Bad genes

I can completely objectively say that Oscar is the cutest baby in the whole world.

But I don't think Oscar will ever have perfect skin. Let's recap on Oscar's skin woes:

Firstly, as a newborn, he was remarkably tanned, i.e. jaundiced. At just a week old, he had to go back into hospital for phototherapy. He looked so small and vulnerable, crouched under these special lights with a big blindfold covering half his face:

Secondly, there was his pretty severe case of cradle cap, leading to an almost reptilian-looking scalp. It was strangely addictive gently peeling off the scabby flakes. (Actually, you're not supposed to do this, but I promise I only peeled off what was coming off anyway!) The cradle cap went hand in hand with eczema on his face and chest.

Thirdly, his skin is very dry. This is bearable in humid Thailand, but when we went back home, poor Oscar's skin became very wrinkled and chapped, no matter how much aqueous cream was slathered on.

And now this: for a few weeks now, a few bumpy pimples have appeared on the back of Oscar's lower legs. Yesterday, hundreds of them erupted on his right upper arm. As far as I can tell, they don't itch, they don't hurt, Oscar couldn't give two hoots about them. I took him to the doc who said it was a 'non-itchy form of eczema', i.e. best apply steroid cream.

Having every respect for the medical profession, I didn't tell him that I disagreed with his prognosis, but politely declined the cream. Because actually, I'd already done a little research. I think Oscar suffers from something called keratosis pilaris (KP) - where keratin production goes into overdrive.

Why do I think it's KP? Because the symptoms match and I think Matt has it a little and it's an inherited condition. Actually, it's me who has KP pretty badly. Unfortunately there is no miracle cure, so cross fingers it'll clear up as Oscar grows up. I feel sorry for passing on these bad genes!

Look away now if you're squeamish - it's not a pretty sight!

At the end of the day, Oscar is a healthy, robust, bubbly little boy so after such a long post, I'm not going to make a big deal about this. Oscar is still the cutest baby in the world.

Oscar is 11 months old

Where did all the time go? Just to remind everyone, his first birthday will be on 26th September ;)

To celebrate his 11-month-oldness, we had a quadruple bill of Thomas the Tank Engines. Whereas before TV would barely hold his attention for a minute, now he is truly captivated by Thomas. Watch him jigging away to the theme tune!

Snot!

Poor Oscar has a cold. His nose is a leaky faucet with a continual trail of snot snaking down into his mouth. He turns away from approaching tissues, preferring to use my trousers as his handkerchief. And as for aspirators! He screams and squirms when I try to use a bulb aspirator to suck the goo from his nose.

Still, besides his snotty nose, he is full of beans and continues his busy exploration of all the dangerous items of the flat.

An expression of interest

When something catches Oscar's eye, he makes a very high-pitched up and down 'mmmmmmmm' sound. It's very cute. And after all the 'dadada' and 'mumumum'-ing, it was inevitable that his third word would be 'door'.

As some of you know, Oscar learnt how to wave quite some time ago. On reflection though, I'm not sure if it was waving or pointing. But now, he definitely waves at appropriate times (hello/goodbye). When he wants something he will raise his arm and then open and close his hand. Again, extremely cute!

All this mmmmmmmm-ing and waving can be witnessed in this video of Oscar's reaction to seeing his cousin Dylan's fine standing ability.

Toothy

I thought it would be fitting to talk about teeth as I've just had 2 fillings done at the dentists. Thankfully it wasn't too uncomfortable and Matt couldn't even see where they were.

Anyway, this photo is funny cos it makes Oscar look like he has a full set of teeth.

Actually, he only has 5 teeth and one more on the way. We've been very lucky so far cos besides some irritability, there have been no sleepless nights / endless crying due to teething (touch wood). He's a tough lad, our Oscar. But still has the sweetest smile.

Speedy Oscarlas 3

Still haven't risked Oscar taking a step by himself yet. But here he is walking with me holding one hand. Usually he smiles very proudly at his own achievement, but he was a bit tired when this was taken.

You'll also be privileged with a good view of Oscar's belly.

Bouncing

Yesterday, Uncle Foz came round to amuse Oscar.

We don't have one of those bouncy strap things which hang from doorways and allow a baby to spring up and down like a jack-in-a-box. But Oscar has discovered a new use for his out-grown rocker chair - bouncing wildly on it. I'm not sure how much weight the material can hold. I have a feeling that Oscar is stretching it to the limit. But he's having a lot of fun, although as can be seen, needs to be carefully supervised.

Thanks to Uncle Foz for visiting - Oscar had a great time.

Oscar kisses

A couple of days ago, just before bedtime, Oscar crawled over to the mirror and gave his reflection a big smacker.

He won't kiss me though!

Speedy Oscarlas 2

First, a newsflash: Oscar took a step by himself yesterday. He was standing by the playpen and let go of the railings, smiling at me and then tottered one foot towards me before collapsing into my arms. He was rather bemused by my excitement. Will try and get a video up asap.

Anyhow, here are some other speedy Oscarlas clips. I found it difficult to choose between them, so I'm posting both up.

1. Oscar rams



I like the way, he keeps ramming away at the baby-chair.

2. Cover your ears!



No, I don't know why he's screaming like that - but trust me, he's not in pain! Just expressing himself (I think!)

On a separate note, five years ago today, on an exceedingly hot day in Islington, Matt and I tied the knot! We'll be celebrating tomorrow but hard to believe that five years have flown by so quickly and of course now, we'll be celebrating as a family, not a couple.

Bigger

This is Oscar at his mid-morning nap. I don't know why he put himself in this perfect 90 degree angle - or rather, how did he do it? He just about slots in with his feet wedged between the mattress and the cot side.

Anyway, he looks absolutely huge here. For a while, I thought he was slimming down, what with all the crawling and fussy eating. But 2 weeks ago, he had a few snacks with some other babies at playgroup and since then, he's been scoffing all his food and watching us like a hawk when we eat - so much so that I daren't have a snack in front of him or he'll start whining.

This weekend, Matt commented on the largeness of Oscar's hands and on Monday, one of the mothers at playgroup said Oscar had gotten bigger since oooh, Wednesday, when she'd last seen him. Yesterday I carried Oscar to the cornershop and I could barely bring him back, my arms were aching so. Here's to the return of Oscar's chubby thighs!

Speedy Oscarlas 1

Boy, Oscar sure is speedy now. Turn your back for a second, and he's already changed rooms. If you listen carefully to the video, you can hear the slap-slap-slap of his palms hitting the parquet floor and the squeak-squeak-squeak of his knees sliding along.

This video also shows Oscar's affection for 'Spikey', the cuddly hedgehog that Granny Simone bought him (and Grandpa Keith so kindly brought over from England). Witness how he pats Spikey rather than make an outright grab and snatch.