Benedict’s new bed

Since before Benedict was born, I’ve been looking at cots. I hated all of them. I searched and searched for a miracle; stylish, made out of actual timber, not too expensive cot. Alas. None showed themselves. I gave up. I researched hammock beds. Perfect. For the first five months of his life Benedict has been sleeping in his hammock. Many adult people would like one – including me. Even Ed thought it was cool and asked why Benedict was the one with all the cool stuff? This from a kid with three iPods!

Sleeping Baby Lying

The hammock bed was great everything went along. And so I forgot about cots for a while and concentrated on other things.

Benedict grew and grew and soon my back was creaking from lifting him in and out of the hammock. It’s tricky. It moves and now he is more agile when he throws his hands out he catches the sides – difficult to put him into bed if he is holding on to it!

Busting out of the hammock bed

After another fruitless week of searching we finally came across this beauty! Thanks to Liz for recommending it and for letting Benedict copy Liam. Awaiting delivery as we speak! Big boy bed, here we come.

Five months – how time flies!

Stripey and Stripey show

Five months old today! Celebrated by sleeping in until 07-30am! Woo Hoo. Best sleep for weeks.

The itchy and scratchy show seems to be coming under control and Benedict’s skin is looking and feeling like the gorgeous baby he is. The dermatologist consultation was very useful. We were on the right track but just not doing enough. We were reassured and have the knowledge now to manage what is a mild case of eczema that will probably resolve by the end of his first year. Sleep has been much improved.

Made an impromptu visit in to the office to say hello. Robert ran around showing Benedict off! I finally tracked him down in the arms of Louise, looking slightly fragile but ok. My earlier resolve to keep to the long middle of the day sleep has been blown out of the water this week, but it doesn’t really seem to be making a big difference.

The past few months have flown by. Better remember to stop and admire the view a bit more, it’s rushing past!

Drink from a glass? Give me something harder mama!

Sippy cups are for babies!

Benedict has been interested in what we eat and drink for a few weeks. A couple of days ago he reached for a glass I was drinking from. To see what would happen I held it up to his lips. He immediately pursed his lips and drank a sip of water. No dribbling, no drips just drank it. Give me something harder to do mama!

Am I ready for solids?

Yum! Farex.

I am constantly surprised by Benedict. While I am sitting around obsessing about what to do, he just very often takes charge and shows me what needs to be done.  While I’m busy deciding what to do about solids and the potential risks of allergens and the issues to do with exacerbating his eczema and blah blah blah about six months of exclusive breastfeeding, Benedict one afternoon just quietly started sucking the oaty goodness out of the muslin bag from his bath! The idea of the oat bag is to assist his itchy skin. So after a while in the bath the little bag becomes just like porridge with the oat colloids oozing out. He clearly liked it.I went out and bought some Farex the next morning!

Of course as soon as a spoon came toward his face, Benedict opened his mouth expectantly. Just like his mama and his dadda, he loves his food!

The itchy and scratchy show – my baby has eczema

My worst fears were confirmed Monday 3 May when the GP gave a diagnosis of eczema. We had noticed little rashes and red patches. Then it started to get worse. I changed the washing power and started to diligently remove all the tags from his clothes. I carefully moisturised his skin. Nothing really helped.

All calm

I went to the supermarket and bought everything I could find that was soothing without being irritating.  I went to see the community nurse who gave me some tips but told me to see the GP straight away. The first appointment was several days away. We had been up every hour at night for about a week and a half. Robert and I were just exhausted and I was starting to lose confidence all together.

The worst day of motherhood so far was Sunday 2nd May. I was at a birthday party for a friends’ one year old. It was at their house in the country. Benedict’s cheeks were a red angry mess, he has an infected patch on his scalp and he was miserable and clingy. I was standing on the edge of what would have been called the ‘home paddock’ in the old days facing away from the party staring in the hills. Tears rolled uncontrollably down my own cheeks as I tried to comfort my poor baby. I couldn’t turn around and I couldn’t attract Robert’s attention. I just stood their hoping he would come and find me. We left soon after and I cried all the way home and all night.

It is completely heartbreaking to see your baby suffer and to not be able to help him.

After the GP visit I was laden with prescriptions and a list for the chemist. I handed it over and 10 minutes and $100 later I returned home with a raft of creams, lotions, and medicines. The first night after the treatment started was better and then things improved. We waited until we had caught up on some sleep before we started the slow process of re-training our baby to sleep and self-soothe again.

We have an appointment with a dermatologist in two weeks to attempt to identify the cause and perhaps receive some more targeted advice about how to manage the symptoms.

Big night out

I was having a difficult week. Things were piling up. Sleep was rare and hard to come by. There were tensions everywhere, emotional and physical. Things were, just quietly, pretty shit. I was trying to rest when I got a text message from Karen. She invited me to meet her and Theresa at Tilleys for coffee at 8pm. Ooo going out! Without the baby!

I sent Robert a message who told me I HAD to go. I sent Karen a message saying yes I’d come and that by ‘coffee’ I hope she meant ‘wine’. Of course she replied. We sent a message to Liz too.

Lovely lovely wine

I carefully sorted out the afternoon. Bathed and feed Benedict and put him gently to bed. I was then dressed up and ready to go out before 7-30pm. It’s a ten minute trip. I stood around the living room cooling my heels. Robert and Ed eyed me suspiciously. I folded washing and pretended to watch the 7-30 report.

We all were exactly on time but trying not to be. We all dressed up. We all wore makeup. It was fabulous! We drank champagne and talked about our lives, our babies, our careers and for a little while we felt like our old selves again. It reminded us of the importance of looking after ourselves, so we could be better at looking after everyone else.

Rolling, rolling, rolling

June 2010

For quite a few weeks Benedict has been practising rolling. Kicking his legs in the air, waving his arms, and throwing his weight from side to side while lying on his back. He hasn’t yet been able to pull his arm out from underneath him. On 29 April at exactly four months he pulled his legs up underneath himself while face down. He was propelled onto his face by the momentum and the weight of his head!

Today on the kitchen floor he managed to roll from his front with his arms stretched out to his back. He surprised himself as well as me. He lay there on his back with a startled look on his face. Later in the morning he did it again. It is now the beginning of the end and the start of full babyhood complete with chewing on everything and learning to craw. He surprises me daily with his development and how quickly he changes.