Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Quick Update

I am feeling the compulsion to blog, even though my house looks like a tip, and I am drowning in ironing. Just a quick one to take the edge off, LOL!

Austin

Our baby boy is doing just fine. His 6 week check up is this Thursday (I can't believe he's already six weeks, I think I missed the whole month of July while I was in a breastfeeding newborn daze). I only made the appointment on Monday, if he was my first I would have been on the phone to the Centre as soon as he ticked over 3 weeks! Ah, the forgotten third child...

He's still not a great sleeper, and the dummy that I so agonised over giving him, before finally relenting, is so often spat out and ignored that I wonder if I should even bother with it. I usually just give it when he's crying between feeds and I'm up to my neck in something and can't get a boob out, or when he's with his grandparents, or Darren, as they are obviously lacking in the right gear to make him happy.

Riordan

Riordy-boy is a little gem. He's 1 going on 5. In just 6 weeks he'll be 2, and I'll only have one baby left. One is plenty though! Verbally, he's improving, he's learning new words all the time and repeats everything you say. He still likes his own little sign language, but I can't see that lasting too much longer. Toilet training is on pause until the weather warms up, but we get him to wee as often as possible, and he's very accommodating with this. He's starting to get his poo sensation working too. He and Bowen were in the bath last night, and he must have felt one coming one, so he got out and grabbed his foot stool. I watched him squat down beside it, and he caught me staring so he shooed me away. I hid, and when I turned around he was climbing back in the bath with a big log hanging out of his bum! That ended bath time quite prematurely! It did tell me a couple of things; he knows when he's got to move his bowels (or he would have just pooed in the bath); he likes to do it in private (by not wanting me to watch), and; he can move like a little monkey when he wants to!

Bowen

Bowen is still Bowen. A bit reserved, especially compared to his brother, and very sensitive. He's turned into a typical first-born bossy-boots (coming from someone who knows all about it!). It's Bowen's way or the highway at the moment. I try to negotiate (I've been bribing way too much lately) but he generally doesn't want to listen. Last night he wanted to do something (I can't even remember what), and when he was told he couldn't, he slammed his little fist into the kitchen cabinet, and stomped off towards his room. Luckily my pelvic floor muscles are still in good shape, or I would have wet myself laughing. Such an adult move from a little boy, although it's not something his father and I do, so who knows where he got it from? I wish I could have filmed it...

Me

I am a bit down about my post baby body. I don't have a big saggy belly or anything, but it's still a pot, and I have these hideous love handles. My breasts don't even belong on my body, they look all out of proportion. I know that I need to do more exercise, but it's really hard to fit it in with the three, especially as I only have a double pram. I have to buy a skate board for it, and then maybe I can walk at my pace instead of the snail's pace that Bowen sets. Just another thing on the list that never ends...

On a happy note, my little sister is finally getting married. She and Joe have been together for nine years (longer than Darren and I), and the big day has been set for the 27th of February, 2010. I get to be a bridesmaid, my first time ever! I'm hoping they are getting married so they can finally have some kids, and my boys get some cousins to play with. The wedding is on the beach, so it will be lovely.

I've also taken the first step to going back to Uni next year. I've booked myself in for a talk on my chosen study path (Primary Teaching), so hopefully after Sunday week I'll have a better idea of what's going on.

****Note**** This entry has taken me about an hour to write, with constant trips back and forth to bounce the baby back to sleep (or 'fake sleep'). Ahh, why won't he sleep? Darren had the idea last night that he might not like being wrapped (what parent hasn't asked themselves if that is the reason their baby isn't sleeping?) so I tried him au natural last night. Not a raving success, so he'll be snug in his Swaddleme tonight, in my arms nonetheless!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Break Time

Mum has taken Bowie and Riordan to Bowen's swimming lesson this morning, so I am all alone with my little one.



This is him right now...



Ahh, it happens so infrequently, that he's happily asleep in his hammock, I felt the need to capture it forever on film (well, memory card, and now hard disk). His skin has suddenly cleared up, he's gone from a pimply teenage boy to having a supermodel's skin (well, almost) in just a day or so.


So, without my big boys, do I just sit back and watch TV, or read a book while having a cup of chamomile tea and a homemade Anzac biscuit? Nope! I ate all the biccies, and I have a mountain of washing and ironing to do. When I'm alone is the only time I can get any ironing done. I can happily clean the house when the boys are around, but for some reason they just don't like me ironing. Maybe it's because I like to watch the TV when I do it, and it's never anything that they want to watch. For Bowen, that's anything animated (he's such a TV addict, I honestly don't know when that happened), and for Riordan, it's Thomas the Tank Engine (or "Tomoo" as he calls it).


I just had some good/bad news from Darren. He was supposed to jet off to New Caledonia for work, he was really excited as he had missed out on a trip to Fiji just a few months ago because he had no passport. Now he's all official, and he was ready to leave on Monday. Today he finds out that his work hadn't organised any work visas for he and his workmate, and that they would be going on Tourist Visas. Thankfully he told them he wasn't comfortable doing that (and from what he said, his work dodgied the whole thing up to get the work in the first place by promising the labour fast, when other companies that were approached said it would take months to get the visas) and now he's not going. I'm sad that he misses out on this opportunity, but pleased he's not deserting me and the boys for a couple of weeks. I was happy for him to go, but I'm not sure that I was quite ready to be left alone just yet.


Back to yesterday, and Riordan's McDonald's episode. In hindsight, he was just being a typical toddler (he had a shocking day all around), but at the time it was mortifying. I felt like such a bad mum, and that everyone was just looking at us. We had had such a lovely morning, going to the playground and for a nice walk, but I had promised Bowen I would take him to Macca's for a treat. We got home from the park later than I would have liked, so Riordy was already tired and grumpy, then I had to pack them all away in the car, instead of into bed where I would have liked him to be. They were happy playing, but Bowen wanted his chippies (the only thing he eats there, I don't know why he likes going there so much). Riordan still wanted to play. So they kept playing for a while, Riordan fell over and got a fat lip (nothing unusual there) and when it was finally time to eat, he didn't want to cooperate, at all. I had Austin in his sling, so I couldn't pick him up, and had to try and hang onto his hand to get him inside. Once we were in there, he took off while I was trying to get them to sit down so I could order. I had had enough by then, and grabbed them all and we went home! Actually, I got them a shake and some chippies through Drive Thru on the way (I had promised) and made a mental promise never to venture to McDonald's alone with them again, or to at least strap Riordan to his pram while we are there!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

What about me?

Argh!

Will I ever get a chance to write an entry? If I'm not bouncing the hammock for my boob-loving baby, who would rather have a nipple in his mouth to sleep than a dummy, my mental 22 month old (who should be banned from all further McDonald's trips) wakes up early from a much needed sleep.

Austin was awake every hour last night from 12am. I don't know what I would do if he didn't love his booby so much. Each time he stirred I just popped a breast in his face and he did the rest. Happily, he's much better at attaching himself in the dark now. Was he too hot? Was he uncomfortable with his all-nighter nappy on? Speaking of which, I am so over cloth at night for both of them. How does a 4 week old soak through a Baby Beehinds Bamboo nappy with a wool cover? I can't boost it up any more, his legs wouldn't even be in the same room there would be so much nappy between them. Don't even get me started on Riordan's night time wee efforts. I gave up there a long time ago. I would much rather whack a Huggies on them and wake up to a sweet smelling baby with dry clothes than a pongy, wet, ammonia stinking one, plus more washing. One 'sposie a day doesn't make me a traitor, does it? I think Darren is about at the end of his tether. I would be too if I had to get up at 6 after the night we just had. I got to sleep until 8. It's funny, he never used to wake to either of the big boys, in his opinion they were great night sleepers who never woke, but it's like the 'mummy switch' has been turned on in his head after starting to get up to boys when I was massively pregnant, and now that Austin is in our bed. Any little noise wakes him, as it does me. At least I have someone to share the pain with.

Sounds like my Riordy-boy is awake. More on his little episode at Macca's later...

Monday, August 3, 2009

Bed Swapping

Nights are still not Austin's happiest time, so last night I thought I would be tough and resettle him in his hammock instead of bringing him to bed with me. The easiest way to do this, so I could stay in bed while I bounced, and Darren could get some much needed sleep (heard of the expression "bear with a sore head"?), was for me to sleep in Bowen's bed, and he to sleep in mine.

I actually had a good sleep. Austi had a short feed at 10.30, then back in the hammock without a whimper, and then was up at 1.30, or 1am, or something like that. He did not want to go back to sleep in his bouncy bed then. I rocked and rocked, and, after a few false starts where he pretended to be asleep (as he's doing right now while I try to type this) he ended up back in bed, on a boob. We all got some sleep and were much happier for it.

What now? I think I might try it again tonight, if only for the fact that I got a really nice sleep, even though Bowen's bed is like laying a door, it's that hard. My poor hips really felt it this morning. We'll see what happens, but it seems as though this little boy is going to be in bed with Mummy for a bit longer.