7 Month Update...

The little dude is 7 months…closer to a his first birthday than to being a newborn.

 

This month has been an exciting one with lots of new developments.  First up we have a tooth!  Whilst there were a few unsettled days and nights in the lead up of said tooth popping through, I think on balance we got away with it pretty lightly.  He's such a strong little fella.

Weaning is going well.  We are still going down the baby led weaning path so not a huge amount is being eaten, but the little dude does seem to be enjoying exploring all the different tastes and textures.  This week it feels as though there has been a bit of a breakthrough and we are seeing some chewing action and I am sure more is being swallowed now.

The crazy little dude has a real love of shaking his head back and forward as if he is saying no, which makes for some very amusing moments as I am talking to him throughout the day!

He's a very curious little thing much like his favourite TV character Curious George.  He doesn't watch a lot of TV, but he does enjoy an episode of Curious George as we wind down towards bath time.  Bath time is a real hoot now as splashing has been discovered and whoever is bathing him tends to end up as wet as him!

I'm so proud of the personality that we see developing before us…we love you more and more everyday little dude.

6 Month Update...

I know I was crazy late posting the little dude's 5 month update, but seriously it feels like yesterday and now here I am typing the words 6 months…HALF A YEAR!

This month has been a month of highs and lows.  I'll get the low out of the way first so we can focus on the positives.

The weekend before last we ended up in hospital with the little dude being diagnosed with meningitis.  The only other time I have felt fear like it was when he was whisked away in an incubator after he was born.  Whilst it was incredibly scary we are definitely some of the lucky ones.  It was caught early, we had an amazing medical team around us and thankfully turned out to be viral rather than bacterial.  Once I have had a chance to process what has happened I will write more on the experience as I have become rather passionate about raising awareness of the signs and the team we had looking after us deserve recognition.

Now on to the fun stuff!

First up the little dude found his feet!  It's so funny to watch him discover his own body.  After discovering his feet he has spent the rest of the month trying to get them into his mouth.  Which is pretty much where everything ends up at the moment!

We've also been hearing his first proper belly laughs…we've had lots of giggles over the past months, but these are real hearty laughs.   One of the easiest ways to get a proper laugh is to tickle the little dude…feet, arms, tummy, neck it doesn't seem to matter where he is one ticklish little dude!

Before our hospital drama we had almost managed sleeping through, but this is well and truly out of the window for now.  Once the little dude is back to full health we'll start working on that again.  On the flip side he doesn't seem to have any interest in his dummy since we've been back home so hopefully we can ditch that for good.

The little dude is really starting to play properly…his favourite toys at his toy phone (which has saved my phone from becoming a very expensive teething toy!), his dinosaur, his caterpillar, building blocks and any soft book.

The biggest event this month though would have to be weaning.  We're following the baby lead weaning route which the little dude seems to be enjoying.  The very first food we tried him of was broccoli and green beans…

We love you more and more everyday little dude x

5 Month Update...

I am super late with this months update…I know I have said it before, but I really don't know where the days go.  This is even more true now with the little dude being more active and sleeping less during the day…that said the last month has been one of my favourites so far.  Watching the little dude change and develop new skills everyday is such a privilege.

This month saw our first roll, which we all got a little over excited about as they have been few and far between since then.  I get the feeling he has shown us he can do it and therefore 'ticked the box' and is now ready to move on to other more interesting things!  One of those things being sitting!  We had a pretty difficult week towards the end of the month, where he seemed very out of sorts and I couldn't work out why and to be honest put it down to teething…but we were soon shown why, the little dude no longer wanted to lie down as he could sit unaided.  The first few days were a little wobbly, but after some practise he is now a champion sitter!  

Coupled with the move to siting seems to be developing preference for sleeping on his side.  Both Mr O and I sleep on our sides so I suppose it is only to be expected, but it is a little funny seeing him smoosh his face into the side of the buggy or car seat when he's tired!  

 

We also had our last lot of jabs this month and I couldn't have been more proud of how the little dude dealt with them.  He had to have one in each leg and for the first one he just did a funny fake cry (also a new development) and then giggle and for the second one he cried for about 10 seconds and then promptly feel asleep…can't ask for better than that.

In terms on routine things are still pretty much the same…feeding every 3 or so hours, although in the night this is starting to stretch (hooray!), 3ish naps a day (the 11.30 nap gets dropped every now and then), bath time is tending to be a little earlier and we put him straight to bed now rather than bringing him back into the living room with us which is much better for everyone.

 

One of my favourite things this month though has to be all the crazy faces that have been pulled…lots of poking out of the tongue (and of course raspberries), sucking of top or bottom lips and one I like to call the frog!

5 months is a great age…can't wait to see what next month brings!

We love you more and more everyday little dude x

4 Month Update...

Four months…how on earth did that happen!?

There have been so many changes since the last update and even though I have been trying to note things down as they happen I am sure there are more I have forgotten.

We are so lucky to have such a happy smiley baby, he still only really cries when there is something wrong and 99% of the time as soon as it is fixed he's back to his ultra cute smiley self.

This month saw the little dude have his second set of vaccinations and his BCG.  He was such a trooper and didn't even cry for the BCG.

He's been developing at such a pace it's hard to keep up with…

- if you poke your tongue out at him he'll poke his right back!  We had a couple of weeks where that tiny tongue was poking out all the time!
- we have a thumb sucker on our hands, although that doesn't mean he's given up the dummy…he'll happily swap between the two.  I'm pretty sure he would have sucked his thumb from birth, he used to get so frustrated in the hospital when he had the splint on and couldn't get to his thumb, but it's surprised me that it took him until now to find it again.
- he's trying so so hard to roll  from his back to his tummy and is nearly there, but hasn't quite got the momentum to go all the way yet.  There were a couple of front to back rolls during one tummy time session, but he was so shocked by the landing that he hasn't attempted it again!
- he's desperate to sit up and is no longer happy lying for down for anything much longer than five minutes now even on his play mat.  We've started using our bumbo for short periods of time and he LOVES it!

Nap times have become a bit more structured he tends to have a couple of shorter naps in the morning and then a longer one in the afternoon.  If we've had a particularly busy day he might have a second one in the afternoon.  We were making some progress in moving nap times out of his bouncy chair and into the cot, but if I'm honest we've regressed a bit here…must get back onto that.  I've also found that when he's over tired and struggling to sleep singing really helps.  Our current favourite is 'Lets Go Fly A Kite'

All of the above developments are amazing, but the best thing ever was hearing his first proper precious giggle…the absolute best sound in the world ever.  I now spend pretty much ever waking moment trying to make the little dude laugh…nothing better.

We love you more and more everyday little dude x