Summation

Friday: We went into town to buy knickers for me, tights for Emer, and warm winter dungarees for Linnea. We failed to find tights but other than that we did pretty well. Linnea and I shared a sausage in a bun under the shelter of John Lewis' awning, and we had a pretty good time on the bus, too. After town we headed off to ERAPA, where there was almost no-one else due to the rain. Linnea met up with some of her favourite minions and played madly; then the older kids went off to a philosophy discussion group and the younger ones made shakers with chickpeas and rice and plastic cups and eggboxes and elastic bands and sticky tape.

We came home on the bus with another family, and when we got here there was loads of post, including two new slings for me and Emer (another post about slings later, I hope). I haven't the faintest what we had for dinner, but it was quick and easy and, importantly, cooked by Rob.

Saturday: We all slept in, and then went to the Farmer's Market in the trike to get more sausages in buns, and I picked up some nice pesto - pre-made pesto without parmesan is very hard to find. Then, painting in the town hall. We bumped into H & F & B just outside the door, so Linnea and F started off painting together; F ran out of interest after about 20 minutes, though, so they vanished somewhere and Linnea kept at it for almost an hour more. I waited in the nearby cafe, drinking tea, reading Livejournal, and feeding Emer. Rob and Linnea came to find me when she'd finished painting, and Linnea presented me with a bracelet made of plastic beads threaded on wire (a pipecleaner!) so I melted into a tiny puddle of goo and showed it to everyone in the vicinity. She's never made anything with beads unaided before. All Rob did for this one was to twist the ends together when she'd finished threading.

Then we pootled off to Tescos for some lunch, and while Linnea and I were finishing up Rob triked back home to collect the honeymoon kite. And we spent about an hour kite-flying, during which time I saw Rob get a kite to fly for the first time since we met (flying in the steady, reliable wind from a fast-moving ferry on the honeymoon doesn't count, though it was exceptionally cool). Linnea quite enjoyed it. After kites, we headed for the Hindu festival on the Thames promenade, where Rob and Linnea went on the dodgems, Linnea went in a spinning teacup, we all ate samosas, and we missed all the music acts though we did glimpse one act rehearsing. There was a police stall which gave us a booklet on improving home security and a sticker with "We do not buy or sell at this door" which I must remember to put up. I hate answering the door to find it's people trying to sell me things I don't want when I'm mid-nappy change or whatever.

We went to Waitrose after that, and on the way home found that the lights on the trike are a bit dodgy. They'd worked earlier in the day, but there seems to be something loose in the dynamo; they flicker on and off. So I shone a torch out the front and we went carefully home on the shared-use cycle/footpath, and one quiet road. Ugh.

Linnea fell asleep on the way home so we put her to bed - in the same nappy she'd had on almost all day.

Sunday: Rob and Linnea went swimming, and then we had lunch and piled into the trike again. This time we managed to get tights for Linnea, before going to King's Meadow again for more kite-flying. We put up the diamond-shaped kite, which had a very short line (35m) but flew very easily. The string for the one we flew on Saturday was too tangled to use again, because while I was telling Rob how to get it up in the air I forgot to tell him how to wind it so it wouldn't tangle. Oops. The diamond-shaped kite has no spool, but a funny shaped plastic handle, so you can wind the string in a skein, which is great for not tangling but awful for letting it spool out and go higher.

When we got home I started untangling the string; it's now untangled but needs to be properly wound back on the spool.

Monday: Rob went to work, and Linnea and I went into the garden and hung laundry, played in a sandpit full of rainwater, came in, Linnea had a bath (during which I noticed that part of her bottom has had a layer of skin actually chafed off, though she swears it doesn't hurt - but this is the child who never notices a graze and didn't even cry when her elbow was pulled badly enough that she couldn't use her arm for a day), I sorted clean dry nappies, changed Emer, gave Linnea her snack, emptied the dishwasher, cleared the kitchen counters, made lunch, filled the dishwasher again, served lunch, and wrote this post.

I have also been telling Linnea a lot of stories about a little girl called Linnea and a little boy called Dylan. She hasn't asked for any stories about Linnea and another little girl yet. I notice that most of my stories start off with transport, because it's an easy way to buy time while I think of a plot point ("And then they rowed and rowed and rowed the boat, singing 'Row row row', all the way to the...").

Posts still to make: Slings, C-section recovery

C-section and SPD recovery: what remains

My visible scar is fine and doesn't hurt but it has a lt of really itchy lumps around it that itch like crazy and drive me insane. Some of them appear to be regrowing hair but some are just lumps.

Other than that, I have a bruised, sore patch inside just above the visible scar, particularly on the right, and occasional twinges of pain on the left, too. I can lift just about anything I choose to, but some stretching and twisting is still beyond me. That said, I can dance! After Linnea was born, I tried to do some bellydancing at the Discworld Convention, and the twisting was agony, presumably due to the aftermath of the uterine infection I had had. Now I can dance as much as I choose.

Having Emer or Linnea brush against my abdomen is no longer painful. I don't appear to have a significant numb patch, either, though it's hard to tell because of the horrendous itch.

The SPD still aches after I walk any distance, so I will not be cycling for a while yet. I'm beginning to wonder whether the pain is partially due to an infection, but it's hard to tell. I have my 6-week-postnatal appointment in a week (9 weeks postnatally, but there you go, this stuff was much easier to arrange when I didn't have a toddler and wasn't as picky about doctors) so will bring everything up then.

I've slimmed down a lot faster than last time; I'm a 14 now, and I was a 16 for ages after Linnea's birth. I assume that that's because I was so inactive while recovering from Linnea's delivery. I feel generally fit and healthy and energetic until about 5 pm when I want to curl up and die, just briefly for the rest.

Slings! and other baby carriers

(Crossposted to communities and my own journal)

Coorie Fleece Pouch Sling: This is the one that arrived in Friday's post. It's purple fleece, and when I put it on at first I thought it was too small. However, a little practice has shown that it's very easy to put on, very easy to put Emer into, fairly easy to breastfeed in, and because it's a sized sling it requires no adjustment - I can let Linnea play with it and put it on just as quickly as if I'd hung it up. It's also easy to wear under a coat, and made a handy scarf for Linnea in the trike (Emer was in the carseat). The only downside is that it seems to drag my shoulder forward when I spread the fabric out and down my upper arm, which the ring sling just doesn't do. I can't quite work out why, but have compromised by not spreading the fabric that far, for now. That will be less comfortable later when Emer's heavier though. (My customer number is 677 if you want to credit me with a referral).

Peerie cotton pouch sling: Also arrived Friday, exactly the same as the Coorie but folds away to almost nothing so is handy in the nappy bag as an emergency sling. I haven't worn it yet but I believe it's not as comfortable as the Coorie because the fabric isn't as cushioned.

Hugabub: We've had this since Linnea was small. It's still good for carrying her around, facing outwards, and she's huge. Emer spends most of her evenings in it, curled up against Rob's chest, facing in. We never worked out the so-called "peapod" carry, where you use it like a pouch sling. The nice thing about this one is that one size really does fit all. The downside is that it's as long as a piece of string and a bit fiddly to put on if you're outdoors in the rain and wind, to pick a random example from the summer we spent on Aran with my mother. It dries overnight when washed. It also folds into the pocket in front for carrying around, and the pocket in front takes a nappy, a few wipes, a wallet and a paperback book without making Linnea complain about discomfort. There are a lot of other wrap-type slings around, it just happens that this is the one we have.

Ring sling: I've never bought from these people, but they showed up first on a google search when I wanted a picture for you to look at. This is the sling I brought to the breastfeeding group to show people. It's adjustable, which means one size fits all, and I used it in a hip-carry mode to bring Linnea around when I was pregnant with Emer. Now I use it to carry Emer around the house, and she does a lot of feeding in it. It dries overnight. One nice thing is that because it's not fleece, like the Coorie, it's very easy to slide around over my shoulder - I can bring her from in front of me to round my side and back again very easily. There's more friction with the Coorie so it's harder to swish her around. However, I admit that I haven't used the ring sling since the Coorie arrived.

Mainstream Baby Carrier: We had a Baby Bjorn before, and now we have a Tomy one, both second-hand. Well. Basically, I hate them. They take ages to adjust to size when we go from me or Rob wearing them, they are big and padded and take up loads of space in the nappy bag (actually won't fit in it, come to think of it), and we can't use them with a toddler. However, they are pretty straightforward to learn to put on, and once you have them adjusted for one person you don't need to do it again, except for adjusting the baby bit as the baby grows. I don't like the position for new babies either; all dangly, and I often find the legs look like circulation is being cut off and their little feet turn purple. Because they're padded they take ages to dry, too. But you don't get any funny looks wearing one, and no-one ever says "Oh, she's all curled up, is she comfortable like that?"

We also have a couple of baby backpacks, but that's a whole nother post and anyway Rob will have to make it, because he's the one who uses them.

Thanks to ai731 for giving me the ring sling in the first place, when I was pregnant with Linnea. I would probably never have bought a carrier myself until I found that they're not all like the Baby Bjorn.

Travelling with Tots

Crossposted to plan_survive and ailbhe.

In December I will be travelling by plane from Heathrow to Dublin with a toddler, a babe in arms, and a month's luggage.

Ulp.

I'm worried about a few things, most of which I can probably find out by calling the airline the week before we leave, but I'm worried now, so there you go.

1: Buggy. Will I be allowed to take it through security or will I have to check it in with the bags?

2: Bags. Will Linnea and Emer be entitled to a carry-on bag each? Linnea ought to be since she's paying for a seat. I'd love to have my carry-on (food and toys), Linnea's carry-on (nappy bag) and Emer's carry-on (no idea, probably won't be necessary). Also, I know it's one bag per person, but will they care if I put my handbag *in* the rest of the carry-on when they're checking and then take it out and keep it where I want it while faffing about in the airport?

3: Clothes. I assume jackets are allowed - what about a sling/baby carrier?I didn't think that would be a problem until I woke in the middle of the night worrying about it.

4: Going through security. Will they make Linnea and Emer go through ahead of me? They have in the past, and Linnea coped quite well, but I was fraught, and it would be worse with Emer. Simplest would be to wear her through in the sling, really, since that won't make anything beep.

5: Getting the baggage at the other end if I don't have the buggy. Is it physically possible or will I have to hunt someone down to help me?

6: Packing. Can someone send a pocket tardis?

I lose at parenting, also, packing list

Linnea is now watching TV because she whined at me. Yay. I'll regret this tomorrow. However, she also bit me twice and was sent to her room, played the Open The Fridge game, tried to smash the dishes in the dishwasher... Ho hum. Mind you, we did make jelly together (the delayed gratification nature of jelly-making is part of the problem) and put added sausages to yesterday's bean casserole together (more delayed gratification) and drew pictures and I told about a zillion stories about Linnea and Charlie and Lola; they go places, like the park and the river and the supermarket.

However.

I have determined that all three of us get a carry-on allowance of 6kg, to be packed in three seperate bags of maximum dimensions so-and-so. That's fine. The laptop is about 3kg with all its bits. I have also checked that the buggy can still go through security, which is good, and doesn't count towards Emer's baggage allowance of 10kg. In fact, we can check 50kg of hold luggage between the three of us, though we won't be, since that's almost what I weigh and I'm not carrying it.

One carry-on sized bag will fit under the buggy, one can hang from the handle, and the other can go over my shoulder. The rucksack with the check-in baggage will also be on my shoulder, of course. I could put Emer in the sling and the luggage in the buggy - we've done that before to great effect. Since it was easy to get luggage for myself and Linnea for a month plus all the cloth nappies into the rucksack, it won't be a problem getting luggage for three in there without nappies. I will be using disposables this trip. Two kids, international travel, one adult and cloth nappies in the middle of winter don't make for a relaxing prospect. It was ok in the summer. the biggest thing this time is the baby sleeping bag; I intend to bring two, for Emer, in case Mum's house is cold. She likes a room temperature of 15C by day, so it could be and she wouldn't notice until we arrived and then she'd start using those awful pound-a-second electric heaters which work but bankrupt people.

I forgot to ask about teething gel. Emer will be almost 4 months outbound. Damn. I know we can bring a bottle of paracetamol for her if I can find a small enough bottle. I hate measuring spoons of medicine, I much prefer the pre-measured sachets, but they are not allowed.

Anyway, it looks like we'll have more luggage allowance than I'll know what to do with, and it is possible to buy things like drinks and snacks airside in Heathrow, though not so much in Dublin. Then when we are going across Ireland I can pack down the three bags of carry-on into two bags, and then it'll be two bags and a rucksack and a buggy, if that much. If there isn't a postal strike, I could post some of our clothes ahead, perhaps... but that seems very trusting to me. I'll have to get nappies delivered to both locations, by the eco-friendly nappy-deliverers. Damn.