4 Things... A Study in Meme
28 February 2006, 16:44
Husband loves these things, and I’ve never been bothered to do one, but with Tuesday being “Husband Helps Kinki out with Scout Day”, here goes…
Four jobs I’ve had in my life
- Waitress at Chinese restaurant
- Recruiter
- English teacher
- Communications Analyst
Four movies I can watch over and over
- The Exorcist
- Beverley Hills Cop
- Bridget Jones’ Diary
- Top Gun
Four places I have lived
- Newcastle, NSW (1971-1987)
- Vancouver, Canada (1995-1996)
- Tokyo, Japan (2001-2004)
- Melbourne, Victoria (present)
Four TV shows I love to watch
- 24
- Amazing Race
- Waking the Dead
- Lost
Four places I have been on vacation
- New York, USA
- Beijing, China
- London, England
- Niseko, Japan
Four of my favourite dishes
- Chick Pea Casserole from Moroccan Soup Bar, Fitzroy North
- Garlic Prawns from Gurkhas, Richmond
- Gyoza & Rice from Fukushin, Tokyo (now only a memory…)
- Rhubarb & Apple Crumble from the Vegie Bar, Fitzroy
Four websites I visit daily
- Calendar Hub because I can’t remember a bloody thing about what I’m doing these days
- Essential Baby Forum
- BabyCentre UK, the best damn website for baby crap
- Australian Breastfeeding Association, because, as you might have noticed, boobs are my life right now…
Four places I would rather be right now
- Sipping a coffee in Kitsilano, Vancouver
- Frolicking in the snow (doesn’t matter where – in Niseko or Big White, 2 faves…)
- Wolfing down a curry and beer in a hole-in-the-wall in Tokyo
- Sitting around a campfire in Upper Yarra Reservoir Park (aka “Moose Gully”)
Four bloggers I am tagging
Permanent Link | Comments [8]Ladies and Gents, we have ourselves a Chubba
25 February 2006, 09:07
Big Chubba
You are getting veeeeeeery sleeeeepy
Scout is now a month old and has expanded exponentially since her birth. She puts on something ridiculous like 300 grams every week (the average is around 150 grams) and feeds like an absolute demon. Not surprisingly, she’s been suffering a bit with the Wind in the Willows (we also have a little song for that, but I won’t subject you to it) and does massive adult-sized farts and burps. And here I was thinking we’d have to curb our wanton emissions when she came along so she wouldn’t get any bad habits. Pffffth.
My boobs have also not settled yet, so are quite engorged every feed, which means Scout gets this overwhelming hit of milk which she gulps with vigour and ends up with an overflow of milk all down her chin (we call this “getting some Clancy”. That’s one for Australian readers…)
She’s healthy though, and happy and has just started to smile at us rather than near us or at the ceiling. She may be a big chubba, but damn, she’s cute….
Permanent Link | Comments [3]The Bouncing Baby Song
20 February 2006, 09:11
McG and I have devised a song that will placate Scout the moment we start singing it. In fact, it’s the only song we currently have in our artillery with a 100% success rate. It goes a little something like this:
The little bouncing baby goes bounce, bounce, BOUNCE
The little bouncing baby goes bounce, bounce, BOUNCE
The little bouncing baby goes bounce, bounce, BOUNCE
The little bouncing baby goes bounce, bounce, BOUNCE
It is pure genius. Really.
Permanent Link | Comments [2]Separated at Birth?
17 February 2006, 11:17
Permanent Link | Comments [3]Boob Juice...
14 February 2006, 19:47
...is really rather amazing. As well as feeding and nourishing your baby it can also be used to:
1. Soothe sore nipples
2. Squirt up baby’s nose to unblock it.
3. Squirt into baby’s eyes to ungunk it.
4. Squirt your baby’s face (and sometimes your’s) during a feed. Just for fun.
5. have target practice in the shower. Did I say that?
Yeah, this stuff is all right!
Permanent Link | Comments [1]Story Time
11 February 2006, 15:23
The Hungry Caterpillar [“By the way, dad, when’s Boob O’Clock?”]
“Let me do it, dad…”
Scout had her first outing yesterday – to visit McG and my respective works, one in Collingwood, the other in the CBD. I nearly packed it in in the morning, though. McG had gone to work, Scout would not settle and I was on my own to both try and settle a baby in a serious tizz and get organised for a car outing. The thought of her wanting boob (NOW!) while we were driving or amongst colleagues filled me with dread (/anxiety/blind panic).
Thankfully, she finally passed out in my arms and was a perfect lady the whole trip. Everyone cooed “What a well-behaved baby!” Yeah, right.
She is a 50/50 baby. 50% of the time she is an absolute angel, settles right away or only needs a bit of a cuddle and a swaddle before she drifts off into lala land. The other 50% of the time nothing will placate her. Check nappy. Check time since last feed. Check temperature. Check vomit residue (seems she doesn’t like to sleep with her head in her own upchuck. Can’t imagine what’s wrong with her…). At the last turn, we check for sooky lala factor and that’s usually it. She just likes to fall asleep in mum and dad’s arms. Guess that’s better than her not wanting to.
Plus, I think McG and I have become a bit more tolerant and patient about her urgent outbursts so they’re (becoming) easier to deal with. That is, whilst McG is at home and can share the load. When he goes back to work full-time, I may very well go utterly birko. Watch this space…
In other TMI news, I’ve had a blocked duct in my right Boobster which is downright excruciating let me tell you, particularly when Scout is feeding. The skin is bright red, and if she hasn’t fed for over 3 hours, Boobster starts throbbing. A blocked duct can lead to mastitis for which one needs antibiotics, so I’ve been feeding her like a demon to drain it. With any luck it will clear on its own.
[Thanks for that.] I’ll be off now.
Permanent Link | Comments [6]Don't mess with a McG
9 February 2006, 11:12
Felix: Hey there little lady, your crib or mine?
Scout: You just better wise up young man, and learn how to treat me like a princess! Kerpow!@^&!
Permanent Link | Comments [1]A Scout Tryptych
6 February 2006, 10:15
Click to enlarge all images…
Sleeping
Tummy Time
One Tiny Hand
Permanent Link | Comments [8]Boob School
4 February 2006, 10:49
Post-milk glow… Click to enlarge in Gallery
Look. Why don’t you just bloody well tell me how cute she is?
**********
Went off to Boob School yesterday. Run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association, they are day sessions meant to help mums with the Art of Boob & Milk. I gotta tell ya though, after an hour there I felt like a big fat fraud. Compared to the problems the other girls were having, I was a Paragon of Successful Boob (sorry if TMI, but I had been struggling (but improving!) with sore nipples given SS took a lovely chomp out of both of them on Day 1. They were so bruised and beaten, breastfeeding was agony.) There were women there who couldn’t breastfeed or who hadn’t bonded with their babies or were so knackered by being up all night with their newborns, they could barely keep their eyes open.
It was nice to be taken care of, though. I rocked up to the Mercy, took up a comfy recliner next to the window and was waited on hand and foot by the midwives. They feed you, let you have a nap and coach you through the trials of breastfeeding. Such a supportive environment, and I came out the other end rather confident that I was doing everything right. In fact, the midwives were joking around that “I’d only come for the food”. Ahem.
SS slept for 5 hours straight last night. She was a little bugger to get off to sleep – her M.O is that she gets over-tired and NOTHING will calm her. OK. The Dummy (aka The Pacifier for U.S readers) will calm her but I hate that thing, although am growing to grudgingly love it.
Anything for a quiet life.
McG’s mum has come across from Adelaide to spend time with the little one. Of course, she fell in love instantly. She has also stated that SS is the cutest baby she’s ever seen. And she’s not remotely biased, oh no. See I told you.
Permanent Link | Comments [5]I am not SuperMum
2 February 2006, 12:20
There. I said it.
Yesterday was v. bad day – Sophia basically didn’t sleep all day, cried and cried and cried and nothing we did seemed to placate her. Of course, the more hysterical she became, the more over-tired she was, so the cycle just continued. Every time she cried, I cried harder (which I’m sure helped…) and McG was left taking care of his two girls rather than just the one who really needed it.
At 10pm, at our wits end, we called our good bud, Roz (aka Godsend) whose baby had been colicky (we thought that’s what might have been wrong with Sophia) and she came over with stories of the legendary holy grail of newborn pacification – the Dummy.
Now I know there is much debate about use of the dummy and I certainly don’t want to use it as a crutch (only for desperate times!), but Sophia just loves to suck all day. All day. She is a voracious little barracuda. So instead of her sucking my boobs dry every hour, we used the dummy and it. worked. She went to sleep almost immediately. And because she hadn’t slept at all yesterday, slept for 7 hours last night. McG and I finally got some sleep.
And peace descended upon the land…
In other baby news, Sophia has achieved second milestone – she gave McG his first ever hickey. Actually, make that the first milestone for McG. I tells ya, this baby loves to suck it down.
Home with my Girl… Click to enlarge in Gallery
Permanent Link | Comments [6]
