Thursday, June 30, 2005
picture perfect
Why you should never work with animals and children.
Jack and his daddy.
Monkey toes!
"GAH! Paparazzi!!"
Friday, June 24, 2005
let's hear it for the boy
Much joy and congratulations to the lovely Ms. Tilly Mint on the birth of Kendal Oliver Hands (pictures on her site - go see!). Tch, I've gone all weepy. Not broody, mind you - just weepy. He's just so adorable. *sniffle*
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
soon he'll be borrowing my car keys
Jack Jack (which has been his nickname since we saw "The Incredibles") is four months old today! He is currently celebrating this exciting milestone by sprawling on his back and snoring. Par-tay!
Attention UK mums: I got some fantastic deals on baby clothes at Sainsburys yesterday, but I'm not sure if this is specific to our shop or if it's a chain-wide sale. I got 7 short-sleeved sleepsuits for £4.50 and two pairs of shorts for £2.50. What's more, the sleepsuits aren't all blue! It's always a thrill when I find non-blue boy clothes - out of 7 sleepsuits, only one is blue. The rest are white, green, or multicoloured stripes with various prints on them.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
a bit o' this, a bit o' that
When pregnancy books mentioned that your hair may fall out after you have a baby, I thought they meant in the first few weeks after giving birth, not four months later. Seriously, I'm turning into Kojak here. Little tumbleweeds of black hair drift around the house, and every day I pull long black hairs out of the clenched fists of my son. On the plus side, molting for the summer helps keep my head cool.
I ordered a high chair for Jack yesterday so that he can get used to sitting in it and can join us at mealtimes. It can adjust to any height and the seat has three reclining positions with a safety harness, so it'll be good for him. Most highchairs are positioned too far upright for little ones who are still a bit wobbly when sitting. At the moment, the only places we can leave Jack are either low on the floor or in his cot, so he's not able to see much when we eat. He peers up at us with his big brown eyes, wondering what's happening on top the big flat thing that's high up off the ground. It'll be nice to give him an alternative view for a change.
His latest development is clutching on to things with his legs and feet, like a little monkey. He's been kicking at his toys for the past couple of weeks, but now he also grasps on to me with his legs and wraps his feet around my arm when I stroke his tummy. When I greet him in the mornings and rub his belly, his hands grasp mine and his legs wrap around my arm while he giggles like a loon. I never liked mornings until I had moments like this to look forward to.
Newsflash: Jack has just rolled over completely on to his tummy! Whee!
Monday, June 20, 2005
show-off
This weekend, Jack showed us that he can...
...hold his head up high when he's lying on his tummy...
...and roll over!
What a clever little man he is. Unfortunately, he has problems rolling on to his back so once he's rolled forward, much crying ensues. It's a bit like a turtle on its back, but in reverse. Bless him.
On his very first Father's Day, Paul got lots of cards, a mug we made with Heather and Rebecca at Glaze to Amaze that has Jack's footprints (and one handprint) on it, a picture of Jack being very cute for daddy's desk at work, and we had a fun family day out at the National Space Centre. We ended the day at the White Hart for supper, which was yummy but they really need to invest in air conditioning.
The health visitor came to see us today which was, as usual, not terribly useful although she is a nice lady. Jack now weighs 15 lbs. 2 oz. and I don't have Post Natal Depression, according to the 10 question survey I filled out. Which is nice. She said not to start him on solids until 17 weeks, I said I was going to wait a bit longer, and she was very supportive about that. Instead of going by the number of weeks to start him on solids (which is either 17 or 24, depending on who you ask), I'll go by signs that he's ready such as being able to hold his head steady, showing an interest in food, and being able to sit upright without being too wobbly. At the moment, I don't feel like he's ready. I think the day will come soon, though - he stares at me intently when I eat in front of him. So now I've got the dog and the baby staring at me when I eat, lucky me.
You can see pictures of our first family outing here.
Friday, June 17, 2005
i'm melllllltiiiiinnnnggg
You'd think that swimming classes would be a welcome relief when it's hot outside, however the pool we go to is very warm to accommodate little newborn bodies. This makes the entire pool area like a sauna; it hits you like a wall when you open the door. It was actually more of a relief to leave the building, and of course driving around with the air conditioning on full blast helps. We arrived early and the instructor helped me practice floating with Jack. At first he wasn't too keen on having water in his ears, but he soon relaxed and started smiling and babbling. The instructor gently held the back of Jack's head, while he floated peacefully on the water. Jack went underwater this class, which was met with mixed reactions: surprise, spluttering, and crying. I think that he's still unsure about the whole thing and vacillates between curiosity and grumpyness. On the plus side, the swimming mums were far friendlier than last time. The group was much smaller (I suppose the class was recently divided more equally between sessions) and some of the mums instigated conversations with me! My faith in mumkind is restored.
Right, and now for the week in summary (for those of you who care, which is likely only my mother).
On Tuesday, Jack had round 3 of his immunisations and I did it sans Paul. A bit scary, but it turned out fine - Jack gave an almighty scream when the shot went in, but was perfectly fine afterwards. Later, Jack got entertained by the osteopath while I got stuck with a bazillion needles. In the afternoon, we met up with the "celebrant" who will be doing our baby naming ceremony. She was really nice and I'm so looking forward to the ceremony.
On Wednesday, I met up with Heather in Cambridge for lunch and to pick up Paul's secret Father's Day present. Later, I went out to dinner with Heather, Melanie, Susan, and Julie for an evening of giggles and really great Chinese food. I love these girly nights - they keep me sane.
On Thursday, we swam and cried a little. Then daddy gave Jack a bath and all was right with the world.
Today, we went shopping and I got very sweaty. Jack spent the day being very grumpy (but still very, very cute).
Tomorrow, I've got an aromatherapy massage with the lovely lady who massaged me just before Jack was born. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
On Sunday, we're doing secret Father's Day things after I give Paul his secret Father's Day presents. Shhhh.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
age of enlightenment
"Hello, what's this?"
"I have found my purpose in life. The remote is mine! MINE!! Muhahahahaha!"
anniversary
One year ago today, I took my third First Response Early pregnancy test is as many days. The first day, the line was so faint, I was sure I was imagining it. The second day, it was still a faint shadow but there was definitely something there. Then by the third day (11 DPO for you ttc enthusiasts), the test looked like this:
After work that day, I hauled out the Big Gun. To my extreme delight and joy, it read:
How strange and fantastic to be able to remember that moment so vividly while having the end result of those pregnancy tests by my side. This has been, without a doubt, the best year of my life.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
i love my bumbo!
No, it's not a potty - it's a chair.
Friday, June 10, 2005
okay, you're all not that bad
We had a lovely afternoon with the NCT girls and babes, and I must admit that they are nothing like the snooty pool mums I was talking about yesterday. When I got out of hospital a couple of weeks before I was induced, they made me promise to tell them if I went in again so that they could bring me trashy magazines and keep me company. Unfortunately, when I went back in, most of them had either just given birth (and had more important priorities than entertaining me) or were coming in just as I was leaving - and to be honest, I wasn't really up to visitors anyway. But still, I know they would have popped by to cheer me up if they could.
I love seeing our babies together and being amazed by how similar they are. Little Lucy (who Jack was holding hands with...shhhh don't tell Silvia) just started swimming classes and blowing raspberries yesterday, too. I'm sure the two events aren't related. Lauren sounds exactly like Jack when she cries, and Hannah is almost exactly the same weight and length as Jack. Oh yes, and I should mention that Jack was the only boy in a room full of beautiful little girls, the lucky lad.
And finally, Sign You Are Turning Into a Lunatic Mother #247: When I made Jack's bottle this morning, I actually found myself singing "shake your bottle" to the tune of KC and the Sunshine Band's "shake your booty". And did this while shaking his bottle and dancing around. Help me.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
water baby
We had our first swimming class today and I absolutely loved it - and so did Jack, eventually. As I started getting into the pool, the guy leading the class came over to say hello. Jack took one look at him and started screaming, and spent the first couple of minutes of the class with his lower lip firmly jutting out (but no longer screaming, thankfully). As soon as the class started, Jack became quite interested in this new watery world, staring intently at the surface. He even became very interested in the formerly scary man leading the class and when he was supposed to be looking at mummy wriggling her fingers and making the water look fun, he was staring at the teacher doing it instead. We sang songs (you English sing "Rock a Bye Baby" to some other tune I've never heard of and you sing alternative lyrics to "Frere Jacques" that were new to me), swayed our babies back and forth, swam backwards with our babies in front of us, sang more songs, and some of the more "experienced" babies were dunked under the water. Apparently us newbies are doing that next week, which should be fun (or it'll end in tears).
One thing that I found disappointing was the complete disinterest of most of the mums in being sociable. This isn't to say that they were all calling me names and throwing things at me; most of them simply didn't respond to my attempts at being friendly. We were one of the last to get in the pool, so I greeted everyone with a smile and hello. Some smiled weakly, most ignored us. During the class, I was smiling and chatting to the other babies as their mums gave me a tight polite smile and kept to themselves. In the changing room afterwards I bade a cheerful goodbye to the ladies, and only got a reaction from one slightly startled looking woman (who didn't seem quite sure who I was talking to) who said "Oh! Bye." But at least she smiled. I understand that the English aren't big on chitchat and the "have a nice day" kind of mentality, which is fair enough - but man, how do you people make friends? Do you quietly ignore each other for a year and then send a written invitation to attend a luncheon? I am being facetious (I know many English women who were warm and friendly with me from the moment we met), but I do find there is a lack of the North American tendency to strike up a conversation with anyone, which I'm sure most Brits find annoying anyway. I'll just have to keep trying, I guess.
Regardless, it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to next week. In unrelated news, Jack has just started blowing raspberries today. It's slobbery and adorable.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
someone take my camera away from me
I don't know why, but my heart melts whenever Jack folds his legs up like this:
Maybe it's because that's how his legs were when he was tucked up inside my womb, but it makes me smile. Another thing that makes me smile is when Jack does this:
I'm sure this makes me a mean ol' mother, but his pouty face makes me giggle like a loon.
My poor child is going to get a complex, isn't he?
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
storytime
I've finally put together my birth story, although most of it is for my benefit/record and won't be of much interest to most people. I jotted down some notes during the four days I was in hospital before Jack was born, and the rest is from memory (such as it is). Bits of it probably fall into the "too much information" category, so don't read it if you're squeamish about ladies' bits.
You can read my story here. It's long, but I needed to get it all out. At least now I feel like I've finally given birth to something.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
you've come a long way, baby
I got pregnant 1 year and 2 days ago. A couple of days ago, I read through all my posts from that day until the day Jack was born. It's amazing; it feels like a lifetime ago and being pregnant is fast becoming a distant memory. This is why I'm so glad that I started this blog - there were so many things that I had completely forgotten about, even in this short span of time. Pregnancy seems to take forever but once the baby comes, time more than makes up for its previous heel dragging.
Is it possible to bank the time that drags during pregnancy and use it during the days when you need a few dozen extra hours?
Friday, June 03, 2005
you win some, you lose some
Jack finds true love...
...but alas, she turns to another.
(From today's Ladies Who Lunch at Conchita's, featuring Silvia and Indigo.)
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
cuddling cellulite just isn't the same
I just realised something: I haven't rubbed my belly lately. I know it sounds strange but even a month or two after Jack was born, I still stroked my "bump" every now and then. I remember noticing all the women on the postnatal ward doing it as well, which made me feel a little less insane. I suppose it's a hard habit to break after nine months, so you continue doing it subconsciously after the birth. I wonder how many women go out with their newborns and rub their tummies, causing others to think "Good lord, that woman is having another one so soon?!"
I miss my bump. I absolutely love having Jack in the outside world where I can give him a proper kiss and cuddle, but I do miss my bump. Partially because it's just fat now and I have no excuse to be in maternity clothes. Gah.