Friday, October 31, 2008

Carrots are a no-no!

Ollie's solids are going ok and he is now eating about 3 teaspoons of puree :)

So far he has had the pear, which he was confused at but enjoyed and yesterday I tried carrot.  I made the carrot puree myself so it could have been my cooking skills, but he HATED it.  His face was a picture and he threw it up all over our cream coloured rug.

Today he had a jar (I forgot to defrost a cube!) of apple and banana and he gobbled it all up!

I'm glad he is taking to it so well... I'm finding weaning less confusing than I initially thought!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

What did he think of pear puree then?

It went a bit better than I expected.  I thought it was super sweet so I mixed in a little bit of his rice to bring the strength of the flavour down a little bit.  He seemed a bit confused at first then seemed to really enjoy it.  He opened his mouth after swallowing each mouthful and looked at me waiting for the next piece and he cried when it was done and I moved on to give him some milk.  Ollie is getting really good at swallowing now.  Hardly any falls out of his mouth!




As you can see he looks like a happy baby after the pear and rice :D

There is a shortage...

on Ollie's formula!  Were currently using the Aptamil number 1 formula but we can't find it anywhere!  Everywhere seems to be sold out and only selling the number 2 (hungrier babies) or the easy digest... :(  We got the easy digest stuff as I thought that would be closer to the original than changing brands!  How can they have a shortage of babies formula!!

Adventures in weaning!

Ollie has been having rice now for a few days... he gobbles it down and has had no tummy problems... so I think he is ready to try something else.  Yesterday I went and bought more apples and pears (already pureed and frozen a few of those previously), some potatoes and carrots!  I went WILD in the kitchen cooking allsorts haha!  I made carrot puree, creamy carrot puree, potato puree and carrot and potato puree mixed together.  I have some very clever food cube trays which i fill, freeze and then pop out into freezer bags.

Accrding to my book on weaning, I should try him on veg and fruit after he is happy with the rice... so it looks like pear is on the menu for lunch... I haven't decided yet!  How exciting... a whole new world is going to open for Ollie soon!

If he is anything like his daddy or me... he is going to ADORE food!

Oo0o0oh Ollie got weighed and measured yesterday after he had his jabs... he now weighs 15lbs 13oz and he is 64cm long!

Also... yesterday he learnt how to do raspberries!  I'll post a video later today!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

...and so the teething begins again!

After a blissful 4 or 5 days the teething seems to have come back with a vengence.  Ollie had a few really happy and settled days which I think is the calm before the storm... I think his teething is really going to take of soon and maybe a tooth will come through... it has to as I can't imagine it getting any worse for him!!

Yesterday was plain awful!  One of the most upset days we have ever had.  We both ended up in tears.  It really makes me feel so so sad tat there isn't more that I can do for him and he looks at me so upset trusting that I will do everything I can to make him all better :(  Please hurry up little white tooth... and then let the boy have a little break.

On the other hand... even though yesterday was awful we got pretty much an entire nights sleep from Ollie.  He slept right through on Sunday night which was lovely... he woke up about 6.30 or so... and this morning he woke about 4.30 but we just brought him into bed with us and he fell back asleep.  He has proven that he no longer needs the night feed.  The Gina Ford book is brilliant... I just hope it continues to work!

We have also started his weaning again to see how he takes to it.  There have been no problems the last couple of times and I'm only giving him a very tiny amount to start off with... smaller than we started with last time.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Staying at Nanny's!

Last night Ollie stayed over at James' mum's house for the first time.  He slept through the night!!  What??  Why won't he sleep thorugh the night here at home where I try my hardest but he will sleep through at both of his grannies houses.  I find it a little bit cheeky to be honest hehe...  James and I had a good night out.  It's nice to get dressed up and go for cocktails!

Anyways... the Contented Baby routine seems to be going ok.  Ollie seems to have finally fully given up his dummy which is just wonderful and he now sleeps unswaddled.  He isn't yet sleepin through the night for James and I but he is falling asleep at his structured nap times... mostly he gets sleepy at these naps times on his own with little or no nursing!  It feels good to have a bit of structure in our day.

I started the Christmas present shopping by the way!  I think getting started is the hard part and after that it's easy to get going.  I bought a present for James' mum and I got a few things for Ollie.  It is hard to know what to buy for him... he is going to be nearly 7 months at Christmas and therefore is able to have all the big boy toys (6 months + toys hehe)!  I got him one of the Fisher Price Amazing Animals Push and Go tractor with animals in the back.  I also got him a baby puzzle cube thing and a crawl along mirror.  I don't want to buy him too many toys because I know his grannies will buy toys too and I don't want him to end up with too many to play with (apart form the fact that we don't have the space here!!).

It's so cold here recently!  We have started lighting the fire and Ollie is transfixed!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Miserable night!

I didn't take Ollie for his jabs on Tuesday... he was in strange form... wouldn't even smile for my mum and that's extremely uusual!!!  So I figured that if there was something wrong or he was getting sick then it was probably best to reschedule.

Yesterday we started Christmas shopping.  I got Ollie's presents form the Early Learning Centre and was super careful not to let him see what I was getting!  So far he is getting a walker from Nanny Hughes and a highchair from Granny Ross.  I got him the Fisher Price Amazing Animals Stop and Go Tractor set... it's cool!  I also got him one of those baby puzzle cube things with different activities on each side and I got him a crawl along mirror.  It felt good to get started... I think that's always the hard part!

Still following Gina Ford's routine and it's going ok.  He has now started falling asleep exactly at 9.00am and waking at 9.45am... after lunch nap takes a bit of cuddling first!  I think it's a good structured routine.  He hasn't yet given up his dummy in the night though.  We started but I felt like we were being too hard on him with his teething and all, that I gave in and gave him the dummy back.  BIG MISTAKE!  Ever since, he has been waking at least 5 times in the night just because it has fallen out.  I think he has toget used to it not being there and that way it won't waken him if it falls out anymore.  Gina Ford is pretty sure from 4 months, babies have the capacity to sleep the whole night through.  I wish!

Last night was the worst.  I am so so tired today and to top it off I have toothache... a wisdom tooth is coming up at the back.  I've been using Ollie's calgel hehe!  And today the weather is HORRID... so windy!  No way am I going anywhere.

Boo.

Think we will have a duvet day today!

Oh and also... I'm on a diet... a proper one this time that I'm going to stick to.  I've been on it for about a week now and I'm lost just over a pound.  Not much just yet but at least my weight has gone down instead of up!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Jabs

Ollie is going to get his next set of jabs today.  The last set before his 12 month boosters!  Instead of just 2 injections, today he is getting 3 so I am not planning on him being very happy!  Our health visitor is lovely though and tries to make it as easy as possible.

Contented Baby...

I have had the Gina Ford, Contented Baby Book on my shelf since before Ollie was born.  It was given to me by the person I bought our pram off, as a freebie.  I never read it having heard that Gina Ford's routines are too strict and her methods too hard on little babies.  Last night I picked it up to have a little look and it looks good.  I now wish I had started these routines a long time ago with Ollie.  We are starting today.  She has laid out different routines for different ages and shows the changes you have to make in that month to jump onto the next routine.  She even has a weaning schedule which is just fab.

In her book, she reckons a baby of 4 months should pretty much be sleeping through from 7pm to 7am having had sufficient naps and feeds during the day.  Today is the first day that I am giving this a shot so I will let you know how it goes tonight.

I have to admit that the routine is VERY structured but for a control freak like me that's exactly what we need.

Fingers crossed that we can get Ollie sleeping through!!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Happy Boy

We had a lovely weekend... as much as I missed Ollie on Saturday night, James and I had a really lovely, romantic meal out... I even wore a dress!!  We had an entire night of sleep and didn't get up on Sunday until 11.45! Nearly lunchtime.  Ollie went to church with my mum before she, Harry and Ryan came for dinner at our house.  It would appear that Ollie prefers to be good for his granny rather than me.  He slept the whole night through at my mum's house... something he never does here!  I'm not sure what we are doing wrong hehe!

I think his teething has calmed down the last couple of days because there has not been anywhere near as much crying as the previous week or so.  He is in such a good mood!  Maybe the teething is calming down for a few days and then the REAL teething starts after... I'm pretty sure it is going to cut through quite soon.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

O0o0o0oh Ollie

... I miss my boy dreadfully.  He has gone to stay with Granny tonight and get spoilt rotten!  James and I went for dinner in a lovely place called Oxford Exchange and we got steak and rose wine.  Delicious.  But I want Ollie back... he has stayed at my mum's 3 times now and each time I think I have missed him more rather than less!  I am looking forward to a full nights sleep though!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Good Boy!

Ollie has been going to bed with a soother and swaddled up all tight every night... the swaddling started because he kept knocking his dummy out and waking himself up every few minutes!  Anyway... we have visions of swaddling him and putting him to bed with a soother until he is like 4 or 5 yars old so James and I decided we would like to start kicking those habits... at least before 6 months which is the age they develop dependencies and grow attached to things.

Last night... we put Ollie to bed with no soother and no swaddling.  I thought it would be awful!!  He screamed for about half an hour and then that was it... no moer screaming and a pretty relaxed night all in all... no swaddling and no soother!

It was hard letting him cry for that long because normally I am right up there in a shot.  James put a white noise track on his cd which sounds just like fuzzy noise on a radio and this calmed him down!

We will see how tonight goes... but it looks as if this is going to be easier than I imagined.  If we can wean him off the soother at nighttime then we will get started on the day time.

Good boy Ollie!!!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

I tried...

to start weaning ollie off his dummy today.  We don't want him to get too attached to it and then it will be harer but it seems to help him so much with his sore teeth... and it's the only way he can sleep.

I've given up...

already...

... in fact I gave up at midday today.

This was the reason he screamed so much this morning.  The reason they call them soothers is because they really do soothe a baby!  I don't think I will try weaning him off it now until after he has all his teeth or he gives it up himself.  I thought weaning him off during the day only would be a good start and then we could tackle the nighttime.  Boy did he hate me today :(

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ollie is very upset

...and I'm not sure if it is his teeth bothering him or the weaning! :( I think we are going to stop giving him solids for a couple of days to see if his mood improves any in which case we will know if we maybe started weaning him a little too early and maybe he just isn't ready yet. Otherwise... if it is his teeth... I really hope one cuts through soon because I seriously can not imagine it getting any worse than this. The poor little man has cried constantly almost non-stop for the last couple of days. There is not much more I can do for him other than give him Calpol and for his gums... just some gel!

:( Poor wee Ollie. I want my happy boy back!

After a small break...

I'm back...!

As you can see I have moved most of the posts from my old blog into here as I feel this blog is more relevant to what I want to write about!

Ollie is doing so well.  We notice a very large change in him every day.  He is so interested in the world around him that it takes forever to feed him... he is too busy looking at everything else going on.  He is so observant and it's lovely to see him so aware and responsive.

We have started weaning him properly.  Just baby rice so far and only a couple of teaspoons a day so his little digestive system can get used to it.  It all seems to be going well so far... he has had no tummy trouble or anything and he LOVES the rice.  I am going to be following the weaning plan set out in "Weaning : whatfoods to itroduce and when".  It makes it easier.  I am also going to be making my own baby food.  I think it's nice to know exactly what he is eating.  Of course, I'll keep a couple of jars in the cupboard for an emergency but I'm looking forward to making his meals.  I've already made and frozen pear puree and apple puree.

Ollie has discovered his hands!  They go into his mouth at every oppurtunity and when his mouth is occupied with a dummy, he rubs his hands together!  He is getting more to grips with holding on to something and reaching out for things and he has the strongest grip!  He likes holding my hand when I'm feeding his bottle :)

We went to our first mother and baby group last Friday and it was wonderful.  It was so relaxed, there was tea and toast, lots of kids running about and babies crawling and lots of other mummys to talk to.  I was nervous at first but everyone was really friendly and I acn't wait to go back this Friday.

On Saturday Ollie had his very first 1st birthday party to attend.  It was the birthday of my best friend Charlene's baby Josh.  They had an entertainer who sung nursery rhymes with the children.  Ollie was a little bit young to understand but I think he had fun seeing all that was going on around him.  It really struck me the very large difference between little Ollie and a child who is one!  The other babies were so grown up compared... and all this in the space of just 8 more months!  I want him to stay small and cuddly forever but at the same time it will be so so wonderful to see him develop into a happy and exciting toddler!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Ollie's growing up!

Not reeeeeally but I am so surprised at how fast time is flying and how much he has grown and developed in that short space of 4 months!

My little baby is big... now weighing a whole stone (14lbs)!!  He is now able to lift his head, neck and shoulders CLEAR off the ground in tummy time and his head is so steady!  Ollie also likes to chat A LOT!  He babbles all the time and hardly ever cries now.  It's adorable.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Ollie's first holiday!

Our first family holiday was a success.  Were back from 4 and a half lovely days of relaxing, eating lovely food and viewing the amazing Scottish sights and scenery!  It was great to have James for a long weekend instead of just the normal two days and Ollie kept quite happy almost the entire time!  It was so exciting bringing Ollie over to Scotland to meet his Great Grandparents (my Granny and Grandad) for the first time.  They were so pleased to meet him and spoilt him with cuddles hehe!

My Granny and Grandad moved to a place on the Scottish Borders called Kelso in May.  Kelso is a very picturesque, pretty and historical town with cobbled roads and old abbey ruins!  My Granny is an archaeologist so it is a brilliant location with lots of interesting things for her to see!

While we were in Kelso we saw a lot!  On Friday we went to visit my Uncle Damon and his children (my Auntie was picking my cousin Ellie up from boarding school so we didn't get to see much of them).  I got to meet my 6 year old twin cousins, Toby and Oscar, who I have never met before and also saw a cousin, Hamish, who I have not seen since he was a baby!  He is now 9!  They adored Ollie and gave him lots of cuddles!!  My Uncle built his own house and it's fabulous!  Hamish gave us the tour!

Friday was my Auntie Tammy's birthday so we all had a nice dinner together.  James and I made stuffed meatloaf for everyone and it went down a treat... Uncle Damon and the boys came up for cake later in the evening.

On Saturday we packed a picnic and went to Holy Island/ Lindisfarne.  There is a causeway you can drive over but only when the tide is out and when the tide comes in your stuck there until it goes out again!  We went over at 12 midday meaning that the tide was coming in and we could not leave until about 5.45pm!  Luckily there was plenty for us to do.  The Island was adorable... so so pretty... with a castle, saxon church, priory, gift shops, beach and little cafes.  Ollie enjoyed all the fresh air!  We got the best weather!

On Sunday we had a more relazed day and went to visit Uncle Damon again.  The scenery around their house is just amazing so we went for a short walk in the hills.  We then took Granny and Grandad out for dinner to a resturant called Cross Keys and they enjoyed it thoroughly!

The flights were fine both there and back... I thought the air pressure would hurt Ollie's ears but it didn't.  He had his dummy to suck on the whole way and he didn't cry at all the entire flight!

Not sure where we will go next but were definately going back to Scotland next August so we can see the Edinburgh Military Tattoo!!

[gallery]