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

11 & 12 Weeks...

Its a twelve week miracle…I'm on time, Max is twelve weeks today!

12 Weeks Today

These last two weeks have been so much fun, I feel like the little dude has made a huge jump in his development and his little personality is really starting to shine through.

Watching the Tour De France

Max is such a cheeky smiley baby who can easily be distracted from crying with a silly noise or face.  He has some pretty awesome faces himself…my favourite is the one sided eyebrow raise!

The Many Faces Of Max

He's started to become a little shy around new faces…unless you are a pretty blonde, in which case you will be showered with smiles.  Such a flirt already!

So Smiley!

We're still loosely following the EASY routine.  In terms of the activity element it's much more interactive now as Max needs more entertaining.  He loves his play mat and can now intentionally hit the hanging toys rather than waving his arms around and hitting whatever was in his path!

It Takes A Lot Of Concentration To Catch An Octopus!

We're also making progress with sleeping (unfortunately not sleeping through the night yet!).  We swapped Max's crib for a cot and he is sleeping much better…no more whacking his hands against the side and waking himself up!  He's also managed to fall asleep without being held a few times in the last couple of weeks.  This development is kind of bittersweet for me as I know he needs to be able to self settle and its a big part of him being able to sleep better, but it also feels like the first of many steps away from me.

Sweet Dreams

We love you more and more everyday Max

9 & 10 Weeks...

I am so behind on weeks 9 and 10 as we are officially nearly into week 12.  From week 12 I think I am going to drop down to updating once a month.  So what has the little dude been up to in 9th and 10th weeks?

9 Weeks

10 Weeks

It was a busy few weeks which involved lots of new discoveries…the main one being his hands!  Many hours of fun are now being had sucking on those chubby little hands and desperately trying to suck his thumb.

We had a couple of nights where he dropped his last feed (11/12ish) which was absolute bliss unfortunately this break through coincided with his first lot of jabs so we were back to feeding every 3 hours after that…fingers crossed we'll get that longer chunk of sleep again soon as it really did make a huge difference to how I was feeling and functioning through the day.

Big sunglasses for me to hide the bags under my eyes…little sunglasses for the dude!

We also started attending a free baby massage class in one of our local children's centers.  The first class was a bit of a disaster and we only managed about 10 minutes of massage, but we managed the full session at the next class so I think it was just a case of getting used to it.  We are incredibly lucky to have such amazing, and free, resources where we live and David the teacher is great at putting all the Mums and babies at ease especially when the babies start to get a bit ratty!

We also celebrated Mr O's first Fathers Day!  The little dude 'made' Mr O and my Dad cards…he also bought Mr O a Starbuck's voucher to help him get through those long days at work when he hasn't had much sleep!

Happy Fathers Day Daddy and Grandad

We love you more and more everyday Max

7 & 8 Weeks...

2 Months Today!

7 Weeks

8 Weeks

The last two weeks have been a lot of fun, Max is so interactive now when he's awake…we get so many smiles and even a few giggles while being changed - I have to be honest though this makes me slightly nervous as it as if he is plotting his next 'pee attack'!  He really does seem to love his changing mat and wriggles so much with excitement (after he's been changed, before he is not happy at all, that boy does not like a wet nappy!)

Sleep-wise there is no real change.  I am expressing in the morning so Mr O can do the last feed of the day (11/12ish).  After this feed Max goes down into his crib until about 3ish.  When I feed him again and he tends to sleep on me after this, naughty I know and I am planning on working hard at getting back into his crib after this feed.  He'll then sleep though until about 6.30/7.  I'm hoping that he'll drop the 3 o'clock feed sooner rather than later, but for now this routine seems to be working for us.  Whilst of the subject of sleep I have to say I love the little snores and smiles that seem to happen once he's into a really deep sleep.

4am Smiles!

During the day we don't have much of a routine, but we are trying to follow The Baby Whisperers EASY routine.  Basically feed (Eat), play/change (Activity) and Sleep.  The beauty of this 'routine' is that it is pretty flexible in terms of timings.  On a 'normal' day Max will go for about 3 hours between feeds, but if he gets hungrier earlier or sleeps for longer its no biggie as it is the steps you're following rather that a clock.

In Conversation With An Underwater Dinosaur!

Max has a bath most evenings at 7 when Mr O gets in from work while I try and do a quick tidy up and get dinner going.  Max loves the bath, but is not a big fan of getting out…cold and wet is not a good combination!  We started a baby massage class at our local children's centre and I am hoping to add this into the bathtime/bedtime routine soon.  We had Max weighed at the class as they have a health visitor present and he is now 5.3kg!  He's starting to get that chubby baby look with wrinkles around his knees and ankles…love it!

 Baby wrinkles

We had some great news from the doctor that we could stop the baby gaviscon we were giving Max 6 times a day.  We're still giving ranitidine 3 times a day and this seems to be keeping Max's reflux under control…hooray, its so nice to have out happy little man back.  Fingers crossed he will grow out of the reflux soon.

We love you more and more everyday Max

First Month Essentials..

As we are now half way through our second month with Max I thought I would share a few of the things that we found really useful. You can fill your home with all sorts of baby related gadgets and gizmos, but these are in my opinion the essentials…

Water Wipes...

Official advice is to not use anything on your newborns skin other than water and suggests using cooled boiled water and cotton wool to clean up after a dirty nappy.  This is all well and good until you are squashed into a tiny toilet cubicle in a cafe trying to clean up what can only be described as a poo explosion! Step forward water wipes...they are 99.9% water and the only wipes suitable for newborns.  We are buying them in bulk from Amazon so they are working out at a similar price to other baby wipes

Nappy Bin...

Living in a one bedroom, second floor flat space is at a premium and trekking down two flights of stairs to the communal bin store after every nappy change is not an option.  After looking at various solutions to our potentially smelly predicament we settled on the tommee tippee sangenic bin - it takes up hardly any room and it's super easy to use - you just pop the dirty nappy in the top and twist to seal it away with no smell or germs - what more could you want!  Check it our here.

Muslins...

Lots and lots of muslins! We bought a few ourselves and were given lots and honestly I thought we had too many...how wrong could I be! I would say we have JUST about enough as long as we do a wash every other day!

Steriliser...

Although we are not bottle feeding we've still been putting our steriliser through its paces mainly for dummy's and the various bits and pieces to administer Max's medicines.  I'm hoping to start expressing this week (wish me luck) so it will be getting even more use.  We went for the tommee tippee steam steriliser purely because a) we don't have a microwave so a countertop version was our only option and b) it was part of a starter kit that was on special on amazon during their baby event!  It's still pretty good value now.

Washing machine...

Last but by no means least a washing machine! Our washing machine decided to give up the ghost the week we brought Max home...thanks for that!  Mr O managed to patch it up with some picture wire and cork (don't ask me, that man can fix pretty much anything!) until we could get a new one ordered.  Now, it's been a while since I have had to buy a washing machine so I admit I am a little out of touch, but I was not expecting a spaceship to be delivered! Aside from looking pretty slick the Samsung Eco Bubble is also very user friendly and includes a useful 15min quick wash and our most used programme...the special baby wash, which includes extra rinses to ensure no detergent is left on the fabrics to irritate babies sensitive skin. Genius!

Baby Bouncer...

Our was very kindly donated by a friend who's two girls had grown out of it and it is worth it's weight in gold! Not only does it allow me to have a shower in the morning while being able to keep an eye on Max (I bring him into the bathroom with me), it also and more importantly soothes any overtired meltdowns with its gentle vibrating.  Our's is no longer in stock, but you this one is very similar.

6 Weeks...

We're only a day late!!

This week has been a lot of fun…I feel like we're finding our groove.  Its also been filled with lots of good news for close friends…new babies, engagements and pregnancies.  So exciting!

This week has been filled with so many smiles, they are such genuine smiles that can light up a room and make every hour of missed sleep worth it.

We're slowly getting Max's reflux under control, he is currently on infant gaviscon which we are giving him six times a day in the middle of feeds.  It's a bit of a pain to administer, but once we ditched the syringe and swapped to a dropper we're doing much better…although Max is not impressed by his meal being interrupted half way through!  We've also been prescribed ranitidine which we are going to start him on this weekend.

Last weekend was a bank holiday weekend and all of my siblings came to see us at one point or another…on Saturday we headed into Fulham with my brother and sister-in-law where we tried out a sushi place Mr O had found.  Having not had sushi for about 10 months I found myself really craving it last week and the tiny Don2 tucked around the back of Fulham Broadway certainly fit the bill.

Sunday morning started with cuddles for Max from my sister before we were 'kicked' out of the flat by Mr O so that he could give it a really good clean.  There are worse things to be banished for!  So we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went for a walk and then headed to the park.

On our walk I was really taken by this gate, I'm not sure what it is about it…the colour, the weathered look or the contrast with the sky, but something about it made me stop and smile.  One day when I have a house I would like my side gate to be mint green and I hope it will make me stop and smile everyday…

With a smile on our faces and we headed back to our lovely spotless flat (Thanks Mr O) just in time for my other brother to head over for dinner.

We had planned a picnic in Virginia Water on Monday, but the rain had other ideas so we quickly changed the plans to a wet walk followed by dinner at The Wheatsheaf Pub next door.

I don't think any of us had realised just quite how hard it was raining!

I mentioned in my last post that I feel like we are slowly getting ourselves into a little routine, we've ben building on that this week.  Max is still going for about 3 hours between feeds and this week we have added in a regular bath time to try and start a bedtime routine.  Mr O baths Max at 7 when he gets in from work, while I cook dinner and attempt to tidy away the debris of the day.  After his bath Max falls asleep in his bouncer until his next feed at around 9ish.  After this I tend to head to bed while Mr O and Max hang out.

At first Max wasn't too sure about the bath, but he seems to really enjoy it now…although he is not a fan of getting out, he hates the cold, so we need to wrap him up in a towel quick!

One major achievement this week was getting Max to sleep in his crib!  He is still not managing the whole night in there, but he is going down in there and goes back in there after his first feed of the night, but we are still struggling to get him to settle after his second feed.  I think this may have something to do with his reflux…fingers crossed we'll see some improvement when we start the ratinidine.

Enough with all the pictures Mum!!

We love you more and more everyday Max ...

4 & 5 Weeks...

Gosh, I am really behind and time is flying by…I kinda want to press pause and make sure that I am savouring every second and not getting swept up in the day to day.

Its been a tough few weeks here, Max has been diagnosed with reflux which has thrown our little family unit through a loop.  We're giving him infant gaviscon 6 times a day and it does seem to be helping a bit…fingers crossed we keep seeing improvements as it is heartbreaking seeing the little man in so much pain.

On a more positive note weeks 4 and 5 have been great fun...

Despite a worry over Max's weight due to the reflux he is gaining nicely and is now at 4.5kg (9lb 14oz) We've been incredibly lucky that he's a great feeder and with the help of the Baby Feed app we're starting to notice a pattern to his feeds.  He's currently feeding every three hours like clockwork.  I thought we were a bit all over the place, but seeing it in black and white showed there was a pattern…hooray!

The little man's hair is getting lighter and his eyelashes darker and longer…man, am I jealous of those eyelashes!

Max rewarded us for all our sleepless nights with a gorgeous smile on Sunday (18th May) and miraculously I managed to catch it on camera…

…how gorgeous!!

We love you more and more everyday Max...

3 Weeks

3 weeks today and I think he is getting even more gorgeous!

Mr O went back to work this week so Max and I have been flying solo, its exhausting, but I feel like we are slowly finding our groove.  Max has had a lot of wind this past week which makes him pretty uncomfortable, it breaks my heart to see him in pain.  We've started him on infacol which seems to be helping a bit, fingers crossed it will keep getting better.

Its been another busy week with 30th Birthday celebrations for my brother and Max's first bath!

Its was lovely to have the whole family together this weekend and Max did amazingly well being passed around as everyone wanted a hold.  His outfit for lunch on Sunday was a particular hit (you can buy similar here)…I on the other hand need to reconnect with my 

We love you more and more everyday Max…

2 Weeks...

Just a week behind on this one!  Time really does fly when you are having fun!

Week 2 was a pretty busy week for us with lots of visitors and trips out and about.  Max had his final midwife appointment this week and he is doing so well in the weight department the midwife couldn't quite believe how much weight he had put on and weighed him twice to double check!

We also headed down to the Register Office to register Max…he's now an official person!

Max is such a good baby, he only ever cries if we don't read his signs quickly enough when he is hungry or needing a change.  He loves to sleep with his hands up by his head and when he's being cuddled he really snuggles down so much so that I can see exactly how he was before he made his appearance in the big wide world.

We love you more and more everyday Max…

We Had A Baby...

As you probably guessed from the radio silence we had our baby!  Max arrived into the world in quite dramatic style last Thursday weighing in at 7lbs.  At some point I will piece together the whole birth story, but for now here are a few pictures of our gorgeous boy on his one week birthday.

I grew you! (Day 4)

I am so blessed (Day 2)

Home time! (Day 5)

Whilst its only been a week I feel like I have known you forever (1 Week)

We love you so much already Max!

WOW...

…what a week!

The past 7 days have been off the chart crazy.  My parents exchanged on their house and found out they are completing next week which gives us one weekend (yes, ONE!) to get about 6 people and 37 years worth of stuff into storage, I finished work for a whole year, I had my first really though day of pregnancy, my Sister and best friend threw me the best baby shower and we had a tour around the birth centre, which if all stays on track is where Baby O will be born…so, not much happened really(!), but in case you are interested lets break it down a bit.

…selling houses…

Whilst my siblings and I have all long since moved out of the family home we were very lucky as children to never moved houses and have enjoyed having the certainty of knowing we had something solid to return to, whether to celebrate happy occasions together or to use as a sanctuary during tough times.   When my parents decided a few years back that they wanted to retire to Poole (Dorset) a few years back we all new the day when our family home would no longer be ours, but adopted the ostrich stance apart from during the last couple of Christmases it was mentioned that this could be our last here, which inevitable led to some tears around the table.  The house had been on the market for over a year when a positive offer was made and now it feels like everything is moving in double time.  The whole  family will unite this weekend to pack up our home and we will wave goodbye to our parents standing in the driveway one last time (the exact same spot they waved goodbye at us from the first time we walked to school on our own, went to a school disco, took our first solo drive after passing our tests and harding off to university.  I am so happy they are finally able to settle properly in Poole and enjoy they're retirement, but I am really going to miss that place!

…last day and feeling rotten…

Friday was my last day at work and I don't think it has sunk in yet that I have a whole YEAR off!  Yes, I know it is not going to be a holiday with a new born, but it will be a different kind of work.   I have worked for the same company for 10 years and now is the perfect time for a bit of a break.  I love my job, but it can be all consuming at times.  It will be good for me to have some time to re-evaluate and re-prioritise.  Friday was also the toughest day of my pregnancy so far and yes it may well be connected to the emotional turmoil of handing over my job that I have worked so hard at to someone else.  I woke up just feeling a little odd, but this progressed to feeling awful by the evening.  I did a couple of times think, eek is this it?  And then eek, if its not can I cope when it is?  Because I was not coping well that evening, NOTHING I did offered any comfort…not the two baths I had, not the hot water bottle Mr O made, not bouncing on my exercise ball, not walking, not lying down…nothing!  I wanted my sister that I may have to cancel my baby shower the next day.  Good news is though when I finally managed to get some sleep I woke up on Saturday morning totally fine.  Who knows what it was, but it made me so grateful for how well my pregnancy and Baby O have treated me so far.

…baby shower…

My sister and best friend excelled themselves.  I had no idea what the plan was for the afternoon on Saturday, so when they arrived in the morning laden with bags I was more than a little intrigued!  As you can see form the pictures they decorated the flat beautifully with a star theme (a theme we hope to carry through to Baby O's nursery once we have one!)  We also played a Mr and Mrs style game and everyone had to guess name, birth date and weight on the leaves of a beanstalk.  Everyone then went home with a pot jelly beans from Bean and some M&Ms as a thank you.  In case you are wondering why the bean references Bean is the nickname we have for Baby O.  Baby O and I were incredibly spoilt with a huge number of truly lovely and utterly unexpected gifts.  I really do have the best family and friends!

 …birth centre…

Its all getting a bit real now!  Last night we popped along to the birth prep class at the Queen Charlottes birth centre (BC) where one of the lovely midwives took us through what giving birth in the BC is like as opposed to the labour ward.  The BC had always been my preference and after hearing from the midwife yesterday and having a look at the rooms available in the BC it has just confirmed my want to deliver Baby O there.  The atmosphere is so calm and supportive, they offer one to one care and Mr O will be able to stay overnight with Baby O and me once he is delivered.  While writing this post it has just hit me that we will, if all goes to plan, meet our little boy in one of those rooms we visited last night!!!

Long post, but last week was a biggie!