I thought last night was going to be horrible. At 4:30pm Miles started screaming (in pain and exhaustion) and he didn't stop until he finally fell asleep at 8:15, except for 30 minutes while I was out at Waitrose with him in the Baby Bjorn and Jody in the buggy. Other than that I put him down twice for 5 minutes each time and his screaming reached a pitch I haven't heard since we used to put Jody in her much-hated infant car seat. Roj was out schmoozing so I couldn't get Jody's dinner cooked until 7 (with Miles whimpering in the sling) and she didn't go to bed until just before 8, then I just sat with Miles on our swiss ball and rocked and held him until he gave in. And even then I gave it half an hour before I dared to move him. Poor thing was in obvious agony from his teeth, and hardly surprising. On close inspection it looks like two bottom incisors are coming through too. Which makes 6 imminent, 2 just through and 2 fully grown. My only hope is that if he gets them all through in such a short space, he might get some respite later on.

Things finally settled down after that. I made sure Roj and I were super quiet going to bed so he didn't stir until nearly 2 which is a record in recent weeks. He woke hourly after that until 6 but only once because of the agony in his mouth, so I was happy enough to be at his beck and call. And Roj even made another late start so that I could get an hour extra. Which I don't know what I'd do without.

Amazing that Jody hardly uttered a peep when she teethed, other than for her top front two and her last set of molars. Just shows you how different these babies can be (she only ever got two through at a time, which must make a difference).

Today has been lamentably lazy, despite it being over 20°C outside. We made it to the playground just before lunch but Jody was so unimpressed that we left pretty soon. She needs a new haunt (which is good, because we hardly ever get there during winter when the place closes at 4). Miles slept for an hour this morning and then 3 hours after lunch and I didn't have the heart to move him after the last few nights. 2 children definitely require their needs juggling from time to time. Sometimes we do what Jody needs and Miles has to forgo his naps. And sometimes we do what Miles needs (sleeping namely) and Jody just climbs the walls. I might have unearthed the paintbox but that takes a level of monitoring I don't have today. Jody will have to put up with a boring holiday day. We've all had them.

My heart goes out to Yi Shun today as she moves with Jim to Chicago. An admirable sacrifice to make. It's making me think of our own NY departure 20 months ago and how painful it still is. I can't send reassurance that it will get better because it probably won't. But life in the new place will.

Goodness. I rarely let this slide for more than a week, but the days have just passed in one blurry haze. Sleep deprivation is at an all time low. Last night I sat up with Miles until 12:45am and then again from 5 (I was also up for 3 feeds inbetween). On top of incessant teething (4 teeth through now, 4 imminent), he's now got another cold preventing him from feeding comfortably which seems to be appeased only when he's relatively upright. Unfortunately I don't find it as easy to fall asleep on the sofa as he does. Roj took fabulous pity on me this morning though, and left for work an hour later than usual so I could sleep a bit. I was most surprised at 9 (which I thought was 8) when my dad called and told me what time it was. It felt like 2 seconds since I'd fallen asleep at 7:30.

Kate came over this morning with Ava though, and we had a very relaxing coffee and playdate. I'm envious and a bit sad that she's packed up and heading out to Monaco next week for good. On the rare occasions we get together we have a blast. On the bright side it'll give us someone else to visit if we head over there to see Grandad and Jill so adds to the incentive. Marylebone seems to be a bit of a springboard for people who want to move overseas or away from central London. I suppose that's part and parcel of having so many ex-pats in the area (many homeward bound eventually), but it's a bit disconcerting when everyone seems to be leaving at once.

Talking of leaving, it was fabulous to see Blockette last Friday back from Aus for a fleeting visit. Jody, Miles and I even made it to toddler group (too manic now that winter approaches and everyone is making an effort to attend), before driving out to Fulham for the afternoon. I was amazed to see two people who I'd last seen having a ball at Blockette's wedding last summer turn up with small infants in tow. Things change so quickly. There were also in attendance 3 children born on 4 April which was a little unusual, particularly as the other 2 were brother and sister born 2 years apart. The whole afternoon was admirably toddler-centric and enjoyed by all, especially Jody who found the deepest muddiest puddles in the park to jump and fall into (mud up to waist and elbows) as well as forgetting her potty-training skills. Luckily I'd brought a full change of clothes so I got her back to the house and practically hosed her down before she was presentable again. All good fun though, sort of.

Also did Jody's first dentist visit last Wednesday to seemingly the most expensive dentist in London (fortunately Roj has dental insurance which covers some of my costs, but it still required a sharp intake of breath on receipt of the bill). Jody was amazing for him and happily opened and shut her mouth on demand. Her teeth are apparently good though her lower jaw positioning could do with some work in a couple of years time. I truly believed him when he said that a lower jaw pressing too far back into its socket could be the cause of untold pain and misbehaviour in formative years. He had illustrations of a pretty gory case-study to prove his point.

We had a social weekend too. Met Olly and Sarah at the zoo on Saturday for aunt and uncle time which was nice, despite Jody being beyond tired. Mormor came out on Sunday (with Oldemor who wasn't staying with us) and did some free babysitting in the evening. We were going to try a new local French restaurant but I was so exhausted after a week of terrible nights that we did the casual thing and went to Giraffe for a burger. Luckily, because the French restaurant was shut when we walked past and Miles woke at 9 for mummy. Lovely to have Mormor here though to help with Jody and take the pressure off 24/7 parenting, and also to see Oldemor on good form on Monday afternoon.

Spent the day with Sonia and the girls yesterday for the first time since our return from France. Sonia and I are both feeling the strain of the 'terrible' twos right now (on and off), so it's nice to get together and feel like you're not the only one going mad. I'll miss her when she heads off to Italy next March and then back to Aus a year from now. Another one jumping on the jet plane out of here.

Some interesting (though as yet tenuous) news is that the neighbours in our building are thinking of selling up in which case we might be extremely tempted to buy their flat (which is a mirror of ours on the same two floors) and work on knocking the two together into a 4-bedroom place. Some serious consideration has to be made and some examination of the finances (we could hardly afford to buy the flat, let alone make the renovations, but if we could we would have a serious asset on our hands). Who knows how we'd do it, where we'd live in the meantime, or whether it's even possible, but it gives us an alternative housing solution to the Montagu Square nightmare to think about, and for that I am grateful. More news there as it occurs.

So I think that's me pretty much caught up. This week is half term so I have playdates planned aplenty. We're also off to Shropshire this weekend (me for a long weekend) to visit Nana and Zoe and inevitably get Jody obsessing about the horses again. Spending a brief 24 hours with my parents too, partially to see Jody's paternal great grandmother who is visiting there and hasn't yet met Miles. I lose count myself when counting these generations.

Very good few days. I've felt much better (although my sore throat came back to haunt me midweek) and have started to relax after the stress of house viewings (the house is a tip - I am getting 'not cleaning' out of my system before I find a balance!) Camilla came over on Wednesday morning on her way to a London conference with almond croissants and coffee so I was finally able to quiz her about the new fella who has sped his way into her life of late. In the afternoon I went over to Sabine's house in torrential rain for an informal French lesson with Pat, Elvira and the associated 6 toddlers/infants. It was a great big struggle to try and formulate sentences when my school French has all but disappeared with 15 years of disuse, but it was inspirational to understand Sabine and Pat conversing and to realise that with a little time and effort and a great big leap of faith, I could get there too. I came home on a big high and dusted off the Michel Thomas course Roj bought long ago and since then have managed to complete the first 2 of 8 CDs in the small breaks I get when the kids are both asleep. It's a very relaxing way of learning - he insists you must not take notes or even try to remember what he teaches since his method is based on absorbtion through logic - and so far it's all familiar territory, but already I feel more comfortable with the language.

On Thursday I had a meeting with Jody's head teacher to discuss her progress and she gave a glowing report. She says Jody is very mature and focused for her age and shows no ill effects from the last 6 months of dealing with a stressed mum! They reckon she should be going into the big kids' class as early as the January term, and were very happy to have her for lunches beginning after half term. Which'll be great for me because it means pickup at 1:30 not 12, so gives me extra time to focus on Miles while she's out.

Received delivery of Miles's bed on Friday which is a great relief to me, since he's now sleeping at mid-thigh not ankle height. Unfortunately he showed his need for a bed by rolling off Jody's while I was constructing his in our bedroom. Suddenly his cries became muffled and when I went in to check he hadn't worked himself under her duvet, my heart gave a little leap to find he wasn't on the bed at all but under it! He's been able to do a half-roll to his front for quite some time, but has been so lazy about it I've been resting on my laurels. I had tucked in the duvet on either side in an attempt to keep him in should he get adventurous, but now I clearly can't risk it. Poor thing.

One of the top teeth that's been pushing at his gums finally came through towards the end of last week, with another to follow shortly. I'm desperately hoping the teeth are the cause of his nightly disruption and banking on sudden improvement once they've surfaced but who knows ...

I decided to shelve the Nike 10k this morning in favour of sleep and recuperation. I haven't yet shaken the cold & sore throat that's been lurking for a fortnight now and my nights have been so disrupted (I was up 6 times last night) that I just don't have the resources to do even a small race. I was leaving the decision-making to the last minute but yesterday at Hyde Park playground I realised that if I hadn't signed up for the race I wouldn't dream of going for a jog of any length, which indicates I might have been doing it all for the wrong reasons. So I had a much-needed lie-in instead and fell asleep the second Roj shut the door to the bedroom at 7:30.

Camilla brought her man over for hot dogs at the Honest Sausage for lunch, and very nice he is too (found it a bit uncanny to see their physical resemblance though). He's very amiable and laid back and we all took to him, despite the fact that he's dragging her away from my gossip-circle to the far reaches of the globe for 6 months next year. It's very good to see her so happy and relaxed even though it's quite a shock to the system because of the speed with which it's happened. It certainly has all the hallmarks of a match made in heaven, if one can ever be a judge of these things.

Lots of stuff planned this week. Catching up with Sam, Kate, Pat and Blockette during the week as well as taking Jody for her first trip to the dentist on Wednesday. It was quite amusing to witness the about-turn in enthusiasm from the dental receptionist when, while asking whether their dentists were receiving new patients, I casually mentioned that we'd been recommended by our friend (who happens to be a dentist herself, and the daughter of one of the senior dentists working there). It's certainly who you know that counts.

I'm so delighted that Yi Shun and Jim got engaged on Friday night that I am beside myself. They are a perfect match because they are both equally eccentric in a very complementary fashion. No other person I can imagine would suit either one of them better. Or at all, for that matter. I have been dying to gush the news, but felt it rude to mention in my blog before she did in hers! Many congratulations to them.

Also congratulations to two people who have just announced second pregnancies. Buffy will have her second only 14 months after Eva and isn't sure yet whether that's good or bad! Isobel will be nearly 3 by the time Teresa has hers, but the big news there is that she's having surprise twins. Twins! Fab.

Miles slept brilliantly for three nights last week. Wednesday he woke at 12:30, 2:50 and 5; Thursday and Friday he woke at 2:30 and 5. Which makes a big difference from the standard 10, 1, 4, 5:30, 6:30 he's reverted to these last two nights. I would definitely have felt regenerated were it not for the hideous sore throat I was sporting last week which has only in the last 24 hours shown signs of abating. Luckily Roj did the gentlemanly thing again this weekend by affording me another couple of lie-ins. Goodness knows how I'd be feeling right now if I hadn't had those.

My parents came over for a quick trip to London which included a generous night of babysitting on Friday, enabling Roj and I to go to the Union Café for a rare dinner together. It was almost an hour and half before I started getting itchy feet about leaving them (the kids, not my parents!) and when we returned we learned that neither had made a peep. We spent Saturday in grandparent/grandchild catch-up at the flat and the park which was very enjoyable for all involved.

I also archived toys on Saturday at long last. I was ashamed to see so many early baby toys in Jody's toy bin. In fact I realise that it was the first archiving session I've ever had with her toys so I was literally unearthing several that we bought in America when she was just learning to grasp. It was a bit sad to have a bigger archive pile than remainder, but that situation was partly remedied on Sunday with a large bagful of games, puzzles and activity books from John Lewis - exactly what we need for winter afternoon entertainment indoors.

Our trip to John Lewis was primarily a bed-buying one. At the last minute we decided to keep Jody in her cotbed for the time being, since a single bed would swamp her room. Instead we bought a cot for Miles (to be delivered this week) which will hopefully provide him with a more comfortable surface to sleep on than the Graco travel cot he currently hates to use (not to mention saving my back).

He's been eating solids like mad these last few days, which has obviously contributed to his amazing sleep sessions. There's nothing I can make that he won't eat, and he's quickly understood the technique of opening his mouth in anticipation of the next spoonful. Soon I will need to wean him onto three from two solid meals, given his obvious delight. If it wasn't for his mammoth size it would be easy to think I'd been starving him these last 6 months. I wonder how I make sure he gets enough milk now that his preference is for real food.

He also has two new teeth just about to break the surface. Not the top middle pair, but the next ones along. I am tentatively attributing his disrupted waking to teething pain and hoping that he reverts when they're through. I could certainly get used to only getting up twice a night.

Talking of teeth, Jody did yet another face-plant in the playground yesterday and cut her top lip quite badly. I feel I ought to be grateful that she still has all her pearly whites. Hardly a fall goes by without some mum or other relating tales of lost, broken or blackened baby teeth due to minor knocks. Toddlerdom is certainly perilous.

Nike 10k this Sunday. Lets hope my cold disappears by midweek so I can remind myself how to put one foot in front of another in energetic fashion.

Things have improved somewhat (thanks for words of support from Peta and Jennifer and others after my last post). Roj is home for a start. He allowed me a couple of lie-ins at the weekend which make a lot of difference, and I even popped out on Sunday without the kids for an hour or so. Never mind that I used the time to shop for baby stuff.

The house sale is off though, for the time being. The vendor's dad is in very bad condition in hospital and she just can't go through with it right now, although she might want to restart the whole process in December. We're not going to hang out for it (she might, after all, decide to put it back on the market in the hopes of a higher price, or even decide to keep it) but we're not going to keep looking in the meantime either - we need the break - so if everything still fits in December you never know.

It'll be an enormous relief to me to have no viewings for a while. They've been the source of a lot of my stress so I'm happy to see the back of them. I feel so pleased that we can sort out a permanent bed for Miles in our room (rather than the travel cot he hates so much) and that we can get all Jody's toys out of their hiding places. I've felt like a killjoy these last few weeks having to keep her from making too much mess. Just in time for winter too.

Of course it's also incredibly frustrating. This process has been going on for 6 months and to have it come to nothing is tough. We need the extra space after all - we weren't just moving on a whim - so we now have to go through winter like sardines. At least we'll keep warm!

To more important news - Miles is 6 months old today. I can't believe my little baby is growing up so fast. Faster than most actually as he's still on the 98th percentile for weight and somewhere above the 100th for height. He also appears to have 6 top teeth coming through at once which would explain his disrupted sleep of late. And all 4 of us have a pretty rotten cold and sore throat, which doesn't help matters.

In fact I think the cold affected Jody's balance last Friday, since she fell down the stairs for the first time in ages. I'd just turned round to pick up Miles and heard yelping behind me coming from Jody who was sprawled face down, head down, on the top half of our staircase. Luckily she was unhurt and not even very perturbed, but it came after a nasty headplant in the playground which left her with a scratched up face and hand and a fat lip.

She's enjoying being back at nursery though. And I'm enjoying the break enormously. The last couple of days Miles has slept for an hour once I've got back home in the morning so I've actually had some time to myself. And today I'm not going to spend any of it tidying up!

Thinking back to when Jody was his age, she was already nearly crawling. She would get around the place by linking rolls, and would prefer to sleep and play on her front so would roll over as soon as you put her down. She got her first couple of teeth about a week before she was 6 months. Miles, by contrast, doesn't move an inch! Put him on his front and he'll be crying to be turned over in less than 5 minutes. He can turn over but mostly chooses not to. He doesn't even push his chest far off the floor, which is the first step in learning to crawl. He is however, very keen to sit up which Jody wasn't. She didn't really learn to sit autonomously until after she was crawling whereas he will certainly sit long before he can move (I'm looking forward to that phase since they can reach out and grab toys but not get away!) He can't yet sit unaided but he's not far from it. He's also handling solids better than she did. He's tried apple, pear, sweet potato, beetroot and banana and basically will eat all of them happily enough. Today I'll be getting him onto two solid meals per day from one.

There's no point comparing their milestones though, since every baby is totally different and Miles and Jody are like chalk and cheese. I love it that way. I can't imagine having two similar siblings. The only way these two are similar is in their mischievous chubby cheeked grins!