Spring!

Yesterday it was 10C outside. Today it's closer to 15C. It's Spring!

And the baby's asleep, so we're not out in it, but never mind...

I went into town yesterday wearing a jumper over my tshirt but no coat. It was fine. En route, we met Katie and Alex, and diverted to a playgroup in a church. It was quite good, but there's a waiting list, so I can't go again until they call me with permission. Then we went into town and did errands, came home, ate, and Linnea went to sleep before Rob got home.

That was ok, though, because when she woke at midnight she stayed awake for ages and saw him then! There was laughing and romping and playing and giggling and all sorts. Hmm. Oops. That's probably why she's sleeping now.

I need to do a few very specific posts soon - a bra review, which I may post in theladiesloos or one of the pregnancy or breastfeeding communities - or hey, all three, why not? - and a thing about parental responsibility and gender roles and things (perception, practice, norms, expectations from outside and inside), but that's hard to write because my main case study is my own family and I can't decide whether or not I should just keep schtum. Perhaps I'll just let Rob read it first, and if he doesn't feel slandered by it, I'll post it then. And I want to do one on postnatal PTSD now that I'm a lot more... well. I reread a few of the old ones lately and I need to put an update in.

I found the footprint we took from Linnea in June. Her feet have more than doubled in size. I didn't notice her growing. When'd that happen?

Product review: Nursing bra

Pretty bra; Cotton bra; Nursing bra; Pick any two

I recently solicited a Livejournal community for information on nursing bras, because I had been able to find pretty nursing bras made of various synthetics, but none that were more than 60% cotton. Many people suggested various retailers of pretty nursing bras, but almost none of them had a good proportion of natural fibres. Anyone who recommended a good brand of cotton bras knew that I had to make do with black or white. Except the people who found pretty cotton bras! with no accommodation for the whole nursing thing. No-one makes them, apparently...

Bravado, however, do. I ordered the "Original Nursing Bra", basic design, in lilac gingham (OK, so my definition of "pretty" now means "anything but black, white, or animal prints" but ANY colour is good) from Mother's Bliss and it arrived less than 48 hours later.

Pretty bra: It's nice to look at, if you can stand lilac gingham, and most nursing mothers of my acquaintance can stand anything that relieves the monotony a little.

Cotton bra: It's 92%cotton, 8% spandex. That's as good as it gets, isn't it?!

Nursing bra: It has drop cups which fasten with poppers, rather than a hook and eye, which I'm not thrilled about, because poppers are harder on my fingers on a bad hands day. But it's built like a crop top - it has a big back with no fastening at all. That's a definite bonus. The cups at the front have a funny overlapping design, so it looked odd from the top, but it looked perfectly normal when I went and looked in a mirror, and unusually good under clothes. Also, when dropped for feeding, they didn't seem to creep back up the way my Mothercare and brand-I-forget-begins-with-R ones do, so Linnea didn't end up sucking fabric. It is so comfortable I'm wearing it again tomorrow, and ordering another as soon as I finish writing this. I'd wear it in bed but then it really would be unfit for wearing again tomorrow, even by Mum standards, which can put up with a lot in the way of noxious odours.

9/10 because well, lilac gingham isn't all it's cracked up to be, and I prefer hook and eye drop cup fastenings.

Better late than never?

Mormor would love that pill-divider... but she's dead. Nana would like to know that I've been knitting, I should put it in my next letter... but she's dead. I wonder whether Mormor will be better or worse when we go this summer? Ah - she'll be dead. I'd better save copies of those photos for Nana - but she's dead.Nana has been dead for about 8 years now and I almost saved her photographs of my daughter, who is only ten months old.

So when do I stop making mental notes of things to do for dead people?