We've been testing it out in the kitchen.
Luna didn't join in. She just watched us and thought we were mad, as usual.
This is what the list currently looks like:
Oh, yeah!
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Party Planning for a Certain Almost 4-Year-Old!
Now that Christmas and festivities are over, my focus shifts onto Emily's birthday. Her party is a few short weeks away and planning is well under way. I am currently working on a playlist. Emily has a few favourite songs (All About That Bass, Bailando, Wait On Me, Fun Fun Fun, and last but far from least, Boom Clap) that went straight onto the list. I then asked for friends' suggestions and the list is now looking great, and what's best - Emily approves of it.
We've been testing it out in the kitchen.
Luna didn't join in. She just watched us and thought we were mad, as usual.
This is what the list currently looks like:
Oh, yeah!
We've been testing it out in the kitchen.
Luna didn't join in. She just watched us and thought we were mad, as usual.
This is what the list currently looks like:
Oh, yeah!
Me and My Boy
I remembered this post the other day: Autumn Leaf Testing Procedures
I am all too aware that even since Adam was born, this blog is still way more Emily-focused than is right. Before I know it, Adam will be a year old and in this year, it somehow feels like I've done almost nothing by way of having fun with him.
I take Emily out, he tags along.
I run errands, he tags along.
It's never just about him.
I believe there are several reasons... sadly, that "second child" curse is probably the primary issue. Emily demands more attention and needs to be entertained far more. She is great at entertaining herself, but there are obviously limits to that. Meanwhile Adam seems happy to just sit quietly and take everything in. He spends a lot of time in the ergo baby carrier (which he adores) all snuggled up, often chewing on one of the straps.
However, as time passes, that is obviously not enough. He has recently started to crawl and if the amount he eats is anything to go by, has an awful lot of energy to burn... which isn't being used. This means nights have become madness again and it is becoming very clear that him tagging along just doesn't work any longer. (Did it ever "work"?)
And if I'm honest, I'm glad. It's about time I got off my arse and did something fun with this boy. Something especially tailored for him. It starts here. I am going to make it up to him.
I am all too aware that even since Adam was born, this blog is still way more Emily-focused than is right. Before I know it, Adam will be a year old and in this year, it somehow feels like I've done almost nothing by way of having fun with him.I take Emily out, he tags along.
I run errands, he tags along.
It's never just about him.
I believe there are several reasons... sadly, that "second child" curse is probably the primary issue. Emily demands more attention and needs to be entertained far more. She is great at entertaining herself, but there are obviously limits to that. Meanwhile Adam seems happy to just sit quietly and take everything in. He spends a lot of time in the ergo baby carrier (which he adores) all snuggled up, often chewing on one of the straps.
However, as time passes, that is obviously not enough. He has recently started to crawl and if the amount he eats is anything to go by, has an awful lot of energy to burn... which isn't being used. This means nights have become madness again and it is becoming very clear that him tagging along just doesn't work any longer. (Did it ever "work"?)
And if I'm honest, I'm glad. It's about time I got off my arse and did something fun with this boy. Something especially tailored for him. It starts here. I am going to make it up to him.
Waiting
If I had a penny (or Euro cent... need to get used to this!!) for every time someone told me I was brave to move country with a toddler and so close to the birth of my second child... well, I'd have a few more pounds to my name than I do. I did what I had to do and just got on with it. It was this or miss out on the valuable support system in those first few months of Squiggle's life, which I thought would have been silly.
However, with approximately seven short weeks of pregnancy left, things are becoming intense. Months ago, knowing that I had about five weeks to prepare for this baby once the container arrived with our belongings from the UK seemed enough. But when you're this close to those last five weeks and you're worn out and so constantly uncomfortable that you can barely get any sleep and Braxton Hicks don't quite stop reminding you of what's imminent, it doesn't seem like much time at all any longer.
And yet I feel that it hasn't yet dawned on me that I'll soon have a newborn. The kicks are real (you want to watch that video!!), we have finally settled on a name for Squiggle, and we marvel at the way he reacts to Emily's voice and her very touch on my belly... And yet, it's all fuzzy as if embedded in a cloud light years away.
Then I realise that by this time last pregnancy, all Emily's clothes were washed and waiting in her perfectly planned nursery, my hospital bag was packed (and had been unpacked and repacked several times), NCT classes were well under way, the Moses basket was waiting for her arrival. I had daily visual reminders. This time, so far, nothing.
And as much as it started out much easier than my last pregnancy, this one is ending very differently. So a part of me just wants the discomfort to end. I wish this baby would decide it's fine to be born really early (as long as he's healthy and all that), but the other part of me kicks that first part because I cannot be thinking it. I need time to prepare for this baby. I need to find some time to allow it to feel real. To go through the preparations, the nesting, the caring, the excitement. Because thus far, I feel a little bit like a surrogate mother. And apart from the fact that it hurts me on a level I can barely begin to understand let alone explain, I feel like I owe this little boy quite a bit more than that.
Ten days to the estimated arrival date of our belongings... Come on, we can do this.
[image credit]
However, with approximately seven short weeks of pregnancy left, things are becoming intense. Months ago, knowing that I had about five weeks to prepare for this baby once the container arrived with our belongings from the UK seemed enough. But when you're this close to those last five weeks and you're worn out and so constantly uncomfortable that you can barely get any sleep and Braxton Hicks don't quite stop reminding you of what's imminent, it doesn't seem like much time at all any longer.And yet I feel that it hasn't yet dawned on me that I'll soon have a newborn. The kicks are real (you want to watch that video!!), we have finally settled on a name for Squiggle, and we marvel at the way he reacts to Emily's voice and her very touch on my belly... And yet, it's all fuzzy as if embedded in a cloud light years away.
Then I realise that by this time last pregnancy, all Emily's clothes were washed and waiting in her perfectly planned nursery, my hospital bag was packed (and had been unpacked and repacked several times), NCT classes were well under way, the Moses basket was waiting for her arrival. I had daily visual reminders. This time, so far, nothing.
And as much as it started out much easier than my last pregnancy, this one is ending very differently. So a part of me just wants the discomfort to end. I wish this baby would decide it's fine to be born really early (as long as he's healthy and all that), but the other part of me kicks that first part because I cannot be thinking it. I need time to prepare for this baby. I need to find some time to allow it to feel real. To go through the preparations, the nesting, the caring, the excitement. Because thus far, I feel a little bit like a surrogate mother. And apart from the fact that it hurts me on a level I can barely begin to understand let alone explain, I feel like I owe this little boy quite a bit more than that.
Ten days to the estimated arrival date of our belongings... Come on, we can do this.
[image credit]
Single Digits
It's all happening now. We move in under ten days and it's finally all coming together. As I suspected would happen, I am calmer now that everything is happening than I have been for weeks. I am having some very productive days (while still managing to catch up with people I want to try and get my fill of before we leave!) and although my mind just never quite stops whirring even after I've gone to bed, it feels good.
It is beginning to sink in. There've been a few tears. But ironically the loudest wake up call happened a few nights ago, when, at 4am I was tossing and turning, unable to sleep (instead going through to-do lists in my mind), and I checked my phone. The email that chose to arrive in my inbox at that moment triggered off emotions I can barely begin to explain.
It was nothing huge. It simply informed me that my "LOVEFiLM account is now cancelled and no further discs will be sent out."
You'd think an email like that would be a relief (considering how much I've heard about this being an account impossible to close). But no, it hit me pretty badly. Now before you think I've gone completely bonkers, look at it this way: our Lovefilm account was one of the first things we set up when we moved here back in 2006. It's one of those little things that's followed us from our first flat in London, to our second, to our house in Rochester.
And since then it's been a barrage of emotions. Granted, I am quite sure pregnancy hormones are making it worse but closing every single account and starting our goodbyes, even as impersonal as some have been - knowing the harder ones are yet to come, it all starts to add up.
We dropped by to peek at the first place we called home here in England the other day. It was very bittersweet and felt like we were revisiting a different life. The place still smelt the same (there is a certain smell to the air because of a factory nearby) and it really took us back. I imagine that one day, it will feel surreal to visit our current house too.
So I think that perhaps it will have to be goodbye from me on this end too. My next update will most probably be from Malta, so wish us luck and a calm state of mind!!! Over the next few days we're certainly going to need it!
It is beginning to sink in. There've been a few tears. But ironically the loudest wake up call happened a few nights ago, when, at 4am I was tossing and turning, unable to sleep (instead going through to-do lists in my mind), and I checked my phone. The email that chose to arrive in my inbox at that moment triggered off emotions I can barely begin to explain.
It was nothing huge. It simply informed me that my "LOVEFiLM account is now cancelled and no further discs will be sent out."
You'd think an email like that would be a relief (considering how much I've heard about this being an account impossible to close). But no, it hit me pretty badly. Now before you think I've gone completely bonkers, look at it this way: our Lovefilm account was one of the first things we set up when we moved here back in 2006. It's one of those little things that's followed us from our first flat in London, to our second, to our house in Rochester.
And since then it's been a barrage of emotions. Granted, I am quite sure pregnancy hormones are making it worse but closing every single account and starting our goodbyes, even as impersonal as some have been - knowing the harder ones are yet to come, it all starts to add up.
We dropped by to peek at the first place we called home here in England the other day. It was very bittersweet and felt like we were revisiting a different life. The place still smelt the same (there is a certain smell to the air because of a factory nearby) and it really took us back. I imagine that one day, it will feel surreal to visit our current house too.
So I think that perhaps it will have to be goodbye from me on this end too. My next update will most probably be from Malta, so wish us luck and a calm state of mind!!! Over the next few days we're certainly going to need it!
Recently
Part of the reason I haven't blogged much this past month is that we spent two weeks of it in Malta. While we were there, we found a place to live, bought a car, chose a school for Emily, and a gynaecologist for me (to anyone thinking about it, I do not recommend switching health providers mid-pregnancy), and opened bank accounts. I think there was more, but it's like a small whirlwind in my head at the moment. Suffice it to say, we've been busy.
But here are a few snapshots from the last few weeks.
But here are a few snapshots from the last few weeks.
We've had little pampering sessions. Can't get over how long her hair is. She loved swishing it around.
We did the cool sunglasses thing whilst in Malta...
...Everywhere we went!
No comment (I couldn't resist).
Her eggbox is now her "compter." She turns it around and types emails on it
and informs me she is "bizzy emails compter, Mommay" I wouldn't dare disturb.
Meanwhile, as if I didn't have enough to do already, I am also planning her 2nd birthday party!
(I'm loving it really!!)
Eleven Days, Part 3
We have learnt, in the 24 weeks since Emily joined us, that there is only an extent to which you can control life with a baby. Routine is important, but cannot be the be all and end all. Some fluidity is important too. When we tried to keep to a rigid routine, all that happened was that life became hell.
Routine
So instead we have a "pattern" which we keep in mind and attempt to keep to, for Emily's sake. We know that at the moment she naps approximately 3 times a day, one short nap in the morning, a good 2-hour (ish) one in the early afternoon, and sometimes another short one late afternoon. They ebb and flow, but the general pattern is always there. Her feeds are also somewhat predictable. Her bedtime is what we keep to with more determination. She bathes at about 6:30pm, and is asleep by 7pm. When this is not the case, it often results in a meltdown on her part which has her up and screaming until 11pm (something that we wish we'd recognised when she was 2 months old).
So while in Malta, we kept this in mind. Her naps did suffer slightly until she got accustomed to sleeping in her pushchair since we were out most of the day (she usually naps in her cot), but her bedtime remained sacred. More often than not, she was so exhausted from the bit of "swimming" she'd done, that had we wanted to keep her awake we'd not have been able to anyway!
She was asleep by 7pm every night. And on some nights, we transferred her from cot to pushchair (having seen how very deeply she sleeps at night!) and went out for a walk along the promenade with our parents, and there was ice cream to be had in that sweet summer, waterside breeze.
There were a few nights she even slept through. Again, I put it down to the huge amount of stimulation and activity she suddenly had added to her days. And she was loving it!
Routine
So instead we have a "pattern" which we keep in mind and attempt to keep to, for Emily's sake. We know that at the moment she naps approximately 3 times a day, one short nap in the morning, a good 2-hour (ish) one in the early afternoon, and sometimes another short one late afternoon. They ebb and flow, but the general pattern is always there. Her feeds are also somewhat predictable. Her bedtime is what we keep to with more determination. She bathes at about 6:30pm, and is asleep by 7pm. When this is not the case, it often results in a meltdown on her part which has her up and screaming until 11pm (something that we wish we'd recognised when she was 2 months old).
So while in Malta, we kept this in mind. Her naps did suffer slightly until she got accustomed to sleeping in her pushchair since we were out most of the day (she usually naps in her cot), but her bedtime remained sacred. More often than not, she was so exhausted from the bit of "swimming" she'd done, that had we wanted to keep her awake we'd not have been able to anyway!
She was asleep by 7pm every night. And on some nights, we transferred her from cot to pushchair (having seen how very deeply she sleeps at night!) and went out for a walk along the promenade with our parents, and there was ice cream to be had in that sweet summer, waterside breeze.
There were a few nights she even slept through. Again, I put it down to the huge amount of stimulation and activity she suddenly had added to her days. And she was loving it!
Eleven Days, Part 1
At the end of June, we ventured abroad for the first time with Emily for what would be her first visit to the "Homeland", Malta. Everyone was excited to meet her, expectations were high. I was just glad the flight was a short 3-hour one, and not any longer. My expectations didn't really exist past that flight. I just wanted to get through it sane and preferably not hated by every other passenger on the plane. Having been those people who begged God and anyone else who'd bother to listen to ensure we were not seated next to a baby on a flight, we were about to be The Parents of Infant on Flight... the same people the old us shot poisonous thoughts at. (I might be exaggerating a little.) In the end, it wasn't so bad. And it turns out many people are far more patient than I expected them to be.
Getting There
We chose to drive to Heathrow to be able to use our own carseat for Emily. The baby equipment used on this trip was planned with military precision. David's parents managed to get their hands on not one, but TWO, carseats Malta-side for Emily so we only needed to take our own pushchair (and had we wanted, we had one of those in Malta too, we just chose to take our own for comfort's sake).
Now let me make one thing clear. Travel Systems are the very antithesis of travel systems. They make travel harder and do not, in the slightest way, deserve the name. We've come back from Malta researching strollers, but that's another story.
Our flights completely clashed with Emily's usual bedtime. We did as much as we could to keep to her routine and left the rest to chance. Come 7pm, of course, she wouldn't sleep. There was far too much going on in the exciting, lit-up ceilinged airport to want to sleep. So we got onto the flight at 9.15pm with a wide-eyed, grinning baby being cooed at by everyone who passed.
Then she realised she was overtired and disaster struck. All the cooers ate their words and turned to the heavens for divine intervention for a quiet flight. The stupid air hostess came over to me and asked me if she could do something to help with the baby. I passed a snarky comment which she completely didn't get. What did she expect to do? Knock Emily over the head with a lifejacket to make her sleep?
She did sleep eventually, about 10 minutes which felt like a lifetime later, as soon as the engines turned on (yes, that's right - we hadn't actually left yet!). And then she slept for the entire flight on David's deader-by-the-minute arm.
She slept through the
She eventually stirred when we got to the flat in Sliema and I transferred her to David, who gave her a quick bottle while I set up the travel cot, we laid her down and that was that. She got up at 7am the next morning.
All in all, I'd say it was a very good first experience!
Notes: I was very confused about how to take her feeds onto the plane, and was hugely reluctant to waste anything. I decided against taking cartons of ready made milk, instead taking a flask of boiled, cooled water, and powder in a dispenser. I'd heard so many "horror" stories about getting feeds past security, and official advice seems to change by the week. I only needed to take a small sip out of the flask and we were through.
However, should push come to shove, and you need to use shop-bought mineral water air-side, just try and ensure that the sodium (Na) level is less than 200 milligrams (mg) per litre, and the sulphate (SO or SO4) content is not higher than 250mg per litre. (more here)
The Nursery
It's been a mostly frustrating weekend full of stop-start contractions and false hopes. Twelve minutes apart for hours on Friday night, but no baby. No more regular contractions either after Saturday lunchtime. So now we keep busy...
And because so far you've only seen my initial "idea board" and then just a little taster of the nursery, I thought that a proper post was overdue. I've spent a lot of time in there today, and while there are still some finishing touches needed (such as the second set of curtains), this is pretty much it!
Can you see the teddy bear pictures on the wall? I fell in love with them at B&Q over the weekend! Rattan chest also from B&Q. The rainforest animal wall art is a Fisher Price Room Make-Over Kit (stickers). Cot and dresser are the Sleigh range from Babies R Us. The armchair is an Ikea one we already had - we'll change as and when we see fit. Curtains, 123 baskets and windowsill pictures are also Ikea. Cot mobile is Mothercare Sunshine Garden. The wall behind the cot is painted in Dulux Soft Truffle, from when I redid the room in 2009.
I am fully aware that Emily will not use this room for several months to begin with (there's a moses basket waiting for her in our bedroom as of today). However, I don't like the thought of - after months of sleeping in our room - suddenly transferring her to a room she barely knows. My idea is to spend some time in the nursery with her whenever I can beforehand, for her to get used to the environment and therefore already be familiar with the room when the time comes for her to move into it. Will it work? Only time will tell. No harm in trying! :)
And because so far you've only seen my initial "idea board" and then just a little taster of the nursery, I thought that a proper post was overdue. I've spent a lot of time in there today, and while there are still some finishing touches needed (such as the second set of curtains), this is pretty much it!
Can you see the teddy bear pictures on the wall? I fell in love with them at B&Q over the weekend! Rattan chest also from B&Q. The rainforest animal wall art is a Fisher Price Room Make-Over Kit (stickers). Cot and dresser are the Sleigh range from Babies R Us. The armchair is an Ikea one we already had - we'll change as and when we see fit. Curtains, 123 baskets and windowsill pictures are also Ikea. Cot mobile is Mothercare Sunshine Garden. The wall behind the cot is painted in Dulux Soft Truffle, from when I redid the room in 2009.
I am fully aware that Emily will not use this room for several months to begin with (there's a moses basket waiting for her in our bedroom as of today). However, I don't like the thought of - after months of sleeping in our room - suddenly transferring her to a room she barely knows. My idea is to spend some time in the nursery with her whenever I can beforehand, for her to get used to the environment and therefore already be familiar with the room when the time comes for her to move into it. Will it work? Only time will tell. No harm in trying! :)
10 Days
Just ten days left till Christmas. Is anyone else as excited as I am? There are gifts waiting under the tree - I can't wait for Christmas morning when they can all be ripped open. Our day this year is going to be a quiet one - just the way we wanted it to be. Next year will be so completely different!
It's already been an excellent December so far. My family was over visiting last week, which was lovely. Unfortunately I've now caught a cold which has me feeling pretty miserable and yet very reluctant to miss my last antenatal classes. I'm holed up at home on a diet consisting mostly of chicken soup, and mugs of hot water with honey and lemon, and I've even given in and am now taking paracetamol (I'm terrible about taking medicine on a regular day, let alone pregnant).
Speaking of which, Little Miss Emily seems to be picking up on my excitement for Christmas, rolling around and dancing all day long. That, or she's firmly fighting the ever-decreasing amount of space she now has to move about in ;)
I am loving being able to make out her little body parts as she moves. Her tiny hands actually tickle me sometimes. It's pretty incredible. I'm dying to meet her. (...7 weeks...)
[image]
It's already been an excellent December so far. My family was over visiting last week, which was lovely. Unfortunately I've now caught a cold which has me feeling pretty miserable and yet very reluctant to miss my last antenatal classes. I'm holed up at home on a diet consisting mostly of chicken soup, and mugs of hot water with honey and lemon, and I've even given in and am now taking paracetamol (I'm terrible about taking medicine on a regular day, let alone pregnant). Speaking of which, Little Miss Emily seems to be picking up on my excitement for Christmas, rolling around and dancing all day long. That, or she's firmly fighting the ever-decreasing amount of space she now has to move about in ;)
I am loving being able to make out her little body parts as she moves. Her tiny hands actually tickle me sometimes. It's pretty incredible. I'm dying to meet her. (...7 weeks...)
[image]
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