Monday and Nanna came to visit. Nathan didn't stop laughing.

The lad's got to be putting on weight. He's so much more solid in the body. Nathan's jaw also seems to be changing shape. Perhaps this is due to the arrival of his teeth. That upper left second incisor is slowly making it's way out.

We're persevering with the cod. Nathan needs the protein, but it's proving a more difficult step than just moving on from vegetable to vegetable.

Today was another sleepy day. You can always tell when Nathan's sleepy because he suddenly become whingy.

We're trying the lad out on cod. He doesn't dislike it quite as much as salmon, but only just.

On the subject of eating, Nathan still finds it difficult to handle lumps. A defrosted banana cube had a lump the size of a third of a grain of rice. Nathan nearly retched when it was only just past the tip of his tongue.

Nathan's next challenge is to start drinking milk from a cup. He's proven that he can do it, the trick may be in making him want to.

Nathan didn't have a very good night. We don't really know why. It left us all a bit tired today.

Left to sleep in his bed, the lad only manages half-hour spells before waking up. If he's being driven in a car, held or pushed then he can manage longer but otherwise three or four half hour naps is the only sleep that Nathan gets throughout the day. Sometimes it's not enough to recharge the batteries.

We've got a new game. It's slightly more sophisticated than handing Nathan toys one by one. The lad will now hold two toys, one in each hand, and the new game involves handing him a small basket with toys in. Nathan determinedly picks out each toy and discards it until the basket is empty. We don't know why he does it, but it keeps us all amused. Some of the smaller toys are a little difficult for Nathan to grasp, and he has to coordinate the hand that's holding the basket with the hand that's removing the toys.

We've signed Nathan up for "Duckling" classes at Central Swimming pool. The lessons are nursery rhymes e.g. Humpty Dumpty, where the baby starts the rhyme sitting on the side and ends up being splashed into the water. Nathan loved the first twenty minutes but got a bit tired. Getting dried and changed back into civvies was the usual feat of dexterity. The men's changing room has no baby changing facilities, and Nathan may have been a bit overawed by his surroundings.

Granny came to visit, and Nathan displayed his latest trick of holding two toys, one with each hand, and rubbing them together. The next developmental stage is banging things together and this could be a precursor.

Nathan went to be weighed today. He's 6.47kg (14lb 13oz). It's not a great improvement, but not bad when the lad's recent operation is taken into account.

We went swimming today. Nathan didn't like the noisy echoing changing room one little bit, and I had to change both him and myself while holding the lad in my arms as he cried when put on his changing mat.

When we got in the water, things were much better. Nathan relaxed on his back, then wanted to sit up in that way he does (he puts a look of great effort on his face and brings his neck and legs up). After a few minutes "treading water" the lad did some breast stroke. He lay forward in the water, keeping his head clear. Most enjoyable.

Looking at Nathan' mouth this morning it looks like the gum is starting to break on the face (rather than the edge) of the upper left second incisor. This isn't the order it's meant to happen in, but the other teeth are showing white just under the gums, so they surely can't be far behind.

The lad's slowly breaking away from his dependence on his dummy. It's only at night, and when he's not felling happy or well. The rest of the time he happily spits it out.

Another good day, although Nathan was still recovering from a slightly restless night, slept a lot in the morning, and then didn't sleep from 2:30pm until bedtime at 7:00.

Nathan used to pick things up by slamming his palm at them, then curling his fingers round the object. He's recently started to use his thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers as backup. This is particularly noticeable when the lad plays his "let's pick off fridge magnets and drop them on the floor" game.

We went shopping in Reading today. Nathan sat like a little emperor in his push chair surveying all around him. The car was parked on the 12th floor and dad showed him what the ground looked like from up there. Nathan didn't like what he saw, he turned his head away and wouldn't look again. Nathan is more than capable of understanding how far beneath him the ground was. Maybe he's scared of heights?

There was a time not so long ago when Nathan would be happy to be carried around all day, viewing the world from over one of our shoulders. These days the boy gets restless after a couple of minutes, and tries to twist around. He's quite strong, and it can be difficult to keep hold of him when he does this. It's more difficult for us, but Nathan is starting to prefer being carried around facing forward.

When we feed Nathan, we use two bowls, one for the main course, and one for dessert. When we're trying something new (e.g. fish) and the lad isn't too keen, then he'll stare pointedly at the other bowl. He knows what's going on.

This evening Nathan woke up crying on more than one occasion. It may be teething. There's certainly something sharp coming out of the lad's upper left gum.