Happy Birthday!

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.