Laptop Dancing...

I'm faffing around trying to work out how to use the new laptop. I haven't
to managed to post any pics, although the pics are now on the laptop. Otherwise, it's amazing- I highly recommend Dell for service, price and speedy delivery...

Boys...

J & her two tear-aways A & T dropped in and we had a conversation about 'raising boys' (ie how in many ways it is easier than girls, especially as they get older). It's been cold today- trying bubs in a variety of clothes but finding extra bunny rugs the best thing for added warmth and snuggle factor. We have to allow for the Little Boy Bits factor, whereby he remanins in a clean nappy, but wets his t-shirts in an upward saturation! I haven't been given the fountain treatment yet, but D has been 'baptized' several times while changing him. In the photo just to the right, he is wearing his 'Baby Bear' label beanie with the faux-fur lining, courtesy of Grandma and Aunty c.

I was just thinking how amazing it will be when I have the new PC and can scan photos and add all sorts of things to this blog, pics of Bryn, the garden, rellies and visitors, a snapshot of how the house looks. How exciting- only 7 more sleeps until it is delivered...

Laptop au GoGo...

I FIIIIINALLY bit the bullet and bought a Dell notebook today (online special) with phone sales assistant help- a bit over budget but heck- everything that opens and shuts for music and picture files. I can soooo feel my book coming on, I jusy want to get out there and type it!

Also had a visit from B and her baby F, who is only 6 days younger than Bryn but even bigger!
4.3kg birthweight). We took a couple of snaps for future reference. D did some gardening out the front while the sun shone.

My sis has asked me to be a model for some beauty treatments on Monday am. The homebirth gang gathering is back to Monday pm now- tea and birfdy cake thanks!....

Expose...

Sunday afternoon saw us at the Pregnancy & Baby Expo at Claremont Showgrounds- largely crass commercialism, with some interesting stalls. We took Grandma Pam, who seemed to enjoy herself. I got loads of comments about my new wrap sling, questions about where I got it (ha! It cost $20, I made it in ten minutes flat that day, compared with $hundreds for gimmicky devices on sale there!). Followed immediately by a visit from the D'S family. The nephews, especially 8 yearold N, are so curious about their new cousin. 14 year old J just takes it all in and is very soft and gentle around Bryn.

Monday was a bit social too. K, who with her partner has sold their house in the wheatbelt and is flying to Melbourne for good today, popped in to meet Bryn and say goodbye. We finally got to visit S & B and new Baby J. in the afternoon, armed with gifts for all. Midwife T had just left. I've done up an astrology chart for baby J. See www.astrodienst.com if you want to generate charts and readings on the 'net easily.

Bryn's Big Sis A. spent the evening here, playing Trivial Pursuit with D, watching Princess Bride DVD and terrorizing poor Charlie of course. She's more gentle with bubs now and quite curious and wanting to 'nurse' him (her words)...

Look Mum, No Hands!...

I managed to run up the new wrap sling for Bubs on the sewing machine this morning. It's a cheerful somewhat stretchy red with white flower print, winter weight jersey type fabric. It's sooooo comfortable- I would highly recommend it as a hands-free way to carry and feed Baby. I bought 2.25m of 130cm wide, then cut two 50 cm strips which I sewed into a 4.5m length. I then zigzagged the raw edge and hemmed all the way around for neatness. I had to tear Bryn away from his washing machine revery, but he is now contentedly nestled in his new cocoon as I type. I'll try to sort out the links option here and add a link to the Mama Toto site. Meanwhile, go to www.mamatoto.org for 'baby-wearing' info.

Pet Names...

...and I am NOT referring tothe ones we give Charlie the dog (Sir Charles, Prince Charles, Chuckles etc) or a popular Beach Boys album! Bryn variously gets called Munchkin Man, Pixie Prince and Buddha Boy (by me)- Doug sometimes calls him Pumpkin Patch or Pumpkin Puss. Cutesy oohy gooey parenthood- isn't it a scream?!...
Yay! C & R the in-laws have burnt all the digital pics onto a CD- lil sis L is coming over with Grandma Pam and will bring it with her. How lovely to be able to post some further pics of Pixie Munchkins... there should be one of him in his bouncer, wearing his 'baby bear' beanie!

I've revisited the Mama Toto site to get measurements for a wrap-style sling. Bought cute red stretch fabric yesterday (along with lovely picture frames for the birth pics and a prezzie for S, B & new baby J- he also fits the size 00000 which are too small for Bryn)...

Could it be Spring?...

Well, there are definite signs! The orange-flowering pigface is looking glorious and the passionfruit vine almost hasn't noticed that it's been winter, so vigorous has its growth been. D managed to get out there and do some gardening yesterday so the cliff is no longer choked with weeds and all the self -seeded lettuces and greens can breath and thrive.

I'd like to go into town to sort out bureaucracy and swing by the pharmacy for homeopathics.We still haven't seen S & B and new Baby J. Perhaps this weekend? I have it in mind to buy a length of stretch fabric for a baby-wearing wrap -soon!...

Visiting Royalty...

Oh my God! I married my mother. D has just cleaned the entire house in preparation for some visitors! This is the very thing that used to make my Dad roll his eyes heavenward and say "we must be having Royalty over to visit" implying that if the place was good enough for us, it was clean enough for them. Still, it's nice to be having another round of visitors at this point, now that the immediate festivities have passed. I'd like to have a tea party for Bryn and the Birth Angels team (the two midwives, my partner D and friend J), if we can find a time in common. Then we are thinking of a naming party in the Spring- a picnic at Booyembara Park sounds like just the thing...

Bureaucratic Bog Blog...

There is a tedious amount of paperwork to be filled in re changes of circumstance, Bryn's arrival etc. The birth registry sent a letter saying we'd ommitted certain details from the birth certificate application, but we both swear blind that we went through it with a fine toothed comb, so to speak. Hopefully they now have what they need, and we will get the official certificate plus the one with Western Australian wildflowers on it (we thought about getting one with native animals, but it was a bit over the top). Now they want proof of address etc and blah, but at least we're getting cracking on it all. The Centrelink (social security office) website is down a lot (too much traffic?) which is a pain as we need to access certain forms via it...

Rain, Hail & Shine...

Well, not much of the latter by the looks of it (I consulted the Yahoo forecast for 10 days), but lots more rain with intermittent sun here and, incredibly, giant hailstones in Sydney- I was blown away by the news footage which reminded me of snow only harder and slipperier!

I accidentally put the two Indian T-Shirts with non colour-fast dye in with the other smalls. D had to go and get some colour run remover. It was a few clothes of Bryn's plus my knickers so I kind of have blue tie-died undies!

I've convinced D to turn off the TV (he's been sorting through video tapes to see which are blank so that we can tape things rather than being controlled by the TV schedule. We may watch Rove later.

Bryn is on a major suck and sleep fest lately, probably having a growth spurt. D, who bathes him, reckons he has a triple chin and a Buddha belly already and is turning into a chubber but I just think it's a need for reserves of fat to grow. He seems to love being jammed between me and a pillow or crammed into the sling where he resumes the foetal position. Just needs transition time- after all, he took a long time to come out but then arrived suddenly and unceremoniously, so he is entitled to his attempts to flee back into the warm comfort zone...

Wet & Woolly Weather Songs...

The winter weather persists outside, torrential rain on the tin roof, baby sleeps through it all. D took A to school because of it. Bubs woke me around 8:30 for a feed and then was happy to hang out in the purple sling while I fiddled online. D is entertaining Bryn in what he calls his 'bouncy castle' (the bouncer) in the living room. I am feeling fairly well rested and breakfasted for now. I'd like to go to Officeworks to print some of the pics on J's digi camera. I haven't been able to install the software on my pc yet. Possibly not enough disk space left on the old dinosaur...

Ok, some unapologetically silly songs sung to bub-a-lugs:

(To the tune of What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?)

What shall we do with Baby Brynie
What shall we do with Baby Brynie
What shall we do with Baby Brynie
Earl-y in the morning?

Put him in his bouncer til he's happy etc...
Feed him at the booby til he's full let's etc...
Put him in his sling and cuddle him we'll etc...

Our Little Son Called Bryn (completely original- tune something like The Beverly Hillbillies theme!)

We made a baby and his name is Bryn
He's not small and he's not thin
He's the best little baby that's ever been
Our little son called Bryn
Our little son called Bryn
Our little son called Bryn

Piquenique en Voiture...

After the trying weekend, midwife T came over and helped me sort out the feeding situation which has largely resolved itself.. I really needed to get out so we went to the CMWA office where I spoke to K the midwife manager again and met MM and caught up with R (all the midwives were having a meeting) as well as picking up my folder and sorting out details. Then we popped in to G the doula's class to show off bubs and pick up my brolly.

On the way there, we bought sandwiches at the deli in Amherst st and ate them in the car at Booyembara Park! Too bleak to get out but at least my vista changed! Bryn slept through. His big sis A is here and we've been watching Aussie Idol try outs. She is gentler with Bryn but absolutely terrorizes poor Charlie the Jack Russell. Hmmm....

Feeding Frenzy...

I think, in his attempt to get enough sustenance from one side of me, Bryn has to spend longer at the breast, so I've been more or less glued to the sofa and bed today. D is feeding him now with expressed milk which he seems to be okay with and it gives me a break. I think its cumulative tiredness. Today was odd and there is the issue of D's Mum's dementia to compound things. My midwife suggested I get out into the sunshine, but every time I tried, Bryn wanted a feed again. Oh well, I trust it will pass and all cylinders so to speak will work again before too much longer...

Cracking a Big One...

I am still chuckling about an encounter D and I had yesterday outside our place en route to the yoga class. A cheerful bogan who had been visiting the flats next door called across to us asking how old the baby was ( I had him at the breast in the sling), boy or girl, birthweight etc etc. He then volunteered the following information "me sister had a 9-pounder, then she went and cracked a 10-pounder and I reckon she's never been the same since". :) :) :)...

Poohy Parodies...

True to form, D and I sing silly songs to Bryn while changing and feeding him. My favourite is to the tune of the Hokey Pokey. It goes

You take the left tit in, you spit the left tit out
You take the right tit in and you suck the milky out
You do a great big burpy then you cry out loud
Cos that's what it's all about!

Oh, do the Brynie Burpy
Oh, do the Brynie Burpy
Oh, do the Brynie Burpy
And that's what it's all about!

The one that D sings is 'Ma, she's making eyes at me, Ma, she's awful nice to me etc.", because when Bryn starts to cry for me it does sound like he's saying "maaaaaa......." !!!

Dad and Dave...

Oupa and Uncle Dave are over to see the wee bairn! We have been having a decadent Saturday night of pizza and Mary Poppins (on the Telly) interspersed with an episode of Dr Who from the new series. Bryn is sleeping, sleeping, sleeping- even as he feeds he sleeps ("asleep at the meal" I call it!) He happily slept on Uncle David and then on Daddy, so I am up and about for a leg stretch and mini blog...

Serendipitous Encounters...

We managed to get our act together in time for the 10:30am pregnancy yoga class at the Family Nurturing Centre, to show off Bryn and to talk to S about the breast issues. Had a good chat with R about KEMH. We went home via the Bicton shops and bank where we saw J & B having lunch at a cafe, then M came along! An easy way of catching up with friends :). I rang J to find out about software to download the photos from her on loan digi camera. Since the birth, she has gone the way of half of Freo with a bad cold or flu, as has D's Mum who was meant to come over with sister L. We took her some fruit and picked up the software and cables.

Other good news is that Mum finally has internet and email access! D has slipped away to the recycling yard and taken Charlie for a quick walk. No luck with finding a gardener to keep the weeds from choking the emergent spring flowers, but N has offered to come and cut my hair here during the week, so I'm feeling fairly organized...

Make way for the Milky Express...

I just had my first experience of expressing milk with the u-beaut electric pump from the community midwives. It was amazing to see how much milk I am producing. Bryn chowed down a bit hard on the right one so I'm giving it a rest for a day but need to avoid it building up and being painful.

The last couple of days have been a food fest for me and him- the more he feeds the more food I need! We also went on an outing to South Beach and sat near the kiosk where we were serendipitously joined by my friend R and her two wee ones (4 and 9 months). On the way home, we stopped at a pharmacy where D bought a cute fish mobile as a prezzie for me and Bryn to add to our collection of glass jingle-jangles (so far we have a dragonfly, a butterfly and a couple of chimes out the back which seem to grab Bryn's attention when we play them). I had managed to race into a newsagency and buy 'Thank You" cards for D and the midwives on Tuesday, as my own gift. I was very tired when we got home, but it felt good to get out in the sunshine while it lasted. Tonight it's rainy and stormy again...

Settling in with Baby Bryn...

I seem to be able to do things some of the time. Bryn is happy to sleep and I wear him in a comfortable sling which allows me to type online amongst other things...

We went on an outing today and yesterday in the car, to the new pregnancy & childbirth resource centre. It's in a kooky location, right near the railway line in N. Freo, but has more room and a place to run groups. Synchronistically, both 'my' midwives were there as well as K the manager. Today we headed back for the new mums group where 3 of us got the chance to exchange birth stories. I need the contact with other women.

We bought sushi for lunch and drove past D's old house in N. Freo which still has a for lease sign outside (probably asking a mint in rent with the minimum of renovations, having paid 1/2 a million for the modest 1970s villa)...

A Picture of Perfection...

Bryn Francis, 5 days old

Welcome to the World, Bryn Francis...

I have a son! A beautiful, healthy, easy-going bundle of a baby whom everyone has fallen in love with (but especially me). But not before what can only be described as a magical mystery tour of labour and birth (the photo on the right is of me in the tub for about 30 hours!) I won't write much about that now, except to say that he arrived at 17:17 on Friday July 28 (his Oupa's- ie my Dad's- 80th Birthday!). He weighed 4.1kg or 9lbs, has masses of dark hair, very alert watchful eyes and took to feeding like a pro. We are calling him Bryn Francis (after my Welsh birthplace and St Francis of Assissi whose love of animals, nature and simplicity has always struck a deep chord with us, although we are not Catholic). Bryn is a very placid, easy-going, low maintenance baby so far and sleeps from about 2am until 8 or 9 in the morning, so sleep deprivation hasn't been as bad as I envisaged. He's just gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I'll post some pics as soon as I have some...and hopefully a link to the ones we had taken shortly after his birth...