Chapter 10: How Great My Son Is

I am going to take a moment to list all the fantastic things that Cathal does. So much that we are told by the medical people can be negative, lots of "delayed development" is bandied about. The books outline all these delays in detail, the likely medical problems. Well, now I'm fed up with it all, I know all about the delays he is likely to have, and now I'd just like to focus on all the fantastic great things my son can do right now.

Numbero uno: When he is on his tummy, he can lift his head really high. He also now tries to tuck his knees under his bum and lifts it up. He manages to inch forward very very slowly. Only problem is he hasn't figured out how to get his right arm out from under him, so he doesn't get very far.

He laughs when he gets tickled under his arm and on his tummy.

He smiles at me when I pick him up out of his cot.

He has the best conversations and can make lots of different noises.

He holds his head up very well and can sit up with just a little bit of support from mammy and daddy.

If he goes to bed without his sleep bag on, he manages to get on his side and wiggles around so that he is lying across the cot instead of length ways.

I'm going to lie this way, if you don't mind

He loves listening to singing and smiles when we sing to him.

He is really great at shouting at me when he is not happy, and only a boob will comfort him (he has me wrapped around his little finger)

He can roll onto his side from his back and he can roll from his tummy onto his back.

He can through a punch at his toys that hang over him when he is on his play mat, chats to them, catches them with both hands and tries to get them into his mouth.

He can lift his legs up 90 degrees when he lies on his back.

He is still breast feeding, even with a bit of low muscle tone, a smaller than average mouth and a little tongue tie.

He plays peek a boo. If he is lying on Mammy or Daddy's chest, he looks up at us then flings his head forward to hide.

He likes watching Richard & Judy (well, this isn't necessarily a good thing, he likes looking at people on the telly).

Ohhh, look what Richard has said now!!!

Best of all, he has decided which fingers he prefers to suck. His middle and ring finger on his right hand, just like his Mammy and Mammy's brother used to do.