Bad parents...

So Mabel and I have now completed our 'baby massage' course, which has been well worth doing and was free through Sure Start(www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Preschooldevelopmentandlearning/NurseriesPlaygroupsReceptionClasses/DG_173054)

The strokes are pretty easy to do and you are given handouts to follow but it was nice to go along and see exactly how to do it, particularly how firm to be and how to build up the body parts towards a full massage.

I hear that not all babies like it but we have done it a fair few times at home since and Mabel appears to love it. It is supposed to help bonding, muscle development and promote good sleep; not sure about the latter but we both enjoy doing it either way.

Now a few weeks ago Fee mentioned to G Kisby to watch out for 'neck rot' and I kid you not OCD boy pretty much checks her neck at every available opportunity. Needless to say her neck has remained rot free.

However at our last session of massage we covered the arms. Picture the scene, there we all are, babies lay on mats in  a nice close circle facing the middle, happily following the instructions when we move onto the arm pit stroke. I follow along, Mabel is happy as larry. Then I notice a small crease which appears to be 'welded' shut. I glance around the room to check no-one is looking then pull apart said crease. And there it is, oh my God, it has been stuck together with some sort of yellow cheese like substance (curdled milk?) which as hardened into a crust. We have been so busy watching the neck we took our eye off the pit.

I try not to look alarmed, I need to get rid of said cheese but am well aware of how this looks (bad parenting, poor attention to hygeine, G Kisby will have her arms above her head on a hourly basis). I reach for my bag and pull out a wipe, pretending to mop up some dribble (a ha, finally I am grateful for the constant wet chin). Another glance round the room then one brisk, but firm sweep across the arm pit appears to do the trick.

But no...I have not accounted for the smell, and through attempting said operation I appear to have angered it. I have no idea what exactly this substance is but if you imagine milk left out in the sun for, say, a week, yep - that bad. 
So bad in fact that I had to leave the other pit until we were home.

So it turns out that it is not just the neck that can get 'rot'. When Mabel now has a bath we get that flannel into every single fold of her chunky body, pulling back all those creases. And G Kisby has slightly adapted his, "she doesn't need much washing, she doesn't get dirty" stance.

Bath nights have certainly become a little more regular in our household!