Well the title says it all really. On Saturday Alex's eye is still gunking but theres no sign of it in mine yet. I take DD to a birthday party just up the road and its every parents joy - 'drop off and leave'. Yay, several 5 year olds left to create mayhem and mess in someone elses house. And I am knackered having had a very poor nights sleep the night before. So I actually doze sitting upright on the sofa with Alex on my lap, DH on the other sofa flicking the paper. I go and collect her a couple of hours later and she has had a fab time. She also looks very cute as it was a girls only princess party and she has on lipstick, nailvarnish, hair all curled and a fake heart tattoo.
By the evening my eyes feel a bit sticky, I try to ignore it and we all go to bed. Terrible nights sleep - I wake about midnight and one of my eyes is gunked shut. Lovely. So I creep out of bed, get cotton wool to cleanse them, double wash my hands and antibac before getting back in bed just as he wakes for his first feed. This process is repeated 3 times through the night and by the morning one eyelid is so swollen its half open. Now I realise this is only conjuctivitis and not the end of the world but on top of the eye problems I already have its not good at all. I can't touch DD or DH for fear of infecting them and Alex only has it mildly so I try to handle him as little as possible (nearly impossible!) All the towels, bedding etc gets washed. We are due to visit friends for lunch today but we have to cancel.
I worry about stuff to do with my eyes and after trying to have a sensible conversation with myself to pull myself together I decide to ring eye casualty at Northampton General to see what they advise. Given my previous history they want to have a look at me rather than me just buying some eye drops over the counter. We drop DD off at my mums and DH takes me and Alex there (can't go without him incase he needs feeding of course) Thankfully its not too busy and I get seen within the hour. They take some swabs and check eye pressure etc and I get given a prescription for some eye ointment. I am reassured that I can continue to use my steroid eye drops too, they won't affect the conjunctivitis. Sorted...........
After another hideous night of eye wiping/handwashing/baby feeding etc I feed knackered on Monday morning and my eyes look really red - and the lids are bright red too now. If I had white hair I would be an albino I swear. I wear my sunglasses to do the school run and thankfully as it is actually sunny I don't look too much of an idiot. By late afternoon its apparent that I am allergic to the bloody drops as when DH gets in from work he does a double take. Looked like I have actually been burned around the eyes. I stop the drops - just hope 2 days of drops will be enough to get rid of the gunk and I just use cotton wool pads and cool water instead. That evening I go to my friends house for a meal and its a nice diversion although they all think my eyes look terrible its good to have a catch up and would you believe my first evening out since having the baby boy.
By Tuesday morning my eyelids look less red and puffy but the eyeballs themselves look like one of those comedy bloodshot halloween eyeballs. I feel wrecked and ever so slightly tearful. When I get my morning text from mum saying 'R U OK?' I well up. NO I AM NOT.......I don't text back. She phones me late morning after work and I have a good cry down the phone. 3 nights of crap sleep and dodgy eyes sends me over the edge. So after lunch I go down to her house and I lie on the sofa while she looks after baby boy. I feel better for having just an hours break. She antibacs the sink after I wash my hands for the millionth time, good job too. I get DD from school.
I forgot to mention while all of this is going on, I have workmen in the house fitting new windows and a front door. They have been at ours since 8am Monday morning. They must think I am some loony hormonal woman with mad red eyes. I show them the kettle and tell them to help themselves. I don't have time to make myself a cup of tea these days let alone copiing with tea-thirsty workmen. And we are out of white sugar ( what was I thinking? ) so they drink builders tea with 2 spoons each of finest soft brown demerara. They don't seem to mind.
By Wednesday I feel that I am coming back to semi-normal and take Alex to his swim lesson. I manage to crack a smile for the first time in a few days, miserable so and so that I have been. And the sun is shining which always helps to lift the spirits doesn't it?
This coming Saturday we are due to go away for the weekend and in actual fact I am dreading it. When we booked it back in January I kind of assumed the baby boy would be sleeping through the night by now and the four of us are all sharing a family room. We are going to Splash Landings Hotel at Alton Towers which normally would be great but I am now wondering how we will get any sleep......I manage to get some packing done though and feel quite prepared by Friday afternoon. All I need now is a small lorry to put everything we need in !!!! Small baby = shedloads of stuff.
I have my haircut on Friday afternoon while DD is at school. My hairdresser comes to the house as usual but Alex doesn't stop wailing the whole time she is here. We stop twice so I can pick him up and the rest of the time we just shout really loudly over him. The minute she leaves, he stops and falls asleep. Little buggar.
Well, there you go. Sorry for the 'woe is me' post, but what a rubbish week. You know me by now, I have to just tell it how it is.
So, tomorrow morning first thing we go off for our first mini-break. Wish me luck !
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Sunday 27 March 2011
sorry blog-readers
I have to apologise for the very delayed blog..........blame some lovely sunny weather ( I have been out too much ), a weekend away (more on this later) and a pile of ironing as tall as everest which I can no longer ignore..the ironing has to be tackled before we run out of clothes and the pile starts to spill out of my front door.
So I will update as soon as I can
xxx
So I will update as soon as I can
xxx
Sunday 20 March 2011
w/e 11th March.......my little turtle
As I type I am pleased to report that DH hasn't actually cashed in any of his spare bed tokens for the last 3 weeks . You might remember that he is allowed 2 nights in the spare room. Well that just shows that Alex is improving at night even though I am actually starting to feel more tired. I think I am feeling it as its been about 11 weeks since I had a decent nights sleep and its taking its toll a bit. The downside is that I have to put up with 2 males in our bedroom 7 nights a week and all the burping and farting that comes with it. Think I might go and sleep with DD and leave them to it. Sadly I cannot do this as DH hasn't got the tools needed to feed the baby boy.
I have now tried a couple of times to bottle feed Alex with both formula and expressed breast milk but he is not co-operating with me at all. He wails and wails. I am feeling that I need a break from the constant boob feeding and it would be good to spend some time with DD on my own and leave him with DH. I will have to persist with this - it is quite different for a baby to feed from a bottle after being just breast fed for so long so a bit of re-training is needed......
The weekend passes by and me & DH are learning that there is not much rest to be had at the moment apart from in the evening when we make sure that both of them are in their beds by 7pm. At least then we get to eat a meal together and have some time in the evening without the little polluters (anyone watch 'The Wright Stuff' - channel 5 ?, very funny) needing our attention. Its not that we don't enjoy family time - of course we do but its taking a while for us to adjust to being a family of four instead of three, with a whole different set of needs.
Monday I started mum and baby yoga at quite a posh yoga studio near where we live. Such a lovely place, it would have been relaxing if it had been mum yoga rather than mum and baby yoga. Alex was a bit unsettled for the first half an hour but then settled down. I managed a few postures though. Nothing like a downward dog to crack a bit of tension out of your back and shoulders. Its an 8 week course so I am looking forward to next weeks session already.
Tuesday its time for another cranial osteopathy session for Alex. The horse whisperer lady calms the baby boy again and he gurgles through the session quite happily while she is seemingly stroking his head. £30 lighter this time but she says he wont need to come again for about 2 months. I think the treatment does affect him though as he cries and cries all afternoon. And as we are at a friends again as its Tuesday we all hear him. We are in serious need of ear plugs. BUT he has obviously worn himself out cos he goes to bed as usual at 6.30pm, is sparko by 6.45 and he doesn't wake until 2am.....woooo hoooooo. When I wake up to feed him I feel like I have had a full nights sleep (almost 5 hours as I was in bed at 9pm) After his milk he then goes until 6.30am........amazing.
And he does the same again on Wednesday night. This might be to do with me wearing him out at his first swimming lesson - little turtles. This is just my highlight of the week, its only 30 minutes but he loves it. I took DD when she was only about 3 months old too and it was by far the best activity I did with her. He wears the smallest cutest wetsuit you have ever seen and he smiles at me in the water. He does his first underwater swim too and isn't bothered by it at all, just c omes up with a suprised look on his face. DH comes in his lunch break to watch. Just before we go in the water he chooses to do a huge poo in his nappy (Alex not DH) Thank God he didn't do it in the water.
Thursday is pretty busy for me. He weighs in at the baby clinic at 11lb, 13oz, so almost 2lb in 4 weeks which isn't bad. I don't stay though afterwards as I am going to a friends house but I do feel slightly guilty and unsociable. Now I know I said that the village baby group was a bit dull and not for me but I think Alex is going to need some little friends as he gets bigger. I haven't got the network of new friends from NCT classes etc this time with babies. So next time I will stay and make the effort I have decided. I then go to my friends house for a couple of hours before going on to meet my new friend J ( mother of DD's future husband) for a long walk with the babes in prams. I definitely need the exercise but after the walk we go for lattes and scones with jam and butter so more than cancel out the calories burnt off walking. Never mind we tell ourselves - still breast feeding so we need the extra calories. Hmmm. Get home at 4pm, feed the boy and chuck something together for tea when DD and DH get back.
Its been a really good week, a bit more sleep for me and some interesting new things to do with Alex. DD has been really good and loving school. (and I have discovered the blogs spell checker - 50+ posts later and I finally find it)
Friday comes around again and I just pop into town to get some bits. When I get Alex out of his car seat he has been asleep but I notice rather a lot of yellowish gunk stuck to his eyelashes and some on his cheek. Oh shit..conjunctivitis. And of course I have been all over him, touching his face, hands and feeding him.
Watch this space.
I have now tried a couple of times to bottle feed Alex with both formula and expressed breast milk but he is not co-operating with me at all. He wails and wails. I am feeling that I need a break from the constant boob feeding and it would be good to spend some time with DD on my own and leave him with DH. I will have to persist with this - it is quite different for a baby to feed from a bottle after being just breast fed for so long so a bit of re-training is needed......
The weekend passes by and me & DH are learning that there is not much rest to be had at the moment apart from in the evening when we make sure that both of them are in their beds by 7pm. At least then we get to eat a meal together and have some time in the evening without the little polluters (anyone watch 'The Wright Stuff' - channel 5 ?, very funny) needing our attention. Its not that we don't enjoy family time - of course we do but its taking a while for us to adjust to being a family of four instead of three, with a whole different set of needs.
Monday I started mum and baby yoga at quite a posh yoga studio near where we live. Such a lovely place, it would have been relaxing if it had been mum yoga rather than mum and baby yoga. Alex was a bit unsettled for the first half an hour but then settled down. I managed a few postures though. Nothing like a downward dog to crack a bit of tension out of your back and shoulders. Its an 8 week course so I am looking forward to next weeks session already.
Tuesday its time for another cranial osteopathy session for Alex. The horse whisperer lady calms the baby boy again and he gurgles through the session quite happily while she is seemingly stroking his head. £30 lighter this time but she says he wont need to come again for about 2 months. I think the treatment does affect him though as he cries and cries all afternoon. And as we are at a friends again as its Tuesday we all hear him. We are in serious need of ear plugs. BUT he has obviously worn himself out cos he goes to bed as usual at 6.30pm, is sparko by 6.45 and he doesn't wake until 2am.....woooo hoooooo. When I wake up to feed him I feel like I have had a full nights sleep (almost 5 hours as I was in bed at 9pm) After his milk he then goes until 6.30am........amazing.
And he does the same again on Wednesday night. This might be to do with me wearing him out at his first swimming lesson - little turtles. This is just my highlight of the week, its only 30 minutes but he loves it. I took DD when she was only about 3 months old too and it was by far the best activity I did with her. He wears the smallest cutest wetsuit you have ever seen and he smiles at me in the water. He does his first underwater swim too and isn't bothered by it at all, just c omes up with a suprised look on his face. DH comes in his lunch break to watch. Just before we go in the water he chooses to do a huge poo in his nappy (Alex not DH) Thank God he didn't do it in the water.
Thursday is pretty busy for me. He weighs in at the baby clinic at 11lb, 13oz, so almost 2lb in 4 weeks which isn't bad. I don't stay though afterwards as I am going to a friends house but I do feel slightly guilty and unsociable. Now I know I said that the village baby group was a bit dull and not for me but I think Alex is going to need some little friends as he gets bigger. I haven't got the network of new friends from NCT classes etc this time with babies. So next time I will stay and make the effort I have decided. I then go to my friends house for a couple of hours before going on to meet my new friend J ( mother of DD's future husband) for a long walk with the babes in prams. I definitely need the exercise but after the walk we go for lattes and scones with jam and butter so more than cancel out the calories burnt off walking. Never mind we tell ourselves - still breast feeding so we need the extra calories. Hmmm. Get home at 4pm, feed the boy and chuck something together for tea when DD and DH get back.
Its been a really good week, a bit more sleep for me and some interesting new things to do with Alex. DD has been really good and loving school. (and I have discovered the blogs spell checker - 50+ posts later and I finally find it)
Friday comes around again and I just pop into town to get some bits. When I get Alex out of his car seat he has been asleep but I notice rather a lot of yellowish gunk stuck to his eyelashes and some on his cheek. Oh shit..conjunctivitis. And of course I have been all over him, touching his face, hands and feeding him.
Watch this space.
Thursday 10 March 2011
w/e 4th March....eye see trouble.........
Still one more holiday day to go this week as Monday is an INSET day.What does Inset mean anyway? I have to be honest that I will find it much easier when DD is back at school. She is full on and wants to be doing something every minute of the day.
Theres a woman who lives down the road from us and she has 4 children and is about to have another. I wonder what half term was like in her house. I see her every day and she moves like she is on autopilot. How the hell she gets out of her house each morning with everyone dressed I do not know. Two of them are at school, one at pre-school and another in a pushchair probably about 2 years old. She always wears a hat (bed hair?) but looks smart enough and wears make-up and her kids all look clean and well dressed. She goes to school and drops the first 2 off, then she walks to the other end of the village to the pre-school and back. Then at 12 I see her power walking back up the road and back to collect the one from pre-school. Then again at 3pm she is doing the school run back home again. What will happen when her next baby is born I wonder everytime I see her - how will she find time to actually give birth? How did she find the energy to have sex in the first place to make this 5th baby? Actually all of it is none of my business but I like to be nosy. In fact I think I saw her in the scan dept of the hospital at her 20 week scan ( I was sat in a wheelchair waiting for the porter at the time and saw her from a distance so can't be 100% on this) so by my reckoning she must be due very soon. I feel like I should be knocking on her door and saying - "can I help at all because I only have 2 children and clearly have too much time on my hands" Or is she just mad - I love my two but have absolutely no desire to have any more. She must have the patience of a saint.
On Saturday Dad and WSM come for a visit. Its a good day, we have a nice lunch and DD is full of energy as usual.
Sunday is a total nightmare. We are woken by DD at about 6am shouting that she cannot open her eyes. I go rushing in thinking she is playing up but no she is telling the truth - one of her eyes is covered in gunk and is totally crusted over. Oh shit, its conjunctivitus. Caught from my firends little girl last week no doubt, I thought we had got away with it but no. Now I know its not the end of the world as most kids get this every now and again but for me it would be a disaster to get it. Because of my dodgy eye condition I have to put a steroid drop in my eyes every day and adding steroid to an infection like that is like fuelling a fire. My eyes would be in a right old state. So after I have cleansed her eyes with cotton wool we go antibac and handwashing crazy. All the sheets, pillow cases , towels etc go in the wash. On the advice of NHS direct we don't need the docs but go to a chemist who prescribes anti-biotic drops for her. Simple solution you would think. Err no. Trying to get the drops in her eyes is hellish. She screams the place down and hides, runs, whatever she can do to avoid it. We try being kind, bribing her,shouting at her, explaining patiently etc but nothing works. So we resort to brute force. DH holds her down while I prise her eyelids open to squeeze a drop in. She screams the place down and I wonder what the neighbours think we must be doing to her. And every 2 hours this is repeated. My nerves are frayed. She eyes the clock and constantly asks what time the next drops are. It a very unpleasant experience and I go to bed dreading the next day.
After more dreadful eye drop fights on Monday morning I phone the docs and get an appointment. There must something easier like an ointment that I can use. She can't be the first child to be scared of eye drops. DH goes to work and I cry before he goes. I didn't sleep well and am not sure how I will get the drops in on my own, look after Alex and keep them both happy all day. We go to the docs and the minute we get into the reception Alex decides he wants feeding (again) and screams the place down. He doesn't let up for a second and my boy has some serious lungs on him when he isnt happy. The doc is great though and even though we have to have a very shouty conversation over his screaming he tells me that DD's eyes dont look too bad and after just 2 more lots of eye drops today we can stop them and just bathe the eyes in cool boiled water. He has kids and also has been through the eye drop fight. And yes she can go to school tomorrow. Thank goodness. I was worried she wouldnt be allowed to go and how would I spend more days at home keeping her entertained. We leave the docs and of course Alex stops crying and promptly falls asleep in his pram again. Little buggar.
On Tuesday DD goes back to school and she virtually skips through the door with delight to be back. And I walk back home feeling like punching the air too. This makes me sound a very bad mother I know but as I hear various snippets of conversations such as ' thank god for that' and 'I couldn't cope with another day of those bloody holidays' and realise I am not alone. I bet Mother of nearly five is getting the flags out.
By the end of the week I am almost sane again and my house looks less of a wreck. While baby boy is asleep I can actually load the dishwasher, push the hoover around and even tidy up every now and again.
I am only up twice a night now too - about 1am and 4am.........progress.
I end the week on Friday with a very pleasant speed shopping trip with Alex and get everything on my long list (various birthday cards, 3 birthday gifts, back to nature feeding bottles, wrapping paper and a blind for the new bathroom), eat a sandwich, drink a latte and get home again without him even opening his eyes. Perfect.
See you next week x
Theres a woman who lives down the road from us and she has 4 children and is about to have another. I wonder what half term was like in her house. I see her every day and she moves like she is on autopilot. How the hell she gets out of her house each morning with everyone dressed I do not know. Two of them are at school, one at pre-school and another in a pushchair probably about 2 years old. She always wears a hat (bed hair?) but looks smart enough and wears make-up and her kids all look clean and well dressed. She goes to school and drops the first 2 off, then she walks to the other end of the village to the pre-school and back. Then at 12 I see her power walking back up the road and back to collect the one from pre-school. Then again at 3pm she is doing the school run back home again. What will happen when her next baby is born I wonder everytime I see her - how will she find time to actually give birth? How did she find the energy to have sex in the first place to make this 5th baby? Actually all of it is none of my business but I like to be nosy. In fact I think I saw her in the scan dept of the hospital at her 20 week scan ( I was sat in a wheelchair waiting for the porter at the time and saw her from a distance so can't be 100% on this) so by my reckoning she must be due very soon. I feel like I should be knocking on her door and saying - "can I help at all because I only have 2 children and clearly have too much time on my hands" Or is she just mad - I love my two but have absolutely no desire to have any more. She must have the patience of a saint.
On Saturday Dad and WSM come for a visit. Its a good day, we have a nice lunch and DD is full of energy as usual.
Sunday is a total nightmare. We are woken by DD at about 6am shouting that she cannot open her eyes. I go rushing in thinking she is playing up but no she is telling the truth - one of her eyes is covered in gunk and is totally crusted over. Oh shit, its conjunctivitus. Caught from my firends little girl last week no doubt, I thought we had got away with it but no. Now I know its not the end of the world as most kids get this every now and again but for me it would be a disaster to get it. Because of my dodgy eye condition I have to put a steroid drop in my eyes every day and adding steroid to an infection like that is like fuelling a fire. My eyes would be in a right old state. So after I have cleansed her eyes with cotton wool we go antibac and handwashing crazy. All the sheets, pillow cases , towels etc go in the wash. On the advice of NHS direct we don't need the docs but go to a chemist who prescribes anti-biotic drops for her. Simple solution you would think. Err no. Trying to get the drops in her eyes is hellish. She screams the place down and hides, runs, whatever she can do to avoid it. We try being kind, bribing her,shouting at her, explaining patiently etc but nothing works. So we resort to brute force. DH holds her down while I prise her eyelids open to squeeze a drop in. She screams the place down and I wonder what the neighbours think we must be doing to her. And every 2 hours this is repeated. My nerves are frayed. She eyes the clock and constantly asks what time the next drops are. It a very unpleasant experience and I go to bed dreading the next day.
After more dreadful eye drop fights on Monday morning I phone the docs and get an appointment. There must something easier like an ointment that I can use. She can't be the first child to be scared of eye drops. DH goes to work and I cry before he goes. I didn't sleep well and am not sure how I will get the drops in on my own, look after Alex and keep them both happy all day. We go to the docs and the minute we get into the reception Alex decides he wants feeding (again) and screams the place down. He doesn't let up for a second and my boy has some serious lungs on him when he isnt happy. The doc is great though and even though we have to have a very shouty conversation over his screaming he tells me that DD's eyes dont look too bad and after just 2 more lots of eye drops today we can stop them and just bathe the eyes in cool boiled water. He has kids and also has been through the eye drop fight. And yes she can go to school tomorrow. Thank goodness. I was worried she wouldnt be allowed to go and how would I spend more days at home keeping her entertained. We leave the docs and of course Alex stops crying and promptly falls asleep in his pram again. Little buggar.
On Tuesday DD goes back to school and she virtually skips through the door with delight to be back. And I walk back home feeling like punching the air too. This makes me sound a very bad mother I know but as I hear various snippets of conversations such as ' thank god for that' and 'I couldn't cope with another day of those bloody holidays' and realise I am not alone. I bet Mother of nearly five is getting the flags out.
By the end of the week I am almost sane again and my house looks less of a wreck. While baby boy is asleep I can actually load the dishwasher, push the hoover around and even tidy up every now and again.
I am only up twice a night now too - about 1am and 4am.........progress.
I end the week on Friday with a very pleasant speed shopping trip with Alex and get everything on my long list (various birthday cards, 3 birthday gifts, back to nature feeding bottles, wrapping paper and a blind for the new bathroom), eat a sandwich, drink a latte and get home again without him even opening his eyes. Perfect.
See you next week x
Sunday 6 March 2011
School Holidays..........someone help me.
I know this sounds pathetic, especially to those of you out there with two or more children, but half term on my own with 2 kids is very daunting. Its February and the weather is rubbish so its not like I could plan lots of outdoor stuff or just be out in the garden.
Alex is still only tiny at 9 weeks old so about as dependant as they come but I don't want DD to miss out on fun stuff either. A cloning machine would be handy then I could be in 2 places at once.
The milk tsunami eased off over the weekend and I can now feed him again without him drowning in the stuff. That was so stressful, usually feeding is so easy.
On Monday I go up to Leicester to see old school friends and my best mate who now lives in Cornwall is travelling up to see family and meets us there too. She meets Alex for the first time and has loads of cuddles with him. We had to decide whether to go this morning is one of my friends daughters woke up with an eye infection but we go anyway armed with anti-bac. its a lovely relaxing day - DD has fun playing with her friends and I get to pass Alex around and get served a lovely lunch - perfect. We plan our 40th birthday get together in May which will be the first time I leave the baby boy overnight. I am so looking fward to some pampering, shopping, eating and drinking. I drive home with 2 contented kids and think that half term is a doddle, what was I worrying about?
Tuesday brings me back down to earth. Alex is a bit squwarky (is that a word??) and DD wants my attention so I have my hands full all day. I take DD to a cheerleading taster session late morning and meet her little friend there so they do it together. Me & J get to have a coffee outside while we wait for them - first hot drink of the day for me. I had hoped the boy would stay alseep but no such luck and I feed him on a minature kiddie chair outside the cheerleading hall. In the afternoon I am split between the two of them, either feeding or making sock puppets ( no guesses what with who). The house is a state but no time to do a thing.
Wednesday is better - DD goes to a friends in the afternoon to play so I get a few hours with just Alex.
Thursday is the only day its not pouring with rain and we go to a parks trust thing in the morning for DD - theres a treasure hunt and activities etc. Trouble is my pram is not built for muddy walks and I end up with either DD's wellies stuck in the mud or the pram wheels stuck like a fly in treacle. Its no fun at all really and I wonder what I was thinking. Alex starts bawling but we are ready to go home anyway. We snuggle up on the sofa in the afternoon and watch one of the million Barbie movies I have on sky+. The house is still a bombsite but I am past caring this week now.
And Friday comes at last and ends the week with another playdate for DD and she has fun at a friends house for most of the day. And actually the house feels quiet without her and I just have a baby to look after. I take Alex to the docs to have his follow up from the other week. She concedes that his head is looking better now he has been for cranial osteopathy and is happy that he is smiling loads now. She signs him off and doesnt want to see him again. Hooray.
The nights have improved slightly and the clever little boy now goes down in his room by 7pm fast asleep and then wakes about 12.30/1am for milk and again about 4am. I get myself to bed by 9pm and woo hoo I get almost 4 hours sleep before the first feed. I am getting used to it now and don't feel the need for daytime naps like I did before............the light at the end of the tunnel.
I am having the occasional alcoholic drink now too - rightly or wrongly but I don't think it will do him any harm. Just some cider or a small glass of wine 3 or 4 times a week and helps me chill out. The hard part is stopping at one glass.............
I survived the week, and although it was bloody hard work hopefully I will get used to it. 6 weeks until Easter and then its 2 weeks, Lord help me.
Alex is still only tiny at 9 weeks old so about as dependant as they come but I don't want DD to miss out on fun stuff either. A cloning machine would be handy then I could be in 2 places at once.
The milk tsunami eased off over the weekend and I can now feed him again without him drowning in the stuff. That was so stressful, usually feeding is so easy.
On Monday I go up to Leicester to see old school friends and my best mate who now lives in Cornwall is travelling up to see family and meets us there too. She meets Alex for the first time and has loads of cuddles with him. We had to decide whether to go this morning is one of my friends daughters woke up with an eye infection but we go anyway armed with anti-bac. its a lovely relaxing day - DD has fun playing with her friends and I get to pass Alex around and get served a lovely lunch - perfect. We plan our 40th birthday get together in May which will be the first time I leave the baby boy overnight. I am so looking fward to some pampering, shopping, eating and drinking. I drive home with 2 contented kids and think that half term is a doddle, what was I worrying about?
Tuesday brings me back down to earth. Alex is a bit squwarky (is that a word??) and DD wants my attention so I have my hands full all day. I take DD to a cheerleading taster session late morning and meet her little friend there so they do it together. Me & J get to have a coffee outside while we wait for them - first hot drink of the day for me. I had hoped the boy would stay alseep but no such luck and I feed him on a minature kiddie chair outside the cheerleading hall. In the afternoon I am split between the two of them, either feeding or making sock puppets ( no guesses what with who). The house is a state but no time to do a thing.
Wednesday is better - DD goes to a friends in the afternoon to play so I get a few hours with just Alex.
Thursday is the only day its not pouring with rain and we go to a parks trust thing in the morning for DD - theres a treasure hunt and activities etc. Trouble is my pram is not built for muddy walks and I end up with either DD's wellies stuck in the mud or the pram wheels stuck like a fly in treacle. Its no fun at all really and I wonder what I was thinking. Alex starts bawling but we are ready to go home anyway. We snuggle up on the sofa in the afternoon and watch one of the million Barbie movies I have on sky+. The house is still a bombsite but I am past caring this week now.
And Friday comes at last and ends the week with another playdate for DD and she has fun at a friends house for most of the day. And actually the house feels quiet without her and I just have a baby to look after. I take Alex to the docs to have his follow up from the other week. She concedes that his head is looking better now he has been for cranial osteopathy and is happy that he is smiling loads now. She signs him off and doesnt want to see him again. Hooray.
The nights have improved slightly and the clever little boy now goes down in his room by 7pm fast asleep and then wakes about 12.30/1am for milk and again about 4am. I get myself to bed by 9pm and woo hoo I get almost 4 hours sleep before the first feed. I am getting used to it now and don't feel the need for daytime naps like I did before............the light at the end of the tunnel.
I am having the occasional alcoholic drink now too - rightly or wrongly but I don't think it will do him any harm. Just some cider or a small glass of wine 3 or 4 times a week and helps me chill out. The hard part is stopping at one glass.............
I survived the week, and although it was bloody hard work hopefully I will get used to it. 6 weeks until Easter and then its 2 weeks, Lord help me.
Thursday 3 March 2011
weekending 18th February.........not just one cow, a whole herd of 'em !!!
Trying to find time to write this blog is about as easy as......well not very easy at all. I have to say though I am writing it for me not necessarily for everyone reading it. When I was at work I always had a huge to do list and I would get a great deal of satisfaction from crossing things off it. So this blog is now on my very short to do list but somehow the to do list never gets done:
Get through the night on not much sleep
Get up the next day with energy to be a good mum and attempt to be a reasonable wife to my husband
Get a shower and wash my hair
Get DD to school looking half decent without shouting
Eat some breakfast
Try to load the dishwasher and washing machine
Feed/dress/cuddle/play/change nappies for Alex
Occasionally vacuum
And depending what day it is - sometimes go to an activity/docs or meet a friend
And maybe if theres time to make a phone call or check my email/bank balance (more than 1 task a day is generally impossible)
Collect DD from school
Have some kind of clue what we might eat for dinner/prep for it.
Get Alex to bed ( DH does DD's bedtime)
Read DD's bedtime story of Alex is down okay
Eat meal with DH
Have approx 1-2 hours on sofa with DH before getting to bed at no later than 9.30pm
Deal with any adhoc catastrophes that arise.
Next day - do it all again.
Actually thats quite a long list now I have written it down. Not sure what the point of that was but anyway there you go - my day Monday to Friday at the moment. I am sure my brain would function much better if I could have more than 3 hours sleep at one time but fingers crossed he will start going longer soon.
We have a shocking nights sleep on the saturday night - I may have totalled about 4 hours and I feel severely wrecked on the Sunday. Not sure why but the baby boy is up every 2 hours to feed at 12, 2, 4, and 6am. Its a killer. Maybe its a growth spurt. And DD wakes up about 6am so thats it, our day has started early. I am desperate to get a nap but there doesnt seem to be an opportunity for one. We take DD to our friends birthday party in the afternoon - we all go as ours friends will be there too to chat to. (NCT group friends still going strong for 5 years now). DD has a lovely time and meets the boy she says she is going to marry. Obviously the perfect boy for marriage in her eyes will probably change when she is in her 20's. They crawl around the floor together pretending to be dogs and hide from their 'owners'. DD has met this little boy before as they are friends of friends but today they clicked for some reason. His mum & dad have recently had a baby girl so the age gap is similar - she is only a few weeks older than Alex. Can you believe at the tender age of 5, DD's husband-to -be comes up to me and asks for her email address?? So DD says, mum give him my email address. Honestly. So I say I say to her you don't have an email address, you are 5 years old, he then asks for her phone number. Well actually I already have his mums number because we chatted earlier and as we know each other vaguely already we arrange to meet up at some point. We have both found ourselves with a new baby at our age (40!!!) and suddenly not at work and at home with baby time to kill. DD talks about her new friend all the way home. Must be love.
On Monday 14th I meet a friend from work for lunch and we catch up which is good. Pret a manger yum - and Alex stays asleep which is a bonus. Then I dash to M&S to get the Valentines special dinner for £20. Except they have pretty much run out of everything so I just grab whatever looks nice. me & DH manage a very nice evening - both kids asleep by 7pm so we indulge in M&S finest and have some pink sparkly stuff.
On the Tuesday I manage to get a last minute appointment for Alex at a Cranial Osteopath. He is sleeping like a baby ( pardon the pun) in the car but when we arrive at the (very peaceful) holistic treatment centre he opens one eye and starts bawling and rooting for milk even though I fed him before I left home. Despite rocking him he bawls and bawls. Its difficult because my appt is in 5 minutes so what do I do? Let him cry or risk being late for my appt cos he is clamped to the boob?? Anyway after another minute I can't let him cry anymore so I feed him in the reception. He is slightly pacified after a few mins and thankfully she is running a bit late so I have time. She asks lots of questions so she can fill in some details. He is still crying but when she takes him from me he starts to calm down,. Maybe she is some kind of horse whisperer for babies. Its £38 for the first appt and at first I wonder what the hell I am paying for. All she is doing is sort of stroking and tapping his head so gently you can barely feel it. Then she looks at my forehead and then wants to see a photo of DH too so she can look at his head shape. Jesus, does she think Alex's head is made from clay and she is going to mould it the right way I wonder. No she just wants to see how his skull bones should look she says like she must have read my mind. When she is done she takes a photo and compares it to the one she took at the beginning. Bloody hell, there is actually a difference. Come back in 3 weeks for a bit more. She warns me that he might feed a lot more than usual for the rest of the day - the procedure generally makes babies more hungry. She is right too, I have just paid the bill at reception and he is crying for milk already so I have to feed him before I even get out of the door. And when we get home he then feeds approx every 30 minutes until bedtime and cries inbetween. So unlike him as he is generally a very placid baby. He cries all the way to school in his pram when we walk to collect DD and then I have friends and kids around for tea after school. Thankfully they are happy to pitch in and help me get tea for the kids (we have taken it in turn each tuesday since they were babes) and rock Alex. The kids entertain themselves so no trouble really. I barely am producing enough milk to keep him happy because of the unexpected demand........
The nights start to get a bit better as the week goes on. And on Wednesday he sleeps virtually all day and night - praps the head doctor has helped with his sleep too. On Wednesday afternoon I meet the mum of Emma's new boyfriend (from the party) and we push the babies around the local forest walk. Its good to chat to someone with a new baby too and its a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Tea and cake at the coffee shop after too yum.
On Thursday its the last baby massage class and its a total disaster. Something crazy has happened to my milk. Its gone into some kind of mentalist overdrive and it is literally pouring out. Poor baby boy chokes, gags and splutters at every feed including at baby massage and he howls the place down, understandably. Turns out becasue I had to feed him millions of times after the cranial thing on Tuesday, my boobs now believe they are feeding triplets or something and the milk supply has increased too much. Mother nature is very clever really but in my case I don't need all this milk. I do have a breast pump but of course if I use it, they will produce even more. So we have a very stressful couple of days trying to feed without drowning the poor boy in milk. I get some advice from my friend who is the guru (in my opinion) of boob feeding and she helps me out with some info how to reduce supply. (Thank you - you know who you are!!!). In the meantime (and close your eyes if you are of sensitive nature) I actually have to hold each boob over the sink and hand express it - like milking a cow. I could bottle this stuff and sell it.........
All in the name of 'breast is best' for my little boy. The things you do for love eh?
Wish me luck - next week its half term.........gulp !!!
Get through the night on not much sleep
Get up the next day with energy to be a good mum and attempt to be a reasonable wife to my husband
Get a shower and wash my hair
Get DD to school looking half decent without shouting
Eat some breakfast
Try to load the dishwasher and washing machine
Feed/dress/cuddle/play/change nappies for Alex
Occasionally vacuum
And depending what day it is - sometimes go to an activity/docs or meet a friend
And maybe if theres time to make a phone call or check my email/bank balance (more than 1 task a day is generally impossible)
Collect DD from school
Have some kind of clue what we might eat for dinner/prep for it.
Get Alex to bed ( DH does DD's bedtime)
Read DD's bedtime story of Alex is down okay
Eat meal with DH
Have approx 1-2 hours on sofa with DH before getting to bed at no later than 9.30pm
Deal with any adhoc catastrophes that arise.
Next day - do it all again.
Actually thats quite a long list now I have written it down. Not sure what the point of that was but anyway there you go - my day Monday to Friday at the moment. I am sure my brain would function much better if I could have more than 3 hours sleep at one time but fingers crossed he will start going longer soon.
We have a shocking nights sleep on the saturday night - I may have totalled about 4 hours and I feel severely wrecked on the Sunday. Not sure why but the baby boy is up every 2 hours to feed at 12, 2, 4, and 6am. Its a killer. Maybe its a growth spurt. And DD wakes up about 6am so thats it, our day has started early. I am desperate to get a nap but there doesnt seem to be an opportunity for one. We take DD to our friends birthday party in the afternoon - we all go as ours friends will be there too to chat to. (NCT group friends still going strong for 5 years now). DD has a lovely time and meets the boy she says she is going to marry. Obviously the perfect boy for marriage in her eyes will probably change when she is in her 20's. They crawl around the floor together pretending to be dogs and hide from their 'owners'. DD has met this little boy before as they are friends of friends but today they clicked for some reason. His mum & dad have recently had a baby girl so the age gap is similar - she is only a few weeks older than Alex. Can you believe at the tender age of 5, DD's husband-to -be comes up to me and asks for her email address?? So DD says, mum give him my email address. Honestly. So I say I say to her you don't have an email address, you are 5 years old, he then asks for her phone number. Well actually I already have his mums number because we chatted earlier and as we know each other vaguely already we arrange to meet up at some point. We have both found ourselves with a new baby at our age (40!!!) and suddenly not at work and at home with baby time to kill. DD talks about her new friend all the way home. Must be love.
On Monday 14th I meet a friend from work for lunch and we catch up which is good. Pret a manger yum - and Alex stays asleep which is a bonus. Then I dash to M&S to get the Valentines special dinner for £20. Except they have pretty much run out of everything so I just grab whatever looks nice. me & DH manage a very nice evening - both kids asleep by 7pm so we indulge in M&S finest and have some pink sparkly stuff.
On the Tuesday I manage to get a last minute appointment for Alex at a Cranial Osteopath. He is sleeping like a baby ( pardon the pun) in the car but when we arrive at the (very peaceful) holistic treatment centre he opens one eye and starts bawling and rooting for milk even though I fed him before I left home. Despite rocking him he bawls and bawls. Its difficult because my appt is in 5 minutes so what do I do? Let him cry or risk being late for my appt cos he is clamped to the boob?? Anyway after another minute I can't let him cry anymore so I feed him in the reception. He is slightly pacified after a few mins and thankfully she is running a bit late so I have time. She asks lots of questions so she can fill in some details. He is still crying but when she takes him from me he starts to calm down,. Maybe she is some kind of horse whisperer for babies. Its £38 for the first appt and at first I wonder what the hell I am paying for. All she is doing is sort of stroking and tapping his head so gently you can barely feel it. Then she looks at my forehead and then wants to see a photo of DH too so she can look at his head shape. Jesus, does she think Alex's head is made from clay and she is going to mould it the right way I wonder. No she just wants to see how his skull bones should look she says like she must have read my mind. When she is done she takes a photo and compares it to the one she took at the beginning. Bloody hell, there is actually a difference. Come back in 3 weeks for a bit more. She warns me that he might feed a lot more than usual for the rest of the day - the procedure generally makes babies more hungry. She is right too, I have just paid the bill at reception and he is crying for milk already so I have to feed him before I even get out of the door. And when we get home he then feeds approx every 30 minutes until bedtime and cries inbetween. So unlike him as he is generally a very placid baby. He cries all the way to school in his pram when we walk to collect DD and then I have friends and kids around for tea after school. Thankfully they are happy to pitch in and help me get tea for the kids (we have taken it in turn each tuesday since they were babes) and rock Alex. The kids entertain themselves so no trouble really. I barely am producing enough milk to keep him happy because of the unexpected demand........
The nights start to get a bit better as the week goes on. And on Wednesday he sleeps virtually all day and night - praps the head doctor has helped with his sleep too. On Wednesday afternoon I meet the mum of Emma's new boyfriend (from the party) and we push the babies around the local forest walk. Its good to chat to someone with a new baby too and its a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Tea and cake at the coffee shop after too yum.
On Thursday its the last baby massage class and its a total disaster. Something crazy has happened to my milk. Its gone into some kind of mentalist overdrive and it is literally pouring out. Poor baby boy chokes, gags and splutters at every feed including at baby massage and he howls the place down, understandably. Turns out becasue I had to feed him millions of times after the cranial thing on Tuesday, my boobs now believe they are feeding triplets or something and the milk supply has increased too much. Mother nature is very clever really but in my case I don't need all this milk. I do have a breast pump but of course if I use it, they will produce even more. So we have a very stressful couple of days trying to feed without drowning the poor boy in milk. I get some advice from my friend who is the guru (in my opinion) of boob feeding and she helps me out with some info how to reduce supply. (Thank you - you know who you are!!!). In the meantime (and close your eyes if you are of sensitive nature) I actually have to hold each boob over the sink and hand express it - like milking a cow. I could bottle this stuff and sell it.........
All in the name of 'breast is best' for my little boy. The things you do for love eh?
Wish me luck - next week its half term.........gulp !!!
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