Zachary Unleashed

Zachary loves to travel. Whether it's on a drive in his car seat where he loves to stare out of the window (particularly enjoying the speedy rides that Daddy delivers), a walk in the sun in his baby carrier, or a walk in his pram (he smiles in glee at the rain hammering down on the pram cover, as poor Mummy gets drenched outside), Zachary has a whale of a time.

Zachary having fun in his pram at the St Fagan's Food Festival

Zachary has enjoyed getting out and about with Mummy and Daddy on all sorts of terrain. Here are just a few of the many places he's been recently:

A walk along the Taff Trail on a gloriously sunny day with Zachary's new friends, Maike and baby Philip, who is just a few days older than Zachary. Zachary slept for most of the walk, but awoke at the rumbling of the weir.

The Taff Trail, near Forest Farm

A walk around Stoke woods near Exeter with Bumble and Grandad. The terrain was steep in places and a little muddy, with a stunning view from the forest clearing, but Zachary was obliviously fast asleep.

Stopping for lunch at the Stoke Woods viewpoint

A recent trip to the beautiful Dyffryn Gardens on their open weekend. Zachary was happy being pushed along in the pram, but as soon as we stopped to look at something, he'd cry until we started moving again; Zachary has our fitness in mind.

 

The manor house at Dyffryn Gardens

A coastal walk near Southerndown for Auntie Sarah's birthday. Zachary particularly enjoyed the first half of the walk through the woods, even when Daddy had to navigate various stiles with Zachary in his carrier. We reached the sea halfway along and Zachary had a feed, then we continued up to the clifftop. With chilly sea breezes, Zachary was getting a little cold, so people volunteered various items of clothing to wrap him in. Once he was comfortably wrapped up, he fell fast asleep.

Beautiful beach near Bridgend where we believe a recent episode of Dr Who was filmed

Zachary snugly wrapped in a blanket, Daddy's jumper and Auntie Bebe's scarf

Video post #2: Put on a happy face

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Zachary smiles now and then but not on demand. Well, just recently he has begun to smile when asked, and here's the evidence...

Growing like the Jolly Green Giant

Zachary is now 9 weeks old and it's surprising how much he's changed since those first few weeks. Here are just a few of the changes we've observed...

A Chubby Bunny

Zachary has been steadily putting on weight and has just recently jumped from the 50th centile to the 75th on his weight chart, now weighing 12lb 9oz, which is 4.5 lbs heavier than when he was born. Check out the visible expansion of his cheeks over the weeks...

Leaving the hospital at 2 weeks

5 weeks

6 weeks

This was just the other day (8 weeks)

Mr Tall

Zachary was measured this week and is in the 98th centile for length, i.e. he's pretty tall for his age. He also has big feet and hands for a boy his size. Check out how the space he occupies on his changing mat has increased over the weeks...

4 weeks

6 weeks

7 weeks

8 weeks

Zachary's Weekly Video Post No.1

Every Wednesday I'll endeavour to post a video showing what Zachary has been up to recently. Here's the first offering:

 

A Clockwork Baby

Zachary is now 8 weeks old and we've been attempting to help him along with a daily routine, in the hope that perhaps very soon we may get enough sleep at night to avoid constantly yawning throughout the day. Swith has taken up earplugs to help him through the night and has been sleeping like a baby ever since (what a terrible idiom!). 

Over the last week, Zachary has established the following routine. Please excuse the use of the third person; it is starting to become the norm in our household!

AM

Firstly, Zachary is usually awake by 7am and after an early morning feed, Daddy changes his (usually very dirty) nappy and gets him dressed for a new day. He (Zachary, not Daddy) happily lies on his play mat for a little while, allowing Mummy time to get up and dressed, although he usually demands another feed just as she sits down to eat some breakfast. Then Zachary has a bit of a cry and takes a while to settle before having a short morning nap - I can never understand crying due to tiredness - why not just go to sleep and solve the problem? 

Zachary enjoying his play mat

PM

Zachary is already well timed - he gets hungry at lunchtime, usually just as Mummy sits down to eat; for a peaceful lunch, Zachary always eats first. Then comes his afternoon nap which is a little longer than the morning one, giving us the chance to perhaps go out shopping without making a scene.

After dinner, Zachary begins to wind down and at around 7pm, we commence his bedtime routine.  This can take anything from half an hour to two hours! In the dimly lit bedroom to get him in the mood for sleeping, Zachary has a warm bath (at exactly 37⁰C). He isn't the biggest fan of baths, in fact, as you gently lower him into the water he gives you a look as if to ask: 'Why are you trying to kill me?'.

Zachary on a good day

After much distress, Zachary finally calms down enough to have a good feed before drifting off to sleep, at which point Mummy waits a few minutes before putting him to bed in his Moses basket. Then on comes the baby monitor and Mummy and Daddy listen patiently to see whether Zachary really is asleep - sometimes it's hard to tell, as he seems to have vivid dreams and chatter away in his sleep.

His nights have dramatically improved - he'll usually stay asleep until 11pm or even midnight, then wake every 2-3 hours for feeds through the night. That sounds bad, but it was much, much worse a few weeks ago, so we're grateful and are hoping it will continue.

Zachary learns...

Baby Zachary is now 7 weeks old and has learnt a few things over the past few days...

How to use his fingers

Zachary now knows how to grip and pull things, which is particularly uncomfortable when he grabs a clump of my hair, making me wince while rapidly trying to prise open his pincer-like grip. He has also learnt to suck on his hand when he's hungry, which keeps him going a little longer between feeds.

How to cry

This is not to say he didn't already know how to cry immediately from his birth, but the cry has developed from the gentle wail of a newborn to the howling shriek of a 7 week old. The frequency has also increased, in fact, I'm going to have to resume this post once I've calmed him down!

How to smile

He won't do it on demand, but occasionally he'll look into your eyes and give a little grin, which I'm almost certain isn't just wind.
 

How to make friends
  
...But not self defence - Zachary has met a few other babies over the past few weeks, including Philip (below), and even didn't mind when Philip (unknowingly) hit him.




How to sleep at night

...We wish! 

Tutorial: Caring for Baby Zachary

We have learnt a lot since bringing Zachary home:

Lesson 1: Nappy changes

• Nappy filling is always accompanied by loud noises.
• Keep an endless supply of spare vests and babygros for inevitable accidents.
• Never remove a nappy for more than 3 seconds without preparing for a soaking (N.B. cover your eyes), or a surge of explosive diarrhoea.

Lesson 2: Feeding and burping

• Zachary will demand a feed every 1-2 hours, day and night, especially in traffic jams.
• To burp baby Zachary, copy the photo below and rub his back.  If he starts to choke, you are holding him too tight!
• Approximately once a day, baby Zachary will decide he didn't like that delicious milk you just gave him and insist on explosively vomiting up the entire feed, before demanding you immediately feed him again.

Lesson 3: Sleeping is for the day time 

• After his night time feeds, Zachary falls asleep. However, if you try to put him back in his cot Zachary immediately wakes as soon as you set him down. 
• Hold Zachary for at least half an hour until you are sure he is completely asleep before setting him down.
• If you plan to show Zachary to friends during the day, he will almost always be asleep.