Teeth for the toothless

Well what a weekend of firsts! Mr B and I took Joel on his first ever swim on Saturday morning. It was a lovely day so the pool was really quiet, perfect for a baby's first swim experience.

When we first got in he made some crying noises but not anything major and gradually he started to enjoy it more and more. We took turns holding him, bobbing along the length of the pool and he was kicking his legs around. Afterwards he even went in the shower with me, which he liked. So all in all it was a great time and he went straight to sleep as soon as he was back in his car seat, all the excitement had tired him out. The pictures are a bit blurred but you can still tell I'm proud as punch.

That night was pretty horrible with lots and lots of tears and crying. In the morning there on his bottom gum was the culprit, his very first tooth! The one next to it doesn't look far behind either so I'm sure we are in for lots more sleepless nights. Poor little man!!

We knew it would be breaking through as there had been a few days of frantic chomping on his teether, the wonderful Sophie Le Giraffe. Which really is the best teether EVER!

Oh and I had my first evening out since Joel was born. Just thought I'd squeeze that in :)

Curb your anxiety

It's true that sometimes you just have to jump in. Since Joel was little we have been co-sleeping with him. This happened quite by accident due to the fact that up until 6 weeks he was constantly screaming with hunger as he had an undiagnosed tongue tie which prevented him from sucking properly during his feeds. The only way we could get him to sleep was on Mr B's chest with the duvet pulled up over him.

The sleeping arrangements were really getting me down as Joel now required an earlier bedtime which meant I was having to go to bed with him at 6pm and Mr B and I were getting no quality time together and no quality sleep. I had started reading a book on no cry sleep solutions as the thought of him crying and crying terrified me and brought back vivid memories of those panic striken first few weeks. I didn't want to go back to that place. However the books introduction contained a graphic account of what is going through a babies mind when 'crying it out' which left me shaken and crying when I read it. At that point I decided to follow my GPs advice (and that of Mr B) to not read anymore books!

Someone recently described new experiences as being built up in your mind to stepping off a cliff when really you are just stepping off a curb, this saying could not be more true. Two weeks ago I made the bold decision to put him not only into his cot to sleep but in his own room. Joel settled into his new sleep routine almost straight away. The first night he did cry a bit, but we took turns going and sitting with him so it didn't make the crying seem as painful an experience for all of us. We had his lantern on and the radio on low and sat close by reading him stories in low tones until he drifted off to sleep.

Now he settles down under his covers and usually only wakes a couple of times for feeds, which he will gradually drop. This new found sleep independence has improved our lives and our relationships as a family immeasurably. I've learnt to trust advice given by those close to me and not to picture a cliff but instead a curb.

Walkies!

The funniest thing happened on New Years Day. Michael was visiting us so we had all gone on a walk up the lane together with the pram and Myrtle when Joey decided to follow us! It's quite a long way and he meowed the whole time and ducked into a hedge while we ran Myrtle in the field. You could tell he was outside of his comfort zone but all the same he didn't want to miss out on the walk.
Well on Monday I went for a walk up the lane with Joel and Joey followed, here he is trotting ahead of the pram stopping to look where I was every now and then. Here is a photo of my view.

It was about 4pm so as I had left it a bit late it was going dark on the way back. About a third of the way home a van came along the lane, I got into the side of the lane with the pram and encouraged Joey to do the same. However in his wisdom he decided instead to try and outrun the van down the middle of the lane which meant the van had to crawl along behind him. This went on for some time and i could see his little tailless wombat bum in the van headlights running all the way up the hill and out of site. I couldn't help but laugh, imagine how funny a view it must have been for the van driver!
As I walked up the hill Joey popped out of the hedge, clearly he'd realised he only had the edge on the van on the uphill run and decided not to tackle the downhill. He's so funny, he came trotting out of the hedge meowing loudly and then led the way home.
It was obvious that I now accompanied him on his walks not he on mine.