

The first I knew that he could climb out of his cot when there was no other furniture around was when I heard him singing to himself one morning, then a thud and an anguished cry. I shot into his room, and really I honestly believe he was more cross than hurt - it shouldn't have happened like that and he wanted to play!

Once we managed to find a gate to go across the oddly shaped door, he was in a bed. Those nights between the mountaineering expedition and the fitting of the gate were dreadful. One or two I actually spent in with him, and the others I was waking up anytime a pin was dropped in the surrounding three miles. Little bear was, of course, fine.

He did manage to get out of the room at one point (I think he climbed over a pile of toys in his play pen before we managed to get the gate on his room fitted) and I found him one floor up, crying because he couldn't work out how to come down.

When I informed dear heart, he went upstairs to check and sure enough there was clear evidence that little bear had had a good play in the top bedroom. What I hadn't realised was that he had also completely trashed the spare bedroom also. Thank goodness he avoided the bathroom.

He also regularly climbs up the north face of his high chair, up onto the backs of chairs, up onto the tv unit... I was told that when he had his first big bump he would learn a little caution. He hasn't.

Evil cat and how she is

What an embarrassing lacunae in my posting. Well, I am just going to try and fill it bits and then be a little more dedicated.

I think the first thing is to give an update on evil cat, as she is trying to sit on the keyboard as I type.

She is in the very very very early stages of kidney failure, and thus on a special (expensive) diet. I do trust my vet, they are lovely and are very competent at dealing with over anxious owner syndrome. That means, regrettably, that if they say it is kidney disease, that is what it is. It is sad to see her, however, because she is starting to lose a little weight and she didn't have that much to lose. She is also getting very smelly and her tummy sounds like a special effect sometimes - not what you want when she is trying to sit across your throat.

She is also a little more clingy. What is sad is that she has always slept downstairs, but now she cries in the night - not pain but lonely. I daren't let her up in the night, I need some sleep, but I do feel for her.

She is, regardless of the diet, getting inexpensive dolphin friendly tuna tomorrow. Tonight she was cornered by little bear and he grabbed a handful of fur. Evil cat just cowered, and I wouldn't have blamed her if she had scratched him. Of course I told him off, with the usual effect, and he is usually good, but for an evil cat, she behaved pretty well.

Visitor at my window.

Actually, when I sit in my sitting room I don't really have a view. There is a huge and elderly television that cuts out most of the view. Also the angles in the room and outside mean that if I do look out my view would consist of some very overgrown laurels and a corrugated roof. Except, for a while, the window had a visitor. It was a spider!

I am not a huge fan of spiders, but in this case I found it exceptional. There was a spider that had spun a web over our window. Now, had I been as enthusiastic housewife as I should I would have gone out and somehow reached the window (very awkward) and immediately removed the cobweb. Except, well, it was nice seeing the creature. The spider was certainly more domesticated than I, always tidying and patching up the web and I could watch the repair work instead of baby tv, which was a bit of a relief.

Now the web is tattered and crumbs of dead leaves are filling it. I really need to tie a couple of brooms together and do something like tie a duster over one end and get rid of the web. As it is the web remains as a sad reminder that the visitor has left.

Maternal dilemma

I give little bear medised when he has a runny nose. It has paracetamol in and it dries up the green dribbles. It says on the box that it is suitable for 3 months and over. Little bear loves the stuff, and I have to keep it out of his sight, especially as he is getting more adventurous in climbing.

Actually, I think I will amend this to I always used to give little bear medised. You see, this morning I gave little bear medised which I think made me a concerned and caring mother who was upset at her little one struggling to breath and eat and the same time. This afternoon I went to the local chemist. Despite it saying from three months on the box, they have taken advice and are only selling it for children over two. Little bear has around five weeks before he is two. So if I give little bear some medised tonight I am an evil, scheming mother administering noxious substances to my defenceless child for the sake of an easy life.

Poor little bear - it is only really a runny nose but it makes it hard for him to eat and drink. Mind you he doesn't seem to have much interest in food today after the piggery of yesterday. I shall just have to make sure I give him extra cuddles.

EDIT I have just been given links to the official page of Medised and to the thingy that gives national guidelines on medicine, and Medised should not be given to little ones under two! I am really upset and worried about the effect on little bear. I am contacting my health visitor tomorrow.

Little bear and his diet.

Just want it on record.

Little bear, grumpy, green nosed and out of sorts, ate a pear for the first time today. Then he demanded a second one. And raisins, and a banana. He also ate stacks of toast with cream cheese (only topping he will currently tolerate). The finger of fudge, however, was half discarded!

I want to cherish this, for when he is a teenager and allergic to anything with vitamins.

For his meals for tomorrow I feel a little at a loss. He has eaten cream cheese on wheatmeal toast for almost every meal for the last few days, he is so snuffly that I am just trying to give him things that he can eat at his own pace, with plenty of juice. Of course I am getting anxious about what he is eating. As a mother it is imperative that I panic about his diet. For the first time I can see the advantages of giving him a sausage roll. I may try ham and buttery toast tomorrow as it has to be a change. I may have marmite on toast as mum's food is always better and it may persuade him to widen his horizons.

Evil Cat Strikes Back

Evil cat is a contradictory creature. She does like to lie on someone's lap, but violently objects to being stroked. Usually the phrase, 'violently objects' is not to be taken literally but evil cat will pounce and kill hands that are unwelcome. She does give fair warning - battle ears, glares, tail set to stun, hisses - so it isn't fair to complain. Then you get a swipe of the paw that is actually lovely and soft, though delivered with venomous intent, or a vicious suck.

In fact dear heart was mentioning this last night as evil cat sat along him with her tail thrashing like a special effect in sci fi film. "Really," He said, "She doesn't leave a mark and other cats that have possessed us have given us some serious wounds." This is of course true - I still have the scar associated with a former cat and a bath. When evil cat was a kitten (many, many years ago) and she fit on the palm of my hand, I could pick her up and she would madly attack my hand, no matter how high above the carpet she was. She has never left a mark, though she gives a very strong impression that she would!

Well, the laws of causative narration then caught up with dear heart. He stroked evil cat one time too many and he has an inch long, deep red scratch right over the knuckle where it stings whenever he uses his hand. But she did warn him.

Evil Cat and Her Little Ways

Evil cat is evil. At the moment I struggle up and down stairs - I keep telling little bear I have a bone in my knee. Something 'went' about a month after he was born and it has never been quite right since. Now the kitchen, where evil cat gets fed, is down a flight of stairs from the living room. I seem to trot (or currently limp) up and down on a very regular basis. However tonight I sat down with a sigh after little bear went to sleep. I was sitting down and staying sat.

However, evil cat decided that she was starving and needed food immediately. Dear heart very kindly went downstairs and put fresh water in the water dish and fresh food down. Evil cat watched him do this then came upstairs to harass me. Because it doesn't count unless I do it.

Being harassed by evil cat is like the water torture with spikes. She will sit on the arm of the chair, then purr at me. Then a single paw will come out to prod. She will climb over my lap. Then she will climb up my north face. If I am trying to have a conversation with dear heart, evil cat will ensure that she blocks any line of sight. After a while you have reached all you can take, so she gets put on the floor. And again. And again. And again. And all through this - the food is down! It is the food she eats every day! Then she will run over to dear heart, try and sit on anything that will stop him, for example, having a drink. Then back to me...

So I limped downstairs, put down (without exaggeration) two teaspoons of food on top of the fresh stuff put down half an hour previously by dear heart - and she ate the dish full. Then she came upstairs and went to sleep in her basket.