Charlie the Champion of the World

And such an important job it is to be a big brother! Elizabeth is 4 weeks old and he is settling in well to his new role. He adores her and is always offering random things…its not unusual to find a biscuit in her bassinette. He loves sitting beside her in the car and will quite often reach out and hold her fingers as we drive along. It hasn’t been easy finding the time for both of them, it still isn’t, but I’m sure we will all settle in soon.

Charlie’s speech has been the most noticeable development recently..he’s coming out with all sorts of words…Makka Pakka…shuck (shark) and can often be seen dancing in front of playschool and trying to sing to In the Night Garden. Its so adorable…and such a relief to see him progressing.

He’s still petite at 9.47kg…but he has really caught up in height and is even on the charts for height. At his last appt with Dr D, he was super impressed with him and we don’t need to go back until October. In the meantime he’ll have his 2 yr corrected evaluation (Dinosaur Playhouse) thing soon…I’m expecting nothing but good news, or at the worst, just things we can work on.

Little man is a gem at the moment, changing everyday. I’m really enjoying spending all our time together at the moment, while it’s still just us 2. He gives me lots of cuddles, the very rare kiss and obviously adores me. Feeling’s mutual. And there is always lots of love left over for Daddy. He gets the special things like hiding in his tent before bedtime…and the gorgeous home from work smiles.

He is getting much better at trying to make new sounds and communicate. He can do the sign for finished..along with a shhh.. and yesterday when were reading a book, he said ‘ball’ and did the sign for balloon along with the ‘fff” noise of blowing one up. He also was copying me saying ‘pop’ when we were playing with bubbles. I think we are turning a corner.

He hasn’t been weighed or measured for a while, but we are thinking he’s most likely 9 kg and will find out later this month. He’s doing so well in all areas, it makes it so much easier to not worry about his size.

We still aren’t sure if he understands about there being a new baby soon, but he does enjoy cuddling my belly and making goo goo ga ga noises

Well its official…in less than 2 weeks…he will be 2. The age where supposedly we are meant to stop correcting his age…and where supposedly the majority of prems have caught up to their peers. We will definately not correct his age anymore…as that’s just annoying..so much easier to say 2, but I think a lot of us premmie parents lately are proving wrong the theory that they are caught up by 2. Some are for sure…but not all.

The great news is that Charlie is soooo close to 9kg. He’s 8. 775 kg and the dietician is so happy she doesn’t want to see him for 6 mths…and that makes mummy happy too…because its just one less trip to the hospital. He’s also having a bit of a breakthrough with his talking..he can now say ‘go’ and ‘uh-oh’ thanks to some time spent with Nanna and cousin Holly. We got the all clear from the heart specialist as well, his PDA has finally closed and the heart murmur that he does have will most likely cause no issues. Its all looking really good!

His one annoying habit still is still putting everything in his mouth…he loves to eat paper and cardboard…chews on all sorts of horrid things…and I’ve had many moments of panic when I’ve had to retreive things from him including fridge magnets. I can’t wait til he stops doing that.

And he’s taken to giving random kisses….Daddy still hasn’t had one and is feeling quite rejected…but I told him it all balances out…as he gets Da da…whereas Charlie doesn’t say mum yet.

He has no idea he’s about to become a big brother soon…poor wee man. He doesn’t understand why when he comes to sit on mummy’s lap there isn’t a lot of room..and he usually slides off All is going well, we are 30 weeks tomorrow and having another growth scan today. She’s a big’un.

I’m thinking of making him a tshirt that says I’m almost 2! Then he might stop getting mistaken for a 1 yr old. Ok, he’s small, but he acts completely different to a 1 yr old!

22 months old and still my little champ. He now has 10 teeth…4 of which seemed to pop up overnight without warning. So glad he has a high pain threshold.

He has picked up so many things this month and really understands a lot of what you say even if he can’t reciprocate. His latest is to go and get books, bring them to you and sit on you wherever you may be until you read them (again..and again..and again), and if you don’t you get the horrid tantys thrown. He’s also having lots of fun testing the boundaries and seeing if mum and dad differ in their views on things! He can now say yes…and we think lately we have heard him say something sounding like no a few times..so that’s good.

He passed his latest paed appt with flying colours. He’s now 8.39 kg and standing 79cm tall…looking like a real little boy now. Dr D was super pleased with his progress in everything. We only need to keep an eye on his tiptoe walking (which I’ve already noticed a decrease in) and of course his eating and weight gain. We are a lot more relaxed about this nowadays as unless he’s unwell, he is improving.

He’s getting in some good practice at being a good brother, spending a good portion of this morning pushing one of his younger mates in a baby swing…so cute. We are now 23 and 1/2 weeks and all is looking very rosy and promising. We may just get to bring home a big giant chubba bubba…won’t that be strange?

Just a very quick post to brag about wee man and all he has achieved! He has grown up so much in the last few months. He is now walking very confidently and can also stand up unassisted from the floor. He’s got very very good at sitting on his bottom and we notice him doing it a lot more instead of the w position. He can stack blocks, and rings and can get both a circle and rectangle puzzle piece in when he really tries!

His comprehension of what you say is amazing…he will sometimes go and choose a book for storytime if you ask, and he knows when he is in trouble. Vocally he is making lots and lots of noises and is always chatting away. His vocab hasn’t improved a great deal, he can indicate yes with a nod and sometimes says it too, and can sign drink, but other than that, its still just Dada and Zeus. But he can make lots of noises..elephant, lion, snake, duck, dog, aeroplane. Still hanging out for the day he says Mummmm….

He’s now a whopping 8.2kg and is starting to enjoy his food more as long as its on his terms. I think his dietician is quietly dissappointed she won’t see him so often as I’m sure she’s fallen in love with him. She’s only human.

Another special first this month too…his very first scar that wasn’t caused from his early birth! He split his head on a window ledge at Daddy’s work. He was very brave, and I think we were more scared than him. It has healed very nicely.

Well that was a bit longer than I thought..much to brag about. He’s also that bit closer to being a big brother..we are now 19 weeks and things are looking positive. The hospital is giving us great care.

It won’t be long and our wee boy will no longer be a baby…but a toddler. He is getting more and more confident with taking steps in between items and standing for longer periods! He is so cute!  I have no doubt that this is related to his ability to sit on his bottom now as it has helped his core strength and his balance. His preferred method is still the W on his knees but hopefully he will grow out of that…(and his thumbsucking). His hamstrings are still tight and he is still unable to stand up himself independently but we will get there and have another physio appt next month.

We had his paed appt today and he has finally reached 8kg! He was such a wriggle-bot and it was hard..but we all agreed it was over 8kg..8.06kg! He is tall..76cm. At least he is on the growth chart for something. He is doing very well in lots of areas. We will most likely get a referral for a speechy soon as Dr D suspects he has speech delay  but we are waiting a few months for Charlie to prove us wrong, like he always does.

His favourite things at the moment…toys..his ducky puppet, his farm animals, his platypus. Books…There was an old lady who swallowed a fly…On the farm. Dvds…Wiggles of course. Food…spaghetti bolognaise and hot potatoe chips. Songs…Baa baa black sheep (when you say 1, he holds his finger up and points 1) and anything by the Wiggles.

All in all he is doing really well and we are most excited about him becoming a big brother! I am now 10 wks pregnant and though its early days, we have learnt that there is no safe point in a pregnancy and are trying to enjoy each moment. Which is much easier now that I am on some very good drugs for hyperemesis (non-stop vomiting)..We are also receiving great care from the high risk team at the RBWH and all have our finger’s crossed for no more early birds.

Great news today from the doctor’s..his last blood count was normal, so that’s one more thing to cross off our worry-wart list.  He has a mild cold at the moment kindly donated to him by me and so has been a bit out of sorts, but you can’t keep a good boy down and there is still plenty of mischief to be had.

He performed really well at his physio on Monday and even sat for Kelly on 2 seperate occassions for about 30 seconds with no support. He didn’t even prop on his hands! Wow..now if only we could find something to entertain him long enough so he can do it for us at home.

 He is giving me lots of grey hair at the moment and for once its nothing to do with him being an ex-prem. Its all entirely related to him being a BOY! He always wants to climb onto lounge and has no fear and would quite happily go over the edge…and today he learnt if he climbs up onto Daddy’s arm chair he has access to the whole bookcase. He’s also started to sit in his toy buckets, cuddle the teddies then move onto the next bucket when he’s bored. He leaves a trail of destruction everywhere…today so far he has unpacked a few draws..knocked over his change table and clothes twice..thrown all his toys all over his room…pulled all the books off the bookcase and all the washing off the futon…

 I love it…I am so so happy to pick up after him (for the moment). I’m just glad that he can do these things.  I took him to the park today to burn off some energy, where he saw some of his favourite things…dogs, birds, aeroplanes and cars.

I have come to a conclusion the last few days..Charlie is not a baby anymore. He is a little boy. And my god…I am crazy about him. He has been doing all these new and exciting things of late and I just can’t get enough of his crazy antics. What on earth did I ever do to deserve something so good?He can now climb up onto the lounge..a bit scary I admit. If you ask him to find the teddy bear or the duck in one of his books he tries very hard to and then points. On a good day he will also try and repeat a word you say to him, usually baby or bear. He is also making lots of noises that sound like mum…he says mun and num..and if he says them close together you can fool yourself!

He is no closer to walking or sitting up by himself but we are very patient (maybe too patient). Physio on Monday so she might have some more tips for us. He had some abnormal blood results so back next week to have another test. I am trying not to worry and hoping its just something like low iron or something simple like that.

 He has his new highchair..and I must admit I think there has been some improvement. He doesn’t seem to tantrum quite so much in it. So that was a good investment. He is just really good value at the moment…such a funny little boy who loves to laugh. We love him to bits.

We had our dietician appt last Friday and I wasn’t expecting much of a gain as he has been eating so poorly and has been drinking even less milk now that its souped up. Charlie never being one to disappoint…has gained 380g in 3 weeks! He is now 7.68  kg…Wow! I have no idea where it came from! But I am pleased and I hope it continues! She was shocked as well. We will see her again next month and in the meantime she’s given us some great pointers while we are waiting for the speechie appt. We are on the hunt for a new highchair as he detests being put into his current one…and she gave some other good tips.

He had his first trip on a train and a bus on Friday too! He loved it..much more than I did. He has got the hang of pointing now and is also cuddling his toys a lot more now and on occassion a person too! Its so sweet. He tries to say baby..”babe” the dog and birds are “ooths” still, and dada has become more like “dad”. He also likes to unpack (and pack) things now, like his draws of clothing, blocks etc.

He had a visit to the Dr today to check on a few things. He has eczema on his bottom and legs and his lymph node is still swollen so he arranged some bloods to check on that. He was a very brave boy and didn’t even cry the whole time. He also has a lump in his ear which might have to be lanced if it doesn’t go away soon…so fingers crossed it does.

But he is just doing so great and in the last few weeks has had this huge show of new skills and personality. He’s a real little boy now!