And then the smiles arrived

So here I am, attempting to type with one hand, whilst supporting a hiccuping nearly-6-week-old, who is partly resting, partly grumbling, on my chest after his afternoon feed.

Yes, the latest (last?) human member of our family arrived on Saturday 14th May, claiming a birth date all to himself, not sharing his birthday with any family members, had he actually arrived on his due date (6th May). A week and a day overdue, he made his way into the world quickly, with the aid of an induction (which clearly proved that once the gates were unlocked, there was no stopping his entrance) – disproving the midwives who expected a reasonable labour length. Not he – a 3 hour labour was enough, thankyou. Quite a difference to the length of labour his elder brother needed. And quite a difference to the weight – 8 pound, 2 ounces – to that of his brother – 9 pound, 6 ounces. And, given the labour – no pain relief because it was so quick – I was glad he wasn’t bigger than his brother. I can’t imagine the pain – or the amount of tearing and subsequent stitches – that a larger baby would entail.

I had meant to blog earlier – considering I managed to do so not long after his brother arrived 3 years – but somehow time passes far too quickly and it seems I have far less time to do things, and have far less ability to do things with a 3 year old and nearly 6 week old. Today’s amazing achievement - 2 loads of washing ON THE LINE (and not just getting the machine going and then forgetting about the load afterwards until a couple of days later... oops) as well as doing the grocery shopping. Yay me!

And whilst the fanfare of his arrival is a little less subdued – no baby shower (my decision), no houseful of congratulatory floral bouquets, no spotlessly clean house on arrival home (yes, this did happen after the birth of first baby) – he is much loved already. And the last 5 weeks of erratic feeding, sleeping, nappy changing and undeterminable cries have rewarded us this week with our first little grins and smiles. Worth the wait despite our lack of sleep.

Waiting, wishing...

So, right now am wishing that this pregnancy would live up to this blog's name and 'skip to the end'. Currently, 38 weeks and feel like I'm carrying a bag of bricks.

Fortunately, unlike last pregnancy, I'm in a better mindset as to what to expect. And, not suffering high blood pressure, suspected kidney stone, pelvic soreness or a blind sense of panic.
Unfortunately, like last pregnancy, have been suffering from reflux/heartburn (much worse than last time) and lack of sleep (not helped by 3 year old).

Things different from last time - have kept much fitter, still going to gym throughout pregnancy (although tomorrow - Saturday - will probably be my last visit). Have maintained better figure - still managing to fit in size 14 clothes (and thus, maternity clothing looks slightly more welcoming), despite putting on some 20 kilos - hopefully due to internal child and water retention! Recent blood test showed iron deficiency, so taking supplements to combat that. And, another plus, breasts appear bigger so perhaps breastfeeding might actually work this time. (But I'm not going to let it do my head in if it doesn't, like last time).

And, as per last pregnancy, adopting the 'slug' pose (lying sideways on couch/bed) is still the most favourable position. I can't wait to be able to lie on my back again and get back to the gym!

Christmas and New Years

Christmas came and went. Now we're in the New Year with still more jobs about the house to do, and a crapload more toys to clean up after. And that's only one child, I don't even want to think about how bad it will be when the next one arrives!

Speaking of which, we finally told Rory about the new baby and he seems pretty unfussed and unfazed. Perhaps he's already been clued in, due to the various references dropped about the place by close family and friends. At least we have had the advantage of several friends (and his Aunt) going through the pregnancy stages and the end result of babies, so I think he has a fair idea of what's going to happen. Fat belly = baby.

The break between Christmas and New Years gave hubby the opportunity to knock over several tasks around the house - set up the new outdoor setting, install lighting under the pergola, connect piping from water tank to vegetable garden (which is thriving, as you can see from photos above). He still wants to complete the rendering of the house - and after that, redo the paving out the back. He's also built the wooden Thomas train layout tray which slides neatly under Rory's bed, as well as rebuilding the sand pit so it's much bigger and Rory's digger (his Christmas present from Gran & Pa) seats neatly in it, with plenty of space for digging.

New Years Eve was spent trying to avoid the heat - and for me, the sun (despite managing to get myself sunburnt twice in 2 weeks) - and we caught up with Corey's Aunt and cousin (and extended family) for a late lunch, and later, a quiet evening our close friend's place, munching on home made, woodfired pizzas. Home by 10 - the small boy thrown into bed. His parents fell asleep on the couch and were in bed by 11.50pm. Clearly, the most quietest of New Years evenings we've had.

Merry New Years!

Just like Dad

Just like Dad
Originally uploaded by ninevah

We're currently in the toilet training phase. Small boy always tells me he "needs something to read". Guess where he gets that from!

who knows how long i've loved you*

I’ve been playing a lot of Beatles lately – these days I don’t get to listen to a lot of complete albums – mainly for nostalgia’s sake and because I’m still acclimatising myself to their album, The Beatles (also known as ‘the White Album’ (a requested Christmas present from last year which I’ve relocated from the ‘rubble’ of the study). It's one of those albums I've always wanted to own and seem to be on every "Albums You Must Own" list I've ever seen published. It contains several of the songs I know from growing up, and several I’ve rediscovered the joys of, and several I’ve fallen in love with, wondering how I’d never heard them after all these years.

For most people, a lot of their permanent musical tastes, or so I’ve assumed, usually develop from the music that their parents love. In my case, it was the Beatles. The Beatles seemed to define a shared common musical waterfall between my parents, cascading downwards to my brother and I. As I reflect now, my parent’s individual musical tastes seem quite different – my father was partial to acts like The Kingston Trio and my mother was into acts like the Seekers, and later, Barbra Streisand – but somehow, The Beatles were the meeting point. Perhaps it was this deep love of their catchy tunes combined with their sometimes witty and sometimes poignant (and sometimes altogether weird) lyrics that made the Beatles seem an innate essence of my being. I remember being aghast when a friend told me that she hated them. To her, the Rolling Stones were it. I was amazed that someone couldn’t like the Beatles, it seemed impossible and unnatural!

Every child usually remembers the music that was played on long car trips – my husband revealed Roy Orbison was a favourite – and usually, whether you liked it or not, those songs became ingrained in your memory. I can’t ever remember when we DIDN’T listen to the Beatles. The companion to our car trips was a 6-cassette album produced by Reader’s Digest called the Complete Beatles. Other musical variances – Hooked on Classics was another to get continual airplay and another Christian rock cassette briefly featured – came and went, but the Beatles was a permanent fixture.

Only on really long trip would all 6 tapes be played on each side. And they were always played in order. Each cassette measured the musical history of The Beatles, from their earliest hit to their later obscurer songs. We all sang along to Love Me Do, Do You Want To Know A Secret, Norwegian Wood, and Eight Days A Week. By the time Cassettes 5 & 6 were played – usually an indication that it was a really long car trip – we would be treated to later gems such as Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, The Long & Winding Road, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill and Piggies. Possibly the reason I didn’t quite like the latter songs as much as the earlier songs was because we didn’t play tapes 5 & 6 enough. Somehow, Cassette 5 went missing; disappointing as it featured some of the favourite songs, and though I denied any wrongdoing, I had to ‘fess up years later, finding when emptying a small bedroom cupboard. By which time, it didn’t matter since we hardly played cassette tapes anymore. I still felt guilty though.

It seems funny to me now, that the music I loved was the music that my parents loved – by the time the Beatles had reached my ears, it was some 20 years after those hits were made, a long time after they’d disbanded, and about 5 years after John Lennon had been assassinated. By which time, any hopes of a Beatles reconciliation that my newly christened ears (and mind) had formed were dashed. I often wonder music what my children will adore, since I know that whatever my husband and I will play will stick with them, as it did with me when my parents played it. Still, my love for their music has remained and I get pleasure from playing it – sometimes repeating particular tracks endlessly – as much now as I did back when I was younger.

*taken from “I Will”, featured on the album, The Beatles (aka The White Album)

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know I will
I will

frenzy

Today I attacked the study... again. It's the room that bugs me the most, it's a dumping ground for stuff that can't be sorted, filed, organised, or be bothered with until later. This week, it forms part of my 'to-do' list. So I borrowed Dad's shredder...

Last week, while Corey was away working in Gippsland all week, I set myself a long list of things to do around the house and gradually chipped away at it. While I didn't finish the list, I crossed off most of the items and was pretty pleased that I (mostly) stuck to it. So last week, I was cleaning the house like a woman possessed.

This week, Corey is away again, so my goal is organising/tidying/cleaning the study. Today's first step was sorting the various piles of paper and 'things' into piles on the floor and removing all the financial & work related bits of paper that were older than 7 years. These got shredded, a slightly cathartic activity. Fingers crossed I can keep up the effort and have the study sparkling by the end of the week!

that one day in september

Yesterday happened to be the re-match of the AFL Grand Final, but that's not what I'm blogging about. While the Grand Final is synonymous with the phrase "...that one day in September", for me it was different. Yesterday also coincided with what happened a month ago, on a day in September. 3rd September, to be more precise.

The start of September usually heralds a few things - the start of spring, goodbye to coldness (although you wouldn't have known much difference in the weeks that followed) and my beloved late Nanna's birthday. This particular year, it was also the day I found out I was expecting our second child. It's something I'm still grappling with, not so much the shock, but the realisation settling in. This pregnancy was planned, or rather, in the words of my husband, "We should get onto that", as if it was yet another task that had to be done, like mowing the lawns.

A test was conducted, me musing, "hmm, what if" and there it was, 2 pink lines on a stick. I said a quiet "Happy Birthday Nanna" to myself, knowing she'd be tickled pink to know - or perhaps she already did on same other level. I kept the stick, showed my husband and we kept quiet for a good month. It felt good to have a nice little secret all to ourselves, but when we started telling people (at 10 weeks), the excitement and happiness was infectious which made it seem all the more real.

In the meanwhile, it's business as usual with the daily grind. I'm not stopping myself going to the gym, I'm determined to not blow out of proportion, though I'm a bit dismayed to see the middle "tyre" returning. I'm thankful now that I'll be moderately "with child" during the summer period, instead of heavily pregnant, it ought to make the summer a bit more bearable. That, and maxi dresses.

So happy birthday Nanna, you're not here to share this news with us but it made your birthday a little more special, even if I was the only to know it.