Monday, July 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
11 month stats
We took Michael along to the baby clinic at lunch time for his 11 month check. The nurse thinks it is hysterical that I am still giving Michael 6 breastfeeds a day. Fortunately I'm secure enough in what I am doing now that I take her reaction in good humour. She agrees that developmentally, Michael is doing very well so there is no reason to change what I am doing. My breastfeeding counsellor would be horrified by her reaction because babies are supposed to get 75% of their nourishment from milk up to the age of one and encouraging me to cut down on breastfeeds isn't the right thing to do. I know the nurse has my best interests at heart though - she just doesn't want me to be tied to a breastfeeding schedule. I don't mind at all, and eventually she might believe me!
Remember I mentioned in a previous entry that Michael has outgrown all his clothes? I was hardly surprised that he is now 78 cm in length. He has grown 4 centimetres in 2 months! He's back between the 75th and 90th percentile which is where he was for most of the early months. I think I'll give up buying him anything expensive to wear because he'll only fit it for a couple of months at most. Linda, my mother-in-law, is the only one who has any success in providing clothes for Michael that fit him for any length of time. She knits him some truly beautiful cardigans, hats, etc. in the winter months. She's very used to sorting out clothes for big lads having had three of her own. She intends to get the tape measure out when we come over in September and has some wool ready and waiting :o)
Ok... I digressed slightly there... it was vaccination day again at the baby clinic. Michael had the last of his series of whooping cough/polio/tetanus/diphtheria etc. vaccines. He handled it very well and didn't give the nurse a look of pure fury like he did last time. Next time we come to the clinic (when he is 14 months) it will be time for the MMR vaccine. I have done quite a lot of research and do not believe the claims that autism is linked to the vaccine. I am, however, quite nervous at the though of him having it. I asked to see the vaccination leaflet so I can read it through and examine the ingredients before making a final decision on whether or not he will have it. Single vaccines are not offered in The Netherlands. This request, as with the breastfeeding, caused much mirth from the nurse but she was still kind enough to go and get me the leaflet.
The nurse asked us a number of questions in order to gauge Michael's comprehension and wanted to know if Michael will fetch a specific item on request. We're still working on give and take. At the moment if I ask him to give me something he is holding, he will gleefully throw it on the floor :oD She checked to see if he can pick up a small item with finger and thumb which he did easily with his right hand but not with his left hand. The item was a scrunched up piece of paper and I think he just lost interest in picking it up but the nurse believes that Michael is showing signs of being right-handed. I thought it was too early to determine that at 11 months? Ok, enough waffle from me, here are his updated stats:
Age: 11 months and 5 days old
Weight: 10.80 kg (23.81 pounds)
Length: 78 cm!
Head circumference: 46.0 cm
Number of teeth: 8
Food: 6 breastfeeds a day and two solid meals
Current temperament: Settling down to sleep
Current location: Upstairs in his cot (I wouldn't have time to post if he was downstairs!)
Remember I mentioned in a previous entry that Michael has outgrown all his clothes? I was hardly surprised that he is now 78 cm in length. He has grown 4 centimetres in 2 months! He's back between the 75th and 90th percentile which is where he was for most of the early months. I think I'll give up buying him anything expensive to wear because he'll only fit it for a couple of months at most. Linda, my mother-in-law, is the only one who has any success in providing clothes for Michael that fit him for any length of time. She knits him some truly beautiful cardigans, hats, etc. in the winter months. She's very used to sorting out clothes for big lads having had three of her own. She intends to get the tape measure out when we come over in September and has some wool ready and waiting :o)
Ok... I digressed slightly there... it was vaccination day again at the baby clinic. Michael had the last of his series of whooping cough/polio/tetanus/diphtheria etc. vaccines. He handled it very well and didn't give the nurse a look of pure fury like he did last time. Next time we come to the clinic (when he is 14 months) it will be time for the MMR vaccine. I have done quite a lot of research and do not believe the claims that autism is linked to the vaccine. I am, however, quite nervous at the though of him having it. I asked to see the vaccination leaflet so I can read it through and examine the ingredients before making a final decision on whether or not he will have it. Single vaccines are not offered in The Netherlands. This request, as with the breastfeeding, caused much mirth from the nurse but she was still kind enough to go and get me the leaflet.
The nurse asked us a number of questions in order to gauge Michael's comprehension and wanted to know if Michael will fetch a specific item on request. We're still working on give and take. At the moment if I ask him to give me something he is holding, he will gleefully throw it on the floor :oD She checked to see if he can pick up a small item with finger and thumb which he did easily with his right hand but not with his left hand. The item was a scrunched up piece of paper and I think he just lost interest in picking it up but the nurse believes that Michael is showing signs of being right-handed. I thought it was too early to determine that at 11 months? Ok, enough waffle from me, here are his updated stats:
Age: 11 months and 5 days old
Weight: 10.80 kg (23.81 pounds)
Length: 78 cm!
Head circumference: 46.0 cm
Number of teeth: 8
Food: 6 breastfeeds a day and two solid meals
Current temperament: Settling down to sleep
Current location: Upstairs in his cot (I wouldn't have time to post if he was downstairs!)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Not such a bargain...
Remember my post about the bargain baby clothes I bought last week? Amongst the order were a couple of multi-packs of bodysuits in the 12-18 months size. He wore one for the first time today and it was almost too small for him. I couldn't believe it. I had to fold the sleeves back a couple of inches as I would have expected but his torso was just too long for it. So now I have to buy bodysuits in the 18-24 months size. I had to buy him some more soft shoes today as he has outgrown his current ones. I measured his feet and they are a whopping 12.5 centimetres long - they have grown almost 2 centimetres in 3 months! So now he is in the very top size of Zootjes (18-24 months) that there is. I don't know what I'll do if he grows out of them before he is ready to wear hard-soled shoes. Go into business as a cobbler, maybe? Did someone swap my baby for a baby elephant??
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Ok.... how?
Phil noticed last night that Michael had something like a splinter in the heel of right his foot but Michael wouldn't stay still enough for him to get a good look. We got the doctor to remove it today since it wasn't easily removable by us and it turned out to be... part of an eyelash?!? And not a human eyelash - a cat eyelash by the look of it. How on earth did Michael get a centimetre-long piece of eyelash lodged sideways in his heel? It boggles the mind...
Friday, July 06, 2007
Bargains!
I got a fantastic deal on baby clothes today at Vroom & Dreesmann in Amstelveen. They have a smallish selection of mothercare clothes that for whatever reason are being discontinued. The remaining items are being sold at up to 70% off! As an example, they are selling the most fantastic travel system for €40 that would have cost around €160 new! I bought a whole new wardrobe for Michael in the 12 to 24 months range. At full price I would have paid €185 but I walked out of the store only €58 lighter! I also bought Michael a 70-piece workshop that I'm sure he is going to love when he is old enough to play with it. It has all the tools that a miniature demolition expert is going to need. In response to his increasing mobility I also bought some reins. I've been undecided whether I would get reins but the roads around here are very busy and I don't want to risk, or even contemplate, him running into the road.
He showed the first signs of stranger anxiety today. We were all in the lift in Vroom & Dreesmann and his pushchair was next to another with an older boy in it. His mother was on the other side of Michael. Michael couldn't see me or Phil because we were behind the pushchair. The lady was talking to Michael and the little boy leaned over and put his hand on the parasol of the pushchair. Michael burst into tears and was really distressed. The lady was trying to persuade her lad to let go of the parasol. I picked Michael up the minute we got out of the lift and he eventually cheered up after we pulled some funny faces in a mirror. Perhaps it was just the tiredness and the teething. I hope so. A guy came to the house earlier in the week to give us a quote on painting the living room and Michael wasn't phased by him at all. I would have thought that if he was going to be anxious then it would be when his own home was invaded by a stranger. Babies... who can fathom them?
The weather is pretty chronic at the moment and it seems to have rained non-stop for weeks. I'm getting quite dismayed by it because I have a Nijntje paddling pool that Michael will be too big for soon. I want him to be able to enjoy it before the summer is over. Where is the sun?!? It is July!!
He showed the first signs of stranger anxiety today. We were all in the lift in Vroom & Dreesmann and his pushchair was next to another with an older boy in it. His mother was on the other side of Michael. Michael couldn't see me or Phil because we were behind the pushchair. The lady was talking to Michael and the little boy leaned over and put his hand on the parasol of the pushchair. Michael burst into tears and was really distressed. The lady was trying to persuade her lad to let go of the parasol. I picked Michael up the minute we got out of the lift and he eventually cheered up after we pulled some funny faces in a mirror. Perhaps it was just the tiredness and the teething. I hope so. A guy came to the house earlier in the week to give us a quote on painting the living room and Michael wasn't phased by him at all. I would have thought that if he was going to be anxious then it would be when his own home was invaded by a stranger. Babies... who can fathom them?
The weather is pretty chronic at the moment and it seems to have rained non-stop for weeks. I'm getting quite dismayed by it because I have a Nijntje paddling pool that Michael will be too big for soon. I want him to be able to enjoy it before the summer is over. Where is the sun?!? It is July!!
Monday, July 02, 2007
My little star
Michael has been an absolute star today. He learned to walk holding on to only one of my hands and was so pleased with himself. He ate a dinner that contained broccoli which was amazing because I was convinced he would make a big theatrical performance of turning his head away in disgust. When he decided he was full he very gently pushed my hand away which was quite a shocker because normally he wrenches the spoon from my grasp and flings it over his shoulder.
The biggest thing - he actually stopped doing what he was doing when I said 'Michael, No!" I was so impressed.
The biggest thing - he actually stopped doing what he was doing when I said 'Michael, No!" I was so impressed.
Afternoon in Vondelpark
I spoke a bit too soon in my presumption that Michael was better. He still had a fever on and off until Saturday and had a pretty horrendous night last night. He woke twice and on the first occasion he was very distressed and snuffly. It took some time to get him back to sleep and he woke again a few hours later needing a feed. He almost never wakes twice a night and I really can't tell if it was illness, teething or a growth spurt that was responsible.
Today, however, was a wonderful day. For the first time in what seems like weeks, the sun shone all day long in a beautiful blue sky. It was a day not to be wasted. We spent the latter part of the afternoon and much of the evening in Vondelpark in Amsterdam. We strolled around with Michael in his pushchair and just soaked up the atmosphere. All around us people were enjoying the weather. We took Michael to a play area and he got to experience the joys of a sandpit for the first time. He was a bit sceptical and seemed perplexed that the ground kept shifting beneath his fingers. One of the real joys of Vondelpark are the wild parrots. It really is something to sit beneath a willow tree and watch them fly from tree to tree. The nicest thing of all is that I get to be smug about the fact that I LIVE HERE and don't have to leave like the tourists do.
Michael had a great time and soaked up the attention he got from passers by. He was chattering non-stop by the time we left the park. The only small dark cloud in the sky was that the kitchen closed early at the Tig Barra and we couldn't finish off the day with cheesy chips. Boo!
Michael has learned a couple of new things this week. Somewhat... less than desirable. A couple of days ago I had the dubious pleasure to watch as he discovered that his fingers (and even his thumb) can fit up his nostril. Lovely, darling(!) Whilst I was giving him his dinner he jammed a potato-covered finger up his nose, looked thoroughly pleased with himself, and then stuck it in his mouth. He isn't going to win fans and friends if he keeps that up. The second thing was that I think I saw the beginnings of a tantrum last night. It was very funny at the time but I don't imagine it will be funny forever. He had been sitting on my knee playing on the KneeBouncers website when I needed to do something in the kitchen and put him on the floor. I held his hands in order to walk him over to the kitchen. He refused to walk, bumped down on his bottom, started to howl and then started flapping his hands up and down like an oversized, fat-bottomed duckling. I was trying to smother my laughter which probably didn't help matters.
Today, however, was a wonderful day. For the first time in what seems like weeks, the sun shone all day long in a beautiful blue sky. It was a day not to be wasted. We spent the latter part of the afternoon and much of the evening in Vondelpark in Amsterdam. We strolled around with Michael in his pushchair and just soaked up the atmosphere. All around us people were enjoying the weather. We took Michael to a play area and he got to experience the joys of a sandpit for the first time. He was a bit sceptical and seemed perplexed that the ground kept shifting beneath his fingers. One of the real joys of Vondelpark are the wild parrots. It really is something to sit beneath a willow tree and watch them fly from tree to tree. The nicest thing of all is that I get to be smug about the fact that I LIVE HERE and don't have to leave like the tourists do.
Michael had a great time and soaked up the attention he got from passers by. He was chattering non-stop by the time we left the park. The only small dark cloud in the sky was that the kitchen closed early at the Tig Barra and we couldn't finish off the day with cheesy chips. Boo!
Michael has learned a couple of new things this week. Somewhat... less than desirable. A couple of days ago I had the dubious pleasure to watch as he discovered that his fingers (and even his thumb) can fit up his nostril. Lovely, darling(!) Whilst I was giving him his dinner he jammed a potato-covered finger up his nose, looked thoroughly pleased with himself, and then stuck it in his mouth. He isn't going to win fans and friends if he keeps that up. The second thing was that I think I saw the beginnings of a tantrum last night. It was very funny at the time but I don't imagine it will be funny forever. He had been sitting on my knee playing on the KneeBouncers website when I needed to do something in the kitchen and put him on the floor. I held his hands in order to walk him over to the kitchen. He refused to walk, bumped down on his bottom, started to howl and then started flapping his hands up and down like an oversized, fat-bottomed duckling. I was trying to smother my laughter which probably didn't help matters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)