First tooth!

It's been a bit over a week since our last post and my my thats a long time in the world of a 6 month old. We've alluded in a couple of posts now that feeding has been getting more and more problematic with Kel not having enough milk and then Elliott being periodically resistant to taking a bottle. So last weekend we made a clean break and went to the bottle. Initially there was some heartache and worry as to whether the little man was getting enough fluid, and looking back he really only took what would be considered the bare minimum for a couple of days, but he's warmed to the challenge and today he drank a massive 830 mls. It's been a pretty tough time and a tough decision (especially for Kel who has loved breastfeeding Elliott), however, looking at it now I think it has turned out to be a really good thing for all of us.
The switch to bottle is not the only big news either... This week Elliott cut his first tooth, hooray! I'm sorry to say that to date we've been unable to get a snap of the pearly white but you can certainly feel it if you run your finger over his lower gum. The second one is also extremely close and will probably be unveiled any day now. At this stage they're probably more like icebergs (90% still under water in the gum) but we figure the initial cutting through is probably the worst bit in terms of discomfort, so that is a relief!

Today, Kel and I went on our first date, since Elliott came along. It's the first time we've both left him for any significant time. Elliott's Grandma and Grandad came down and hung out with him from 11:30am to 3:30pm. It was their offer and suggestion and we are ever so grateful. It was a really nice day and we went into Queens Wharf Brewery and had lunch on the veranda (along with a couple of beers). By accounts Elliott was "good as gold" for them and had something to eat and even had a sleep (there was a midday bath in there for some reason but that probably just added to the adventure for him). As for Kel and I, it was really nice to eat a meal at our own pace... together. Although we were away, we agree that we probably spent about 80% of our time talking about Elliott, so we need to work on that. Oh, and the other thing about our date today was that on Wednesday we had the 9th anniversary of our actual first date, so it was nice to be able to mark the event with some time together... alone.

Other things we've noticed about this week include: sitting on his own for extended periods (for more than 5 or 10 minutes on his own); a lot of poking tongue out action ("frogger"); and mummy got him an outdoor shade for the backyard (on special at Kathmandu). Also, since the weather has been hot he's had much more time letting it all hang out in just his nappy. Sleeping has been going quite well too - he's usually waking once a night for a feed but going back to sleep straight away. This week, though, we actually had TWO nights where he slept through from 7pm to ~6am - WOWEE!


Elliott has started to enjoy playing "peek-a-boo" too. Usually we have to put the sheet/ paper/ hat over his face and he pulls it away but today he started covering his face by himself and then peeping out ... very cute! We bought him a little toy today which we were very chuffed with because we had been looking for something like it for ages - a little bunny that pops out of a box with a squeek. Turns out we think the bunny might be possessed! Elliott found it very frightening and was really quite scared by it. He wouldn't stop moaning until we totally took it away. Poor little guy, we'll try an exorcism tomorrow and give bunny another go.

Finally, many people have commented on Elliott's hair for some time now. In particular his "business at the front, party at the back" style has become a major trademark. Well it appears the spike at the back that has been incredibly resistant to being wet down is now subsiding. We fear that within a couple of weeks there will be no party left (without the assistance of serious product).

Time for an update

As our last post noted Elliott is now 6 months old and that means... da daaaaa... another round of immunisations! He had another two needles today (one in each thigh). This was the first time I couldn't make it to be there for support, just too much work on at the moment plus I've been working from home Thursday mornings and don't want to push things too far. Anyway, mummy reports that Elliott was very brave and wouldn't have cried for much more than 10 seconds, what a trooper! He's got 6 months off now before the next round of jabs and deserves every second of it.

I wonder if his tolerance for discomfort may have adapted a little recently, what with his ear infections, cold, red throat, not to mention the discomfort of mummy and daddy continually squirting horrible tasting medicines into his mouth. Speaking of which, I think the drug companies have a lot to answer for! The fact that they have not been able to develop a more palatable taste for baby medications is just criminal (surely they can come up with something better than 'cherry' flavour - it's STILL gross!). In my view baby panadol is the worst offender. If you feel this way too, write to your local member and see if we can get things moving on this issue.


Yep, we've been giving the old baby medications a bit of a working over this last 2 weeks. Missing from the above photo is a can of Medic spray and a bottle of amoxicillin antibiotic.

Something more positive now, last Monday (of the long weekend) we turned Elliott's car seat around! His first trip was to Nobby's for a walk and the grin on his face when we put him in the car was priceless. Whenever we looked around at him he gave us a big proud smiley grin, however, even with this novelty, he couldn't resist the temptation of a snooze by the time we got to the beach. The pictures below show the view of Elliott we used to have (peaking around at us) and the new view now that his seat has been turned around.



Other recent events of note include:

- Aunty Nicole gave Elliott a new Rubber Ducky. He thinks it's pretty alright (see photo below)
- Elliott has started chasing shadows (while staying still). He does this when he is on the change table, his legs make a shadow on the wall and he constantly tries to get it!
- Elliott still loves blowing raspberries (does it all day long - even tries to do it when he's half asleep!).

Time Flies!

The advice is true! If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that kids... and especially babies... grow up fast, I'd be a rich man. But I've now come to accept that the reason people feel compelled to say this is because it is absolutely true!

And flown it has! Here's a little celebration of our Elliott who is now 6 months old! In the same vain as the 3 month movie, it's a string of pictures that span 3-6 months. I have to confess that this time I was not able to include every picture we've taken. After that last effort (at 3 months) we've become fond of the stop motion effect of multiple shots so we've actually taken more photos, and the backing music is a shorter track this time. There are 1361 photos in all (440 more that the first movie). The music is 'Winter Solstice' by the Tea Party, who are a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences dubbed "Moroccan roll". They split in 2005 but their first two albums 'Splendor Solis' and 'Edges of Twilight' are considered classics in this household. The song title is particularly fitting since this three months were the coldest he's had so far (including some of the coldest days in recent years).

Footy Nostradamus???

As Roy and HG say, it was a weekend when too much sport was barely enough! It's the first time in a long while that I've watched two games of Footy... and didn't the two premiership winners run hot for the most important game of their respective years!

Reflecting on the games today while looking through some of the photos we'd taken on the weekend I was struck by What Elliott had been wearing on Saturday and Sunday... check it out!

Saturday...

Elliott wears Navy Blue and white stripes

AND...

The Geelong cats blow Port Adelaide off the park
(wearing a navy and white striped jersey)

Sunday...

Never mind his musical talents! Elliott wears a purple Tshirt!

AND...

The Melbourne Storm (in a purple jersey)
come home with a wet sail to outclass Manly

Now cynics will say coincidence and perhaps that Manly also wears a Purplish jersey... but the Purple Elliott wore is without doubt 100% closer to the Storms Purple than it is to Manly's marone. Cynics will also say the I put him up to it all, but I can vouch for the fact that his mum (Footy non-atheist Kel) dressed him both days.

So I think we have a Footy tipping savant on our hands. Needless to say at the start of next season I'll be throwing out all his clothes and replacing them with a totally black and gold wardrobe... Go Tigers!