Food glorious food

There is a long list of things that pregnant women are advised not to eat, due to the risk of getting food poisoning from Listeria. Here are the things I'm really looking forward to eating again, once I am no longer pregnant:

• Smoked salmon
• Soft cheeses, like Brie
• Fried egg with runny yolk (as part of a gourmet breakfast: DeepSpice take note!)
• things with mayonnaise... potato salad, chicken & mayo sandwiches, etc.
  
• Chocolate mousse

And of course, I am really looking forward to having a glass of wine!
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Pregnancy update: 38+1

Well, here I am at the tail end of my second (and final!) pregnancy... just under two weeks to go (until the official due date that is - Thumper may of course choose a different birthdate). I am now 38 weeks pregnant.

Measurements at 38 weeks pregnant:

• Waist: 116 cm
  
• Hips: 108 cm
  
• Weight gain: 11 kg
  

Current aches and pains:

• Pelvic instability still present, although weekly chiropractic treatments seems to help a lot.
  
• Still have the deep muscle soreness in my right gluteal muscle and a sore sacroiliac joint.
• Sciatica (as was the case when I was pregnant with BallFiend, it has started up in the last 2 - 3 weeks of pregnancy); thankfully I have only had one or two really severe bouts - mostly it has been mild
  
• big squirming movements by Thumper (but not getting kicked much anymore - must have run out of room in there!)
• a little bit of reflux again (something I haven't had for many weeks)
• some serious 'pre-labour' symptoms. I have had two really major bouts, on Thursday 12th and Saturday 15th August. Starting from about 10 am and lasting all day until I went to bed at night, I had cramps like period pain, low back ache, nausea and braxton hicks contractions. Thought I might really be in labour! But since then, nothing so dramatic. A bit more of the same now and then, but thankfully to a much lesser extent!

Pros and Cons of late pregnancy

A friend, who has two kids, said to me a few weeks back "third trimester pregnancy has very little to recommend it" and whilst I am very much inclined to agree, the thought of life with a demanding newborn that reminds me that "fourth trimester pregnancy" (ie. the 6-week post-partum period) also has its cons! So here is my list of pros and cons of late pregnancy:

Cons of having a baby in utero:

• a big, uncomfortable belly that gets in the way of everything!
• numerous bodily aches and pains (see above)
  
• toilet breaks 2 - 3 times a night and even more than this during the day
• constipation
• various other bodily functions and events that I won't spell out in detail as that would be TMI
  
• limited wardrobe - have worn the same 5 - 10 items of clothing for months on end now
• can't trim my toenails
• can't tie my shoelaces
• extremely hard to get up from the floor if I squat down to pick something up
  
• extremely hard to sit up from a lying down position
• can't sleep on my back
• can't sleep on my tummy
• can't sleep on my side for long periods as this creates pressure soreness in my hip
• can't sleep, full stop (due to discomforts, the need to wee three times a night and waking up hungry at 4.00 am)
  
• need mountains of pillows in bed to prop up my belly and legs which makes turning over a nuisance
  
• can't sit, can't stand, can't kneel; no position is comfortable for any length of time. (I reckon this equates to torture - constantly suffering discomfort or pain!)
• can't eat favourite foods, such as smoked salmon and brie, due to risk of listeria
• no drinking alcohol
• suppressed immune system = frequent colds, sore throats, etc.
• always feeling tired and often very crabby
  
• the nesting instinct kicks in and I want to clean, tidy, declutter and organise, but am too tired to do so and can't shift the furniture anyway
• increasingly more frequent interactions with hospital and related health care providers: visits to midwives, pathology, chiropractor, etc.
• driving is awkward (and increasing dangerous as I feel more and more vague)
• being the subject of speculation and often a target for 'well-intentioned' advice (though thankfully much less so because Thumper is my second baby)

Pros of having a baby in utero:

• in the uterus no one can hear you the baby scream cry
• minimal sleep deprivation (the sleep deprivation due to pregnancy aches and pains is nothing compared to that caused by a newborn baby!)
• there are no nappies to change
• no need to spend hours settling baby to sleep
• can eat a meal without having to hold baby on my lap at the same time
• can eat a meal without having to get up throughout it to attend to baby's needs
• can do lots of other things with out being interrupted - drink a hot cup of tea, read a newspaper, have a conversation with DeepSpice, etc. (well, in reality I do get interrupted by BallFiend quite a lot, but not nearly as much as he used to do when he was a baby)
• feeding Thumper is easy - no breastfeeding related aches and pains (such as sore shoulders, cracked nipples, blocked ducts, etc.) and (down the track) no 'solids' to prepare, spoon feed then clean off the walls and floor
  
• don't have to cart baby off to the maternal health nurse for frequent weigh-ins and check ups, which then lead to worries about weight gains
• can leave the house without having to pack a nappy bag (still have to pack one for BallFiend of course, but this is easy these days - he doesn't need much stuff compared with what a baby requires)
  
• can go on an outing with minimal planning - just up and go
  
• only have to load one child into the car (and BallFiend can climb in himself now)
• can devote my full attention to BallFiend when we are spending time together - he doesn't have to compete with another child for my attention
• no post-partum aches and pains (my nether-regions are yet to undergo the rigours of childbirth)
• have an excuse to eat as many chocolate biscuits as I want (ie. I am storing fat which will get used up when I breastfeed!)
• I look pregnant because I am pregnant; as compared with those first few months post-partum when women look pregnant because their bodies as slowing returning back to normal after 9 months of carrying a baby. (Except for celebrities of course, who seem to have a strange desire to erase any evidence that their body has just carried a baby for nine months and who have a team of personal trainers, chefs and nannies at their disposal.)
• I am still the centre of attention as those around me ponder the miracle of life evident in my ever-expanding belly; they are concerned about my welfare and wonder about what Thumper will be like. Once on the outside, Thumper will be the centre of attention, and I will merely be Thumper's mobile life-support device.
  

There is one more thing, which is both a pro and a con: being pregnant puts life into perspective. Things that used to matter a lot don't seem so important (like getting projects at work done on time, having a career, keeping up with news and current affairs) but conversely things that shouldn't matter so much tend to get blown out of proportion (little things, like staying on top of housework and having everything 'ready' for when the baby comes).

So, as uncomfortable as I am right now, I am not wishing for this pregnancy to end. I don't not want Thumper to make a rush for the exit, because I know that no matter how hard things seem now, they are going to be much harder once I am a suffering sleep deprivation that only a newborn baby can create!
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Ball Magnet

It seems that where ever he goes, BallFiend's love obsession with balls gets noticed and people can't help themselves but give him a ball. I wish they wouldn't! We are running out of places to store them all!

For instance: a few months ago, we were in a shop and BallFiend spotted a display of rubber balls. He was examining each intently, then playing with them all around the store, while DeepSpice and I were looking the items we had come to purchase. Anyway, the manager saw BallFiend's delight and said to him:

"that is the last ball of that type left [it featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles breaking through a brick wall] and I want to get rid of it anyway, so would BallFiend like to have it to keep?"

Stupid question. So we left the shop with our purchases and another ball for the 'ballpit' in BallFiend's bedroom.

And, for instance: this morning, DeepSpice took BallFiend down to the local oval to watch the under 8s playing soccer. As it turned out, BallFiend wasn't interested in watching the kids playing soccer, but he was thrilled to see so many balls everywhere, laying all around the edge of the oval. Apparently he ran from one to the next, examining each, and calling for DeepSpice to follow along behind him as he moved onto the next, then the next.

At half time, BallFiend went out on the field and kicked a ball into the goal a few times. He had trouble understanding why he had to leave the field when the game resumed.

At the end, when it was time to pack up, BallFiend was eager to help pick up soccer balls and put them away in the big mesh bags. DeepSpice said the coach was so impressed that he gave BallFiend a yellow soccer ball to take home. Apparently there were at least 50 balls around the place, so one wasn't going to be missed anyway.

Whilst it was good entertainment for a morning, DeepSpice told me hopes that BallFiend doesn't want to go and play soccer when he is older, mainly due to the presence of less-desirable traits amongst some of the parents. In particular, the creepy coach who was wearing skin-tight lyrca leggings and clearly had no underwear underneath!

And thus, in hindsight I realise I should have given BallFiend the moniker of "BallMagnet" for this blog...
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Memories...

Today is our anniversary - DeepSpice and I, that is. Since I am too tired and pregnant (38 weeks tomorrow!) to be bothered going out for a fancy dinner or even to make a special night in, I am taking a trip down memory lane instead...

On this day 14 years ago, DeepSpice and I were just young, foolish, idealistic lefties, mucking about together at my sharehouse in Helen St, Northcote. It was August 21st, 1995 and one week after the La Trobe Uni student protest when we occupied the administration building for a couple of hours. DeepSpice and I were sitting on FreeloadingPhill's sofabed (which I should point out he obtained for free from his grandmother's estate... he was a freeloader even back in those days) watching TV, when the magic began.

Actually the magic really began two years earlier in 1993, after I asked DeepSpice to help me with a Music assignment. With about 3 hours until the assignment was due, I went to his room at college and demanded his help because he had done the same Music subject the previous year and I didn't like the subject anyway, so just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. I should point out that in the end, DeepSpice was no help, as (a) he couldn't find his old assignment, (b) he was hung-over and still asleep at midday, and (c) he failed first year entirely. Anyway, this non-musical interlude led on to an increased degree of 'hanging out' together. Until, a few weeks into our fledging 'thing', I got glandular fever and was sick for about 5 weeks. Then life just sort of moved on. I got caught up in all the bigger, better things to do as a second-year uni student, and although I stayed friends with DeepSpice, I held back on getting too involved with him, lest a serious relationship interfere with all the other possibilities that are open to a second-year uni student!

Anyway, two years on and there we were, somehow both in the right place at the right time, unencumbered by romantic commitments to other people (DeepSpice more recently so than I, having just been dumped by someone about a week before). And the rest, as 'they' say, is history.


Also on this day 5 years ago, DeepSpice and I had a wedding ceremony with about 100 of our nearest and dearest family and friends. I should point out that we chose not to get married (much to StompyDad's disapproval) because we didn't see the need. We are both atheists, and we didn't see any reason for a civil marriage either: we already had a sizable home loan together which we considered was enough evidence of our commitment to each other. What we wanted was to celebrate our (then 9-year) relationship, and to ensure that all of our relatives understood that we were in a relationship for life, and not that we were just the boyfriend/girlfriend of the moment. (It gets really annoying after 9 years, when extended family invite one of us to a family-do, like a wedding, but not invite the other because they just didn't remember/recognise our relationship). Oh, and we wanted to have a party, of course! And by cleverly scheduling our wedding on the August 21st, we ensured that we wouldn't have two different dates to remember.

So anyway, we did the wedding thing, and although there were quite a lot of good things that happened in the course of the big event, I can honestly say that I would never, ever do such a thing again. It became a Frankenstein's Monster, turning into something that was completely not what we wanted. It seems that as soon as one ascribes the word 'wedding' to an event, it becomes loaded with generations of social meaning, layered with ritual and is quickly taken over by others, who are eager to relive (or perhaps re-enact) their own weddings... and this time they get to do so from the position of being the ones to slather-on the meaning and ritual, rather than being the ones subjected to it! (I guess if BallFiend or Thumper ever have a wedding, DeepSpice and I will have the chance to get our own back! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!)

The choice of date didn't really work out so well either - despite organising our wedding for the date of our relationship's anniversary, I still get mixed up anyway and think that our anniversary is August 15th. I am also hopeless at remembering how many years it has been. Thereby putting an end to the idea that it is always the male in a relationship who forgets the anniversary.

However, all that really matters is that DeepSpice and I are still happily and lovingly together after all these years, In addition, we have spawned progeny, thereby contining the over-population of the planet... and that should make those religious freaks happy. And even if it doesn't who cares! We are happy... BallFiend is a delight -- more so every day as he develops -- and I am sure that Thumper will be too. I just hope that this time next year, we are dining out somewhere special, with a nice bottle of plonk on the table and the kids safely home with a babysitter!
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iCoaster

This looks like great fun: iCoaster.

Yet another toy I could get for me and pretend that I really got it for BallFiend... just like the Marble Run I got him for his third birthday present. >:)
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Mondegreen - So F**king Rock

My house is bockin' bop!
My house is rockin' rock!
Ouch!

(Tim Minchin says 'ouch'.)

BallFiend singing the Tim Minchin song "So F**king Rock" (or at least the lyrics as he understands them!).
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Nothing could possibli go wrong

Had a crappy couple of days - but strangely, am fairly cool, calm and collected! Not sure why things aren't getting to me that would normally have me in a fury.

Wednesday, August 12

I had another appointment with the midwife at midday and also needed to get a blood sample taken for a compulsory blood test (apparently the hospital want to be sure that there is enough iron in my system). I left in time to get to the Pathology department by about 11.00 am so I could do the blood test before my appointment. But the hospital car park was full and by the time I had spent 15 minutes looking for a parking space in the surrounding streets, I didn't arrive at Pathology until 11.30 am. As I got out of the car, I noticed the exhaust was looking a bit too smoky... not a good sign when we have just had the car serviced!

At Pathology, I took the next number (47) and when 37 was called, I realised there were 10 people in the queue ahead of me. So I sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Then, at midday, I had to leave the queue and go to the Family Birth Centre for my appointment. At this point there were only about 2 or 3 people in the Pathology queue ahead of me, so it was really annoying to have to give up my place. I decided to try my luck with repositioning myself in the queue by grabbing a few more numbers. The number cards were back to the start with number 1 at the front. So I took 5 and 8, hopeful that by the time I finished with the midwife, my number might be up!

At the Family Birth Centre, I was kept waiting for nearly 25 minutes. Might as well have stayed in the queue at Pathology. Grrr! I ended up seeing the same midwife I saw at my last visit (one I don't like much). She gave me a swab to do the GBS test, then listened to Thumper's heartbeat, felt Thumper's position. I managed to ask a few questions as she rushed me out the door. She handed me the swab and said to give it to Pathology and ask them to send it off for testing along with my blood sample.

Back up to Pathology. Finally something good happens: the next number up is 5! The woman holding number 6 looks at me with daggers though... obviously wondering how I can just turn up and get seen straight away. Having the blood sample taken was stressful and unpleasant. In the same room, on the other side of the curtain, a baby about 6 months old was having a blood sample taken and he was extremely distressed, absolutely bawling. Plus I was feeling stressed from all the rushing about. Anyway, the needle hurt this time, and I still have a bruise 2 days later.

All done and finally time to go except... the FBC midwife hadn't given me a pathology request slip for the GBS swab so the Pathology department couldn't accept it. So I went back down to the FBC. There were no staff in sight. I waited for about 5 minutes and eventually someone appeared. After a fair bit of explaining on my part, she finally understood the situation and agreed to do the pathology request slip. I raced out the door to get back to the car before I got booked for staying past the 2 hour limit.

I got a bit of a rest at home in the afternoon before heading off to crèche to collect BallFiend. It wasn't till I got back to the car and had him all strapped in and ready to go that I remembered to check the nappy bag to ensure everything was in it (something I usually do before I leave the building). Usually, the carers are very good with packing all the clothes, dummy, blankie, etc. back into the bag. But of course this time, the dummy wasn't in the bag! I couldn't be bothered heading back to look for it, so when I got home I just emailed the crèche to ask them to keep an eye out for it.

Thursday, August 13

I slept very badly and woke up already completely exhausted! I had planned to take BallFiend out somewhere in the morning - maybe shopping or a visit to a friend's house, then I was going to tackle the remaining things on my "to do before Thumper is born" list while BallFiend had his afternoon nap, but all I could manage was slowly pottering about the house. Thank goodness for television - BallFiend watched it for about 3 hours straight!

Around 1.00 pm, I started feeling unwell - nausea, cramps in my lower belly and extending down my legs and a low back ache. I began to feel a bit anxious... maybe I was in early labour! Thumper was definitely not allowed to come out yet:

1. It is less than a week since BallFiend's birthday and I want as much time as possible between Thumper and BallFiend's birthdays, so that organising parties in future will be a little easier.
   
2. VoluableK was off to the Pink concert that night and wouldn't be available to come to support me during labour.
   
3. Being less than 37 weeks pregnant (ie. at this time I was 36 + 5 days), the hospital would consider it as a premature birth and so I would not be eligible for the Family Birth Centre.
   
4. I just don't feel ready yet!

I lay on the couch whilst BallFiend ran about amusing himself by throwing the beach ball up to the ceiling and rolling marbles across the floor and generally running amok. Clearly there was no way BallFiend was going to nap for me today. However I managed to nap for about half an hour, undisturbed by BallFiend's exuberance. I was very impressed with BallFiend's understanding when I explained that I felt sick and I was equally impressed with his ability to entertain himself, finding things to play with around the house and requesting nothing from me!

At about 2.00 pm, I messaged DeepSpice and asked him to come home early, saying I felt unwell (but not mentioning the possiblity of labour as I didn't want to get him overly alarmed). Anyway, DeepSpice said he would get away as early as possible, but he didn't understand that I meant as soon as possible. So I was disappointed when it got to 3.30 pm and DeepSpice hadn't even left work yet! However, thankfully I was feeling a bit better by this time... but also well enough to feel even more anxious that I hadn't finished off the final preparations for Thumper's arrival, such as finishing packing bags for hospital, leaving notes and checklists for family members who will be caring for BallFiend, etc.

By 4.30 pm, I was feeling pretty bad again, and very tired. I was still unsure if I was just experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions or was really in early labour, and DeepSpice was only just leaving work, so I decided to ask DesignerSis to come over and help me by getting dinner for BallFiend. However, DeepSpice got home around 5.00 pm, so I messaged DesignerSis and said not to worry about coming over.

I continued to feel nauseous and crampy to greater and lesser degrees all evening. But stupidly stayed up pretty late making sure all the last preparations were finished, in case we ended up rushing off to hospital later that night, including making DeepSpice install the baby capsule in the car! Finally in bed around 11.00 pm and asleep about midnight. Only to wake at 1.40 am needing to wee, then again at 4.20 am.

Friday, August 14

Surprisingly, after the events of Thursday, I felt much better when I woke up at 6.20 am, and strangely quite well rested! Obviously I wasn't in as good shape as I felt though because I dropped my dear old Palm Tungsten T3 on the floor! I am so clumsy at the moment... not sure if it is pregnancy-related. Anyway, the screen now has a massive crack through it, and it is clearly beyond repair. I had been thinking of decommissioning it, only because the battery performance had got really poor. But now I suppose I have no choice.

And there was still no sign of BallFiend's dummy when I picked him up at crèche this afternoon.
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Things I do now that I didn't do before I had a kid...

• eat food that has fallen on the floor (30 second rule applies)
• always have a face washer handy - even when I am out of the house
• not really care if I get dribble/spit on me
  
• not get totally grossed out by poo (it's just food after all)
• not get totally grossed out by vomit (when BallFiend is sick, his misery completely over-rides any feelings of disgust)
• sit on the floor
• sit on the ground outside
• make up songs, poems and stories
  
• muck about, be silly, sing songs, even in front of other adults
• watch kids shows on TV... and often enjoy them too
  
• feel a great sense of achievement if I only manage to do one errand in a day
• prepare and cook meals (used to be strictly DeepSpice's domain but now I do this quite often)
  
• bake cakes and biscuits several times a month

to be continued...
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Report card - 3 years old!

BallFiend is three years old today, so I thought I would write him a 'report card'... just like teachers at school used to do to me. (Ha Ha!)

According to Raising Children web site, by three years old, BallFiend...

should be able to:
identify four pictures by naming

Yes. Identifies more pictures than I can count. Can also identify many letters of the alphabet, several numbers and even his own name. He also is frequently asking ‘what does that say’ when pointing to a word. Whilst staying with Gran and GrandPaul, he pointed to the word 'party' on the packet of balloons and asked if it said 'party'. But we are not sure if he recognised the word or it was just a good guess based on prior knowledge and context.

wash and dry hands

Yes. Thanks to carers at crèche teaching BallFiend to do this.

identify a friend by naming

Yes. Names and talks about many of his friends, including when they are not present. Especially playgroup friends LittleMissL, LittleMissP, MasterS, MasterF, MasterW, LittleMissIz, MasterL as well as PetitAmi, and various friends from crèche.

throw a ball overhand

Yes. And kicks a ball along the ground, and kicks a ball drop-punt style, and dribbles a ball with his feet, and pat-bounces a ball, and catches a ball... and, and, and...

speak and be understood half the time

Yes. In fact, sometimes he never shuts up! Can be understood about 95% of the time by his parents and most other people as well.

carry on a conversation of two or three sentences

Yes. In addition to conversations, he also does monologues. Recently (last month or so), BallFiend has become extremely imaginative and makes up short stories. He also likes to make up songs.

use prepositions

Yes. Uses many including: about, above, across, after, around, at, before, behind, between, but, by, down, for, from, in, inside, like, near, of, off, on, out, outside, over, to, under, up, with...

will probably be able to:
use two adjectives

Yes. Uses many adjectives – more than I can count!

put on a T-shirt

Maybe. Probably could do this if he wanted to, but BallFiend has no motivation to dress himself. He does help with putting on tops – if I put it over his head, he will put the arms into the sleeves by himself without prompting.

broad jump

Yes, I think so... if this means jump forwards from a stationary position.

may possibly be able to:
balance on each foot for two seconds

Yes.

describe the use of two objects

Yes. Many more than two.

may even be able to:
copy a circle

Yes.

prepare a bowl of cereal

Maybe. BallFiend probably could do this but has not tried – shows no interest in doing this.
The breakfast routine now consists of DeepSpice or I placing a bowl of dry vitabrits (2 biscuits, crushed up) on his little table and a jug of warm milk.
BallFiend sits down and likes us to push his chair in for him. He will put his own bib on (sometimes, when motivated), and always wipes his own hands on a damp cloth before a meal. He then likes to pour his own milk and does so with full control. Rarely spills any. He then ‘mushes’ the vitabrits with a spoon and gets annoyed if they are not flat and smooth. Then he usually eats them with his bare hands.
Often he will demand a second helping (another 2 vitabrit biscuits). When he finished eating, he wipes his hands on his cloth, and sometimes wipes spills up from the table. Then he runs to me or DeepSpice and asks us to wipe his hands (he is sometimes annoyingly fastidious about getting his hands messy... although after meals his hands usually do need a bit more cleaning up).

dress without help

Maybe. BallFiend shows no interest in selecting clothes to wear, even to the extent that he won’t even make a choice between two t-shirts if offered the opportunity to choose. (Which is the complete opposite of the girls in our playgroup who love to choose their own clothes and even accessorise!)

identify four colours

Yes. Knows red, green, blue, yellow, pink, orange, black, purple, brown, white and ‘clear’ (ie. transparent). Sometimes describes various shade of purple as blue or red.

put on an article of clothing

Yes. Can put on own socks and pants but is very unmotivated to do so... will only do so if heavily encouraged. BallFiend also put on own shoes once or twice, again with much encouragement. I suppose he just has more interesting things to do. Can put on own hat.

Very good at taking off items of clothing – especially shoes and socks, which are usually removed as soon as he comes into the house and are then thrown asunder! (Much to my annoyance.)

To conclude, an obligatory, patronising section...

BallFiend demonstrates great curiosity about the world and continues to apply himself well to task of learning. He does this through unstructured play but also responds well to parental or other carers direction when engaging in more structured activities.

He is extremely interested in balls and all their physical properties, and demonstrates a strong ability to focus at length when investigating the various ways that a single ball can move, be used and sometimes destroyed (the 'face ball' got stabbed in the eye with a screwdriver, the blue and white ball got thrown in a rose bush, the seams of the seahorse beach ball gave up after it was sat on one time too many, and many ping pong balls have been squashed underfoot as BallFiend attempted to backspin them with his heel). His favourite ball at present is the green/blue/pink/clear beach ball; however it also gets sat on frequently and will presumably soon be in ball heaven too.

Whilst it is pleasing to see such a strong ability to focus, BallFiend would benefit from expanding his interests into other areas, for example toy cars or dinosaurs. [I got a school report once that said I spent too much time reading books by a single author and that I should try reading more widely. The school librarian didn't understand that my preference was to read all books by an author before moving on to another author. Something I still do now and don't see any problem with!]

Over the past year, BallFiend has also enjoyed a range of other activities:

• Artistic: drawing in crayon, stamps and ink, playdoh, cutting up paper with scissors. BallFiend's favourite colour is green.
  
• Culinary: baking with me, chopping up vegetables with a proper kitchen knife (mainly zucchini and onion), grocery shopping, and of course squishing and throwing food.
• Music: singing songs, composing his own songs, playing harmonica (especially if jamming with DeepSpice on guitar or playing along to Sugar Blue with GrandPaul also on harmonica), strumming guitar (again with DeepSpice's help). His favourite music is 'rock and roll' (by which he means the Queen Greatest Hits album) and in particular "mama mia" (by which he means Bohemian Rhapsody).
• Literacy: BallFiend shows great interest in learning to recognise and write various letters and numbers. Favourites are "H" and the number 8. He likes to 'do writing' using pens, biros and markers and not just on paper (furniture, walls and balls have all been popular media). BallFiend loves to read books and be read to - especially books that feature balls or anything ball-shaped, like balloons or eggs. At last count he had well over 100 books.
• Science: recognises various planets and other astrological bodies (Earth, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter), naturally of interest because they are ball-shaped; is interested in physics - can describe a synchotron ("It goes round and round and round and round and BANG!"); likes to experiment with gravity particularly using toys such as marble and ball runs; interested in various materials and their properties ("is this rubber? is this plastic? is this wood?" etc). Understands some aspects of human physiology and is particularly fascinated with the digestive system (ie. he giggles when he farts!); interested in observing blood come out (when watching me have blood samples taken for testing) and speculating on what colour it is.
• Consuming media: watching TV (favourite shows include PlaySchool, the Upside Down Show, Curious George the Monkey and Shaun the Sheep), playing Peggle, watching video clips on YouTube (especially the Pinball Song from Sesame St), watching our Tim Minchin DVD (we had to curb that one, as he was learning some very colourful language!).

Overall, BallFiend, you are a delight to be around almost all of the time. It is only when you are grumpy due to being tired and/or hungry that you display some of the more difficult behaviours typical of your stage of development. You show great maturity, empathy and intelligence for someone so little and both DeepSpice and I look forward to watching you grow and develop.

A+

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Medical Guinea Pig

Using my authority as parent and legal guardian (and of course with the agreement of co-parent and legal guardian DeepSpice), I decided to enrol BallFiend in a research study to test out the new H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine.

The research team are recuiting about 150 kids across Melbourne. I saw an ad in the MX 'news' paper a few weeks back, and decided that as I was very pregnant, any chance to prevent BallFiend picking up the flu virus and then passing it on to me (or Thumper once bub is born) was probably worth taking. Plus there is the good karma earned through altruisticly furthering research in medical science.

So yesterday, after I had rushed around in the morning (return library books, grocery shopping and then attending a local breastfeeding meeting), I made it home just before 1.00 pm, in time for our appointment with the swine flu researchers.

A doctor, a phlebotomist and a nurse walked into a bar my house and BallFiend began his career as human guinea pig for science.

First, an anaesthetic gel was applied to BallFiend's arms to numb the spot where a blood sample would be taken. Then he mucked about while the gel took effect and I signed numerous consent forms. Next the blood sample was taken. Doctor Jenny distracted BallFiend by blowing bubbles while Judith the phlebotomist drew the sample. The gel must really work because BallFiend didn't even notice his arm had a needle in it.

I had mentioned to him earlier in the day that the doctor was going to come to our house and take some blood out of his arm. He has watched both DeepSpice and me have blood samples drawn before and seemed to find it very interesting, so he certainly had no sense of fear about this procedure... just interested. I asked him what colour he thought the blood would be and he said green (currently, his favourite colour).

When BallFiend saw the blood sample - a very dark purple colour - he said "it's black, not green!"

Next came the actual vaccination. He was busy watching his favourite TV show: 'the funny men' (or as it is officially known "The Upside Down Show") and not really paying much attention as his shoulder was bared for the jab. Then suddenly screams and tears as he felt the prick. He turned around to the doctor and said "I don't want it anymore!" while she tried to offer him a Disney-themed sticker. BallFiend has little interest in stickers, so this didn't really help much, but he was easily consoled when I offered him a chocolate cupcake. So although I'm sure it hurt a bit, it was probably more the shock than the pain that made him cry.

A few minutes later, he decided he did wanted a sticker and he looked over the sheet, trying to find one with a ball. Eventually he spotted one with Goofy playing with a basketball. But BallFiend only wanted the ball, not Goofy with it. So I handed him some scissors so he could cut the ball out. He did so, but got frustrated when he accidentally cut the edge off the ball. So then we had to find another copy of the sticker in order to obtain a whole ball. He insisted that I cut this one out for him and then he returned the Goofy part of the sticker to the doctor.

Next there was a 30 minute observation period, to ensure BallFiend didn't have an allergic reaction to the vaccine, and during this time, the nurse explained to me out to correctly fill in the various diary forms for the study. I was asked to note any pain, redness or swelling at the injection site and if BallFiend had an elevated temperature, vomiting/diahorrea, irritability or loss of appetite over the next 7 days.

Then the research team were on their way and I was left to get a weary but hyped-up BallFiend off to his cot for a nap. So far all was going well. BallFiend went off to sleep and I had a short rest too. Then did some housework and started making a pumpkin and ginger soup.

DeepSpice came home around 6.00 pm, and BallFiend's aunties, CutLuce and DesignerSis arrived to help me with final plans for his birthday party (to be held this weekend). After party planning and dinner, we got BallFiend ready for bed, took his temperature as required for the study (37.7 C), and bundled him off to the cot.

Around 9.00 pm, both DeepSpice and I were feeling worn out and ready for bed too, but our plans for an early night were interrupted with the sound of BallFiend crying and coughing. He was vomiting and thus began our long, long night! DeepSpice remade the cot with fresh bedclothes while I comforted BallFiend and we muddled around trying to work out what to do.
His temperature was now 40 C, so I stripped his clothes off and we gave him some water. DeepSpice rang the research team's number and left a message (we were instructed to let them know if BallFiend got a temperature above 39.5 C).

More vomiting. Time for Panadol... but then we discovered the bottle in the fridge was past expiry. So DeepSpice went to the local pharmacy to get some more while I continued to cuddle our dear, sick, little boy. He kept dozing off in my arms but being 8 months pregnant, I couldn't sit still in one position for long, and kept disturbing him every time I moved.

The panadol worked pretty quickly to reduce the fever and by about 11.00 pm, BallFiend's temperature had come down to 38.6 C, but he needed to be held upright to sleep because lying down seemed to bring on more nausea and vomiting.

We decided to set up the sofabed in his room so DeepSpice could sleep with BallFiend whilst leaning up against pillows (not something I was going to be able to do very easily whilst pregnant). I left DeepSpice and BallFiend and by midnight, I was tucked up in bed. I slept till about 3.00 am until I was roused by the sound of BallFiend vomiting again. This time it was mainly just dry retching - nothing left in his tummy. But he seemed to quickly improve - his temperature was down to 37.4 C and about 10 minutes after vomiting, he was saying he wanted to get up and kick a ball in the hallway! So I left DeepSpice to try and convince BallFiend that it was still the middle of the night and time to sleep!

I decided I needed an early breakfast before I went back to bed, then I slept for about an hour, but was woken up around 4.00 am due to a combination of very uncomfortable braxton hicks contractions and lots of squirming and somersaults from Thumper. Finally at about 6.00 am, I fell asleep again, only to be woken at about 7.45 am when BallFiend decided to get up and play. He was full of beans! No sign that there had been any dramas from the previous night. Not so for us, the long-suffering parents. DeepSpice had managed to sleep on and off through the night, sitting upright for quite a few hours and then eventually lying down after BallFiend was properly settled into sleep. We were both walking zombies.

Someone from the research team phoned at about 9.00 am responding to the message that DeepSpice had left the night before. I also got another follow up call around 1.00 pm. They had decided that BallFiend would not be getting the booster shot, which was planned for 3 weeks time. I was very relieved to hear this, as I don't want another night like the last one, especially not in the week that Thumper is due!

PS. The pumpkin soup turned out OK, but I burned the onions! Not a bad effort, all things considered.
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