-->
]]>It's been updated recently so check it out.
A nice necklace, a nice bag, jewellery box - I'm all for little shiny things. There's a lovely shop on the High Street that has lots of shiny things in - sort of an Antiquey place - I always look in the window but have never ventured in.
Hope that helps Martin!!
]]>-->
]]>Every school day is full of routine and it drives me nuts. With Martin working away so much there are certain things I *have* to do every day. It looks like this:
Now that doesn't seem so complicated except there are other factors that wind themselves into those simple four times. We have to leave the house at 8.30 to get Morgan to his line, except on rainy days when there are no lines and you go straight in. So by 8:30 I have to us all fed and changed. Not too much? Well 3 out of the 4 have to be dressed by me and the 4th is not always willing to do his share and quite often is still in his pyjamas playing with Playmobil at 8:29. Add onto that the complications of Orla wanting feeds at random times (but thankfully no breakfast) and Ruaridh having tantrums about random things and you're starting to get the picture. Lunch has to be made for Morgan, school bag, shoes and hats found. And so it goes on. By the time we get to the school gate I am often exhausted and looking crappy.
Then it all goes into downtime - just me, Ruaridh and Orla. If they are dressed (sometime I end up driving and leaving them in their pyjamas) then we will go off and do something together - local soft play cafe, visit to the library, supermarket shopping or maybe home to play on the computer or to tidy up. Suddenly it's lunch-time and there's the mad dash to get Ruaridh to nursery and we are usually the last there.
Then you think it would be all calm - with just me and Orla for a couple of hours? Well you'd think. But at the moment I am 'on call' for Ruaridh. He is still in nappies and if he poos I have to go and change him - don't get me started on that issue - that's a whole blog on its own! If I do have to go in then I basically lose the 2 hour slot - so not fun at all.
Then before I know it it's picking up time - in fact - it is now - so will continue this later...
Back again... After school we sometimes have video/DVD time or Morgan goes and plays with the next door neighbour. Then it's tea-time - always a joyous time in our day. Then on with the bedtime routine. Three kids in the bath (if we're doing baths) and into pyjamas. Supper with a DVD then bed. I'll save the bedtime saga for another blog - but it ain't easy.
I'll let you into a secret... I love school holidays - no need to get up early, can stay PJs all day and no need to go to bed early. Maybe I need to be home schooling these kids of mine - at night!
]]>-->
]]>The most recent was Morgan, talking to Ruaridh, about me...
"She used to be a woman, now she's a mummy."
Well thanks Morgan, that is truer than you know.
]]>-->
]]>But - like anything - I need to start at the beginning. Morgan stopped having breastmilk when he was 16mths old. I was ill and I needed to wean him quickly. So with DH's help he went cold turkey for two nights and that was it. It wasn't as bad as it sounds - as he has already cut down to fairly infrequent feeds by then. But it was about this time that I noticed how fussy he had got. He had cut down to eating a limited amount of food which over the following few months went down further as his reliance on white carbohydrates and milk increased.
So now we are in the position - over 4 years on!!! - where his diet is extremely limited.
A day in the life of Morgan typically looks like this:
That's it - so he drinks over a pint of milk a day and eats lots of very white, very plastic bread. Very occasionally he will add in a yoghurt - but it has to be a certain type, colour and flavour.
Other things he would consider eating sometimes:
Bagels (white with marg in - not toasted)
Breadsticks (plain, no bits)
Ice-cream (plain vanilla)
Chocolate (milk or white - no bits)
Milky ways (usually after swimming)
Crusty baguette (the inside or the bottom bit - not the top half (too crusty))
Things he would not consider
Fruit
Veg
Meat/Fish
Pasta
Potatoes
Pizza
Chips
Crisps
Sweets - hardboiled/chewy sweets - except Chuppa Chup lollies
Fruit Juice
I've taken him to see the Doctor a couple of times but as his weight and height are fine they haven't recommended anything except seeing the Health Visitor (HV) and waiting to see if anything changes. I thought he might re-wean with Ruaridh - but 2 more kids down the line and he is still not interested. The HV came up with things I'd tried already. We have a vegetable patch here and Morgan is heavily involved in the planning, planting, gardening of it. We grow peas, onions, apples, damsons, herbs, peas, beans, rhubarb, potatoes, pears... and he loves it. But won't eat them. He cooks - loves it in fact - and is getting really good at it - but eat it? No way.
Anyway, last week - he had tea at a friend's house. They had sugar snap peas in and were having fun using them to make silly faces - eyebrows, moustaches and so on. But then the others started eating them and Morgan couldn't and began to get uncomfortable with the whole thing. My friend asked him why he didn't eat them and he couldn't tell her!
It seems to me that this is an oral problem Morgan has (for example he will not take any form of medicine despite knowing it is good for him when he is ill). I don't know why it has started but I feel he is finding it harder and harder to turn back. I went to see my new (lovely) Dr again this week and asked for a referral to a psychologist. I also have spoken to the School Nurse and this would have been her recommendation too. So hopefully we are moving this forward.
Oh - and while at the Doctors - he was weighed and is on the top 25% for height and weight - so it's not affecting his growth.
I just hope they can help.
]]>-->
]]>so when are you due?blanching at the response
today. One woman took a step back, a couple looked shocked, not knowing quite what to say. Well what do you say?
-->
]]>so when are you due?blanching at the response
today. One woman took a step back, a couple looked shocked, not knowing quite what to say. Well what do you say?
I'm sure I should, by now, be confined to the house as I am obviously incapable of any 'normal' activities. But life goes on, Morgan still needs to get to school, Ruaridh still needs to go to nursery, we all still need to eat, clothes need washing, nappy orders still need posting... Martin is hardly likely to take this week off, given that he only gets two weeks paternity leave. I have said all along that the baby will be born on April 2nd - which is two weeks away.
And so it goes on - I spoke to my bank manager this afternoon who was all chatty until I mentioned I was due yesterday - she couldn't get off the phone fast enough! "Sorry to have disturbed you" she muttered. I don't get it. I'm not ill, I'm just pregnant.
We had similar incidents when I was pregnant with Morgan - with members of our family phoning to see how I was (despite having seen me the day before) or (in my brother's case) phoning to as why I wasn't in hospital yet. (Ermm - because I'm not going near it.) Do they think we won't tell them?
We tried to avoid this by being vague this time - but gradually the due date has slipped out - and people don't forget. Next time I'm going to lie - I'm sure it will make it easier.
]]>-->
]]>The more people I speak to about third babies the more I realise just how unpredicatable they are. We could be talking a 20 minute labour or a 20 hour labour - really don't know. It doesn't help that this pregnancy has been so much harder than the other two. Thankfully my SPD has not been anywhere near as bad as it was with Ruaridh but, my goodness, the nausea has been awful.
So this time with Martin working away a lot and with the task of running a business and looking after two energetic boys I decided that I should hire a Doula. Thankfully my mum offered to pay as she was not in a position to help out either with work commitments. So it was all arranged and I felt I had a weight taken off my mind. This week, with less than two weeks to go, my doula calls to tell me she has had a bad car accident and has no way of being able to get out to me - aagghh. I'm not cross - just worried about what to do. As I mentioned there are a lot of what ifs to consider.
Martin is now working in Newcastle (upon Tyne, not under Lyme for those of you wanting specifics) which is working out quite well for us. Martin is loving the new role and the commute isn't that bad. He could, in theory, commute every day - but 90 minutes each way will take its toll. So far he has been driving but he does also have the option of using the train now that Virgin stop at Dunbar. So, in theory Martin can be back here in 90 minutes which makes a nice change from other projects which would take considerably longer to return home from.
I've not been fighting fit this time, my biggest problems at the moment being fatigue and nausea/vomiting. I have a theory why I am suffering so much - which will be proved right or wrong when the baby arrives! In the meantime I am worn out from all the vomiting and stomach upsets and finding eating very difficult. It's no wonder a lot of my friends are commenting on how 'neat' I am and I have definitely lost weight again - all the excess going on my parasitic baby! Twice in the last 2 weeks I have thought that things have started and they haven't.
So - what are our plans? Well, of course, we are still going ahead with our home water birth plans. (Why would we want to go to a germ-ridden hospital?) We have an inflatable birth pool this time instead of the hired rigid ones we have used in the past. We've given it a wet-run and it all seems to work fine. It will go in our dining room, pushing the table back against the wall.
In terms of dates I am due on the 20th March if you go by the scan date. I don't actually agree with this though and believe I am due on the 28th - which is a big difference in the midwifery world. All along I have pencilled in the date of 2nd April as arrival date - which for me is only 5 days over and is fine. For those counting official dates though it puts the baby as 13 days over which could lead to all the twitching that Health Professionals insist on and mutterings of inductions will no doubt start. We'll just have to see what happens though. The unknown with this baby does make it possible that it could happen anytime, that's what makes me nervous. The unknown. Ideally a night labour of about 4-5 hours would suit me fine. Shorter than Morgan and Ruaridh's labours but long enough to get into established labour (and into the pool). The thought of a fast, furious labour terrifies me - especially if Martin can't make it home in time...
If it's a day time labour, however, I have all the problems of what to do with the boys... Picking them up from school, finding them things to do - again - it's the unknown.
So now with the Midwives officially on call we start to play the waiting game...
]]>-->
]]>So - there are four classes:
So - back to the Health Visitor talk. Well I'm not the biggest fan of health visitors. There are exceptions to the rule but generally I find them patronising and unwilling to accept other ways of looking after children. This particular health visitor I have come across on a number of occasions and she loves a good drama. My first meeting with her was at Morgan's 2 year check when she arrived at my house with a set of baby scales to weigh him. I laughed at her and went and got our bathroom scales.
She started the session off with introductions and then told us that she didn't like taking this class as it was such a negative thing to have to do! What is so negative about welcoming a newborn. Well as the hour went on I learnt how manipulative babies are. They cry just to get attention and demand a lot of our time - well yeah! If they cry too much, put them somewhere safe - like in their moses basket or their cot and go and make a cup of tea and leave the baby for 5 minutes! The emphasis was on coping with the new baby - and no mention at all of enjoying it. How about cuddling the baby when it's upset. As for breastfeeding, when that was mentioned it was again in a negative light. Instead of talking about the benefits of all that wonderful time bonding with the baby the angle was how inconvenient having to feed this baby every 2 hours is. Talk about anti-natal.. I though I'd signed up for ante-natal classes.
Just one more to go - again with a Midwife - so hopefully there will be some positive bits in it.
]]>-->
]]>Thursday and Friday we attacked the house - Dad doing some bits of neglected DIY and Mum cleaning, tidying and sorting out things. We've thrown out a lot of rubbish, sorted out a lot of paperwork, donated a box of books to Charity and started to think about baby clothes and nappies.
Saturday Martin took the boys for a haircut - they both look older while Martin looks younger - funny how a change of hair style changes the wearer! I think my last one was over a year ago now - one day... When he got back I went up into the attic and got down the Newborn baby boxes and sorted through them. The clothes are all ready now to be washed, sorted into piles of trousers, tops, vest, sleepsuits, socks, hats and jumpers/jackets. Wow we have a lot of stuff.
Let me take this opportunity to say we do not need any clothes at all. We have loads and loads. Even if it is a girl we are sorted - and we certainly do not need to be flooded with pastel pink tweeness if it is a girl. We have enough! Was that subtle enough?
As for nappies - well - we have 45 small and newborn nappies - which really is plenty too - shame as I would love to have the excuse to buy new! The only things we do need in terms of nappies are a couple of wraps and some new fleece liners. Apart from that we are sorted!
Is there anything we do need? Well we did need a new bouncer as Ruaridh managed to break the last one - but I replaced that at the last NCT sale I went too. I'm racking my brain trying to think if there is anything we do need. I'd love to say a new sling but I think Martin would kill be as I have got a little sling obsessed recently. So this is what I have come up with:
-->
]]>Most Mei Tais are made from a heavy fabric supporting a decorative panel. There is a dazzling array of options in terms of colours and prints. It really is confusing so I have listed some of my likes and dislikes and some great ideas for combinations.
Mei Tai Baby is a stunning site selling Mei Tais for babies of all ages. One of the main attractions to this Mei Tai over others is the adjustable option which means it is perfect for a newborn:
Don't forget to add the adjustable option. With shipping and the adjustable option this totals about 80USD which is about £50 at the moment.
Ring slings are fantastic, adjustable and great for quickly popping a baby in and out - so good for nursery runs!
Zolowear make the most amazing slings. Both in brocades and cotton they are simply stunning. My current lust list for the zolos are:
Oh - and I am a small size in the Zolo slings.
]]>-->
]]>
So some ideas for you. Keep checking back I will add to this list as I get time and as I find things I want.
I do have the usual Amazon wish list but I seem to have a backlog of DVDs to watch and books to read - so thought some other ideas would be helpful.
How about having a good look around Albany Hill. I love all the tapestry kits on there and have finally started sewing again - not sure how long it will last though. Kits I particularly like:
Albany Hill's sister site is Serendip Beauty and has a great range of toiletries which I adore. I would list some suggestions here - but have fun looking through them - they all look delicious.
Talking of toiletries I have run out of my favourite moisturiser but it is pricey. I love the Hauschka stuff including the bath stuff which would be nice post-natally as I am not allowed to use any of them at the moment. The rose moisturiser is also lovely. Oh and Martin - you can get them in The Whole Body in town too!
I love the stuff at Joe Browns and have been trying to find some specific things I love - but I like lots of stuff. The jewellery is lovely as are the bags (especially the Victorian and Crumpler Bags.) There are a couple of tops I like too - but given that they are fitted there's no point in me listing them as they won't fit me for months yet.
Some new maternity stuff would be nice and mine have been to 9months and back twice now. How about this embroidered jumper from Blooming Marvellous. I quite like this cardigan and skirt combination although maybe not those colours - I like the chocolate colour for the cardigan.
Speaking of chocolate...
There are always the boring things - like all the stuff that needs doing in the house:
Or howabout some wellies? By the way - my favourites are the Liquorice Wellie Boots! Oh and I'm a size 40!
Ooo - thinking about my feet reminds me of my new found passion for toe socks and a quick search on Google found this site. What else would it be called but toesocks? I like the stripey ones and if I knew how to put pictures in here I would - but top of my list would be multired, denim, earthy and black&purple. Boots had them last year so may be a good place to try this year.
Oh - and I'd love my subscription to my fab magazines renewing. The British one (which I love) is called The Mother Magazine. I think I may need a couple of back issues too - to get me up to date. The other one is an American which is good too called Mothering.
You could always feed my sling obsession and buy me a Cwtshi Mei Tai sling. A cunning sling based on an Asian style of sling but made in Wales. For information - yes I want side loops, back and strap fabric in navy or black and main fabric in wavy navy, green leaves, primary stripes or bright stripes. I am, of course looking at lots of other slings - like Hotslings - but may get something at cost from Bigmama sometime...
I love wool wraps and recently have been wooed by Flower Pot Tots who have the most gorgeous longies.
I'd love to get a decent nursing necklace for me and the baby. Basically it's a necklace that is tied very tightly so the baby can't pull the beads off. Little Gems do some gorgeous ones, I especially like their amber one as I love amber and amber os renowned for helping babies while teething.
-->
]]>So - finally we have had some sun today in Dunbar. So we packed up the car and went to North Berwick! We met up with Anna and Sarah (an Aussie friend of Anna's visiting Scotland). We had lunch on the beach and Morgan almost enjoyed himself. He has problems with sand so it's always touch and go whether it will be a good day or not. He seemed to cope fairly well today - only grumbling about sand in his shoes a couple of times. Of course he couldn't take them off because that would be sensible. It's easier to try and work around Morgan's foibles rather than to fight them.
Ruaridh seemed to enjoy his first beach experience too. He had a good mouthful of sand and didn't seem to mind too much having it smeared all over him. He sat up, completely unsupported, for quite a long time and the soft landing made it easier for us to let him just experiment. Ruaridh also discovered ice-cream when a small taste of mine led into a grab at the cornet and lots of munching. Yet another food to be added to the list of things Ruaridh is happy to eat. I really feel I had little choice in starting him off on solids as the little monkey just seems to grab anything edible that comes near him. I think Morgan is in awe.
]]>
