Coast trip - here we come

Today, we're heading down the coast to visit The Husband's grandparents for his granny's 75th birthday.

I am dreading it.

Not only because I don't like staying in other peoples houses, but because we're going to be juggling a very 'two year old' two year old.

Urggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh.

Drop 8, drop 7

This week, I only had a loss of half a kilo.

I've been doing quite well, with a lost of 7.9kg over 8 weeks, but with The Bubby starting to increase her solids (she had a full two teaspoons of farex quite easily today), I need to adjust my eating accordingly.

Time to farewell another 7 'points' from my daily allowance - unless it affects my milk supply/means I'm not eating enough, then I'll bring them back quicker than I can drink a red-eye!

One last step

So, the last step of the last post brings up an interesting point.

I definitely seem to drink more (often?) in the first year of my childrens lives.

Tuesday is my 'hump' day with both girls, and the day I am home alone with them for 12 hours most times (The Husband plays squash after work and gets home after 8). I'll get them both down and then kick off with a drink while I prepare dinner, sometimes a second with/after dinner (he plays computer games with friends on a Tuesday night too).

Thursday I have the gym and then cook dinner, so quite often there is a drink involved (I burn a number of points at the gym that I also have to 'eat', so a drink is a good way to do it).

Friday night = Friday night!

Saturday night = Saturday night!

Sunday night is the nigh before I kick off on three days at home with the girls.

I'm not drinking every night (not even five nights a week usually!) and I can only have two at the most before it's all a bit much.

But should I really need to 'medicate' with alcohol just because I'm living my life?

Tea (time) for two

I always wondered how I would go juggling two babies at the end of the day. Night time is already the hardest part of being a parent of one, what with the tired/cranky child, juggling their dinner (and yours if you're feeling adventurous), bath, stories and bed.

My strategy mostly came down to waiting until The Husband was home and then we'd deal with one each. But that doesn't always work (he's often still at work or sport at this time).

But, we've got in to a bit of a groove (and it seemed I learnt nothing from not having The Toddler in a routine earlier, only really starting this at four months!).

 - Feed The Bubby while The Toddler eats dinner (leftovers from the night before) and usually watches tv (it stops her running around making mess and it's surprisingly effective to pause it until she takes a bite)
 - Bring The Bubby in her rocker to the entrance of the bathroom
 - Do The Toddlers hair, teeth and soap in the bath
 - Bring The Bubby in to the bath as well, let The Toddler pour water on her belly ("good helping!")
 - Nappy and onesie on The Bubby while The Toddler continues to much around
 - The Bubby back in the rocker while The Toddler gets dressed/does a nudie run
 - Stories for both girls in The Toddlers room
 - Put The Bubby in her sleeping bag, give her a top up feed and put her in to bassinet
 - Drink.

Bassinet

The Bubby is still sleeping in our room in her bassinet. It's not much hassle at all as she is a pretty good sleeper, and we're getting used to getting our stuff ready in the dark at night (it's also a good reason to keep our room tidy because it's easier to find stuff / not trip over things if I've made the bed, put pyjamas under pillows and cleared The Husbands giant uggboots out of the way).

I have a friend who was going to take the bassinet off our hands (no more babies = no more need for bassinet) and it has been getting closer to the date where she'll need to pick it up so she has it before the baby arrives.

And I've been pushing it back as long as I could so that we can minimise disturbances to our pattern of sleeping (most nights) from 8pm-4am in case it changed once we moved her in to her cot. And I think she needs some curtains in her room as there is gaps all around the pull down blind that I think will wake her when the sun is up.

So it was with some relief that I found out my friend has organised a different bassinet.

Looks like we'll have a roommate for a little longer!

Hullo little person

I brought home a little block of Lindt chocolate for The Husband when I realised I was gone longer than expected when catching up with my friends.

I walked in the door and The Toddler greeted me with "Hello mummy! Ta?".

I passed her the box and asked her what it was. "Chocolate!".
(I didn't think she would know)
Then she asked "What does that say?", pointing to the label.

"Lindt."
"Lindt" she repeated, as she carried it in to the other room.

Gosh, she's growing.

Normal

Continuing my weekend of awesome, I headed out for coffee and cake this afternoon with my best friends.

And before I knew it, it was three hours later.

It felt so normal to be there. I wasn't the harried or grumpy or tired mum I can be. I wasn't the odd one out juggling a baby and fussing on her and constantly being distracted. I wasn't trying to keep eyes on The Toddler and having to make my apologies and leave early because there is no way she would even sit still at 10 minutes, let alone three hours.

I was just good, old, normal me.

When I realised the time I dashed home, freaking that I was going to walk in to find a hungry Bubby, a whingy Toddler and an exasperated Husband. Instead, I got a smiley baby (four hours since her last feed and no whinging - I love her!), a cheery toddler, and a Husband who wasn't even worried I was 'late'.

Fantastic.

Sunshine

What a difference a sleep in makes!

This morning, I got the chance to wake up at 9:30 (after a 5:30 feed and an interruption at 7am while The Husband got up and got The Toddler dressed, then came in to get the stirring Bubby).

To make it even better - a plate of pikelets waiting for me.

Then? The Toddler napped for three hours. That has NEVER happened before.

Not to mention that the sun has started to change into it's spring outfit, so it was almost tshirt weather.

I remember these sorts of days from when The Toddler was a baby. The change in seasons makes so much more of a difference than I ever realised.

Myrtle

The Bubby doesn't really have a nickname - her name doesn't really shorten to anything.

But at the moment, she is my little 'Myrtle'.

She has more of a neck than The Toddler did, and she peers around and out of her baby carrier, her little turtle neck and her big eyes (and her cradle capped scaly head now that I think of it!).

Gorgeous, happy, baby Myrtle turtle.

How

I had one of those moments.

Those moments where you realise somehow, you've ended up alone in a house with a toddler and a baby, chopping watermelon with a big persons knife, and being the authority on whether they can have more or should have yoghurt; whether they can watch 'just one more' Peppa Pig; what time they should eat and bathe and go to bed.

Just me in the house.

Stories

The Toddlers imagination is working, working, working.

The other morning when I went in to her room to get her dressed for the day, she gave me the following story.

"Hi mummy! Doggy! Doggy! What's that noise? Doggy barking! Come see!"

She led me over to the arm chair and pulled the curtains.

"Doggy! There!"

I couldn't see it so I asked her where it was.

"Doggy front door!"

The dog's at the front door is it? What colour is it?

"White!".

Can you still see it?

"Yes!".

There was no dog. Maybe there was? But it's crazy that she's coming up with / finding ways to vocalise these things.

Trust

Last night, I was bathing The Toddler and noticed something red in the corner of her eye - the eye that she had scratched at daycare last week. When I asked if it was sore, she said no. When I asked if it was itchy, she said no, and pointed to the eczema on her back and said 'just that'. I couldn't get it out with a facewasher or water.

I googled sty's and eye infections while The Husband dressed her for bed, and I drafted a post in one of my online mothers group asking what they would do. Then I deleted it because I knew the answer would be to take her to the doctor in the morning if I was worried.

Then the husband brought her out so I could do her stories ("mummy do it!") and I noticed the piece of bright red cotton on her cheek, no longer in her eye.

*****

Then it was 9pm and the baby had only fed four times - 6am, 8am, 12pm and 4pm. She had slept most of the afternoon away and I wasn't sure what I should do. I drafted another post in the online group, but then deleted it when I realised I would have replied to myself with 'wake her and feed her if you're worried'.

When I woke her at 930 her nappy was dry, but she fed fine and was otherwise herself. She woke again at 4 for a feed, and 6 for half a feed and a cuddle in bed while we waited for The Toddler to wake up.

*****

I'm so quick to ask for reassurance, that I often forget to check with myself first.

Four month needles

Another few weeks pass, another round of needles required.

The poor little petal did better than last time, but it is just. so. sad.

Because she isn't much of a crier, when she cries out in pain, she really makes you feel it.

She also decided to spit out most of the oral immunisation, so hopefully she is still covered (the nurse was suctioning the spit off her chin to give back to her!).

Contrast

From one extreme to the other!

The Toddler was in bed, asleep, before 8pm last night.

After The Bubby woke at 1am, 4am and 6am (yes, seriously. No, I'm not impressed), I went in to The Toddlers room at 730 to see what was happening.

And I couldn't see her.

After a moment of shock I headed around and found her on the floor. On her belly. With her head at the opposite end to where the pillow was.

I called out and told her it was time to wake up - no response.
I tickled her back - no response.
I told her again - no response.

She was warm and breathing, but I could feel myself starting to panic.

I got The Husband in and he joined in too - scratching her back, touching her cheek, talking to her, telling her to wake up.

And just before I got to panicky, shrill demaning she wake up - she woke up.

She sat straight up, looked at the window in her room, declared it was day time and asked to go play.

We're not sure if she climbed out or fell out, but the bed rail was shifted away from the bed a bit, so it's more likely she fell. I'm just really surprised she did it without making any noise / waking up!

I had forgotten how heavy a sleeper she can be, and how hard she was to wake up when I needed her to (like for daycare).

Interstate

URGH.

Travelling with The Toddler has brought on a whole new level of extreme.

Visiting my brother in Wagga, we had to book an apartment with a seperate room for The Toddler, knowing she would need a bed and hasn't slept with us in ours since she was a baby.

So she didn't get to sleep until after 10.30pm.

Then she woke at 430am when The Bubby was feeding in our room. And she wouldn't stay in her room (she could open the handles) and wouldn't let The Husband settle her, so I spent two hours laying in the second bed in her room telling her to lay down and sleep - we had left a light on in the lounge so if she got up and tried to find us she could see, rather than freaking out in the dark. Instead, this light made her think it was day time, and not go-the-eff-back-to-sleep time.

She then gave me a 45 minute sleep before raring to start the day. And then she napped three seperate times in the car during the day.

I've already been called out a few times on being short with her, but I gotta tell you, on such little sleep for such stupid (to me) reasons, I'm not going to apologise to anyone.

Shedding

I am now below the weight I was when I fell pregnant with The Bubby - the current 5kg block I am working off is the 5kg I kept after I fell pregnant with The Toddler.

Then, it will be the 5kg I kept after getting married.

Then we'll see where we go from there!

Of course, it didn't help to have The Toddler point to my muffin top while I was feeding The Bubby and proudly declare "Big bottom! Big bottom mummy!".

Wednesdays

Wednesdays are more than just a hump day to me - they are the day before The Toddlers two days in daycare, the last of three days home alone with my two girls.

Wednesday night is a thrill - I am ready to get out of the house at 6pm on the dot to take the girls to family tea with The Husbands family. It's actually a joy for us all, with The Toddler having a bunch of adult friends to play with (making everyone pretend to sleep, play hide and seek, offer them tea, steal their chairs), The Bubby getting laughs and cuddles from extended family, and I get to kick back and relax a little and catch up with adults.

I must say though, after having The Toddler for the weekend, I did notice that some of the family are sounding more and more like me when speaking to her when she's playing up/being trying - a nice little affirmation (in a way) that being worn down is not something that just happens to me.

Good baby

Well.

Today I heard a baby cry that went from nothing to soudning like a shrill baby monkey having it's tail pulled off.

I am so, so, so lucky.

Solids

It's begun.

At mothers group this morning, we were talking about solids a bit. I mentioned I'd been thinking about starting as The Bubby is putting things in her mouth and interested in our food. To illustrate/test it out, I gave her some pear in a mesh sack.

She LOVED it.

I tried her with farex just after her feed at lunch time, and I'm not sure if she ate much of it. She pushed some out with her tongue, but it wasn't an instant reflex thing - the tongue push can be a sign that they're not ready. I plan to try again tomorrow to see how she goes with it, I think she'll get in to it.

The last tricky thing is whether or not I have to reduce the amount of food that I eat now that she is on solids, if she is actually 'on solids'!

480 minutes

It happened!! 8 hours of sleep!!!

I was wiped after our Sydney trip and in bed before 9. Then I finished the episode of Glee I had been watching the night before, and started a new one before I knew I was just too tired.

I heard The Bubby stirring and decided to wait and see if she would settle herself, rather than getting up to feed her. When she started to chatter, I decided it would be better to get up and feed her and go back to sleep rather than have her wake The Toddler (the night before she stirred at 4am but I waited and she went back to sleep for two hours).

It was 6:30am.

Fantastic!

That said, I didn't feel like a whole new person or anything - I guess I'll always just wake up feeling a little tired.

Sydney

We spent the weekend in Sydney with The Bubby, while The Toddler stayed with her Nanny and Bumpa (so that The Husband could run the City2Surf).

We were able to manage her a whole lot easier than I remember - it just goes to show how much more relaxed we are this time.

I fed her before we left, at Sutton forest, in the carpark of the hotel, after we went out for (an amazingly delicious!) dinner, at 6am, in the parents room of the fancy Westfield, in the parents room of Bondi Westfield, in the carpark of the hotel, at Sutton forest and back at home.

She spent the whole time sleeping or chilling in the Ergo, or chatting to The Husband - she is really interacting more, squealing and yelling at him after he tickles her so that he'll do it again.

We also got a few picture messages from The Husbands parents - it's amazing how much more grown up she looks in pictures when she's not there with you. She seems to have had a really fun time, we're lucky to have people who are willing and excited about looking after her when we need help.

Separation

I know that it's not until six - nine months that a baby realises they are separate, but more and more recently I have noticed The Bubby getting upset when she is with someone new.

It's like as soon as she realises I am not the one holding her, she gets upset.

It could be coincidence, but it's also nice to be the one that can sooth her.

Belt up

I ducked back in to the physio today to get a pelvis belt.

Super sexy.

Not.

It's a stretchy band that I have to wear on my hips, with a padded piece at the front, where I do up the buttons on my pants. It's also really good at sucking in some of my fat, so you can see a big indent all around me.

I have to wear it all waking hours for two weeks, and then just when I'm lifting/pushing/exercising for another two weeks - it is physically pulling my two sides of my pelvis together.

I had thought that a lot of my discomfort/difficulty moving just came from being bigger than I have when not pregnant (5.5kg down, 10 to go!) but when the physio would physically push on my pelvis I could feel how much better it felt.

I really hope this is the last chapter of this...

New car

Today I picked up our mummy wagon.

I. LOVE. IT.

So much room inside! No more being kicked in the back by The Toddler! Boot space! Clean! Easy to get in and out of!

And because it has stuff like a pearl finish, CD stacker, MP3 player, audio input etc, I feel like a cool mum.

I'm sure that exists...

Growing

We had a mothers group meetup again yesterday, this time at one of my works friends' house that has an almost 3 year old.

Apparently, the girl was very excited about us coming to visit, and had been talking to her mum all morning about it.

When we arrived, she took The Toddler by the hand to go play in her room.

And she did.

It's a gradual shift, but a startling change - she is now able to play with others, rather than just near or tolerating them. Of course, she still does her own thing and changes at a whim, but it's happening.

Stop counting!

Based on that previous nights sleep, I went to bed at 9pm on Sunday night and got to sleep at 1030.

The Bubby woke up 6am (and I stirred at 1am, 4am, 5am and up at 6am).

Feeling cocky, last night I went to sleep just before 11:30.
The Bubby woke at 2am, 5am and 8am (The Husband got up to The Toddler at 630).

Ugh. No more double wake nights, please!!

Counting

I know 'they' tell you not to work it out, but had I gone to bed at 10pm (my normal time) rather than 12:30am (after going to the movies) I would have had a full 8 hours sleep...

Home alone

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I was briefly home alone.

Between getting home from the gym and heading out to meet The Husband and the girls at the markets, it was just me and the little dog.

So I pumped the bedroom speakers as loud as I could, showered with the door open and sang my lungs out (sorry neighbours!).

The house did feel empty though. And I found myself looking forward to that moment where my girls would see me with them.

Sweet

The Bubby was laying back on our bed while we got ready to watch the Brumbies play in the final at the club - The Toddler was going to hang out with Nanny and The Bubby was going to come with us.

The Bubby had just fed (an hour ealier than I expected) and was tired and whingey. When I am home alone and getting ready, there are times that she is just left to cry. It's never long, and it's never on the odd occassion that she actually gets distressed, but just at times when things need to be done.

The Husband came in to pick her up, and she stopped straight away. In typical fashion, he wasn't ready yet and it was dangerously near the time that we were meant to be arriving at his parents house, so I gave him the hustle-hustle and he put her back down.

And she started whinging again.

And then The Toddler came in, sat on the bed next to her and stroked her hair, telling her it was okay.

And The Bubby stopped whinging. And started laughing.

I do hope these moments continue well into the time they are both able to remember. They clearly adore each other.

Bang! Boom! Body!

I've been doing Weight Watchers now for a month and I've lost 4.4kg.

I feel better. I have more energy. I am cooking better meals for myself and my family. I look forward to getting out and getting to the gym (and yes, to 'letting' the husband experience an hour or so twice a week as the stay-at-home parent). I wore leggings to the gym for the first time ever. I am thinking about what goes in my mouth rather than just obsessing and craving all the 'bad' food I can get my hands on.

I'm now about the weight I was when I fell pregnant with The Bubby. Which is five more than when I fell pregnant with The Toddler. Which is another five more than my preferred weight. Which is also a few above an awesome (but not really sustainable) weight.

But, while I am back in my 'normal' size and even have a few of those falling down, my shape is nothing like it was before. My stomach is in terrible shape, and the fact that my pelvis is still (STILL!) slipping out (both forward and up/down) is a bit of a pain in the butt (and the pelvis). I don't remember being this barrelly before I fell pregnant the second time, but I could have just been in denial.

Additionally, I get an extra 14 points while The Bubby is fully exclusively breastfed. That cuts down to 7 once she starts solids. We were planning to start The Bubby on solids at exactly 4 months like we did with The Toddler, but while I know she is watching us eat, I am not sure her neck control (see the previous post!) is where it needs to be. I've got a bit over a week to think about it, but we'll see how it goes.

But it feels great to be out and healthy.

It feels great to be living like an adult.

Blood nose

The other night, I was administering saline spray up The Bubby's nose, as per usual - I have been doing this almost every feed, especially overnight, as she is often sounding stuffy.

Unfortunately, not as per usual, she decided to throw her head around in that newborn fashion while I was spraying up her nose.

Ouch.

She screamed, and cried, and I started feeding her and she settled.

But there was blood on her nose, on her cheek and on me.

I felt so terrible - she was upset for less than a minute, but it turned my stomach to see her covered in blood. There were moments where I wouldn't have been surprised if I was about to be sick. Heartbreaking and stomach wrenching, my poor sweetheart.

She was fine the next morning, and there was just one snottie that had old blood on it. But I'm only using the spray when totally necessary from now on.