6 months old today!

Here are a few of my favourite photos of Michael taken in the last few days.

On any occasion, if things stop going Michael's way (like he is tired and we have the impertinence to wash his face or change his nappy) then he'll throw one hand over his eyes and put his thumb in his mouth. Very, very cute. He gets it from Phil because I wasn't a thumb sucker. I had a comfort blanket (and YES, Mum and Dad, I STILL BLAME YOU FOR TAKING IT AWAY).

Michael watching "Bubble and Squeak". We watch Nick Jr. together for an hour in the afternoon. He really loves this show but I can't stand it. I much prefer "Peppa Pig" and "The Wiggles".

Oh no... now I have the "Peppa Pig" theme tune stuck in my head... again...

I took this photo last Thursday when we were out walking in the snow. About 2 hours after it was taken he spiked a temperature of 39.1. You'd never know he was sick to look at him here.

All smiles again

Michael was absolutely fine today with no fever or other signs of illness so I have no idea what was wrong with him yesterday. I read that antibodies are passed from mother to baby in breast milk so maybe he just had a really watered down version of the illness I have had.

He gave me a hell of a fright this morning. I went in to the bedroom when I heard cries and he had managed to pull the canopy cloth over his face. AAAAAAAARGH! He could breathe fine but I freaked out and removed the canopy altogether. I forget what a strong little boy he is. Now the problem is sneaking into the bedroom at night without him waking and seeing us. Before, the canopy blocked us from his view. How we love a new challenge(!)

It's oh so quiet

Finally we got Michael to bed an hour ago. Once the medication wore off, his temperature didn't rise above 38 which was a mercy. He's dosed up again and tucked up in his grobag. I was a bit worried because I didn't know what I should dress him in for bed. He normally sleeps in a long-sleeved bodysuit and a 2.5 tog grobag because our bedroom is 20°C at night (even in the dead of winter when it has been snowing all day... want to hazard a guess at the temperature in summer??) I was concerned that this would be too much clothing, but I am assuming it will be ok because the medication has dealt with the fever.

Poor little guy. Mummy and Daddy hope you feel better soon, little petal.

My home is alive... with the sound of Gleghorns

Well... I was going to post a ranting entry about the various members of my household keeping me awake at night but since Michael and Phil are sick, the wind has been taken out of my sails somewhat. Phil has hurt his back (thinks he slept in a dodgy position) and Michael has a fever. It was 39.1 but with paracetamol, and stripping him down to his vest and nappy I have reduced it to 37.4.

I have been sick with a sinus infection since last Friday and am only now starting to feel better. I was under the impression that it sprang from an allergic reaction but since Michael now has a fever, I think it must have been a virus. It is odd that he would show symptoms six days after I became unwell. Odd too that he has no symptoms other than extremely red cheeks. I am wondering if it has something to do with the teething, but I suspect that the fever is too high to be related.

So... on my my slightly deflated rant. My husband SNORES. I am a very light sleeper so in our first year of living together we negotiated an arrangement so that Phil wouldn't wake in the morning to find a hatchet in his back. The deal was that Phil would stay awake until I fell asleep. The snoring, on the whole, prevents me from getting to sleep rather than wakes me up. This arrangement worked fine until the arrival of Michael. We are now so tired that Phil falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. So on one side I have a snoring Phil and on the other I have... Michael. Michael is also an extremely noisy sleeper. He also snores on occasion, he leg slams, he cries in his sleep and sucks his thumb with a noisy little 'pop pop pop' sound. I swear it is like sleeping in an orchestra pit sometimes. In addition to this cacophony, there is the dulcet tones of Harry, one of our Burmese cats, howling, scratching and launching himself at the door to the room he sleeps in.

I have some vague concerns that Phil's bad back is due to him bending into an odd shape in a last-ditch attempt to find a position that he wouldn't snore in. I would feel guilty but... sleep deprived mad woman and all that ;o)

The conclusion of the lump saga

We have just returned from Michael's hospital appointment. It took 1.5 hours for 2 people to determine that he has... a lipoma or a cyst. Initially we saw a trainee who wasn't allowed to read the doctor's referral letter (I had read it so told him what it said) and wasn't allowed to give us a diagnosis. He asked a lot of questions and prodded and poked Michael. He seemed bemused that Michael wouldn't open his mouth for him, and somewhat alarmed when I cautioned him that putting a finger in his mouth was entirely at his own risk. We were then left to our own devices for half an hour or so before the trainee reappeared with the head of department. She performed pretty much the same checks but by this point Michael was really in need of a nap and was heading towards meltdown at alarming speed. Lipomas can come in clusters and even in organs which was the reason for the very thorough checks.

It appears that Michael has only the one lump and it is harmless as far as the doctors can tell. It does not interfere with his eye or cause him any pain. It will probably not grow but we are going back to the hospital to check that in 3 months. They would not be able to determine for certain whether it is a cyst or lipoma without invasive tests. That is too much for a little baby and does not appear to be necessary.

So... that is the end of that... hopefully. Amusingly, when we first arrived, the trainee thought (because he had not been allowed to read the referral letter) that we were there to discuss the fact that Michael is so large for his age. If he knew just how large the men in both our families are then he wouldn't be at all surprised at the size of Michael. My uncle is a good 2 inches taller than Phil and Phil isn't exactly tiny at 6' 3".

Ready and willing on December 24th...

Let's face it - if Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph were the size of Michael then Santa's sleigh would never get off the ground on Christmas Eve...

Parental responsibility

As a parent I am constantly striving to be responsible and avoid compromising Michael's dignity. That is why I valiantly fought the urge to take a photo of Michael with a coffee filter on his head.

Latest stats

Michael had his latest appointment at the baby clinic yesterday and here are his 5½ month stats:

Age: 5 months, 2 weeks and 4 days old
Weight: 8.770 kg (19.3 pounds)
Length: 69 cm
Head circumference: 43 cm
Current temperament: Quietly alert and chatty
Current location: Sitting in his Maxi Cosi

We are expecting his second tooth to make an appearance in the next few days because he has been very unsettled; chewing everything in sight; coughing and dribbling like a leaky tap. Apparently the nipple biting is also to do with the teething and not just that he hates me and wants to punish me for something. We took him out to Schiphol this evening. He is always lulled to sleep by the car and the general bustle of the airport and Phil and I can enjoy ourselves with a cocktail at the juice bar. Not a drop of alcohol in them, but fabulous nonetheless.

Michael said "Mama" twice today. It wasn't in any particular context but since I have been trying to get him to say it for ages, I am very pleased. My genius child :o)

I'm not sure if I mentioned the fabulous playnest we bought for him a while back. It allows him to sit up whilst supported and play. Much better than him getting frustrated on his back. Sadly, he is now starting to try to climb out of it so I don't think it will be long before we have to put the baby gates up and find a way to protect the DVD player drawer from little jam-coated fingers. How time flies!

The Wiggles

Michael and I just caught The Wiggles on TV. How cool is that show?!?

Battered by baby

My baby is beating me up. They don't mention this problem in any of the baby books I have. His little tooth has left it's mark on several fingers and both nipples today (so far). He loves to explore my face with his hands and unfortunately this leads to my hair being pulled and me being somewhat tenderised.

I think it would be unsporting for me to report him to the domestic violence unit of the police department because he is a bit young to do bird.

The return of the fatty lump

We took Michael back to the doctor today so that he could examine the lump under Michael's left eyebrow. We were pleased to learn that it has not grown at all but Michael has, nonetheless, been referred to the clinic at the hospital for further testing. The doctor said that it's proximity to the eye was his motivation for the referral. I took a sneaky peak at the referral letter and his belief is that it is either a lipoma, a cyst or an exostosis. I certainly hope that it isn't an exostosis. It's location makes that an improbability.

In other news, we are still waiting for Michael's second tooth to make an appearance. He has been grizzling all week, with the exception of yesterday. Despite the pain and the temper it has put him in, he has been progressing very well. So far this week he has:

• Started blowing raspberries
• Sat unsupported for a few minutes
• Cut his first tooth
• Found his feet

With the last achievement came the sad realisation that he was never going to get his foot in his mouth. His torso is simply too long. He can get his big toe to touch his lips but that is all. Poor little guy.

Indecision

Why is there never any consensus where baby issues are concerned? After Michael's first tooth came through I realised I would have to clean it with something - but what? There seem to be four schools of thought:

1. Clean with wet gauze after every feeding
2. Clean with wet gauze after every feeding and clean with toothpaste once a day
3. Clean with toothpaste that does not contain fluoride once a day
4. Clean with toothpaste that does contain fluoride once a day

What the hell?!? Some dentists say that toothpaste is bad for children under two; some say that breastfed babies are more at risk of cavities; some say that fluoride is dangerous for babies; some say that fluoride supplements are necessary in certain situations. We've gone for a less severe version of option 2 (toothpaste and cleaning several times a day with gauze - not after every feeding).

I have always been guilty of over-thinking things but good grief - the supposed baby experts don't make it very easy for me.

Speaking of guilt - I discovered today that I should have been supplementing Michael with vitamin D since birth. This is because breast milk only contains low amounts of vitamin D - the baby gets the balance of what they need from sunlight. Given that Michael's routine is exceptionally nocturnal, and that in The Netherlands he isn't going to get enough direct sunlight in winter, a supplement is necessary. I immediately convinced myself that he was going to get rickets due to my ignorance (I haven't had much sleep lately...) and Phil and the baby clinic had to convince me that it would be fine.

Still not 100% convinced... ask me again after I get a decent sleep...

Progress

Michael did not seem to be in any pain at all today and went to sleep tonight without painkillers. We have been having some trouble settling him at night because his body clock is telling him to go to sleep for the night at about 3am and wake for the day at 1pm. I have been trying to shift the routine to earlier in the day but my efforts have been hampered by the teething.

I had a crisis of confidence tonight that I shouldn't be nursing him to sleep. Most of the books that I have regard nursing to sleep as a big mistake that will lead to a child who is overly dependent on the breast and cannot self-settle. I have nursed Michael to sleep since he was born. I decided to search on the internet for methods to teach him to self-settle only to find the two online resources that I trust above others (Dr. Sears and kellymom) affirm that nursing to sleep is not only perfectly natural but also preferable to many other methods (albeit tiring for the parents). The suggestion is that self-settling is a developmental milestone that will come in time. Well I wish I had read this before then I wouldn't have felt so guilty the whole time!

Baby-induced hysteria

Picture, if you will, two otherwise intelligent, educated and rational people huddled at the foot of the stairs and giggling like schoolgirls in an anatomy class. Baby-induced insomnia can lead to one of two things - a short fuse or a fit of the giggles. I don't think I have giggled like this since I was a teenager. Anything can spark it off and it is most likely to happen when we need to be quiet because Michael is sleeping. Last night we were both snorting and snickering for a good ten minutes before we composed ourselves enough to go up to bed. Having a baby is undoubtedly one of the hardest things we will ever do and I am tremendously grateful that we can see the humour in it (most of the time).

Oh... and don't bother to ask me why I'm still awake at 4am...

TOOTH!!!!!!!

Finally the tooth has come through!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!
Can I sleep now? Pretty please???

Baby-induced insomnia

Well... here I am again... awake at 5am. After my last post Michael finally went to sleep and last night we had to medicate him again. I'm not willing to automatically assume that the teething is going to interfere with his sleep so I get him ready for bed as normal and put him down to sleep to see how he copes. If he doesn't, then it drags the bedtime out but at least I'm not needlessly medicating him. Tonight was particularly bad and he is, again, dosed up on paracetamol and asleep. I really, really do not want to give him paracetamol on a regular basis so I sincerely hope that this tooth shows up soon.

The downside to dealing with Michael's sleep problem is that Phil and I end up wide awake and slightly on edge at ridiculous hours of the night. Now, the sensible thing to do would be to wind down with a hot, milky drink and some soothing classical music on the radio, but we aren't sensible people. So I'm chatting on Instant Messenger and blogging my woes. Phil is - pause whilst I ask him - browsing, blogging and resisting the urge to stuff himself full of food.

Speaking (or more accurately, writing) of urges, I've got the urge to rewrite Dracula in the style of Terry Pratchett so if I am still awake in an hour or so I may start on that...

Go to sleep!

It is almost 5am and I've been up and down the stairs to Michael like a jack-in-the-box for the past 2 hours. He just keeps waking up crying. This really isn't like him - he has gone down to sleep easily for 11 hours a night for the past 2 months. Phil took a turn trying to soothe him... no luck. We checked the usual things - he is well fed; no leaks; good temperature; no wind. Then we looked in his mouth and can see a red line across the little lump where his tooth will come through. The baby clinic advised us to give him some paracetamol if the teething interrupted his sleep and that is what we have done. I know we probably shouldn't play with him but we're trying to relax him now so that the paracetamol can take effect.

I feel so very sorry for him, but I feel sorry for Phil and I too. Phil always wants to do his share, even though he works full-time and he is going to be exhausted today if we can't get some sleep soon.

Fingers crossed...

5 months old!

5 months old! Where does the time go?!? I love this photo - it is of Michael having a very earnest conversation with Dweezil.

Baldy baby

Phil and I are rather gutted to discover that Michael is losing his hair around the sides. He has a thick mop of hair on top but it has never really grown round the sides (beyond what he was born with). Now it is falling out. I discovered this when I had a peek in his moses basket. Little red hairs everywhere - so sad.

We had some fun and games with him at the weekend because of him teething. He was whinging and grizzling all day Saturday and even held his breath at one point. When this tooth eventually parts company with his body, either exchanged with the tooth fairy for money or knocked out when he falls on his nose chasing a butterfly, I am going to remember these past weeks and I am going to jump up and down on it! Never mind keeping it for eternity in a little porcelain pot - I want REVENGE!

He is now in 9-12 month sleepsuits and I don't dare speculate how long they will fit him for. I may as well just empty my purse into the mothercare till once a month. I was rather alarmed to learn that at 8.5kg, he is actually larger than our colleague's baby - that baby being 4 months older than Michael. As an August baby, he is going to be one of the youngest in his school year but I somehow doubt that he is going to be the smallest. Just as long as I don't catch him giving children a couple of years older than him a swirlie...

Do recruiters have souls?

Possibly an odd title for a baby blog entry but today the worlds of a recruiter, baby Michael, and a set of weighing scales collided, leaving me pondering this question. This afternoon, Michael was being weighed and toppled off the scales. Fortunately he was completely unhurt, although a little distressed and perturbed (paranoid Mummy took him along to the doctor just to check him out). At the moment this happened, Phil was called by a recruiter. The recruiter would have heard something like this...

THUD
Michael: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Phil: SH*T!
Catherine (note of rising panic): What happened? MICHAEL?!?

Phil immediately hung up the phone. I ran to pick up Michael to soothe him, and the recruiter rang back. Phil shouted down the phone "NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME!" and hung up again. Whilst we were on the way to the doctor's office, the recruiter rang for a third time and Phil let the call go through to voicemail. The recruiter left the following message:

Philip, hi, it's **** **** from ****. I'm not too sure what happened there
but the... er... phone went dead twice so I just thought I'd try you again...
erm... If you could please give me a call back... erm... I do have a specific
opportunity that I would like to discuss with you.

Eh? The phone went dead? Phil essentially told him to b*gger off and he somehow missed that?!? Since he will undoubtedly call back, I am tempted to answer the phone just to determine if he does have a soul. I imagine the conversation would go something like this:

Recruiter: Hi, this is **** **** from ****. Can I speak to Philip, please?
Me: I'm afraid that he spontaneously combusted whilst on the phone to you, yesterday. All I have left to bury is his left testicle and slightly smoking socks.
Recruiter (slightly subdued): Erm... I'm sorry to hear that...
Recruiter (brightening slightly): If you know of anyone... erm... who would be interested in a system administration position then please don't hesitate to pass on my details.
Me: I'll do that... yeah...