An amazing couple of weeks...

I just loved having Phil home for the holidays. We spent 2 1/2 weeks together, the three of us, a tight, intimate, loving little unit. We picnicked at Canterbury — a lovely, yet cold, grey-skied day that featured Otis' first choking episode (a soldier of wholemeal toast was the culprit). We ate together, every meal — Otis usually eats in earnest, to begin with, but by the end is whingey and wants to be held, and prefers sucking water from a cup to chomping down the calories and nutrients he really needs. On Phil's birthday we enjoyed Spanish churros and Baci shakes at San Churros at Glebe, and I shared my whipped cream with Oti — he loved it! We played Scrabble, sans Otis, in the evenings whilst he slept, fitfully.

Otis has choked a couple of times over the past few weeks. It's usually due to my negligence, I'll admit — the bread incident occurred when I turned my head. It was very scary, Phil had to reach in and dislodge the chunk of toast he'd managed to gum away from the larger slice. Then, in the car, on King George's Road of all places, I was spoon-feeding him from the passenger seat. It was mashed — albeit, not mashed enough — avocado. It did cross my mind that this was not a safe thing to do, given that he was tightly strapped in and that I had only very awkward access to him — but for some reason I went ahead regardless. It probably had something to do with the crying! Anyway, all of a sudden he went very red, and made no sound. I alerted Phil to the problem, and he went to veer onto the median strip... Luckily he swallowed and all was well. Phil and I felt rather queasy with fear, though...

He's unwell at the moment, just a cold at this stage. His breathing is a little louder, a little faster, and he's sleeping poorly. He's in with me all night. As soon as he's recovered, I am going to start being stricter, in preparation for his move to his own room once we relocate to Mortdale (in less than 2 weeks time!!!)

His favourite sound is "aye", his favourite song is still that short little refrain from Sister Act 2 that I pulled from nowhere one day and have sung to him ever since... "If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, you better wake up and paaaaay attention..." His favourite toys are the foam animals from his Farmyard Animals book, they are removable, easy to clean, and he enjoys trying to tear them with his teeth.

Happy Half Birthday, Otis!

Otis is 6 months old today... Wow. I have no idea how I filled in 6 months worth of time. I think I spent most of it telling him how beautiful he is. I hope he doesn't end up having an inflated ego! The fact is, he IS beautiful... I am pretty sure it's not just a mother's bias... He's a great looking little guy. I'm lucky! But his joyous, inquisitive nature is his best feature. He's just a happy boy, a curious boy, an always-on-the-go boy.

Phil is on holidays at the moment and is really relishing his time with Otis. He slept next to Phil the past couple of mornings, and Phil just loved it. He reached for Phil for the first time yesterday, and Phil, with a huge grin on his face, proclaimed "Otis just made my year".

So, here is a typical day in the life of Otis, 6 months of age:

5:30-7 — He wakes for the day. Laughs, cuddles, perhaps a small feed, a story or two, and then back to bed for an hour (with Mama).
8:30ish — Breakfast (Farex/porridge with stewed fruits) and then shower, we also hang out the washing (O loves to lay on the grass and stare at the sky and the trees blowing in the wind, whilst I sing and work.
9:30ish — Time for a walk! I take him in the Strider. We walk around the streets of Ashfield/Summer Hill, around Kmart, check out the puppies at Petsworld, sample a Baker's Delight treat.
11ish — Sleep in the Strider.
12ish — Wake up, home time. Breastfeed, and lunch (either natural yoghurt or avocado).
1ish — Play, read...
2ish — Wrap and sit with Mama at the Mac.
2:30ish — Left to self-settle in the cot. Sleep for either 45 minutes or 1.5 hours.
3:30ish — Cuddles with Mama!
4ish — Walk in the BB.
4:30ish — Breastfeed...
5:30ish — Dinner at the table with Mama and Dada (mashed vegies).
6ish — Bathtime!
6:30 — Bedtime stories, breastfeed...
7 — Bed...
10ish — Wake for a feed
2ish — Wake for a feed

Progress!!

Yes! Woohooo!!! [Insert image of me, jumping up and down, here...]

My baby has finally forgone the 10pm wake/feed... For the past 4 nights — yes, there has actually been some consistency!! — he has gone to bed at 7, and stayed asleep, in his cot, until 1am!!!!!!!!!!!

The joy, the rapture... I can't explain it. It is so lovely to have time with Phil, it is such a luxury, to be able to cuddle up in bed feeling relaxed rather than expecting to be up again within the hour.

He then wakes again sometime between 3 and 4:30, and then, again, sometime between 5 and 6:30.

I don't make as much milk as I used to, now that he is eating solids so eagerly and feeding less frequently, which, I admit, makes me a little sad. I guess I feel slightly redundant now — anyone can feed him his Farex. But this change brings with it more flexibility and freedom, which I wholly welcome.