As
my boys prepare to turn 6 months old I feel the really difficult period
is nearly behind us and we’re moving into the next exciting phase of
their lives.
They
have come on so much in the past few weeks! They no longer seem like
the little premmies which I have been careful to handle and feed, rather
proper robust happy bouncy babies.
The
little smiles and chuckles that were starting to appear the last time I
wrote my post now fill the room with happiness. It’s hard not to feel
complete joy when you have four little faces smiling and laughing
hysterically at you! Their personalities are also coming through more
and more now with Sam being a real mummies boy, loving long chats and
cuddles. Reuben is definitely the little joker of the bunch and spends
his time finding things to amuse himself with. He’s very thoughtful
though and you can see his little brain processing everything thing
around him as he tries to work it all out. Josh and Zac are both feisty
and fun and love to be the centre of attention. You can already see a
little power struggle between the two developing, as when you pick one
up the other makes a real fuss
We
have just started weaning and although I have a toddler it’s a
completely new experience. With my eldest Luke I adopted the Baby Lead
Weaning approach which simply allows your child to start it’s weaning
process with soft finger foods rather than puree. It was a wonderful
experience for both Luke and I as it never involved any of the fuss that
comes with pureeing food, we just ate what we enjoyed together. With B.L.W you need to continue their milk for a much
longer period of time as it takes a baby a while to actually start eating the
food and getting nutrients from it, so unfortunately I don’t think this time round it’s
going to be as practical. When currently 10 hours out of my 18 wakeful
hours are spent bottle feeding I need to do what I can to make
my life a little easier. So I am ready with my food processor, sieves
and ice trays to take on the exciting next step of taste tests. So far
we have tried carrot, sweet potato, pears and apples and it’s been a hit
all round! I’m sure i’ll soon come across something that one likes and
the other doesn’t. It’ll call for another spreadsheet to be created
which seems to be what keeps my now military run operation together.
From Top to bottom: Zac, Ru & Sam having their first spoon of baby rice
As
sleeping in the day time between feeds starts to reduce entertainment
time is a key part of my daily routine. The boys are at a funny age now
where they are really alert and need constant stimulation but they can’t
sit up or grab anything so I often find myself being starred at by
eight bright eyes looking for something to invigorate their little
minds. You’ll catch me dancing around the living room like a fool most
mornings to try and go some way in achieving this. Another winner is
putting them in the buggy and going for a nice long walk. The weather
hasn’t been all that great lately but that still hasn’t stopped me from
getting out the house.
Left to right: Ru, Zac, Josh & Sam
Thanks
to the help of the Baby Angels (the nannies we were able to employ from
the care fund money) and our routine their sleep is consistently better
now so we’re only getting up once in the night to feed. This has made a
world of difference to our ability to cope and adapt to the constant
challenges which we face on a daily basis. I will vouch for the fact the
sleep deprivation is one of the worst tortures that can be imposed on
someone. Finding the Baby Angels was all thanks to The fabulous
maternity night nursing company Sleeping Babies. I initially contacted
them with my request but they kindly put me in touch with Jacqui Nancy
at Baby Angels as they felt her newborn parenting nannies who come into
the home and advise on techniques to get your baby into a routine and
settled would really help us. Sleeping Babies is a
‘maternity, night nurse, trouble shooting and nanny agency’ run by two
mums with 6 children between them. They were so friendly and helpful
when I contacted them which was just want I needed when I was at such a
vulnerable stage of my journey! Thanks ladies for your help.
Luke
turned 3 last week and is such a good big brother. He finds it harder
than he used to with their persistent crying and feeding but overall is
coping very well with his own daily challenges. I just wish he was old
enough to realise that it won’t be forever and soon he’ll have so many
little friends to play his favorite car games with. The boys love
watching him playing with his toys and singing happily to himself. I
just look at Luke and try and imagine what out house with be like in a
few years time, noisy to say the least.
Luke on his Birthday
I
just want to thank once again all my friends, family and volunteers for
their continual love, support and help over these last few months. In
particular te lovely Donna Kinnish and all the people who have donated money
though the care fund. The help we have been able to get because of this
has made such a difference to our lives. To the wonderful ladies from St
Barts church, Homestart and all the Saffas, your help with feeds and
daily care has been invaluable.
