Monday, 24 September 2012
Bumplog - Pregnancy Insomnia
Dear Mother Nature,
Two months before Curly Girl was born I realised my true pregnancy craving. Not chocolate, watermelon or grated carrot and peanut butter sandwiches - sleep. I felt tired all the time and couldn't wait to slip between the sheets for some zzzz's at bedtime. Unfortunately you, in your wisdom, saw fit to use this time to prepare me for the endless nights of little to no sleep that we would have when our little baby girl arrived. Pregnancy insomnia. Nice.
As you know we're at that exact time again this time around and so it was at 3.30am this morning that I found myself counting sheep. Would you like to know what goes through the mind of a pregnant Mummy in the early hours of the morning? I'll tell you...
...that bookcase we moved into the bedroom yesterday needs to be fixed to the wall. What if it falls on me when I'm hoovering? What if it falls on Peanut when he's learning to crawl?! Hang on, that's months away. Still, needs doing...
...what's that noise? Was that Curly Girl? Yep it was, definitely. Should I go and check she's ok or leave her a while and see if she goes back to sleep? I'll leave her, I'm sure she's fine. No I'll check on her, just to be sure. No I'll leave her. No I'll check.
(Gets up and checks on toddler who is upside down in her bed with no covers on. Rearranges toddler. Comes back to bed. Heaves body into mountain range of pillows.)
...my foot itches. (Scratch.) My back aches. (Rearranges pillow mountain.) I'm thirsty. (Glugs some water.) There isn't much water left in that glass. What if I need some more later? I'm thirsty again now. (Drains glass.) Now there isn't any left. Should I go downstairs and get some more? My mouth feels a bit dry again...
...oh! Hello Peanut. Yes, you go ahead and have a game of football. No that's fine, my bladder makes a good substitute ball...
...did I pack Curly Girl's library book in her school bag? What shall I make for her packed lunch tomorrow? Damn I forgot to add floss to the Sainsbury's order...
(Starts to finally drift off to sleep.)
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
At 4.45am OH's alarm went off and he got up for work. And I got up and wrote this.
Let me make myself very clear Mrs Nature. I remember all too well the utter exhaustion that consumed every part of my being when Curly Girl arrived. She didn't sleep through the night until she was ten months old so I am VERY familiar with lack of sleep. I DO NOT need a refresher course. So please, bog off tonight and let me get some rest!
Yours,
Grumpy, sleepy pregnant Mummy (yawn).
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Monday, 17 September 2012
Fussy Eaters Support Club: Back to school
She ate not...one...bite.
And so this afternoon when I picked Curly Girl up from school I had a very hungry and very irritable toddler to deal with until tea time. I promised myself I'd be strong and say she had to wait until then with a simple 'you need to eat your lunch at school darling' explanation.
But when I made that decision I hadn't reckoned on my 31 week pregnant self's inability to cope with the after effects. And so I caved a bit. A banana and a home made fruit smoothie lolly kept her going until a breaded chicken and potato faces dinner.
I've decided that after nine weeks of summer holidays with me the first day back at school is probably a bit too much change already to be adding another brand new element. So I'll be preparing a packed lunch for her to take to pre-school tomorrow in the hope that she will actually eat some of it. I'll involve her in the prep so she can feel some sense of ownership of the food and make sure there's some fun involved.
There was one small victory today however. I managed to persuade her to eat one pea with her tea. Yes one. You may scoff, and I know it's a small step and it took a massive tantrum to get her to do it (yes, my tantrum) but Curly Girl doesn't do vegetables and she eventually ate it. I've told her she needs to eat one pea each day this week. Next week we'll progress to two. Like I said, small steps.
And so I realised today that we are still VERY much on this journey. Peanut is due in two months and I was hoping to have cracked this problem by then. Realistically we actually have until she starts proper school next September. I sincerely hope that it doesn't take that long.
Has your fussy eater started eating school dinners? I'd love to hear how they're getting on and whether you've had to be strong or caved in. Unlike previous FESC posts I'm not going to make it a linky but I'd love to hear your stories and thoughts in the comments.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Guest post: More ways to prepare for baby #2
Yep, it's another preparation post. I know, I'm a bit obsessed with this at the moment, but you can never have too many ideas for how to get organised before baby right? Michael sent me some great advice about freezing meals and clearing the clutter so I decided 'just one more'. Enjoy!
Michael Edmondstone is a freelance writer and occasional blogger. He usually writes about personal finance but also writes about sport, current affairs and recycling.
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Michael Edmondstone is a freelance writer and occasional blogger. He usually writes about personal finance but also writes about sport, current affairs and recycling.
Your due date is drawing near, and you feel like you still have a hundred things to do, right? It’s a natural feeling to want to get your home sorted before the arrival of a new baby.
Preparing meals ahead of time. Cooking will be the last thing on your mind after coming home from the hospital, so to make sure that your family still gets nutritious meals, you and your partner may want to consider pre-cooking some dinners that can be easily stored in containers and frozen. Then, when it’s time to eat, all you have to do is heat them up.
Getting rid of clutter. This also goes along with the biological nesting instinct that many new parents feels right before the baby comes. Not to mention, you are about to begin one of the most important chapters in your life, and you don’t want to do it with clutter! When you have the time and the energy, go through your wardrobe and pare down your clothing so that you can donate things that you no longer want. The same goes for bookshelves and the family room. You can even sell DVDs that you don’t want any more to make some space in the home while you make money at the same time.
Making the home safe for baby. Infants don’t move around much, which means that you can hold off on the safety gate at the bottom of the stairs, but you’ll still need to purchase a few essential items to make you feel comfortable at home with your baby. Baby monitors to place in your room, the baby’s room, and the common areas can help you rest assured while he or she is napping. Also, make sure your crib meets safety guidelines, such as being free from raised corner posts that can snag clothing or having slats that are only a few centimetres apart to avoid trapping any body parts.
Setting up a feeding station and a changing station. Once you get your new bundle of joy home, you won’t have much time for organising. Between sleepless nights, entertaining family and friends who want to see the new baby, and trying to take advantage of any free moment you can to nap, you’ll want to make sure that the little one’s room is all set. But your organising doesn’t end here. You’ll also want to set up several areas conducive to feeding (ideally, one in your room and one in your baby’s room), as well as several areas for changing. This will save you the time and effort of having to tote nappies and bottles around the house.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Guest post: Scotty’s Little Soldiers
Hello *waves from across the channel*. I'm not really here. Bump and I are sunning ourselves by the pool in Tuscany while the family keep Curly Girl amused. At least I hope that's what's happening. Otherwise we could be broken down on a motorway waiting to be towed back to the UK. *Shivers and tries not to think about that nightmare scenario.*
In the meantime here's a little guest post from the lovely Sarah who usually writes at (although intermittently in the school holidays). Sarah was a widow at 34years old, a teacher, and a mother. She’s also happy, in love, and a stepmother. Whilst time may not be the great healer everyone says it is, it makes things different, and after all, itwillallbefine!
It’s 3am, and I can’t sleep. I’m not at home, and I’m was just lying in bed, being so very grateful, that I thought I’d get up and make it into the guest post I said I’d do for the lovely Bod for tea.
So where are we? We’re at the Scotty Lodge, at Great Yarmouth. It’s a Haven site, and it’s great.
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity, set up by Nikki Scott who lost her husband Corporal Lee Scott, in Afghanistan, on 10th July 2009. 7 days later, SAC Rich Hannis, my partner and the man who had raised my son with me from 2 years old, died in a bike accident, on his way to RAF Honnington. He had completed 2 tours of Afghanistan, and the accident is officially “unexplained but tragic”.
What needs to be said though, is how lucky we were, in comparison to some of the Forces widows out there. We had our own house already, so we weren’t faced with *having* to move. The Adorable Child was 6, but could stay in the same school. We had friends from outside the Forces who weren’t going to be moved away. In many ways, the practical side of our lives could carry on the same as they had been, just with a massive gap in them.
Some families are faced with moving homes, schools, losing support groups, losing everything, on top of losing the man of their dreams. To face all of that organisation on top of everything else, is, for me, unthinkable. In the midst of that chaos, or maybe because of it, in August 2010 Nikki created Scotty’s Little Soldiers, so called because Lee’s nickname was Scotty, and he used to call his son his “little soldier”.
It was a year or so later that we first heard about Scotty’s Little Soldiers. I signed the Adorable Child up immediately, because whilst a bereaved child isn’t all that he is, it will always be a massive part of his upbringing. It has changed his perspective on life and how he thinks about things.
Nikki has 2 children, then very small, who have grown up bereaved. Like many, the little one will never remember her father – she never really knew him. For the older one, like many, and like the Adorable Child, the memories fade and become blurred and there is often guilt associated with that. But Nikki’s plan was to create a charity that was about enjoying life, and the tag line is “Help their children smile.” I can’t speak for others, although the pictures on the Facebook page tell me it’s true, but I know that Scotty’s has helped my boy smile.
The Adorable Child has been to the set of Coronation Street, met the cast, looked around everywhere and had lunch with Simon Gregson (the charity patron). He’s been to Hampton Court Palace, had a private tour, and then was taught the basics and played golf with professionals at the Hampton Court Golf Club. He has Christmas presents and birthday presents and random bags arrive randomly with little bits in. He’s been part of the Scotty Fun Run, and wears his Scotty Hoodie with pride, everywhere. As he puts it “It’s the best charity in the world, but it’s a club no-one wants to be in.” And he’s right. There’s only one way to be a Scotty child, and no-one would wish that on anyone.
Today, right now, he is sleeping the deep sleep of the exhausted child. In the last 5 days he has had the opportunity to do archery, target shooting, swimming, going to the beach, miniature golf, more swimming, go karts, football, make friends with people he’s never met and will probably never see again, and just to relax. Rich was never here. The memories of Rich in every room are not here. Here is just him, and me, and J and T-Boy. There are memories to be made here.
If you’ve never heard of Scotty’s before, well, now you have. The website is www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk
1If you’ve heard of it, and given to them, or thought of them, then thankyou, from all of my heart. Thankyou, thankyou thankyou.
In the meantime here's a little guest post from the lovely Sarah who usually writes at (although intermittently in the school holidays). Sarah was a widow at 34years old, a teacher, and a mother. She’s also happy, in love, and a stepmother. Whilst time may not be the great healer everyone says it is, it makes things different, and after all, itwillallbefine!
--------------------
It’s 3am, and I can’t sleep. I’m not at home, and I’m was just lying in bed, being so very grateful, that I thought I’d get up and make it into the guest post I said I’d do for the lovely Bod for tea.
So where are we? We’re at the Scotty Lodge, at Great Yarmouth. It’s a Haven site, and it’s great.
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity, set up by Nikki Scott who lost her husband Corporal Lee Scott, in Afghanistan, on 10th July 2009. 7 days later, SAC Rich Hannis, my partner and the man who had raised my son with me from 2 years old, died in a bike accident, on his way to RAF Honnington. He had completed 2 tours of Afghanistan, and the accident is officially “unexplained but tragic”.
What needs to be said though, is how lucky we were, in comparison to some of the Forces widows out there. We had our own house already, so we weren’t faced with *having* to move. The Adorable Child was 6, but could stay in the same school. We had friends from outside the Forces who weren’t going to be moved away. In many ways, the practical side of our lives could carry on the same as they had been, just with a massive gap in them.
Some families are faced with moving homes, schools, losing support groups, losing everything, on top of losing the man of their dreams. To face all of that organisation on top of everything else, is, for me, unthinkable. In the midst of that chaos, or maybe because of it, in August 2010 Nikki created Scotty’s Little Soldiers, so called because Lee’s nickname was Scotty, and he used to call his son his “little soldier”.
It was a year or so later that we first heard about Scotty’s Little Soldiers. I signed the Adorable Child up immediately, because whilst a bereaved child isn’t all that he is, it will always be a massive part of his upbringing. It has changed his perspective on life and how he thinks about things.
Nikki has 2 children, then very small, who have grown up bereaved. Like many, the little one will never remember her father – she never really knew him. For the older one, like many, and like the Adorable Child, the memories fade and become blurred and there is often guilt associated with that. But Nikki’s plan was to create a charity that was about enjoying life, and the tag line is “Help their children smile.” I can’t speak for others, although the pictures on the Facebook page tell me it’s true, but I know that Scotty’s has helped my boy smile.
The Adorable Child has been to the set of Coronation Street, met the cast, looked around everywhere and had lunch with Simon Gregson (the charity patron). He’s been to Hampton Court Palace, had a private tour, and then was taught the basics and played golf with professionals at the Hampton Court Golf Club. He has Christmas presents and birthday presents and random bags arrive randomly with little bits in. He’s been part of the Scotty Fun Run, and wears his Scotty Hoodie with pride, everywhere. As he puts it “It’s the best charity in the world, but it’s a club no-one wants to be in.” And he’s right. There’s only one way to be a Scotty child, and no-one would wish that on anyone.
Today, right now, he is sleeping the deep sleep of the exhausted child. In the last 5 days he has had the opportunity to do archery, target shooting, swimming, going to the beach, miniature golf, more swimming, go karts, football, make friends with people he’s never met and will probably never see again, and just to relax. Rich was never here. The memories of Rich in every room are not here. Here is just him, and me, and J and T-Boy. There are memories to be made here.
If you’ve never heard of Scotty’s before, well, now you have. The website is www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk
1If you’ve heard of it, and given to them, or thought of them, then thankyou, from all of my heart. Thankyou, thankyou thankyou.
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