2010

It's hard to believe that 2010 is almost over. I was pregnant for most of the year! I was pregnant during our trip to Dorset and Cornwall, during the choppy boat ride (where I wasn't seasick either) and during the long tough walk up the cliff path from Whitsand Bay.

We had a great Christmas. E enjoyed himself. He has turned out not to be very materialistic, which I'm glad about. Our modus operandi is to give him an occasional toy year round... usually something small from the charity (thrift) shop. This year we decided to get him a larger bounty, partly because of the new baby, but also because he's older and starting to cotton on about the whole Christmas thing.

There are still two unopened presents under the tree. And, in fact, he opened another present yesterday and one on Boxing Day. He was just too wrapped up (pun intended) in playing with things. And, to be honest, I'm glad he didn't go all gimme-gimme-mode. He's pleased with the small things... magnetic letters from his aunt/uncle were a bit hit, and he got... very into playing with them, as you can see...

"O is for orange!"

For a breakfast appetizer, he'd had a chocolate coin, as you can probably tell. Another big hit was the flashlight Granddad sent from California. He only begrudgingly looked at the camera and immediately went back to playing after this photo was snapped.


Baby C was still sleepy.

Christmas lunch. B outdid himself, cooked duck, stuffing, roasted veg, gravy... it was amazing! The juice box E has is guava... a special treat for him.


Baby Callie had to come watch him open another present.

And then she had to play with him.


She doesn't have a lot of manual dexterity right now so B and E had to do the building...



Out of time for now. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas.

I've had my thimbleful of Bailey's and we've watched Christmas movies.

Most everything is peaceful and we're now hoping for a few hours' unbroken sleep. I hope you have a good holiday, wherever and whoever you are.

Just...

...gearing up for Christmas and spending time settling in as a new family of four. E helped decorate the tree the day before C was born.

C doesn't quite fit into 0-3 month old clothes....

(In comparison - here she is in a newborn-sized sleepsuit... fits perfectly!)

E went to his playgroup's Christmas party today with B, saw Santa Claus, and was entertained by a performing magician. It's snowing here, enough for it to settle some. More expected overnight. B and I may order a pizza in... a rare treat! We're in bed these days at some unholy hour... 9 or so, so evenings seem short and adult-only-time slightly crimped, but it's all worth it.

It Began...

On Tuesday, really. Lots of Braxton Hicks (even more than usual) and a few mild contractions. Wednesday I stayed in all day and they progressed. We had spicy curry that night and halfway through dinner, I got a serious contraction.

Still not thinking "this is it!" I went to bed just in case and tried to sleep until around 8:30, when I gave up. B dropped a line to our list of contacts giving them a heads up and I spent the rest of the evening coping with increasing pain. I may have dozed off for about 10 minutes once or twice, but around 1am the contractions got real serious. Around 3-4am, E's granny heroically took a cab across London. At 5am B and I got to the hospital. By this time contractions were every 3-5 minutes and that trite old advice about taking two paracetemol (Tylenol)? yeah that stuff doesn't touch that kind of pain.

At about 5:15am I was examined by a triage midwife who proclaimed me to be 4cm dilated. She gave me a pitying look. She thought I was a wuss. Little did she know....

The hospital this time was mercifully unbusy, although it had apparently undergone a baby boom in the earlier hours of the night, so we got lucky. B and I were shown a room and I, casting aside the shreds of my dignity, dove for the laughing gas/gas-and-air nozzle and began huffing.

From then on, everything was a blur. I remember the pain getting worse and asking about epidural options. At this point I think everyone thought things were going to drag out much, much longer. They hadn't even sent us a proper midwife yet. Fortunately B is a good communicator and stuck his head out the door to inform them that things were going faster than expected.

I vaguely remember gulping down the laughing gas and yelling my head off. At one point I got all Exorcist and remember involuntarily "absolutely bellowing" (as B put it), I reckon this was right before I dilated to 10cm (WITHIN THE HOUR THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH unbelieving triage nurse) and they had to hustle a midwife in. C was born in about 2.5 pushes. I'll spare you the rest of the gory details since I doubt any actual doulas read this blog.

So there you have it. I probably forgot a few details like poor B's bruised hands - seriously the guy was an absolute star throughout and gentlemanly enough to stay at my top half during the bloody parts.

As for recovery, they say that going all-natural (well, I WAS off my head on the laughing gas but that stuff doesn't stay in your system or affect you long) means one gets back on their feet quicker, but I've still got after-effects which makes bed look very attractive. Fortunately, the midwives here still do home visits - got one today and they'll be back again for more baby checks/heel prick tests etc.

I'll end this now since a certain Miss is beginning to stir.

Obligatory drunken gnome photo (big brother was sorting coins in the background):

"How About Now?"

Yep.

And holy mackerel, what they say about second babies tending to come faster is true.

Callie Margaret was born around 7am this morning. She's doing great and is perfect. Callie is short for Calliope (pronounced Ka-LYE-o-pee), the Greek muse of epic poetry. 8lb 7ounces, same as her brother, but 1 day early.


I feel like a truck ran over me but fortunately was able to take a 6 hour discharge from the hospital instead of staying overnight.

Birth story to come eventually.

"Have You Popped Yet?"

No.

Very Snow

Well, B made it into work after all for his last day before paternity leave. Last night (Weds night) a whole lot of snow settled, so we were both really glad he could stay home today!

E looked out the window on Tuesday and said in surprise and excitment: "Oh! Very snow!" He was happy to kick around in it today but has been slightly sick so didn't last long.

Just in comparison, here's our garden on Wednesday...

...and here's our front walk today:


It'll be down in the mid 20's overnight and might not get above freezing tomorrow but there's no more heavy snow forecast. As for another type of forecast... nothing yet. I walked around the local mall today and had some spicy food though.

E has been chattering away lately and is in a funny stage where he's learning how to use pronouns. Sometimes he gets it right: "Nooo-ooo, I'M not stinky...." and other times he's so off it makes us laugh. "Oh!! Help you?!" is one he uses when he needs help. Sometimes I'll ask if he wants me to do something ("Should we go sit on the bed and read a book?") and he goes "YES! I will!" and runs off immediately. Favorite phrases include "Dadden wants a cuggle." or "Dadden wants to go in the kitchen!" which is often amusing. Sometimes after sneezing he says brightly, "Oh! You sneezed! Ha-ha. Bless me."

Two good ones B just remembered: "Drop it, the cee-real. Make mess. Wery messy now." and "Oh! Meelk! Fannnn-TASTIC!"

In other news, I wrapped my first Christmas present (for B) yesterday. There's lots of festive food being sold in the supermarkets etc... but somehow it's... different over here. Did you know that the eggnog in the UK is alcoholic? It's not even called eggnog, it's some weird brand name. I had some last year and it has a huge kick. Bleh. I might make my own non-alcoholic version if I have the energy, but I've still got to bake a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie and I think those take priority.

I am looking forward to a nice (small) glass of post-pregnancy Bailey's, however.

Seriously?

Snow in November?

This thin-blooded coastal Californian is beginning to think she should have migrated south with the birds.

It's still snowing. These days, sunset is around 4pm so it's also very gloomy out there. On the bright side, we're less than 10 minutes' drive from the hospital if baby decides to put in a (slightly) early appearance.

And E enjoyed himself today.

London is forecast to get more snow overnight. On top of Monday's Tube strike goodness knows what transport will be like - personally I'm secretly hoping the skies dump a foot on us and the trains stop so that B has an excuse to work from home. Tomorrow, however, is his last day before paternity leave begins, so I suppose that's a bit selfish of me.

Well, E and I are off for a bit of hot chocolate. I can see the snowflakes still drifting down outside... happy early winter, everyone, wherever you might be.

Thanksgiving

I'm very very jealous of everyone who has the day off and is eating a nice Thanksgiving meal! If you're reading this, have a bite of cranberry sauce for me and maybe some candied yams with marshmallows.

Here in the UK, obviously, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. And since Halloween is kind of glossed over as well, these folks are starved for holidays. From August (not kidding) all we hear about is Christmas. Christmas. CHRISTMAS. It's like a senile great-grandma who won't shut up. No, worse, it's like 7 of them. And by the way did you know it's Christmas in about 5 weeks? Oh for the days when Christmas mania didn't start until late November.... or am I just getting old?

Speaking of holidays, E and I went up to the Christmas Fair at his little playgroup this morning. Bought a few little cupcakes, looked at the donkey "reindeer" rides, watched Snow White make balloon sculptures, then came home. I'm sorting out baby clothes slowly but surely. Got the newborn stuff mostly re-laundered at least.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure is creeping up these days. Since I basically had pre-eclampsia last pregnancy I've got to keep on top of things. Went to the hospital for monitoring last week... although that sounds serious, it wasn't really that bad. I'm going back to the clinic today for another check.

Also, B has bought me some canned pumpkin. I think I may have to make a pie with it.

No good pictures lately so here is an action shot of a blurry, upside down toddler. Happy Thanksigving!

November

I meant to do an update around Halloween but lately blogging's been one of the last things on my mind. I seem to have the attention span of a gnat.

We have mostly been...

...carving pumpkins...

...blowing out candles...

...painting/stamping...

...falling asleep in high chairs covered in hummus and toast particles...

...and enjoying the autumn.

Approximately one more month to go before the new arrival. I am eagerly counting down the days until B's paternity leave/vacation begins. Running out of indoor things to do with a toddler! Fortunately we're half a block away from a little green area - it's not much, but in a pinch it does very well for a bit of fresh air and exercise when the young master gets cabin fever. I can't go more than about half a mile (if that) without discomfort these days.

On the bright side, I'm considered "at term" at the end of this week (if she's born at 37 weeks she's not considered premature) so the end is within sight. Ironically I'm not having as many contractions/Braxton Hicks/back pains as I did in the earlier weeks. I guess that's both good and bad.

We are going to a friend's toddler's birthday party in S London this afternoon, and then I think I'd better pack my hospital bag just in case.

Boy.

All boy.

'Scuse the flash making the letters hard to read.

He loves "the typing laptop" and asks to use it often. It's B's old work laptop so it's a clunker and stands up fairly well to, shall we say, inexperienced hands.

Dad is now in NY and planning to Amtrak it back West at some point. Having an extra pair of hands to change diapers (yes, he did! lots!), wash dishes etc was a big help! Fortunately E wasn't too traumatized by his departure and now often says "Granddad schleeping" to explain away the mysterious lack of grandfatherly presence.

B brought home a pumpkin from the local farmer's market today. I don't think they really "do" pumpkin patches here in the UK. Certainly not like they do Stateside. There isn't much of a buildup to Halloween here, which I find is refreshing yet disappointing. I don't mind the lack of emphasis on trick-or-treating, but some people are such GROUCHES about it, going so far as to put up signs on their doors warning people off. Given that there's no Thanksgiving here, as an American I always feel a little bit bereft in the autumn months... Halloween is kinda skimmed over by the majority of people, there's no late-November feast, so Christmas is a long, hyped-up wait.

Regardless, we'll be baking pumpkin pie this season (probably quite soon, with that fresh pumpkin) and I'll introduce B and E to toasted pumpkin seeds. Nom. Speaking of E and expat living, he was watching a signing show on TV (Makaton signs designed for toddlers and special-needs kids). "Giraffe" popped up. E turned to me, pointed, said "GirAffe." Turned back to the TV, said "GirAHffe." Great! Just great. At 2 and a quarter, dude already recognizes his mama talks different. Won't be long till he quits humoring me and starts correcting me. (And at that time I'll probably be tempted to suggest B takes a year-long sabbatical from work so that we can go back to MV to live for a year, for re-education, if you will.)

Speaking of the young gentleman, his quotes have been getting more convoluted, though no less funny. "OHH! Stubbed my tickles!" was a recent one. He calls the bottom of his feet his "tickles." Which tickles us. Obviously.

Another one - Dadden: "That toy has to stay in the bath for now...it's probably sleeping!" E turns, shakes his head and says "It probably wake up now!"

And he has taken to teasing me by mimicking a high-pitched yelp whenever he sees a speck-that-might-be-a-spider. Oh, the shame.

Well, we're all off to a baby event tomorrow in London since B got a free ticket through a friend. I expect it will mostly be overpriced and overhyped, but there will be deals and freebies and, apparently, play-spots with lots of toddler toys. Plus, I'm 33 weeks along now (that's technically 4 weeks until I'm considered "term") so it's probably time to look at buying a few things. Like, you know, diapers and a Moses basket. Cotton wool for wipes. Yadda yadda. And with that, swollen-ankled me is off to bed.

October Already

I really enjoy autumn, although it's becoming more difficult to get out and about as pregnancy progresses. It's been a bit of a roller coaster lately with some early contractions etc. Got tested for gestational diabetes last week. Fasted since 10pm the night before, went in to the hospital, got stuck in the arm with a butterfly needle, drank a pint of godawful sugary stuff, sat in the waiting room for two hours, then got jabbed in the other arm with another needle.

Surprisingly the results are within normal blood sugar range so I'm feeling a bit better about this blurry vision I've been having. Back to the consultant's tomorrow for more checks anyhow.

Been enjoying Dad and Stan's visit although I've had to take more of a back seat than I would have liked - am a bit jealous of all the museums they've been going to and I would have loved to go sailing on the Norfolk Broads with them. Perhaps another time! (P.S. - Fran if you're reading this, Stan had a bite of salad. Should this be listed in the Guinness Book of World records?)

E has been coming along really well. Lots of chatter about "Granddad" and "Stanpa" so I'm not entirely sure what he'll do with himself when Dad leaves next week. We've been going to playgroups twice a week which he really enjoys. We've also been reading a TON of books since I've been less mobile.

Without further ado... some pictures and a video of E "reading" me a Peter Rabbit book this morning. I think it's mostly memorization but he may very well have a few sight words by now.

Reading with Granddad.

At the playroom in the National Army Museum in Chelsea - visited with Dad a few weeks ago.





And here's the vid. Enjoy.

Approaching Autumn

Went out to Kew this weekend. I'm getting slower as this pregnancy progresses but it was nice to have a walk in the fresh crisp air. Lots of kids out in woolly jumpers, cardigans, jackets etc, unspoken concession to summer's end. E had a blast at Kew's playground as usual. We also found a little indoor play place in the shop which had a toy kitchen, a crawl-through tunnel, and crayons/paper with kid-sized tables and chairs. The cynic in me sees the probable extra profit they make, the parent in me just breathes a sigh of relief at something extra for a curious toddler to do.




After a long play session, we had sandwiches and water and B indulgently bought E a pinwheel and a little stuffed monkey in the shop. E fell asleep in the car on the way home clutching his new toy. We're all beat (especially me - aching muscles!) and looking forward to a nice warm evening inside perhaps with a movie.

Some recent quotes (lest I forget them):

"Mmm, flower. Smells DELICIOUS."
When asked to count how many eyes he has... "One... two... three FOUR FIVE! Six seven EIGHT!" (Big smug grin.)

And the worst, the very worst....
E: "Spider, Mama. Spider!"
Me: "WHERE?" (as I nervously peer around and attempt to stand on one toe)
E: "Spider... GONE.... Hahahaha!"

HANDS OFF

4 months into a Conservative-Liberal Democrat led Parliament.

They scrapped the ID cards and ContactPoint (where E's details would have been held for any Tom Dick and Harry "government-approved" person to peruse). I thought things were off to a good start.

Then the ConDems decided to axe playground schemes across the UK while pledging 20 billion pounds to renew the Trident nuclear weapons program.

Now the ConDems are taking the first baby steps down the slippery slope of privatization. Worse, that path leads down the UK losing its public libraries as we know them.

I've heard that some people are happy about that. Their reasoning? They can afford bookstores (or a library entrance/membership fee...). Besides, why should they have to fund something they don't use? They reckon the same goes for schools - if they don't have a school-aged child, why should their taxes pay for someone else's education?

To that I say - why should my son have to pay to support you in your old age? You want a libertarian attitude, then bring it on. Just be prepared to work for the rest of your life and deal with the crazies roaming the street because there's no facilities left for them and they're being denied the ability to sit quietly (or not so quietly) in the corner of a public library.

And believe me, the libraries are pretty much the front line for dealing with the mentally ill. If you read anything today, read this article. You might see underpaid social workers librarians through different eyes. After this post, maybe you'll see the ConDems through different eyes too. And knowing is half the battle.

September Remembrances and Mundanity

Before I get into the mundanity, I just want to say that I'm touched that Europe (the mainstream media, at least... and the friends I've spoken with) has such sensitivity toward what happened on September 11, 2001. I know it's overshadowed by more politicized events this 9th year on - but all I'm going to say about that is: Freedom of Religion. Separation of Church and State. Freedom of Speech.

I marked the anniversary by reading Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. I highly recommend the book especially if you love freedom.

B and I visited Parliament Hill recently to say goodbye to some friends who are moving to the Inner Hebrides. What a move - London to those remote islands! I'm actually finding myself a little bit jealous. How wonderful to be surrounded by nature, to have enough room to move around, to be able to avoid constant exposure to other people, your upstairs neighbors dropping what sounds like a bowling ball every so often.... yep, I'm a little bit jealous to tell the truth. Well, onto the photos.

E was more interested in the kites than socializing...


And jam donuts. And running down the hill with Dadden and the other kids.



As we walked back to the car I got this photo. The plaque says: George Orwell - 1903-1950 - Writer - Lived Here

And no, ironic as it would be, that's actually not a CCTV camera, it's only a light :)

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

(after having refused his nap, he then crawled under the desk in the spare room... for about half of this impromptu you-aren't-the-boss-of-me nap he used my foot as a pillow)

New Bed...

Last night was E's first night in his new bed. As you can see, the covers are rather pink (which we didn't expect) but I suppose that's preferable to random cartoon characters. Anyhow, he likes it. I snuck in last night and got this photo of him...


So far we've had one falling-out (at around 3am) which ended up being very nonstressful, as he went back to sleep immediately after B lifted him back into bed. Plus, he only has about 6 inches to fall, onto soft carpet.

Lately we have been...


...nomming late summer blackberries from our back garden and...

...generally being Cool. Because nothing says Cool like a stained onesie and oversized sunglasses.

Family Tree

B and I have been working (now and again) on filling out our respective family trees. I guess that's what happens naturally when you get to be over 30/have children, although I hasten to add that I'm not 30 just yet.

Yesterday B decided to do a big printout and bluetac (that's British for sticky goop) the whole shebang to the wall. It looked like this:


I descend from Revolutionary soldiers on both sides of the family (she says smugly). B, on the other hand, is descended from lords and stuff. It's kind of fun, this family tree stuff, but it's very time consuming... which is in short supply these days.

I did get in a nice 2 mile walk today at least. The young master managed about a mile of said walk, along with a play session at a new park we visited. I don't think we'll be going back there anytime soon though... the gang of pre-pubescent chavvy teenagers from the local housing estate was one thing, but the unleashed pit bull mixes were quite another.

Last week while walking through the other nearby park I saw a pit rip up a guy's arm and half-kill another dog. They literally couldn't prise its jaws off the dog it was mutilating. (E and I were behind a fence at this point.) Halfway through the fight, a cop shows up, but this being Britain, the dude wasn't carrying anything but a notebook ("Excuse me, Mr. Illegal Pitbull, I'm giving you a citation."). You'd think they'd have pepper spray at least.

Well, off to watch Youtube trains with the boy in preparation for bedtime.

Birthday

E turned two this week. We had a barbecue on Saturday, which got rained out 2/3 of the way through but was enjoyable anyhow. A certain young gentleman needed a nap halfway through, so we saved half the cake with candles for him to blow out...

Sunday we went for a late morning ramble on Wimbledon Common.



After all that, he was tired, demanded "cuggles" and was carried back to the windmill/tearoom


...where he drank half a strawberry smoothie and snacked on fruit/pitta bread. Nothing like a walk in nature to make a day better.