Latest stats

Michael had an appointment at the baby clinic this afternoon so here are his 7 month stats:

Age: 7 months, 1 week and 2 days old
Weight: 9.410 kg (20.75 pounds)
Length: 71 cm
Head circumference: 44.8 cm
Current temperament: Asleep
Current location: Upstairs in his cot

When it comes to taking Michael to the baby clinic, I have rather a negative attitude to the whole experience. When I was a baby, I was breastfed for the first two months and never regained my birth weight. After switching to formula milk, I gained weight well, and then for a long time gained no weight at all. It was very distressing for my mother, who did the very best that she could, and as a consequence she never took my younger sister to be weighed because she did not want to put herself through the ordeal for a second time. I don't blame her at all.

I am the one who makes decisions for Michael such as breast or bottle; when he will feed; what solid food he will have; how much food he will have and when; when his teeth are cleaned; what he will wear; when he will nap. You get the picture. As a consequence I take feedback on Michael's well being very seriously and can react forcefully to suggestions I don't agree with.

We saw the nurse today at the baby clinic. We usually see a doctor that I like very much. She is thoughtful and well informed. The nurse is a bit of a battle-axe. She was not impressed that I have been giving Michael paracetamol at night to help him cope with the teething pain. Jeez... it is not as if I am not trying other options first. My first option is to offer the breast. If that doesn't work I try Dentinox (local anaesthetic applied to the affected area of the gum). If that doesn't work I try pacing the floor, singing and offering a finger to suckle on. If that doesn't work then I will use paracetamol because I am a mother and not some kind of baby torturer. Michael enjoys sleeping and not being in pain. I'm quite fond of that too. The nurse suggested that I use a homeopathic remedy. I politely (I can do polite... honest!) told her that I think homeopathic remedies are quackery.

We also had a bit of a disagreement on solid food. She made suggestions that contradicted what the doctor had told me previously. I have been advised on numerous occasions to be cautious introducing solid food because of the allergy history on my side of the family.

I do take her advice sometimes and she was the one who spotted the lump above Michael's eye so I won't say anything too impolite, even though she rather annoyed me today.

Physically, Michael is developing very well. The nurse put him onto his back and he was raising his head and upper body in an attempt to sit up. He promptly rolled onto his belly and tried to crawl backwards off the mat. He does crawl forwards sometimes and - shamefully - the best dangling carrot is the remote control for the satellite receiver. That makes me sound like a terrible mother but the only TV he watches is "Bubble and Squeak" once a day. I still don't understand what he sees in that wizard but he is always totally engrossed in the show.