18-4-2009 - My baby at 7 months

My mood while writing this blog: proud, happy, amazed

My baby is 7 months old today and I am so proud of him and everything he has acheived. This last month has been huge for him in that he learned to crawl properly on his hands and knees after mastering the combat crawl, he can now sit properly and well balanced. He can kneel and he loves to pull himself up to standing. He has been doing the downward facing dog for a while now with both palms on the floor and his bum in the air with straight legs and while he is using something to hold himself up in the standing position he has let go for a second and then fallen, so he is already practising standing on is own. He has been loving his solids and I have continued with the baby led weaning mostly but now and again I will give him food from a spoon as I am not sure if he gets enough and if I give it to him when he is a bit tired, he will not be as eager to feed himself and I wonder if he gets enough food. Especially as I look after other children (not my own) I have found it very hard to get him in to any sort of routine. I have to admit I do battle with this routine business. I know he naturally has one and I follow his cues rather than being strict with times and just saying 'right, to bed, it is 9 o clock now'.

This book I have called Save our sleep says to put them back to bed at 9am but the other day he was really ready for sleep at 8 so I put him down and he slept!

We went away for Easter to Daylesford and it was quite good. I got away with my brother and his wife and 1 1/2 yr old, my daughters, Hadley and my mum who had come down from interstate for the trip. My mum, Hadley and I slept in the same bed as she brought a doona from home and I did not. The condition of the house was not clean; it was so dusty and old and we were greeted with two huge huntsmans; one of them was in my mum's room so we decided we would be less scared being together. Bubby slept between us which she enjoyed and found it a very special bonding time with him. One night, she dreamed he was falling out of bed and I heard him cry out just as he was about to fall out of bed, but I grabbed him just in time around the tummy and he dangled out of bed head first for a brief second before I pulled him back up. First time ever which isn't bad considering I have had him in bed with me for 7 months now.

The country air was great for us all including bubby and as good as it was to get out and see the sights and everything, too much being in the pram made him long for just a crawl around and to stretch his legs. By the time we got home was so eager to be on his own and practice his mobility. Also there was an open fire and a radiator which I had to be mindful of his safety around. We have ducted heating so dont really think about that usually. When we were away my mum cooked a lamb roast and I gave him a piece of tender lamb to suck on and he loved it. I am not sure how much he actually ate but it went down okay and I have decided to start giving him meat. I can hear Maha now saying dont do that, but I have talked to other mums and they have said that their babies started eating meat quite early - and I am not talking about large amounts. The other night Hadley has his dinner and then a bath and then he was awake during our dinner so he sat on my lap and munched a chicken nugget. Which led me to two conclusions - one is that he likes food he can feed himself and the other is that he loves taste and people food. He loves it, so yesterday I made him some shepards pie with lamb mince, which I drained thoroughly of fat. My mum was here so she mixed the potato and some mashed pumpkin and carrot in with the meat mix instead of layering it but whatever, it was quite tasty as I put some soy sauce and stock into it too. He loved it so I am going to freeze all the little containers. I made some pumpkin risotto for him before I left which was so simple to make and he enjoys the rice, he likes broccoli and last night I gave him some of my asparagus and he loved it. I am trying to build up some meals for him in the freezer. He still has his baby yoghurt, grated apple and toast. The other day I put some cheerios into yoghurt with some hot water and let him feed himself. I will also try mushy peas too. So the solids are going well and I attempt to offer him savoury and sweet meaning fruit and custard and some gels. Apart from having the odd custard and fruit gel he mainly eats home made food which is really important. I have fed all my kids with home made food.

Hadley is the main focus of the house and the girls are very caring sisters. They have been known to make him breakfast if I am busy which is great and they know what to do if he is upset. Sometimes it is hard to get a look in with him as there are so many people wanting to hold him. While we were away he got to know his cousin a little more and she began saying my name and becoming less jealous of her family holding him and accepting it.

When Hadley sees me from across the room he smiles and laughs. He wakes up happy everyday and gives me the most amazing smiles. He has still not kept me awake at night time ever which is amazing or had any crying spells. He had a runny nose once but that was about it for sicknesses so I am lucky. We go back next week for an appointment to check his weight. I have been eating whatever I want for the last month and hope it has made a difference as I don’t enjoy feeling fat and I was really loving feeling trim and weighing less but for him I don’t mind so much.

I can’t stop kissing and hugging him in the morning (as well as through the day). I know that one day he will be a tall man and these days will seem so long ago but I would love to lock away these memories and draw on them, but I know from my girls that the memories fade. I guess that is why we have taken hundreds of photos and many hours of video footage of him.

Hadley loves the cat and talks to him often when he sees her through the glass but he also loves photos of himself or anyone and actual people. He always has a smile for them and charms people wherever he goes.

I have almost finished my course. I have two video activities to do and hand in and then hopefully they will pass me and I can apply to be a marriage celebrant. I just hope I have enough knowledge to continue it through. I have a problem with confidence. I learn a lot in my education only to finish by doubting myself afterwards and then not having the confidence to continue to sell myself. But as long as I can remember the legal parts of it, stick with the code of conduct and be professional, it is the kind of job that you can use your personality rather than being a particular way of doing things. My baby is my motivation, my kids are too but I need a motivator and I want to become a celebrant and not look after kids – that is my goal. I want to be with my baby every day and not have to share him with day care kids. so I will push myself out of my comfort zone to achieve my goal. I must push on and through any doubt I may feel. I will just be myself. I am sure that is what others are being.

Well that is all I have time to write at the moment. Bubby needs me and I have so much to do that I must get off. I adore my baby and my girls – I love my life with them and I am very privileged to be able to share it with such extraordinary people.