Milestones & millstones

His majesty is still chasing that elusive business of mobility, but if persistence & frustration have anything to do with it, he'll soon be off & away. It won't be long before I'm fencing off large portions of the house as baby-free zones, ie power cords, dogs' tails & modem lines.

He's getting better at sitting up by himself, but still gets side-tracked and goes for a fast nosedive towards a tasty toe with absolutely no notice. Same deal as his frequent and also under-advertised head-butts that occur several times a day.

The kid should come complete with indicators, and perhaps a P plate ;-)

He's had a cold the last few days, compliments of the changing seasons. We went from scorching 30's to freezing single digits in less than two days, and despite my efforts Braeden still managed to get a wee dose of the snufflies, complete with an occasional cough and a nicely blocked nose.

GrandDad advised putting Vicks on baby's feet rather than the chest, claiming he had been told this by a doctor years earlier, and had proved the truth of it many times over.

I was incredibly sceptical, but eventually succumbed and put it on one sole, then later on applied it to both. Bugger me - the nose cleared up within an hour and has stayed clear. That's better than our old method of "a bit on Braeden, and a bit on Mum so Braeden breathes it in while feeding".

Today Braeden has aired his complaints pretty much all day. Not so much crying (well, not often) but continual grouching as he muttered to himself all through his play & interaction times. When sleeping he would wake suddenly and almost hysterically, but would allow himself to be soothed back to sleep within moments.

Sure enough.. that tooth is looking very much like it's going to erupt within a day or so. Between the Bonjela and the pink gins, we've kept our boy snuggled & comforted, and hopefully he'll have something to show off at his Plunket appointment on Wednesday.

Another milestone happened two days ago. At first I thought I was imagining it, but then it kept happening every time Braeden felt he in need of a rescue. (This can be as dire as a sore gum, or as minor as being bored with this particular set of toys and wanting the ones in the toybox)

"Mum-Mum-Mum-Mum-Mum!"

And he never says it to Wayne, but instead looks towards me when Wayne says "Where's Mum?"

So I'm erecting my flag and claiming his first word in the name of Mothers Everywhere. And to think the *experts* claim that "Dad" is most often the first word a baby says.. PAH!

(ps.. will post photos when back on main computer, instead of the laptop which I moved to the lounge in the hope of getting some work done while spending time with Mr Grumpylumps)