I've basically accepted that I'm so far behind with the photos that I probably won't actually ever get them uploaded now but that's okay. The updates are more important as I'm only doing this for me and I have the photos elsewhere to look through.
Weight: 20 lb 14 oz (9.48 kg). He was weighed when we saw the Paediatrician on 22 January. He's growing really quickly at the moment and is finally back on 25th centile which was his birth centile.
Health: This month has been much better in terms of his health. In January, after adding dairy back into my diet, he had a couple of weeks of diarrhoea and reflux but within three days of cutting it out again things had calmed down. The Paediatrician has therefore confirmed the diagnosis of cow's milk protein intolerance, told us to keep it out for another 6 months and referred us to a Dietician for help with the milk ladder when he's ready. He's had another couple of minor colds but nothing anywhere near as bad as last year so hopefully his immune system is starting to get stronger.
Sleep: Sleep has changed quite a lot lately and he's officially dropped down to one nap. He usually falls asleep in the car on the way from nursery around half 12 and then ALS takes him up to bed and he'll sleep for around 2 hours. On days where he's at home we tend to put him down around 12 and he sleeps for 90 minutes to an hour. He's still going to bed around 6 pm and night times are hard - we've had a lot of waking/constant feeding in the early hours of the morning for the last week but he's been in a "leap" so hopefully things will calm down soon. The last couple of nights have been a little better at least. He's generally able to go 2-3 hours after first going to bed although tonight he didn't, just to make a liar of me. He's happy to go to bed with almond milk again now although sometimes he'll still want boob afterwards to settle himself. We did start trying to get his dummy off him as he seemed less interested for a while but then he got another cold and things went to pot.
Development: Once again his development is coming on in leaps and bounds. He's running around everywhere and will walk good distances when we're out, although he often wants to go off in his own direction! His communication is really developing well at the moment. He has a few signs (milk, eat, see you soon and possible more) - he learned the sign for "eat" this week and he's now constantly telling us he's hungry. He's copying a lot more sounds and tries to say "doggy", "daddy", "gone", "mouse", "cat" and a couple of other bits. He has animal sounds or actions for cow, dog, crocodile and fish and he's joining in with lots of nursery rhyme actions. He'll nod and say "yeah" or shake his head when you ask questions. He's started pointing at things in books and really loves looking at them and listening to me tell him what he's pointing too. We've bought a potty and he sits on it for a little while every night after his bath while we look at books, a couple of nights ago he actually pooped on it too! He likes to help tidy up his toys and when we've been shopping he'll unpack the bags and pass things to us.
Likes/Dislikes: He absolutely loves music, especially songs from The Greatest Showman and his whole face lights up when he hears the opening song! He really likes playing on the piano too. Books are still one of his favourite things and he'll look at them for ages, turning the pages and pointing at things. He loves swimming at the moment and moves up to a new class tomorrow - he's recently started voluntarily putting his face in the water and trying to blow bubbles which is a bit of a shame for me as I don't get to go any more but maybe he's just thriving with daddy! Food wise his current favourites are raisins, blueberries, meatballs, sausage rolls, pasta and a little bit of Moo Free chocolate on as a special treat. He really likes animals and loves trying to play with the cats - although they aren't so keen and keep a safe distance most of the time. He still isn't a big fan of the car although he's improved a lot as he's now able to play or read books with ALS so it's easier to distract him. He no longer likes the pushchair as he wants to be walking, then when his legs get tired he'd rather be carried! Although he's getting a bit picky with his food it depends on his mood and there aren't many foods he outright doesn't like but mango is definitely on that list, ALS really doesn't like mango either!
Nursery: He's really enjoying nursery and thriving in that environment. I definitely think it's helped his development and he's become far more sociable and adaptable to new environments since being there. He eats reasonably well there and is really happy to leave ALS now when he gets there. When we go to pick him up he acknowledges us but doesn't get excited to see us any more which is really nice to see, although I would appreciate a little more enthusiasm.
Me: I'm struggling with tiredness at the moment after a long week but otherwise pretty good. I've been referred to a specialist as my little fingers keep locking and getting stuck. Work is going well and I did my first piece of freelance work last month - it was a 23 minute piece of work and I got paid £13.80 BUT it took me over 2.5 hours so not really worth it unless I get quicker at it. Unfortunately I've not had chance to do any more as they often email and offer it when I'm at my normal job and by the time I see the email it's been given to someone else.
I'm really getting ready to wean him now but I can't see it happening unfortunately. He doesn't have milk at all during the day now, not even when I get home from work but he still relies on it to go to sleep about 50% of the night and regularly throughout the night. We're trying to work with a sleep consultant to get him sleeping longer stretches so at least if we do start withholding feeds during the night it won't be so often. It never occurs to me that people who have babies and toddlers actually sleep as being up multiple times during the night with him is just the norm for us but I'm always reminded when friends say their babies had a really bad night and woke up 2 or 3 times. They're all baffled when I say that just 2 or 3 wake ups would be an incredibly good night for us!
