Angus is mostly asleep.
Isla is asleep.
Angus is now reading (short words but hey, he is only three)
Isla sleeps through the night.
Angus still adores Isla and loves giving her a bottle and playing with her.
Isla is trying really hard to sit up and already stands a little.
I have lots of blogs in my head that I haven't written:
How great it is having a helpful Mum living around the corner.
How great it is having helpful inlaws who come to stay.
How great it was visiting my brother and his partner (I despise that expression!) in Belgium.
How great it is being able to scrap life and reflect on all the blessings that we have.
(That's not a blog, but it is true!)
The snow has been awesome this year and I haven't been able to go out to play in it due to small babies and breastfeeding. This makes me sad.
I love being able to breastfeed.
Too often my day seems to involve too much cleaning up pooh.
Why are my chronological age, physical age and emotional age incompatible?
Blue is really annoying right now and seems to revel in lying, standing or sitting in passageways and doorways that I want go through.
Spring is coming and I am really hoping and praying that I am going to be able to go climbing this year.
I have just been appointed Scout Skills Instructor for this area for Climbing and Mountaineering.
I am starting to enjoy some pink, flowery stuff - is this the start of a slippery slope or am I becoming a victim of marketing?
It is very different having two children from one.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Thursday, 28 January 2010
The Consequences of Pink
I have never been much of a "girly". Okay, so I do like a night out in a posh frock occasionally, but on a daily basis I tend toward pragmatic, not fashion or even attractive. It's true that I would like to feel more comfortable in feminine attire, but I don't and it's not exactly suitable for walking the dog anyway. Make-up only comes out on rare occasions. Boy babies somehow seemed more likely to fit in with this and the girly part of toy shops would leave me feeling either disinterested, appalled or with a feeling of dread.
Along came Isla.
Then came the bouquets of pink flowers.
And the pink cards.
And the pink cards.
And the pink clothes.
Oh dear...
I thought we were meant to moving away from gender stereotyping. It appears not when you are under five. Not when you can be marketted to!
It has occured to me over the past weeks that there are various consequences of having a "pink" baby. Some I may bring myself to comes to terms with; some I can imagine becoming potential sources of tension and some will be non-negotiable, at least for now.
Hair slides
Bows and other accessories.
Piercings
French plaits and other time-consuming hair styles
Make-up
High heeled shoes
Boyfriends
Nail polish
Crop tops
Dollies
"I'm not going climbing - I could break a finger nail...!"
Fairies and Princesses and other areas of Disney marketting
Boy bands
"Tweenager" marketting
The whole "Boys are little terrors and girls are little angels" thing.
And so on.
This got me looking around and I found a website called Pink Stinks. Well said.
Monday, 25 January 2010
A Quiet Evening in...
Angus is asleep, Isla is asleep, and Ken is away. I finally have a quiet evening in all to myself and a chance to unwind and catch up. I may even get around to loading some photos if the phone doesn't ring again!
Isla is doing well. She had her 6 week check up last week, even though she was actually ten weeks old! There was a lag after Christmas. Isla weighed in at 10lbs 5oz and is already able to stand with a bit of help with balance. This is so different from Angus! He didn't stand until about four or five months old although he also had good head control, and as many of us know, he was laid back to the point of laziness. Isla is far more assertive and quite determined to find a way to communicate to you exactly what she wants. A tongue being poked out means she is hungry; a wide open mouth and she wants her Schnuller (pacy [how do you spell that?]/dummy). Get those around the wrong way and she is not a happy bunny. She doesn't like being left out of things and will cry and get very cross if left in her seat. She would much rather be held and shown what's going on, or just cuddled! She mostly likes her changing mat and smiles at you, but only rarely tolerates a bath. Her play mat (Angus's favourite when her age) is a no go area but today sat in his doughnut play ring thing and really enjoyed it. Vertical seems preferable to horizontal and she regularly wants to practice standing and will complain until you help her up.
I see trouble ahead..... Two headstrong ladies in the same family ( maybe I should make that three, or is it four, or even five....?!) could lead to fireworks. We should all start praying for Ken now I think...
Angus is still smitten with her and told me today that he loves her. Actually, he loves a lot of people right now and is being very affectionate. He is still proud of his sister and regularly tells me things that he is going to teach her. Today he was going to teach her how to use my i-touch but he is also going to show her how to chop wood for the fire with the axe, how to light the fire, use a Bow saw, use the hand drill, run, tell her about Mallard his current obsession (a steam train - Google it), and do a pooh in the toilet. There is a certain amount of irony in that last one as he hasn't cracked that area yet and is going to see a hospital specialist in a few days. He is thoroughly enjoying being a big brother and wants to share his toys with her and asks me when she is going to grow big enough to play with. Fortunately scrapbooking has an advantage here as he can see when he did different things by looking in his book and this gives him a bit of insight into time scale.
I have just tried to add photos and it won't let me. Guess that lets me off the hook until next time. I will spend the rest of the evening finishing Thank You letters and editing photos for next time.
Isla is doing well. She had her 6 week check up last week, even though she was actually ten weeks old! There was a lag after Christmas. Isla weighed in at 10lbs 5oz and is already able to stand with a bit of help with balance. This is so different from Angus! He didn't stand until about four or five months old although he also had good head control, and as many of us know, he was laid back to the point of laziness. Isla is far more assertive and quite determined to find a way to communicate to you exactly what she wants. A tongue being poked out means she is hungry; a wide open mouth and she wants her Schnuller (pacy [how do you spell that?]/dummy). Get those around the wrong way and she is not a happy bunny. She doesn't like being left out of things and will cry and get very cross if left in her seat. She would much rather be held and shown what's going on, or just cuddled! She mostly likes her changing mat and smiles at you, but only rarely tolerates a bath. Her play mat (Angus's favourite when her age) is a no go area but today sat in his doughnut play ring thing and really enjoyed it. Vertical seems preferable to horizontal and she regularly wants to practice standing and will complain until you help her up.
I see trouble ahead..... Two headstrong ladies in the same family ( maybe I should make that three, or is it four, or even five....?!) could lead to fireworks. We should all start praying for Ken now I think...
Angus is still smitten with her and told me today that he loves her. Actually, he loves a lot of people right now and is being very affectionate. He is still proud of his sister and regularly tells me things that he is going to teach her. Today he was going to teach her how to use my i-touch but he is also going to show her how to chop wood for the fire with the axe, how to light the fire, use a Bow saw, use the hand drill, run, tell her about Mallard his current obsession (a steam train - Google it), and do a pooh in the toilet. There is a certain amount of irony in that last one as he hasn't cracked that area yet and is going to see a hospital specialist in a few days. He is thoroughly enjoying being a big brother and wants to share his toys with her and asks me when she is going to grow big enough to play with. Fortunately scrapbooking has an advantage here as he can see when he did different things by looking in his book and this gives him a bit of insight into time scale.
I have just tried to add photos and it won't let me. Guess that lets me off the hook until next time. I will spend the rest of the evening finishing Thank You letters and editing photos for next time.
Friday, 25 December 2009
Merry Christmas!
We all hope and pray that you have a Merry Christmas this year (and every year!). We have had a lovely Christmas with Granny and Clive, Grandma and Grampa. The log fire was burning, the carols were playing in the background, Angus had a lot of fun with his presents - although it was a little disconcerting to find out when he went to bed that his favourite present was a stretchy bat that he had been feeding hoops to at breakfast. Father Christmas obviously knew the way to make him happy! Grandma cooked a wonderful dinner for us - and I did almost nothing as Isal went into a feeding frenzy at nearly every opportunity I had to do something. Oh well, there must be some advantages to breast feeding I suppose!
Remember the reason we celebrate Christmas - and if you disagree with it, have a lovely time anyway!
Fiona
Remember the reason we celebrate Christmas - and if you disagree with it, have a lovely time anyway!
Fiona
Monday, 21 December 2009
Time Management...
... is nearly impossible.
I have been trying to write an update on Isla and Angus for several weeks now, but I am either feeding, placating a three year old with growing independence and willfulness, doing the laundry, vacuuming ( a side-effect of log fires and a hubby who .... never mind...), shopping, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to write the Christmas/thank you/birth announcement cards, or sleeping. I am just about managing to keep on top of my emails, but more than that is nearly impossible right now.
Suffice it to say that Isla is finally doing well although feeding has been difficult. She eventually learned how to latch on to Mummy without causing pain but by then she had lost so much weight that she only just had enough energy to sleep and sustain herself. With some supplementary formula she managed to get back to her birth weight but then stayed there for a week. Only in the last week has she really put weight on. Last Friday Isla passed the 8lb barrier! Hurrah! She is still on two bottles of formula a day but we will hopefully wean her off those eventually.
Angus is still delighted with her and keeps telling me and Ken that he is happy that the baby has arrived. He loves telling people about her when we go to the supermarket as he pushes her around in her Steam Engine (the shopping trolly!) He tells anyone who looks at her or comments, "This is Isla Morag my baby!". He was waiting with her while I went to the loo last week at the supermarket. When I came out he was saying this repeatedly to a chap looking at jumpers who was clearly oblivious to him. I watched for a while to see what would happen. Angus noticed me watching and said to me, "Mummy he's not listening. I want to tell him about Isla. Doesn't he like her?" All people should love Isla as far as Angus is concerned. Much better than the jealous older brother bit.
If only he could control his tantrums. Just remember, it's just a developmental stage and healthy... Yeh right.
I'll put up some pictures when I have time to sort them through.
I have been trying to write an update on Isla and Angus for several weeks now, but I am either feeding, placating a three year old with growing independence and willfulness, doing the laundry, vacuuming ( a side-effect of log fires and a hubby who .... never mind...), shopping, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to write the Christmas/thank you/birth announcement cards, or sleeping. I am just about managing to keep on top of my emails, but more than that is nearly impossible right now.
Suffice it to say that Isla is finally doing well although feeding has been difficult. She eventually learned how to latch on to Mummy without causing pain but by then she had lost so much weight that she only just had enough energy to sleep and sustain herself. With some supplementary formula she managed to get back to her birth weight but then stayed there for a week. Only in the last week has she really put weight on. Last Friday Isla passed the 8lb barrier! Hurrah! She is still on two bottles of formula a day but we will hopefully wean her off those eventually.
Angus is still delighted with her and keeps telling me and Ken that he is happy that the baby has arrived. He loves telling people about her when we go to the supermarket as he pushes her around in her Steam Engine (the shopping trolly!) He tells anyone who looks at her or comments, "This is Isla Morag my baby!". He was waiting with her while I went to the loo last week at the supermarket. When I came out he was saying this repeatedly to a chap looking at jumpers who was clearly oblivious to him. I watched for a while to see what would happen. Angus noticed me watching and said to me, "Mummy he's not listening. I want to tell him about Isla. Doesn't he like her?" All people should love Isla as far as Angus is concerned. Much better than the jealous older brother bit.
If only he could control his tantrums. Just remember, it's just a developmental stage and healthy... Yeh right.
I'll put up some pictures when I have time to sort them through.
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