8 weeks old today (Return to Chch Womens')

Today we keep the appointment with the pediatrician at CWH outpatients. I hope the MRSA outbreak has been eliminated (yeah there I go, catastrophising again!)

But seriously, I'm very glad it wasn't a factor when Braeden and I were in there a scant eight weeks ago.

Sheesh.. where's the time gone? I've had two groups of clients now pointedly asking if I can come back to work, and I guess that's fair enough because I *did* blythely inform everyone I'd be back in harness within a month.

In hindsight, what a laugh! Braeden is just not one of those kids you can work around very easily. Not one bit like a parrot or a dog (who are both happy to amuse themselves for an hour at a time if all other needs are met). I'm trying to get him to accept being in the pushchair/playcot/bouncinette beside me while I do the most basic of household tasks, but it's a rare day he accepts this second class treatment for more than five minutes. Most days, the second you even *think* about relegating him, he throws a tanty.

Yeah, I've ruined this kid ;-) But there are compensations.

Because he's got his mother's attention and interaction whenever he's awake, he's very advanced for a little sprog. (Well, I think so anyway)

He can sit up almost completely by himself now; I just put my hands out to the side of him ready to catch him if he forgets to balance himself. He's reaching for things that interest him, and whenever I'm carrying him, he grabs the rawhide strap on my pendant as a handle. He's getting very interested in the grownups' food, and has relished the odd little taste he's been given, clearly wanting much more than just a teeny bit on the end of the spoon. He's started scooting around the cot, and at the end of a sleep, I rarely find him where I left him!

He has "conversations" with you now, and has the most charming voice I've heard. He gurgles and chatters away, often ending a 'sentence' with a downsliding 'ohhhh' sound that is too damn cute for words. He likes to play hide and seek behind the boob when he's finished a feed, and is very bloody aware thank you that burps interupt his food but that if he goes very red in the face and bulges out all his veins, his father caves in and pops the bottle back in, pronto!

He's still not sleeping to pattern; some days are good (one or two wakeups but soon back in bed after a feed), some days are bloody awful (up all night with munchmonster). He's awake now for at least two hours at a time (during the day!) and expects major play sessions in that time.

And as for the pattern the books and the experts talk about... PAH!

You can take "sleep, feed, change, play, sleep" and shove it in your nappy.

Braeden is "sleep, change, snack, play, FEED, sleep"

You change him early, because if you wait til after he's full, he'll upchuck (partly in reaction to the legs over the head manoevres, partly because he hates being changed).

You give him a snack afterwards to stave off the hunger, but not too much because he'd rather play. About 50 mls (or half a boob) should suffice.

When he's had enough of interaction and he's tired, give him his feed, then pop him into bed.

Do this, and you get him down twice a day (usually). Don't, and you won't.

Prepare to cluster feed and catnap with him in the evenings (adult dinner? who needs it!), and if you get this right, he'll go into sound sleep around 9.30, and wake next at 3am, then quickly feed and go back to sleep until about 6am.

So it's still a learning curve, and kidlet didn't make life easier this week for himself for having the delayed reaction to the shots that the doctor predicted. (I'd actually forgotten all about this until Wayne put two and two together after two really difficult days).

Today we're going to ask the pediatrician to take a look at the upchuckies (because they are not improving, and sometimes he inhales the vomit and stops breathing for a bit.. his mother completely lost it the other night to the extent that the dad threatened to slap her if she didn't calm down with the hysterics. As the dad is still alive and kicking, you can rest assured he did not make good on his threat, LOL. More importantly, kidlet is fine as well, but the mother is now twice as grey as before, and triply as wrinkled!)

So that's the most important question, but others we want to raise include

• Should his navel pop out when he's screaming?
• When can we start him on solids? (might keep these down better?)
• What's that funny click/clack noise he makes sometimes when he's swallowing?
• And most importantly, is this not the cutest baby you've ever seen!