Last Friday our little lad passed the 6 month mark. To celebrate this milestone, he cut two teeth and slept through the night (8 – 9 hours) two nights in a row. I was amazed as I thought that this epic event would be a long time coming, and would involve some agony from me as I ‘helped’ him to self-settle… amazingly, it is all about his little self, and he seems to be needing us less and less at night time. Though I think he still wakes up once now just to see me – so I give him a tiny little bottle and a cuddle and within 10mins we are back to sleep again. Lovely! He has also become so much more inquisitive, and his rolling around the room is more purposeful – he is managing to propel himself towards desired objects in a much more determined manner. Here he is on his 6mth birthday, in his Kiwi Buzzy Bee shirt, trying desperately to get his hands on the camera:
This past week also marked the day of the helmet. Kazuo had been to the doctor for his 6mth checkup (the nurse announced he had a two-year-old’s head which was somewhat amusing… we both have large heads, and poor Kaz is no different!) the day before and was still feeling a bit low from the immunizations, and rather tender due to his new teeth, but his sunny little nature won through and he coped with this dreaded day very well. We are staggering the wearing-in of the helmet, checking for developing pressure sores, and letting him get used to it gradually. By Monday he will be wearing it 23 hrs per day – something I will still need to get used to as well. But so far, he seems to be a little fussy as we adjust it on his head, but essentially doesn’t really notice it is there, though I suspect it is a bit awkward for him. He still managed some lovely cheerfy smiles for me yesterday and today, so my fears of grinding down my happy little guy with invasive medical contraptions have not come to anything so far… Incredibly, the healthcare company have decided to pay for the helmet, so I feel I can be a little more positive in my feelings about subjecting Kazuo to something I strongly believe will improve his life, even if it seems somewhat undesirable right now. And his happy little face just warms my heart. Hopefully I will be able to report quick progress on the helmet treatment in the coming weeks!
As we wear in the helmet, there are still some hours in the day when he can be a ‘normal’ looking little boy, so I am getting in some last pics of Kazuo out and about with his lopsided but non-helmeted head… and we are still racking up the firsts… yesterday it was ‘First Trip to the Supermarket Without the Carseat – I Rode in the Trolley’, and he loved to look around… today it was ‘First Go on the Swings at Lewis Park’ on our way home from the vege market – and once again he was all smiles for Mama as he tried out this new fun activity. Yayy for sunny summer mornings!
50 things for 50 