Category: baby

3 cheers for energy!

/ Renae / 2 Comments

About 2 weeks ago, I started to crash and burn. Until that time I had been feeling fantastic, still walking to and from work, and just generally buzzing. I started to have so much trouble (yes, more than usual) getting out of bed in the morning, and cut back my work day to 10:30-5, and even then I only made it to work 3 days that week. By Friday evening, after my third sleep for the day, I was convinced that this is what all the mothers had been telling me about – that I was at the end of my energy. I was convinced that I would have to give up work effective immediately, and that I’d be spending the following 7 weeks (give or take, depending on when Littlefoot makes his/her grand entrance) on the couch.

But then on Saturday I woke up and felt a little better. By the end of the day (and no naps) I felt really good, and only got better on the Sunday. And by Monday, I was feeling fantastic again, just in time for work! Woo hoo! I still decided to keep my 10:30-5pm work day, and cut back to 4 days a week, taking Wednesdays off. But the energy just keeps coming!

Like today, I was up at 8:30am (though that was a bit hard) and I’ve been to church, done the shopping, done a load of washing, had a leisurely lunch and iced coffee with Hubs in town and had a rest while enjoying the beautiful sunshine and stunning warm weather that Wang is putting on for us this weekend. I’ve cleaned the bedroom, the bathroom, and am about to finish a blog post! The next thing on my list is to put the shopping away and maybe, if I’m still feeling good, make some pasta sauce. From scratch, cos you know, I live in the country now 🙂

Now before y’all lovely people tell me I should be resting and taking it easy, rest assured that I have done these things at a leisurely pace with a number of breaks (like this one!!) and am planning on doing absolutely nothing this evening. Well, maybe make some cards or do a spot of sewing. But I just figure that while I’m feeling this good, and feeling this motivated, I should put it to good use!

Hip hip!
Hooray!
Hip hip!
Hooray!
Hip hip!
Hooray for energy!!!!

The loaded question

/ Renae / 1 Comment

Is it just me, or do mothers-to-be get asked more loaded questions than the general public? Here is an example of a question that I don’t mind being asked:

“Are you riding your bike to work, Wifey?”

Here is an example of the “question” that I have been asked about 30 times since moving to Wangaratta and, shock horror, have been riding my bike to work:

“Your not riding your bike to work are you Wifey?”

“Well yes, is a matter of fact, I am. Wanna make something of it?”

Shouldn’t I be being commended for wanting to keep active and fit during my pregnancy instead of being told I should be driving the 1.8km to and from work every day?

Now, granted, I did blog recently about how I’m a bit unco on a bike, so when Hubs and I found a commuter bike at The Ceres Bike Shed a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne, I was in love. I’ve been meaning to blog about Ceres for AGES – ever since we bought our bikes from there 18 months or so ago, in fact. Ceres is basically a hippy farm (sorry, no offence) and amongst other things they have this totally awesome bike shed. Basically, you rock up, pick a bike that you want, which may be in good condition and just in need of a bit of tweaking (my first bike just needed a new seat and adjustment of the breaks) or at the other end of the spectrum, you can build a bike from scratch out of all the recycled bike parts. Cool hey?

This is what the “bike shed” looks like:

There’s also more of a “shed” looking thing where all the tools are kept. There are volunteers on hand to help you out, but the idea is, they give you some guidance, and teach you so you can learn how to do it yourself. The first bike Hubs chose only needed the gears replaced (or so we thought) but after 2 hours they realised it was actually beyond repair, so he had to choose another one which just needed some minor adjustments. That was our first encounter with Ceres, and we walked away with 2 bikes and a 12 month membership for $100. Not bad hey?

This was our second trip to Ceres about 6 months later when my peddle broke and I needed a new one. I replaced them myself and it cost me a whole $5. I felt very clever indeed.

So our third trip was a couple of weeks ago when I found my new little baby. Her name is Daisy. This is not the best photo, but how cute is she???

Hubs spent about 2 hours putting in the gears and new brakes while I just stood around and looked pretty. I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos of him working on the bike!!!

Every time I ride Daisy I feel like a clown in a circus (in a good way!) and have the circus tune in my head. You know the one. Just imagine a clown on a little bike with a honky-honky horn and it’ll come to you. I’m going to get Hubs to take a video of me riding this thing. I just love it! It’s so easy to ride and I feel so much more confident than I have on any other bike.

Now. There was a point to this post. Aaaah yes. The loaded question. Our neighbours, God bless them, are very concerned about me and Littlefoot, and worry when they see me walking to work each morning. And don’t even get them started on me riding my bike. “I don’t believe women in your condition should be riding bikes.” I actually waited until one of the drove out of her driveway this morning before I left so I wouldn’t get a lecture! I felt so naughty!

So yes, I am riding my bike to work, kind neighbour; I did ride my bike to work, concerned colleague; and I will be riding it home again this afternoon, for anyone who wants to ask.

The jury is in…

/ Renae / 5 Comments

… and cloth nappies it is! I’ve been umming and aaahing over this decision for a few months now, but I  we have decided to go for cloth over disposables. Hubs didn’t really mind either way, saying helpful things like “well you’re going to be the one changing the nappies so it’s up to you. Hee hee.” Yeah right. We’ll see 🙂 A few of my close friends have used cloth nappies from day one, so there were plenty of sources to seek great advice from, whilst not having the pressure of them saying that I had to do it. Thanks guys!! You’ve been a great help.

And cloth nappies aren’t what they used to be. We’re going to invest in some of these types of nappies and have a few disposables on hand if and when needed. I’m actually quite excited about this venture, which just goes to show it is the right decision for us at this time. The most helpful thing that one of my friends said was that if you make it a part of your baby routine from day one, it doesn’t seem like such a big task. And having a summer baby, at least for the first few month we won’t have any trouble getting them dry!

I’m over 7 months pregnant now, and the reality of having a little baby soon is hitting rather close to home. I still feel like there’s so much to do, but I also know that no matter how much or how little we do to prepare, it will be enough and we will manage. Littlefoot has been making some pretty extreme moves lately, getting ready to make his or her grand entrance into the outside world I’m sure. I can’t wait to meet you little one!!

To Do

/ Renae / 1 Comment

Hubs is away on a retreat this weekend for med so it’s my opportunity to “get organised”. I’ve written myself a TO DO list (one of my favourite things “to do”! ha ha ha ha…) and blogging isn’t on that list, but boring things like vacuuming and washing and cleaning are, so it’s no surprise to find me here. I’ve prepared myself for doing lots of the things on my list – I have 8 hours of music lined up (currently listening to The Panel Live), I have a belly full of breakfast, and I have a speck of motivation which will hopefully be enough to at least get me started.

I’ll be good and keep it short (for now… I’ll probably be back later) and share with you a belly shot in a skirt that our good friend Mel made me. The photo doesn’t quite do it justice, so let me tell you how comfy and cute it is, just in case you can’t tell!

The force is strong within me

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I don’t know what it is about being pregnant, but it increases the earth’s gravity both within me and around me. Things that used to stay in my hands are now spontaneously attracted to the floor at any given moment. (Especially pens, my hat, vegetables, pots and pans, tubs of yoghurt… you name it…) Getting up is becoming hilarious, with me giving signals to Hubs to give me a push every time I want to leave the couch. If we were still sleeping on the futon, I would never get out of bed. Bending over is becoming an Olympic sport for me, and often when I drop things, I just leave them on the floor and either ask Hubs (very nicely) to come and pick up after me, or do a big emu parade at the end.

Pregnancy has also increased my clumsiness, though I didn’t think this was possible. It’s gotten so bad that Hubs is actually noticing all the clanging and banging that goes on when I’m in the kitchen, whereas before, he would just tune it all out. Though, he may just be more concerned as he knows that these days, dropping a few carrots on the floor can reduce me to a puddle of tears, snot and incoherent babble.

Having said all this, I am absolutely loving being pregnant. I have had a seemingly very easy pregnancy, with no real unpleasant symptoms or side effects that I’ve read all about. I do still have 9 weeks to go (is that it??) so anything can happen, but while things are going so smoothly, I’m just going to enjoy it.

And be okay with constantly dropping things.

Another baby shower!

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I headed up to Brizzie a few weeks ago to visit with my family and friends to share this whole “growing a baby inside my belly thing” with them. A few of my girlfriends were really keen to throw me a baby shower, so how could I possibly say no? Hubs wasn’t able to come up with me for this visit, so I went solo. It takes longer (obviously) to get to Brizzie from Wang, than it does from Melbs. Throw in a cancelled flight and more delays, and you have one tired Wifey arriving in Brisbane at 6:30pm, after getting on the bus from Wang (to Melbs) at 6:30am. It was totally worth it though!

We went and visited Nanny in hospital (she’s much better now) on the Thursday night after I arrived, then I had a lovely sleeeeeeep in on Friday and had a nice day with Kate and Alex (mmmm….. baby cuddles) and then had a nice relaxed evening at home with Mum and Dad. Dad and I watched the footy and had an early night. Then I had brunch with Ma and came back to Mum and Dad’s place for lunch before the showering began!

It was so lovely, as always, to see all my girlfriends and rellies. We played a couple of games, but mostly I just got to hang out with the most amazing women I know. There were lots of belly rubs (which, as you know, I don’t mind!) and oooohing and aaaaaahing over delightful gifts. I felt quite overwhelmed by all the love and support, and it certainly made leaving the next day harder.

Some happy snaps from the day:

The Belly Shot

Two Mums

Another 2 Mums! (Nanny’s still not happy that we live in “Victoria”)
With Ah-del and Bethie
The Nappy Cake (guess how many nappies!!)
(Bethie, you’ll have to leave the answer in the comments section cos I can’t remember!!)
I have some other photos but am having uploading issues, so I’ll hopefully share them another time! (And if you have any shots from the day, please feel free to email them to me!)

We then headed over to my bro’s birthday party at his place which was lots of fun. I got to catch up with a few of his friends whom I haven’t seen in a long time, and I met some lovely new people as well. It wasn’t a late night, and I was certainly ready for bed when we got home.

The next morning I had a leisurely brekky with Mum and Dad and then I had to sort through the 4 vacuum-sealed bags of clothes that Kate had left for me! That was quite a task! I picked out a few things that I thought might come in handy early on, and left the rest for when we stay in Brizzie over Christmas. There was just so much!! We left for the airport for my 1pm flight and arrived with plenty of time to spare. I was trying not to think about the actual leaving side of things, but as we walked to the security gates I lost it. I couldn’t stop crying and didn’t want to let go of Mum and Dad. The security guards told them to come through with me, which just meant I had to go through it all again once I had to board the plane!!

I managed to somewhat keep it together until I got on the plane, and then the waterworks began again. I was trying to be discreet, but it obviously wasn’t working as a flight attendant came over to me while everyone else was boarding to see if she could do anything for me. I just told her I was just a little bit sad and she looked at my bulging belly and said she understood.

Anyway, I made it home safe and sound around 10:30pm that night and was utterly emotionally and physically exhausted, but oh so happy as well. Hubs had texted me to say he had made me something and this is what greeted me on my arrival home:

I do love this man oh so much. If I remember correctly, it may have started the tears again, but in a really lovely way. Thanks again to everyone who came along on Saturday and sent their best wishes for our family. We know we’re a long way away, but I feel so close to you all and can’t wait to share more special times with you.

Songs for Labour

/ Renae / 7 Comments

No, not Labor, Labour. (click if you dare!!! 🙂

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

The Paul Simon Anthology
5 Disc set of the 80s that Lsl gave me
Everything I own from the 80s and 90s
A bit of David Bowie
A few dozen (or hundred) They Might be Giants songs (I know we’re a little late, but we are SO into them right now)
Cyndi Lauper (could be categorised in 80s and 90s but she deserves her own mention)
Roxette (see above)
Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a wonderful world. (On repeat.)
Some Miles From Nowhere. (Okay. All of it. With Hubs’ permission 🙂 ) (Is there a better link than that one??)
Lily Allen (I’ll try and limit the potty-mouth songs. That should be easy. Not.)

Any other suggestion? How many hours do I need? Do I just pick it all and chuck it on shuffle? Maybe I should add some calming, soothing tunes in there as well…

Hmmmmm……

Trying new things

/ Renae / 3 Comments

As I mentioned, Hubs and I have been taking Yoga classes since we arrived in Wang. I wanted to learn some relaxation and breathing techniques, and we both wanted to improve our flexibility. I have been mostly enjoying it, except that I seem to be getting worse, not better. Each week I find the class a little harder and feel like I can’t do as much as the week before, as my belly expands. I do feel I’ve benefited from the relaxation techniques, and have learnt some great “labour poses” (pose of the child, cat pose), and hope that I can apply them when the time comes.

I was watching Hubs do some “Dragon” poses last week and marvelled at how far he had come with his Yoga. For someone who could barely sit cross-legged before we started, he really has loosened up and developed a great technique. I was really quite proud! I’ll just keep plugging along and hope that it pays off in November.

I’ve also started riding a bike a bit more frequently. Now, let me tell you, riding a bike isn’t “just like riding a bike” for me. It does not come naturally, nor easily. Don’t get me wrong – I WANT to love bike riding. I WANT to be one of those people who just jumps on her bike to pop to the shops or to church or to a garage sale, but the thought doesn’t really float my boat. And being pregnant really doesn’t help my cause at all. Not only am I my usual amount of uncoordinated, but I’m now unbalanced (be nice) as well! The fact that I have a men’s bike doesn’t help either. Getting on and off that thing (having to swing my leg over the bar) is not easy, and don’t even get me STARTED on the size of the seat!!!

I found a bike at a bike shop the other day and fell in love. It was purple, it had a massive seat, a little basket on the back, it was a hybrid (whatever that means), and it was oh-so-cute (cos that’s important). And it was “only” $600!! I really think if we were going to be in Wang for the next 5 years I would invest in it, but I just can’t see myself riding much once we move back to Queensland. Mainly because of all the hills! I’ve never owned a new bike before, and certainly not one and pretty and fancy as that one. I just don’t know that I can justify the expense. But every time I have to get on my current bike, I am very tempted indeed!!

I am trying hard to embrace it a bit more, and over the weekend I DID ride my bike to a garage sale on Saturday and to church on Sunday. And it just makes me want that pretty bike even more…

Yes, you may touch my belly…

/ Renae / 2 Comments

… within reason 🙂

I don’t mind it to be honest. I have heard from many pregnant women that they got so annoyed when people touched their belly without their permission, but, so far, it hasn’t really phased me. I haven’t had perfect strangers coming up to me in the street (yet) but I have had people at work to whom I’m only been introduced a minute before, reaching out for a rub. I find it quite flattering and Littlefoot doesn’t seem to mind at all. So I’m just going to let anyone, who wants to touch my belly, just go for it.

Is that weird? Did you mind/would you mind people touching your/your wife’s/partner’s pregnant belly?

The name game

/ Renae / 6 Comments

A conversation currently in progress:

Hubs: “Remember how I used to call you Mags? What name could we give our child that could be shortened to Mags?”
Wifey: “If it’s a girl, Margaret?”
Hubs: “Hmmmmm…. and if it’s a boy?”
Wifey: “How about Magnum”
Hubs: “Middle name, P.I.”
Wifey, giggling…
Hubs: “And then, we can put the Pi symbol as his middle name and he can be called Magnum π”
Wifey, uncontrollably laughing at this stage, but he’s not done yet!
Hubs: “And then!!…….. We can call him….. Magpi!!”

Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

My Hubs is hilarious. Feeling sorry for Littlefoot yet people??