one

My baby is one. How did that happen! From the moment he was born I have felt completely besotted. He’s a sweet boy, and even though there have been so so many challenging moments due to reflux/colic and him feeling generally uncomfortable in himself, at some point a few months ago we turned a corner and he is delightful. He makes me happy and I can’t imagine our family without him. He started walking properly a few weeks ago, and now he is most confident and swift on his feet. He loves cuddles and gives kisses, playing with Elroy and climbing over him, rolling around in his blanket, Jerry, music - he’s a great dancer, eating/putting everything he shouldn’t in his mouth, plays beautifully on his own, chats, says mama dada, bubba, and some times ta. Makes elephant noises. Has started to wave, does the open and shut hand movements when we sing that song. Rufus is the messiest eater, still prefers purées, loves his milk, has particular books he likes, enjoys day care, makes it incredibly clear when he wants something and makes a loud fuss when he doesn’t get it. Loves it when people visit. He had the best time at his little birthday party. Oh and importantly for me, just had his first sleep through the night, well 7ish to 4am ish, then back to sleep after a feed. This is huge, not that long ago I was still feeding him up to 4 times a night. He has the sweetest little curls at the back of his head, his quaff-y bit is so long it’s almost a combover, he’s a dumpling and our bubba/honey boy.

42 and 43

42
Bit of a serious look here. He can be serious, but I think that is his observing face. You know sometimes you have a sweet spot with babies, things get a bit easier, they sleep better, can occupy themselves a bit. Generally life with them just feels a little bit less full on. You might not notice the sweet spot until you’ve move into a few fussy days. Anyway we had that sweet spot with Rufus over Easter and it was lovely. After such a challenging start and following months, it is nice to know that he’s a happy boy.

43
This photograph is a pretty good summary of Rufus at the moment. Always, always, with something in his mouth. Most always something it shouldn’t be. He loves the little rocks in the garden, the dirt from the fiddle leaf fig pot, the smallest bits of duplo he can find, random fluff on the floor - you name it he will find it and in it goes. I think he would have liked a dummy, except I did try that when he was a tiny screaming ball of fury and he wasn’t interested then. So instead he crawls around the room with random toys in his mouth. He is impossible when it comes to changing nappies or getting dressed. He will roll away immediately and protest very loudly if you try to get him to lie still.

33 and 34

I’m a bit slow with this, but I have been taking notes and jotting things down.

33
Rufus has discovered how to pull himself up on things and loves to stand and pull out things (like all the things on the bottom shelf of the change table), like all babies he always crawls directly to the things he shouldn’t - lamp cords, small toys, over the top of Jerry.

I am pretty certain he also said Mama one night when I fed him. It was the only thing he said (he can be a noisy chatterbox) and so it was fairly clear. Definitely melted my heart.

His teeth are still pushing through and he is still a bit up and down .

34
Rufus has definitely been saying mum mum mmma, and for occasionally dada, but mostly at night when he wakes for a feed, or if he’s a bit grizzly. He had been quite settled, but right on cue the next leap hit and everything went out the window again. He’s so sensitive this boy, but once again music helps and seems to calm him. Rufus is also standing now, but hasn’t quite worked out the whole sitting down thing, so will grizzle after a while because he is stuck standing.

31 and 32

Week 31
Lots of getting around, getting into things and determination, along with a side of clinginess.
He’s so strong too. He is super into the fresh apricots and they get smushed and devoured. He’s not super keen on lots of food, but loves his water bottle. It’s actually fairly gross, he loves to sip from the straw and then spit it right back out. Dinner time is a very wet and messy process.

Week 32
Teeth , climbing and thinking he can stand on his own. Rufus has two more teeth coming through (either side of the front top two), like his top teeth, they are big and are taking a bit to come. I’m pretty sure you can see more down the bottom too. He’s also discovered climbing, he’s always trying to get into his rocker chair like in the photograph, and he’s also trying to climb the stairs and stand up against things. It feels like all this is happening so quickly.

29 and 30

29 weeks
More teeth for Rufus, those top front teeth pushing their way through, but still seems to be a fairly happy boy. He loves interacting with all of us, laughs and smiles when you blow a raspberry on his cheeks or the back of his neck.


30 weeks
Seven months with Rufus!! The growth and change is rapid at the moment, even since Christmas, it’s amazing. Oh and he’s crawling now! It was just a bit of wriggling across the mat to start with, but now he can make his way across our large living space. He’s not quick yet - fortunately. I’m not quite ready for it. Not ready to put up baby gates and I have no idea how we are going to manage Elroy’s Lego and playmobile. But Rufus is loving it, and seems happier, and maybe sleeping ever so slightly better at night.

27 and 28

27 weeks
Rufus’ first Christmas! Poor bubba was a bit unsettled on the day, wanting to be held and close to a parent the whole time, and not keen on sleep either. But he did seem to really love some of his gifts, his wooden London bus, Lucky Boy Sunday doll and a spinning top from my mum. He focuses quite well on things and will spend time working them out (that and putting them in his mouth as all babies do).

28 weeks
Summer holidays for us, and Rufus has been quite adaptable. Going along with us to do various outings. He’s suddenly looking older again in the face and longer in the body. He usually looks serious but if you smile at him, he lights up and smiles back. He likes to hold on, like he is in the photo above with Matt. A little hand placed on you, just for comfort.

25 and 26

Week 25 - Rufus is on the move, well sort of. He’s got the 360 turn around sorted and has started to  occasionally push up with his legs on to his knees. He’s very determined and proud of himself, looks to us for appreciation and a smile of encouragement to which he will broadly smile back. He does still get easily frustrated and can be quite quick to moan when things aren’t going the way he wants. 

Week 26 - a bit of another bumpy week, it feels like we have a lot of those. One thing I learnt was that if I play his playlist in the car when he is grizzly, he will actually stop. His playlist consists of a lot of quieter songs, Avril 14th by Aphex Twin, Hercules by Aaron Neville, Fairplay by Van Morrison, Dawn Chorus by Thom Yorke. Things that I’ve played to him at home a bit when it’s just us and he seems to like it.

Also he is sitting for small amounts of time, he prefers someone to be behind him but can do it for a little bit on his own.

23 and 24 weeks

I’ve always considered Rufus to be my yo-yo baby. When he’s happy he’s so good and so happy, and when he’s suffering and sad, well he’s very down and difficult. I think we 23 was the up week and week 24 the down week. Almost to the day of when he was supposed to start his next leap he woke in the night and was just wide awake for hours, that night he was chatty, the next the same thing - with a whole lot more crying rather than chatting. Unfortunately this coincided with our quick trip to Sydney, where it was hot and stuffy (no air con in our air bnb) and a lot of street noise. There wasn’t much sleeping by anyone, and I suffered from a few bites while trying to comfort him (the absolute worst, most painful thing). But he wasn’t so bad on the plane rides and although not much sleep during the day we still did what we had planned. It’s hard work this lack of sleep.

We are going ever so slowly with Rufus and food, I think apple and pear are giving him eczema, and his tummy still seems sensitive. I think we might move on to veggies. He loves it though, wants to do it all himself, and has good coordination getting the spoon into his mouth (and everywhere else).

21 and 22 weeks

The last few weeks have been a bit more settled for Rufus, which is just as well because Matt was away for work and Elroy was home sick. His second front bottom tooth pushed through and he worked out how to roll onto his tummy, which he has been doing in the night. Rolling back the other way is still a challenge but it won’t be long. He’s still not great at sleeping long stretches in the night, usually I get two and a half to three hours between feeds, I wish he’d go just that bit longer. He loves one on one chats (he's very chatty) and bath time is his favourite thing, he likes to stand up and hold on to the edge of the bath. Everything goes in his mouth, and his Daddy makes him laugh. He gets called Bubba a lot, but also he’s my hunny boy. He looks sad and serious at times, but has the best smile and likes to catch peoples eyes while we are out and will smile at them.

19 and 20 weeks

I had to re-count the weeks just to make sure I was right. This boy wants to move and he doesn’t want to miss out on things. He’s trying so hard to roll over and is starting to get more movement in his body and will twist around very strongly if you dare to hold him facing you rather than outwards. He has found his thumb to suck, loves to chew on things or shake his rattle. He is sensitive too, one particularly challenging night I had a little cry and he saw and then he started crying too, so of course I had to stop. Everyone comments on his hair, and he loves to give them a smile, a bit like his brother. His tummy can still be very sensitive, and it makes him uncomfortable and he grizzles, but in a way that is his way of talking. I swear he says mum-mum/mama too, but it’s usually when he’s crying and so maybe just the sound of it rather than the meaning of it. He is less put out by Elroy and increasingly more interested in what he is doing. He cut his first tooth over the weekend - so early - (bottom front right) and the one next too it is almost there too, this explains the six feeds in one night over the weekend, far out that was hard. We also started him on rice cereal and while not super into it, he’s not hating it and it’s nice that he’s eating something with us at dinner time.

It’s been a big fortnight for Rufus!

17 and 18 weeks

When Elroy was a baby I did the 52 project and wrote about him every week and I really want to do the same for Rufus. I need to make sure I take plenty of photographs and write things down, because time is flying this second time around and I feel like things are slipping through my fingers a bit. Knowing this is my last baby is bittersweet, especially because I’m enjoying it so much without the anxiety I felt the first time.

It hasn’t been easy with Rufus, the reflux and colic were incredibly challenging, and while I don’t think he is over it yet, we can definitely see the growth and shift - things are better, he can do things that in those first months I never thought he would. We can now take him in the pram/stroller without him scream crying constantly, we don’t always have crying for end of the day pick ups, he smiles a lot, will sit in his rocker for longer than five minutes. It’s so good! Sure, we are going through the four month sleep regression and there is the usual fussing during leaps but it’s all normal. He likes being out and about, and is very observant and alert, he is increasing interested in Elroy and what he is up and does occasionally show a fear of missing out. He wants to join in too!

45/52 and 46/52

45/52
Loving the bath and showing his pure joy. Elroy discovered Easter eggs and the Easter bunny, and we had a little egg hunt in my mum's garden, like both his parents he has a sweet tooth.

46/52
Playing in the autumn leaves at Mt Field, Elroy had the most wonderful day. We walked to Russell Falls and around Lake Dobson and he walked most of it himself, looking for owls and owl houses (I'm not sure where that came from), talking about pencil pines and collecting sticks. We will definitely be doing more of these short walks with him because I think he got a lot out of it. He has been more settled over the last few weeks, perhaps he is more comfortable with our current state of homelessness.

52 catch up (40, 41 and 42)

I'm so many weeks behind with this catch up. Fortunately I have been taking the photographs! Apologies for the flood of photographs.

40/52
Elroy's second birthday. I don't know why but it felt like Elroy was two before he had his birthday. I know that sounds crazy, but I guess because he is so confident and articulate it felt as if he had already moved on from his babyhood. He had the best birthday party and ran himself ragged at the park. On his actual birthday, he was a bit moody and grumpy, I took him to the beach and he refused to go anywhere near the water, but he did enjoy his birthday dinner and second cake that night. Sadly I didn't really get any good photographs.

41/52
Probably the last picture from our old living room, before it was demolished. Elroy running around like a nut with his dinosaur hand puppet he was given for his birthday. Those little feet do really still make a noise when they go, and the squeals of delight.

42/52
Watching tv and grandma's and laying about like a layabout. He watched far more tv than I would like when we were staying there, mostly because the house is big and not completely child proof and it was difficult for me to have a shower and keep him otherwise entertained. He also became pretty keen on playing with playdough, although someone usually had to play with him. I think he took a while to adjust to staying somewhere else and not be at home. We didn't take him to the house too much because we were a bit concerned that seeing the place in such a state might have a negative effect on him. Of course it is hard to know, but he was a bit unsettled.

44/52

One of the lovely things about staying with my parents for five weeks was seeing Elroy play and enjoy their garden (which is much nicer than ours). It has different zones, and you could see Elroy's imaginative play develop and grow. He loved all the attention at my parents, spent a lot of time playing with play dough, discovered bubble baths, watched the children play soccer on the ground down the road, and sang about 'lello submarines'.

(My catch up post is still on the way....).

43/52

Given all the changes going on in Elroy's life at the moment I think he is coping relatively well. I think it must be confusing for him though. He has asked about going home, and if we are out and I say we are going home now, he will correct me and say 'grandma's house'. Lately he has been starting to ask the 'what's that mummy?' question about lots of things, which is cute, is finally saying thank you which sounds very sweet, 'Elroy like it' which can be either like or dislike, the tone usually makes it very clear which one he means.

(Note: Posts 40, 41 and 42 are still to come -  I've been rather slack with editing photographs and I've been using Matt's laptop rather than my computer and I'm missing lightroom!).

39/52

Making colour decisions can be serious, and the lids need to be put in the right place when they come off. He is starting to enjoy drawing more, will make little dot like marks that he says are birds and when his name is written down and spelt out to him he will focus on making marks to copy, although he isn't writing obviously (!!) he does seem to get the concept. On the flip side it can end up with all the pens thrown on the floor.

38/52

So I am two weeks behind with this. I sort of have an excuse, the builders have thrown our usual quiet afternoons at home out the window, and basically in the evening I'm too lazy to sit at the computer....

Anyway, these are from the beach (obviously), Elroy had the best time running around, splashing in a little pool Matt dug for him. He is still a bit nervous around the water, has to hold hands, but I don't think that is a bad thing at all. In the second photograph Elroy is scoffing a strawberry, hiding in the bushes so Jerry won't snatch it off him.

37/52

I'm running late with this, but as I mentioned the last few weeks have been pretty hectic. The day I took this photograph Elroy was 23 months. So crazy, so close to two. I think he has found the change in circumstances at home challenging, day sleeps have been problematic, the builders are noisy and right outside his bedroom window, so we have moved is cot into our bedroom on a few occasions, mostly it has worked but not this week. He also refuses to sleep when he is at daycare, I don't think he is dropping them or is ready but it has made life that much more challenging. He is also using 'no' at lot and getting upset/having mini tantrums when he doesn't get exactly what he wants. I am having to remind myself that this is just a stage and that he is learning what the rules and boundaries are.

36/53

Loves jumping on the bed. Still uses the mailing tube as a guitar. He was a bit under the weather for a week or so, which meant he was a bit more clingy and asked for lots of hugs (definitely a positive to the situation). But as always bounced back to his cheerful self pretty quickly.

35/52

I'm late in posting these, but still they are so sweet. Hanging out with his beautiful whale from Big Stuffed in between bouts of watching our builders work from his bedroom window. Currently he is loving Olympia's cover of Beck's 'Dreams' we have had to play it so many times, and to be honest I really don't mind that. He's also into singing 'Happy Birthday', this morning it was happy birthday to 'the bushes' - he was looking out the window, or Mr Frumble from the Richard Scarry books. I love hearing him sing.