The move to Leeds

After much discussion and planning, we finally made the move to Leeds at the end of May, when Chloë was around 12 weeks or so. It was heartbreaking to take Benjy away from Anne, his childminder. She was absolutely all that we could have asked for in a childminder, and so much of who Benjy is, is down to her and her family. More than anything, I dreaded him leaving Anne. And of course, dreaded him leaving everything else that was familiar to him - all the playgrounds he loved, the soft plays, the local shops we'd go to, and that all he ever wanted to do, if I asked him, was 'walk to Waitrose'. It was a very difficult time, not made any easier by the newborn baby and lack of sleep. But within a few weeks of being in Leeds there was no doubt that it was the right decision. Benjy settled into nursery brilliantly - by the third day, he cried for less than a minute when I left him, and there was no more crying at all after that, apart from a few times when I picked him up because he didn't want to come home! No clinginess at all - in fact, he wanted me out of there as quickly as possible when I dropped him off. Everthing is so much easier and less stressful - in part because we are in a bigger house, I'm sure, but there's definitely something about not being in London, and about having family right around the corner, that is fantastic and so far, we're loving it all.

The photos are from Benjy's first day at nursery - before and after.