I've been taking weekly photos of him and you can see the change!
We have finally got into our own routine, it's not exactly the same every day as it depends very much on his mood day to day. It is clear he is a very happy and chatty baby, the health visitor seemed very pleased with him on her final visit last week. So, no more health visitor... I've not been sure what I'm meant to consult them on really. They never feel very reassuring and if I was truly concerned about something I'd bypass their opinion anyway, although they are nice enough.
I think 11 weeks has been the point where I reached the summit of the mountain I was climbing in terms of the steep baby learning curve. Although there is of course still so much to overcome, I feel I have at least mastered the basics pretty well. The breastfeeding time has been gradually eclipsed by the awake, alert, I want to be entertained phase which is fun. It's been fascinating remembering old songs, piecing together the melody and lyrics and seeing what Nye's reaction will be.) It's also been easier and more peaceful with Neil at home for the Easter holiday. Having an extra pair of hands makes all the difference to getting things done, although we were away for a fair bit of it which Nye didn't seem to appreciate. What's that they say about babies travelling well... I'm certain motherhood will be more like an entire mountain range, so 1 mountain down many left to go I'm sure.
But it truly is lovely to finally be able to enjoy feeding him. With out new found routine has come lovely family bath times with lots of splashing and smiling, then a lovely feed and cuddle in the nursing chair in his room. Until recently I found it so hard to feed him without lying down to make it as comfortable as possible. Now I can cradle him in my arms and enjoy it, it really makes a difference and means we can make use of his room a lot more. Then there's also the joy of leaving him sleeping and content in his cot in his own room. He now has his lunch time naps and his early evening snoozes there, until he wakes up around 1am and comes into bed with us for feeding until the morning. The early days were tough, but things are getting easier and I've been able to stick to my guns and do the best things for him. Now comes the many years of finding out who he is as a person, what his likes and dislikes are and I am enjoying every moment.
