baby wayne

otis remains resistant to food. we aren't quite sure whether there are slight changes in his attitude to food or if we are just hoping to see something different. having said that, we thought that a miracle was in the making last week. within the space of 24 hours there were three incidents - twice otis sucked on/bit a cruskit with vegemite, and once he put a spoon with mashed potato, cheese and vegemite in his mouth.

after a couple of weeks of our new regime - 4 breastfeeds, 3 meals and 2 snacks a day - we were really excited and hopeful that this was a new dawn. unfortunately, there has been no such momentous actions since then although otis seems to be getting more comfortable with at least being in the immediate proximity of food. this is demonstrated by the variety of food that gets spread all over the table and all over us. occasionally some of this food gets on otis' left thumb which ends up in otis' mouth. the grimace that normally follows this seems to be becoming less severe ... i think.

betty the speech pathologist says that this process is likely to take months ... she is coming to visit tomorrow and observe otis "eating" so we will have another opinion on his progress.

meanwhile, at the office ...

both of us have been told that our jobs are proposed for redundancy. we will find out in about 3-4 weeks whether this is definitely the case. after the voluntary student unionism legislation was passed in december last year we knew that there would be changes but i don't think either of us were expecting the job cuts would be quite this severe. at the same time this doesn't come as a huge surprise.

in some ways it is not just the impact that this will have on us and the friends and co-workers who are in the same position it is about the broader implications of the decisions of our employer.

of course, with both of us in this position it creates uncertainty about so many things ... will we have jobs, will we be forced into taking up positions that we don't really want, will we be able to get jobs elsewhere, what happens if we can't get childcare and we both need to work, what happens if otis continues not to eat ... and so many more questions!

it makes it really difficult to think about other things and to try and continue to live life, without feeling like you are becoming completely obsessed and consumed by this.

we are fortunate that the football season starts in a couple of weeks ... but this may not be so good after all!

otis sucks on the cruskit

otis shows the vegemite on his nose and contemplates the cruskit

otis decides that it isn't so bad after all

well, actually, it's now baby's first three teeth. a couple of weeks ago we noticed, for the first time, a glimpse of white poking through otis' bottom gum. that first little chopper has now come all the way through and now has a neighbour to its right. across the street a hard to find tooth is also making its way through otis' top gum.

we've tried to take a photo of the emerging teeth but it has proved to be a somewhat difficult task. despite otis' love of the camera he has proved to be reluctant to flash his teeth.

so, this is an artists impression of what otis' teeth might look like.

despite the emergence of teeth the saga of otis' ongoing battle with food continues. since our last update otis has been visited by betty the speech pathologist. betty diagnosed otis with oral hypersensitivity. this would explain otis' aversion to anything going anywhere in or remotely near his mouth. to overcome the sensitvity otis has to be exposed to food on a regular basis. breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are all provided ... and duly rejected. this process is designed to make otis so used to food that he will make the giant leap to solid food.

the main beneficiary of this new regime would appear to be the dog. as soon as yuki sees otis in his highchair he takes up position ready to clean up the inevitable globs of mashed sweet potato and pumpkin - and whatever else - that come flying his way.

there was some high excitement earlier this week when the unmistakable sound of crunching cruskit came from otis' mouth. otis had a look of bemusement mixed with mild surprise as he swallowed down those crumbs. this was followed today by a tiny speck of mashed root vegetables that miraculously found its way into otis' mouth.

some of you may be aware that yuki has been unwell lately and that the vet was concerned that he may have a tumour in his leg. after several worrying weeks yuki seems to be back to his normal healthy self and the vet is 90% sure that yuki is cancer free and that he has been very, very lucky.

otis gives yuki a pat

yuki gives otis a kiss

Last weekend we had the great pleasure of attending the wedding of our dear friends Harriet and Dan. After a beautiful ceremony we relaxed and enjoyed a drink...

Otis starts early

the happy couple

Later, we ate, laughed and danced the night away. Sadly, Otis could only party so much, and we had to retire to our motel room before the midnight barbecue.

The next day we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a stroll on the pier before meeting up with the newlyweds at the beach for some swimming and lunch.

A wonderful time was had by all!