Up-date from mumma Steph

It's been some time since I caught up on the blog...here's a quick up-date on what we've been doing.

Well, Curtis is coming up to six months now and just doesn't feel like a baby to me at all anymore. His personality is certainly starting to shine through and I'm frequently stopped in the street by people commenting on how giggly and smiley he is. He smiles at everyone and is always full of energy, and people also remark on how alert he is. His reaction time from hearing a noise and turning towards it is astounding and it's quite a job to keep hold of him if we are somewhere with lots for him to see. He now also throws his arms towards things which take his interest too and this can include anyone within reach!

He has continued to eat really well with portion sizes increasing fast. He eats everything he is offered but squeals with excitement at mango and papaya. A typical menu for Curtis just now is: breakfast of baby wholemeal porridge with fresh fruits puree such as mango, pears and apple with a bit of cinnamon, lunch of fresh avocado followed by a veg portion such as carrot and peas then for his 5pm feed today it was creamy leeks and carrots with a 5 green veg medley with watercress and a portion of sweet potatoe followed by paw paw for dessert. Gareth and I barely cook for ourselves at all now as we are too busy making Curtis food which is made in batches and frozen in ice cube trays for future use. I cant wait till he is 6 months and we can begin giving him fish, meats, lentils, dairy, bread, pasta etc. Up till now it's been safe veggie foods only.

Physically he is doing great. The reflux he had has gone completely and has transformed our days enabling us to get so much more done more easily. He now has to catch up on all the tummy time he missed out on however when he couldnt go down on his front and is doing so with the aid of his funny new tummy time spinner...it's a bit like the wheel they use on the friday night project! We have also finally found a solution for his eczema...abandoning the horrid creams issued by the GP and using herbal lotions of calendula. He now for once has baby soft skin :-) tho he does stil scratch it whenever he can.

Activities: since his feeding has been more manageable...(thank goodness for solid foods!) I've been able to get out and about more often and have taken Curtis swimming twice in the past week. After clinging to me like a little scared monkey last Monday (it was schoool holidays and very noisey/busy) he gradually settled in and allowed me to move him around the pool and he eventually started splashing the water, then on Sunday we went to his first Ducklings swimming class which Curtis just loved. He was splashing his hands in the water the entire time and was laughing and smiling from the minute we arrived so I think this might be a regular Sunday morning class for us. Its on at 9am though! Oh how the times have changed...no more staggering back from Saturday night parties for us in the wee hours of Sunday morning! Good...cos this is much more fun.

We've also been going to bounce and rhyme sessions at the library where mums and babies sit in a circle singing nursery ryhmes using any oppurtunity in the lyrics to bounce, lift or otherwise entertain the little ones. Curtis always seems a bit stunned by the whole event and is quieter than usual and whilst he is happy to be there, watch and listen it doesn't seem to rock his boat. I'm sure it's good for him socially and I sure as hell need to learn my nursery rhymes so we'll keep going anyhoo.

And finally...as for sleeping, despiote solid foods and less frequent day feeds he still wakes at 10.30pm ish and then 1-2 times in the night to feed so I'm back to feeling quite tired and really miss the energy I had when he was sleeping longer. Some night feeds take over an hour as either he or I fall asleep and lose track of whats happening. We wonder if it's just a comfort thing and only feed him if he cant be encourgaed back to sleep. Until he gets onto a wider range of foods I'm happy (did I say happy??!!) to continue the night feeds to ensure he gets the milk he needs 'cos with breastfeeding you just cant see how much they are taking in...but in a few weeks with my imminent return to work we will have to make a serious switch over to mainly bottle feeds.

Well, that's all from me just now. Hope to find some pics to add to this otherwise wordy up-date cos hey I know you just wanna see the photos anyway!