'lets not, and say we did' OR 'and now he is three, trials and tribulations of raising a critter'

yeah so i had this all typed up to post on his birthday, and then.. didnt. for some reason. so lets pretend you're reading this on september 29th. ok?

also, any idea how time consuming it is to go through over 13000 images on your computer because the photos you want arent in the folder you thought they were in? and then discover that actually theyve been DELETED and you wont find them anyway?

oh, and sorry for the length. this post is indeed extra-super-long. i love my boy a lot. not interested? understandable. go back with the archives to the right. anyway, on with the show!!

three years ago, i was lying in a bed in RPA, with a squeaking newborn by my side. i was probably asleep. my son was born at 4:02am, wednesday september 29th 2004, after 4 hours of labour, and a lot of tearing. i lost at least 1.5L blood, and gained the most beautiful child i have ever seen. he was 3.795kg (8lb 6oz), 52cm (20.5in) long, and had a head circumference of 33cm (13in). i remember thinking how glad i was that i didnt have a water birth, because he started squeaking before he was fully born.
*push push push scream groan scream push push head pops out* 'squeak' um.. is that my baby? 'yes your doing fine, come on one more big push...'
it was rather surreal.

and the eyes... they plonked him on my stomach the second he was out, and HE LOOKED AT ME. he opened the biggest, darkest, deepest eyes ever, and looked straight into me. and thats when i knew i was hooked. and then he pooed on me, and i didnt care, because he was beautiful. so beautiful.

the first couple of days were.. um.. spent in a daze, because of the blood loss, and the fact that there was a squeaking thing next to me, instead of an alien creature inside me trying to kick my innards out through my throat, while simultaneously trying to break my pelvis. (see why my friends think im the best ad ever for birth control?) they didnt let me go home till saturday night.

partly to make sure i was ok, partly to make sure he was.

because he wouldnt feed. the midwives actually seemed a little shocked at how much milk i had, after finding he wouldnt eat. they thought it hadnt come in yet, and hunger was making him fussy, however i'd been 'leaking' from about 6 months. and actually, until he weaned at about a year, i had to sleep with a bra and nursing pads, because otherwise there were milk patches bigger than dinner plates on the bed. but he woudnt feed. i was so determined to breastfeed, it near broke my heart when we had to buy formula after a couple weeks because he wasnt feeding. for some reason, he just didnt like me much.

we ended up buying a hand pump (eventually we gave up on the pump. it hurt, and hand expressing was faster. not to mention there was always so much milk barely touching would fill a bottle), and i expressed almost constantly so he wouldnt be on formula too often. the first time, there was almost a litre of milk. i filled at least 3 bottles. and he would happily drink from the bottles, just not direct from me. sometimes, he wouldnt even let me feed him the bottle, he would scream and cry until i gave him to his daddy. eventually i figured out he liked to be held under my arm instead of across my chest. got feeding rates from about 40% to about 80%. he still threw fits a lot of the time though, and sometimes there was no option but formula, or a hungry baby. my heart goes out to all the women out there who can't breastfeed, for whatever reason. i struggled for a year to feed my son, and went through a lot of formula, and a lot of tears, in the process. breast is best, but sometimes it simply isnt possible.

his first baths at home were awful. he screamed and screamed and screamed.... then we realised he likes his baths HOT. wrist-warm was too cold for him. which is a problem, because of....

eczema. at about 4 or 5 months, he was hospitalised for 5 days, with horribly bad eczema. his skin was so raw he had pus-filled blisters all over the soles of his feet, and it took 2 courses of anti-biotics to get rid of it. worst part? QV, the eczema helping stuff, hes allergic to it. or something. it makes it all worse. to this day, we bathe him in oats. about half a cup of oats in a stocking goes into his bath, and all the oat-milk is squeezed out. you would not believe how much it helps. anyway.. hospital. he was smothered in hydrocortisone cream, then eucerin, then wrapped in wet strips of fabric. these were then wrapped in crepe bandages, and the whole package was held on by tubi-socks. even his HEAD was done. for a week. in hospital. then we had to continue at home. and still do. he doesnt get wrapped anymore, but hes almost always got moisturiser on him somewhere, and hydrocortisone is a staple in our house.

during his hospital stay, we found he has allergies. namely, egg, and cat fur. ever tried to make a cake with no eggs? it can be tricky. the no-egg we use doesnt rise quite the same as eggs do... since then, we've discovered he's also allergic to chicken and turkey, and probably hazelnuts and pistachios. why probably? well every time he gets into my nuttella, he breaks out in a rash, and when he ate a pistachio, he threw up intermittently for 2 hours. he also jsut has generally sensitive skin. if he eats something juicy, like a peach or a watermelon, he gets a rash on his face where the juice touches.

he didnt open his hands until he was 2 months old. he still sleeps with his hands in fists.

when he was 8months old, we went to visit my grandmother in the nursing home, for mothers day. 4 generations all together, ranging in age from 8months, to 95years. i dont know how aware she was by that point. she knew we were her family, but i think she thought my husband was one of my cousins, and im not sure she knew who my boy belonged to. she was happy though.

it took him a while to crawl, but once he started, he could go SO FAST. it caused some interesting dilemas. like most new parents, we started out doing everything 'by the book'. anything that went into his mouth was sterilized in boiling water. until i got out of the shower one day and discovered him eating the cat food. didnt seem worth it after that.

then he started walking at about a year. backwards. and then he learned to run. and he hasnt stopped since. before he started to walk, he did this weird walk/crawl thing.. hands and feet instead of hands and knees. terribly cute. then he decided walking on his toes is the way to go. its odd to watch.

when he was 18months old, we went back to the USA to visit my husband's and my families. he helped me pack. we stayed with hubby's mother, and the critter loved meeting his nana and his uncle, and daddy's friends, as well as my family. and he actually slept for most of the trip over there. since he was so small, we knew we would need a car seat once we were there, so we took his car seat, and put him in it on the plane, covering him with a blanket to make a tent when he started looking sleepy. he slept for a good 8hours of the 14hour flight. that was brilliant.

and proving that his super-skinniness is not because we underfeed him, he ate more than a 5 year old did for dinner. that was interesting, seeing the look on her mother's face (my hubby's best friend) when our 18month old ate more than her 5year old daughter...

also, both he and i experienced snow for the first time. ITS CRUNCHY. snow is crunchy! i wasnt expecting that.

he didnt really talk until after he was 18months old, so nana didnt hear anything other than 'hi'. now, he wont shut up. he talks CONSTANTLY. ALL. THE. TIME. even when theres no-one else in the room. and he sings. he can sing the alphabet, leaving out only 'N', row-row-row your boat, twinkly twinkle, insy-winsy spider, bob-the-builder theme song, and nearly anything that comes on the radio.

shortly after he started to talk, he started talking 'on the phone'. using whatever happened to be handy as a phone. inclusing the flat of his hand. he now has very elaborate phone conversations when he plays. "heyo? yes hi! its ME!! how you doing here today? huh? yes i fine. whatchoo talking about? no.. no no no! ok. ok. ok yes. ok bye daddy. i yuv you sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. i yuv you too. bye daddy. see you in you car. bye." but not when hes actually talking to a real person. critter, daddy's on the phone. say hello. "hiiiiiiiiii.................................... uh-huh....................................................... yes......................................................... yes....................................................................... i yuv you too daddy bye *kiss* *drop phone*"

early this year, when he was a little over 2, we stopped with the dummy (pacifier, binky, whatever). got him down to in bed only, then down to only night time, and eventually, no more dummy at all. if only toilet training had been as easy as weaning from the dummy.

he started choosing what clothes he wants to wear a few months back. he tells me 'no' when i pick out something, and pulls out something entirely different from his drawers, and insists on wearing it. this has resulte in outfits such as: camo pants, bright orange singlet, and shirt with car print, accompanied by one sandal and one bob-the-builder shoe. and a green hat. he usually doesnt get to go out dressed like that, however. and he still loves dressing up in any adult's clothes, which he's been doing nearly since he could walk. he's worn grandma's high heels, daddy's work boots, mummy's handbag, aunty's hair bands... he doesnt seem to have a distinction between 'boy things' and 'girl things' yet. his favourite toys include a dollhouse and a tonka truck. and now, a BICYCLE! which he can only make to go backwards. or over my feet. isnt THAT fun.




everyday he grows and changes. a friend of mine works for a company that sponsors taronga zoo, so she got us free tickets for his birthday. he had an amazing time, pointing out different things to us, looking at all the different animals. and telling us when he needed the bathroom. and knowing what his 'favourite' animal was. for the record, elephants. he can cover his eyes to wait for a surprise. he makes choices about what he wants (apple or toast for breakfast critter? 'um.... no. weetbix!') even if he he changes his mind after hes had it for a while and loses interest (finished your weetbix already? what a good boy. 'i want TOAST for breakfast now!'). he has a vague understanding of 'tomorrow' and 'later' and can remember things we did weeks ago. he chooses his own clothes, often rather oddly. he really is a whole little person now, instead of just a small human shape.

watching him grow is simply amazing. and as much as he annoys me sometimes, frustrates, and confuses me (seriously? yesterday that cardboard tube was your ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE TOY EVER, and now you say 'yuck' and throw it away... but if you cant find it in half an hour, i know there will be screams), i love him so much i cant believe it, and everything is all worth it when two little arms wrap around my neck, a wet mouth kisses my cheek, and a sqeaky little voice says 'i love you mummy'.