storbarnsförälder

She's awesome. She's so easy and happy and growing. She laughs - so far only for me, really, which is flattering but kind of sad for Rob. She doesn't much like a sling or carrier. She sleeps - from midnight to 7am she really only wakes 3 times, maybe 4, and only enough to eat - I hardly notice her wakings. Then she wakes for a BIG feed and goes back to sleep; so do I, fairly often, depending on whether I need a shower, whether she needs a shower, and what the big girls are up to.

She's as long as she is and weighs whatever it is that she weighs. She's had one lot of vaccinations and is due more when we get back from Ireland. She's teething, though so far it's unproductive.

She grins the hugest gummy grins of love and glee and blissfulness, especially when something awesome happens like she wakes up and sees me, or hears Rob's voice, or one of her sisters walks by, or something.

She can grab Rob's beard and pull.

When she's dirty I shower her in with me. She loves this, except for the part where the shower ends.

When she's clean I eat her all up om nom nom.

It's not much of a developmental update, but it covers all the major points!

( Tucked away )
Rob has been very energetic and cheerful. The new job suits him brilliantly. This morning he finally did some DIY that has been waiting for months and months - shelves in the front room - and also repaired last week's trike puncture, sorted out the gears on the trike, and ran some errands.

And Taimatsu came over and we weighed towels and sorted them for dying; the first load is in the washing machine right now. I hope they come out ok. There's no reason why they shouldn't, of course. Then we'll have a whole set of matching family household everyday towels, enough for everything we need, I hope. I would really, really like that.

Now Rob is coming back from Argos with a deep bookcase for the children's room and hopefully a saddle-cover for the trike for him.

My midwife's backup midwife came today. It had to be today, because Rob had some time off in lieu and won't be able to come from Google for antenatal appointments and today is his last day in the local job. She was pleasant and it was a useful meeting; now I know that if she's the one we get when it all kicks off we all know each other and what the situation is and she knows where we live and so on.

This is Rob's last day of being gone 7:45 to 17:15 - from now on, it'll be about 06:55 to 19:10, which is a bit longer for me and the children (I am having trouble doing sums but I think it's 9h30 vs 12h15). We've sorted out frozen meals for the first week or so while we find our feet. And today I'm doing very little; the fall off the train did have an effect on my general well-being, in that my SPD is sharper and my BH contractions are more frequent and stronger, though those not as much today as yesterday, so I think that will ease off soon. Some things are going to be complicated as the SPD gets worse though, such as getting the children to swimming and Girls Brigade (I already need to be extremely well to get them to ERAPA, and they don't like travelling in the heat or rain so we haven't been going much).

I need to hang laundry; I spent this morning cuddling Emer, who was very upset that she hadn't been allowed to get up in the nighttime and play so that she wouldn't fall asleep and have bad dreams. Instead she slept on Rob, until he lay down, and we all slept in awful painful positions in the big bed, Rob with his feet on the pillow and me facing the wrong way with my hips twisted nastily and Emer sprawled out between us. Actually, I think Emer's position was fine from her point of view, but from mine it was painful! So this morning I haven't done my minimum housework, and I ought to, because then I can do nothing at all with a clear conscience.

It's also my last evening off for a while, I think; Rob will come home, take Linnea to Girls Brigade, and take Emer swimming, and I will have almost two hours to myself. Next week I'll have to take them both to GB and of course I won't be able to to take E swimming so we will just wait - possibly if the library is open for some of it we can go there. There's even a possibility that Rob would be home from work in time to collect L from Girls Brigade, depending on the culture in that office; a lot depends on who gets to leave on time and who stays late to deal with transatlantic meetings and so on, and who Rob needs to be with for his first week while he's picking up the ropes.

The biggest bonus is that Rob is no longer going to be unhappy in his work. That will revolutionize evenings and weekends, no kidding. Even just having handed in his notice made a huge difference; actually working somewhere he likes will make a bigger one. The children are beginning to come around to the idea too, though Emer is a bit upset ("I will neber see Daddy at dinner again EVER!") and I'm pretty sure that when the new improved Rob shows up they'll be as enthusiastic about the change as we are.

Some things:

Sunscreen in spray bottles with a pump-action lid is not practical for our household. Neither of the adults can use it tidily and neither of the children can resist spraying it everywhere.

Keeping huge clothes in the attic was a very very good idea and I feel much better today having sized up again. Also, I learned (while digging through old, larger clothes) that my bra band has gone up eight inches so far this pregnancy. No wonder I so often felt I couldn't breathe.

Linnea's Girls Brigade bunch did a Sports Day and she won the obstacle race. She is absolutely elated. School-type Sports Days are a glorious ambition of hers and she's never made it to one before, though we had a few opportunities.

We need to buy Emer a floatie vest like the one Linnea had when she was 18 months. She doesn't get to go swimming anything like often enough, sadly.

Today was going brilliantly until I gave Linnea a joyous hug and she joyfully wrapped her legs around my middle and my hips just about caved under the strain and now I can't expletiving walk. As I was sitting recovering with my head in my hands and my feet on a carefully positioned stool Emer objected and wrenched the expletive thing away and my hips got even worse.

Now everyone is screaming and shouting and crying and I gave myself a headache sobbing over the pain.

If I could remember where the pain-

[power to laptop died]

Well, Emer calmed down enough to hand me my mobile phone, and I phoned Rob, who told me where the painkillers were; Linnea fetched me some and a glass of water, and Rob came home. I am now in bed awaiting hot water bottles for my joints and tea for my nerves, and he will also feed the children, who kicked up a massive fuss when I said I couldn't stand up to cook lunch and could they make their own (not because they can't make a damn sandwich but because they object to an incapable mother).

I am so tired of today. I have also remembered that I haven't yet complained about the disabled access at Bath Spa railway station, nor blogged about the bizarre woman on the bus who objected to my having crutches.