Tag Archives: Little House on the Prairie

Even God rested on the 7th day . . .

by . Posted on
03 Nov

Eureka!

I have been going round and round my little house and the outer edges of insanity as well as riding a rollercoaster of emotions (none of them pleasant!) and poor Ged has borne the brunt of the hormonal hell so I sat us down the other night and allocated strict allocation of chores and suggested I have one day off my new life as Mum a week.  Ged agreed to have Saturday as his day off his life as a slave to the wage or the farm and spend it solely with his son and I get to do whatever I want as long as I come back and bare my breasts every three hours (for Ben, not Ged, obviously!!)
So I had Saturday mucking out my horses and mowing the lawn and pruning the lavendar bushes etc – bliss.  I finally realised just how trapped I had felt in my little cottage with my only excursions to the washing line and back once I had the right to roam again and the body that would finally allow me to lift and bend etc.  I hadn’t realised how restricted I had been physically in the last month or so of pregnancy and then the post partum pain and posterior pronouncements!  So all of a sudden I felt free to be me again and to do once more, instead of giving directions from my armchair where I was chained to my son and Little House on the Prairie!
And by the end of the day I understood that I really needed that day off – no wonder I was going mad!  And I have felt so much better ever since – it was like a door opening in my head and light shining through it.  I had even begun to wonder if I was going to be a post natal depression statistic.  But that beautiful day and 12 hours sleep have changed me into a much nicer, calmer person and we are all the better for me having Time Out.  And Ged loves his day of doing very little with his blue eyed boy so it’s a win-win for everyone.
The gradual healing of my body also makes me feel a lot happier – Macca says us older ladies do take longer to heal, but it is a slow process, and you know me, I am not a patient soul!!  Although I am taking Bush Flower Remedies to try and change that habit and I do seem to be slowing down, expecting less of myself and others and just doing what I can do and not stressing about the rest . . . after all, the dust and dirt will still be there tomorrow and as Scarlett O’Hara always said ‘tomorrow is another day . . . ‘

Breast is Best

by . Posted on
27 Oct

Well they may have been small (but perfectly formed) but they are now Big Bertha-ish and obviously filled with the right formula, because the little man has put on 625 grams (well over half a kilo!) and grown – wait for it – FIVE CENTIMETRES since he was born.  Breast is definitely best for Benjamin!

And his Mummy is a lot happier because her Emma Roids (as Millie so subtly calls them) are gone . . . we consulted Dr Google and found numerous references to topical application of Apple Cider Vinegar and since we have gallons of that which we feed to the horses, I decanted a small amount for my bathroom use and began applying with some serious trepidation as to stinging, but no pain, no gain and actually there was no pain at all so I kept going and now they are gone!  Admittedly the fairly intrusive and extensive Bowen manouevre our practitioner did when I had a treatment the other week to hoik my insides back up where they belong has also made a huge difference.
Now just need to keep doing my Kegels to try and rearrange that part of my anatomy too . . . I found this classic website the other day ‘What to Expect’ by the author of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ and looked up Post Partum Pain.  Under Cause it said ‘passing a 7, 8, 9 or 10 pound baby through a relatively small opening’.  Oh yeah – that’ll do it every time!!
I’m still loving my Little House on the Prairie sessions and will be lost when I have finished them all.  These will be the only programs Ben is ever allowed to watch – they teach him to be God fearing and loving, say his prayers, walk three miles to school and back every day, love his Mummy and Daddy and, most importantly, DO HIS CHORES!!
We are still being overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity – trips to the Post Office are becoming Santa-ish for Ged.  We have clothes and toys from every far flung corner of the country and world and Master Benjamin is definitely best dressed in the neighbourhood – thank you!
His Mummy will be a lot happier when she can get into her clothes again – in my lifetime do you think?

Dairy Cow

by . Posted on
20 Oct

It was pointed out to me during the week that I am less of a Mad Cow and more of a Dairy Cow now that Benjamin has laid claim to my boobies!

Last week I really did feel like a Dairy Cow – Benjamin was on the boob from 7am til 10, 11 or even 12 pm with only brief breaks for power naps while I rushed around trying to wash nappies, wash up, and wring my hands and in the evening go out into my shed for a good howl and a bit of ‘me’ time while Ged soothed the little man.  As you can imagine, I don’t believe in dummies, but after one particularly harrowing and long day I said ‘right, that’s it, tomorrow we are getting a dummy’.  ‘Do you want a dummy’ asked Ged shyly (or was that slyly?).  ‘I’ve got one in the car!’  It turns out that he, knowing more about parenting and babies than I, has seen all his friends resort to a dummy at some stage and taken it upon himself to buy a couple ‘just in case . . . ‘  Well, bless that man, that dummy is my new best friend!!
I can walk away with raw, depleted breasts and Ged can get Benjamin to sleep with rocking and cuddling and that blessed dummy in his mouth!
By Monday I was a basket case and luckily Macca came visiting.  She reprogrammed that little boy back from the devil incarnate he had become, into the sweet little angel we originally ordered and were delivered!  Thank God!  She has put us both on a three hour feed and sleep schedule which is going great and allows me some sleep, a life and hopefully the chance to get some work done at last!
He’s a lot happier with lots more sleep, and we have some fun play times, so it seems I was torturing him by keep offering him the boob when he got sucky, as much as I was torturing myself (I should start saving for his therapy now, you think?) and I’m a lot happier with some semblance of a life back . . . being chained to a chair in the lounge, with a boy on a boob 24/7, I had taken to watching ‘Little House on the Prairie’ episodes to stave off boredom and the men in the white coats . . .even a dairy cow only gets milked two or three times a day!!
So thanks to everyone who offered support, sustenance and a shoulder to cry on during my week from hell, and here are some happy pictures of us now that the good ship Motherhood is back on a more even keel!