Baby Update - 34 weeks old

Age:  34 weeks 

Weight: He won't be weighed for a few weeks now.

Health: He woke up at 4 am on Saturday morning with a temperature of 39.4 which freaked us out but he seemed okay.  We stripped him off (not that he was wearing much anyway), gave him some Calpol and within half an hour it was back down to 37.  He seemed fine on Saturday but since then he's had quite a lot of watery nappies and a couple of periods of projectile reflux each day so we think he might have a bit of a bug.  He gets quite upset for about 20 minutes before he poops and it's been waking him early in the morning some days, like today, so we'll see how he goes but if it doesn't settle down I'll take him to the doctors next week.

Feeding: He's back to eating pretty well, although his appetite has been variable with the heat.  He's really got the hang of biting chunks of food now, although he often ends up letting the chunk he's bitten drop out of his mouth because he's not softened it by sucking on it first.  He's finally taking little sips of water but will only really have it if it's out of my water bottles so I'm going to try and get him a smaller version of them.  He's been having a bit more milk overnight and longer feeds during the day, although no more often, so I think he may be having a growth spurt, although it could just be down to the fact that it's so warm outside.

Sleep: The last 3 days have involved danger naps, where he's woken around 6 pm, so the earliest we've had him in bed is 9 and the latest is 10:30.  It's been hard getting him down due to the heat as well, our bedroom has been up to 30 degrees some evenings so we've had to keep him out of there until the sun moves round and it cools down! He's been napping quite well though and not sleeping too badly at night, except for the occasional early wake up with his stomach bugging him.  It's really not stressed me out at all as I'm just letting him dictate the pace for now.  He was so sleepy at lunchtime today that he was almost falling asleep in his highchair, which is unusual for him but he'd been up since 4:30 with only one short nap so he was well overdue a sleep!  I'm writing this as he's lay at the bottom of our bed flat out in just a nappy because he's too hot to fall asleep on me but every time I put him in his cot he rolls over, kicks the bars and wakes himself up.  I'm sure he has restless legs or something, he's incapable of being still even in his sleep!!

Routine: Even less of a routine than previous thanks to this heat!

Likes/dislikes:  He likes his new Tuff Tray and I can't wait to try out some more messy play ideas with him.  He's obsessed with being on his feet.  He dislikes the fact that he's not on the move yet and we're really trying to encourage him to crawl or bum shuffle, just to keep him a little happier.  His new love this week is David Attenborough documentaries, particularly water based ones!  He's really enjoying We're Going on a Bear Hunt at the moment too.

Firsts:  First time in the paddling pool at the local park.  First time playing in the garden on the grass.  First time playing in his Tuff Tray.  First time sitting in the big boy seat in the shopping trolley.

Milestones:  He pulled to stand on the furniture this week (well, daddy's toolbox) but it's hard as we don't have anything of an appropriate height for him to reach up.  He's also learned to pivot himself around in a circle while sitting so he can reach more things.

Things we did: We've bought a "Tuff Tray" so we've had some sensory play in that with porridge oats.  We visited lots of family and friends at the weekend then spent some time playing in the garden as a family.  We had swimming on Monday which he was a bit less grumpy about this week. Yesterday I walked to the local park to meet a friend from my baby walking group (which I've not been to since Christmas due to a lack of car and then it stopping).  Today Nana and Grandpapa came to visit too.

Me: I'm back to feeling a little better again this week - I've had a reasonable amount of sleep and finally caught up on energy from last weekend.  I'm in the middle of writing myself a new workout programme (with a little help from ALS) which I'm feeling good about.  I'm really not enjoying the heat, mostly because our house gets ridiculously hot, but we're slowly finding ways to cope!

Also I took LOADS of photos this week which makes me happy!

33 weeks 1 day - enjoys his first ride in the big boy seat, despite clinging on for dear life and trying to eat the trolley!

33 weeks 1 day - first time in his Tuff Tray playing with porridge oats (I think daddy enjoyed it even more than OJ).

33 weeks 2 days - trying out a friend's Jumperoo... we don't have one because of the cost and consideration that babies shouldn't spend much time in them as they hinder development but it's fun to play occasionally.

33 weeks 2 days - daddy was out with the lads so I stayed upstairs after I put OJ to bed and captured what a little oddball he can be!

33 weeks 3 days - mummy was training and daddy was watching football in the cafe at the gym... needless to say he didn't stay sleeping for long!

33 weeks 3 days - playtime in the garden, just look at that little face <3

33 weeks 4 days - just chillin'!

33 weeks 4 days - more porridge fun while mummy made dinner, it's great having something to entertain him in the kitchen.

33 weeks 4 days - 10 pm and watching David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef which absolutely mesmerises him and settles him right down for sleep (I know it's bad but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do).

33 weeks 5 days - that is the face of someone who just stole one of mummy's Frosties, licked it then threw it back at the bowl.

33 weeks 5 days - let him nap on our bed so I could cut his nails, got stuck there for TWO hours!

33 weeks 5 days - OJ's idea of a balanced diet: sausage roll in one hand, banana in the other.

33 weeks 5 days - "This is my pear.  I love my pear".

33 weeks 6 days - I know I'm on this one too but it's too cute how much OJ cares about sun safety!  He cares less when it comes to actually being lathered in cream.

33 weeks 6 days - picnic tea outside and it got MESSY with a homemade strawberry popsicle.  He never put the rice cake down, even while eating other things!

34 weeks - watching the washing machine and falling asleep in his highchair... I got a video of him trying to put food in his mouth and missing, so adorable!

34 weeks - still won't drink from a bottle, just wants to play with it like a monkey (he grabs everything with his feet).

I found this little gem at ALS' grandparent's house at the weekend - everyone says OJ only looks like me but I can definitely see the similarities here.

Nearly 8 months postpartum and feeling happy with my body.  In a morning I almost have abs, by bedtime I am SUPER bloated but hey, you win some, you lose some.

Baby Update - 33 weeks old

Age:  33 weeks 

Weight: He was weighed on Tuesday at 32+5 and I was way off with my estimate of 16.5-17 lb.  He was actually 15 lb 15 oz, so only a 4 oz increase since last time.  He's dipped a tiny bit on his centile but nothing out of the norm.

Health: I think he may be teething AGAIN as he's incredibly bitey and keeps rubbing his mouth against everything.  He was a little constipated yesterday with straining and hard stools but I gave him an Ella's Kitchen prune puree (which he LOVED) and he had a good clearout this morning.  He keeps getting random little rashes but we have no idea what the cause might be.  He's generally doing really well aside from little bits of reflux here and there so we're pretty happy.  His eczema has had a flare up too but a bit of Sudocrem and his regular Oilatum seems to be doing the trick.

Feeding: Towards the end of last week he was actually going up to 6 hours during the day between milk due to good amounts of solids and then making up for it overnight with decent feeds when he is too sleepy to be distracted.  He's back to feeding a little more regularly now but often going 4 hours which is nice.  Over the weekend we were out a lot so most of his solids were things like Ella's Kitchen pouches, Ella's Kitchen vegetable puffs/sticks, Organix biscuits, Kiddylicious wafers etc. for convenience.  Since then he's been a little more reluctant to eat my cooking although he's done well with fruit and vegetables and he's starting to get back into the swing of things again.  I don't think his teeth are helping the matter either!

Sleep: Sleep has been a bit all over the place since the weekend.  He was absolutely exhausted after a busy weekend so had a couple of lie ins.  Due to this he's been getting up around 8-9 am instead of 6-7 am and therefore wanting to go to bed a little later.  The worst was last night which was 10 pm but the previous night he went down at 7:30 pm so I guess I can't complain!  I'm just letting him be the guide and it seems to be working much better.  ALS actually managed to put him down for a nap yesterday without my help (normally I feed him and he either falls asleep feeding or I put his dummy in and soothe him in my arms or his cot).  That was the first time he's got him to sleep (other than the odd nap on the sofa together) in months so it was a big thing for us!  He also managed to get him to sleep when he had to take him out of our nephew's christening the other day so the reliance on me is dropping a little which is a bit of a relief.  The biggest thing really is that we now consistently leave him to sleep in the room alone and don't go up unless he needs us, otherwise we just stay downstairs until we're ready for bed which is a big thing when I'd been going up to bed at 7-8 pm every night.  We were spending a lot of time chilling out in bed watching anime on the laptop etc. while OJ slept which made it hard to wind down and fall asleep.  We also kept a lamp on so I could attend to OJ, now I just do it in the dark and we've bought a blackout blind to make it as dark as possible for him.

Routine: I think we just aren't really routine kind of people and OJ certainly isn't a routine kind of baby!

Likes/dislikes:  He loves his blocks, especially knocking down any towers that I build!  He enjoys singing (especially daddy's singing in the back of the car).  He really likes giving kisses... big, sloppy, toothy kisses that turn into biting mostly.  He's easily amused but nothing amuses him for long - he's been giggling at me throwing an empty bottle up and down this evening but that probably won't work again!  He's not a fan of being still for any length of time and still doesn't like lying down.  He hates any attempt at tummy time and bails everytime he pulls himself onto his hands and knees.  He also loves animals and gets very excited watching the cats playing!

Firsts:  First big day trip out (Sealife).  First big party (nephew's 1st birthday).  First time in church (nephew's Christening).  I'm sure there were lots of other little firsts over the weekend too but those were the big ones!  First time going to sleep for daddy (since he was tiny).  Oh, and his first proper suit complete with bowtie!!  He also had his first game of catch with daddy!  First father's day too!

Milestones:  He's started "playing catch" which is adorable - if you roll a ball to him he will pick it up and throw it back to you, he's got quite the right arm on him!  

Things we did: On Friday my SIL picked us up and we went shopping with her and our nephew and had lunch at their house.  Saturday was a BIG day - we drove to Sealife in Birmingham for our nephew's first birthday then we all went out for a meal and back to their house for presents and cake.  On Sunday it was our nephew's Christening and birthday party so another long day with lots of OJ being passed around.  He was absolutely wiped out after the weekend but he handled the long days with lots of people pretty well and we were incredibly proud of him!  Monday was swimming day as usual ,which OJ doesn't seem to be quite as keen on at the moment, he gets grumbly about halfway through.  The rest of the week has been pretty lazy as we were (and still are) all tired from such a busy weekend!

Me: I felt like I was doing really well towards the end of last week and then because of the weekend I'm feeling, in the immortal words of Bilbo Baggins, "like butter scraped over too much bread".  I'm very, very tired and my whole body is hurting but we had a good weekend.  I've not made it to the gym in a few weeks due to other commitments and my body isn't handling the lack of exercise well.

32 weeks 1 day - playing with the straps in his car seat (just before he threw up all over it).

32 weeks 1 day - look at that cute little vest... and butt!

32 weeks 1 day - a new found love.

32 weeks 2 days - we dressed for the occasion!

32 weeks 2 days - waiting for everyone else to arrive at Sealife.

32 weeks 2 days - waiting for dinner.

32 weeks 2 days - pooped after a long day!

32 weeks 3 days - "I wants dis one... and dis one... I haz them all, kay?"

32 weeks 3 days - a rare photo of me because this one was just too good not to share!

32 weeks 3 days - driving with daddy on father's day <3

32 weeks 3 days - having a break from the business and a little snooze. 

32 weeks 4 days - 10 minutes (and some milk) after he woke up he was flat out again on mummy's bed!

32 weeks 4 days - playing catch with daddy.

32 weeks 4 days - his new favourite facial expression!

32 weeks 6 days - corn is life.

33 weeks - a rare tummy time moment while the TV captured his attention.

33 weeks - dinner which got thrown on the floor (which is unusual for him).

33 weeks - popsicle for pudding... then he started eating his dinner off the floor!

Blog Update - 32 weeks old

Age:  32 weeks 

Weight: He is due to be weighed on Tuesday but I'm thinking somewhere between 16.5 and 17 lb.

Health: I gave him some Weetabix with cow's milk (just a couple of spoonfuls) and he had a lot of vomiting and discomfort so I don't think we're quite over the intolerance.  His reflux has been worse this week but that could be due to teething/drooling a lot.  He had a reaction to an Ella's Kitchen purple pouch today too with quite a bit of vomiting and a rash all over his face and wherever the vomit touched.  He's had a similar reaction before to the same pouch so we're pretty sure it's that - the ingredients are only apple, banana, strawberry, blackcurrant and lemon juice so it's got to be the blackcurrant or lemon as he eats the others regularly with no issue.

Feeding: I'm so proud of how well he's getting on with his solid foods and he's stretching out his breastfeeds a bit more too, he tends to feed 2 hourly but his solid meals count as one of those feeds so he can go 4 hours.  He's eating pretty much whatever we put in front of him and his dexterity is improving by the day.

Sleep: This has been a BIG thing this week.  We put him in his cot on Friday night but then he had major teething issues and ended up screaming so we brought him back into his crib.  On Saturday we put him in his cot and he stayed there all night but I was getting a lot of back pain trying to feed/settle him in the nursery as there's no room for a comfortable chair.  We have decided that it would be prudent to move his cot into our room so on Sunday we did just that and he's been sleeping in there since (although usually ends up in our bed by around 4-5 am).  I was getting really stressed out about it and it's led me down a path of discovery that we have a "high needs" baby, so I'll post more about that later.  We really hit the bedtime routine/consistent timing hard but it was just stressing me out excessively and making OJ really upset so we're just back to letting him lead.  The TV is going off at 7 pm at the latest every night and after that we just read, sing nursery rhymes and have quiet play then when he starts showing signs of tiredness we go upstairs and get ready for bed, feed and try to put him down.  If he refuses and wants to play I'm not pushing the matter and just bring him back downstairs until he seems sleepy and try again.  If he is obviously tired I persist a little more (although don't always succeed).  I've lined his cot with my dressing gown which seems to help him settle easier when he wakes up.

Routine: We are playing about with things at the moment so it's all up in the air.

Likes/dislikes:  He really likes being on his feet and being on the move.  He loves mealtimes.  He likes noisy toys and bathtime.  He doesn't really like sleep but neither myself nor his dad do either so we can't complain.  He's starting to enjoy books as well, particularly We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Firsts:  First night in his big boy cot.  First time trying to walk (aided of course).  First visit to a dessert restaurant (our favourite).

Milestones:  As of today he's started taking little steps when held in a standing position which is absolutely incredible - he'll walk with his little trundle truck if you support him too.  He's now in his big boy cot too.

Things we did: We had some friends round on Saturday and made our own pizzas then went out to the dessert restaurant which was yummy!  On Sunday we spent most of the day shifting the bedroom around and moving OJ's cot (which involving taking it apart and putting it back together again).  Over the last few days we've been swimming, had a visit from Nana and Grandpapa, been for a lot of walks, been to Once Upon a Rhyme and spent lots of time practicing standing. Yesterday we got the bus into town again so I could get an outfit for our nephew's christening and a cute little outfit for OJ too.  ALS and I also made some homemade sugar-free carrot muffins for OJ to enjoy... but forgot to put the cinnamon in so they're rather bland, not that he minds!  I also bought a spice rack full of spices from Costco which is possibly the most "adult" thing I've ever done, including having a baby. 

Me: I'm really getting into cooking at the moment thanks to weaning so I was very excited about the spice rack.  I didn't get to the gym this week as we were busy trying to sort out the bedroom and cot but I've done LOTS of walking.  I'm really wanting to learn at the moment and finding my brain is a bit bored so I've been looking at free OU courses that I can take, mostly just for fun, to keep my mind active and discovered that I received a Certificate of Higher Education for the courses I did previously when trying and failing to do my degree.  I've also been doing some brain training.

In terms of parenting I've struggled this week with trying to get OJ into a routine and getting him to sleep (as he's no longer feeding to sleep and often wants to be put down, but has to be completely drowsy and almost asleep before I attempt it).  I actually found myself wanting to just shake him or yell at him and it really worried me even though I knew I wouldn't do it, so I've taken the pressure off and let him take the lead again and I already feel much better.  As I mentioned above we've discovered that he's a "high needs" baby and I've already bought some books on high needs parenting so hopefully they will help.  I'll do a post once I've read a bit more on the topic!

31 weeks 1 day - chomping on his toes... sometimes he sucks on his big toe like it's his thumb.

31 weeks 1 day - we were switching out toys in his toybox and took him for a little ride around in it!

31 weeks 1 day - first night in the cot so I put the monitor in the crib so I didn't feel like he was too far away.

31 weeks 1 day - 2 hours later he was snuggled up on my boob after screaming the place down for 20 minutes with what we assume was his teeth hurting.

31 weeks 2 days - little snooze in Costa while daddy was at work.

31 weeks 2 days - fakeaway with homemade pizza, wedges and peppers.

31 weeks 3 days - last time sitting in his co-sleeper crib before we dismantled it, playing with mummy's pillow.

31 weeks 3 days - playing with his bath toys on the bed.

31 weeks 3 days - his little play area while we set up his cot in our room.

31 weeks 5 days - trying a little tummy time (which he immediately rolled out of).

31 weeks 6 days - he actually entertained being on his hands and knees for almost a minute!

31 weeks 6 days - chomping on his straps in the pushchair on our way to meet daddy at work.

31 weeks 6 days - every time he stirs he shoves his legs through the cot bars but it's too hot for his sleeping bag at the moment!

32 weeks - he loves this elephant and I hear the songs in my sleep.

32 weeks - little Flash, he's such a smiley boy in a morning!  We are more of a Marvel family but he has far more DC outfits.

32 weeks - looking dapper trying on his outfit for his cousin's christening (that shirt is a PAIN to get on as it's a vest and has no give so you basically have to contort his arms to get them in).

32 weeks - he stared at me like this for about 10 minutes straight.

32 weeks - put the baby in bed only to find the cat lounging in the pushchair!