5 signs you have a new baby in the house and might be sleep-deprived:
1) You wash your baby's clothes in dishwasher detergent.
2) You send emails to yourself instead of the people you intend to write to.
3) You start a two line email at 9am and don't finish it until late that night.
4) You clumsily knock over a vial of expressed breast milk your partner has worked so hard to produce.
5) Cold lasagne that's been sitting out for several hours, without a salad, starts to seem like a good meal.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
I'm sympathetic, really I am... (Anna)
A conversation overheard between Caroline and Emma
(FYI - Mumma=Anna; Mummy=Caroline):
Caroline [affectionately, high-pitched Mummy-ese voice]]: Hiya sweetie. I'm going to burp you, yes I am. And you're not going to projectile vomit all over me, are you. Nooo. Projectile vomiting is something you do on Mumma - it's special bonding time just between you and Mumma. No, you're not going to projectile vomit on Mummy. When Mummy burps you, you just do good solid burps. Ok. Yes. Ok?
Pause.
[loudly, not-so-affectionately] Awwwgh. Yuck!!!!!!! Anna can you pass me a cloth? I've got vomit running down my leg...
(FYI - Mumma=Anna; Mummy=Caroline):
Caroline [affectionately, high-pitched Mummy-ese voice]]: Hiya sweetie. I'm going to burp you, yes I am. And you're not going to projectile vomit all over me, are you. Nooo. Projectile vomiting is something you do on Mumma - it's special bonding time just between you and Mumma. No, you're not going to projectile vomit on Mummy. When Mummy burps you, you just do good solid burps. Ok. Yes. Ok?
Pause.
[loudly, not-so-affectionately] Awwwgh. Yuck!!!!!!! Anna can you pass me a cloth? I've got vomit running down my leg...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
50 things we love about our daughter
1. Her adorable squeaking. We call her Squeaky.
2. Her smell.
3. The softness of her hair.
4. The way she strokes her hair, fascinated by its texture.
5. The peaceful expression on her face when she farts and pees..
6. The way she bobs her head when she's hungry.
7. The way she stretches when she wakes up.
8. The way she turns a fart into a full-bodied activity.
9. Her gorgeous mouth.
10. The way her hair colour seems to change daily. Auburn, blonde, brown?
11. The fact that she can be lying asleep looking like an absolute angel and then let out an ungodly, rip-roaring FART.
12. Her snuggability when she is asleep in our arms.
13. Her possessiveness over Caroline's boobs.
14. Her fury when the breasts don't do what she wants.
15. Her wide range of facial expressions. Sometimes she looks ancient and full of the world's widsom.
16. Her soft, soft skin.
17. Her beautiful blue eyes.
18. The way she gazes around her as she takes in the world.
19. The way she quacks like a duck, nays like a pony and whimpers like a puppy.
20. Her fierce clutch and strong grip.
21. The expression on her face when we burp her.
22. The fact that she thinks burping time, feeding time and changing time are all just great opportunities for a nap.
23. Her active dream life.
24. Her "spiral" belly button.
25. Her little hands and little feet.
26. The expressiveness of her hands as they flail about. She can distract herself from anything.
27. Her wriggles.
28. Her hiccups.
29. The way she cries and grips our hands when she poos.
30. The way she folds herself up in the baby sling, as if she is is still in the womb.
31. Her slow unfurling of her limbs as she gets used to life on the outside.
32. Her peacefulness and calm, even in the middle of chaos.
33. Her trusting gaze.
34. The way she suckles and licks.
35. The way she looks at us as if we are completely insane...but loves us anyway.
36. The way she steadfastly refuses to wake up no matter how much we rub her back with a wet cloth (this drives us crazy too).
37. The way she starts at the sound of running water.
38. The way she kicks in time to music (she did this in the womb too).
39. The fact that we can't find the words to describe how we feel about her.
40. The look in Caroline's eyes when she holds her daughter.
41. The look in Anna's eyes when she holds her daughter.
42. Her tolerance and patience with us singing stupid songs to her (like "It's my farty and I'll poo if I want to" and "I love you and you love me, Now let's all try a poo and pee")
43. The way she holds her belly after a feed.
44. The fact that she drives us completely crazy sometimes but we still think it's worth every second.
45. The fact that she's going to take her own sweet time to do whatever needs to be done, and we can only go along with it.
46. The fact that within two days she had established the pecking order in our family. She is absolutely the alpha in this relationship. Good for her!
47. That of all the hours to choose as her "alert period" (yes, she does have one), she opts for around 3-4am when we are both at our lowest and have nothing left.
48. The way she sprawls in our arms as if we are comfortable lounge chairs.
49. The way that, occasionally, we see a glimpse of a fiery spirit who will scream bloody murder when she needs to.
50. The fact that she's ours and we don't have to give her back.
2. Her smell.
3. The softness of her hair.
4. The way she strokes her hair, fascinated by its texture.
5. The peaceful expression on her face when she farts and pees..
6. The way she bobs her head when she's hungry.
7. The way she stretches when she wakes up.
8. The way she turns a fart into a full-bodied activity.
9. Her gorgeous mouth.
10. The way her hair colour seems to change daily. Auburn, blonde, brown?
11. The fact that she can be lying asleep looking like an absolute angel and then let out an ungodly, rip-roaring FART.
12. Her snuggability when she is asleep in our arms.
13. Her possessiveness over Caroline's boobs.
14. Her fury when the breasts don't do what she wants.
15. Her wide range of facial expressions. Sometimes she looks ancient and full of the world's widsom.
16. Her soft, soft skin.
17. Her beautiful blue eyes.
18. The way she gazes around her as she takes in the world.
19. The way she quacks like a duck, nays like a pony and whimpers like a puppy.
20. Her fierce clutch and strong grip.
21. The expression on her face when we burp her.
22. The fact that she thinks burping time, feeding time and changing time are all just great opportunities for a nap.
23. Her active dream life.
24. Her "spiral" belly button.
25. Her little hands and little feet.
26. The expressiveness of her hands as they flail about. She can distract herself from anything.
27. Her wriggles.
28. Her hiccups.
29. The way she cries and grips our hands when she poos.
30. The way she folds herself up in the baby sling, as if she is is still in the womb.
31. Her slow unfurling of her limbs as she gets used to life on the outside.
32. Her peacefulness and calm, even in the middle of chaos.
33. Her trusting gaze.
34. The way she suckles and licks.
35. The way she looks at us as if we are completely insane...but loves us anyway.
36. The way she steadfastly refuses to wake up no matter how much we rub her back with a wet cloth (this drives us crazy too).
37. The way she starts at the sound of running water.
38. The way she kicks in time to music (she did this in the womb too).
39. The fact that we can't find the words to describe how we feel about her.
40. The look in Caroline's eyes when she holds her daughter.
41. The look in Anna's eyes when she holds her daughter.
42. Her tolerance and patience with us singing stupid songs to her (like "It's my farty and I'll poo if I want to" and "I love you and you love me, Now let's all try a poo and pee")
43. The way she holds her belly after a feed.
44. The fact that she drives us completely crazy sometimes but we still think it's worth every second.
45. The fact that she's going to take her own sweet time to do whatever needs to be done, and we can only go along with it.
46. The fact that within two days she had established the pecking order in our family. She is absolutely the alpha in this relationship. Good for her!
47. That of all the hours to choose as her "alert period" (yes, she does have one), she opts for around 3-4am when we are both at our lowest and have nothing left.
48. The way she sprawls in our arms as if we are comfortable lounge chairs.
49. The way that, occasionally, we see a glimpse of a fiery spirit who will scream bloody murder when she needs to.
50. The fact that she's ours and we don't have to give her back.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Ode to Sleep (Anna)
Oh, mighty life affirming force, giver of peace, of hope. How I long for your presence in the darkness of the witching hours.
You used to creep into my bed at midnight and spoon-hug my soul, and stay ‘til after dawn. I would awake, refreshed by your presence.
On weekends, you stayed longer, gently caressing me beneath the warm, soft folds of the duvet . You left quietly, promising to return soon and often. You rejuvenated me, made me whole.
And now you have forsaken me. How I long for you, your guidance, your gentle, loving touch as I stare at my sleeping babe by streetlight in the hours before the birds sing. Without you, I am incomplete, a shadow of my former self.
Oh mighty Sleep, my muse, dear Lord I pray,
Please come back and visit me one day.
You used to creep into my bed at midnight and spoon-hug my soul, and stay ‘til after dawn. I would awake, refreshed by your presence.
On weekends, you stayed longer, gently caressing me beneath the warm, soft folds of the duvet . You left quietly, promising to return soon and often. You rejuvenated me, made me whole.
And now you have forsaken me. How I long for you, your guidance, your gentle, loving touch as I stare at my sleeping babe by streetlight in the hours before the birds sing. Without you, I am incomplete, a shadow of my former self.
Oh mighty Sleep, my muse, dear Lord I pray,
Please come back and visit me one day.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Supplies (Anna)
Aaaagh! Our fridge/freezer has broken. Again. Last time that happened, we lost $200 worth of groceries. This time, we have frozen meals cooked by friends to get us through baby-time, not to mention expressed breast milk!
We put in a horrified call to our landlord, who is now letting us use the freezer in an unoccupied apartment on the tenth flooor. It makes a casual amble over to the fridge a bit of a different proposition. Ours won't be fixed for another day or more, and we've lost a bit of food but have saved most of it. But still, stressful.
We put in a horrified call to our landlord, who is now letting us use the freezer in an unoccupied apartment on the tenth flooor. It makes a casual amble over to the fridge a bit of a different proposition. Ours won't be fixed for another day or more, and we've lost a bit of food but have saved most of it. But still, stressful.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Into the big, big world (Anna)
We had to laugh at ourselves today, our first trip into the big wide world with just the three of us. We went all the way up the big, scary hill to Shoppers. If you know our neightbourhood, you'll know that this is a long and arduous trip that takes an intrepid explorer a good five minutes to conquer and that the Shoppers is full of terrible threats to a newborn. We both felt very vulnerable and Emmy looked so small and fragile in her stroller. And it was raining! We both felt a strong need to make sure she was safe and warm and snug and protected. I must have peeped in to look at her at least every two metres, and when it was Caroline's turn to push, I had to bite my tongue to avoid reminding her not to let go of the handle so that the stroller didn't roll down the hill. Caroline pretended to be calm, but confessed at the end that it was all show and that she had an insane desire to tuck our daughter up on her chest and breastfeed her for hours to help her to overcome her terrible trauma of going out into "the world".
Needless to say, we survived. Oh the joys of being a new parent! :)
Needless to say, we survived. Oh the joys of being a new parent! :)
Pretty in Pink (Anna)
We are resigned that Emma will probably have to get her fashion sense from people other than us, especially if she has a penchant for pink. This week, we were reassured that she will indeed have fashion guidance of the highest quality.
There's a guy in our building who dances at one of the local gay clubs and has a drag queen act. He is very tall, incredibly stylish and the kind of guy who can actually get away with wearing boots that lace up to the thigh. We often bump into him in the elevator late on Fridays and Saturdays as he comes and goes from shows. Our conversations usually focus on his latest costumes, which are outrageous and incredible, and whether his audience for the evening is appreciative. Until this week, we didn't know his name.
He knocked on our door this week to give us a package for Emma - a very stylish pink outfit for her for when she is a bit older. He had obviously spent a considerable amount of energy selecting the perfect outfit for her. We were very touched. If our daughter can be half as stylish as he is, she will be on the right track.
There's a guy in our building who dances at one of the local gay clubs and has a drag queen act. He is very tall, incredibly stylish and the kind of guy who can actually get away with wearing boots that lace up to the thigh. We often bump into him in the elevator late on Fridays and Saturdays as he comes and goes from shows. Our conversations usually focus on his latest costumes, which are outrageous and incredible, and whether his audience for the evening is appreciative. Until this week, we didn't know his name.
He knocked on our door this week to give us a package for Emma - a very stylish pink outfit for her for when she is a bit older. He had obviously spent a considerable amount of energy selecting the perfect outfit for her. We were very touched. If our daughter can be half as stylish as he is, she will be on the right track.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
