52 Weeks Old

I’ve been writing this blog every other Friday since the week after you were born and we’ve now finally reached the one year mark, minus a day (officially your birthday is tomorrow and I’m going to write an extra blog about your actual birthday).

What a year it’s been, I can’t quite believe it’s even been that long. A whole year of you in our lives! Such an impression you’ve made upon us it’s so I can’t remember you not being here. Everyday you amaze me, everyday you fill my heart with joy, love, pride and worry and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are my all, my everything and I am so grateful to have been blessed with you.

Unfortunately this last fortnight has been filled with illnesses for you so we haven’t done much but stay indoors, away from other people. I’ve tried to make up for your lack of groups by doing messy play and making sensory bottles.

Unfortunately we missed your first birthday party too, that of Coral’s which was such a great shame.

We did have a reprieve on Sunday 16th where you had fully recovered from your first virus and attended the christening of Grayson. It really was such a lovely occasion and I’m so honoured that we were invited to celebrate his special day. We attended the church service at St Olaf’s, Poughill and I’m proud to say you behaved impeccably, even the lady behind us remarked at the end how fabulously you behaved, I was so proud of you in that moment. Afterwards we had a reception at Tommy Jacks where there were bubbles, food, friends and laughter. A really fabulous day. It went a bit pear shaped in the evening though when you had another health wobble which resulted in more drama (see below).

Health
Where to start. You started this fortnight with the most dramatic day which resulted in us calling 999 at lunchtime after you spiked a temperature, started screaming inconsolably and then started projectile vomiting. The paramedic who attended was fantastic and I’ll be eternally grateful to him for being so calm and understanding with these two panicked, overwrought new parents facing their first crisis. Thankfully you didn’t need to be taken to hospital as, although clearly unwell, you weren’t ‘that’ unwell. He observed you for about an hour and referred us to the out of hours doctor up at Stratton Hospital who checked you over again and diagnosed an ear infection. He prescribed some antibiotics but left it to our discretion as to whether to administer them or not. We decided to wait and see how you were for a couple of days before doing this. As it happens we did the right thing. By Sunday night you were developing pinprick spots all over your hands, arms and legs and with the knowledge of Hand, Foot and Mouth (HFAM) disease doing the rounds we began to wonder whether you had contracted this. On Monday morning small blisters were beginning to form on your hands and feet and a few spots around your mouth. A trip to the doctors confirmed you did, indeed have Hand, Foot and Mouth. Quarantined.

Having got over this trauma you decided the following Sunday would be a good time for a repeat performance, filling our bed, this time. Bless your heart you’ve been through the wringer this fortnight. This time we phoned 111 but they decided, in their infinite wisdom, to call out the ambulance as they didn’t like that you were semi responsive. Again you had a raging temperature and they waited until they spoke to a doctor before deciding what to do. As it turns out he was happy you had just caught another bug whilst your immune system was low during HFAM.

Teeth
On the 17th your right upper lateral incisor pushed through! Just what you need when you’re so poorly.

Firsts
On the 8th we had to make our first 999 call for you.
On the 15th you stood totally unsupported all of your own volition. You held it for at least a minute before you realised. Clever boy.
On the 16th it was your first Christening and church service when we were invited to celebrate Grayson’s special day.

Muscle Development & Coordination
Standing: You are free standing quite a lot now.
Walking: You love nothing better than walking holding onto one of our hands and look like you’re so chuffed.
Coordination: Your fascination with your shape sorter has led to putting things in things, posting things and dropping things. This has resulted in many lost items and items being located in the most bizarre of places. You love dropping things down the back of the cat tower and is usually our first point of call when trying to locate the phone/remote/bunch of keys/water bottle.

I cut holes and slots in an empty box to help encourage this skill and has made me try develop your fine motor skills by getting the pasta and bottles out.

Speech: We’ve decided that Yaya is actually Dada and you have been saying this to get Daddy’s attention quite a bit. This resulted in Daddy’s tears!

Sleep
No change here. We still have an initial 5-6 hour stint when you’re settled by about 1830 followed by wake ups every 2-3 hours. When you were poorly we regressed to every hour or two wake ups from settling which was quite understandable. You are still having 2 naps during the day.

Growth
At one year old you:
Weigh: 21Ib 9.5oz
Length: 75cm

You have lost 2oz since you were last weighed but you’ve barely eaten this last fortnight so the HVs aren’t worried. You remain in the 50th centile for weight and the 25th for length.

Feeding
You haven’t really eaten a great deal this fortnight what with HFAM and then your nasty cold so you’ve been pretty much totally boob fed.
New Tastes: Branston Pickle, Lentil Soup

50 Weeks Old

Eep, the next blog I write will be your one year, I’m not sure I’m entirely ready for that!

This fortnight started off with a lovely weekend spent as a family with lots of lovely walks, I also started running again… I hurt! It’s half term this week so most of our groups are not running which is probably good as it looks like I’ll be waiting in everyday for BT to come and repair the phone line the builders killed when re-rendering. In fact, as it turns out, we pretty much stayed in for the entire fortnight waiting for BT.

This fortnight saw you start to clap properly and also saw you start to kiss us, it is rather cute despite the fact you do this with an open, slobbery mouth or just bump heads together.

In the world: On the 26th October Britain’s war with Afghanistan came to an end after 13 years, crazy to think that your cousin has only ever known us to be at war.

Health
Apart from a runny nose [teething?] you’ve been fine. I, on the other hand, had a nice bout of mastitis on the 2nd. Way to go. Thought I’d left that delight a long way behind me so it’s another load of antibiotics which I hope don’t make you poorly.

Teeth
I feel your eye teeth are on their way, I thought I saw a flash of white on the 29th but haven’t seen anything since so it was probably something else. Mila already has hers through!

Firsts
On the 2nd November you started clapping your hands together properly…. And I missed it due to being laid up in bed. It was nice that daddy experienced a first though.
On the 4th you started to kiss which is just the most wonderful, amazing thing ever!

Character
You are showing your loving side now that you are kissing and hugging us. There’s nothing more heart melting than this, I can tell you. You continue to be intrigued by everything around you and everyone remarks on this.

Muscle Development & Coordination
Walking: On the 29th October I assembled the wooden trolley walker granny and grandad bought you. I was going to wait until your birthday but I thought you’d benefit from it now. I was right… You’re addicted! You really shift with it.

Coordination: You are constantly playing with your shape sorter and stacking rings and have pretty much mastered both. You still love using your spoon to scoop food from your bowl but do this as a game rather than to gain sustenance. Clapping your hands together has finally been mastered. You’ve being clasping your hands together and shaking them up and down and taking our hands in yours and making us clap but on the 2nd you finally clapped your own together, a beautiful moment and you looked so pleased with yourself.
Speech: You’ve certainly found your D’s much to Daddy’s pride. You’re also saying words (or, atleast making sounds that sound like words) like hiya and yeah and babble away to yourself quite happily.
Recognition: You certainly know the words for items now and when asked ‘Where’s your crocodile/lion/penguin/bowl/spoon/ball, etc?’ You go straight to the item.

Entertainment
Dancing/bopping is a new favourite whenever you hear some lively music be it on TV, iPod or a toy. It’s an absolute delight to see you starting to enjoy music.
You still love your shape sorter and stacking rings and you’ve also developed a bond with the crocodile Granny and Grandad bought you, this is the first cuddly toy you’ve shown a real interest in, to the point you kiss it and bite it’s feet and look happy to see it.

Sleep
Well you haven’t treated us to a sleep through again, I knew it was going to be a fluke though you’re not bad. The clocks went back last week which upset us a bit as you were waking at four, which considering it was your 5 couldn’t be complained about.

Growth
I didn’t get you weighed this fortnight, I’m saving that for next time.

Feeding
You’re still not eating lunch from a spoon, favouring nachos or Melba toast as a utensil. You’re also still not interested in anything other than porridge for tea but you do it a wide range of food for lunch so I’m not too bothered.
New tastes: Melba toast

48 Weeks Old

First off, apologies for a near two week delay in uploading this. Builders knocked out our phone line and it took that long for BT to come amd connect us.

This fortnight saw you turn 11 months old. It started off with your first ever Beer & Cider Festival at the Prestongate Inn in Poughill. The PrestonFest was possibly enjoyed more by your Daddy than you but it was nice to get out the house as a family for the day and do something kinda grown-up. I think you were a little disappointed with the band as every time they sound checked you were raring to go, bopping in anticipation, then they’d stop again… We had to leave before they started playing, unfortunately.

Your Granny and Grandad came down for the week too, which was lovely. We had lots of lovely walks and lunches out and Grandad enjoyed playing with you. Granny bought you a crocodile which you have really taken to, in fact, it’s the first cuddly toy you’ve really taken a shine to.

We also went to Boscastle for lunch which was nice as it’s the first time you’ve been there, though lunch was a little disappointing.

Daddy’s been home for the last couple of weeks which has been nice for you to have him around all the time, though I do think this, coupled with your grandparents visit has played havoc with your schedule, in a nice way you understand. However, Daddy went away again on the 20th for a couple of nights so we managed to get you back on some sort of daytime even keel.

This last week we’ve just been doing the usual groups and Music Train. We finished Here’s Looking at You little One last week which is a real shame, we’ve both thoroughly enjoyed it, it was good to learn about your development and watch you interact in a more interactive environment. I got to finish your Learning Journey and bring it home along with a goodie bag containing an egg shaker…. Your new favourite!

Health
All good, you seem to have got rid of your cough and runny nose which I’m still certain had more to do with your teeth than a virus.

Teeth
I still think I can see some bulging where your eye teeth and bottom side teeth are going to be but your drool has eased off a fair bit so am thinking you’re having a bit of respite from them for the time being.

Firsts
On the 15th October we received your first passport. Now to book a holiday.
On the 19th it sounded like you said Daddy for the first time. Whether this was a fluke, we’re not sure as you haven’t said it again.

Character
You are becoming more and more inquisitive, something you’ve always shown but these days seem to have stepped up a gear. You’re also showing that you don’t give in easily and your sheer determination to learn something new is quite awe inspiring. You get really lost in what you’re doing showing real focus, you don’t just give up and move on to something else like others can. Trouble is this is also the case when you want to be doing something you shouldn’t (something that could harm you) so I get the brunt of your frustration when I try and distract you into doing something else… A near impossible task.

Muscle Development & Coordination
Walking: You are walking really well these days (with our support, or the support of furniture, of course). You can’t half shift whilst cruising and race along the sofa and units now, then you use other items (such as your jumperoo or a box) to navigate across a gap to another piece of furniture. It’s really impressive to watch. We’ve been trying to encourage you to free stand but this is very early days and you only manage to last a few seconds when we get you properly centred before your knees buckle and you crumple to the floor.
Coordination: You’re busy perfecting using your spoon and bowl at the moment which is lovely to see, though leaves an awful mess in your wake. You’ve pretty much mastered the shape sorter though you struggle when the block’s coordinated hole is on the side of the box. You’re constantly putting things in and taking things out of things and for this reason I have cut out lots of holes in a cardboard box so you can ‘post’ things, which you love.
Speech: You do seem to be forming words now, what they are we have no idea but you’re certainly babbling about something.

Entertainment
It would appear that your item d’jour is a spoon. Of all the toys in this house, your spoon is of great interest not letting go of it from supper, through your bath and afterwards. Posting and putting things into boxes. The crocodile Granny bought you seems to have grabbed your attention as has the Lion Uncle Simon and Auntie Jacqueline bought you when you were born.

Sleep
Your sleep has still been horrendous with you wanting to start your day at 3/4am which is tiring, to say the least. However, on the night of the 20th you did a complete turn around and slept through the night for the first time ever! A miracle! You were asleep by 1830 and didn’t wake until 0430 then slept again until 0630. Of course I was awake at 12, 2 and 3. The next night wasn’t as good but not too bad, the night after (when your Daddy returned home) we reverted back to three wake ups and a 0430 start. Ho well!

Growth
Seeing as you turned 11 months this week I decided to get you weighed again, that and the fact you seem, recently to have got really heavy.
Weight: 21Ibs 11.5oz

Feeding
You seem to have gone off eating this fortnight, really not sure why but Amy says Coral has done the same. Though you would happily tuck away yogurt and Porridge until the end of time I’ve read that I shouldn’t just give in and give you what you want in the hope hunger prevails, the health visitor shared the same opinion… Hmmmm, that isn’t going to go well. However an idea occurred to me today, as it occurred to me everything I eat you want to have, to perhaps load your food onto something. So I made some homemade tortilla chips and loaded your shepherds pie onto it and it worked, you ate the whole lot!
New Tastes: Houmous, kiwi fruit, quesadilla, homemade tortilla chips which I have discovered are great for loading or dipping.