Phase 2

I was wondering with my husband when a newborn stopped being a newborn. As alarming as it is, I think we may have reached that stage with the Boy.

He's grown out his newborn clothes, and even the 0-3 month ones are looking a bit suspect. He's stopped making those terrifying breathing sounds and jerking movements, and is now reaching for toys and able to enjoy his baby gym. He smiles at us every morning. It's all tiny little things, but they're there.

He passed his 6 week check, the health visitor stops coming soon. In the eyes of the NHS, he seems to have moved on a bit from the 'tiny baby in need of constant monitoring' phase.

It's also a bit of a shift in attitude for us. I think we're a bit less scared than at the start - I used to get completely and utterly paranoid that he would just somehow die in his car seat, cot or in his sling, which I'm a bit more relaxed about now (We got bombarded with information on sudden infant death syndrome, although the odds of this striking are long).

I was a bit sad about the redundancy of his tiniest clothes, but then realised it was going to be a long 18 years if I got tragic whenever he outgrew something, and I'd end up weeping over his 13-year-old's crusty boxers if I wasn't careful. When I get a minute, I'll take down the baby cards.

I also realised that, as much as I love him, I need about an average of 30-60 minutes every day doing something on my own, even if it's just nipping to the shop. If I don't get this, then I start to feel a bit mad.

And there's the cat. She seems to have gotten over her initial phase of being curious and now just seems bored of the whole thing.

Which she will be until Phase 3: Crawling. Which, going by his leg movements, he's working hard on reaching.