Beatrice seven month update

From Beatrice Dorothy Corcutt

Beatrice will be seven months old next week and she's growing up fast! She's still on breast milk, so unfortunately still wakes up two or three times during the night which results in her parents, especially Flo being pretty tired during the day. However, she's supplementing her milk with solids now and routinely joins her parents for breakfast and dinner and when possible eats what we're eating, or at least the fruit and vegetables.

From Beatrice Dorothy Corcutt

The list of foods she's tried is steadily increasing and her tastes seem to change from day to day. Her current favourites are courgettes, tomatoes and strawberries. The acid flavour of the tomatoes makes Beatrice's face contort, but this initial reaction doesn't put her off as she will go on to consume two or three with no problem at all. Similarly, she loves strawberries and will easily devour two or three of them!

From Beatrice Dorothy Corcutt

It's not just on food she's developing, although perhaps as a by product of sitting in her high chair at the dinner table, she is now able to sit upright and play with her toys.

From Beatrice Dorothy Corcutt

She's not crawling yet, but she's an excellent roller and can make a full three-sixty on the spot! I don't think it will be long before she's chasing Boris and Boika around the living room...

The view from the car this morning

All the rain we had over the weekend was snow up in the mountains. This was on the way when I dropped Jonny off at work this morning. Pretty amazing!

Interview with Beatrice

This weekend I took the opportunity to record a brief interview with Beatrice.

Trip to Bloudan

This morning we made a trip to Bloudan to catch the last of the snow. We drove as far as we could up the mountain, passing a few comical exploits from the locals attempting to drive their cars up the icy track and slipping and sliding and generally falling over one another as they tried to push the cars up the mountain. With our four wheel drives it was relatively easy until we encountered a turn on the crest of an hill.

We managed to get reasonably far up the track where we introduced Beatrice to her first proper snow.

Trip to Bloudan

Back home

Sorry for the lack of updating our blog... So much has happened since we got here four months ago. Where have the months gone? I have been meaning to write about my (not so new anymore) job, our nanny (that sounds soooo expat-ty and decadent), our trip to Bosra where we had a look at the Roman theatre or how we just so very slowly starting to settle a bit. I might do that later.


We just got back from our trip home (erm, home is where the heart is, right?) We stayed with my parents for five lovely days, just long enough to touch base, see all my family, eat as much stamppot as we could possibly muster and work our way through a shopping list as long as my arm. Unfortunately too short to catch up with friends, update Facebook or eat enough paprika chips to see me through the next few months.

My family threw me a birthday party on the night we arrived and Beatrice helped me with unwrapping the presents. She also saw snow for the first time, rode in a buggy for the first time (an experience neither of us enjoyed very much. So out with the borrowed buggy and back into the sling) and we went baby swimming.


Which she really enjoyed. Of course also because she got a chance to show off her pink bikini.

And now we are back in Syria. With the crazy traffic, the bureaucracy, even the custom officer at the airport smoking and with all Blogspot pages blocked (so sorry Nina, Irène, Alle, Joeltje, Elke and Kami for not being able to check up on you! Would you mind sending an email of every post you write? :-)). But also with 17 degrees and sun today. Not long before we will be able to take Beatrice to the outdoor pool at the [insert Jonny's work name] club. We'll just have to do the walking around in circles and singing lullabies ourselves, for the lack of a baby swimming instructor. Or not. :-)


I meant to exclusively breast-feed Beatrice for six months, but at five months and a few weeks and after weeks of scrutinising our plates, she decided herself it was time to start on solids. We are doing something called baby led weaning, meaning we don't puree any food, but give stick sized foods instead for her to play with. So far she has tried potato, carrot, apple, banana, rice cakes, bread, pumpkin, red pepper, avocado, mango, cucumber, butter beans and courgette.


It is supposed to help hand eye coordination and make the baby enjoy food. She certainly seems to enjoy it. Although Jonny and I have both been weaned on mashed foods, we don't have any problems with our coordination. So I think it is more because I am too lazy to blend everything for her...