Hello, I'm Sam - Chapter Three - Wednesday

Good morning, everybody.

When the weather is nice and sunny, Mommy will sometimes take me out in my pushchair.  At the moment I face Mommy when I’m in the pushchair, but she tells me that when I get a little older I can face the other way and see where we’re going.  I like seeing Mommy as she pushes me along, but I am looking forward to being able to see where we’re going.  There’s always so much to look at when we’re outside; it’s very exciting.  Daddy also takes me out in the pushchair, but because he’s at work during the day it’s usually at weekends that this happens.

If it’s bright and sunny, Mommy puts a shade on to the pushchair so that the sun doesn’t hurt my eyes.  She tells me that it’s called a parasol.  Mommy says that my eyes are still getting used to things like sunlight, so it’s important to protect them.  Sometimes the parasol stops me from being able to see Mommy as we’re walking along, but she always talks to me, so I know she’s still there.

The pushchair also has space for things to go underneath it; it’s very clever, and Mommy and Daddy like to keep a big blanket in the pushchair for something called picnics.  The blanket is very big and it’s nice and soft, so it feels good to lie on.  Mommy and Daddy only put me on it when the weather’s warm enough, so picnics seem to only happen on sunny days.  I’m still drinking milk and starting on other things like baby rice, but when we have picnics, Mommy and Daddy often eat things called sandwiches.  They look very tasty, but Mommy and Daddy say that I need to be older before I can eat one of those.  There are lots of things that I can’t do until I’m older, so it must be a lot of fun to grow up.  I’m enjoying being a baby, though.  I get to play all day – when I’m not sleeping – and everybody wants to be nice to me.  I don’t know what I did to make everybody like me so much, but it’s definitely nice.  Mommy tells Daddy about people who she calls strangers who come up to her in the street and tell her things about me.  They call me handsome and gorgeous.  I don’t really know what those words mean yet, but Mommy seems pleased when they say them, so I guess they’re nice words.  If they make Mommy smile then they’re okay with me, because I love seeing Mommy smile.  Daddy, too; when they smile it makes me smile.

Every now and then I need something called a bath.  This is apparently how I stay clean.  Mommy usually asks Daddy to give me my baths, and it’s loads of fun.  You need to take all of your clothes off for a bath: me, not Daddy, and get in some warm water.  Daddy’s always there to hold me and make sure I’m safe, and he washes me all over.  I have my own bath with its own little seat in it, that’s in the shape of a teddy bear.  I like going in the bath because if I kick my legs I can splash the water.  Daddy uses my special pirate flannel to wash my body, and he puts something in my hair to wash that, too.  Now that I’m starting to eat things like baby rice and porridge, I’m making more of a mess at meal times.  Mommy and Daddy don’t seem to mind, but I do get food in my hair, and that needs to be washed out.  Mommy and Daddy say that if they didn’t wash the food out of my hair then it would go hard and it would hurt to get it out of my hair.  I don’t like things that hurt, so I’m glad I get my hair washed in the bath.

Bath time is fun, but getting out of the bath isn’t.  When Daddy takes me out of the warm water I get cold, and I don’t like that.  It sometimes makes me cry, but Daddy always wraps me in a towel as soon as he can.  I’m only cold for a little while, and Daddy tends to dry me off on my changing table, so I get to look at my aeroplanes and hot air balloon, which I like.  Mommy and Daddy always laugh at how curly my hair gets after I’ve had it washed.  It’s not my fault; it does it by itself.  Mommy and Daddy don’t have curly hair, so I probably won’t when I grow up, either.  Once I’ve been dried. I get a new nappy and some fresh clothes put on me, which always feels nice.  Mommy and Daddy have a special little case with things for me in it.  They say it’s my baby grooming kit.  Once I’m dry and dressed after my bath, Mommy or Daddy brushes my hair.  This feels really nice and it relaxes me, which is good, because bath time is often done just before bed time.  Sometimes, Mommy even cuts my hair, which I suppose is why Mommy has long hair and Daddy has short hair.  Daddy must get his hair cut more often than Mommy.  It makes me wonder what kind of hair I’ll have when I grow up.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

When bed time comes it’s time to go to sleep.

Goodnight, everybody.  Sleep tight.