Monday, November 24, 2008

p.s....

Ollie smiles at him self and then hides his face whenever I get him to look in the mirror.  He has never paid any attention to his reflection but in the past week he has TOTALLY noticed.  He squeals with delight when he seems himself.  I'm not sure if he knows it is him... or if he thinks it is another baby!  But it's cute anyway!

He has also learnt to squeal.  A PROPER squeal that is dreadfully sweet but makes my head sore.  He squeals with a big grin.

We had such a wonderful day today.  James and I did a massive clear out and clean up of the house at the weekend and I did the ironing on Sunday so there were no chores needing done (for the first time ever!).  It meant that Ollie and I could spend the whole day together playing without me having to stop to get on with housework, leaving him to his own devices.  I hate doing that!  I think he really benefited from all the extra attention today.  He was such a happy chap and he has gone to bed worn out.  I'm going to keep the house in much better shape from now on and try and spend that much extra time with him each day because today was just delicious :D

Catch up :)

Were all doing good here... had a really busy weekend!

Our car kind of gave up the ghost during the week... so many things were going wrong with it and the last was the radiator so we decided to take out a car loan and buy a new one.  We got a lovely gunmetal grey Seat Altea.  It is a 2005 car but looks like it has hardly ever been touched.  Were very pleased with the purchase!!

Ollie has been eating all kinds of vegetables recently.  he was not fussed ont he green beans first of all but has come to like them and today was the first ay I introduced a breakfast.  He is now on 3 solids a day and 4 bottles of milk.  I have to start introducing a bit more water though.  I think he will be ready for protein by Christmas... he can have some of our Christmas dinner! :)

We are on top of our Christmas shopping... only a few pressies left to buy.  I have even started wrapping!  James is preparing our Christmas dinner this year and thinking up the menu all by himself.  This is our first Christmas on our own... every other year has been spent with either set of parents.  I'm really looking forward to starting our own traditions.  We are going for dinner with my family on Christmas eve and we are spending Boxing day with James' fmaily.

My mum got Ollie his very own little 1st Christmas stocking!

I've been going to mother and baby group more regularly over the last few weeks and I really like it!  It's so easy on cold days here to stay inside and not do much... so the group is a lovely way to get out for a few hours and chat to other mummys!  I'm already making some friends there.

We are trying to live more frugally.  We seem to leak money constantly so James and I have set ourselves a plan to get into a proper budget and actually think about what we are spending money on.  Our goal is to buy this house in June so we need to save hard hard hard!

Oh, Ollie got his first ever runny nose on Saturday!  Today he seemed more snuffly in the morning so I think he might be getting his first ever cold.  Not bad... 5 months and not a hint of sickness until now!  Let's hope his snuffles don't develop and that the cold stays away!

Still no sign of a tooth!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Adventures in weaning part 3

My little man looks set to have the same appetite as me.  He eats a lot!  We have overcome the carrot issue and he now enjoys it.  So far he has had apple, pear, banana, carrot and potato... he didn't like potato all that much but he loves sweet potato!  This week he is going to try courgette, swede and green beans!  Should be interesting!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Clever Boy!

Ollie has dropped his 11pm feed.... now he is on just 4 milk feeds a day!

He kind of did this himself... but the wrong way around.  He would drink the 11pm feed but would'nt drink any of his 7am feed.  So last night we didn't give the 11pm feed and this morning he took a big chunk of his 7am milk!  He was supposed to be giving up the 11pm feed sometime this month anyway.  His apetite for food had kind of decreased the last few days so I'm sure this will help get him back on track.  4 nights in a row sleeping through too!  Clever Boy!

It used to be that I would have to wait up till this time so I could feed him but now that he no longer needs it, I can go to bed whenever I want!  Woohoo!

Ollie is staying at Granny's house again tonight.  She is picking him up when she finishes work.  James and I are going to see Death Cab For Cutie who are playing in St. Georges Market.  We used to be massive concert goers but have not been to a concert in over a year!  So I'm very excited!

Monday, November 10, 2008

...and last night?

OK... he didn't need picked up or anything but he did wake at about 1am... James went in and it was just that he had kicked all his blankets off!  Once he had fixed his blankets he went off to sleep straight away.  James said he also woke up at 5am and fussed for about a minute and he didn;t have to go in (I didn't even hear).  I guess it counts as sleeping through!

Discovered something funny!

Ollie sneezes at the sunlight!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

How did last night go?

Really well actually!  I settled my little man at about 8.00pm... fed him a bottle at 11.00pm (he never wakes for this... I dream feed)... and off he went and did not wake up until 7.30 in the morning!  I feel pretty darn rested!  Good fella!  I'm not getting my hopes up too high though.  He has slept through the night sporadically before and then it stopped all of a sudden... so who knows.  It is darker in his new room and must be quieter too!

Woohoo!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Ollie blowing raspberries!

His own room!

We finally (well James finally... I can't take the credit), cleared out the 'miscellaneous room' in time for Ollie spending his first night in there on his own!  It looks nice.  The large cupboard is getting picked up tomorrow and the room will be even nicer!  I'm a little nervous that he won't like it, that he will miss us or that we will miss him... but on the other hand I'm looking forward to it too!  James and I might soon start catching up on proper solid sleep... something almost forgotten by us!

To mark the event I bought him some cute little letters today for his door, that spell out Ollie!

We decided to move him in on a Saturday night incase the night is unsettled!  I can't believe how much bigger our room looks now with no cotbed!!

Aw my little Ollie...

ALMOST slept through the night again.  I think he is waking not because he is hungry (he only takes 30ml or so if James tries to give him a bottle in the night!)... but because his teeth are so sore.  Maybe that's why he woke so much the other night... and in our sleepiness didn't even think of that.

Well last night he went to bed at 8 and didn't wake up until nearly 5... James put gel on his gums and he went back to sleep until 7!  That's not bad... He slept through apart from a slather of gel on his little sore gums!

Fingers crossed THIS is it now... fingers werent crossed hard enough last time!!!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Were not happy today!

Ollie has never been an upset baby...in fact he hardly ever used to cry but now with his teething he seems to have learnt. He cries when i'm there and he cries when I leave the room and last night he woke 6 times in the night crying! It might be down to his sore teeth coming through, but anytime he stays at my mums he sleeps the whole night through... she doesnt have to go to him once!

Im scared i've made him to clingy and im finding the amount of crying very hard to cope with day to day. I just dont know why he is so unhappy when he used to be the happiest baby ever. The sleeping thing was nearly all sorted out... we weaned him off his dummy and he was waking only once in the night... we patted his tummy and he went back to sleep. I feel like he is regressing and things are getting harder than easier. Everyone said things get easier..... but they arent!

I dont know what to do...  I cuddle him, calpol, calgel.... teetha granules...cuddle some more but nothing is working.  I hope it's a phase and I haven't spoilt him by cuddling him too much...

Poor Ollie and me...

Thank goodness it's Friday so we have James here for the weekend!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Adventures in Weaning Part 2

So Ollie is now on two meals a day... when I say meals I don't mean MEALS... he already seems to be a fussy eater and only really eats a lot of fruit... he doesn't seem to be all that keen on ANY of his vegetables!
He has been having baby porridge for breakfast (which he loves with a little dollop of baby red berry compote from a jar) and having either a lunch or dinner.

Today I tried mixing some baby cheese sauce into the carrot and potato mix but it smelt foul.
Not sure how to get him to start eating vegetables instead of fruit though... I think I've got him used to the sweetness of fruit and carrots just taste bland compared!

He is so good at taking it off the spoon now and at swallowing.  Hardly any dribbles out at all!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My arms feel useless!

Today I haven't had to hold baby and a bottle... I haven't had to push a pram... pick up crying Ollie or throw him in the air to make him giggle... I haven't had to cuddle him in my arms to help him fall asleep for his naps...

My arms feel useless.... but at the end of those arms are some cute nicely manicured nails!

I'm enjoying my break today but I still miss him a lot... like always... things have been so tough recently and I really think I need to give my head some space more often.  A baby's cries are so upsetting and I've been hearing a lot of it in recent weeks.  Poor honey bun.  I never expected to be as upset by his cries as I sometimes am.

He has never been a very upset baby... he hardly ever cried so I think it upsets me more because I'm not used to it.  Those darn teeth!

I'm on my own today! (Completly!)

Ollie is going to Granny's this morning and is not coming back until lunchtime tomorrow!  I have no plans... I should have plans.... I should get the housework doe but I think a day to myself should be spent doing something fun I can't do with Ollie... like getting my nails done....

My baby is 5 months today!

He is growing so fast!  His little personality is not so little anymore.  He chats and smiles at everyone he meets!  He knows familiar faces and I THINK he can roll (most of the time he is a little lazy to try though) (I think he can roll because I had to catch him nearly falling off the sofa and there is no other way he could have done that!)

Ollie now weighs 16lbs and is 64cm long!

Unfortunately the Gina Ford thing isn't working out so well... we had a couple of ok nights but now it's just back the way it was when he was a tiny baby!  He woke 3 times last night.  I don't know how to fix this!!

The weaning is going fantastic.  He had porridge with red berries for breakfast the last two days and he loved it!  Today I'm starting him on two solid meals a day rather than one so maybe this will help keep his tummy a little more full and help him sleep longer at night.

The teething is ok at the minute.  Bad days are interspersed with good days and there is no pattern, but when a good day comes around you love it all that much more.  Poor wee soul... I wish there was more I could do for his teeth.  I hope one comes through soon because I can't imagine it getting worse than it is now.

My little man is quite the chatterbox... it's lovely!  He makes such a wide range of sounds and "word" that sometimes I swear I can hear mama!  Apparently they can say it from this age but it has no connection to me being his mama... it's just a sound... what's not to say my baby is a genius though! :)

On his happy days he is the brightest little being I could imagine.  He smiles nonstop and laughs if you use a silly voice, tickle his waist, rub noses, tickle his neck and bounce him on your knees!  His laughs makes James and I both laugh and I nearly cry it's that cute!