Saturday, January 28, 2006

Giggles

Can you believe it, Fred is 10 weeks old already!! He's growing very fast, already he's in size 00 & the odd 0. Mind you he is in the top 95th percentile as far as growth is concerned :) He does like his food :)

We have settled into a semi routine which isn't so much time based as task based. We eat, sleep, have a massage, bath and the odd outing which seems to be going well. He's a very happy boy who loves his massage and bath time. The poor thing suffers bad wind pain at times and both the massage and bath releive this pain. Yesterday he was in the bath with me and both Jo and I were talking to him when he giggled and didn't stop :) It was the sweetest thing to see, Jo had tears in her eyes watching him ... it was absolutely gorgeous, you had to be there .... well, maybe not.

It's mind boggling to watch them grow and develop their little personalities. I've attended the first parent group outside the community based group and had lunch with the other mothers. It's great to have the interaction with the mums and I am hoping that the relationships in the group will develop so that Fred will have little play buddies.

What's in other news ... well my birthday fell on Australia day, Jo bought me the whole of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" .. all 7 seasons. I intend to watch them from beggining to end before I go back to work ( which is in April) .. wonder how I'll feel about leaving the Fredlet. Jo is fine, a great mother and working hard. She is taking 6 months off with Fred after I go back to work and then she'll go back part time. Lucky Fred to have his mother around during the week. I personally am not looking forward to 24x7 oncall. Cleo (the cat) has a new stuffed toy which mysteriously follows her around the house so when she wakes up she's eyeballing it ... I think it's creeping her out :) Fred and Cleo get on well, though Cleo has established that if she wakes Fred up of a morning then she'll get fed sooner ... cheeky. Anyway, I am off to watch an episode of Buffy before the Fredlet wakes.

Bye for now
Tracy

Thursday, January 05, 2006

7 weeks

It’s been some time since last post and a lot has happened. For one, Fred is growing great guns. Then there was Christmas and family and New Years and celebrations and Fred, Fred and did I mention Fred.

Let’s talk about Fred. there is a HUGE difference to a baby at 4 weeks of age to one of 6 weeks of age. Apparently there is such a thing as the magic “6 week” mark, and this, it seems is very true. From 0 - 4 weeks baby and you are settling in and getting used to each others idiosyncrasies and all baby pretty much does is eat, sleep and make dirty nappies. There is the odd smile and odd look of recognition when he sees you but generally eat, sleep and poo (a lot). Come 6 weeks, baby spends more time awake and alert, smiles more (and on demand) and numerous other plus’s. I tell you these smiles are priceless and make everything all the worth while.

Fred and I spend our days interacting and smiling. There is the odd day where he will have some wind pain, but after some pretty impressive wind expulsion he is back to smiling again. This is fairly amusing… Fred does a brief scream and the pressure of said scream pushes the wind out. Once out, he smiles (almost giggles) .. it seems he too is pretty impressed by the sound

Fred and I have been to parents group 3 times now. This group is available to us until Fred is 12 weeks old. At the beginning of each group we introduce ourselves and our babies and advise the baby’s age. It’s amusing when they get to us and I advise Fred’s age as he is bigger then some of the 3 month olds .. especially the girls. It’s not so much Fred’s size that makes them gasp… but they look at me then back at Fred, then me again… I think they’re wondering how big he was at birth and how little old me managed that  heh. This group is a great outing for us. We get to hear how the week went from other mothers and we ask questions which may be of concern .. like how do I settle my baby? Sunscreen ? reflux etc .. the information provided is excellent and to know that other mothers are experiencing the same issues you are is priceless.

These posts are few and far between as I barely have time to scratch myself these days (it’s getting better) and when Jo is home I can always find some housework to distract me. Talking of, I should put the dishes away. In summary Jo and I think Fred is gorgeous and we are enjoying being mothers. Jo has created lyrics and tunes for every Fred occasion (ask her about her poo rap… yo! ) .. quite amusing. If I wanted for anything it would be some alone time with Jo when we weren’t too tired.

Anyways, Happy New Year and I hope to catch up with you all in the near future.

Tracy