Robin Artemis photo gallery

At home in the sixth month, 11 Sept - 11 Oct, 2011

There's chaos in the lounge room, still - it was beginning to really irritate me. We did get it sorted out this month though. Robin and I were still sleeping on these two red mattresses in the loungeroom for the first half of the month. As we were told, it took six weeks for him to get over the horrible cough that would wake him as often as once an hour through the night. So us sleeping out here until mid-late September let James and Sparrow not get woken up so much, and meant if Sparrow woke with the frets or howlers I had a chance of sleeping through it.

Playing with the tambourine. I like the shadow-puppet effect. Robin was getting a bit tired when this photo was taken though.

Watching the washing. Robin likes flying things and this is a nice way to keep him busy while I do the daily wash (nappies get done every day, usually). Had to cover his head though. The sun is getting bright now, and at this time of year (spring and the return of sunlight over the Antarctic) even when it's cold it can burn. Thank you, decades of use of ozone-depleting chemicals, for our yearly hole. Only another forty years to go til it fixes itself...

Evie came to visit. Robin thought she was quite cool, watched her lots.

Playing with the giraffe rattler, in a random combination of clothing. The pants work well but are still big, the white jumper was once mine and is almost too small, and the black suit is just getting too small in the leg. I was about to write "just right" but I remembered that this is the 00 one and that's why the legs aren't on. We moved him into the 0-size identical-but-footless black suit when the weather warmed up a month later.

Ladybird suit. I really like this one. It has a very soft effect. And it's cozy. Robin is holding Tycho, the Planetarium dog, though he doesn't know it.

The fishing line with my flying paper blew down off the wall hook. I didn't realise it had come down at first, but Robin thought it was wonderful. He loves the flying things, and having one down at this level that he could try to grab was great fun. I'd often bring my laptop into the book room during my quieter times with him. One time James came in and got the giggles to see me typing with one hand and distractedly swishing the fishing line back and forth with the other. Robin was totally amused and occupied, and I was getting through my email. James told me I was such a parent.

Early morning, still sleeping. Sparrow and I have got up already and had breakfast. The two males of the house have no interest in this proceeding. I think at this stage Robin was consistently sleeping as much as an hour longer than Sparrow in the morning, so I regularly got some time with just my girl. Which was nice, as sometimes she can be a bit silly about breakfast and I was able to concentrate on getting her and me fed. And she and I could watch some Little Pim - I try not to have it on when Robin's awake. The other nice thing about this photo is that Robin's in the cot. After the cough stopped I started trying to sleep in the big bed again. That requires Robin being in the cot, or Sparrow staying in her own bed, all night. If both of them end up in the bed then James ends up leaving and sleeping on the spare bed. We just can't quite fit four comfortably. But it is coming into the season where Sparrow should be able and willing to sleep in her own bed, so it was worth me trying to move back into the big bed. Especially as Robin is now at the age where Sparrow took to the cot quite comfortably. He doesn't wake up that often in the night, and sleeps pretty well, so getting him used to sleeping in the cot (still within arms reach of me) is a good thing.

I also began experimenting with having both kids going to sleep or napping in the bedroom at the same time. There are a lot of days where their sleep times don't overlap at all (and where I feel very tired by the end of the day!). And some days one or the other is too tired to go to sleep without screeching. So it hasn't been practical to try and put them to sleep together in the daytime up until now. This was the first time I tried it, and it worked quite well. I didn't get to try it many other times this month though. I'd like to get Robin used to sleeping through Sparrow's wake up, and vice versa. The stumbling block is that sometimes the first clue I have that Sparrow's awake is a little-but-penetrating voice yelling "Wake Up Robin! Wake up! Mummy, I woke up Robin!" -sigh-

James got a new phone. It has a nice camera, so there might be a few more candid shots of me appearing every so often.

Still going through the suits, seeing which ones he fits, every time there's a change in weather (and these were a couple of very frosty spring days) I pull out the warm ones or the cool ones and try something. I thought this suit was very cute and it fit him perfectly. Those were the last really frosty days though so he hasn't worn it since.

A much warmer day. Happy tummy time on the towel, with a pile of drying nappies in the background. And plumbers' crack. Mustn't forget the plumbers' crack.

All out in the garden. Laundry's hung out, apple trees are blossoming, nasturtium is flowering. Most things are growing happily.

Ninja baby! This is a great nappy, though it's still a little big for him. I thought the pose he put on suited it very well.

Playing with a doll. Sparrow didn't have much interest in dolls at this age, but Robin seems to love them. This one is a favourite, I think because it makes noise. He can't make it make noise himself, but he can cuddle it just fine.

The tambourine also makes noise. It's awesome. And you can stick your hands through this one and grab the silver bits from BOTH sides. How cool is that?

Robin giving me a serious look, as he rests from his mighty exertions. What was he doing that was so tricky?

Attempting to work the CD player. He can't roll to it if he's on his back, but he does somehow manage to get within reach.

More watching the washing.