Things I'm a bit annoyed about

The currently annoying thing:

We've planned our holiday, a lovely 10-day break for the three of us with my mother, who is one of the most relaxing people on the planet - at least, for me and Rob she is. She drives some of my sisters mad, I believe. And we need to work out when a friend is coming to see us while we're there, which is fine - not as low-stress as just my mother, but pretty low-stress, and anyway there's lots of time for just the four of us around that visit. And now we need to work out when at least one of my sisters, possibly three, will also come, while we are having our 10-day holiday, so that they can all meet Linnea.

At this stage I am hoping that at least some of them won't be able tomake it, because to me, a holiday with my older sisters to whom I have never spoken regularly or frequently (the one to whom I did speak regularly is 9 years older than I; the other are older still) is not really a relaxing prospect. While it may be fine, I don't know. These are people I know less well than I know some friends I have never met in real life. I don't know what they like, I don't know what they are like to spend time with, I do know that their moral outlook is greatly different from mine, especially as regards environmental concerns... I don't know. And a great uncertainty is not relaxing.

The sooner I know the dates they are staying the better. Hopefully it will be early in our holiday so we can recover from it.

The annoying things it's reminding me of:

Also, when I had to go into hospital when Linnea was eight months old, I made it clear that she was breastfed. They asked if I wanted a room to myself, since I couldn't have her on the ward in case anyone saw her (not as crazy as it sounds - they would be dealing with ectopics, miscarriages, hysterectomies - some women do not need to see a baby at all in hospital, really they don't). I made a noncommittal noise, because I am intimidated by authority figures, and they said that I could have one if I didn't mind taking it away from someone who really needed it.

So of course I refused their generous offer. I asked for a breastpump instead, an electric hospital grade one. They assured me one would be provided. Luckily I brought my own handpump in, because not only did they not have an electric pump available, the only handpump they could find was missing a part. They did manage to get me some cold chemical sterilising solution for it... pumping with a cold wet appliance is very unpleasant.

Next time, I shall ask Rob to bring my own pump in and out of hospital to me a few times a day, so that I can deal with engorgement without all that unpleasantness. But ugh. I think they handled it badly.

And:

We are packing for the trip. I will need to bring everything myself and Linnea need for two weeks in a bag on my back. I used to be good at minimalist travel. Then I met Rob, whose theory is that if you might need it, you might as well pack it. Then I had a baby.

It's an interesting exercise. We've decided that since I can't really use the baby-carrier, Rob will pack his clothes in it, and bring it to and from Ireland. I will pack 18 cloth nappies, and a pack of disposables. And some disposable wipes. And a baby bed guard thing. And a baby monitor. Our clothes are a minor detail; they're not very big. Linnea's flotation vest thing is pretty bulky.

We will be buying a baby bath of some kind in Galway and carrying it a very brief distance, then leaving it in my mother's house. I'm hoping we can find a large-ish tub as that will be more useful than a small baby bath. All our baths in that house, as children, were in a large tub thing. It was big enough for two toddlers at once. We bathed in front of the stove. There used to be a photo of me bathing in the garden.

Augh! My life is so haaaaard! Augh! Wail! Moan! Gnash teeth! Pity me!

A splendid weekend

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Linnea spooned her own food from the bowl to her mouth as though she'd done it all her life.
• Snack: Linnea made it clear that highchairs are for babies and not for big girls. She ate at the dining table in the TotSeat and we decided to buy her a booster seat.
• Lunch: in the Fair Trade cafe, next to the Fair Trade shop, where I accidentally bought Linnea a spinning top and myself a jar of chocolate and hazelnut spread.
• Picnic: We picnicked in the park for no particular reason. Linnea climbed a hill and investigated a fountain.
• Dinner: We ate out in Bella Pasta, where Linnea had Mostly Red. She failed to share with the man in the white shirt sitting behind her, thankfully.

Sunday:

• We visited the GLOBE garden nearby, and received a free hanging basket with flowers. We applied for a key and put our names down on the waiting list for an allotment. It's a beautiful, quiet space, with plenty long grass and a lovely lawn. It's the size of many people's personal gardens, but much larger than ours, and we like it a lot.
• We went to town and had a picnic in a carpark! We ate outside the builders' merchants where we went to look at kitchens.
• There was a brass band in the park and we listened to it even though it rained. I knitted sitting on my coat under a tree.
• We walked home and nipped in to visit some friends, who loaned us a larger rucksack than the one we own.
• We ate dinner and I spoke to my mother on the phone for three quarters of an hour while Rob herded Linnea.
• We have begun to assemble the packing for Ireland.
• I have an octopus to send to Helen-Louise.