Backward Clothes

How on earth do I manage to get pants on inside out and t-shirt round the wrong way? I'm a bit OCD about making sure I have my clothes the right way around as I remember being ridiculed at school for turning up with a label flapping under my chin. I never heard the end of it. It wouldn't have been SO bad if it didn't have 'Rontos' on the label...HOW embarrassing! I think I'm gonna write Gucci and Diesel on all Drew's labels when she starts school just in case. That's if we let her out of her under stairs cupboard long enough to go.


So back to my OCD. How, when I check as I'm dressing, do my clothes manage to do a full 180 and end up the wrong way around? It didn't happen BEFORE I had a baby. Is that yet more evidence of brain shrinkage? I don't know about other Mums, but I do think that from the time I wake up...I'm on a countdown. That might be a reason why I don't take as much care putting my clothes on now. I have certain things I must get done. There are things I should get done and then those that I'd like to get done. All against the clock...before Madam wakes up for her breakfast of milk, milk and more milk.

With the seconds ticking away, even pausing to think what I need to do next annoys me. I'm wasting precious time. The most important chores (for me) are getting up, showering and getting dressed. Then comes getting the feed ready for her Royal Highness and the subsequent sterilised bottles. As soon as you start manoeuvring around the house, you mentally add more tasks to the list...make the bed...put stuff in the dishwasher which has been left on the worktop above dishwasher by lovely husband...empty nappy bin in Drew's room (requires stealth-like belly wriggle on the floor past her cot so she doesn't wake up)...put washing on...fold and put away already dried clothes...have breakfast (that's one of the things I'd should get done)...watch last night's Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (that's the like to get done). Then there's Barney...he needs walking. Can I give him a walk?? NO! I can't...she's asleep! Grrr...shall I wake her up so I can walk the dog? What's more important? Letting baby sleep? Walking dog? In the end, I slide open the french doors at the back of our house and from our dining room, I throw a soggy tennisball to the rear of our garden for 45mins. (well, its more like 20mins, but I don't know if anyone from the RSPCA is reading this).

Sometimes I don't even get that far. I usually get to as far as thinking about Ramsay (ah...what a thought!) and then...she's awake. Demanding to be given attention and fed immediately. Ramsay goes on hold. Channel 614 CBeebies goes on. Everything else goes out the window or has to be done in small chunks. Iron one sleeve of a shirt...take half the washing load out the washing machine...make a cup of tea with no milk...bring the nappy bin down as far as the bottom of the stairs...wash one of the 8 milk bottles...and slowly throughout the day, those half-completed jobs get done. All ticked off. Then Jerry walks in and sees everything done and thinks I've had a an easy day. Sound familiar?

Bite Me!

So, we get Drew into a brilliant schedule. Making us both look like we know what we're doing. Feeding every 4 hours. Feed - Activity - Sleep ... Feed - Activity - Sleep ... Feed - Activ....you get the gist of it.

As soon as Jerry had to work away overnight, Drew had an unsettled night the night before Jerry left at 6.30am. That night, Drew woke at 2.30am, then 4.30am, then 7.30am. I couldn't work it out. It seemed like she was fighting sleep.

It was only when I worked out how old she was I realised she must be teething and was probably in a bit of pain. I forget she's is now practically 4months old. I don't know where the time has gone. I hear new Mums say that ALL the time...but I know what they mean now. I still think of Drew as a newborn.

Exhausted and tired, Drew and I both managed to get through the day although we both struggled a bit. Drew struggled to have a few naps during the day and I struggled to have ANY nap during the day.

It's now 11.00pm and my plan to have an early night has gone to pot. I've only just finished my tea and even then, I had to fight off Barney, continually pop up to see Drew to calm her down, empty the dishwasher (a job I started at 9.45 THIS MORNING!) and make a note of the food I had eaten today for my Weight Watchers.

Drew was feeding at 2, 6 and 10. A 4hourly schedule, but its more like 3-3.5hours now. I found out that sucking on Colin could be adding to Drew's pain if she's teething but applying pressure to her gums helps. I did an emergency shopping trip early this evening and bought Bonjela Gel and Calpol Gel for Teething, a Teething Ring and Nelson's Teething Granules (recommended by Supernanny Jo Frost). I haven't used the Granules yet...I'll wait til it gets r e a l l y bad. A friend also bought me Bickiepegs and although it states 'use at 6months' on the packet, the reviews on the Internet suggest they can be introduced earlier if needed. Maybe the medical recommendation is because it could potentially be a choking hazard..you gotta' watch 'em ALL the time!

I gave Drew Teething Bonjela by putting on her gums and it did 'seem' to help. But, she was still doing her 'Stevie Wonder' impression when normally she would be asleep (7.30pm onwards). I gave a bit of Calpol, but she's fighting that too.

I can hear her on the monitor making little moany noises...but then again, if she's dreaming about the allowance Daddy gives Mummy now the maternity pay has kicked in, I'm surprised she's not moaning louder!

Middle of the Night Dream Feed

Well, it must have been a growth spurt. Drew is back to normal. Feeding every 4 hours. BUT...after the dream feed at 11.00pm, she was still waking at 4.00amish for another feed. By now, I was hoping she would go straight through each night. So, armed with the advice of Gina Ford given to me by one of the postnatal girls, I was ready to give her water instead to get her out of the habit of expecting the milk at that time.

At 4.37am, Drew did her Stevie Wonder impression (turning her head from left to right with her eyes closed). Before I gave her the water, I put Colin back in. Drew continued with Stevie Wonder for the next 20 minutes and I had to put Colin back in quite a few times. In the end, rather than going back to bed, I got my pillows and a blanket and kipped on the floor next to Drew's cot, ready to catch Colin!

Well, I am pleased to say it worked a treat. Drew went back to sleep at just after 5.30am and didn't wake for her milk until 8.15am.

Is there a god?

There IS a god! The god of Horizontally Thrusted Pooh!

3 Month Vaccinations, Growth Spurts & Comforters

I've just returned from the Docs. Drew had her 3-month vaccinations (Diptheria / Tetanus / Pertussis (whooping cough) Hib (flu-like symptoms), Polio and Meningitis C).

It's horrible having to hold her while they give the jabs. Worse still, Drew was asleep beforehand, so she was a bit cranky when I woke her up to be punctured twice! She screamed, cried and is now drifting in and out of sleep.

Drew had been great sleeping through at night ...a dream. During the day, she fed 5oz of formula every 4 hours. But over the last 2 days, she has demanded a feed every 2 hrs, even through the night. The HV suggested she could be getting me to do what she wants and it will continue if I let her. She said to ignore my baby all night by wearing headphones and listen to music. Not that keen to be honest.

I'm already using the no.2 extra hungry Aptamil formula, so not sure why she's still hungry. I have upped her feeds from 5oz to 6oz and she takes it, so I'll see how she gets on with that. Her little belly is way too early for solids, so not sure what else I can do. I'll suck it and see (excuse the pun!). I know she may be having a growth spurt, which can often occur at about two, three, and six months. If it is that, she will hopefully soon settle down again to an increased interval between her feeds. Thing is, the Midwives, Health Visitors and Nursey Nurse said Drew was going through a growth spurt from day one! I think they use that line when they're not sure what it is!

Babies do "comfort suck" sometimes and appear to be demanding milk when they would perhaps settle for simply being cuddled and responded to in other ways. Drew has already shown signs of doing that which is why we introduced 'Colin The Comforter'. Colin works wonders!

Naughty Fish!

We have a naughty fish.

After studying our 4 tropical fish over an 8-hour period who reside in a fish tank in Drew's nursery, I can confirm that they are not very different from humans.

1. The male fish go mental when they're hungry
2. The male fish get angry when they can't find any food
3. The male fish annoy the female fish for food
4. The male fish will nip at the female fish if they can't find food themselves
5. The male fish headbutt the sides of the tank, looking for a door to the outside world where there is none...but they keep on searching, just incase they missed one as they are not good at finding things anyway
6. The female fish, heavily pregnant, fend off the male fish as well as have a swim around, keeping fit...multi-tasking
7. The female fish give birth to their young with no help
8. The male fish, hungry and bored, eat the babies
...and so the cycle starts all over again.

We have a particularly naughty male fish who bit another female fish on her fin which has given her dodgy stroke. She goes round in circles a bit now. I don't think she'll be winning any medals any time soon.

To teach the naughty fish a lesson, we bought a fish isolation room which is a white walled box-shaped contraption which sits inside the tank, separating the naughty fish from the rest of the tank. It's a bit like putting a naughty child in the under stairs cupboard...I imagine. I didn't even know the 'padded fish cell' existed. I just happened to see it in the 'problem' section of the fish shop. Yes...they have a 'problem' section. I wonder if Mothercare have a 'problem' section too?? Hmmmm...now there's a thought.

So, you may be wondering how I know all this about our fish and what I've been doing watching our fish for so long.

Well, it started 2 days ago. Drew demanded to be fed double what she normally has. So, rather than the 5fl ozs per feed, Drew was taking the 5floz and about 1.5hrs later, she would scream for another feed. This happened all day and carried on all through the night. I even had to do an emergency visit to Boots yesterday to buy more formula to get us through as we were out all day. In fact, I had to buy more Muslin squares too as I forgot to pack them and ended up borrowing a friends. Lack of sleep definitely makes you less organised and that's SO not like me. I left the house with no muslins, not enough formula, a really bad hair day and I got up too late to walk the dog. Not a good start to the day.

By the afternoon, Drew managed to empty the entire contents of her stomach into her nappy and all round the sides onto her vest and cute little pink outfit. It looked like a yellow highlighter pen explosion! With Mummy also forgetting 'emergency clothes' too, we borrowed a friends baby clothes which I then managed to spill coffee onto. Don't worry, it wasn't hot. New Mummies rarely get to drink their teas and coffees hot. It's fact. It's an acquired taste. You do get used to it.

I was more than happy to see Jerry when he arrived home who took over straight away. I went to the gym and by the time I came home, Drew was bathed, fed and in bed...asleep and our Weight Watchers sausage amd mash was well on its way! I know what you're thinking...

Aren't I good going to the gym!

Unfortunately, our little princess woke for a feed at 10.00pm and then every two hours until 10.00am this morning when I upped her feed to 6fl oz...we'll see what that does. You know, no one tells you how much you should give your baby or how often but I suppose I'm feeding on demand. But you do always wonder...is this the right amount? Am I overfeeding her? Should she be this hungry? Talking with the girls from my Postnatal Group helps a lot. We are always asking eachother 'how much are you feeding?', 'how often is she waking in the night?' It's definitely reassuring to have that support network and we're all pretty good friends now, seeing eachother about 3 times a week for some baby-related activity. In fact, the boys are meeting up next weekend to play golf for the first time since the babies were born. We get to look after the babies while they talk about cars, playstation games and boobs and pretend their swing is off due to an old football injury.

So, today is Valentines Day and I'm shattered. MacDonalds for tea. Small fries though...well I am on Weight Watchers you know!

The Drew Jessica Hartell Birth Story

Well, it took a while, but here it is. From start to finish. The story of how Drew Jessica Hartell came into our world. Click on the video link on the right hand side of my BLOG page, just below the photo. It's 16 minutes long and just to warn you folks, it DOES contain a bit of gooeyness...in the form of my placenta. The student Midwife was keen to show Jerry what she had learnt and Jerry was keen to film it. And don't worry, there are no front bottoms in this film. Enjoy!

Gammy Eye

Sorry for not posting anything just lately. Believe it or not, since I last posted something, Drew has been into a routine. Then out of a routine, then a new routine. Then, she gets niggley, then back to a new routine. It's true. They are SO unpredictable.

She woke up with a snotty nose and sticky eye on Monday this week. I knew I sholud have used that stickytape to get her to sleep! (hee-hee).

I took her to the Doc's, who told me it was a virus and to wipe away the stickiness with cooled boiled water and a cotton bud. It's so scarey doing things like that. I have to do the same with our dog, Barney. Only he doesn't cry!