Hello quick pop in while I stuff some lunch in my face at work... (went to PLanet Organic and bought lots of healthy organic vegetably stuff, so feel less guilty about the bar of green and blacks I bought to wash it down...)
Anyway, have tried my best to catch up on three dyas worth, but only by skimming a bit, so forgive me if my responses are a bit crap patchy.
BPM - gutted for you about the house - you may or may not remember that similar happened to us (on the day of exchange) when our buyer pulled out... thankfully managed to turn it around, so you never know what's round the corner... Hope you find somewhere just as lovely at the right time for you.
On routines, I'm going to be very foolish brave and come out of the closet as a Gina Ford - style mum. As some who is somewhat autistic needs routine and structure and who had no idea about what on earth one DOES with a baby I really found that it saved my sanity. I really thought I'd be a Baby Whisperer, and indeed found that book a great help for working out what was going on with my DD from time to time, but I found GFs routines really helped me organise my self day and feel more in control.
I must add a couple of caveats here, though...
Firstly, that my autism slight perfectionist streak meant that if DD wasn't exactly on routine (and I do mean EXACTLY) which of course, she rarely was, I went a teeny bit loopy... This is obviously not sane so good, and am determined to try and get a handle on that this time...
And secondly the only bot of Gina advice that I didn't follow was the 'putting in cot awake' bit... and ohhhh did I live to regret that. I started GF only after about 3 months or so, and had already got into a habit of cuddling DD to sleep... I liked it, she liked it, what was the harm, right?
Turns out it came to bit me on the arse when she was about 9 months old, whereupon, having slept like a dream from 3 months (and oh, was I smug) she realised that actually she MUCH preferred sleeping on Mummy rather than her cot. This escalated to the point of waking EVERY 45 MINUTES twixt 7pm and 7am. Handily coinciding with my going back to work not long after. Endured it for about 4 months until Christmas hols and then had to get mean, and do some pick-up put down sleep training type stuff to break the habit... and Gosh was that ever tough.
This time I've decided that I'd rather fight that battle sooner rather than later as fighting that battle with a 14 month old who can jump around her cot, throw things, pull hair, scratch and yell for 4-5 hours at a stretch... well, not fun.
That said, I'm a total softie, (despite my control-freak tendencies,) so will probably crumble very early on and have to go through the whole episode again... [sighs].
Swine flu jab is turning into a bit of palarver - GPs now not offering Celvapan directly so have had to contact local hospital who will let me know when they're next doing a batch. Convenient. Not. Anyone else had this difficulty?
Re: bumps and bruised, DD is ALWAYS banging herself, falling off/down things... thankfully they do seem to be made of rubber and after five minutes or so of hysterical wailing just carry on with whatever they were doing as if nothing had happened and despite large purple egg-shaped bruises emerging left right and forehead... I was an accident-prone child and it seems DD has inherited that from me, poor mite.
Anyway, time for my allotted whinge of the week (we get one a week, surely, not just ONE for the whole 9 months...!!??)
My inexplicable lower abdominal/groin pain is still giving me gip, despite my hoping that it would just magically go away... Phoned midwives today (who are just SOOOO lovely, by the way, so different from the last lot) and they want me to go in on Monday for some monitoring to make sure it not any kind of uterine activity and then see them to try and get to the bottom (no pun intended) of it.
Not sure if it's related to recurring stabbing pains in the right hand side of my bump - which feels like baby has especially pointy elbows/feet whatever and is quite visciously jabbing me with them... (it is porbably, in all likelihood, just that) don't remember this sensation from last time, but it does make me go all sweaty and breathless when it happens...
Anyway, since my next medical appointment isn;t until the new year (and is with consultant with whom I have bigger fish to fry) I finally figured that rather than just sucking it up (which is my default stance on most things) i would err on the side of caution and get it checked out... I'm increasingly hobbling walking like an old woman which, given the amount of walking I have to do, is Not Good.
The midwife on the phone did mention SPD, which made me want to wail "noooooooo!!"... but this seems unlikely as I didn;t have it last time... or does that not make any difference??
Anyway, whinge, whinge. Feel like a bloody hypochondriac, which honestly, is about the farthest from how I normally am it's not true.
Currently reading Ina May Gaskin's book. Amazingly inspiring. Almost makes me believe that this labout will be the empowering, natural experinece I had hoped my first would be. I say ALMOST... DH thinks I'm mad, and the book is all "hippy dippy" (which of course it is, a bit...) and FIL is already telling me I "MUST" have a C-section. Bless him... .
Anyway, lunch is over - gotta do some real work...
Hi to everyone and apologies for all glaring gaps in my responses to stuff and amount of this post devoted to my insignificant aches and pains...
[bored with self, actually]
db
xx