He's a happy, smiley little bundle, but very snotty, and has been for a couple of weeks now. His night sleeping has reverted to that of a newborn, and I am doing the very thing I was always so determined NOT to do — I am feeding him to sleep. Day and night. We've just had such a rough time of it, I am doing what works, even though I know it is probably establishing problematic habits. I'll fix it all — yeah, like it's that easy! — once his nose stops leaking like a tap. I think he may have inherited the Lyons family allergies. There has been so much dust around, not only throughout the move, but at Mum's due to the installation of her new kitchen.
Anyway, it's not all bad... He is sleeping for at least a hour at a time during the day. We have foregone the first morning sleep, so he is now awake between 6:30 and 10:30.
He is eating really, really well, which makes me happy. He had fish for the first time this week, and really enjoyed it! He gags less on lumpy foods, and I worry less when I give him a finger of toast. Doing very well with a cup, and quite keen to feed himself with a spoon, but I'm not permitting that just yet. The one thing that hasn't agreed with him, for whatever reason, was Heinz Chocolate Custard! It will be very odd if the baby Phil and I created has a chocolate aversion.
His two little teeth, still just stumps really, give his wide-faced smile a bit of extra character. He has his own toothbrush now, and he loves it when I brush his teeth! He goes all still as if to concentrate on the sensation.
His current favourite bath toy is an empty mineral water bottle... He could play with that for hours. Honestly, babies don't need toys! Just give them rubbish to play with.
He's a little more clingy to me lately, which is lovely in a way — it's always nice to feel needed and wanted, of course — but also tiring, and not something I wish to encourage.
Swimming lessons begin on Saturday!! He and Phil are going together, it will be their "thing", but I am along for the ride this weekend, as photographer/observer.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
At nearly 7 months...
Otis:
— eats three solid meals a day, usually cereal and fruit at breakfast, avocado or yoghurt at lunch, and vegies with cheese or meat at dinner
— continues to breastfeed at night, sometimes all night long!!
— sits for lengthy periods, but still tips over now and then
— says "babababa" quite clearly
— shakes with joy at the sight of a leafy tree or Mama drinking from a water bottle (he loves to share)
— plays peek-a-boo with a towel or sheet
— is quite handy with a rattle
— rolls around as a mode of transportation... no sign of crawling just yet!
— has two teeth, which arrived fairly painlessly
— weighs nearly 9 kilograms...
— eats three solid meals a day, usually cereal and fruit at breakfast, avocado or yoghurt at lunch, and vegies with cheese or meat at dinner
— continues to breastfeed at night, sometimes all night long!!
— sits for lengthy periods, but still tips over now and then
— says "babababa" quite clearly
— shakes with joy at the sight of a leafy tree or Mama drinking from a water bottle (he loves to share)
— plays peek-a-boo with a towel or sheet
— is quite handy with a rattle
— rolls around as a mode of transportation... no sign of crawling just yet!
— has two teeth, which arrived fairly painlessly
— weighs nearly 9 kilograms...
Friday, August 8, 2008
Bad Mama!
Oti and I just popped down to the shops, and on the way one of his socks fell off... It is freezing cold and blustery, and I was getting glares left, right and centre.
Whilst old women with trolleys, boisterous butchers and other, smug, mothers managed to make me feel like a terrible person because my son's sock fell off — the other one was still there, evidence, surely, that I did actually put a pair of socks on him — Otis just smiled and cooed and kicked and laughed, not a care in the world... Babies are much tougher than we give them credit for!
A bit sad about the sock though, as it was a favourite... A lovely, electric blue shade, and Bonds to boot.
In other news... My boy has teeth! One is about millimetre long thus far, the other just peeing through the broken skin of his yummy, pink, sloppy gums. He's been somewhat out of sorts lately, I am guessing this is why. He's also still quite snotty. He's sitting well, rolling this way and that in a rather compulsive fashion, and charming the pants off everyone he meets. Yesterday we did the big walk over to Grandma Peggy's at Connells Point, she just loved spending a couple of hours in his company.
7 months next week! What a learning curve these 7 months have been... Next time I'll ban all books, dismiss all advice, and do what feels right and instinctive... I spent too much time worrying that I was doing the "wrong" thing, and too little living in the moment...
Whilst old women with trolleys, boisterous butchers and other, smug, mothers managed to make me feel like a terrible person because my son's sock fell off — the other one was still there, evidence, surely, that I did actually put a pair of socks on him — Otis just smiled and cooed and kicked and laughed, not a care in the world... Babies are much tougher than we give them credit for!
A bit sad about the sock though, as it was a favourite... A lovely, electric blue shade, and Bonds to boot.
In other news... My boy has teeth! One is about millimetre long thus far, the other just peeing through the broken skin of his yummy, pink, sloppy gums. He's been somewhat out of sorts lately, I am guessing this is why. He's also still quite snotty. He's sitting well, rolling this way and that in a rather compulsive fashion, and charming the pants off everyone he meets. Yesterday we did the big walk over to Grandma Peggy's at Connells Point, she just loved spending a couple of hours in his company.
7 months next week! What a learning curve these 7 months have been... Next time I'll ban all books, dismiss all advice, and do what feels right and instinctive... I spent too much time worrying that I was doing the "wrong" thing, and too little living in the moment...
Friday, August 1, 2008
I got my period!
I feel really strange... I haven't had a period since 3 April last year, so it's been awhile. It's nice to know that it's all still working properly down there — it is a nice reminder of my fertility, of the fact that I'll have another little Otis at some point in the future. It also makes me sad... Sad that that whole "period" of my life is over. It is a period in more ways than one — a full stop signalling the end of the amazing journey that is conception, pregnancy and birth. My baby is no longer fully reliant on me for sustenance — he has fewer breast feeds now, and can be nourished by others.
Getting a period is also an absolute pain in the ass — I haven't had to bother with tampons for almost 18 months!
Getting a period is also an absolute pain in the ass — I haven't had to bother with tampons for almost 18 months!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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.
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.
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