Baby Update - 25 weeks

Age:  25 weeks

Weight: He was weighed at 24+5 weeks and was 14 lb 9 oz (6.62 kg) which is another pound on in 4 weeks and he's finally doubled his birth weight!  He's following his centiles nicely now which is a relief too.

Health: His nappies, reflux and eczema seemed to have improved quite nicely with me cutting out dairy but he's still not quite right - quite unsettled, lots of wind and not full resolution of the eczema.  As you'll see from the next paragraph we have started weaning and yesterday he had some avocado on toast which he loved - he didn't actually swallow much but he enjoyed chomping on it.  He was really unsettled all night, feeding every hour, a couple of really runny nappies and a lot of wind then today he's woken up with a nasty eczema flare on his face and had 2 nappy explosions, both of which have caused a rash on his back wherever the poop touched them (despite it being cleaned up within less than 5 minutes).  He had such a tiny amount that it may be coincidental but we are going to try avocado and toast separately in a few days to see if either causes the reaction - we think it may be bread as it has soya in it and it's not uncommon for babies with CMPA to have soya allergy too (and would explain why he improves off dairy but not entirely).

Feeding: He's still breastfeeding 2 hourly most of the time but has been going up to 3 hours at some point during the night most nights.  As I mentioned above the Health Visitor who weighed him gave us the go ahead to start weaning and suggested finger foods so we cracked on with baby-led weaning.  He has tried steamed broccoli and carrots which he wasn't keen on - he didn't seem to mind the taste but they were so soft he was having trouble holding on to them, they kept slipping out of his grip or just squashing in his hands.  He fed himself a little potato puree with a spoon which was a hit.  As mentioned above he really enjoyed avocado on toast and he loves sucking on a hard slice of apple or pear (as we found out when he stole mine and Ant's fruit).  He had a bit of omelette this morning with no obvious reaction so hopefully there's no egg allergy!  I'm really enjoying the weaning, even if it is a little scary, and he seems to be enjoying it too.

Sleep: Sleep has been up and down, we had a few nights where he was really settled until around 1 am then fed every couple of hours, got in bed with me at 6 am and slept until almost 9, which was great.  However, last night (possibly due to the food issue above) he fed almost every hour and was really upset in between - I finally caved and put him in bed with me around 5:30 am and he managed to sleep until just after 8 am but there was a lot of fidgeting and trumping!

Routine: I'm really struggling with wanting to take him to groups as they all fall around naptime. He's settled himself into a routine where he'll have about 45 minutes sleep in a morning, around 10 am, half an hour at lunchtime (around 1 or 1:30 pm) then a good 90 minutes-2 hours around 4:30 pm and all the classes are either 9:30-11 which hit his morning nap or 1:30-3 which hits his lunchtime nap and if I keep him awake when he's tired he then really struggles to get to sleep so I feel he's missing out.  Hopefully we will be able to start going to some afternoon classes once he drops his middle nap.  The only exception to this is swimming which is at 1 pm and unavoidable.  However, by the time we've got him home, bathed and fed it's around half 2 and a nightmare trying to get him to sleep so I wouldn't want to do it for other groups - I love swimming with him but dread Mondays for that reason!  

Likes/dislikes:  He's been moaning constantly for the last 4 days and just generally grumpy.  He's been really chewing at his fingers so I thought he might be teething but there's no red gums and we've been in this position before - I'm assuming it may be a developmental leap.  So this week he basically dislikes EVERYTHING!  He's only really enjoyed eating and swimming this week - although he did love the paddling pool at the weekend.  He does however love his Wubbanub dummy toy  because he can get it in his mouth easily and he likes holding onto the cuddly part and fiddling with it.

Firsts:  First paddling pool experience, first tastes of solid foods, first trip to the farm - it's been a busy week!

Milestones: He's FINALLY doubled his birth weight which is a big one for us, considering how slow he was to gain weight in the beginning!  I guess the big milestone this week is starting weaning and we're all having so much fun with it - it's great that daddy is home for a few hours in the middle of the day as it means he gets to join in too.

Things we did: We bought a paddling pool at the weekend and took OJ in it for a little bit - but typically it got cold and rainy 10 minutes later!  We went with some friends and their children to a farm park, again we got rained on and called it a day earlier than we would have liked (we were prepared for OJ but neither ALS nor I had a coat, dumb parents).  We had a massive blitz of our living room on Sunday and finally got everything organised, got some pictures on the wall and generally tidied the space up.  We've spent lots of time experimenting with foods and reading about weaning in the last few days and today we had a nice visit from ALS' parents.

Me: Honestly I'm a bit exasperated this week - I'm still full of cold so finding it hard to sleep and when I finally do manage to sleep OJ wakes up wanting a feed.  As I mentioned above he's been grumpy and making a constant moaning noise which is very draining and I feel like I'm not keeping him happy, which makes me sad.  I'm also dropping weight again and I'm now sitting at 53.1 kg (5.4 kg below my pre-pregnancy weight and a good deal lighter than I can ever remember being).  People keep commenting on it but I really have no idea what to do - I'm eating well and eating good amounts, even adding in dairy-free brownies and cookies to get some extra calories in!  It may be from breastfeeding and OJ stealing all my nutrients, along with the cold, but generally I only drop weight so rapidly when I'm having a flare of my illness and it's a sign of bad things to come... hopefully that isn't the case though.

24 weeks 1 day - finally back asleep after a 3 am wake up with his silly cough.

24 weeks 1 day - snoozing on his walk.

24 weeks 1 day - another nap, trying to catch up on his sleep so I slid away and replaced myself with a cushion (it didn't fool him for long).

24 weeks 2 days - using the paddling pool as a ball pit whilst daddy cut the grass.

24 weeks 2 days - "Are you nearly done yet daddy?"

24 weeks 2 days - finally in the paddling pool... for all of 10 minutes before it rained!

24 weeks 3 days - knackered from his trip to the farm.

24 weeks 5 days - first ever solid food, he wasn't convinced because he just kept squashing it and there was nothing left by the time he reached his mouth, he also didn't seem keen on the texture as he was pulling faces just touching it.

24 weeks 5 days - 10 minutes later he was happy to steal daddy's pear and have a good munch!

24 weeks 5 days - a little later on he spoon fed himself (and the table and me and the high chair and the floor and the cats) a little mashed potato which he rather enjoyed.

24 weeks 5 days - then he STILL stole some of my apple 10 minutes later!

24 weeks 6 days - absolutely loved his avocado on toast.

24 weeks 6 days - snuggling his Wubbanub!

25 weeks - serious face trying to get at the camera while I tried to take a picture of his nasty eczema (which looks fine on this photo).

25 weeks - omelette time!

25 weeks - decided the bib was tastier than the omelette...!

Baby Update - 24 weeks

Age:  24 weeks (except I'm posting a day late because I was too ill yesterday... and this is the second time I've typed it up because I did it this morning and it didn't save for some reason)

Weight: He is due to be weighed in a few days time so I'll update next week.

Health: He's had a nasty cough and cold this week, which he's kindly shared with me.  He's still been pretty chirpy but it's taken its toll on him a little!  It's hard to tell how his reflux is because he's coughing and vomiting so much anyway.

Feeding: He's getting much quicker at feeding now and all feeds tend to be under 10 minutes unless he's sleepy.  He's also really easily distracted.  He feeds 2 hourly most of the time but he usually goes for 4 hours in a morning - he'll feed around 6 am, sleep for a couple of hours then wake up and play until around 10 am, which is nice for letting me have a lie in when daddy's around to get up with him!

Sleep: Sleep hasn't been great but that's to be expected with him being all congested and coughing a lot.  However, the night before last he did go from 8:30 pm until 1:30 am which is the longest stretch we've had in a LONG time, I thought my boobs were going to explode!  When he naps in the day he regularly does this weird whining/crying thing in his sleep (it occasionally wakes him up) but never at night, it's really odd.

Routine: Nope... that's all I have to say about that!

Likes/dislikes:  He's absolutely loving swimming at the moment, we even got a smile after a submersion the other day for the first time.  He's really enjoying crinkly toys too and loves to chew on a spoon (or two).  He's really not a fan of being still, in fact I don't think he is EVER still.

Firsts:  First nasty cold, first time out in the sunshine without having to be bundled in warm clothes and blankets!

Milestones: He's really coming along with his sitting and can sit for a good 20 minutes or so, or until he sees something he wants that is out of reach and throws himself towards it!  He's also transferring objects (he has been for a few weeks but I keep forgetting) between hands and has learned to shake his rattles rather than just chewing on them.  He's so close to rolling back to front too - he can basically do it but when he realises he's on his front, rather than pulling his arm from under him he just rolls himself back over, which isn't surprising considering if we put him on his tummy he just rolls straight over.  He tends to be happiest on his side!

Things we did: We had a relatively quiet weekend, OJ spent lots of time with daddy whilst I prepared a load of purees for weaning.  However, I have decided I'd rather do baby led weaning so I'll probably end up using most of the purees in porridge etc. or just giving him the spoon and letting him go to town by himself.  For the last few days we've not really done much as we've both been poorly but we've had a couple of nice sunny walks and today we've cracked down on reorganising our living room and moving all the furniture into better positions so that OJ has more floor space.

Me: I'm absolutely full of cold and exhausted from both of us being poorly.  As OJ won't take a bottle and has been comfort feeding through his cold I'm having trouble fighting off my own cold.  ALS is amazing and takes as much of the pressure off as he can but unfortunately he doesn't have breasts!

23 weeks 1 day - still a bit too small for his 3-6 month outfit from his aunty in Australia but he's rocking the Simon Cowell look, don't you think?

23 weeks 1 day - he loves Lucozade bottles so I've made him some shakers, including the one between his legs, but he still insists on taking the one I'm drinking from!

23 weeks 1 day - happily munching on a spoon whilst mummy gets ready for weaning - he's a few weeks off starting yet but I like to be prepared.

23 weeks 2 days - loves a good selfie.

23 weeks 3 days - wakes up, goes for a snuggle with daddy, steals his phone... standard Sunday morning.

23 weeks 3 days - poorly boy snuggling my boob after lots of coughing fits and some milk to make it better.

23 weeks 4 days - 4 am wake up call with lots of coughing and sneezing, poor little mite.

23 weeks 4 days - fast asleep again by 7 am after lots of milk and snuggles.

23 weeks 5 days - sitting up like a pro!

23 weeks 5 days - isn't he just the cutest?!

23 weeks 5 days - he was ignoring his toys and trying to eat my foot but caught me when I tried to take a photo... I think his face says it all!

23 weeks 6 days - in his first summer outfit looking smiley because he learned how to share (his cold) and then looking thoughtful because I told him he didn't need to share everything and I didn't really want it - I jest, he was trying to figure out an answer on The Chase haha!

23 weeks 6 days - is this how baby led weaning works? (Disclaimer:  We haven't started weaning early or given him a whole packet of snacks, the packet wasn't open but he loves playing with anything that crinkles).

24 weeks - another 4 am start but with daddy this time, lucky daddy had him back asleep in half an hour and he was still like this when I got up at 8 am.

24 weeks - impromptu trip out in his little sunhat (cue me panicking because he would be too hot in the footmuff but I didn't have anything else to cover him with and I had nothing to shade his face... I was much more prepared later on when we went out again).

I'm a big advocate of home cooked food for babies but there will be times where we are in a pinch and need something practical (such as at competitions) so we've stocked up on these goodies for special occasions.  How awesome are the Ella's Kitchen pouches with the attachable spoons?  OJ should be able to have a good go at feeding himself with those too!  Also, we are low on storage space in the kitchen and need to reorganise so for now we are using an empty cat food box to store all his bits and bobs... whatever works, right?

Baby Update - 23 weeks

Age:  23 weeks

Weight: He ended up being weighed in A&E on Saturday night at 22+2 and was 6.36 kg (14 lb) so he's finally hit a stone and had put half a pound on in just under 2 weeks!  It's great to know that even whilst I've been on dairy he's continued his weight gain.

Health: I'm adding this as a new section because we keep running into problems and this is the easiest place for me to keep an accurate record of what's going on.  Last Friday our GP increased his ranitidine to the maximum dose for his weight and asked us to give it a week to see how he got on.  Unfortunately on Saturday night he has a really nasty choking episode, completely unprovoked, and ended up struggling with his breathing.  We called 111 who sent us to A&E - I cannot praise them enough as we were seen and dealt with in under 2 hours thanks to a dedicated Children's A&E at our local hospital.  They added Gaviscon in alongside his ranitidine and asked me to give it a few days to see the effect then come off dairy again.  Unfortunately we can't get him to take the Gaviscon so the GP advised us to leave it and just wait for the hospital appointment next month.  He's been super uncomfortable for about an hour before pooping and pooping every couple of hours, his skin has really flared up with the eczema spreading and he's congested, coughing and generally unhappy.  He's really uncomfortable on his back now too, to the point where even changing his nappy is hard because he's writhing around and gagging.  This seems to have coincided with an increase in my dairy intake over Easter so hopefully now I'm off dairy again (as of tomorrow) he will feel better.  Roll on 15th May because I'm sick of seeing him suffering all the time and we seem to be getting nowhere - I feel like the GP isn't taking me seriously because he is always happy when we see her - typical!

Feeding: He's coughing a lot during feeding and still wanting to feed very regularly, especially at night.  He definitely feeds for comfort too so hopefully when his reflux is better he won't need to feed so often.  He seems to really be ready for weaning so I'm excited to get started - for now I'm giving him a sippy cup with a little water in and a spoon to play with in his highchair whilst I eat my dinner - he ends up soaked but he really enjoys it!

Sleep: Sleep is shocking - he's rarely going more than 2 hours and by 3 am he's awake every hour.  Even if I put him in our bed he is fidgety and uncomfortable so neither of us sleep well.  He's waking up coughing or being sick at night, he's congested and snoring and just generally unsettled.  However, I have been getting him to nap longer than 30 minutes in the day by gently rousing him a little after 25 minutes to interrupt his sleep cycle and get him into a deeper sleep - a tip I picked up from the IVF/mummy community on Instagram!

Routine: Mostly just trying to get through the days/nights without losing my mind and counting the minutes til daddy comes home so we can parent together.  I often can't wait for daddy to take over so I can have a bath but in half an hour I'm missing my baby and head back, it's just nice to have the adult company too.

Likes/dislikes:  He's turning into a proper gigglebum and loves simple things like you blowing gently on his face, the anticipation is hilarious to him too!  He's hating nappy changes at the moment because he's so uncomfortable and obviously doesn't understand that the more he wriggles the longer it takes.

Firsts:  First time going to a playcentre and trying a Jumperoo - they aren't good for baby's walking development if you use them a lot but a few minutes on an odd occasion is fun.  First A&E trip which is a big one!

Milestones: He's finally moved into 3-6 month clothes in the last few days - although they're still a bit big! It's always great putting him in new cute outfits for the first time.

Things we did: We had a productive weekend doing stuff around the house and seeing some friends with their kids at a soft play centre.  I've been using the evenings to read up on weaning and plan the first couple of weeks.  Today we went out for lunch with my mum and grandparents too. At home we are working hard on sitting/rolling and doing lots of story/song time.

Me: I mostly just look like an extra from The Walking Dead and I'm pretty tired.  I have a really short fuse at the moment, maybe because I use all my patience dealing with OJ so I have none left for anyone else.  Thankfully ALS is wonderful, both as a father and husband, so I'm incredibly lucky!

22 weeks 1 day - flipped himself over on my lap and headed straight for daddy's Easter egg!

22 weeks 2 days - playing with his toys while we got some pictures up on the wall.

22 weeks 2 days - just after being discharged from A&E, waiting for his medicine.

22 weeks 3 days - could he look any more fed up?

22 weeks 4 days - replaced myself with cushions so I could get some food!

22 weeks 5 days - first 3-6 month outfit, how cute?!

22 weeks 5 days - I just love those little cheeks <3

22 weeks 5 days - a rare sight of him sleeping in his Moses basket!

22 weeks 5 days - everyone was sleeping (although the camera woke the cats) so I got a hot meal, miracles do happen.  NB. OJ woke up 3 mouthfuls in so I had to eat quickly but I'm still counting it as a win!

22 weeks 6 days - rocking his little Star Wars jumper!

23 weeks - little dungarees which lasted approximately 30 minutes before he pooped on them... this doesn't even look like him!

Baby Update - 22 weeks

Age:  22 weeks

Weight: He isn't due to be weighed again until the end of the month.

Feeding: He's been a bit fidgety with his feeding and he chokes on his milk often too.  I tried him with a bottle again this morning and he didn't scream but seemed more interested in chewing on the teat and drank very little.  Since I've been back on dairy he has had really explosive, watery and mucousy nappies, he's been more fidgety with feeds and his eczema has really flared up so I have no idea what to think!  I'm waiting on a call back from the GP tomorrow to see what she suggests while we await our Paediatrician appointment in May.

Sleep: We had a few good nights where he would feed around 9, 1, 4 and then 6-7 with good sleep in between but last night he was wide awake from 2 onwards - he wasn't upset but certainly wasn't going to sleep.  He would drift off and catnap then be wide awake again.  Fortunately ALS had a late start this morning so around 7 am he took him for a couple of hours between feeds while I caught up on some sleep.

Routine: After battling with what other people think I've decided to stop caring and go back to a baby guided routine.  I'm letting him just sleep when he's tired (although desperately trying to catch the sleep windows so he doesn't get overtired) and if that means a later bedtime then so be it - at least that way I often get to sleep until 9 am.  It works for us and once he's older and in his own room we can work on bringing bedtime earlier ready for starting nursery.

Likes/dislikes:  He's really enjoying sitting in his ClevaCushion and playing independently.  He also absolutely LOVES BabyTV, which I limit to just a few minutes a day at teatime so I can get a hot meal - I watch it with him and talk to him about what's happening.  He doesn't like the fact that he's not allowed my food and managed to burn his fingers earlier by lunging at me and sticking them in my dinner (bad mummy) - there's fortunately no visible damage and he calmed down very quickly so I think it was just a shock!  Roll on weaning!

Firsts:  First Easter - although too young for Easter eggs yet! First real attempt at sitting and he's getting stronger each day.  First time being awake lots in the night (not bad for 5 months) not for feeding or reflux reasons.

Milestones: Sitting unsupported for a good 5 minutes or so at his great-grandma's house!  He's so close to rolling back to front but just isn't quite there yet.

Things we did: We had a very busy Easter weekend! He saw ALL of his grandparents/great-grandparents in one weekend which hasn't happened since the first weekend he was born. We went to a friend's for a takeaway on Friday and he got to see his cousin. We went swimming and then had the gym squad round for pizza on Sunday. We went to the story/singing griup again which he loved too! We also went to ASDA and picked up a load of 3-6 month clothes ready for the transition as he's growing faster now. 

Me: I'm trying hard to just do what's right for us as a family without worrying what others think but it's hard!  I'm also trying to find time to keep on top of things like exercise and doing the washing - I was doing it when OJ went down at night but it's like he can sense that I've left the room so wakes up and then won't settle for ALS. In the daytime he rarely naps anywhere other than on me (and if I put him down his nap ends up short so I'm just letting him sleep on me in the interest of him getting enough sleep).  It is getting slightly easier now he will entertain himself for a bit but it's not long enough to get a full workout in, plus I don't really enjoy working out at home - I do love my weekend gym sessions though!  I'm keeping motivated though as I've signed myself up for a charity deadlift competition in May!

21 weeks 1 day - looking a little like Dopey from Snow White with his hat on wonky!

21 weeks 2 days - he loves bathtime!

21 weeks 2 days - bedtime story with his Wubbanub.

21 weeks 3 days - looking fancy and stealing our friend's hat!

21 weeks 3 days - not sure he knows how to wear a cap yet...

21 weeks 4 days - 5 month growth photo!

21 weeks 6 days - looking in amazement while I expressed some milk.

22 weeks - toys galore and all he wants is my bottle!

22 weeks - trying to get at my toastie... it's hard to say no to those eyes!

22 weeks - it's taken 5 months but I finally got a photo of his gorgeous little bottom lip... he doesn't wake up well!