Chocolate moose

Today, Thumper, BallFiend and I visited StompyDad who has been busily 'decluttering' as a result of the xmas gift that I gave him (a book called Sorted). A gift that has sadly backfired upon me as StompyDad now requires that I spend many, many hours at his house to look through the piles of stuff that he has determined to be clutter. Presumably so that I can shift it all to my house and ultimately end up with an equivelent clutter problem in 30 years time.

And so we were all off to see StompyDad and his clutter. (Except for DeepSpice who got to stay home and attempt to recuperate from the dreadful night's lack of sleep that we both had, courtesy of Thumper waking and wailing multiple times. DeepSpice did most of the getting-up, so I thought this was fair enough).

We stopped on route at a bakery to pick up lunch supplies to take to StompyDad's house - just some pastries and a few sweet treats. I chose lemon tarts for StompyDad and me, BallFiend opted out, and Thumper choose a chocolate mousse. (Both kids also decided to chuck massive tantrums in the shop so that by the time I left, I was completely embarassed by them and furious with them. BallFiend was very contrite afterwards. Thumper not so.)

We arrived at StompyDad's house, ate our lunch and then I was given a grand tour of all the recently decluttered sites around the house... "Open that cupboard. Look in here. Now I just want to show you this, it's important..." and so on for about an hour and a half. Eventually StompyDad left me to actually look through the boxes of stuff. There were some fabulous finds, in amongst the many things that should have been thrown out or sent to the op-shop years ago. The best prize was finding my and CutLuce's Wind in the Willows audio-book, on three cassettes. You know, the kind with actual magnetic tape in them! Recently I've been reading Wind in the Willows to the kids (and Gran and GrandPaul took them to a performance of it at the Royal Botanic Gardens last week). So I have been wishing I could get my hands on that audiobook again. Now I can. All I have to do is work out how to get it transferred onto a CD-rom. Piece of cake.

I also found my old Barbies and a toy rubbish truck (my favourite toy vehicle when I was a kid) and Pick-up Sticks, and a wierd maths toy that you stick rubber bands on and make symmetrical and mirrored patterns with. BallFiend took to these immediately, especially the maths toy. "Now I have something to use my rubber band collection on" he remarked with great joy.

After many hours longer than I had intended to stay, we headed home, the car boot filled with newly rediscovered treasures.

Once home, we sat down to dinner (thanks DeepSpice) and began to tell DeepSpice about our day...

Thumper mentioned that she had had a "chocolate reindeer". I corrected her: "No, you had a chocolate mousse." As soon as the words left my mouth I made the connection: chocolate mousse > moose > reindeer. Of course DeepSpice was way ahead of me and had already sussed out Thumper's thought process...

A few weeks ago we went up to Mt Buller for a couple of nights. While we were up there we went to the cafe at Mt Buller Chalet where they have a large stuffed (ie. taxidermied) Canadian Moose on display. At the time, Thumper was pretty obsessed with reindeers (due to the whole xmas-Santa thing), so we mentioned to Thumper that a moose is a bit like a reindeer.

For a three year old, this kid has an amazing memory and an amazing ability with words!
--

Wee Wee

An email from CutLuce today:

Forgot to tell you... Cuz1 said BallFiend & Thumper today... Sort of. We were talking about her cousins and she said BallFiend, but for Thumper - she said "wee wee". X

To which I responded:

Wee Wee! That's sooooo cute!
And so appropriate, seeing as Thumper has a bit of a tendency to do wee-wee all over the place at the moment, while she is toilet training. 

--

Super Lego Mario

BallFiend has been fascinated Super Mario ever since DeepSpice and I started playing Super Paper Mario on the Wii about a year ago. (Thanks CutLuce and DesignerMonkey for the super-extended loan of the game). Well, he got some new Lego for his birthday (thanks Gran and GrandPaul and StompyDad) and ever since, he has been busy re-constructing the 2D-flip-into-3D Super Paper Mario world... 

That's Mario, at the front to the right - with a yellow core and a light blue bit on top.

The peaceful street-scape of Flipside, with the tower looming over-head.

--

BallFiend's Birthday Week Bake-a-thon

Last week was spent celebrating BallFiend's 5th birthday...

• On Friday, I sent BallFiend off to creche with a green-and-chocolate swirl cake to share.
• On Saturday, we held a party with his friends.
• On Sunday, we hosted an afternoon tea with the extended family.
• On Monday (his actual birthday), we chilled out at home.
• On Tuesday, I made gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free (flavour-free!) cup-cakes for him to take to Kinder to share.

Saturday's party was held at the local scout hall with 10 of BallFiend's kinder, creche and other friends, including MasterF, MasterW, LittleMissIz, Thing1 and Thing2 (daughters of FunkyOrganMan and ThingMaker). The party had a green-theme (a really simple theme to do - I can highly recommend it!). We had green balloons, a green table-cover, green napkins, plates, cutlery and of course all the food was green:

• pea and ham soup served in green cups;
• avocado dip with celery sticks for dipping (also some corn chips in green tubs);
• green jelly; 
• green-and-white coconut ice (which DeepSpice and I between us took four attempts to get right and then the kids didn't eat it anyway, but that was OK because all the groan-ups loved it!);
• a fruit platter of green(ish) fruits - Granny Smith apples, green pears and green grapes;
• the birthday cake was a butter cake with a green swirl through it and iced in green icing.

I also got 3 metres of neon-lime green tulle from Spotlight (on the discount table... I wonder why!) and made the kids green headbands to wear. We played a few games involving green straws but mostly the kids just played around in the hall. It was the easiest kids birthday party I've ever organised. Although I have to give fair credit to all the parents who hung around and helped out. I was assuming that being a five-year-old party, at least some of the parents would drop their children off for the 2 hours. But none did, and all were roped in to help with blowing up balloons, party games, food preparation and sorting out disputes! I was really glad that they did all end up staying.

Sunday's afternoon tea was attended by Gran, GrandPaul, StompyDad, CutLuce, DesignerMonkey, Cuz1, DesignerSis, Wigward and Great-Aunt-F (GrandPaul's sister) and her husband Great-Uncle-M. BallFiend and I made yet another birthday cake (banana with chocolate chips at BallFiend's request), and we ate party left-overs as well as Gran's chicken sandwiches and Great-Aunt-F's scones. Yummo!

By Monday (BallFiend's actual birthday), we were all too exhausted to do anything much at all. So after going to his usual swimming lesson, we came straight home so BallFiend could get down to the serious business of playing with all the toys he received as gifts. Highlights were:

• the mega-mega-soccerball (about 60cm diametre) from his aunt CutLuce and uncle DesignerMonkey.
• the gi-normous Earth beach ball (68cm diametre) from his aunt DesignerSis and uncle Wigward. (I'm sure DeepSpice would beg to differ with the promotional description that "It only takes a few huffs and puffs to fill this globe full of air" - he spent the first half hour of Sunday's afternoon tea blowing it up!)
• the foil "Happy Birthday balloon" on a stick from Cuz1.
• the green helium-filled balloons from Gran and GrandPaul.
• all the green balloons left over from the birthday party.

He also received several Lego kits and has been enjoying them a lot (as has Thumper), books, games, a marble run, construction toys, outdoor adventuring tools, dinosaur kits, a watering can and more. Some of the toys have been packed away so I can bring them out in instalments. There's easily enough to last him until Xmas time!

Overall he was totally indulged and doesn't really (know how to) appreciate it, but it doesn't matter... I loved seeing him so excited as he ripped open presents and how he got even more excited if they turned out to contain anything vaguely spherical. 
--

As promised...

Here is the more news I referred to earlier...

This story starts ten years ago, when DesignerSis was just sweet-sixteen and she met a young lad whom we now know as Wigward. Now, most normal teens enjoy a romance for a few months, then break-up in order to be able to write better teenage-angst poetry and have an excuse to go through an obligatory goth phase. But not DesignerSis and Wigward. They set out to prove that your first love can be your true love.

Fast forward ten years and announce they're off to Noosa for a holiday. Nothing really unusual about this, they've done so a few times before. They usually disappear for a week or so and reappear back home with little fanfare (other than the occasional gripe about the crappy service that they got from a cut-price airline).

But not this time.

It was Saturday afternoon, and DeepSpice and I were out gallivanting around the inner-suburbs, pretending to be child-less yuppies, whilst Gran and GrandPaul babysat BallFiend and Thumper. Yep that's right - we were on a date! It was quite a novelty for us to be able to wander into shops and cafes at our leisure. We ended up passing a furniture shop that I have heard about but had never actually been to, so I dragged DeepSpice in for a look.

Then my phone rang. It was DesignerSis calling whilst still away on holiday. She had news: that Wigward had just proposed to her and they are now engaged! (She had to tell me quickly as they were about to tell Wigward's mother and once she got the news, it would be instantly broadcast far and wide.) I was too stunned to say much (or perhaps it was just that I was too focused on imagining how nice it would be to get a new sofa)... I managed to stammer out a "congratulations", before collapsing in shock on my dream sofa. (Just kiddin' - I am genuinely happy for them!)

Later when chatting to CutLuce about the news, I found out that she had had a much better come-back than my corny old 'congratulations'. She immediately asked: "So, when are you having babies?" I can just picture DesignerSis squirming a little on the other end of the phone.

Anyway, I am very happy for DesignerSis and Wigward and I hope they do get on with making some more cousins for BallFiend and Thumper (and Cuz1) soon... though perhaps not too soon, as I'm still on my 'auntie' L-plates.
--

Auntie Stompy

It's been a mad couple of weeks... a lot has going on in my life and as a result, I've had little time to post on The Swamp. And as a result, I have some long overdue news to brag...

On 9th June 2011, I became an auntie for the first time after CutLuce and DesignerMonkey's first progeny finally made her appearance, about a week overdue) at 4.39 am.

This of course means that DeepSpice is now an uncle for the first time and BallFiend and Thumper have their very first First Cousin (they already have a few cousins of the third or fourth or once-or-twice-removed variety, or something like that anyway).

It's all very exciting and I am very much enjoying getting to experience a newborn without all the horrible sleep-deprivation. No such luck for the long-suffering CutLuce and DesignerMonkey.

Now this little bubba just needs a Swamp-handle... I will be naming her soon, once her personality shines through, but for now, she can be Cuz1, in the hope that Cuz2, and even Cuz3 and Cuz4 will be along in the next few years... because, oh yes! there's more news...
--

First (long) night of Winter

Oh calamity! It wasn't until 7.00 pm that I discovered that Thumper's green blankie hadn't come home from Creche. Blankie is the essential ingredient to a good night's sleep... it's how she self-settles: she holds the corner just under her nose and brushes it back and forwards whilst sucking her thumb.

Fearing the worst, I put on a brave face and took her off to bed, offering her a choice of "blue blankie" or one of BallFiend's blankies instead. She wasn't happy, but seemed to accept things as they were. But once in her cot, there was a plaintive cry: "corner gone, corner gone!".

So I hunted around in a box of toys which had been packed up ready for baby cousin (we're expecting CutLuce to produce the goods on that one any day now!) and found a toy which was made from similar fabric and had a corner of sorts. This seemed to help enough for Thumper to fall asleep. But sadly, it wasn't quite right for a whole night's worth and we paid the penalty with three separate wake-up call through the night.

This morning, I dropped in to Creche and collected blankie. I now have a happy Thumper who is tucked up in her cot having a nap, blankie firmly planted under nose.

I think the time has come to get out the scissors and do some blankie-mitosis.
--

A Royal Pain in the Throat

July 29th, 1981.

I was 7 years old. I watched, at first with interest and then with increasing concern, as StompyDad bustled back and forth between the TV in the lounge room and the hi-fi in the 'family' room, trying to set up the ABC radio simulcast before the big event began: Prince Charles & Lady Di, the Royal wedding.


Meanwhile, my long-suffering mother was busy preparing dinner -- fish -- whilst trying to calm StompyDad before he got into a complete tizz. CutLuce, then my cute little sister, was somewhere about too... probably hiding from me -- her nasty big sister who hadn't gotten over being dethroned 5 years previously (a grudge I continued to hold for about another 20 years, really sorry about that sis) -- in case I pinched her again. No DesignerSis yet... still another 3 years to wait for her arrival.

I think I was quite excited about the wedding - after all, what little girl doesn't love the idea of seeing a real, live princess? Or maybe it was just that we were going to be allowed to eat whilst sitting in front of the TV and I would get to stay up late.

Eventually, Mum, CutLuce & I sat down to eat, while StompyDad continued to fuss about trying to get the radio tuned just-so and the aerial adjusted on the TV just-right, all the while getting more stressed.

Finally, after much stomping about, accompanied by much ranting, StompyDad joined us and sat down to eat. He began wolfing down great mouthfuls of his dinner whilst still complaining about the failings of the household technology to deliver perfect Royal wedding sound and vision.

Lady Di was still in her carriage on the way to the church, waving demurely. She hadn't even had the chance to show off her 25ft train yet, when StompyDad was on his feet again. This time not yelling but coughing, gagging and spitting a mouthful of fish and vegies back out onto his plate.

Eventually, mum worked out what had happened - he had got a fish bone stuck in his throat.


"Bread! Bread!" a panicked StompyDad demanded. 

"I need it to help swallow down the bone." 

He raced to the kitchen and proceeded to wolf down great hunks of bread. 

But the fish bone was tenacious. 

I don't remember very clearly what happened next with the fish bone, but I do remember getting to watch the rest of the wedding, so I think that StompyDad went over the road to see DoctorH our neighbour and friend, who was also, conveniently, a GP. When he returned some time later, having missed the Royal wedding ceremony (and there was no catching up later on iView; in those days we didn't even have a VCR!), the fish bone was still firmly in place. DoctorH needed special equipment to get that bony morsel out and had told StompyDad to come to the clinic the next morning. 

Anyway, here I am, thirty years later, bitterly disappointed that I cannot watch The Chaser's commentary of today's Royal wedding (and as a result not-watching the Will & Kate Royal wedding at all). But guess what? We had fish for dinner: smoked salmon with pasta, and pulled it off without a single fish-bone mishap. Phew.

--

Date Night

Way back in July last year, Tim Minchin announced his next tour: Tim Minchin Vs the MSO, playing in Melbourne on February 25 and 26, 2011.

At that time, Thumper was 10 months old and I figured that 7 months should be enough notice to organise a babysitter. So DeepSpice and I decided to go, and happily VolubleK decided to come too. (Unfortunately in December/ January, the timetable for VolableK's relocation to France was brought forward and so she ended up missing the concert. But at least she gets to be in France eating lots of CHEESE!) I reactivated my membership of the fan club so I could get the fan club code that would allow me to buy pre-sale tickets. (Unfortunately, the code wasn't sent to me, so I spent a few days of emailing the promoter before I eventually got the code 'violin' but still was about to secure reasonably good seats... row Y.)

Then I booked up Gran and GrandPaul for babysitting and went about distracting myself with other things so I wouldn't get too impatient waiting for the big night. 

At the time of booking the tickets, Thumper was happily breastfeeding morning, noon and night, and often having a few sups (snacks) in between, and neither of us had plans for her to stop. So I assumed I would still be feeding her in February and that we would go to the concert and come home straight after. 

However, on 13 January, Thumper suddenly stopped breastfeeding. Just like that. Up until the day before, she had been having 3 - 5 feeds a day. Coincidentally 13 January was also the ten-year anniversary of my mother's death. And on 14 January, it was my first day back at paid work after 18 months maternity and long service leave. A perfect storm and I felt miserable: grieving for my mum, greiving for the end of my breastfeeding relationship with Thumper and having to deal with all this on my first day at work. 

Thumper's weaning from the breast at 16 months was slightly less of a shock to the system than when BallFiend did the same thing at 13.5 months of age. At least I had some experience of the sort of emotions I was going to feel. And I had done some preparation for that day that I knew would eventually come... I had made a mental list of things I was going to do once Thumper weaned... all things I couldn't do whilst still breastfeeding. And top of my list was a night away with DeepSpice, sans kids!

The last time we had been 'child free' for a night (actually two) was back when BallFiend had a practice run staying with Gran and GrandPaul in preparation for Thumper's arrival, about 20 months ago. Back then, I was too uncomfortably pregnant to make the most it. 

So, as the date for the Tim Minchin concert approached it occurred to me that this could be the right time to start my post-breastfeeding life with an entire 'night off'. DeepSpice raised the idea with Gran and GrandPaul. Gran was happy to have both kids overnight, but GrandPaul was rather hesitant. But after a few days of some gentle persuasion and it was all agreed: we would drop the kids over after lunch on Saturday, then pick them up on Sunday afternoon. 

I was getting more and more excited as the date drew closer, as evidenced by my frequent Facebook status updates informing anyone who cared to read them. Whilst web-searching for suitable accommodation in St Kilda, it occurred to me that FunkyOrganMan and ThingMaker may well be going to, so I tracked them down on Facebook, with very pleasing results: yes, they were both on Facebook and yes, they were both going to the Tim Minchin concert and yes, they were both going on the same night as us and yes, they were also planning to stay overnight in St Kilda! Jackpot! We arranged to meet for dinner before the show. 

Then calamity struck... Gran and GrandPaul had made last minute plans to attend a birthday lunch on Sunday and wanted us back bright and early (11 am) to collect the kids. My plans for a lazy Sunday morning sleep-in, followed by lunch in St Kilda were thrown into disarray. After coming to the conclusion that stomping around the house expressing my disappointment didn't seem to be doing much good, I did some quick thinking and phoned CutLuce... "would she and DesignerMonkey be able to mind the kids from 11 am on Sunday?" I asked wishfully, not expecting that my sister, with her busy social life, would be available. But as luck would have it, she said yes! I was overjoyed. I rushed to the internet and completed my booking for a B&B. 

Our night away went off almost perfectly... we were a lot late dropping the kids off to Gran and GrandPaul, so instead of checking into our B&B at 2 pm as planned, we didn't get there till nearly 4 pm. Having slept badly the previous night, I decided to have a quick afternoon nap, then we dressed for dinner and headed out to Cicciolina's for dinner with FunkyOrganMan and ThingMaker. Much wine was consumed in two short hours (with ThingMaker picking up my slack) and then we ambled down to The Palais for what turned out to be a fantastic concert... exceeding my expectations. At interval I raced out to the mechandise stand and handed over my credit card: one CD for me, one for VolubleK, a DVD of Tim's previous tour (which we didn't get to go to due to Thumper's then extreme infancy) and a "Rock 'n' Roll Nerd" t-shirt for DeepSpice.

After the concert, we chatted for quite a while with FunkyOrganMan and ThingMaker, then wandered back to our B&B. In the morning, we were served a yummy cooked breakfast and then spent some time wandering around Acland Street. Mother guilt had me seeking out little gifts for our little ones - a hypercolour foam ball for BallFiend (which he subsequently lost at the swimming pool the following Monday) and a box of tiny Dr Seuss books for Thumper (which she has progressively been trashing), and a thank you gift for CutLuce and DeepSpice (iPhone app fridge magnets). We had lunch at Gypsies Bar & Cafe, then strolled along to the St Kilda market, where DeepSpice bought himself a new belt and we found a nice handmade soap to give to Gran as a thank you gift. Unfortunately, we didn't find a suitable thank you gift for GrandPaul, but at least he can be happy in the knowledge that we didn't buy him an ugly, touristy trinket that he has to pretend to appreciate.

Then it was time to come back to reality and start our (long and tedious, thanks to Punt Road) journey home. 

On arriving home, we found BallFiend curled up on the couch with dummy and blankie, watching TV and Thumper, who had just woken up from her nap, nestled into DesignerMonkey's arms. Neither child was the least bit interested or excited to see us. It appears that we should have stayed away longer. Much, much longer... 

-- 

Toddling delight

She's 18 months, already!  A walking, 'talking' tot. Where did the last year and a half go?  

Thumper, wearing a lovely summer dress,
brought back from Bali by CutLuce and DesignerMonkey.

Thumper frequently mimics us and works hard to fit in to the family. She has developed a good appreciation of balls under her big brother's tuition. She likes to join BallFiend in playing with playdough, drawing with crayon and painting. Her skills with a fork and spoon are exemplary - she uses them with greater dexterity than some four-and-a-half year olds I know. She even mimics me when I am rubbing moisturiser on my hands. Very strange! She loves to carry her potty around the house and practices sitting on it, but mostly it is used to hold toys or her cup of water. 

She runs about with a cute waddle, arms held out from her body for balance, shrieking with delight if BallFiend is chasing her. She always busy, carrying small books and toys from one end of the house to the other. It takes less than 15 minutes for a tidy house to be transformed by Whirlwind Thumper, with debris scattered everywhere. And it is worst on days when BallFiend is at kindergarten... though I haven't worked out why yet.

She sleeps well, going to bed about 7.30 pm and lying in bed awake until BallFiend is brought to bed 15 minutes later so she doesn't miss out on hearing DeepSpice's 'talking story'. Dressed in her warm pyjamas on cold evenings, she looks just like Teletubbie! Mostly, she goes straight to sleep and doesn't wake until 8.00 am the following morning (unless BallFiend wakes her earlier when he is in need of an audience). Although sometimes our nights are interrupted by her screaming in her sleep... no idea what sort of thing a toddler would be having nightmares about. 

Her language is amazing, with an ever-growing vocabulary of spoken and signed words. Most recently she started saying "cheese", after we played the Cheese song from Tim Minchin's Heritage Orchestra album (which I got at his recent Melbourne concert). She loves to read books - she is always coming up to DeepSpice or me with a book in hand saying "read, read". I am continually impressed with her ability to follow directions of two steps (eg. pick up that book and take it to your bedroom). Singing is another favourite activity - currently her favourite song is Baa Baa Black Sheep, which she wanders about singing: 'baa baa baa baa...' 

Sadly however, she cannot possibly by my own child as she loves shoes and hats, playing with dolls (her 'baay-bees') and doing feminine things like playing with toy kitchens, dolls and pretending to mop the floor! I'm not too worried though, as she spends more time playing with toy cars and trucks than BallFiend ever has.

-- 

Happy New Year to me

Tuesday was my new year, the anniversary of my emergence into the world, thirty-something years ago.
It is also not long after the ten-year anniversary of my mother's death from breast cancer (on 14 January 2001).

I find that being motherless has a whole new dimension now that I am a mother myself. There are so many times when I ache for my mum and wish she was here to help me, to understand what it means to be a mother and to ask about her about her experiences of raising me. But this cannot be. All I can do is accept the way things are and do my best to remember my mum.

So I decided to mark the occasion of my birth and of the day that my mother became a mother with a small gathering at my place, with family (DeepSpice, CutLuce and DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward) and a few friends (VolubleK and AussieG with PetitAmi, The Bibliophile with MasterW and LittleMissIs, The Librarian and The SchoolMaster with MasterF and LittleMissF).

In addition, I haven't had a birthday party since my 30th, and given that my 40th is only a few years away, I thought it would be a good idea to sneak in at least one more party before the big 4-0. (Which is going to involve a trip to France where VoluableK and I will celebrate out birthdays together in style... but that's another story for another post).

The evening was good fun, somewhat over-catered(!) and a just little chaotic, with 7 kids running amok. I am grateful for everyone's help with cleaning up (AussieG did the dishes - what a star! And a magic fairy tidied the toys up in the kids bedroom. Thank you!). I am yet to wash the watermelon juice off the deck and clean up the watermelon pieces slowly dessicating on the garden path. Though the snails seem to be helping with that! And we still haven't found the icy-pole that LittleMissIz lost somewhere - hopefully outside the house! But this is all just proof that a good time was had by all... especially me.

Thank you everyone for an enjoyable evening!
--

Changing dogs mid-stream

A long time ago, when BallFiend was about as mobile as a rock, but much more cute, he was showered in gifts, most of the soft toys - teddies, cows, dogs, dolls, elephants, orang-utans, lions, etc. Dunno what it is about babies makes people want to bestow stuffed toys on them. Anyway, one of specimens from this plush menagerie, which arrived after following CutLuce home from an op-shop, was a little tan dog. According to the tag on its rear-end, its name was 'Dolly'.

For a long time, Dolly sat on the shelf with all the other soft toys and generally stayed out of trouble. Then there was a phase when BallFiend was somewhere around 2 years old when he nominated several of the smaller soft toys to be his 'friends'. The 'friends' consisted of Moo-Moo (the cow), Ava-lant (the elephant), blue teddy (a blue teddy) and white teddy (a white teddy). Dolly was not one of this in-crowd. They got to sleep in his bed overnight but were usually ignored during the day time when balls are the companion of choice.

Then came a night when we had a grown-ups party to attend - specifically Gran's 60th birthday. And because Gran had most inconsiderately decided to invite all our usual babysitters (ie. CutLuce/DesignerMonkey and DesignerSis/Wigward), we had to look for other options. Luckily for us Wigward's parents love little kids and were more than happy to have our nearly-two-year-old BallFiend stay the night with them and their other family member Delphi the dog.

Whilst BallFiend liked the idea of a dog, he didn't like the actuality - Delphi unlike her owners was not  particularly enamoured with little kids. And in truth I don't even think BallFiend really liked the idea of a dog... he was just using the dog for her toys - namely various balls of interesting shape, texture and degree of chewed-ness. So to help him get used to the idea of spending around 36 hours in the presence of a dog, I dragged Dolly off the shelf and re-branded her 'Delphi' (OK, the real Delphi is black and Dolly is tan, but this didn't seem matter to BallFiend). Immediately after his stay with Wigward's parents, BallFiend showed little more than a mild interest in the toy dog, but it has continued to be known as Delphi ever since.

Jump forward 2 years and suddenly Delphi (formerly Dolly) is now the hottest soft toy on the scene. The toy has undergone a sex change (even though the original Delphi dog is female) and his namesake is completely forgotten. But BallFiend does not go anywhere with out him. Delphi has attained a status equal to BallFiend's balls (ie. he always walks around with a ball in hand or under his arm and now Delphi occupies the other hand or arm!) As a result, the toy dog that was once tan-coloured has quickly become a colour much closer to that of the real Delphi.

Before now, BallFiend displayed none of the traditional trappings of childhood: no imaginary friends, no special teddy. He was just content with balls, balls, balls as his companion. Easy to wash, easy to replace. In bed he does have two comfort items: a dummy (recently re-titled 'dumby') and a blankie (of which there are three cut from the same fabric so there is always a spare when one is in the wash).

But now that Delphi is on the scene, I have to do those things that I thought only 'other parents' have to do:

• talk to the toy dog, 
• offer the toy dog food,
• find the toy dog when it is missing,
• train the toy dog not to climb up on the table ("BallFiend, for the thousandth time, dogs eat on the floor!"), and most arduous of all,
• wash the one and only beloved toy dog and deal with the pining pre-schooler while they wait for said toy dog to dry. 

So when DeepSpice and BallFiend returned from a walk to the local supermarket, having been caught in a sudden downpour of rain, I was very surprised to hear of BallFiend's comment:

"I think I will have to change dogs - this one is all wet!"

And now, if you will excuse me, I have to go and wring out a wet dog and peg him out on the line.

BallFiend and Delphi, 18 December 2010,
at the train station on our way to the Zoo.

--

Life's purpose explained

CutLuce (on picking BallFiend up for a cuddle): You're heavy! Why do you keep growing.
BallFiend: So I can keep getting bigger.
CutLuce: Why do you need to get bigger
BallFiend: So I can get old and die.
CutLuce: (pauses to laugh) Are going to do anything in between?
--

Happy Birthday Thumper!

It's been a whole year since Thumper emerged into the world (well actually it will be a whole year in about 1 hour's time, since she was born at 4.49 pm).

Her birthday celebrations began on Sunday when we had a lovely little party with family and friends. It was to be a teddy bears' picnic at a local park but the Spring-time weather was not at it's most cooperative, so we invaded Gran and GrandPaul's house instead. In attendance to honour the birthday girl was: DeepSpice, me, BallFiend, Gran, GrandPaul, CutLuce, DesignerSis, Wigward, DesignerMonkey, The Bibliophile, MasterW, LittleMissIz, The Librarian, MasterF, LittleMissF, GreatAuntF and GreatUncleM and ElspethR.

The birthday cake was a raspberry butter cake - raspberries because Thumper is an expert at blowing them!

Today, Thumper's actual birthday, began at 6.30 am, when we woke to hear BallFiend yelling at the poor child: "Be quiet Thumper! You are being too noisy!" Apparently, Thumper was murmuring in her sleep and it was loud enough to rouse BallFiend; he in turn woke Thumper by yelling at her. Sigh.

The morning went by as usual: breakfast, getting dressed, etc. then waving goodbye to DeepSpice. Thumper has recently become very attached to her dad and she always cries when he leaves. Today was no exception - I stood with Thumper in my arms, waving bye to DeepSpice, whilst she attempted to lurch from my arms after DeepSpice, saying "Da! Da!" (no, not channeling our Russian ancestors... she does actually mean 'dad').

Next, it was time to take BallFiend to his Kinder Circus class, so as usual, Thumper was dragged along. During the class I took her for a walk in the pram so she got to have her morning nap. (Essential for today, because she had an important birthday lunch date ahead!).

After Kinder Circus, I took BallFiend for a stroll to allow Thumper to have a full hour's nap. BallFiend wasn't too impressed with having to wander around for a while, but he did enjoy seeing a fire engine, a water-company worker opening up a drain, a local primary school and the opportunity to ask me question after question about the street trees... Why:

• does this tree have a post [stake] next to it?
• does that tree not have a post but it does have a broken post?
• are these little pebbles on the ground around the tree?
• is there a hole there? [a spot where a tree used to be]

At 11.40 am it was time to wake Thumper up so we could head off to lunch at Heide with VolubleK and PetitAmi. Lunch at Cafe Vue was an experience, very nearly civilised... if it wasn't for BallFiend's (lack of) table manners and Thumper throwing her food all over the floor. But Voluble K and I enjoyed ourselves anyway... once we had a glass of bubbles in hand, nothing much else mattered! :)

After lunch, PetitAmi and BallFiend ran amok in the sculpture park whilst Voluble K and I took turns pushing the pram around... until PetitAmi realised she was missing her chance and took over the pram-pushing duties.

Then it was time to go home, where I got the news that Australia now has a (very, very, very minority) government. What a great birthday present for Thumper!

For the record, here's the other gifts that were bestowed upon you:

• a jack-in-the-box (actually a monkey-in-the-box);
• Playmobil 'coastal search and rescue' boat and car, with two people to drive them;
• a stacking ring ball toy;
• "Where is the green sheep?" by Mem Fox;
• "Can you Moo too?" by David Wojtowycz (a board book);
• clothing: a Sooki Baby wrap-around top, socks, hat;
• Miffy blocks that both nest and stack;
• a Roll Along Ball (a large inflatable ball with little bell-balls inside);
• Wooden letters that spell her name (for the bedroom door);
• an oil painting of a teddy bear (a shared family heirloom from VolubleK);
• a soft-toy snowman.

And guess who has had the most enjoyment (so far) out of all the toys? Yes, of course it is BallFiend.

So, happy birthday Thumper! Over the past year you've made us laugh, kept us company on countless nights (sigh), and despite the exhaustion, brought us lots of joy. We love you and we are looking forward to watching you grow up despite feeling sad that your babyhood is fast disappearing.

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X marks the mass

Many months ago, sometime around March I think it was, VolubleK and I came up with an idea for Christmas: to bring our families together and have a big Christmas day like the ones we remember when we were kids... the sort of day when there a heaps of people because an extensive number of extended family all turn up to gorge themselves, spoil the kids with lots of toys and chocolates and to re-gift the crappy presents from previous years.

So in November, after re-confirming with VolubleK that the plan was still good to go, I rounded up the family: StompyDad, CutLuce and DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward all said they would come. Unfortunately though, Gran and GrandPaul declined as they wanted to have one last Christmas day lunch with Gran's second cousin and his family before his planned repatriation back to Canada. (He and his family are secular Jews who like to join in on Christmas festivities anyway.)

What we ended up with was probably the epitome of a Gen X Christmas. Family and friends, old and young, were present, and there was a smattering of tradition thrown in amongst a whole lot of 'don't act too enthusiastic - it's just another day after all'.

Our Christmas Day began with a morning visit to Gran and GrandPaul's house where we were treated to brunch - a tasty quiche, fresh cherries and of course some fine wine (obligatory as far as GrandPaul is concerned). Gran's cousin and family arrived and we did the first round of gift exchanging for the day. We gave GrandPaul and Gran a doormat with "We serve only the finest Australian wine here. Did you bring any?" emblazoned upon it, which was well-received. Also to GrandPaul an autographed copy of Free to a Good Home by Catherine Deveny (DeepSpice went to her book signing) and to Gran some smelly (floral) soaps which she always likes.

We had received our present from Gran and GrandPaul a few days earlier - a portable gazebo for our backyard (as I was after a shady place for BallFiend and Thumper to play until our trees grow bigger). However, being the generous sorts that they are, they also gave us a few more things, but the focus was really on BallFiend and Thumper who were showered with gifts.

Next stop was VolubleK's house. After we arrived, there was more frenzied exchanging of gifts, followed by lunch. The adults sat at the table, the kids ran riot and barely stopped to eat as far as I could tell. In the midst of it all though, BallFiend sat down and ate in his picky, meticulous way. He generally takes about an hour to eat a simple sandwich, so Christmas lunch with all it's unfamiliar foods took him forever, by the time he picked out all the things he didn't want to eat. After lunch BallFiend played with PetitAmi and her big sister; he particularly liked the billiard table. ("Look mum! Billion balls!!") We finished up with dessert at about 5.30 pm and didn't end up leaving until 7.00 pm, with a very, very tired BallFiend.

Here is the summary of our ill-gotten goods (seeing as we are atheists, and so don't officially qualify for Christmas goodies):

Me:

• Friendly Fire by Wil Anderson,
• Wil Anderson's Wilosophy DVD
  
• a purple scarf
• Space Oddity by David Bowie CD
• some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
  

DeepSpice and I together:

• a box of chocolates (from Father Christmas),
• Outdoor Kids by Jamie Durie (from StompyDad)
• Mini vacuum cleaner
  
• (the aforementioned) gazebo
• some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment

DeepSpice

• A book by Richard Dawkins.
• some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment

Thumper

• a green hat (from Gran and GrandPaul)
• a purple hat (from DesignerSis and Wigward)
  
• Ernie and Bert soft toys (from Gran's cousin and family).
• In The Night Garden memory game
• green teddy bear
• Dora the Explorer bowl, plate and mug set
• roll-around Fisher Price toy
• Teething rattle toy
• a few books
• some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment

BallFiend

• a toy car
• stilts (from the playgroup Kris Kringle)
  
• Dora the Explorer floor puzzle
  
• a cricket set
• The Umbilical Brothers DVD
  
• a backpack for Kinder
• shoes
• green bath towel with a hood
• a quilt and pillowcae
  
• lots of books
• 12 inflatable mini beach balls! (Father Christmas found these on eBay)
• a large inflatable beach ball and an inflatable penguin-shaped green swim ring (courtesy of his great-aunt and uncle)
• probably some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment

--

The best laid plans are unnecessary

Usually I am the epitome of organisation... things planned weeks in advance down the the last detail. But these days, with two kids to care for, planning is something that almost never happens. I always thought that the best things come to those who plan, but this experience proves otherwise...

Saturday afternoon rolled around and an invitation to come for Sunday lunch was received by telephone from Gran and GrandPaul. We accepted their offer and raised them one: "Any chance you could mind BallFiend whilst we go and see a movie?" DeepSpice asked. "We'll take Thumper with us." he hastened to add.

We had two movie vouchers due to expire on Monday. The vouchers were the result of my recouping hard-earned reward points on a former credit card. The credit card was associated with the old bank which we gleefully abandoned in order to get a better interest rate on our home loan at another bank. However, after we refinanced the home loan, I kept the credit card account open for some months, so we could accumulate enough reward points to get something vaguely useful... yeah, like a toaster that fries an egg at the same time.

A few months later, while I was still trying to accumulate enough points to get a measly $10 gift voucher or similar, the old bank sneakily charged us an annual fee without notice. When I complained, they refused to refund it even if we cancelled the card, so we were stuck with keeping the account open for another 12 months to get our money's worth. So I kept playing their game, trying to make just enough purchases to earn the exact number of points to get a $10 gift voucher, only to discover that I now had too many points and might as well try and earn a few more so I could get a $20 gift voucher. This stupidity continued until eventually I gave in and just redeemed my points for whatever I could get.

So that is how I ended up with a $10 Darrell Lea voucher and two movie vouchers. Both vouchers arrived a few months before Thumper's birth, just when I was too tired and sore with pelvic instability to either (a) trapse around shopping centres to find one of the few remaining Darrell Lea stores or (b) sit for ages watching a movie. So the vouchers were put aside to use up after Thumper had emerged.

So of course they all got left until the last minute, because that is how parents of newborn babies live their lives. The day the Darrell Lea voucher was due to expire saw DeepSpice wandering around the CBD looking for the one and only store and successfully returning home with a small box of chocolates for me. And that brings us to now...

A week ago, I remembered that the movie vouchers expired at the end of November and suggested to DeepSpice that he could arrange baby sitting with Gran and GrandPaul or I could give the vouchers to CutLuce or DesignerSis to use up. Of course, neither of these options were followed up, and I had pretty much resigned myself to not getting to use the movie vouchers. So when the phone call inviting us to lunch came, we decided to try going all 'Gen Y' and do things 'last minute'.

Gran and GrandPaul said "Yes, and you can leave Thumper with us too if you want." At first, I couldn't believe it... that I might get to see a movie after all. Then I even started contemplating actually leaving Thumper with them. I had initially ruled this out because of the feeding logistics. Thumper is fully breastfed and I am not very good at expressing milk, nor had Thumper ever tried drinking expressed milk from a bottle. But on Sunday morning, at the last minute (well, a few hours before lunchtime actually), I decided "what the hell - let's leave Thumper too. She isn't going to starve and I can be back to her in 30 minutes if it is urgent." I managed to express 25 mls of milk, and grabbed a bag of frozen milk (expressed two months ago during the early-breastfeeding-super-engorgement phase) and a bottle. Then we raced off to drop the kids off at Gran and GrandPaul's house.

We arrived with about 40 minutes to go until we needed to leave for the movie. And from this point on, the day just got better. Gran and GrandPaul had a tasty lunch (well, brunch really since it was just after 11.00 am) waiting - pide, smoked salmon, salami and salad. Just as well too, as otherwise DeepSpice and I would have been eating nothing but jaffas, popcorn and choc tops for lunch! We dashed off to the theatre with about 25 minutes to spare, and despite getting caught up in a roadwork-related traffic jam, still made it just in time to score a parking spot right next to the theatre.

The next potential hiccup in our not-plans: I noticed that one of the vouchers had actually already expired a month earlier. No idea why they couldn't send me two vouchers with the same expiry date. I rehearsed a sob-story in my head as I handed the vouchers to the box office attendant but she didn't even glance at them. Just handed me two tickets for the movie and we were on our way. After the movie, as there were no frantic messages from Gran and GrandPaul urging us to "come back now!", we decided to go for a coffee. Then about an hour later and still no frantic messages, we decided to push our luck and stop off at the supermarket - ah, the joy of shopping with out children in tow!!

Unfortunately at this point, the luck ran out. The frantic phone call came from GrandPaul, accompanied on backing vocals by a screaming Thumper: "Better come back now, she is refusing to drink milk from the bottle." Apparently she had been calm when she woke from her three-hour sleep, then got a bit upset but calmed down again quickly with some loving attention from BallFiend (what a star!). But now, she had finally realised she was hungry and she just didn't get the bottle concept at all.

So we abandoned our shopping expedition (having managed to purchase only one item, but luckily the most important one: a chocolate advent calendar) and dashed back to the hungry Thumper. Of course, just as we walked in the door, we were informed that she had decided she would partake of the bottle, thanks very much! Still, she clearly preferred the real deal when it was offered and BallFiend was happy to have us back too.

I was impressed with what Gran and GrandPaul had accomplished in our absence: (a) a sleeping baby for most of the time; (b) BallFiend had a swim and did some more toileting practice (remembered to get out of the pool to do a wee); (c) GrandPaul purchased a real pine xmas tree; and (d) BallFiend helped to decorate the tree.

The afternoon was nicely topped-off with an invitation to stay for dinner - although GrandPaul's plan to cook a lamb roast hadn't been realised, so DeepSpice and GrandPaul went and got some oh-so-not-healthy fish and chips for us all. Then we got BallFiend ready for bed and headed for home.

PS. The movie was really good too - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasuss.
--

So considerate!

Thumper is now 12 days old and we are all settling into life in a four-person family quite well.

I have to commend her on how very considerate she is (despite the aches and pains she inflicted upon me during pregnancy!). Right from the day she was born, she seems to do her utmost to fit in around everyone else's needs and plans. For instance (damn... been reading BallFiend too many Mr Men books again - I hate the way they always use the phrase 'for instance' over and over again!):

I went into labour at about 5.00 am on a Monday morning (7 September). A nice slow and gentle start with very mild contractions, about 10 mins apart. This meant:

• I could just stay in bed and doze until BallFiend woke up at 7.00 am (although I roused DeepSpice at about 5.30 am to tell him I thought I might be in labour), and I didn't need to phone any of my extended family and friends until a much more reasonable hour of 8.00 am.
• A few days earlier, DeepSpice had suggested that if I could manage to give birth on a Monday then he wouldn't have to go into work for the entire week. Another tick for Thumper.
• We were able to arrange for BallFiend to be collected by GrandPaul at lunchtime. I had thought we might have to disappear in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. So a lunchtime departure was perfect - we could explain what was happening and BallFiend could have his afternoon nap at Gran and GrandPaul's house.
• DesignerSis (who works just down the road from my house) could come over during her lunch break and help look after BallFiend while DeepSpice packed the car ready to go to hospital. She also helped time my contractions.

My labour picked up pace around 1.00 pm, contractions around 7 - 5 minutes apart, so...

• we were ready to leave for the hospital at 3.00 pm, thus avoiding peak hour traffic, and
• VolubleK was able to make school pick-up arrangements for her kids and also get to the hospital before peak hour traffic hit.

We arrived at the hospital at 3.40 pm, which meant:

• DeepSpice and VolubleK were easily able to get a space in the car park because the morning shift staff had just finished for the day, and
• it wasn't too late for the hospital staff to place an order for dinner for me.
  

Thumper was born at 4.49 pm. Perfect timing for:

• VolubleK to get home to her family in time for dinner, and
  
• us to have a few visitors later that evening, around 8.00 pm - specifically CutLuce, DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward, who had been able to go home after work and have dinner before visiting us.
  

She is also considerate with her feeding and sleeping patterns:

• For her first night 'on the outside', Thumper slept for about 4 or 5 hours, so DeepSpice and I got a decent rest.
• She has continued to do big sleeps almost every night - anywhere from 5 to 9 hours! (But usually about 7 hours, from midnight until 7.00 am).
• Her sleeps tend to coincide with BallFiend's afternoon naps, so we get to have a lie-down as well.
• Her sleeps also tend to coincide with meal times, so we usually get to sit down and eat with BallFiend, or enjoy a meal on our own after we have put BallFiend to bed.
• She is almost always asleep when we are getting BallFiend ready for bed, so he still gets both our full attention during the evening 'wind-down' period.

Other examples of how considerate she is:

• I was about to change her nappy and she did a poo, before I had taken her nappy off. (BallFiend used to wait till the nappy was off and then it would go everywhere!)
• She rarely cries - mostly just if she has tummy pain from wind, which is fair enough!
• She is easy to settle, usually falling asleep on her own in her bassinette.

What a wonder! What a star!
--

Pregnancy update: 40+1

Now that I am officially 'overdue' (by all of one day!), the frequency of 'how much longer till Thumper arrives' speculation has increased exponentially! (Including DesignerSis and CutLuce announcing their ponderings on Facebook.)

StompyDad, on the other hand, seems to have no capacity to keep the due date in mind. He has been asking me for months if Thumper is going to come soon, and every time when I answer "not due for another x months/weeks", he seems surprised. Anyway, today he tells me he is heading up to the mountains for more skiing on Tuesday and will be gone for the rest of the week. Then he was surprised when I mentioned that Thumper will most likely arrive while he is away! "Oh, well I might come back early if Thumper is born during the week then... maybe on Friday."

Gran and GrandPaul are much more date-aware, but are not quite bursting over with enthusiasm for the impending grandchild... at least not as much as they were when I was pregnant with BallFiend. I think they think we are a bit insane for having a second child, when they stopped (at what, in their opinion, is sensible!) at one. Plus, for GrandPaul, birthdays at this time of year interfere with the footy finals.

At the complete other end of the spectrum, CutLuce, DesignerSis and of course VolubleK are incredibly excited and hanging out to meet Thumper! Oh, and BallFiend too seems to be increasingly excited about his baby coming out soon.

Measurements at 40 weeks pregnant:

• Waist: 121 cm
  
• Hips: 112 cm
  
• Weight gain: 12.5 kg
  

Current aches and pains:

• Pelvic instability - still present but not so bad. Main issue is pain in pubis symphosis joint
  
• Deep muscle soreness in my right gluteal muscle and sore sacroiliac joint.
• Very occasional sciatica - very mild (compared to my pregnancy with BallFiend)
  
• movements by Thumper - especially when pushing upwards against the top of my uterus.
  
• Sore skin above my belly button where it is stretched to bursting point.
  
• More strong 'pre-labour' symptoms: cramps (that feel like period pains), low back ache, nausea and braxton hicks contractions... on and off every few days now. Last week, I even had about an hour and a half of contractions that were 5 minutes apart... thought it might be the real deal for a while there.
• Moving my huge carcass anywhere, and especially rolling over in bed! I have no abdominal strength so turning over, sitting up from a lying position, getting in and out of the car, etc. are just about impossible!
  

How to dislodge the lodger? (or 'my superstitious practices for stalling and then inducing labour')

With the due date officially past, I no longer need to keep my legs so tightly crossed. All the worry of a premature birth a few weeks ago seems ridiculous now! Now it is time to turn my mind to enticing Thumper out naturally, rather than focussing on keeping Thumper in. (Especially before hospital protocols kick in and they start on about a 'medical induction'. Ho hum.)

However, I am sure that my state of mind has a lot to do with it. I realised some time ago that 9 September would be a cool birth-date (09/09/2009!) and being only a few days past my official due date, I thought it might be a possibility. As each day passes, I have become more and more 'decided' on this date. To the point where I have now written it on the wall calendar, in my diary, and have added to my 'to do' list "Give birth to our baby!" for tasks due on 9 September. Of course I am going to be really annoyed if Thumper leaves it any longer than this. I will have put up with the discomforts of late pregnancy for nuttin'! (I don't really mean 'for nothing', but we would rather not end up with September 11th as Thumper's birthday.)

I have also been doing some other things to stall labour... including letting some silly superstitions take hold:

• Avoided baking cakes. To entice BallFiend out when he was nine days overdue, I made a very yummy, rich chocolate cake (using Donna Hay recipe) and told everyone it was 'the baby's birthday cake, so the baby will have to be born now'. My hind-waters broke 10 hours later. I now feel confident to get back to baking again. Yum!
  
• Avoided using a particular set of flannelette sheets throughout Winter because they were the sheets we had on our bed when my hind-waters broke at the outset of BallFiend's labour. I am now planning to put these sheets on the bed on 8th September. (Aw, c'mon, they've been washed!)
  
• When practicing our hypnosis script from the hypnobirthing classes, DeepSpice has been including a message that "Thumper will not arrive prematurely".
  

And now, I am doing some things to actively encourage labour...

• Reading as many books as I can manage, because if Thumper arrives, I know I won't get to finish what I start! So every few days, when I start on a new novel and wonder if I am going to get to read the end. Even went to the Library today and borrowed a whole lot more books, knowing that I will most likely be returning them in three weeks time, unread.
  
• Finishing off those last few things on my 'to do before Thumper is born' list, including finishing off my tax return!
  

And of course, simply telling everyone and writing down on calendars and diaries that I will be busy having a baby on Wednesday!
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What a charmer!

BallFiend (to CutLuce):

That's a lovely dress. Where did you get it?

Truely! In the midst of playing with the marble run, he looked up at CutLuce and that is what he said... right out of the blue. Bizarre - such an adult comment from a 3 year old! All present (CutLuce, DesignerSis, DeepSpice and me) gaped at him for a moment, before CutLuce was able to respond. (She got the dress at I Want A Bargain.)

She reckons BallFiend must have been watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. But I can say with absolute certainty that he has never laid eyes on Carson Kressley!
--

Thumper is toying with me

Getting lots of so-called 'pre-labour' these days... not surprising given I am 2 days away from official due date. (Even as I write this post now, I am getting BH on and off all the time!)

Mostly it has been just painless braxton hicks (BH) contractions, but last night I woke at 1.00 am with a really strong BH that lasted for ages (probably half an hour) accompanied by low-level cramping across the lower part of my abdomen. Eventually I went back to sleep, only to wake at 3.00 am with even more BH and cramping. These cramps were really strong and I had a vague sense of them increasing in intensity periodically, so I started timing how far apart: around 5 minutes!

My first thought was "this is it! I have woken up in proper labour!" But I wasn't sure, so I kept monitoring over the next 45 minutes or so and made DeepSpice rub my lower back (which was also a bit achy). I needed to wee about 4 times during that 45 minutes! (Apparently another sign of labour.)

By 4.00 am, I was deliberating about whether it was time to ring the Family Birth Centre (FBC) at the hospital and call in the troops (ie. my birth support people - VolubleK and MidwifeS, and CutLuce to mind BallFiend). DeepSpice was completely (though understandably) hopeless - he was too-half asleep to keep rubbing my back, let alone help me to reach a decision. But in the midst of my indecisiveness, I got really tired and just fell asleep again. Woke briefly at 6.22 am (I looked at the clock!) when I heard BallFiend call out once (probably just talking in his sleep) then went straight back to sleep again.

Both DeepSpice and I woke at about 7.30 am, again due to BallFiend calling out, but this time persistently enough to wake us properly. I felt pretty bloody awful, but mainly from lack of sleep. The regular contractions had gone, leaving in their wake a continuous low-level of crampiness. So I realised that the 3.00 am event was yet more pre-labour. Sigh.

At 8.30 am, I rang the FBC and discussed my labour-like signs with a midwife. She said "it sounds like things are 'stewing' and you will probably go into labour soon... in the next few days". I was able to reschedule my appointment (which was originally for tomorrow, Sept. 4th) to later that afternoon so I could go in and get checked out... mainly for my own peace of mind. I made DeepSpice take Carer's Leave so he could look after BallFiend in the morning and drive me to the appointment. (He had been planning to take leave on Friday anyway, so taking it a day early was not really a problem.)

This worked out quite well as we were able to take BallFiend with us to see the 'host-a-bul' where Thumper will be born, and let him watch the midwife do the routine checks (blood pressure, measure my belly size and listen to Thumper's heartbeat). Not that he was particularly intrigued. Mainly he just liked the toys there - in particular a toy truck which had balls enclosed in it.

Other highlights of the trip to FBC today:

• The drive to the hospital only took about 20 minutes (despite getting stuck behind an annoying truck for half the journey).
• We got a 1 hour parking spot straight away! And it was free! And it was within the actual hospital grounds! There is a tiny little carpark area just near the Emergency drop off point with about 10 spaces, and we got the last one! Must be a miracle.

Anyway, the midwife said that Thumper is still head down and in a good position (ie. not posterior thankfully!) although the head is not 'engaged' (which means it is still 'floating' over my pelvis) but that this is normal for a second baby... apparently they often don't engage until during labour. My blood pressure is normal, baby is measuring average size for gestation and heartbeat is fine.

So, now I return to the Twillight Zone and continue to wait, wait, wait...
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