Tag Archives: work

Baby Boot Camp

by . Posted on
19 Jan

Start as we mean to go on!  We are all back at work this week and since that means Ged leaves at the crack of dawn and is gone til 5 or 6pm, I am resolved that Benjamin and I have to get into a routine so we can  survive the days.  So we normally have a 5ish am feed and then go back to sleep.  Ged gets up at 6 and leaves us in bed snoring.  We both have a squirm when he leaves but I shush Ben back to sleep and hope for a good snooze then we get up at about 8am.  Singing, playing, bath and boobie and then Benjamin goes to bed in his bed, in his room for (hopefully) two hours so I can sit at the computer and get some work done.  Then he wakes up and we have some more singing and hugging and then I have a shower while he watches from his bouncer (lucky boy!) and then tummy time, lunch time and back to bed for the boy (sometimes happily, sometimes not!) and I go back to the computer and the phone for an hour and then normally he is up again so we let him have a good kick on the sofa while I race around trying to clean the house and then we are both clock watching until Ged gets home and I get to catch up on the backlog of work or chores and go for a walk . . . me and phee time

So far, so good.  It’s like baby boot camp here – we live and breathe by the clock.  Until Saturday when Ged took over . . . I did explain the principles of the new regime but obviously wasn’t clear enough on the details – Ben and Ged had a lovely day together – no routine, no rests, no rhythm at all!  So Mamma Minute had a battle on her hands on Sunday.  I bought Ged a gorgeous Seiko watch for Christmas so he could keep track of all the different times in our lives (bed time, booby time, bath time, nap time etc) – well actually Kevin Rudd did – the government gave each child in Australia $1,000.00 as part of the economic stimulus package.  (We were supposed to spend it so I did!!)  and I have my trusty surfy lilac watch on all the time, along with my ‘Milk Band’ – the perfect Mummy’s Little Helper for those of us suffering from complete brainlessness (unfortunately not fully automatic – needs input!) – it tells me which boob first at what time – amazing, invaluable, essential!!
So the days are more organised although we have some battles royal over bed time and then by the time Ged gets home we can both be overtired, over emotional, and over wrought.  But we will both be better at it with practice (please God!)

The children are all in clover!

by . Posted on
13 Oct

Tinkerbell has been locked up behind the house for a couple of weeks now as she has laminitis.  She was therefore present for the birth of the baby who will love, master and live with her into her dotage.  She just lay by the back door all through labour and didn’t call out for Baby or make a fuss about her confinement like she normally does as soon as the sun is up.  Instead she was quiet, present and contemplative until Benjamin was safely birthed into her world.

Then Baby came down with it!  First time ever and the result of a crazy clover season.  We all have hundreds of acres of clover at the moment – too much, too rich, for all the stock.  It would seem that after all that rain and our two floods, after ten years of drought, all the dormant seeds in the ground are thriving.  So now we have Two ponies locked up in a very small section of the house paddock, and then, just when Tinkerbell was getting better, she became a three legged horse, literally hopping, and in despair I called the vet out.  She had been up to her normal Houdini escapologist tricks and somehow had severely injured her hip.  That’ll teach her, you would think, not Tinkerbell . . . she may only be hopping but she can still get out!  Electric fence put paid to her shenanigans but what with a new baby, two sick ponies and a dog who is definitely not getting enough attention I was pretty close to reaching the end of my tether . . . !
Macca came and weighed Ben and he has put on HALF A KILO – pretty impressive . . . there’s goodness in them there boobies after all!  There’s no doubt that Master Love is a tit man – those big blue eyes light up every time the milk bar opens and he starts licking his lips . . . I am trying to teach him that it is good etiquette to kiss the girls first, not go straight for the boob!!
And I have discovered that he is a complete groover – he has moves, he has rhythm, he LOVES to dance with his Mummy – will get Ged to take pictures.
All my plans of having three months off work went pretty much straight out of the window and we were working three days after the birth (pretty impressive!) and am now just squeezing it in between feeds – so on a good day I might get two or three solid hours of work under my belt – keeps me on my toes!
Ged went back to work this week, although he had done about 4 days work during his two weeks paternity leave so it didn’t feel like a holiday and nothing got done on the farm, but he and Benjamin just adore each other and he is in charge of winding and soothing the little man, and I take care of the input and while he is at home, the output is all his!!
Gotta go, I hear His Master’s Voice . . .

Waiting for Baby . . .

by . Posted on
22 Sep

I was so sure that by now we’d have a baby to share with you.  However, it was that little curly haired blonde girl who told me she was going to be a Virgo, 9 months ago.  So since she is a boy, instead of a girl (presumably that means dark haired too), it is inevitable that he will be a Libra instead!  Oh well, we need a bit of BALANCE in our lives . . .

So here I sit, gross with child, puffy feet, wrists and ankles . . . it’s not quite 2 in the morning and I have been up since the witching hour.  Tinkerbell has a chronic case of laminitis so I sat out with her for an hour, doing reiki on her gurgling tummy and tortuous toes and now I am catching up with you all . . .
Waiting for a baby to come is a very funny feeling.  You clear the decks, refuse to plan anything and then life comes calling and you have to get back into it, regardless.  I had sworn that I was going to be a little stay at home farm girl for the next few weeks.  The midwife has my 4WD in case of flood so I am grounded and dependent on my husband for his wheels.  Feeling that birthing was imminent he did a huge shop last Tuesday and came home to me smiling sheepishly saying that one of my clients needed me to second interview staff for him (all part of the ‘how we grow your business better’ service!!) so I was going to glam up, grab the car and get gone . . . .
It’s a good thing he has the patience of a saint . . . !  I got heaps of work done last week, actually, perched in my little nook above the washing machine, even though my clients have to put up with my Baby Brain, and a few suppliers have been on the receiving end of the ‘don’t mess with the pregnant lady’ temper.  My fuse was always shorter than most  . . . it’s non-existent now!
So we have been adding finishing touches – we have curtains in our bedroom now and hooks on the back of doors and all those little details which make life easier and a house a home.  One of the neighbours came over on Saturday night bearing a home-made baby quilt for Benjamin which was very kind . . . and Ged came back from the Post Office on Friday laden down like Santa Claus with parcels for this very spoilt Baby Love – amazing how kind and generous everyone has been – thank you!  After forcing the poms to go Baby Gap shopping for organic clothes for us, we have FINALLY found a nice, reasonable, online store where we love the products and they even have a ‘specials’ department for seconds and sale items – can’t recommend it highly enough: www.babyecostore.com.au
Meanwhile we are enjoying the community parenting displayed by the mixed horse/cow herd.  Arthur gets babysat by whoever is willing and can be a long way away from the rest of the herd with his chaperone.  Both Arthur and Phoenix are desperate to be friends (the latest is Arthur keeps wandering up to Phoenix) but one of the over-protective herd nannies puts its head down and charges to shoo Phee away.  The definite down side of having Arthur is that Phee has discovered a new doggie delicacy – calf poo.  I’m sure it’s very tasty but it doesn’t agree with his digestion – Ged and I are suffering from his constant and cruelly overpowering wind as a result . . . phew!
I guess I’d better go to bed and TRY and get some sleep  . . . maybe this time next week I’ll have someone to show off . . . meanwhile here’s the only baby we’ve got for now!