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Raising Rex – His Third Month

I have decided to track our newborn son’s progress for at least the first year in my new series ‘Raising Rex’. Following a challenging second month, I am pleased to say that the third has become slightly easier – although the sleepless nights still prevail! Once again the update is rather later than I had hoped. 

A Follow-Up Paediatrics Appointment

Rex was re-admitted to hospital due to jaundice during his second week. Because of this, we were automatically given an appointment for a follow-up. It was during the school holidays so the 3 of us took Rex along to the hospital. We had only been there the previous Friday due to the reflux issue and so this was something we were able to discuss at the same time. 

There was a bit of wait before we went to see the doctor so I gave Rex a feed. Once in the doctors office, he laid Rex down and had a lovely chat with him! He was happy that the jaundice was completely clear. We discussed the reflux and the doctor warned us off Rex sleeping on me. A change was afoot for the sleep routine. 

Changing the sleep routine

We have tried so many different options for Rex’s sleep. I returned to our bedroom and we put Rex’s crib at the end of our bed which meant Ross and I could take it in turns to see to him. We were exhausted as Rex was up on a regular basis and wasn’t happy going down.

I practised putting Rex into his Sleepyhead pod during the day. This meant that he understood that he slept there. It did help. For the first time since he was born I actually got 4 hours solid sleep. This was short-lived however! Ross then started sleeping in the spare room and I had Rex’s Sleepyhead on the bed next to me. We have done that for a few nights on and off and it has helped us get things under control a bit more.

Immunisations

Rex had his first round of immunisations. This included 3 different injections; a 6-in-1 vaccine, given as a single jab containing vaccines to protect against six separate diseases: diphtheria; tetanus; whooping cough (pertussis); polio; Haemophilus influenzae type b, known as Hib, a bacterial infection that can cause severe pneumonia or meningitis in young children; and hepatitis B, the Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine, the MenB vaccine and the Rotavirus vaccine which is taken orally. 

He had the oral injection first – which he rather enjoyed! Then the poor love had 3 injections in his thighs – two in one and one in the other by two separate nurses. Understandably, he cried. We had to wait for a little bit afterwards to make sure he didn’t have a reaction and this gave me the chance to pick up some Calpol in the surgerys pharmacy. 

Rex didn’t really have any fall out from his injections thankfully but I did make sure that I gave him Calpol to keep any fever at bay.

Baby Massage

I decided to start a baby massage class with Rex which is run by Somerset Therapies. This is in our local childrens centre just a 5 minute drive away. 

Rex seems to enjoy it – although the group is really relaxed so if the babies cry or need feeding you are able to pick them up as and when you need to.

Postnatal Group

It was lovely to start a Postnatal Group which is held at the same centre as our baby massage class. It was recommended by one of the mums in the massage class who has a baby one week older than Rex. She seems around the same age as me and, when we started together, we all had babies of around the same age. There are 4 girls and 3 boys.

The first class was a taster session from a lady who runs a music class on a Monday morning. It is a pay-as-you-go class which I think is a far better idea than having terms and paying in advance. I shall certainly look at going to this once our postnatal group finishes.

We have had a couple of other sessions including one on resuscitation and another on reusable nappies. 

We have all agreed to keep in touch and meet up once the classes finish. I think this is a great idea as one day these babies are likely to be starting school together.

Great Grandad’s 100th Birthday Celebration

On September 11th 2017, it would have been my Grandads 100th birthday. My mum decided to have a get-together as a result and, to start with, I was in two minds about going. It meant a 2 hour drive on some pretty hefty sleep deprivation.

In the end, after a discussion with Ross and my mum, I decided to leave on the Saturday afternoon and stay overnight with my mum ready for the family gathering on the Sunday. It meant that Rex would be able to meet the majority of the rest of my family. Everyone but my brother was there. All his cousins were interested in him and it was great to be able to get a group photo of all of my mums grandchildren – my grandads great-grandchildren. The eldest 3 -which includes Grace – were lucky enough to meet him before he died.

There was a great spread of food and drink. We also sang Happy Birthday to my nephew, Ellis, who had had his birthday the week before. 

First Giggles and Chats

One of the sounds I absolutely love is baby giggles. Rex has sort of being doing this in his sleep for a while. I have started to tickle him under his arms and he has just about got round to giggling slightly. I can already tell he is going to have an infectious laugh when he can do it properly! 

Rex has also started his baby babbling – another of my favourite sounds. Here he is having a great chat with his daddy: 

 
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One Comment

  1. Glad to hear that the sleep is improving slightly. Here’s hoping for further improvement next month! Glad he didn’t have any nasty reactions to his jabs. How lovely to get together with all of his family ? X

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