Christmas 2010

Well our little boy certainly was spoilt on Christmas Day. He received trucks, cars, lego, books, things to draw with, a cap, etc, etc. Will have to buy a bigger house to put all his toys in!

Updates

Brendon went to the scars clinic for his burnt hand yesterday. His fingers aren't healing as well as they could be. The scar tissue needs to adhere better to the tissue underneath it so it reduces his loss of sensation. Consequently we have to continue massaging his fingertips 3-4 times per day, literally pressing the skin back onto the tissue.
I also saw the eye specialist yesterday. I have two more weeks left of eye drops but have been given the all clear. I was told it is a recurrent condition and is likely to come back. As the cause of it is unknown, we don't know how to prevent it coming back. The doctor said I don't have glaucoma and no family history of hunchbacks, which are the most common causes of this condition.
Brendon is quite funny to watch walking around. He leads off with his right foot, and the left one tends to drag behind. We think this may be due to his sideways walking that he did for months while he used the furniture to walk around everywhere.
Brendon is saying so many words that we stopped counting at 50. It is probably closer to 60 by now.

Walking

On Sunday, Brendon decided that taking the odd few steps wasn't enough, he now wants to walk. Here is a photo taken of him walking at the Mini Club Christmas party.
He had two new teeth come through last week, so now has 11 teeth.

'Tis the season

The weather is heating up and here is a recent photo of Brendon, aged 14 months.
I went to the eye specialist today and have to continue taking the drops for another 3-4 weeks. Things are much better, the redness has gone and the swelling has reduced.

The eyes have it.

For the past two weeks I have had red, sore eyes and blurred vision. Every time I went to a doctor they told me I have conjunctivitis and just had to wait it out. Eventually some test results showed I don't have conjunctivitis (which I suspected all along) and I was referred to an eye specialist. The specialist said I have some inflammation inside the eyeball which is causing all the trouble. I have been given some special eye drops which should reduce the swelling and fix it up. I have to go back next week for a follow up appointment.
Contrary to everyone telling us for months that Brendon will be walking soon, he is still not walking. We aren't worried as he is making improvements each week. He does lunge from one piece of furniture to the other and can stand on his own but isn't confident to do so. Slowly but surely he is getting there.
His latest words are gate, blue, red, socks, bye, bin, drink, ni-ni (as in night-night for good night), kindergym and squeeze.

Uncle Tom's Visit

We have had a lovely visit from my brother, Tom. We went to the Christmas pageant, Minis at the Mill and went out for dinner on Sunday night. Brendon has enjoyed having his Uncle Tom around to play with.

Holidays

Mathew's holidays are soon to come to an end. Last week we went to Berri and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the caravan park there which is really lovely. Clean facilities, friendly staff, grassy sites and even a Babies Bathroom! We drove there on Monday and got to use our camper trailer for the first time. We spent Tuesday wondering around town. On Wednesday we went to Monash and had fun at the adventure playground, then went to Renmark and had a look around there. On Thursday we went to Waikerie and visited our friends, Col and Barb. On Friday we left Berri and visited Vern and Julie in Loxton on the way home.
Brendon now says about 25 words including woof, door, star, keys, ute, car, bird, lid, kiss. Over the past two weeks I think he has learnt at least one word each day!
On the long weekend in October we also went camping with the Moke Club and used our Oztent for the first time. Brendon had a ball being surrounded by Mokes!

Bay to Birdwood

We took Grandma to the Bay to Birdwood on the weekend. We had a BBQ with the Mini Club and Moke Club. We took our moke. Here is a photo of Grandma and Brendon, but not on our moke.

Our camper trailer

We bought this on the weekend and are looking forward to using it.

Brendon's 1st Birthday

Brendon had a fantastic time on his birthday. On Friday night we had some friends from the Mini club here putting the club magazine together. We made pizzas and Brendon had a great time playing with his gifts. On Saturday he enjoyed playing with Grandma and opening some more presents. Mathew has had a few days off, Brendon won't be impressed tomorrow when Grandma isn't here anymore and Dad has gone back to work!
Here is Brendon eating his birthday cake.

Never leave your keys in your backpack

On Tuesday I accidently locked Brendon in the car. We had just been to Kindergym and I put him in his child seat. I then remembered my keys were in my backpack on the back seat. I opened the door but a bus was coming (I was parked roadside), so I quickly shut the door and got out of the way. When the bus passed, I went to open the door, but found it locked. I tried all the other doors and they were locked as well. I must have accidently pressed the lock button on the remote.
I raced inside the Kindergym building and they put in a priority call to the RAA. Lucky it was a cool and overcast day and Brendon wasn't stressed. He could see me standing beside the car. It was his sleep time so just before the RAA van arrived he drifted off to sleep. The RAA guy was a bit worried as he thought maybe he had passed out in a hot car. I assured him the inside of the car wasn't hot (I had been inside the car just before it locked) and it was his normal sleep time anyway. Within minutes the guy had the door unlocked and we were on our way home. From now on I'm keeping my keys in my pocket when I put Brendon in the car!

Let the celebrations begin

Our Mother's Group had a combined 1st Birthday party on Sunday. All the dads got to meet which was great. It was a lovely day for a picnic and the kids had a great time. Everyone got a present. Brendon loves his dump truck and hasn't stopped playing with it. Here he is getting into the party spirit with a party hat on.

Two nights in a row!

Brendon has slept right through the night two nights in a row! Tuesday night he slept 8pm to 6am and last night he slept 8pm to nearly 5am. He had been starting to sleep right through more regularly recently, so it will be interesting to see what happens tonight. Needless to say, he is meant to be having a morning sleep right now, but has better things to do.
Both Brendon and I have had conjunctivitis and we have all had colds. I am looking forward to getting over these infectious diseases so I can get out and socialise again. Three weeks of being house bound is driving me crazy!
Just over two weeks to go until Brendon's 1st birthday. So much has happened in the past year, it is unbelievable.

Burns update

I took Brendon to the burns unit at the Women's and Children's hospital yesterday to have his dressing changed. The burns nurse said it is healing nicely and his fingers should be ok.

First injury

On Thursday I learnt a big lesson about not taking my eyes off Brendon for a second. We were in the front room as I was on the computer. I had just turned the gas heater off minutes earlier. I took my eyes off Brendon for a few seconds, he crawled over to the heater and put his hand on the glass cover which was still hot. He screamed out and I turned around to see a sight that still haunts me...him standing up against the heater with his hand still on it, crying. I jumped up and grabbed him, his hand was probably only on there a second or two, but it was enough to burn him. After calling the parent help line,I called 000 and the paramedics came out and had a look. They said it wasn't too bad, but best to get the burns unit at the Womens and Childrens hospital to look at it. So Brendon and I had a trip to the hospital in the back of the ambulance. We will be going back to the hospital today to have the dressing changed and to see how it is healing up. The burns nurse said it can be a few days after a burn happens before they really know how much damage has been done. So Brendon is doing a Michael Jackson impersonation with one glove on, and as happy as he always is. The hand doesn't seem to be giving him any bother, thank goodness.
So my lesson was that there is nothing so important that needs to be done on the computer that means not paying attention to my son.

But wait...there's more!

Brendon has had a runny nose and not quite been his usual self lately. On Saturday morning he woke up with conjunctivitis, which has cleared up considerably after getting some drops from the chemist. I took him to the doctor today to get a referral to the paediatrician (for his 12 month check up and to have a scan to check that his kidneys are growing the way they should) and the first thing the doctor noticed when we walked into the room was that Brendon was rubbing his ears. He checked him over and said he also had an ear infection to add to his list of troubles. Poor little boy, and he still manages to remain fairly cheerful. The doctor said that is why he is not settling as well as what he usually does at night at the moment and is off his food. So he is back on to Amoxil. He is getting a little fed up with all the eye droppers we are pointing in his direction at the moment with panadol, antibiotic eye drops and now Amoxil!
So looks like we will be missing out on kindergym, swimming lessons and mother's group this week!

Kindergym

Brendon started Kindergym today and loved it. You should have seen the look on his face when we stepped into the hall and he saw all the kids and all the equipment. I don't think his eyes could have opened any wider. Pretty good considering he was tired. He had a great time, expecially on the swing, so he will love his birthday present from Granddma.
Brendon can now sign 'plane' and does it whenever he hears one or sees one in the sky.

Lights, camera, action

Brendon is now doing the baby sign for light, rain and is waving. Is using the loungeroom furniture, dining chairs and kitchen cupboards to pull himself up and move around. Also continually pulling himself up using our pant legs. It is quite unnerving to be cutting up the vegies for dinner and feel a little boy pull himself up using your clothing!
I have just had a mould done of my teeth as I am grinding them in my sleep and will now need to wear a night guard. Apparently it is quite common amongst parents with young children/babies.

Busy, busy, busy

Brendon had a bit of a rough night, last night. Was crying a lot in his sleep and woke at 1:30am with a temperature. I looked in his mouth this morning and one of his top teeth has just broken through and the other one looks like it will come through very soon. The night before he slept through until 5:15am, so just goes to show you never can tell!
Brendon is now using the furniture to walk around. He pulls himself up to standing then grabs hold of things and shuffles about.
We recently bought an Oz Tent. Here is a photo of it up in our lounge room. As you can see it is quite big - sleeps five people. Plenty of room for our mattress, Brendon, bags of clothes, etc. It goes up in under 30 seconds which is great. Now we are really looking forward to going camping.
My brother gave me a Coles Myer voucher for my birthday and I used it to go towards a slow cooker, which I bought on Sunday. I made Butter Chicken in it last night and was very impressed. I am now making soup in it for tonights dinner. It is much more convenient to prepare dinner in the morning while Brendon is sleeping rather than hope he will have a long enough sleep to do it in the afternoon.

When it rains, it pours.

Brendon and I both have the sniffles at the moment. Brendon is also off his food, dribbling like there is no tomorrow and not wanting to have daytime sleeps despite letting me know that he is tired. As he is 44 weeks old, it is possibly a Wonder Week combined with being sick and teething. What a great combination! Despite all that, he is still happy for most of the day, just gets grizzly in the afternoon.
I bought a new stroller this week as a lighter alternative to our pram. The pram is very heavy for lifting in and out of the car and also takes up all the boot space. Hence the stroller is much lighter, doesn't take up much space so we should be able to take it away with us on holidays, etc.
Brendon has also started doing the baby sign for rain, of which we have had a lot today.

Photos of our new dining suite, Brendon on his fold out sofa from Nanna and Granddad, pulling himself up to a standing position and taken today on a picnic lunch in the back yard (10 months old today).

Standing up

I was going to wait until our internet month rolled over this weekend before updating my blog and putting some photos on, but Mathew suggested that as so much has happened in the last week, maybe I should update it sooner rather than later. Otherwise it would be old news. Brendon started pulling himself onto his knees and then into a standing position. He is now doing it so much he is getting a bit cocky, even trying holding on with only one hand while reaching out for something else. He has since started to move his feet as well, taking a few steps. I have photos but will definitely wait until after the weekend to upload them, otherwise I will go over our internet usage for the month.
I took Brendon to CaFHS yesterday for a weigh and measure, seeing that he will be 10 months old this Sunday. He is 10.75kg and 79cm tall. That puts him in the 75th percentile for his weight and the 97th percentile for his height.
He got his birthday present from Nanna and Granddad early, thanks to the Target toy sale...a Toy Story 3 fold out sofa lounge. He has spent this morning trying to pull himself up on it.
It looks as though he may actually crawl instead of just commando crawling, as he is spending a lot of time getting himself onto his hands and knees and rocking back and forth.
We bought a six seater dining setting which feels huge compared to our little old 4 seater. The new table is 1800mm x 1000mm, the old one was about 1250mm x 750mm. Brendon complains because there are bars on the legs which stop him crawling under the table as easily as he used to. And with more chairs there are more chair legs to get in his way. Just wait until he discovers he can pull himself up on them! It is Tasmanian Ash and very heavy.
It's a shame that the Sweeneys didn't get to visit, due to Tegan getting Chicken Pox, but hopefully it won't be long before we see them again. Now that we have a bigger table, maybe we should have Christmas at our place one year?

Gluttons for punishment

There must be a competition in our house for who can hold the most committee positions. Mathew is Vice President of the SA Moke Club and I am Treasurer. Last night we attended the AGM for the Mini Club of SA and Mathew was elected both President and Registrar and I am now the Editor.

Out for dinner

On Saturday night we had the SA Moke Club AGM dinner. It was the first time we have been out to a restaurant for dinner with Brendon, and he went really well. He kept pretty quiet during the meeting, despite the fact that he wanted his milk (being treasurer I sat with the committee members so had to wait until after the meeting to feed him). By then it was well past his bed time and he had a big drink and fell asleep. Lucky we had Aunty Carol's rug to lay him on. I was voted in as Treasurer again and Mathew was voted in as Vice President. Congratulations, Mathew.
Last night Brendon started pulling himself up on the shelves in the kitchen cupboards and the side of his cot as well. So tonight when Mathew gets home from work we will have to lower his cot mattress to the toddler bed position.

Getting down

Yesterday Brendon worked out how to get down the step into the loungeroom. He goes head first and very slowly gets his weight over his hands, then lets the rest of his body slide off the step. He thinks he is pretty good.
He has a cup in the bath and now knows how to fill it with water and pour it out again.

Sleeping like a baby

Wow! Brendon slept all night! It is only the fourth time this has happened in the last two and half months. I would like to know where the Sandman lives and why he chose last night to make Brendon sleep all night, as I can't really think of anything I did in particular that was different to any other day to make this happen. I just tried uploading a funny video of Brendon, but it was taking too long and using up too much of our internet allowance, so if you want to see it, you will just have to come and visit us!

Up, up and away

Brendon has now worked out how to get up the step from our (sunken) loungeroom. So I can no longer leave him to play in there while I brush my teeth, load the washing machine, etc. He thinks he is Mr Independent now he can get up the step and brags about how he can get into every room in the house. Have had to start keeping doors close even though the winter sun comes in through the front rooms. Otherwise he is up that step in seconds and before you know it he is enacting Cyclone Brendon throughout the house.
Everyone in the house seems to be over their coughs and runny noses now, so things can return to normal.

Two sick boys

Brendon has had a cold for the last two weeks and now has a chest infection. He is taking Amoxil, as I took him to the doctor when his breathing started to sound rattly. I have been taking him to the doctor a bit lately and was worried about looking like a paranoid first time parent, but the doctor assured me it was all a part of learning what Brendon is like when he is sick and how quickly he gets over things.
Mathew also has a runny nose and was off work yesterday. I made him stay in bed all day. He was so bored I think the real reason he went back to work today was to avoid the boredom!
Brendon is rather proud of himself now that he can clap. Is also making car sounds and pulling himself up on things. Nothing is safe now!

9 months old today!

Well it's hard to believe that it has been nine months since Brendon entered the world. Fortunately I have managed to forget most of what the labour was like! I was pretty lucky, though, I had a good pregnancy so a few hours of intense pain is nothing to complain about really.
Here is a photo of Brendon taken yesterday while out food shopping. It is his first driving lesson.
He has another cold at the moment, and the cough sometimes makes him throw up. Other than that he is still a cheerful little boy.
He is sleeping much better during the day now. He usually has two good sleeps since we put the curtain up in his room and started wrapping him again. I also now wait until he is grizzly to put him to bed, rather than trying to put him to sleep when he starts yawning.
Right now he is sitting in his high chair, eating a biscuit and going 'quack, quack, quack', although I don't see any ducks anywhere! He really is the cutest little boy!
It's only three weeks until the Sweeneys come to stay and I can't wait!
The other photo is of my belated Christmas present from Mathew, my new meatsafe pantry. No more bending down into the kitchen cupboards!

Mum's visit

My mum has now gone back home and we had a lovely visit. I asked Brendon where Nanna was the other day and he looked around the house looking for her. Here are some photos taken at the end of her visit. He grabbed my face to kiss me just as mum took the photo!

Nanna's visit

My mum arrived on Saturday to spend the week with us. She hasn't seen Brendon since he was 3 1/2 weeks old! So far we have made a curtain for Brendon's room and now just waiting for Mathew to put the curtain rod up for us. Yesterday Mum came to swimming lessons and got to see how much Brendon loves being in the pool.
We spoke to a midwife on Monday about his day time sleeps and although we didn't learn anything new, we have made a few small changes that seem to have made a difference. Yesterday after swimming he slept for two hours and Monday night he slept all night.
Brendon is eating me out of house and home and the size of his meals are about half the size of what I eat!
Today we are just having a day at home doing some boring old housework and some baking. Hopefully there will be some sunshine today so I can go for a walk.
Brendon is saying "Dad" quite a lot at the moment. On Monday night he didn't want his milk but called Dad into his bedroom. Mathew rolled him on his side, stroked his head and spoke to him softly for about a minute and Brendon was asleep. It seemed to all of us that he was wanting his Dad to put him to sleep that night!
Brendon is starting to 'sing' and sounds like he is trying to make the 'quack quack' sound for a duck.

Sitting up

First haircut

Yesterday Brendon had his first haircut. I have kept the off cuts to add to his album. He was very good at the hairdressers, sat quietly and let Ainsley cut his hair. The girls there all love him. His hair is starting to get quite curly, especially when it is wet.
He started wearing size 1's this week, so I can no longer buy clothes for him in the baby section of Target, I have to get his clothes from the little boys section!
This morning I have finally managed to get him to sleep in his cot for a day sleep, the last few days he hasn't wanted to sleep any where else other than with me.
He still has a cough but seems to be feeling much better.

First Tooth

Brendon cut his first tooth yesterday. Took him to the doctors as he still has a nasty cough, but it's not in his chest so just have to keep an eye on it. Mum comes over in just over two weeks, can't wait, she hasn't seen Brendon since he was 3 1/2 weeks old!

It's been a busy week...

Well, according to the calendar, Brendon isn't due for a Wonder Week yet, but it may as well have been for all the new things he is doing. For a few weeks now he has been doing baby sign language for Eency Weency Spider but has just started signing Five Little Ducks as well. The big excitement this week was when he started signing 'milk'.
He has also started dancing, jiggling along to any tunes on the radio or to Mum and Dad's singing. At times he looks like he is trying to clap.
Mathew has taught Brendon how to do High 5's.
I looked in Brendon's mouth yesterday and it looks like he is cutting a tooth.
On Thursday last week, Brendon woke up not his usual happy self. He was off his solids, thirsty, hot, grizzly, sleepy and appeared to have a stomach ache. I took him to the doctors and they said he had a virus. That night I had diarrhoea and the next morning Brendon did too. I took him to the hospital to get him checked out, but they said the same thing... just a virus and to keep an eye on it. He had a fever for three days and the virus has now shown itself to be a cold. He has a runny nose and throaty sounding cough. The fever is over and his appetite has resumed. Brendon spent two nights sleeping in our room in his car seat (in the bassinet position) as sleeping flat on his back made breathing too difficult for him. Last night he slept in his own bed and only woke once for a feed.
With Brendon's fever making him thirsty, being able to sign for milk was a bonus, as he was able to let me know when he wanted some especially as it wasn't usually at a
time I would offer it to him.

First word

Today there were a couple of times when I would say 'Mum, mum, mum' to Brendon and he would repeat it to me. I was pretty excited about that.
Last week he slept through the night again, but recently has been waking twice a night and not resettling, needing a feed to get back to sleep again.
He is keeping us entertained with his range of sounds that he is making at the moment.
We sold our caravan on the weekend. I was sad to see it go, but the people that bought it were very excited and I am happy that it has gone to a good home.

Sitting up

Brendon is now sitting unsupported, but you still need to be sitting with him as he isn't very steady, and hasn't worked out how to go from sitting to lying down yet.

7 months

I took Brendon to the clinic today to be weighed and measured, as it has been a month since he has been there. He is now 9.46 kg (in the 75th percentile) and 74 cm tall (almost in the 97th percentile). He spends all day blowing raspberries and commando crawling. The other day he did sit unsupported for about 10 seconds or so. We had Mother's Group here on Monday and he got upset at the other babies playing with his toys. It is the first time he has done that.
He is really enjoying his swimming lessons now and doesn't even cry when he goes underwater.

Getting about

On Tuesday I went to the dentist to have a filling replaced. I asked the dentist about breastfeeding after having an anaesthetic and got the impression it would be ok. When I got home it was Brendon's bed time. My mouth was still numb and I fed Brendon and put him to bed for the night. Well, he slept until 6:15 the following morning! I don't know if the anaesthetic had something to do with that or not? It would have been even better if I hadn't woken at 3am as I couldn't get back to sleep. Since then he has been back to waking once or twice per night.
His cheeks are very red and everyone who looks at him says "He must be teething." These teeth seem to take forever to come through!
Brendon has now discovered that he can drag himself along the floor boards. The other day he must have moved about 3m around the loungeroom floor chasing his toy car which kept rolling further away everytime he touched it.

Easter

Mathew, Brendon and I went away with the Moke Club to the Black Cockatoo Bush Camp at Naracoorte. It's a campsite set up in a paddock and is the third time we have been there. For Brendon's first camping trip, he handled it really well. It took us a few nights to figure out how to make him warm enough at night. He seemed to enjoy it, especially discovering grass and dirt, but wasn't happy that I wouldn't let him eat any of it!
We borrowed a camper trailer that we were considering buying as we are selling our caravan. However, we found that this particular camper trailer was a bit small, with room enough for a portacot, but no room for a growing boy.
There were plenty of volunteers to give Brendon cuddles or mind him, especially Barb, who was willing to grab him at any available opportunity.
Brendon is really trying to crawl. He has figured out he can move forward and around, and is trying hard to perfect the technique. The only bit he needs to work out is that it works better with his stomach off the ground.

Sleeping through the night

On Thursday, Brendon reached his 6 month birthday. He celebrated by having his 6 month immunisations. One of the side effects is that it makes them sleepy. He was asleep sometime between 7:30pm and 8pm that night, and slept until 6am the next morning! This is the first time he has slept all night. Unfortunately I woke at 3am with a sore back and couldn't get back to sleep! Since then he has gone back to waking once during the night for a feed.
On Friday he had his 6 month check up and got ticks in all the boxes. He spends all day rolling over onto his stomach, and has started rolling over in the cot. He now weighs 8.86kg and is 72.5cm tall.
At 8.86kg, my chiropractor says it's no wonder that I am getting a sore back!
We have our caravan for sale and have had a few people come and look at it and even a few offers. It is in today's paper as well,so will wait and see what happens. We want to get a camper trailer which will be easier to tow and more family friendly.

24/3/10

Started rolling over from back to front this afternoon.

Swimming lessons and a trip to the Zoo.

Brendon went to his second swimming lesson yesterday. He really doesn't like having his head put under water as he cried and cried afterwards! Last week I was really nervous about making him swim underwater, but wasn't so nervous about it this time. Nonetheless, I felt really guilty as a mother when he surfaced and looked at me and started crying! He swims with his eyes open, so I think maybe the chlorine is stinging his eyes. Mathew suggested getting him some swimming goggles. I might need to talk to Helen to get her professional opinion on that.
He is 6 months old tomorrow! Going through labour now seems like a lifetime ago.
This Friday we start having a volunteer from Children and Family Health Service come and mind Brendon while I get some gardening, housework, food shopping, etc done. The program goes for 6 Fridays. We qualify for a volunteer because we don't have any family in SA. We met the volunteer yesterday and Brendon really seemed to like her, he even gave her a hug. She seems really nice. It should give me the opportunity to tidy up the garden before Winter sets in.
We went to the Zoo on Sunday. It was a mini club event, but we were the only members to turn up. So it ended up being a nice family outing for us. The weather was perfect and we got to see lots of animals, including the pandas. The highlights of the day were the giraffes, sea lions and hippos. Brendon seemed to enjoy the day but spent most of his time looking at all the other people and kids instead of the animals. At the entrance to the Zoo we saw Chinese people in a Dragon costume dancing to drums as there were some Chinese officials visiting the Zoo that day. It was quite a treat.
Brendon and I went to the Pregnancy, Babies and Children's Expo on Friday. Thank goodness we went there early, there were heaps of people and prams. There were a lot of stalls and products to look at. I bought a hand made Helicopter mobile for Brendon's room. I'm sure the last thing Mathew wants to look at when he gets home is helicopters, but it was so cute I couldn't resist!

Ken and Cinzia visit

Earlier this month we had our friends Ken and Cinzia come and stay for a few days. We really enjoyed their company and it was good to catch up with them. We hadn't seen them since Warren and Priscilla's wedding in Perth in 2008. They are moving back to Italy to see if they can get work there. Ken and Mathew used to work together in Kununurra. Here is a photo of Ken and Brendon.
Brendon and I are off to the Pregnancy, Babies and Children's expo today.

Swimming lessons

Brendon started swimming lessons today. He was due for a sleep at the time, so was very tired. I was very nervous when asked to get him to hold his breath by blowing on his face and then dunking him under water! The second time he cried! But he did very well. This photo was taken of him before we left for the lesson.
Brendon also rolled over last night, from back to front and onto his back again.

Hugs and kisses

My favourite thing at the moment is getting a "hug and kiss" from Brendon. He puts his arms around your neck and squeezes tight, then opens his mouth and plants it on my jaw line. He might not have the skill of kissing down pat yet, but it is as good as the real thing to me!
A couple of weeks ago he moved into size 0 clothes. We have been given so many gifts and hand me downs in this size that I haven't had to buy anything apart from socks! He has such big feet.
He is now having solids three times per day, so as well as breastfeeding, I am feeling like a short order cook!
His day time sleeps are now much better (in general, we still have some not so good days)since we have changed him to two sleeps per day. I make sure he is really, really tired when I put him to bed, then he stays asleep between one and a half to two hours.

5 months old!

It is hard to believe that our little bundle of joy is now five months old. He has rolled over from front to back a couple of times, and is putting a lot of effort into rolling over from back to front, but hasn't quite mastered the art yet. The other thing he likes to do is try to sit up. I guess it won't be long before I am run off my feet chasing him around the house!
Brendon also likes to help you with various tasks. He holds his feet up so you can change his nappy and he tries to put his arms through his sleeves himself when you are changing his clothes.
We have moved Brendon into his own room now which has turned out to be a good thing. Apart from last night when he woke twice, every other night he has only woken up once for a feed, anything as late as 4:30am. Consequently I am feeling great and have more energy than I have had in months!
We have really enjoyed Mathew's holidays and it is a shame he had to go back to work today. Yesterday we went to the Caravan and Camping show as we are looking at alternatives to our caravan. We are thinking that a camper trailer may be more family friendly as well as easier to tow.

Holidays

We have just returned from a holiday in Point Turton. We hired a cabin and had waterfront views. It was lovely and we had a great time.
Tongue chewing must be hereditary in the Robinson family, as Brendon has now started doing it, just like his father!

Recommended reading

If anyone is looking for some good reference books before during or after pregnancy, here are the ones I recommend:
"Taking Charge of your fertility" by Toni Weschler. Also look on www.tcoyf.com.
"The Breast Feeding Mothers Guide to Making More Milk". Sorry, I can't remember the names of the authors, but this book is really good for those with low milk supply. Brendon was born with a tongue tie and I had flat nipples, this book addressed these issues plus more. I found it was really helpful as it looks at all the research into low milk supply, the causes and how to rectify the problem. Brendon was three weeks old when I finally managed to get him attached. We then spent time in Torrens House, where you have a midwife help you with every feed. Slowly but surely we overcame all the problems and Brendon was fully breast fed by Christmas.
"What to expect when you're breastfeeding, and what if you can't" was also another good book.

Pool party

Last Saturday Brendon attended his first pool party. Oops, just realised I attached the wrong photo, there is a much better one than this (he is looking at the camera). Oh well, maybe next time! He seemed to enjoy the party and was very interested in watching what everyone else was doing in the pool. Brendon wasn't at all disturbed by people doing bombies in the pool and splashing him in the face. He is wearing the swimsuit that his cousin, Taylor, sent him for Christmas.
We are still having troubles with getting Brendon to sleep longer than an hour at a time during the day. In fact, he is now sitting on my lap while I type this as he won't go back to sleep. He wakes up happy most of the time, so it doesn't seem to bother him that much.

Brendon Michael Robinson

Mathew and I welcomed our son, Brendon Michael, into the world on 25th September, 2009. Weight 3.8kgs (8 pounds 6 ounces), 54 cm long. Born via emergency c section - not what we were expecting but the result was good - a healthy baby boy.
It is hard to believe that he is now four and a half months old and growing well.
In the past week or so, he has discovered that his hands are attached to his body and he can use them to grab things. He has also started reaching out for Mathew when he comes home from work. Last week he rolled over (from his tummy to his back) for the first time. He hasn't done it since but has come close as his is now rolling onto his side.