5 months

To start with I'd just like to say thank you for all your lovely comments regarding Archers sleep. Sometimes it's just so nice to know that you aren't alone in the world with an insomniac child!

As I mentioned last week, Archer is now 5 months. 5 months! Boy oh boy did that go fast. My little terror has started teething, which means over the last few weeks his poor sleeping habits have gradually got even worse. I made the mistake of feeding him everytime he woke one night (which was close to every hour), and had to try and get him off that idea. He's much better than he was at the beginning of last week, but he's still waking 4 times in the night (I'm feeding him twice) either just needing re-settling or wanting his "plug" (as Finley deemed the pacifier) put back in. I'm thinking he isn't going to show any major improvements until he gets those teeth, or until he's on a few more solids, or until I wean him from that dummy... which I'm not so keen on just yet.

And the days... oh the days! I think he's a fan of having his eyelids propped on toothpicks, our boy. He feeds 2 1/2 to 3 hourly and I'm lucky if he sleeps for any longer than 45mins at a time. I think his big brother, Mr. Noisy Pants plays a huge part in his sleep issues during the day, but I'm also wondering if he might have some underlying issue that makes him wake. For instance he has a clicky shoulder and I've been considering taking him to get that looked at, but we will see how tha next couple of weeks go before we set a Chiropractor onto him!

On the upside I managed to get him off his Omeprazole for his reflux, and as long as I stay off the milky stuff, he seems relatively happy. But it seems developed bit of eczema now, which sucks for the poor soul, but it's hard enough going dairy free without trying to figure out what else could be causing it! We've also discovered a slight wool allergy, which I can manage as long as he wears cotton underneath it (my knitty fingers rejoice!) and a sensitivity to washing detergent... which we didn't discover until we bought a new washing machine (apparently they aren't as effective at rinsing as they're ancient counterparts). So the poor boy is destined to be an itchy soul.

The good things? Oh there are loads. Archer adores his big brother, loves to dance around the lounge, tummy time (although he gets tired), he loves sucking on his bunny, bath time and cruising around in the front pack. He also loves it when I sing to him... and I'm totally tone deaf so I'm going to roll with it till he tells me to shut up!! He is rolling up onto his side ALMOST onto his tummy, but not quite and can wiggle his way around to grab a toy if it's reasonable close to him. He is a slender boy, weighing 7.2 kgs (or 15lb 13oz) but makes up for it in length at 69cm. He loves his food, gobbling up anything you offer to him. He's just gorgeous and despite his few issues he is loved to pieces.

And there we go, I've gone and written a novel. Oh well... My blog I can gush a bit if I want ;o).