Back to the Blogosphere!

It's been a really long time, so I'll do a short post today, just to get my toes wet. I never plunge straight into anything!

It's been five weeks since we've moved into the new house, but we've only had an internet connection for two of those. After many phone calls, and two visits from a friend who used to be a Telstra technician, we worked out that it was the new cordless phone, sucking all the power out of the line. Enter one filter and we have the World Wide Web back at our fingertips!

All I seem to have done in the past couple of weeks is chase tradies. Fences, electricians, foundation repairs, screens... it's all slowly coming together, and, fingers crossed, we should have most of the big stuff sorted out, or at least booked in and confirmed, in the next month.

The boys are loving their new house. So much more space for them to run around, and they disappear for hours in the overgrown garden, playing in the dirt, looking for 'creatures', moving sawdust and rocks from one place to another. We've had a few tumbles. I was bathing Austin one night and I heard Darren call my name out. He knew where I was, and I couldn't leave the baby, so I didn't worry too much about it. Next thing I hear him thumping through the house, a howling Riordan in his arms. They came into the bathroom and, to my shock, Riordan had rivers of blood running down his chest. Thankfully, it looked much worse than what it actually was, and after a rinse it had even stopped bleeding, so there was no trip to casualty that night. There's also been plenty of bruises and bark off knees, they both look just like rough and tumble little boys!

Austin is a little gem. He's the happiest baby I have ever seen. He'll just sit serenely and engage with everyone, I love taking him out because I lose count of all the compliments I get about him. My only explanation for his chilled out personality is having two older brothers, he doesn't have the chance to get upset! He's a far cry from the grumpy little man I thought he would turn out to be, he underwent a big change somewhere along the line and turned out perfect!
We've been doing Baby Led Weaning (but I like to call it Baby Led Solids as it takes away the breastfeeding connotation). It's been going fantastically. Austin will try anything, and absolutely loves mango, hummus, watermelon, sweet potato and chicken. I have no idea how much he is eating. His poos have changed, so I know that something is getting down even though it looks like all the food ends up on the floor. Here is Austin having some chicken schnitzel.

Mmm, hummus...

And number one favourite, mango.

My much neglected blog...

Ahh, my much neglected blog. All sorts of stuff has been happening while I have been busy elsewhere, and it's time to update. I'm snatching five minutes while Darren is taking the boys to the tip (little boys just love trips like that!) and ignoring all the other chores that are calling to me with their siren song (which is a song of guilt, my siren must be a mother).

Baby News!

I will start my entry with some baby news! No, it's not me. Could you imagine? I wean two babies before I really want to, in order to conceive their sibling, and then have a 12 month gap between number 3 and 4? Not likely! I am pleased that my body provides it's own natural contraceptive for once in my life, and don't intend on even thinking about considering possibly adding another joyous bundle to our lives. No, the new bun baking belongs to my baby sister! Hooray! I finally get a neice or nephew to shower my copious love upon. Carrie is hardly my baby sister, she'll be 30 when her baby is due, but she'll always be my little sister. The baby is due on the 8th of July, meaning there will be only 12 months gap between Austin and the new baby, which I am really excited about. Not only will the boys be getting a cousin, but one so close in age as well.

The new baby is coming a little before it was intended. Carrie is getting married to her long-time partnew Joe in February, and she didn't plan to be 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The dress is already bought (on sale, so non-returnable, hopefully it will alter nicely) and I think she might have been intending on toasting her new marriage with some champagne (maybe a little more than 'some'), but now she will be the Designated Driver Bride!

On a purely selfish note, I am actually quietly pleased not to be the pregnant one for once. I really feel like for the past 5 years I have been missing out on fun stuff because I have been carrying precious cargo in my belly. I would fall pregnant again in a heartbeat when the time is ready, but for now it's nice to be able to go on the rides at Luna Park, instead of being the one watching the bags!

I don't even care what sex the baby is. A boy would be lovely, a playmate for my three. A girl would be fab too, I could finally indulge in my obsession for pink!

The Big Move

I am officially homeless. We moved out of our little house, where my three babies were conceived and bought home to, and are now staying at Mum's until we move into our new house, which we will hopefully settle on the 21st. The movers are booked for the 22nd, so it had better all go to plan. I was surprisingly unsentimental about moving out. Our house was wonderful for the 6 1/2 years we spent there, but we knew from the beginning that it was only a stepping stone, and we would someday move on. We only ever intended on spending 5 years there, and I think that if I had known we would have been able to get a new mortgage on one wage, we would have been out before Austin was born!

I really miss having my things around me. Mum's house is great, and we spend so much time here that it's like a second home, but there is nothing more unsettling than not having your own, familliar things surrounding you. Darren and I haven't even been sleeping in the same bed! Austin takes up so much room, and while you don't notice it in our divine king size haven, in the queen-size spare bed it is starkly obvious. Just too squishy! Whenever I mention we are moving over Christmas, even murmurs things like, 'oh, you'll be so busy' and 'ooh, just before Christmas?', but I can't think of a better time to move. With the public holidays you gain so much time, and the babysitters are all available for when little boys need a break!

The Boys

The boys are going fine. Bowen is in his last week as a 3 year old. He has seemed so much older and wiser than 3 for a long time, that in most our minds he's been a spiritual 4 anyway. It won't be a huge change for him. He's very excited about the prospect of being a year older, and is now counting down how many sleeps until the big day. He also seems to be gaining more confidence now, and standing up to his little brother more.

Bowen is shaping up to being the family philosopher, and if his planned career as 'doing what Daddy does' doesn't pan out, he could easily find a job at a calender company, writing those little sayings for each day. My favourite one so far is, when told to stop letting his brother 'walk all over him':

"You can't walk all over people, you'll fall off!"

Now, I think there's something in there for everybody...

Riordan is just getting more and more gorgeous everyday. He is a real heartbreaker, from his golden curls and long-lashed blue eyes, down to his golden skinned toes. The dimples don't take anything away from his looks either! He can get away with murder with a bat of his eyelashes, and I lose count of how many times a day Mum and I say, "Oh, he's just so gorgeous!"

Toilet training is going OK. I haven't really been too full on with it, Bowen was already in undies by this stage, but for some reason I just haven't felt the urgency with Riordy. It must be that first child syndrome, if I keep going with this apathy as I have more babies, Austin will still be in nappies when he goes to school! He's pulling his pants up and down to do wees, but usually has to be reminded, and poos are still a bit of an issue, he's still learning his urges and waits until the last minute (i.e. the turtles head is poking out) before he says anything, which usually results in him losing his load well before the toilet/potty.

Austin is fast growing up. My littlest man is now 5 months old, and growing rapidly. He's 8.25kgs, not sure how that compares to the big boys (their Blue Books are packed away, in a box far, far away!) but he's a heffalump. A definite Mummy's boy, I've had to leave a work Christmas dinner to come home to him, and cancel the 'big' Christmas party as he just wouldn't have been able to cope without me. Imagine complete and utter hysteria, and you will be somewhat close to what he's like.

Sleeping is our main issue with Austi-man. He's a gem through the day, will self-settle without a whimper, but at night he needs his nipple or he won't even think about going to sleep. We are going to Tresilian on the 14th of January, with my main aim to have him go to sleep in his own bed of a night. I am more than happy to keep co-sleeping, I adore it in fact, especially now he's big enough to just lay in the crook of my arm, nipple in mouth, and only wakes to swap sides. I can cope with that. It's the fact that he can't be put down for any length of time before I go to bed that is my problem. I don't get to spend any 'alone' time with Daz, and that's not good for a partnership. My ideal night would be all boys in bed by 7.30pm, then to sit with Daz until 9.30, then Austin waking for a feed or two through the night, but going back to his own bed afterwards. I don't think it's asking too much.

We haven't even broached the subject of solids. I know from all my years of experience (!) that they don't help a baby sleep through, or anything like that, and although he's a big boy, he can wait a few more weeks. He's showing plenty of signs that he's ready, and I give him the odd taste, but there's no hurry.

Austin has been a sick little puppy this week. Riordan had a virus last week, just a temperature and off colour for a few days. Austin has got it this week, and it's quite scary when a 5 month old is burning up in your arms (he got to 39.7 degrees with an underarm thermometer) and you can't do anything about it. Antibiotics for an apparent ear infection, and plenty of the good boob juice has him much better (he started to get sick on Wednesday) but he is still doing horridly runny, frequent poos, which has given him a terrible bum rash. It's airing out as we speak.

Me

Same old, same old. I'm gearing up to start Uni next year, I'm still not sure exactly what I have to do, and how to do it, but it will all work out somehow.

Weight wise, things have settled right down. My jeans and scales are packed, so I have no idea how I am doing, but I feel quite happy about my body, although I wonder if my belly will ever recover. It's generally flat, but when I bend over it's a bit of a sight. Three overdue babies have somewhat 'loosened' things up, and only time will fix it.

Phew. I needed that purge, and I promise to myself it won't be as long between entries!

You turn your back for five minutes...

...'scuse the doodle...

Boxing it up

Boxes! Boxes everywhere!

We are still in the throes of moving house. We settle on this house next Friday, and there is still heaps to do. Packing is a bit of a conundrum, you obviously need your things, or you wouldn't have them, but you can't pack everything on the last day! I'm really lucky that my mum lives so close, and she basically has one of everything I have, so I don't have to go without.

I can't wait to move! It's a bit of a pain that it all happens over Christmas. At this point, within a week, we have Bowen's 4th birthday, moving in and then Christmas, all in one week. We have decided to buck tradition with Christmas dinner, and instead of our usual roast meat extravaganza, we are going to let someone else do the cooking and go out to a restaurant. Finding somewhere that my sister can eat is proving a little difficult (she's a coeliac), but it'll work out.

I am finally going to do something about Austin's sleeping. It is still going downhill (even though I didn't think that hill had anything left to go down!). I've packed up the hammock (that made me a bit sad), and he now has his day sleeps in the middle of our bed. Not ideal, but it's only for another week and a bit, so it will be fine. I read all about Peke Moe sleep sacks (http://www.pekemoe.co.nz) on EB, and thought I would give one a try. Not the most patient person in the world, I ended up making one myself out of some double muslin from Spotlight, and it's been working quite well. Austi can settle himself in it, and suck his hands to his heart's content. I finally received the two that I bought second hand, and, while I got the sizing a bit big on my homemade jobbies, I did a pretty good job! I can't wait to try him in the proper one, to see if the smaller version helps him sleep.

I've also taken the plunge and asked for a referral to Tresillian. I love sleeping with my little man, but the constant feeding, all night long, is taking too much out of me. I can't break the cycle by myself, so I'm going to get some help. It might take a bit to coordinate the boys, but it should be worth it. I'm sort of hoping that giving my baby his own room (well, annex) in the new house will help him to sleep better. I swear we wake each other up.

I've also gotten my acceptance into my conveyancing course. I'm so excited by the idea of studying, of actually making time for it. I might not be able to stop when I start!

My favourite photo

Ok, so it's not the best quality, but this photo of my four boys shows their personalities beautifully!

Movin' On

Hooray! Guess who sold their house? First day, no less.

I can't blame anyone for wanting it, I would have bought it myself. It did look immaculate, I have to say. Darren worked like a slave on the yard, moving and getting rid of leaves, while on nightshift, and I cleaned until the inside was spick and span. It looked spookily like no one lived here, so devoid of kiddie stuff and the useless junk that just accumulates.

Knowing that we would never be able to maintain that level of cleanliness with 3 kids, 2 dogs and 2 messy adults, we decamped to Mum's for the night. I went down to check the house the next morning, just to make to that no one had come in and changed anything. It didn't look quite right, and a quick phone call to Darren confirmed that he had been in the night before and touched a few things. That's how clean and tidy I left it, one thing out of place and I instantly saw!

I laid out the biccies and slice that I made for the prospective buyers, and off we went to Luna Park. We had a great day, although I constantly checked my phone for updates. Finally, on our way home, we had the call. They tried their hardest, but they could only get the keenest buyer to go up to exactly what we were prepared to sell for! It obviously didn't take much for us to say yes.

So now we've had the pest and building inspections, they were perfect, and we just wait until the buyers pay the deposit tomorrow, and then it's all systems go! We will settle on this house just before Christmas, and the new house has a settlement date of 27th of January, so we are going to try and push that sooner. Either way, we had our last Christmas in the house where all our babies were born last year, and we didn't even know.

I am feeling quite nostalgic at the thought of leaving my little house, and then I get all excited about the new one, planning alterations, landscaping, where the furniture will go...

**********

My littlest man, and biggest man, had their needles today. Bowen was an afterthought, I hate going to the GP and waiting around, so I thought getting it all done at once would be the best. When I informed Bowen what was happening, he told me, "I don't need any noodles!" Austin went first, so when he saw him crying he knew what he was in for. Needless to say, it was a great crying session. His pick from the bakery (jam tart) calmed him down, and after lunch he told me that he was all better.

I'm pretty stoical when it comes to getting immunisations. They have to be done, they will hurt, and it won't be nice. Bowen's upset me the most today though, I think because he knew what was coming, and before this, when he was younger, it was all a surprise.

He doesn't have to worry about any more though, for a while at least. And, on the plus side, he gets to see his little brothers have them when he doesn't need them, which must be fun for the big brother!

Four Months Today!

I can't believe my gorgeous little one is already four months old!


Here are a couple of long overdue pics of him: