Baby Update - 50 weeks old

Age:  50 weeks

Weight: I'll be either getting him weighed next week or the week after.

Health: The reflux has been absolutely horrendous over the last few days - lots of vomiting, lots of wind, lots of hiccups and lots of burping/coughing with it at the back of his throat.  It's not been making him too grumpy and he's been having at least a few solid hours of sleep at the start of the night.  I spoke to the GP yesterday and she's asked us to stop the ranitidine, as it's not helping, so I'm weaning it off gradually.  She's prescribed Gaviscon again which I'm going to collect tomorrow to give him just as and when he needs it if he's really struggling.  I started reading a book by "The Reflux Lady" which basically told me to cut everything out of my diet and made me feel like crap.  Our Sleep Consultant has suggested his sleep issues do sound dietary in nature so has asked me to try some exclusions.  Her suggestion was to cut out dairy, soya and gluten then slowly reintroduce but with my own health issues I didn't feel comfortable with all that.  Given that, I discussed it with the GP and she said she is happy to try gradual exclusions before any new medication.  We're excluding dairy for 2 weeks then going to add in a soya exclusion if there's no improvement.  After 6 weeks we will try a gluten exclusion, either with or without dairy/soya depending on if there was any improvement or not.  She also asked me to contact the Paediatrician, as we have an open appointment, but they can't get us in until 22nd January so we've got quite a wait there!  They would expect his reflux to have calmed down by the time he was 1 so it's worth seeing the Consultant just in case, although I'm not looking forward to it as he was incredibly patronising before.  My other concern is that digestive issues are common with EDS so I'd like to rule that out as I'll feel awful if he's inherited my issues and they're worse in him.  In other news, he's cut tooth number 15 and number 16 is nearly cut so maybe that's what's made it worse over the last few days, fortunately they don't seem to have caused him too much pain.  His eczema has stayed away for now though.

Feeding: Food has been a little bit up and down this week but generally pretty good.  I took dairy out of his diet about a week ago and I've taken it out of my diet today too.  His eating is improving with solids too and he can manage the skin on things such as grapes and plums now rather than just chewing the flesh off and spitting the skin back out.

Sleep: We're now paying a monthly subscription to a private group where a lady helps with our sleep issues.  As I mentioned above she thinks that food could be the cause - we did a sleep/food/activity diary for 3 days and she had a good look at it.  There's no quick fix unfortunately and it's going to be a real challenge with me going back to work soon but we'll do anything to help him get some better rest.  Things have improved a tiny bit in that he has been having a solid 2-3 hours after he first goes to sleep at night.  A couple of days this week he's only had one nap so he may be starting to get ready to transition, but other days he's really needed two so I think it'll be a bit hit and miss for a while.  He isn't falling asleep in the pushchair so easily nowadays either.  The other day he was tired so I decided to walk an hour to my business meeting to get him to nap - he stayed awake the whole time, through my meeting and 40 minutes walk back into town to meet ALS.  He went straight down when we got home though and had a solid 2 hour nap!

Routine: We're just letting him rule the roost so to speak.

Likes/dislikes:  He may be slightly coming around to the new car seat and seems to enjoy the panoramic roof, although car journeys are still very tense.  He absolutely loves playing with balls - he always has done - and he'll play fetch by himself, throwing it across the room and following it.  He really enjoys his "Smart Puppy" that plays nursery rhymes.

Firsts:  First proper steps without our encouragement - today he did about 5 or 6 from me to get to my phone on the sofa!

Milestones:  He's really getting more confident on his feet, particularly just this evening.  He dances now when he hears music.  His babbling is really coming on and he now says "mama", "baba", "gaga" and "ya".  When you ask him if he wants something he shouts "ahh" at you as if saying "yes" but isn't using words yet, I really don't think it will be long though.  It's crazy how quickly he's developing at the moment.  If he sees someone with food he goes over to them shouting "mmmmm" too, it's super cute.

Things we did: On Saturday we went into town to do a bit of shopping and then went to the local park with some friends, they came back to ours and we had takeaway and watched a movie.  On Sunday another friend came over to visit and spend some time with ALS and OJ had a good splash in his Tuff Tray!  On Monday we went swimming as usual which OJ really enjoyed, even more than usual.  On Tuesday we had a long walk to my business meeting and then walked into town to meet ALS.  Yesterday Nana and Grandpapa came to visit and today we've just been pottering around, shopping and the like.  We've generally spent lots of time playing together and trying to work on his walking and language skills.

Me: I'm very overwhelmed at the moment with everything.  My business is taking forever to get going thanks to the agencies being unhelpful which means that it's going to start probably around the time I go back to work.  In the next few weeks I'm going to have to deal with my transition back to work, OJ's transition to nursery, figuring out feeding/pumping, dealing with our dietary exclusions, trying to get my business established and the general pressures of daily living, then things will just about stabilise and it'll be Christmas!  I'm also concerned that my weight might dip again now I'm doing the dietary exclusions so I need to keep a close eye on it.

49 weeks 1 day - sleepy boy after a bad night just chewing on his medicine syringe.

49 weeks 2 days - I tried to do an activity rolling balls through a tube but he just pulled the tube off the door so we turned it into sensory play with the sticky tape!

49 weeks 2 days - "Are you taking photos again?"

49 weeks 2 days - he went to bed at 6 while our friends were here, woke at 9 and was still asleep when we went to bed at 11, that's pretty much unheard off!

49 weeks 3 days - I thought he'd just have a splash but he had other ideas, going...

...going...

...gone!  He had a whale of a time though.

49 weeks 3 days - looking cheeky after soaking himself and flooding my kitchen.

49 weeks 5 days - he hasn't figured out how to turn it around yet so he just goes around the other side and pushes it from the front.

49 weeks 5 days - he was supposed to be sleeping but instead he dragged out the rolled up towels (from the gap between the mattress and cot side) and started posting his dummy down the slats and grabbing it.

49 weeks 6 days - just chillin' and emptying everything.

50 weeks - playing peekaboo behind the sofa!

50 weeks - chilling in the trolley.

50 weeks - some rare screen time as he woke up from his nap before we'd finished our episode of Taskmaster, it was a lovely photo of him sitting sleepily on ALS' lap but he moved just as I got my phone out.

50 weeks - mesmerised by the hoover!

50 weeks - ALS' phone camera is so much better than mine - I take dozens of photos and they're nearly all blurred or poorly lit or don't show off OJ's cuteness properly, I take one with his and it's perfect.

Baby Update - 49 weeks old

Age:  49 weeks

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

Health: We seem to have had some brief respite from teething this week and his reflux is calming down with the medication too.  Fingers crossed it lasts but I'm not hopeful.  He's really head banging lately, especially when he's tired.  He also flaps his arms a lot when he's excited or frustrated and struggles with his communication.  He's only just started properly babbling "mamama" and "bababa".  He doesn't use "mama" with meaning, hasn't copied any of the signs we've used and doesn't use gestures such as waving or pointing to indicate his needs.  All of the above are signs of autism - I'm not majorly concerned but I will be keeping an eye on things.  Both ALS and I have a fair few autistic traits so it wouldn't surprise me if OJ has some too but he's quite affectionate when he wants to be, has good eye contact, has good understanding and smiles/giggles lots so, as I said, not too worried.

Feeding: He's been eating non-stop this week - on Saturday we went out for a friend's birthday and he ate an entire child's portion of sausage, chips and peas without coming up for breath.  He's even been eating well at lunch time which he's previously not been so bothered about.  He still has plenty of milk and I'm a little concerned about the situation when I go back to work but we will just have to take it as it comes.  

Sleep: We're back to feeding on demand throughout the night and not a huge amount of sleep for me - he often just wants to lie on my boob rather than feed but it's hard for me to get comfy.  Bedtimes have still been taking a while but there's been a lot less screaming, presumably due to the reflux/teething having calmed down.  We've been working really hard for the last 4 days on getting good naps in and trying to get him down as soon as he's tired and it may be helping a little bit although it has involved us being trapped in the house all week.  I've also been staying with him for naps so not even been able to be productive.  If we haven't achieved anything by next Monday we're going to ask for some help from a woman I've been chatting to on Facebook who runs a group providing advice for gentle sleep tips etc.

Routine: We're back working on the 2, 3, 4 routine somewhat and it seems to be gradually improving things, maybe this is the start of something wonderful.  Ideally we will be able to be a bit more flexible though, or at least nap on the go, as being stuck in is killing me.  I'm really looking forward to the day he drops down to only needing one nap.  

Likes/dislikes:  He likes combining his toys - he wedges balls into rings and gets me to spin them for him.  He's quite fond of racing around the room with his push walker.  He's as hateful as ever of the car, despite a new car and a new seat.  

Firsts:  First animal actions - he claps his hands every time he sees a crocodile or you say "crocodile", he's not got the hang of turning them round to make a snap yet but it's close enough.

Milestones:  He's trying to let go of furniture and take steps but only manages one or two before falling or grabbing hold of something else, he's quite tentative still.  If you call him a good boy he'll give himself a little round of applause, which may be the cutest thing I've ever seen.  He now has FOURTEEN teeth. 

Things we did: We had a busy weekend - on Saturday we went to visit ALS' best man at his new house and he made us lunch, then we went back to our old town for a meal for our friend's 35th birthday (plus 2 very, very stressful car journeys).  On Sunday we went for a nice long walk to the park.  Monday was swimming as usual and then we've just been in the house for a few days working on naps.  However, Nana and Grandpapa came to visit on Tuesday and my mum and grandparents came to visit yesterday so it's not all boring.  

Me: I often feel guilty that OJ doesn't get more exposure to different settings and other children but he's always wanting to nap at the time that play groups are on, hence the wish for him to drop down to one nap.  Maybe if we sort his sleep out at night he'll only need one?  I'll be kind of glad when I'm at work and he's at nursery as he'll be getting plenty of opportunities for learning and socialising there.  

Health wise I'm feeling a bit better and I'm back up to 51 kg so I'm going to start exercising again this weekend hopefully.  I've been referred to a Dietician, just to check that there's nothing else I'm missing that I could be doing but I'm happy that there's nothing drastically wrong - I'll probably put all the weight back on as soon as I stop breastfeeding.  

We're busy planning OJ's birthday (although I'm in denial that my baby is almost 1) and Christmas at the moment so there's a lot going on, plus I'm working hard on my business and I've finally been accepted by one of the agencies so should be able to start earning soon. 

I didn't take many pictures at all this week which makes me rather sad, I'll try harder next week.

48 weeks 2 days - at ALS' best man's house enjoying lunch in his new Chicco booster seat.

48 weeks 3 days - with daddy at the park.

48 weeks 4 days - an example of his huge appetite, he devoured this whole portion!

48 weeks 6 days - bloody autumn weather, it looked cold so I wrapped him up then had to unwrap him while he was sleeping because it was so warm!

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.

Baby Update - 46 weeks old

Age:  46 weeks (posted a day late because we were super busy buying a car yesterday!!)

Weight: He is due to be weighed next week.

Health: We had a horrendous weekend again due to teething - he had a 40 degree fever, lots of middle of the night screaming fits and now has his second molar at the top.  He also seems to be cutting at least one of his bottom canines, but it's hard to get a look. He seems to have calmed down but he's still struggling with reflux (little foamy vomits) and generally quite cranky.  He also fell and hit his head on the TV stand earlier so he has yet another bump!

Feeding: He's been really off his food for the last few days with the teething so he's had quite a bit more milk.  This evening he polished off a whole fish fillet, some sweet potato wedges, broccoli, peas and grapes so his appetite seems to be coming back.  He drinks water quite well now too, although tonight he learned how to spurt it out of his mouth which he thought was hilarious!

Sleep: We've had some horrendous nights with his teeth and last night he woke up with a randomly really blocked nose.  He's been struggling to fall asleep at night, especially last night as we were out all afternoon at dinner then the car dealership (and he was stuck in his pushchair/highchair).  After he woke up with his blocked nose last night he fell asleep between us, snuggled up to ALS which is a first!  I can definitely see the attachment between them getting stronger - previously he's only seen ALS as a play mate and didn't seek comfort from him but that's changing and I'm sure it'll get even stronger when I'm back at work and they're alone together more.

Routine: Out of the window again!

Likes/dislikes:  He loves running water - he'll get really excited if he can see the shower running.  He also likes watching people hoovering or mowing the lawn.  He loves books and ripping paper up (not the books, we don't allow that).  He's starting to get quite affectionate too, but only on his terms, and will come and put his arms around my neck/snuggle into my chest, which is adorable.  He doesn't like being restrained in any way unless he's thoroughly entertained and has started having mini tantrums when I shut the living room door so he can't chase after the cats/get up to general mischief.  

Firsts:  First time falling asleep snuggled up to daddy in bed, even though mummy was there.    

Milestones:  He seems to be starting to understand when clapping is relevant and claps when I sing or when he hears music being played.  He's getting better at standing unassisted for a good few seconds, usually while clapping.  

Things we did: On Saturday we had a long walk to the park in the morning and had a play on the swings then daddy picked us up on his way home from work.  On Sunday one of our friends came over (to try and help him recover from a break up) and the temperature/teething issues started.  Monday and Tuesday were mostly just lazy, grumpy days.  On Wednesday we went to Once Upon a Rhyme - it's really reassuring to see that as soon as we get there he just crawls off and interacts with absolutely anyone.  Today we went for lunch with my mum and grandparents then went to Toyota and bought ourselves a second car ready for when I go back to work - it's our first "new" car although it's a few years old and we got it on finance.  It's a hybrid and I'm super excited about it but we don't collect it until next Friday, boo!

Me: I decided to get back to some exercise and thought I'd try running - saves time travelling to the gym, means I can freeze my gym membership to save some money now I'm not getting maternity pay and is quick and easy to do.  I went for a run on Saturday afternoon and managed about 2.3 km in 18 minutes (mostly jogging with a little walking every so often), not bad for a first attempt.  However, since then I've not been able to get out with busy days and OJ teething.  I'm hoping to get out again at the weekend.  Otherwise I'm just super excited about the car!  I've heard back from one of the agencies that I want to freelance with and they sent me all their tests to pass to work with them which I've completed so I'm just waiting to hear back - fingers crossed.

45 weeks 2 days - I thought the park would be quiet at 9 am on a Saturday... I was wrong!  We got caught up in Parkrun, which made me feel a tiny bit guilty about the fact that I was walking around eating a Crunchie for second breakfast.

45 weeks 2 days - sometimes I wonder whether we moved to the right area as we're in Derby but still quite far away from family, then I sit in beautiful places like this listening to the river and watching the baby sleep and realise that having this on the doorstep is the perfect location - yes, I was also playing Jurassic World Alive but that's beside the point.

45 weeks 2 days - looking super chill on the swings. 

45 weeks 3 days - woke up screaming with his teeth around midnight and nothing would settle him except a boobsicle.

45 weeks 4 days - look at that little squishy face, I've noticed he's asleep in most of the photos I take, mostly because he's never still enough otherwise!

45 weeks 4 days - poor teething baby with a temperature.

45 weeks 4 days - trapped but perfectly happy.

45 weeks 4 days - look at the little monkey starfishing in my spot!

45 weeks 5 days - too tired to sit up but wants to play with the TV remote.

45 weeks 5 days - trying to eat a packet of tissues like a little weirdo.

45 weeks 5 days - I wanted ALS to be nearby at bedtime so OJ gets used to it so he snuggled up on the opposite side of him.  Apparently Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sends them both to sleep!!

45 weeks 6 days - absolutely shattered after play group, this is the first time he's fallen asleep feeding in my arms in ages.

45 weeks 6 days - isn't he just the most precious thing you've ever seen? We call him "pecious" without the "r".  I don't know why...

46 weeks - buying cars is tiring work (the system crashed and we were there for 2.5 hours), not long after this he fell asleep on my shoulder.

46 weeks - not impressed to be on the bus on the way home after being confined to a highchair or pushchair all afternoon - we were at Toyota for so long ALS had to go to work so we had to make our own way home which involved a long walk then a bus journey.

46 weeks - bribed him with a biscuit on the bus!