I'm a week behind on the postings and here is Week 23's (week ending Friday 25th August).

Week 23 with Joseph was completed succesfully but a little bit differently than normal. I had to go to Sydney for a meeting on Thursday 24th and ended up being away two nights (Wed and Thu). I came back late Friday night and Dan really stepped up to the plate for parenting duties - so much so that Joseph was looking at me very strangely on Saturday morning! We had a very early start on Saturday morning (4am!) and we ended up bringing Joseph back to bed with us so we (J and me) could get a bit more sleep.

Joseph was "Fantail of the Day" on Thursday which means the teachers write a little story and take photos of what he's been doing and put it in his Bear Park diary. He was sharing his lovely smile with Jeya (teacher) and Josh (a morepork - one of the big kids) and Josh was bringing Joseph toys to play with. An all round positive sharing experience!

Dan took Joseph for his five month injections on the Friday afternoon and true to form they did not hold Joseph back at all. He was eating and drinking as normal and not grumpy. The trip to Sydney fast tracked our weaning process - Joseph is fine on the bottle but I have been suffering a bit as my body gets used to not having to produce milk!

Joseph's development keeps trucking along with lots of rolling over (still back to front) and he is exploring different textures by rubbing the hands over the carpet. We also think there are some teeth on the way as his hands are always in his mouth, his cheeks have been red, there's lots of dribble and his gums are quite swollen. Joseph is a star on the eating front and is having (and enjoying!) three meals a day.

Finally, I know everyone loves his mohawk but here is a pic of Joseph with his hair brushed down - he looks quite different. And I also managed to get one of him smiling!

Joseph marked his five month "birthday" on Thu 17th August - 22 weeks old on Friday 18th! Here's a tummy time pic taken on Friday.


We survived Joseph's first chest infection last weekend...he sounded like a little whimpering puppy as he couldn't cry as he had a very hoarse voice. We dosed him with Pamol and that seemed to break the fever. Once his appetite picked up on Sunday I knew he was getting better. Joseph was very clingy as well (very unusual) and I had a very sore back and strong arms after four days of carrying him around - my nine kilo sack of potatoes!

He was back to Bear Park on Wednesday and Thursday - no problems there! Joseph seems to have adapted well as he drank all his bottles, slept well and ate lots of lunch on both days. He is still a bit shattered when I pick him up and here's a pic of Joseph in his car seat once we get home at about 5.15pm!


On the milestone front, we have achieved two significant ones in recent days. First is that Joseph has starting rolling - from back to front (apparently front to back normally comes first!) and this morning Dan found him on his tummy in the cot with one arm wedged underneath him and the other down between the bars! Secondly, we have had two nights (Friday 18th and Saturday 19th) where Joseph has slept through (from 7pm to 5.30/6am). This is a very big achievement - something that Dan and I have been looking forward to for a long time!!!

Last pic for this post is a clothes one as I haven't posted any of his outfits lately - he's got a top on from Aunty Teresa, blue velour pants that are hand-me-downs from Tracey and a green sleeveless vest I picked up for $5! You can also see how his sitting has improved.

Another week successfully completed in the Quilian-Warren household: our 21st with Joseph.

Dan has already provided the weigh-in update and I'm supporting this with a pic of Joseph after a solids feed (showing great dexterity with the spoon and a sizable puku peeking over the top of his leggings!) and another of Nurse Joan measuring Joseph's length. She said (again!) that he's a bonny boy.


Joseph had his second week at Bear Park and here's a pic on Tuesday wearing a very cool aviation motif jumpsuit from Steve and Cheryl Hoyle and a red wrap around cardy that Grandma made - the cardy is a bit snug round the tummy so he'll be wearing it quite a bit over the next few weeks to get maximum wear out of it!! He gets completely shattered at daycare and has developed a rather raspy "creche cough" - he's happy enough but sounds like a 60 cigarette a day man with a very hoarse voice and cough!

There has been quite a lot of activity in the head region for Joseph with a rather large bald patch developing at the back from rubbing his head on the sheets. Plus he's been growing quite a bit of hair on the top and front so he's got a slightly unbalanced look going on.

Finally, and at long last, here's a pic of Joseph's friends at Mother's Group taken last Friday. They're arranged in oldest to youngest age order (left to right - Taylor, Joseph, Sarah, William and Joshie. Lizzie is missing but we've got MG again on Monday 14th so I'll get another pic then.

Weight Update!

Just a quick note to debrief on Joseph's visit to Plunket yesterday. He tipped the scales at 8.92kg (19lb 11oz). Here's an update of the family baby weight chart.
As you can see, he's beating our efforts 30-odd years ago pretty comfortably - me by about 50% and Sophia by 100% (eg Joseph hit 8kg in just over 100 days and it took Sophia 220 days)

Anyway enough of that I'm sure you all think. Otherwise things were all looking pretty good from the Plunket visit and the nurse said Sophia can cut out night feeds at 7 months - whether Joseph likes it or not! So Sophia's counting down for that.

Also, here's a link to Vikki's site with some photos from our Saturday in Brisbane with the Ashleys a few weeks back

Sophia here to document Joseph's 20th week with us - what a week it has been too! It was the first week of our new routine. I went back to work on Tuesday, Dan had his first day at home and Joseph had his first daycare experience. Dan and I agree that it has been a good week and that the new arrangement has been good for all three of us.

I am working three days a week (Tue/Wed/Thu) and am enjoying being back amongst adults! I am being quite strict on my hours and I can see the days just flying by. Dan enjoyed his day at home with Joseph on Tuesday and as the weeks go by I am sure they will start developing their own little routine. Dan did have a bit of help as Denise came for her usual Tuesday visit. Denise has been helping us out since Joseph arrived and usually comes every Tuesday or Wednesday for a couple of hours so I could have a bit of a break - it has been great for all of us.



Joseph had two days at Bear Park; he's a "fantail" and once he gets older and graduates to the toddler room (at 18mths) he'll become a "morepork". There's about seven babies - five girls! Joseph is the youngest by a couple of months and he has three carers, Bronwyn, Antoinette and Mentewab. Here's a picture of Joseph, Mentewab and Molly on his first day.



He was completely knackered on Wednesday and Antoinette said he hardly ate or slept as there was so much going on and he was just fascinated by everything and everyone. He was much more settled on Thursday - three good sleeps, two big bottles and a large serve of vegie mash!

The introduction of solids is going really well and Joseph has yet to refuse any food that that we've offered!! We've got our Plunket weigh-in on Monday 7th and I'm interested to see how much he weighs now.

Finally, here's the latest pic of the Warren family in Noosa...