Last Baby Update - 52 weeks!!

Age:  52 weeks - I'm wholly in denial that I'm going to have a ONE year old tomorrow!!  This time last year I'd just got my epidural and things were looking up, which reminds me I never posted my birth story.  I'll try and get it done, honest.

Weight: We got him weighed on Tuesday, 3 days before his first birthday.  He was 8.85 kg (19 lb 7 oz) which puts him just on 25th centile so he's finally made it back to his birth centile.

Health: He's been a little bit better with his reflux this week although still struggling with his teeth somewhat. 

Feeding: He's been really up and down with his food again but getting enough obviously, given his weight gain!

Sleep: Things have been really odd this week because he's been settling in at nursery but no more of a mess than normal.

Routine: Nope, nope, nope. 

Likes/dislikes:  He loves waving and clapping at the moment.  He is really enjoying looking at big board books and actually listens/watches attentively most of the time.  He does not like being left at nursery... but that's a whole other story!  

Firsts:  First time at nursery - first time being away from both mummy and daddy for more than an hour or two since he was very little.  First Halloween!  First pair of shoes.  Oh so many firsts this week.

Milestones:  He's finally nailed waving - although it looks more like flapping - and is doing it constantly.  He'll also "rave" if you show him how.  He's really starting to copy our speech now, although no words yet.  He was trying to copy ALS singing earlier and it was adorable!  He's mastered how to use his push walker to get around the room how he wants and generally just drags it around with one hand on it to balance him.

Things we did: Are you ready for this?!  On Friday we walked into town and bought OJ his first pair of shoes, then we headed to the WPU World Powerlifting Championships where we met friends and watched the lifting for a bit.  On Saturday we were back at the competition then we had a couple of friends round for Halloween festivities in the evening (including dressing up and decorating the house of course).  On Sunday we were back at the competition for the final day then had a reasonably chilled out afternoon.  It's half-term so there was no swimming on Monday but OJ had his first settling in session in the morning.  It was only an hour and I stayed with him and he was fabulous, they all commented how chilled he was and he never came back to me once during the whole hour.  On Tuesday we went to get OJ weighed and then went for a nice long walk around the park in the afternoon.  Yesterday was his second settling in session, another hour but this time with me in reception going through the paperwork etc.  They decided they he needed to be in the toddler room rather than the baby room and I agreed, although didn't consider that it was completely unfamiliar to him and the people were different to Monday.  They only have 3 children in each room at the moment and the staff move in and out so it's nice and small and everyone knows everyone.  He was absolutely fine when I left but 10 minutes later he started screaming and went at it constantly for 40 minutes until I went back to sort him out.  We spent some time chatting and playing then came home and did Halloween activities - watched Hotel Transylvania and dressed up to hand out sweets to the trick or treaters.  Today he had his first proper morning at nursery, which should be 7:30-12:30.  Again he was fine when I left but within 5 minutes was crying.  I waited around in reception for about half an hour and he wasn't as distraught as yesterday, switching between crying and being distracted, so I bit the bullet and left.  I rang at 9 and they said he was much happier and had settled down playing with the room leader, although he did cry intermittently.  At 10:30 they rang me to say that he wouldn't eat or drink anything and, as he'd had no breakfast (we didn't give it to him before nursery as we thought it might be nice for him to eat there, kind of like dogs love anyone who feeds them) they were worried.  We picked him up at 10:45 and when we got there he was playing but obviously very tired and grumpy.  He came home, had a massive lunch then napped for 90 mins which was the only nap he had all day.  Nursery is going to be tough but we'll get there - ALS is going to pick him up at 10:30 every day next week (well, the 3 days he's there) so he's not there for too long and can hopefully settle in.  I'm also going to try and express some milk and see how if he'll take it from them, which I doubt.  It definitely went better than yesterday, so that's a plus I guess!  We've spent the rest of the day getting things ready for tomorrow (decorating the house, wrapping presents, making and frosting a dairy-free cake for cake smash, making dairy-free brownies, general tidying, shopping etc.).

Me:  I've been incredibly stressed about the whole nursery situation and me going back to work - I hate the thought of not being the one to pick him up and make it better when he's sad!  However, I'm slowly making my peace with it and it helps that even just between yesterday and today there was a big improvement.  Hopefully the improvement continues. I'm so excited about the next few days of celebrations so that should take my mind off going back to work.  I'll do a separate post about his birthday and things once it rolls around.

I've taken a LOT of photos this week so some of them have been combined to save time/space.

51 weeks 1 day - stealing our friend's drink carton!

51 weeks 1 day - first pair of shoes (£32!!!) and he refuses to walk a step in them.

51 weeks 2 days - destroying our decorations.

51 weeks 2 days - removing the spiders from the cobweb.

51 weeks 2 days - cute, cute and more cute!

51 weeks 2 days - we love him even if he did entirely miss the point of Jenga!

51 weeks 2 days - cute, sleeping little pumpkin.

51 weeks 2 days - family Halloween with the cutest little pumpkin you ever did see.

51 weeks 3 days - bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning.

51 weeks 3 days - with our friends at the powerlifting competition - "I wanna touch the beard... ahh, too close, abort, abort!"

51 weeks 4 days - a very frosty morning walk to nursery, snug as a bug in a rug!

51 weeks 4 days - the face of a child who ate a giant homemade sweet potato and spinach fishcake, a pile of peas and swede, cantaloupe, a banana biscuit and was on his second helping of grapes! 

51 weeks 5 days - always teething, always cheeky.

51 weeks 5 days - we've bought him toys for his birthday... but this kept him entertained for 20 minutes solid and has done on many an occasion!

51 weeks 6 days - our first Halloween as a family!

52 weeks - all ready for the birthday boy in the morning!  Most of them are from us but the pile on the right are from my uncle who asked me to get something for OJ and my aunt and uncle who dropped off a present earlier as they're away at the weekend.

Baby Update - 51 weeks old

Age:  51 weeks

Weight: I'll be getting him weighed next week.

Health: The reflux is still not great but the Gaviscon seems to help a little bit.  He's had a couple of rough days with his teeth and was absolutely horrendous this morning/early afternoon.  However, the tooth cut this afternoon and he was back to his smiley, cheerful self by teatime (he devoured a big bowl of chicken pasta and lots of fruit after having barely eaten for 2 days).

Feeding: He's not really eaten much for the last few days but his appetite seems to have come back this evening so I'm blaming the teeth.  He can be quite fickle with what he likes and dislikes but the only foods he really seems to reject every time are mango and tomatoes (although he'll eat them cooked in sauces or casseroles).

Sleep: Things are up and down - he's been going down relatively well at night, anywhere between 18:15 and 19:30 depending on daytime naps, but waking up at 5:30 most mornings.  We've had a few nights where he's settled with a cuddle rather than milk when he wakes up which is nice.  We tend to nap together most mornings, unless we have to go out and he naps in the pushchair, then he naps alone in an afternoon.  I'm not sure how I'm going to cope without my naps when I'm back at work but I'm sure I'll learn to adapt.

Routine: We're in our last couple of weeks with no real routine as things will have to be more organised when I'm back at work!

Likes/dislikes:  He likes shutting doors (especially if it involves shutting me out of the living room when I nip to get something) and likes putting things into other things (for example he puts balls into "little library" boxes).  He's not keen on having Anbesol put on.  He still doesn't like you holding his hands to show him how to do something like scribbling or song actions.

Firsts:  I don't think we've had any firsts this week?

Milestones:  He's walking far more spontaneously although still wary.  Otherwise I don't think there have been any major milestones this week... just a lot of teething.  We do have SIXTEEN teeth now though so he just has his second set of molars left and then he has a full set.  They're not due until he's at least 2 so hopefully we'll get a bit of a breather for a while.

Things we did: On Friday we went to visit Nana and Grandpapa for Grandpapa's birthday - they were taking care of OJ's little cousin for the day which was nice as we don't see him often, although he was poorly so the boys didn't really get to play together.  On Saturday we went to visit ALS' grandparents and my grandparents then his brother came back to ours for a few hours.  On Sunday we had a relatively quiet day and watched "Coco".  Monday was swimming (our last one at our current class due to my working hours) and his little friend wasn't there so we might never see him again, I should have got his mum's number!  The last couple of days have just been about chilling and doing housework really.  Yesterday my mum and grandparents came to visit and we went out for lunch.  Today we went to the park for a bit and then Nana and Grandpapa came to visit but unfortunately they got OJ while he was at his grumpiest.

Me: I've finally had some success with the agency to start my business but they want a minimum of 16 hours a week (4 hours on Tues, Weds, Sat and Sun) which would mean I'd be working a 40 hours week over 7 days and we would never be able to have days out etc.  They've agreed to let me do 2 8 hour days instead but this will have to wait until OJ can go to nursery 5 days a week (if he settles) so I'm going to aim to start with them in December when we know how nursery is going.

I'm starting to get a little stressed about going back to work - especially because I have a list as long as my arm of things that I need to get done, including but not limited to: making a batch of meals for the freezer, getting OJ some shoes, organising things so ALS has everything he needs to hand, 2 birthday parties for OJ and getting ready for Christmas.

We've had a bill this week for £350 for storage of our frozen embryo for the next 12 months - it's such a shame it couldn't have come another month later when I'm getting paid again!

50 weeks - I went to settle him and he climbed up onto my chest and fell asleep snuggling.

50 weeks 1 day - I wanted to cut his nails and he decided he's rather snuggle his hands up.

50 weeks 1 day - watching "Annabelle: Creation" and suddenly the baby monitor starts to look creepy.

50 weeks 2 days - a foggy, early morning nap before heading to the grandparents' houses.

50 weeks 2 days - after a poop explosion, bath and peeing on the landing!

50 weeks 3 days - clambering all over mummy as always.

50 weeks 3 days - suffering with his teeth so switching between his dummy and daddy's ice pack while mesmerised by Coco!

50 weeks 3 days - he looks like a baby still when he has his medicine.

50 weeks 3 days - the monitor was there first, I didn't just prop it up on the cat.

50 weeks 4 days - he did not wake up well from his afternoon nap!

50 weeks 4 days - finally settled down but still super sad faced.

50 weeks 4 days - midway through a game of peekaboo under the table he decided to have a good munch!

50 weeks 5 days - practicing his crouching and standing.

51 weeks - early morning story time.

51 weeks - I was trying to take a photo of him being sad because he's thrown all his toys out of reach, he tried to eat my phone.

51 weeks - trying to climb the baskets.

51 weeks - teething hard and watching Taskmaster.

Baby Update - 48 weeks old

Age:  48 weeks

Weight: He won't be weighed now until just before his birthday.

Health: His ranitidine has been increased to the maximum dose as they'd put him back on a lower dose than before.  He's still having some issues with his teeth but he now has all 4 premolars at least partly through, that's THIRTEEN teeth.  I've never known a baby so young have so many teeth.  He's been really miserable for a few days but seems to have chirped up again a little in the last couple so hopefully the worst is over although he's screaming a LOT at night and I'm not sure if that's teeth, reflux, something else bugging him or just general tiredness and fighting sleep.  His face had cleared up nicely but has really flared up again over the last couple of days too.  

Feeding: He's been off his food on and off for a few weeks and I'm blaming the teeth.  I'm just offering milk and and when he wants it and continuing to offer 3 meals a day with a variety of foods.  I am trying to stop him feeding so often at night as we had a few nights were he was feeding constantly and not really sleeping so I try not to offer milk unless it's been 2 or 3 hours minimum since he last had it.  If he's really upset or restless I'll let him have some but we're just playing it by ear. 

Sleep: We had a few days last week where he was just feeding constantly almost all night and I was getting no sleep so we implemented the above plan.  We're also trying to be stricter with screen time during the day and not bring him downstairs at night if he won't sleep (unless it's the middle of the night and he's wide awake and has been for a while).  The last 4 nights have been horrible trying to get him to sleep (last night he fell asleep feeding straight away but then woke 30 minutes later to battle).  He'll feed then roam around for a bit before settling and trying to sleep.  He then almost falls asleep but jerks away or sits up and cries.  This eventually escalates into screaming as he gets tireder and tireder and it's taken up to 90 minutes to get him to sleep.  We've switched to Ambesol liquid for his teeth and are giving him the maximum dose of ranitidine, although we've run out of Gaviscon so maybe that's not helping.  I've been offering Calprofen after about 20 minutes of screaming in case its his teeth and he usually sleeps about 20-30 minutes after that but it could just be coincidence.  Tomorrow I think I'll try Calprofen at bedtime and see if we still have the screaming.

Routine: Maybe when I'm back at work and he's at nursery?  We can dream.

Likes/dislikes:  He likes playing with his medicine syringes for some reason and loves empty pop bottles - who needs toys??  He loves stir fry and it's the only meal he's really enjoyed this week - except for his breakfast, he often demolishes bowl after bowl of Cheerios!  He absolutely detests being restrained for nappy changes, clothes changes, drying after the bath or any other reason.  He has tantrums now if he's taken away from something he wants, told no or if people don't share their food with him.

Firsts:  He's taken a couple of very wobbly steps into mine and Ant's arms this week... mostly just falling into us but it's a start.   First real "daddy day" while I was poorly last Friday, all I did was give him milk and daddy did everything else.  

Milestones:  He's getting much better at standing unassisted and now controls himself back to sitting without having to hold on to anything.  He's gotten really vocal in the last couple of days and is back to shouting "mamamama" constantly.  He's not using any words in context or saying anything but "mama" but he is making lots of sounds.  

Things we did: On Friday I had a stomach bug.  OJ and I went to the park in the morning and I just made it home in time to throw my guts up.  Fortunately he'd fallen asleep on the way home and stayed asleep until daddy got home to take over.  They had a chilled day together and I spent the day in bed.  On Saturday ALS had a kickboxing seminar in Long Eaton so OJ and I went to West Park (although he was grumpy the whole time) and on Sunday we went swimming for a catch up as we couldn't go on Monday and then picked up our new car.  On Monday I had my CT scan (I had to go to a separate waiting room and leave OJ with Nana and Grandpapa, he was super tired and I could hear him screaming which broke my heart.  However they took him to the play area and he was having a whale of a time by the time I was done).  We've had a few chilled out days since then to try and recover from all the sleep deprivation.

Me: I ended up down at 49.5 kg after a nasty sickness bug on Friday and I had my CT scan on Monday.  Yesterday the GP rang to let me know the results were normal and I have a telephone appointment with her tomorrow to discuss where we go from here.  I'm absolutely exhausted and haven't really had chance to recover from being ill.  ALS is amazing and does as much as he can but obviously he has to work.  With OJ's sleep being so bad I'm starting to feel like a rubbish mum again, I know I'm not really but I just wish I knew what was keeping him awake at night.  I expected random screaming fits as a newborn (although we had none) but I thought that sort of thing would be getting better rather than worse at this age.  I've managed to remain pretty calm and deal with the screaming and lack of sleep but it's still horrible not being able to help your baby sleep when he's clearly exhausted.  He's getting a lot more cuddly which is nice though.

We also picked up our new car at the weekend and I LOVE it.  I've never driven anything other than my car successful in 10 years but this one is an automatic and was so easy to adapt to, I can't wait to take it for a proper drive at the weekend.

47 weeks 1 day - cheesy grin on the way to the park!

47 weeks 1 day - enjoying a go on the swings.

47 weeks 1 day - just wanted to crawl around on the park.

47 weeks 1 day - tired out from his trip to the park and looking precious while we waited for daddy to come home to take over.

47 weeks 1 day - fast asleep in bed after his impromptu day with daddy.

47 weeks 2 days - fast asleep while mummy waits to go to the park.

47 weeks 2 days - having a little snack on the grass to try and keep him happy.

47 weeks 2 days - having another little snack on a bench after refusing his pushchair... look at mummy's silly hair.

47 weeks 4 days - when I have toast in a morning OJ likes to steal my crusts, I hate eating crusts so it works nicely for me!

47 weeks 4 days - after our first 90 minute bedtime battle of the week.

47 weeks 5 days - feeling super refreshed after we had an almost 3 hour nap together the other morning, I woke up expecting us to have been asleep for maybe 2 hours maximum and was amazed when I looked at the clock.  He never sleeps so long without waking!

47 weeks 5 days - 11 month growth photo, amazingly this only took a minute to get as he happily sat and posed for once instead of trying to run away!

47 weeks 5 days - "Oh man... are you guys taking photos again?"

47 weeks 5 days - look at that cute little face... also note the bump on his forehead, we aren't sure where it came from but he bangs his head against everything when he's tired so we think it's just a culmination.

47 weeks 5 days - sometimes I wonder why I ever bother tidying up but whatever keeps him happy!

47 weeks 6 days - shovelling stir fry and frozen fruit dots into his face.

48 weeks - he woke up from his nap and just wanted to snuggle up to my face so we took some selfies, he looked surprised.

48 weeks - post-nap snuggles with a super sleepy boy.  I love that he likes snuggles nowadays.