nixter gets so much satisfaction when....

....she gets the big boogers out of her sons nose and he can breath more easily!! Bring on the Boogers!

Our little man telling a story!

i photo-boothed my son!

and just to prove he is really a cute little boy - here is a normal one of him with his Mamma!

bullets

• been busy
• more blood tests
• tests have varied considerably over the last 2 weeks
• going to endocrinologist tomorrow for more news
• looks like it's Hashimoto's disease (NOT a Japanese restaurant apparently )
• doc not even sure if I will need meds but will find out tomorrow
• feeling ok about it as I know it can be managed
• miss my family
• wish I had them around to help, to visit or to just talk too
• feel like we are doing it alone
• being a mamma is wonderful but it can be lonely
• managed to do the house work by myself last week
• managed to do the weekly food shop yesterday
• had 'A' in the baby bjorn
• shopping not as easy as it used to be
• might get SP to keep helping me until 'A' can sit in the trolley seat
• have a new respect for women with more than one child
• 'A' is 12 weeks this Thurs
• he has slept 11 hours the last two nights
• up until then he had been sleeping 9-10 hours
• feel like a very lucky mamma
• day sleeping not going so well unless I am rocking or walking
• although he is asleep now
• trying to keep him up a bit longer between feeds to see if that works
  
• I guess you can't have it all!
• he is now 6.5kgs (14lb 3oz)
• he looks more like a 6 month old
• went to visit SP's family in Canberra
• we have a new nephew called Jamal David
• he is cute
• my little man slept all 3 1/2 hours on the drive down there
• but didn't sleep all the way back
• got a bit grumpy about an hour out of Sydney but we made it home in one piece
• I was a bit sad cause I knew he was hungry but there was nowhere to stop
• but I don't think he was going to waste away
• he is now down to 5 feeds a day - yippee
• reading 'Changing Your World One Diaper (nappy ) at a Time!
• L.O.V.I.N.G it
• so relevant
• better reading it the second time after actually having a baby
• I think I might be quoted in it - unless that was some other chick who lives in Australia and has family in England?
• I love that I know so many of the girls who are in the book.
  
• that Marla chick sure knows what she is talking about
• blogging still sporadic and still haven't been able to catch up on all your blogs
• maybe if 'A' sleeps better in the day I will have time until then I will be thinking of you all
• hope you all have a great day

more pics

Here are a few new pics of my little man - he is growing soooooooo much and sooo fast. He has slowed down a bit which is good, otherwise he would be bigger than me in a few months.

The pic of Oliver with the little girl (Amelia with her dolly 'Lucy') is too funny - I guess he just isn't into girls at the moment (I guess that by the punch to the face). Amelia is so little and dainty at 6 months next to my big man who is just 10 weeks. He is actually bigger than she is - but she is a little 6 month-er!

living in a hot country means.....

...you must wear your sunhat and sunnies whilst doing a high five at all times, and when you are old enough sunscreen!

Slip, Slap, Slop or whatever it is!

some things I have learnt/am learning

Soooooo the last 9.4 weeks of my life have changed considerably with the arrival of our little man, who I love to pieces but who has taken me on a roller coaster of emotions, worries, joys, laughs and cries!


So here are some things I have learnt:

- Having a baby is hard but rewarding work.

- Watching my baby do things for the first time, such as smile, giggle and talk (or should I say coo) are priceless! (No, this is not an add for Mastercard!)

- I don't have as much patience as I thought I would have.

- Hearing my own baby cry is hard!

- It's ok to let my baby cry a bit - it's not always easy but it's ok (as least in my opinion).

- Cuddling my little one is one of the best things ever.

- I didn't realise how much a little person could steal your heart.

- I have tried to get out and about since we brought the little man home - even though it can seem daunting at the times, it's worth it and helps my state of mind.

- Less sleep = emotional tired Mum.

- More sleep = happy Mum. Thankfully I am getting a lot more of this at the moment ;)

- Taking naps in the day is important and makes me feel much better.

- Going for walks when I am at the end of my tether helps the body and the mind.

- It's ok to let my housework slip - even though SP and I do it on the weekends I don't bust a gut to get it done during the week - not yet anyway.

- Being a 'Mum' is a spin-out.

- EVERYONE has advice on parenting - some good, some not so good, some confusing and a LOT contradictory.

- Because of above I have learnt to trust my God given instincts and to ask people I trust for advice. Otherwise it is too overwhelming and you can stop trusting yourself and end up in a sea of advice not knowing which bits to listen too and which bits to ignore!

- It is possible to capture lots of great moments on camera and video. You may have guessed that if you have seen my previous posts and my Facebook page.....

- It's possible to miss lots of great looks and moments so I have my camera/video ready at all times ;)

- I like routine and I try to have a plan, but if it doesn't work out I am learning to go with the flow a bit more.

- An overtired boy is much harder to get to sleep.

- Consistency seems to work - at the moment anyway.

- Once I think I have something 'down' it can very well change the next week - and I have a feeling this will be life with a baby/child!

- I didn't think it would be possible to love my little man more and more each day - but I do!

I am sure there is a lot more than this I have learnt but this is it so far! We are learning together - let's not forget that life on the 'outside' ain't easy and takes a bit to get used too!

elvis* has left the bath!

* I don't think Elvis had a goatee but hey ho - he should have!

my little heart breaker....

help! and pics

I need help! but first look at how adorable my little boy is:


My darling precious baby boy whom I love to bits and who is almost 8 weeks old is driving me nuts when it's nap time and (sometimes) bedtime!

I feed him and have play time with him so he is up for about an hour and a half and then I normally rock him for a bit until he is sleepy and then I put him down - he then might lay there for a little bit and he looks sleepy and then not long later he starts crying! Occasionally he will go straight to sleep but more often than not he cries. So this morning it took me almost an hour to settle him - I let him cry for a little while but he got so hot and sweaty and upset that then I feel bad for leaving him. I ended up just going in and rocking him for a while and then put him down and now he is asleep. I really want him to learn to settle but maybe I am expecting too much too early but he seems to have gotten worse with going to sleep in the last 2 weeks.

Then when I finally get him to sleep he wakes up exactly 45 mins later! Then I try patting him and giving him a dummy but it doesn't work! Oh what to do what to do!

I thought I would have more patience for this kind of thing than I do - I am surprised at myself for how frustrated I get, which I am sure doesn't help!

Anyhoo - he isn't a whiny baby it's just at sleep time I am not sure what to do with him and it takes me longer to get him to sleep than how long he is actually asleep! I feel like not fighting it but then he just gets over-tired and I want to try to do the best thing by him. I am sure this is normal I just don't know what else to try - do I keep him up longer or for less time/ do I let him cry more/ do I just get him up even though I know he is tired/ do I rock him to sleep (which I don't really want to have to do)! You get so much conflicting advice so you end up not knowing what to do and which advice to take. I have been reading Babywise which has some good advice but I am not taking it all on board - and in an ideal world when you have fed and played with baby - baby does go for a nap but it's not as easy as that!

Any advice?

my little geezer

more pics

more pics of our little man

It's a BOY !!!

This is Ruth posting to let you all know that:

Nixter had a gorgeous baby boy:

He was born:

Thursday, 18th December, 12:17a.m

Weighing 3.4kg (7.9lbs)

Length 52cm.

'A' a bit jaundiced currently under uv, but very well.

Nixter, the amazing - gave birth DRUG FREE !!!

Nixter and SP are enjoying him immensely, and are very thankful to finally meet him face to face!

39 week appt

So I had my 39 week appt today at the ob. The baby still hasn't really engaged, he thinks Squiggly may be slightly lower down than before but not that much.

Also the ob thinks that this is a big baby which he had already told me last week but he said today that Squigs isn't smaller than 4kg (8.8lbs) so tomorrow I have to go and have a ultrasound to see how big the baby actually is which will help make the decision about what we do about birth. The ob is keen to allow me to try to go through labour naturally (which I think nowadays isn't as common, he said a lot of ob's would be gearing me up for a c-section already) but depending on how big the baby is may depend on how we go and how long he let's me try to labour naturally considering the size and the bub and the fact he is still not engaged.

I am a little disappointed and it's started me thinking through the real possibility of having this little man by c-section. BUT you never know, I have a week to go til my due date, the ob just wants to have all the info so he is better informed to help me make the right decision which will keep me and the big huge baby growing in me safe.

I will let you know how the ultrasound goes tomorrow. It will be fun to see Squigs on the big screen again.

At least the little (or not so little one) is growing healthy which is a good thing! Praise God for that.

Anyhoo - I will keep you posted but prayers for a natural birth would be great and appreciated.

naughty squiggly ;)

Squiggly is already being a little bit naughty - I went for my 38 week check up on Monday and even though last week the little one was a little bit in the pelvis, it seems that this week they have retreated and they are still a fair way off engaging! There is still a whole lot more to do between now and next Monday. Also I have been told Squiggly is 'AT LEAST' 8lbs - OH MY GOODNESS - they are going to be huge!

The OB wants to give me an opportunity to see if Squiggly has engaged by next Monday (39 weeks) but if not the chances of me having this little one naturally are very slim! So then we will have to think about a c-section which I didn't really want to have! But there is still a week to go right! So they might drop down between now and then and if not I could have a little one in a week and a half - my OB does c-sections at 39 to 39 1/2 weeks. WOW!

Please pray that Squiggly drops down before next Monday, it can happen over night so it's not impossible but it's not looking all that good. I really want to be able to have a natural birth and I know the recovery with a c-section is longer and tougher and I was hoping to avoid that with my Mum and Jules coming out in just a few weeks. BUT as long as we have a safe and healthy delivery/baby - that's the main thing. But if you think about it pray Squiggly gets their head into gear.

3 weeks to go!

I can't believe I have 3 weeks to go until we will hopefully have our little one with us, I would totally love it if they came a week early, that would just work out so perfectly and give me a couple of weeks til my Mum and her partner arrive and until Christmas arrives.

Anyhoo, it's not in my hands so I need to be patient and see what happens, I have a feeling I will be going over my due date and if so that's OK too - this little one will come when they are ready and so long as they come out all healthy and well then they can come out whenever they want - even Christmas day if they must, BUT the ob told me I would definitely have a baby by Christmas so I don't think he will deliver me on Christmas day - phew. Plus they aren't fully engaged yet, the little lazy bones, the ob thinks they may have dropped down a teeny bit but still not enough - we will see what happens in the next 2 weeks and go from there.

In other news I am in my 4th week of being a 'stay-at-home-mum-to-be' and I am quite enjoying it. It's hard to do a lot as I am pregnant and things are harder to do so some of the things on my list of jobs while I am off are probably not going to get done!

I have done a few things though:

- Sent off my British passport to change my name to my married name.
- Cleaned most of my kitchen cupboards out.
- Cleaned the HUGE mirrors on our wardrobe in the bedroom.
- Cleaned the fridge and freezer.
- Painted some canvas' for the nursery.
- Got the nursery all finished and set up - pics to follow.
- Picked up some last minute bits for Squiggly.
- Then the usual housework which I now try and split over a couple of days otherwise I get too tired.
- Thank you cards from my baby shower.

Can you say N.E.S.T.I.N.G!

Things I still want to get done.

- Clean the oven (SP is going to help me with this one) - don't you think this one is a man's job?
- Look up verses in the bible of parenting - I think I might do this one today!
- Clean blinds.
- Clean windows.
- Wash cars (SP will be doing this job although he kindly suggested I strap some sponges to my belly and clean the car like that!), I kindly suggested something else - which didn't involve my belly, me or cleaning the cars!
- Organise Christmas presents.

Anyhoo, I think some of the above will require SPs help and if they don't get done it really doesn't matter too much!

I am so excited to meet out little one - I can't wait to see who they look like and how big they are and see their little face. I had my ob checkup on Monday and got to see a face on the ultrasound but it's not the same - to see their face in real life will be something else! All looks well on the pre-eclampsia front, my blood pressure and urine are A OK so it doesn't look like I am following in my Mum's footsteps but continued prayers are always appreciated.

Well, I should stop babbling for now and will keep you all posted!

time to update

Well, I have just started my third week off since finishing work and I have not even sat down to blog or read blogs - you would have thought I would have soooooo much time to sit, read and write, which I kind of do but I have just been doing other things with my time. And with an impending arrival that kind of takes a lot of your thoughts and energy, particularly at this stage.

I am officially 36 weeks tomorrow and had my 36 weeks check-up today and all is well with little Squiggly other than they have decided not to engage into the pelvis yet. This is meant to happen at about 36-37 weeks, the OB is hoping Squiggly engages soon but isn't too worried at this stage - I guess if I get to 39 weeks and Squiggly is still not engaged then we will need to chat about what to do! From now on I go tot he OB every week so at least we will be keeping a good regular check up.

Today I got to see our little ones face for the first time in a while - saw a nose, eyes and little cheeks it's hard to see everything now as I have one big baby inside me. At this point baby is about 2.7kg (5.5lbs) and measures about 45cms ish. No wonder I have trouble breathing sometimes!

Anyways - I thought it was time for an update. Will try and knock out a few more this week too in my free time ;)

almost an expert ;)

Last week SP and I went to the first of two antenatal days.

This past Saturday was on Childbirth and included info on the hospital, labour, pain relief and the actual birth plus what happens while you are in hospital for 4 days and 4 nights.

We listed all the questions that we wanted answered over the course of the day.

It was helpful and daunting - it made me think through some things I hadn't even considered, particularly about labour, what to do during labour and pain relief. We also got to see some videos - nice! It certainly doesn't look like a picnic but when I look down at my belly I think "Well you have to come out one way or another, neither is particularly appealing but let's suck it up and get it on".

I am at the stage where everything is getting a little harder, I am quite big now (one lady at Myer asked me yesterday when I was due and said 'I don't think you will go that long!' Gee thanks lady! Are you saying my bump looks big in this?) And I am also desperate to meet the little one inside me who wiggles so so so much!

Tomorrow is our final class before I become an 'expert' ;) Joking I am far far from being an expert! This day is spent looking at parenting, I have read one book called 'Babywise' on parenting and routines etc but that is the only book other than the 'Up The Duff' book I have read.

So it should be another fascinating day of learning more about parenthood. I am excited but scared about the whole thing - not the class but the actually having a baby. I love kids and have been told I am good with them but actually having your own is a whole different ball game that I am just trying to get my head around.

Despite the fears and apprehension - I can't wait! Just over 6 weeks to go!

2 more days to go!

I can hardly believe that I only have 2 more days of work until I finish!

I am totally ready as this traveling in on the bus thing is getting a bit old, especially when it's really hot, you have a very large bump and there is NO air conditioning = not fun! Plus I am starting to find everything that bit harder now so I am a lot slower and get tired a little easier, although the tired thing hasn't really been too much of a problem for me which has been good!

At the same time it is a really strange feeling that my 'working' life is coming to an end for a while. Don't get me wrong I am not sad about leaving I am actually relieved and feel ready to leave. I am so looking forward to being a Mummy even though it is all very unknown. we are preparing for a baby but don't yet have the baby in our hands to care for. It's wondering what life will be like and knowing that I am only going to be able to answer that question when Squiggly arrives.

I can't wait to meet Baby Powell, to see what they look like, who they look like - will they have my ears or SP's ears? will they have red hair or blonde hair?

Seven weeks seems like a very long time to wait to meet this little one but I am going to look forward to the 6 weeks off before Squiggly enters this world.

Any suggestions on what I can do with my time once I finish up?

I do have a list of projects I am hoping to do while I am off and also a few friends I would love to catch up with, but suggestions are welcome.