it'a a hard life being a baby.

So hard infact, that mummy's can learn the art of baby massage to help their little bundle of joy unwind after a stressful day of milky goodness, napping, and generally looking all cute.

which is exactly what i've done today - the massage learning that is - not the napping & cuteness ;)
I really like the whole concept, so was quite looking forward to the class, but wasn't convinced that the noodle was going to take to the idea - he's a bit of a wriggler at the best of times, not a huge fan of staying still, so I was a tiny bit dubious to say the least.

BUT, he actually really enjoyed it! Or he humoured me at least :)
The lady doing the teaching was very good (although her 'baby' {stuffed version!} wasn't terribly likely to put up much of a fight ;) - she warned everyone in advance that not all babies are into massage, and that if that's the case, then any skin-to-skin contact will do - even if it's just a snuggly cuddle after a bath :)

She reccomended using sunflower oil - yes, as in the stuff you cook with - as it's au naturel, no fragrances or the like to irritate sensitive baby skin, and indeed, gave all the mums a tiny little bottle to oil up their hands.
And off we went - one eye on her & her stuffed baby, one one the little dude to make sure he wasn't about to explode in a fit of no-thankyou-very-much-mummy!

He was one of the smallest babies there, so a lot of the 'moves' were a little lost on him, (his tummy is about half the size of my hand, so whole-palm-clockwise-stroking was tricky!), but he didn't cry once, he gurgled away pretty happily for the full 20 minutes, and i even got a smile or two when i was wiggling his toes! (not sure that's the correct technical term, but evidently it's good for all the little pressure points! :D)
So on the whole, I'd say it was a success :)
Will certainly have a go at making it part of his post-bath routine, and would definitely reccomend going to a class if you get the chance.

the other thing I'm chuffed with today, is I found these:

- how cute? never need to worry about odd socks again - they're SUPPOSED to be that way :D
i actually first saw them while putting my pre-baby maternity leave to good use surfing every baby site under the sun, but they were £15, which seemed like a lot - hence i'm so chuffed to have found them for the bargain price of £7.99 over at baby etc. :D
i'm sure my credit card can handle another tiny little debt for the sake of cuteness in sock form :D
wonder if there are any plans to introduce a daddy size version? that would be useful!