9 Month Update

I'm really behind this time (he was actually 10 months a week ago, oops) but I'm kinda okay with it. I mean, come on, it's Christmas time and I'm a working mama, things get in the way sometimes but I'm here, fighting through sleep deprivation and wisdom teeth pain that makes me wanna take pliers to my own mouth, to reflect on another perfect month with my perfect prince. 

Routine 

Now last month I reported that little Mr.Bowes had started to sleep through the night. This was blissful but very short lived. I think he's been thrown off course slightly this month as a few things have a thrown a spanner in the works. Firstly, Theodore had his first bout of illness and he found it very hard to shift. He had a double ear infection, throat infection and chest infection. He was put on antibiotics but still was no better after the course was up and mummas intuition told me he needed more help, took him back to the doctors and he was given a different course of antibiotics and also an inhaler. The inhaler made a huge difference and unlike most children, he found the spacer to be bundles of fun and took the inhaler happily much to my relief. This well and truly messed up his sleeping routine, he became very clingy, he's a clingy baby anyway (which I love) but this was on another level of cling. He would cry the most heartbroken cry if I moved a smudge out of his arms reach and if I even dared to jump the safety gate to grab a drink or a snack, it was like his world has ended. This extended to bed time and being in his cot was too distressing for him so we did a lot of cosleeping while he was ill. He is now back in his cot but teething is hitting him hard and so he is usually cuddled in bed with me by around 3/4am. Tom was away for around 3 weeks last month and Teddy missed him lots, he would wake up each morning and go over to his dad's slippers and saying "dada" and when he came home, teddy was over the moon, showering him with kisses and cuddles. Otherwise his routine is pretty much the same, he has 2/3 naps a day usually and enjoying spending time with nanny while I am at work. He has actually begun to drop a few milk feeds, going from feeding 2 hourly during the day to having around 4 feeds during the day and then whenever he wakes in the night. 

Weight

Theodore was weighed in the last week of October and he weighed 22lb5oz. This was an 8oz gain in 6 weeks. This is a lot less than his usual gain but he should be starting to slow down now on gaining now and with him being ill, I definitely wasn't surprised as his appetite just went away for the whole time he was poorly. He dipped slightly on the centile line (now just below the 91st) but that's fine by me, I don't really put much importance on the centiles anyway. The health visitor was astounded at everything he could do and kept calling people over to see him and when he waved bye bye to her I think she fell in love. He's such a sociable boy (no idea where he gets that from because I avoid everyone. Small talk is the worst). 

Milestones

- Teddy has been babbling words for a long time but he now definitely says mama and dad with meaning! New words he has began to try and copy are: car (ca), cats (tsssss) and ta (ahhhh).

- Tantrums are in full swing, Theodore will arch his back, lay on the floor and cry and kick his legs if you try and make him do something he doesn't want to (like getting dressed) or takes something away that he shouldn't have (like carrier bags or someone's shoes). Personally I find them hilarious so I have to look away so he can't see me laughing, however, I definitely don't give in. 

- Teddy enjoyed his first Halloween! He went trick or treating with me, daddy, nanny and Aunty Mollie and he was dressed as a triceratops. He also played Apple bobbing at nanny's except his didn't bob as such, he just took apples from the bowl and ate them. 

- He also now points to things he wants all the time. He'll get your attention and then point to what he needs/wants. It's way too cute. 

 

8 month update!

This is getting ridiculous now, it's the night before his nine month birthday and here is his eight month update. My pre baby self would be disgusted with this behaviour. My post baby self is impressed I've found the time to do it in time at all. I think I like my post pregnancy self. 

Routine 

Theodore is now settling well into the routine of me being back to work, he leaves me in the morning with the tiniest of waves and the biggest kiss and greets me with a frantic body scramble to get to me and a smile that just completely melts my heart. He has now begun to sleep through most nights, going 6:30-5:30, sometimes longer. The 5:30 wake ups are not the easiest but I'm counting my lucky stars that his sleep seems to improving. Theodore is having around 2 naps per day sometimes 3 since he has become increasingly more mobile (the boy can crawl lightening fast) and is still feeding 2 hourly through the day when he is with me. 

Weight

Theodore was weighed just after he turned 8 months and weighed 21lb12oz! Another 15oz gain in 4 weeks. He's settled back on the centile he was born on; the 91st. Theodore has been eating more actual meals rather than separate ingredients this month, in particular he has enjoyed spaghetti bolognese, fish pie and sausage casserole! I'm so proud of his achievements with baby led weaning. 

Milestones

- Not one to be content with learning to crawl, Theodore can now stand alone for up to 20 seconds at a time. He's a little daredevil. 

- Theodore can now wave and waves each time you say "say bye bye".

- Theodore is copying lots and lots of words now! He loves to copy 'hiya', 'mama', 'dads' and 'rawr'

- Theodore also had his first experience with gloop this month! I think it confused him lots but really enjoyed grabbing it and trying to catch it if I dripped it over his head. It was so lovely for him to have done it with his cousins. 

Here are some pictures from Teddy's 8 month earthside!..

Tesco trips with mummy and daddy are fun!

Mummy and daddy bought my first Christmas present! 

We're in a band

I love visiting the sensory room at mummy's work!

This leaf was the absolute best

Bath times with mum mean boobs. 

I love swimming lessons!

Dancing to lady gaga is exhausting stuff 

Oh mum you're so funny 

I really do hate Waybuloo 

We went to Pizza Hut and they made me eat salad

I am seriously unimpressed with this snapchat business 

I went to my Uncle's wedding!

7 month update!

This is the most late I've ever been for anything, a grand total of 3 days before his 8 month birthday, I present to you, Teddy's 7 month update! 

This month has been an emotional one but also an amazing one. He has learnt so much and I can't believe how much he has grown. 

Routine

This month has shaken up our cosy little routine massively. After 7.5 wonderful months of spending every single day together, my maternity leave ended and it was off to work I go. (Obviously it wasn't so simple, I suffered greatly with anxiety leading up to that day but that's another post for another time). I had in excess of 400oz of expressed milk in my freezer and me and Tom had spent weeks getting him to take a bottle so he was ready for his days with my mum. His first few days were fine, he took his milk fine and all was well but the past 3 work days, he has refused and hasn't drank more than 4oz in the 6 hours that I'm away (and that's via a syringe or open top cup). I've spent days feeling so guilty and worrying that he's not drinking enough but today I was reassured by a lady from the breastfeeding team that even if he drink 0oz, as long as he had water to hydrate him, he'll be fine until he's back to me. The relief I feel is immense. It's not ideal and my mum will keep trying to get him to take the bottle again but my son is about as stubborn as me, he knows what he wants and he wants boob! When he first feeds from me after work, he feeds like he's never been fed before or like he's been reunited with his favourite toy that he lost. So as relieved as I am, I've now come to realise that I have hundred of ounces of milk and possible no use for them. Around my work times he still feeds every 2/2.5 hrs and is having 3 meals a day. Since we became mobile our naps have gone up to at least 2, maybe 3 and we still wake up lots in the night. (I'm literally a zombie in work). It seems he can suffer with nightmares at times and won't even wake up, he'll just be screaming in his sleep. He will fight me because he doesn't know it's me and it takes so long to calm him. It's heartbreaking and I really hope he grows out of it soon. My poor love. 

Weight

Theodore was weighed just after he turned 7 months and he was 20lb13oz! Moving steadily between the 75th and 91st centiles with a gain of 15oz in 4 weeks. Teddy is still enjoying his meals massively, this month we have discovered a love for crackers, peanut butter on toast, olives, cherries, boiled potatoes and Yorkshire puddings! We've yet to find something that Theodore doesn't really like but we have found something that he can't really have! Citrus tends to make his mouth come out in a rash, he was a huge lover of marmalade on toast but sadly that's now a thing of the past. However, he experienced his first BBQ this month and I think that more than made up for it!

Milestones

- WE ARE CRAWLING! My clever little peach is very much mobile and he just wants to explore everything. He loves his new found sense of freedom and therefore hates any safety gates being shut and hates to be stopped from doing something he wants to do! 

- Not content with the crawling, Theodore has moved straight on to pulling himself up to standing using the furniture. (The amount of bumped bums and heads we've had his month is unreal, the boy is a menace..coincidentally he loves Dennis the menace) 

- His imagination has developed a lot this month and he is constantly babbling away to his toys. Usually telling them something about "mamamamam" or "dadadadad"... Hopefully nice things! 

Here are some pictures from Teddy's 7 month earthside!..

Looking at giraffes with mummy.

Rare family photo!

He loved this balloon! 

Tiny giraffe 

First time at soft play 

Swimming!

Best picture in all life

IKEA trips

Fun in Morrisons

On the way to nanny's! 

Beautiful boy 😍

6 month update! (Again a little late)

I'll start by saying that I'm not as late as last time posting this. It's a small margin but I'll take every victory I can. I wrote Theodore's 5 month update 4 days before his half year birthday and I'm writing his 6 month update 5 days before his 7 month birthday. As I said, small victories. 

This has been a month of many new things and many changes in my tiny human. It has been, without doubt, my favourite month of his life so far. 

Weight 

We left a 4 week gap between getting weighed this time so that Tom could come along too as he started his summer leave from work at the end of July. Theodore weighed 17lb13oz at his last check up and weighed 19lb14oz at his latest check up! That is a massive gain of 2lb1oz in 4 weeks. There is literally no stopping this boy, it's almost as if he's determined to get back to that 91st centile he was born on. He's now settled nicely between the 75th and 91st. This also means that he doubled his birth weight (when he reached 18lb12oz) sometime in those 4 weeks. The health visitor was over the moon with Theodore, she said he is hitting some 9 month milestones and was impressed with how well he has took to BLW. Now Theodore is 6 months I'm going to only take him every 4-6 weeks to be weighed, I return to work September 1st and will only be able to take him in half terms. 

Routine

Teddy is still breastfeeding and will feed around every 2-2.5 hours during the day. On days when teething is making him very grouchy (and making me want to curl up in a foetal position and cry) the boob has been used a lot more often as a source of comfort. Anything for a tiny bit of peace eh? Nap times are very erratic at the moment, Theodore will nap as and when he likes. If we are out and about he will fight sleep until he has no fight left and he crashes, however, if we are at home, he will nap more routinely. At the most, Theodore will take 3 naps a day, his morning nap being the longest, usually lasting around an hour and his other naps lasting up to 30 minutes. He goes to bed for the night at 6pm after his bath. I still feed Theodore to sleep (yes I know, bad mum, slap on the hand etc) but I'm okay with it, more than okay with it, that is our time to wind down together and, especially with me returning to work soon, I don't think either of us are ready to give that time up. On a good night Theodore will then sleep through until around 3 before wanting a feed, he will wake up sporadically either needing his dummy or a comforting back stroke but I try not to offer a feed until at least 2/3am and Theodore seems happy to not be fed before this time. Teddy is still eating 3 meals a day and we have no problems to report on that front (little piggy). 

Weaning

As I mentioned above, Theodore is eating and enjoying 3 meals a day. He will eat just about anything and he is just loving trying new tastes and textures. New foods for this month have been beetroot (curtosey of Tom, the mess was horrendous but Theodore loved it), mushroom, bacon, fromage frais, kiwi and peach! Peach is a firm favourite. 

Milestones

- Theodore cut his first tooth last month and he now has 3!! He cut the second tooth within a week of the first and just 2 weeks later, number 3 cut. (Nipple biting has begun and we are not amused, how the hell do I stop him doing that?!?!)

- He is so close to crawling! He's up on all floors and doing lots of rocking but is still only moving by pulling himself along. 

- He has begun to play games! He loves to hide himself away and then pop back up. He gets so excited when you pretend to look for him. 

Our month!

We have had lots of fun this month. We spent a week at my mums which Theodore loved! He adores my mum and my brother and sister and I think he enjoyed the change of scenery! Also, Tom has been off work and we've been having a lot of family time! We have made edible paints, had trips to the park, bought a ball pool and had a lovely day out at the aquarium where Teddy was spoiled by Tom. Speaking of spoiled, Tom also stocked his 6-9m wardrobe at Mothercare too. Theodore seems to have grown so much this month, he has such a cheeky personality and is definitely a boisterous little boy but he also has a little loveable side. Here is a selection of pictures from our month..