19 month update

Weight:  He hasn't been weighed for a little while but he seems to be growing nicely. - I'd estimate he's somewhere between 10.5 kg and 11 kg.

Health:  Things didn't improve massively on the ranitidine after two weeks so the GP increased it to the maximum dose.  That really improved things and he no longer sounds really chesty after meals.  He has vomited a couple of times but nothing drastic.  We saw the GP again yesterday and he's suggested that we keep it at that dose and keep him on the Piriton too (as he keeps waking up unable to breathe through his nose during the night).  So he's now having both regularly and will continue to do so until we see the Paediatrician at the end of July.  Otherwise he's doing pretty well and now the reflux is under control we are due to start the milk ladder in the next couple of weeks.

Sleep:  Things aren't great at the moment, we are having a lot of very early wake ups.  However, he is now fully night weaned.  He hasn't had any milk at night for over a week now - he's been having a bottle of almond milk around 4 am which we will need to get rid of in the next few months but one thing at a time.  He has one feed now, during his bedtime routine and we are planning to stop that over the weekend and then he'll be fully weaned.  Hopefully now he's back on the Piriton his sleep will improve somewhat but he had a dose last night and was still up before 5:30 so I'm not too optimistic.

Development:  He's at such a wonderful age and surprises us with something new every day - the other day he dipped the bubble blower into a bottle of bubbles and actually managed to blow the bubbles!  His communication is really coming along - he has a large number of signs now (please, thank you, more, again, help, hat, bag, drink, milk, water, eat, change, bath, medicine) and he can make animal noises (dog, cat, pig, owl, snake, lion, sheep, goat, cow, horse, dinosaur [along with raising his arms in a scary way] - he will do the sign for quack when he sees a duck, bang his chest for a gorilla, snap for a crocodile and flap his arms for a chicken).  He's starting to say more words although not many of them actually sound like works.  He says mama, daddy, owl, badger, hoover, go, yeah, no, bath, digger and papa (for Grandpapa) relatively well and the rest are coming along.  His climbing is really coming along and he can get up steps and slide down on climbing frames at the park now.  He can also climb onto the sofa by himself.  He's really helping with dressing and undressing and is having a good go at getting his shoes on by himself.  He's developed lovely pretend play (feeding and giving drinks to his toys, pretending to be on the phone etc).  He can drink reasonably well from an open cup now.  He loves scribbling and is pretty good at using a spoon and a fork.  He always insists on tidying before bed and understands what goes with what i.e. blocks go in the bag, books go on the shelf.  My grandma bought him a toy hoover last week and he hasn't played with anything else since!  He can point out at least 50 different things in books when I name them so his understanding is far better than his speech.  He did start holding his nappy and whining to us when he was pooping so we thought he might be ready for toilet training but it only happened for a few days and then stopped so obviously just a fluke.

Likes/Dislikes:  He is very much an outdoor toddler and would be out there all the time if he could.  He loves helping with chores - hoovering, tidying, putting shopping away, sweeping etc.  He really enjoys books and likes pointing out things and listening to what they are - we read at least ten a day.  He really doesn't like being unable to do things for himself, fiercely independent as ever!  He's developed a fear of animals recently - he likes them in pictures or videos but he was very scared of them at the farm the other day and he seems to be scared of the cats too - when they come in to the room he asks me to make them go. 

Nursery:  He's getting on really well at nursery although he's not eating much there either.  They're pleased with his development and he's very happy there.  I realised the other day that when he naps there he doesn't even have a dummy because we don't send one!

Me:  My course is going really well and I passed my first assignment with flying colours.  I'm just writing my second one now.

I'm not sure if it's a hormonal things because I'm weaning Oscar or if it's just because he's growing up but I've been incredibly broody lately.  I can't stop thinking about being pregnant again, having another baby and expanding the family.  I'm also just generally thinking a lot about the future, Ant's gym being set up, moving to a bigger house one day... all dreams for now.

I've cancelled my gym membership to save some money as, by the end of the year/beginning of next year, Ant should have his own studio so I can train there for free.  I've had some horrible health problems this month - I had an episode of mastitis that very nearly turned into sepsis and I ended up in the surgical assessment unit overnight as they thought it had turned into an abscess that needed draining.  I don't think I've ever felt quite so poorly, it was incredibly unpleasant. 

We've reapplied for universal credit again after finding out that I shouldn't need to work full time for it.  It also means I won't have to do overtime (as that would take me over the threshold) so we can have more family time and focus on the house.  We are absolutely skint right now, aside from our savings, so I've been feeling pretty low but we can get through anything together :)