It's Been Awhile

It's been nearly two weeks since I have written a blog post so for those who are reading them, thank you for your patience :)

I have been so busy which means finding time to sit down and write out a blog has been challenging. So I have ensured I sit down today to update you all on how we are going!

Post Hospital Visits

Following our awful hospital visit Casper and I caught up on much needed sleep and we were able to reset our week. 

When we were at the hospital, part of being admitted meant he was to be weighed. At time the number on the scale didn't bother me but during the week I had time to think about it and became concerned.

You see, Casper was born 4kg, and he weighed in at 6kg at 5 months of age! This sent alarm bells ringing. To me that isn't a very big weight gain.

Of course, it felt like just another thing coming crashing down around me so I had a meltdown, called Paul crying and he managed to talk some calmness into me, however I did book in to see our GP the following day.

 

Our GP is lovely. He's calm and doesn't jump to make hasty decisions which I have always liked about him.

I told him my concerns and he weighed, measured and checked Casper out. He believes he's fine. Yes he hasn't put that much weight on but he is developing beautifully and is a strong boy. We did discuss starting solids though just to ensure Casper is getting what he needs. I was hesitant because I really wanted to get Casper to 6 months without solids but I chose to go ahead.

I'm starting him very slowly. I personally skip the whole rice cereal side of things and go straight to pureed vegetables. I stick with one type of vegetable for 3-4 days before moving onto the next to ensure he doesn't have a reaction, or if he doesn have a reaction I'll know what the trigger is.

So far he has had sweet potato, carrot, pear and eggplant. He did develop a bit of a red rash around his mouth when he had the eggplant so I am going to reintroduce that again after a break and see how he goes. I don't believe it to be an allergic reaction, more just a skin irritation. Casper loves his food! I am only giving him small amounts at lunch time. I will start giving him more after his next weigh in with our GP. I am not going to move him off one meal a day until he's over 6 months though. 

Baby Food Intolerance

In terms of Casper's belly, the damn Rotavirus really did a number on him! He was having perfect poo's up until he was given his second dose, now they are all over the shot. They do seem to be getting a bit better though so hopefully it settles down soon.

 

I have now eliminated more foods from my diet to see if that helps with his gas through the night. I am now nut free, peanut free, soy free, (I was already dairy free and egg free) and just recently gluten free. It's been a little overwhelming but I am finding it gets easier with the more research I do regarding foods and I ensure I get my creative hat on when it comes to meal time for myself. Funnily enough, he no longer has stinky farts! And he is sleeping much more soundly at night - yay!

I'm going to continue excluding these foods from my diet and then start to introduce one to see how he goes. I did have some hazelnuts on my birthday and 24 hours later he was a bit unsettled so I am thinking that was a reaction but you can never be sure because 24 hours later is a long time to wait for a reaction.

We have booked him in with an allergist to see if we can have some tests done. It's just SO hard trying to determine what is the cause ourselves. Even Pul has studied my food/symptom diary and he can't find a clear trigger. It's very frustrating.

This appointment isn't until mid August though so we have about a month to wait. I will use this month to really watch his behaviour and how he reacts to not only the food I am eating but what I am giving him too.

Baby Sleeping Through

Casper's sleep through all of this has improved a lot! 

I decided to drop the dreamfeed because it just wasn't working for him. I held onto it for longer than I should have to be honest. I just LOVE the idea of the dreamfeed and because it worked perfectly with Otis I desperately wanted it to work for Casper, but, these boys are complete opposites and for Casper the dreamfeed was waking him up too much and it wasn't actually promoting a longer stretch of sleep. I would do it around 10pm and he would almost always wake around 1/1:30am anyway - ugh!

So, now I allow him to wake naturally for his overnight feeds and it generally sees him wake between 11pm-12am and then 3-4am. 

This means I go to bed earlier in the night, but it's a small sacrifice to make especially if it means he sleeps so much better.

Isn't it funny how sometimes you don't listen to your own advice? If I had of been a client of mine I would have been encouraging me to stop the dreamfeed but I was being stubborn and wanted to keep trying haha lesson learnt!

Turned 30!

Last week I turned 30! I was in two minds about this milestone birthday. One part of me didn't mind and another part of me was freaking out!

I just feel like it's such a shift to now be in my 30's. I'm no longer a younger sounding 29, I am 30.

My best friend spent the day with us and she bought over treats for us to eat. The poor thing was exhausted though haha. Otis loves her and gave her a run for her money that's for sure haha I think she would have slept well that night!

 

The weekend as quiet for us, we went out for breakfast twice and just hung out as a family which was nice. I originally had a party planned for my birthday but Covid-19 screwed that up. 

Maybe I will do it next year instead :)

Moving Kindergym Age Classes

Otis is moving up a class at kindergym which made me super emotional :(

he class he is in was the first class he joined and he has some cute little friends, one little boy is named Milo so it's hilarious that Milo and Otis are buddies. Unfortunately Milo will be in another class so Otis will need to make new friends however we will continue to see Milo on our Playgroup days.

 

I have been thinking about enrolling Otis into childcare/early learning one day a week after his 3rd birthday in November.

Trying to juggle work and both boys at home is proving to be pretty hard. At least if I just have Casper with me I can use his nap times to work. With both boys home I only get 30-40 minutes to myself when their naps overlap. Otis will be dropping his nap soon so then I will lose that small amount of time.

 

I feel he is ready for one day a week at childcare, he loves people and socialising so I think it will be good for him. It will also expose him to experiences and lessons that I don't provide him at home.

This will also slowly get him prepared for kindergarten, which my heart hurts thinking about. How are we already thinking about that?

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Thank You!!!

Thank you for reading this weeks blog and sorry I haven't had time to do a weekly one lately xx

 

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