Bali loves bubba

Since arriving in Bali almost a week ago baby Alexander has been charming his way through the staff at the hotel. We can no longer go anywhere in the complex without some member of the reception, waiting or cleaning staff waving and saying 'hi Alex'. They have no idea who I am except that I'm usually in the background when that gorgeous blue eyed Alex baby enters the room... or pool... or restaurant.

This is normally followed by big smiles from all the staff and half the customers and the baby in question giving a big smile back. In fact if someone in the room doesn't look at him Alex just stares at them, sometimes for several minutes, until they smile back.

Another member of the Alexander Butler fan club recruited. Job done.

Happiest time of the day

The little man is almost 7 weeks and the smiles are coming much more frequently - even the odd giggle and no more wind confusion. But when do you think he's at his happiest?

Alas, it's not sitting on his mother's lap, nor bathtime with dad or even cuddles with Nanna B. Our bubby might not greet every morning with a smile and a twinkle in his eye but there is one thing that is sure to light up his 48 day old life - and that is kicking around without his nappy on!



Pop him on the change table, whip off that nappy and Alex is guaranteed to give you a big smile accompanied by a some ecstatic leg kicking and a variety of weird and wonderful noises. Of course there are a few hazards in this activity, namely dodging the occasional pee fountain and catching a projectile poop but it's all worth it to see that smile on his face.

The baby doctor said her two boys were exactly the same and at 4 and 6 years they still love running around naked. So the preference for nakedness may get him into trouble in the future but for now it's just cute.

p.s. the video above is waist up to preserve the little man's privacy... and protect the camera from an unexpected projectile!

Mobile magic

Our current favourite baby related acquisition, which has paid for itself over and over again, is this humble mobile.

It seems, at first glance, like a kind of overpriced tacky plastic thing that you regret purchasing as soon as you remove it from its amazon packaging... but it's SO much more.

The so called 'infant stimulation mobile' was recommend to me by a recently babied work colleague and has had young Alex transfixed on the change table for several minutes ever since he was about 2 weeks old. And it seems calm quiet minutes are valuable things when it comes to babies, particularly when you're attempting to get a vest over their surprisingly large heads, or wondering at their frighteningly full nappies, or dodging a fountain of pee because you forgot to check which way 'it' was pointing... but that's another story.

Smile, though your stomach is aching...

I realise that every parent thinks their child is more advanced that the rest, developing more quickly than the books say they are supposed to, whether that's first steps, first words, first post graduate degrees. Well for us, it's all about the smile. See, according to the books babies don't 'really' smile until about 6 or 7 weeks, according to the other mums in our NCT group it can happen after a month... and anything before that is just wind. It doesn't seem fair that something as lovely as a smile on a baby could actually just be a build up of gas in his little stomach and we've been convincing ourselves that he's actually smiling at us, not trying to fart. This little montage of photos is part of my ongoing struggle to capture bubba's 'smiles' on camera. What do you think? Genuine joy or just a pain in the...