Note: This post is not sponsored in anyway, just wanting to share. I thought that some information might be helpful for other mums and dads out there.
The last week Alexander has started some solid food, well not really solid. More mash to be exact. We noticed that he is getting more and more interested in what we are eating and thought he might be ready.
When did you start your little person on real food?
The twins started about this time as well. I remember when the twins were babies I was eating a banana. One girl reached over and nearly took it off me. I thought this little girl was telling me that she wanted to start solids.
What did your little baby do to show you they were ready?
So what has the baby been eating? We chose the 4 months + range from Heinz (I did not realise that on the Heinz website they have recipes for all age groups, fact sheets and so much more. I had no idea. If you need some inspiration on meals this site looks like a great resource.)
Heinz Pumpkin Potato & Beef for 4 months +. Image from the Heinz website.
So far Alexander has had some food for lunch and dinners and has sampled:
Pumpkin, Potato and Beef
Pear and Banana
Golden Sweet Corn and Chicken
When the twins were babies I bought all kinds of vegetables and fruit and pureed my own baby food. I spent hours shopping and organising it all, I wanted to expose the girls to all different tastes and textures. My aim was for them to eat a variety of everything and of course not to be fussy. This however backfired on me as the twins are very fussy eaters. Maybe this baby will be the person who eats whatever he is given. I can live in hope and dream…. maybe…Well it would be nice.
Did you make your own baby food for the first kid? Did you do it for the others as well or did not have the time?
I plan on making some things at home to expand Alexander’s tastes and expose him to other foods.
I do find that I am extremely busy with the twins, their school, reading at the school, plus after school activities and that is not even listing homework or helping the kids read once home.
What did you make and freeze for your kids when they started solids?
When the twins got used to solids I made them a spaghetti bolognese but it had huge amount of vegetables in it, the vegetables were pureed and added to the tomato sauce. The pasta was the coloured pasta that was infused with vegetables as well, so the girls got a good helping of vegetables in this meal. The twins used to love this meal but they don’t eat this type of thing any more.
It is so cute to watch Alexander eat the new food. His face lights up with the new tastes and feelings that it creates in his mouth. He moves his tongue around and it appears like he is chewing, however he has no teeth so it is just moving the mash around his mouth. I am pleased that he is liking the new food and experience.
It is exciting our little person will soon be eating like the rest of the family, although I hope that he will not be fussy like his big sisters.
Did your little one like the experience of starting solids? Did they love all the food that you gave them or was there one that they hated? Let us know.
Do you feel that you are racing around just to get everything done? Does it always seem like a mad rush?
Well if you can say YES to this I hear you.
I have felt like this for a while now that I am running around trying to get everything done and not really get much done at all.
Taking time for you and to enjoy your own company is great. I love the silence and peace that this gives me. When I get to do it. Image found on Pinterest.
Things that have been done:
Kids cared for
Kids taken and picked up from school
After school activities organised, paid for and driven kids to and from them
Cared for baby
Shopped for food and essentials at supermarket
Got birthday present for my mother in law
Washed clothes and now trying to fold and put them away
Cleaned kids room about million times. No point with this one as in seconds it is back to the destruction it was in before it was tidied up
Cook dinners for everyone
Pack lunches for kids
Check the mailbox for important mail (mainly checking for birthday presents to arrive, oh and a wedding anniversary gift)
Make sure that all excursions have been paid for and notes signed
I know there is more to add to this list but some things are a blur so I might have forgotten something important.
Just relax and breathe in good vibes….. and breathe out bad vibes! Image found on Pinterest
Racing around in the window of time that I have to myself never seems to get everything done. I did try and tidy up the bathroom in-between hanging clothes on the line. However I had to have the baby in the garden with me so was keeping an eye on him while doing some jobs.
When I get some time for me to just sit in silence and not race around I feel a little on edge. I think this is due to being on the go all the time and the constant activity and noise of now three kids. Sometimes it takes a while to just chill out, relax and just be.
I currently have a very sore neck and shoulders; It is rather painful. I tend to hold all my annoyance and stress in my shoulders, jaw and neck. I have tried massage, hot showers and the chiropractor. Maybe I need all three? Or a nice Queensland holiday that allows me to be on the beach, sleep in and rest might be just what is needed.
How do you try and relax?
I try and watch some of my favourtie television shows or go for a walk on my own. Yes walking all by myself without kids is great (I need to wait till a weekend to do this as hubby needs to mind the kids). I also like to take myself off to a cafe for brunch or maybe to the movies to watch a film that I have wanted to see.
The Child Development Institute has a great list to help parents manage their stress. Why not check out some ideas that might help you next time or now if you are needing some relaxation time.
Taking the time to relax is very important. It is good for your health and of course relationships.
Do you find it takes more time to relax than it used to? I truly believe due to being constantly on the go it takes the body more time to rest and de-stress. What about you?
I know it is hard but I do think we need to cut back on things and activities. I would just love to come home after school pick up and just be. I have also tried to make things a bit easier for me by doing some organising the night before. This means less stress in the morning and an easier start to the day. How do you make things easier for you when you are extremely busy?
Yep although I have my worries and annoyances, I have so many blessings that I am very grateful for. Image found on Pinterest.
Lately the house has been a mess. Things have been half done and never gotten back to. Why do you ask?
Well a crying baby that is the reason. He is needing cuddles, attention and of course for mummy to try and take the pain of teething away.
When the rare moment that he has slept during the day happens I try and do something, but he wakes and then the screaming and upset begins again. This now means that I have to stop what I am doing and be with the baby.
I have decided to just give up for now. If I get the washing folded and put away that will be a miracle.
Also if the vacuuming and maybe other areas of the house get a good scrub and clean that also will be amazing indeed.
Sometimes having a shower without the baby waking up is winning. Yes small things make me feel like I have achieved greatly.
I feel like I should get some toothpicks and try and prize my eyes open. I am getting sleep and the baby is sleeping better at night and for longer, but I am on edge. I keep on thinking I hear the baby cry and of course don’t have that deep lovely sleep as I am always on call for the baby in the night. I also have showers and believe that the baby is screaming the house down when of course the place is dead quiet. I’m sure I am not the only one that does this.
Toothpicks that might be helpful in keeping my eyes open.
My body is out of whack. My neck hurts and a good massage and hot bath is something that would be most welcome. Bring on the day spa experience….well I can dream can’t I.
Although he has been in pain and is out of sorts, he is still a very smiley and giggly little boy. Sometimes he does not know if he should laugh or cry when I am trying to help him with the pain of new teeth coming in.
I don’t know if it is a personality difference but the twins were not that bad when they were teething. They were in a bit of pain and discomfort but after taking the edge off with some painkillers they were right. Some cuddles, kisses and then they were off to bed and all was right. Our little boy seems to be upset all the time regardless of medication or sometimes cuddles. Is there a difference between how the sexes handle this? If you had a boy and then a girl were they different or the same when they got their first teeth?
I do really feel for him and how horribly painful it is. I am just very glad that he will not remember this experience. All I can do is to try and make him feel the pain less and to give him cuddles throughout the process. I’m not sure when he will get his first tooth but I hope it happens soon. The twins got theirs at about 4-5 months and some at 6 months.
It feels like there are few teeth wanting to make an appearance and it will be interesting to see what one happens first. I know the bottom teeth and the top ones are the teeth that generally happen first.
Have you had a week or two that whatever you plan or wish to do in the window of time you have to yourself you cannot get done? If so I feel your annoyance and I also understand that the little person is really needing you and me giving them hugs and attention at this upsetting time for them right now.
How did you get through your baby teething? Did you just give up on things around the house like I am doing? Did you have some help to get all the things done that need doing? Let us know.
Note: I am hoping that in the next few days he will settle down a bit so that will allow me to get stuck into the housework. You know when you get over it all and you clean angry. I find I get a lot done when I have this happen, especially when I need to throw out things, give items charity or just give things away.
Our little boy has been doing things early. Yes he is keen to stand, walk, sit up and do everything. He has not got the memo that he cannot stand, walk or sit up yet, but it does not stop him from trying.
Alexander is talking and telling us very important things. Some things he gets very worked up about and his chats go on for ages. Some chats are short and they consist of umming, blowing raspberries and trying out new sounds. Some chats end with him in a fit of giggles, maybe he has just told me the best joke in the world and he cannot control himself. Pity I don’t know the language to know if it was a fabulous joke or the winning lotto numbers.
He has laughed, and smiled before experts say he should have (Smiles and big laughs have been had since he was about a month old). He has big chuckles with things…. I think he has a great sense of humor already. He is a very happy baby (Obviously if he is in pain or annoyed he is not happy)
He has rolled over well before he was three months, at nine weeks he was trying and partially sit up. At about two and half months I noticed he was drooling, putting his fists in his mouth and just wanting to chew everything. He loves chewing the sleeves and the front of his outfits, of course this makes everything wet due to the baby drool (Many outfit changes later to ensure warm and dry clothes – I think he is giving the twins a run for how many outfits he can wear in one day)
Of course I thought he was teething and then dismissed it. He is too young. It cannot be happening now.
Drool and fists in mouth persisted and of course then upset baby that needed mummy cuddles.
Alexander having tummy time and also to putting his hands in his mouth to soothe his gums. I just love his fab hair, it looks so stylish and funky.
I checked gums and did not see anything until he forced my fingers into his mouth and then I felt the teeth working their way through the gums. My little boy is indeed teething and has been for a while now.
This was really silly of me to not see the signs. I just thought he was too young. I should have known better after having two kids that have gone through the same thing, although years ago now.
I must say that the twins from memory were good regarding teething. I just took the edge off with some painkillers and some bonjella and they were good. Although out of sorts but not screaming the place down like our little man is. He has some medicine when he needs it and then cries and needs mummy cuddles and attention until he falls asleep. We all know mummies cuddles fix everything don’t they.
The baby does see the twins race around the house and I can see that he is wanting to join them. I do understand that children learn by seeing others, and therefore thought that my third child might be quick with some things. However I did not think he would be teething so early. I mentioned this to nurse at the local medical centre and she told me that it could still take a while to see a tooth. We have not had a tooth erupt from the gums yet and not sure when it will happen, I’m just amazed that the process has started so early.
This milestone chart from BabyCentre UK lists some of the things that our new baby has done… so that is not too far off when it happened for us. According to this table we are on track. However other sites say that it all should happen later. I know that every baby is different and this kid is unique and an individual. He will do things when he is ready, it does not matter if it is early or later, just as long as they happen is all I am concerned with.
One person I know who also has three kids told me that his third child did everything much earlier than the first two. He believes it was the fact that he saw his siblings do everything and wanted to be like them. Did this happen to you? Did the first kid/s help the other children do things earlier?
This became evident the other week when she had a HUGE meltdown getting ready to go to the pool.
Each child was getting ready to go to swimming lessons and then one had a screaming fit.
“Why are you wearing that dress? That is the one I want to wear!”
“I want to be different! I don’t want to look like you!”
Then screamed at the top of her lungs…
“I DON’T WANT TO BE A TWIN, I HATE BEING A TWIN!”
These girls have not argued about their dresses. Maybe it is coming when they are older? Did you find that? The kids were okay until they hit a certain age about what they wear.
The kid who had the meltdown got a nice dress organised and then found that her sister picked the exact same dress to wear.
I then tried to diffuse the situation by saying maybe you could pick another dress.
This was met by, “I picked it first, she needs to pick another one not me!”
Oh shit I thought this is not going well at all.
I then turned to the sister who chose the dress after the other kid had already picked it and asked if she could change her dress. I tried to get her to wear something different.
No of course she did not want to change. She told me that she likes being a twin and wanted to be like her sister.
OH NO! I THOUGHT!
This just made the whole issue much worse.
The kid who was having the meltdown was yelling, screaming, crying and just so upset.
I asked why she was so upset about being a twin. I was trying to find out also what went on that day at school and what could have caused her to be so upset.
I finally found out that all day kids and teachers had mixed this kid up and thought she was her sister. One kid that has been with her since pre-school so now that is five years including this year of schooling and she still does not know who each kid is. I can only imagine how frustrating and annoying this would be.
Hugs and cuddles were had to tell her that I know it is not right to always be mixed up with your sister. I told her that although she looks similar that she is indeed a very different person.
She is an individual and not the same as her sister. I told her that this kid at school should know by now who she is, and that she needs to correct her nicely and just leave it at that.
One kid does have her ears pierced but hair is usually over her ears so most people don’t notice. If people take the time they will realise differences and know who is who. If you don’t spend a lot of time with the girls you might not see it, but I would think teachers and school mates would be able to work it out by now.
Finally there was calm, well it was much calmer with less yelling from one child. So I would say it was an improvement. The kid who was upset decided to accessorise with jewellery to look different and wear different shoes. Phew! Finally we could leave the house to go to the pool.
I know it is a hard thing always having someone that looks like you, dresses like you would be annoying at times. Being you and having your own space is nice.
If you have twins how have you coped when they constantly get mixed up? Did one of your kids have a meltdown like one of mine did? What was the outcome of the meltdown?
Did the kid in question want to dress differently or have their hair a different style to make sure that they are seen as different, especially if they are identical like my girls?
You might be questioning my title. Knee Beards??? What the? You say.
Yes knee beards are a thing (You heard the term here first….I feel like now I should copyright it) and it got to a very hairy problem months after Alexander was born. I was still sporting some knee beards. Although I must say my legs are very nice (So I have been told) but having knee beards does not make them look very attractive.
If you don’t know what a knee beard is it is all the hair that grows around your knee region, if you don’t shave for a while it grows longer and maybe with pregnancy hormones this makes things even more longer and weird. Okay, you get the picture now.
A dramatic recreation of the knee beard. Yes it might be a little worse than it actually was but it felt like it looked this bad.
I finally took matters into my own hands and removed my knee beards but it took me two months of living with them to finally remove them. Why did it take me so long? Well as a new mum to a new baby, finding time for self care is hard. This is even harder when you have other children to care for as well. I cannot just swan in and have a bath and shave my legs. Nope. Sitting or lying in a bath to relax is difficult to impossible. My twins will then want to join me and therefore ruining the peaceful and relaxing state that I was attempting to create.
It was not just knee beards that needed my attention. Some of the other things that normally get waxed have been forgotten about or just left as it is in the too hard basket. My aim is to book time at the beauticians on a weekend this way hubby can mind kids and I can get some things done. After I have had some much needed beauty therapy I can then tackle the pool again in the aim to tone up and lose some of the baby weight.
My hair also needs some attention. I have noticed that it is rather dry and rough on the ends. This is probably not helping the fact that I am loosing hair when I brush or even when I shower. Yes hand fulls are coming out. Maybe this is due to hormones after having a baby? I hope so as I’m getting worried that I might soon be bald. So basically knee beards are the least of my worries really.
My out of control hair. Desperate to go to the hairdressers.
I think that I just need to have my hair cut and tidied, and I know it might not be good but a nice colour to jazz up my look might be in order. It would make me feel good and also much more glamorous. As a stay at home mum to three kids now feeling more glam is always a good thing.
Do you get time for a little bit of self care? A mani, or pedi?
Maybe a trip to the pool or the gym? Have you been to the hairdressers lately?
I am so keen to get my hair done I have thought about doing it with the baby with me. However I have stopped myself, I don’t want to be dealing with a crying baby while trying to relax.
This time will just be for me. My time to do something for myself.
Let us know how you fit it all in with everyone’s busy schedules.
Alexander is now eleven weeks old. Yes soon to be three months old, Oh how that has flown by already.
As anyone with a newborn knows you get up multiple times at night and feed, settle, cuddle, and of course change nappies. I also wash up bottles so that we have more for the next feeds. Lately the baby has taken to waking up at 2.30 or say 2am to want more food. I change his nappy and get him the milk and then feed him. He then falls asleep and then I put him to bed after some lovely morning cuddles.
Having snuggles with my boy.
Alexander then wakes again at 4am. He is screaming the place down so I do all the normal things, change his nappy and get more milk ready for the next feed. However it is this time that he decides that he is not hungry and just wants cuddles with mummy. I was snug and asleep in my bed before he screeched to what I thought was a hungry cry, but turned out that he just wanted cuddles. This is lovely but to wake up to give someone cuddles seems a bit annoying. I love the cuddles but I do LOVE my sleep and to wake up to then have to fall asleep again in the living room is a bit annoying to say the least.
I do try again to feed him but he pushes the bottle away and is content to just be cuddled. I fall asleep on the lounge as well as the baby. Hours pass and I finally wake to realise that I have been sleeping with my neck and body in an odd position. No wonder my body is out of sorts and everything hurts.
I sit in the living room looking around at all the things yet to be done and think about all the other things around the house that have to be done or have not been done or even thought of or even started. Gosh I’m exhausted just thinking about it all!
Why can’t I just sit and cuddle the baby?
Why do I have to get up and get stuff for people?
It is annoying that I have to leave the house but I do. Dropping kids at school and picking them up and of course all the after school activities that the girls go to. All I wanted to do was to stay in the house with my PJ’s on and just cuddle and be with Alexander.
During these early morning moments I have thought why can’t I be more in the moment? I love the cuddles, giggles and raspberries that Alex is doing but I still find myself drawn to all the other things that need my attention. Maybe this is due to having kids already? When I had the twins I had no pressure to be anywhere, I did not have kids before the twins so I could have the cuddles and just stay at home if I wished to. Now with older children it is hard to impossible to stay at home.
In the early weeks mums at the kids school commented on how it was great that I was getting out and about. It was nice to hear and I of course would have rather have stayed at home, but with kids at school I had to venture out. I suppose it was good that the kids made me go out with the baby but that quiet time just snuggling with your new baby is so nice and a pity that I have to get up to do the more boring things, like cleaning, shopping, clothes washing and more.
Also with older kids the house is much noisier than before. When the twins were babies I tried to have things super quiet when they were sleeping. I would even put notes on the front door in case of deliveries. Yes I was trying to make sure that who ever knocked on the door knew to be quiet or less noisy than they would be normally. I of course have not done the note on the front door this time, not due to not thinking about it but just due to never getting around to do it, and thinking about sleep rather than writing notes.
Did you find that due to other kids and commitments that you are not enjoying the lovely moments of the new baby as much as you would like? Let us know.
I need to just learn to switch off and to let go. I know it is hard but I need to. I think from the state of my house you would think that I have done just that, but I have been trying to tidying and sort things but it is always hard with a new baby. I get some things sorted and then have to leave it to be with the baby, then off course I don’t get back to the pile of clothes to fold and put away. Then I have to pick kids up from school, take them to after school activities and then when home do homework, dinners and more! Yes…. I think that is about it.
Letting go about now sounds good after reading all that I need to do!
Do you have some tips to just try and let go of all the things that need to be done? If you do have some great ways to let go of things that would be great to be shared also.
I know every baby is different and each one has a distinct personality. However I did not count on our third little person being so fussy and hard to settle.
Maybe he is a person who just likes things to be ready when he is. Yes impatient and wants it all to happen NOW! He must think why the milk is not ready when I am! Talk about bad service.
He is also a person that holds onto burps, farts and anything gassy or windy, so he has terrible belly pain. He makes such upset faces due to the horrible annoyance this can cause (I hate having a sore belly I cannot imagine how it would feel to baby that has no idea what the pain is.)
Upset and crying baby due to not being able to get the wind out of his belly. Also has to be upright due to having silent reflux.
Our latest addition is also a person that likes to be upright to be settled and does not like to lie down until he is finally winded, and finally all the gases get out of his body that can be coaxed, well within the 4 hour period of trying.
Yes you get the picture it takes ages to even get him settled and not yelling and screaming in your ear. I do think I will go deaf soon or have limited hearing on one side. I pray that this does not happen.
My new little man has a very good set of lungs and he uses them very well.
Some of these issues could be due to the fact that I am expressing my breast milk and therefore he is being bottle fed. Alexander did not latch on well at all and did not seem to get enough milk. When he was on the boob he would then fall asleep but also before this he would struggle to get on and yell and scream. This in turn would stress me out and also him and due to him not looking like he got anything we have turned to the bottles with breast milk to make sure that he is getting what he needs.
While in the hospital one midwife suggested the baby had a tongue tie. I asked what this was and she said that it is a piece of skin that is holding the tongue in a different position and not allowing it to move so that the baby can feed well and successfully. I thought that would explain it. However another midwife and nurse looked at the baby and dismissed it all and therefore it was agreed that the baby did not have a tongue tie. I ended up forgetting all about the issue of the tongue tie and just thought that I was not getting the breast feeding thing and the baby was learning as well and also just a fuss pot.
After we left hospital the community nurse came to the house to check up on myself and the baby. A lovely lady came and made sure we were all okay. She checked the baby and then announced that he did have a tongue tie. Oh gosh does he have a tongue tie and it got overlooked?
The lovely community nurse said it was a posterior tongue tie and it might be worth it getting fixed to see if it improves feeding and settling the baby. I was also told that it could cause speech issues when the child gets older as the tongue does not sit in the normal or ideal spot to form words and therefore makes it hard to speak. So good idea to get fixed. It is not yet known if it will cause issues with speech due to the baby not speaking yet, but there is a high percentage that if not looked at could cause problems.
I sprang into action. I got a referral to a surgeon at Westmead Children’s Hospital and raced there for our appointment for the tongue tie to get fixed. To get to the hospital on time I had to put the twins in before school care and also be up super early. I drove all the way and fussed over the baby when he was screaming the waiting room down while we waited for our appointment.
It was our time with the doctor now. He had no idea why I was there and looked shocked that I had such a young baby to see him. At the time of the appointment he was 4 weeks old. He is now nearly 10 weeks as I am writing this. I explained that I have been told he has a posterior tongue tie and that it is best to get it looked at now while he was so young. I also listed all the other things that the baby was doing and therefore it was other signs of having a tongue tie.
The doctor then said put the baby on the bed so that he could have a look and see what the issue was with his tongue. He did a quick once over and then concluded that he did not have a tongue tie and all was good. He said that there is nothing to cut and no issue! I mentioned what the community nurse said again to just make sure that it was right.
The surgeon then said, “It is just him then, he is fussy!”
So I have an opinion of a surgeon that rules out the fact of the baby having a tongue tie. However when I went to the local community nurse for Alexander’s 6 week milestone check she then told me without doubt the baby has a tongue tie! Oh please I wish people would bloody well make up their minds. Does he have it or not!
As a mother it is very confusing and annoying to have such conflicting views. What do you do? Do you continue to see someone for a tongue tie that a surgeon says is not there? Or do you just let it be. We have followed it up with our local doctor and have decided to see how baby goes as he gets older. Did you get conflicting information about your kids when they were little? How did you handle this?
As the local doctor pointed out; a surgeon has ruled it out so others will most likely do the same. Due to the baby always wanting to be upright we have discovered he suffered from silent reflux and found help with some medicine (Losec for babies) to treat this. I found that the medicine helped but first gave it to him during the day, however giving it at night time or just very late afternoon worked much better than during the day. There were some nights were I forgot to give it to him and he settled okay so we have decided to leave it, and think that it could be the fact he is getting older that things are settling even more. Although we have had some nights where the baby is just so over tired and out of sorts that he screams the place down.
I have found the following:
The baby likes to be wrapped.
Needs breaks during feeds and while having a break try burping and getting wind out of baby. You might get an angry face when you make the baby take breaks but it is well worth it.
If the baby does not drink all the bottle that is okay…. He/she is full and more might cause issues with upset belly and more wind.
Sit with your baby to calm them if they get the hiccups. Hiccups are the outcome of many of the upsets trying to deal with wind. Once hiccups are done and baby falls asleep again you can put him/her back to bed.
We have found that the baby likes noise and to be with people. We have put a digital radio in his room. It is on low volume and allows him to listen to Classic FM whenever he is resting. Not sure how this will influence him in the future but they do say that listening to classical music is good for brain development. We will find out when he is older, I’m sure.
Changing his environment when he is fussy. Take a walk out in the backyard, or just somewhere different is very helpful not just for the baby but also for you as well.
Make sure that the baby gets a bit of sunshine. Obviously not in the heat of the day and just a little time, say 10mins or less is good. It can help with sleep and also to it gives the baby some vitamin D.
If you have someone else in the house while you are looking after baby that is brilliant. If you have reached the end of your wits with baby then hand it over to the other person. Sometimes this helps as it is a distraction and the other person is not stressed or annoyed that the baby is not settling. The new person is calmer and can help settle baby.
Have you had a fussy or hard to settle baby? What are your tips and tricks to help the little person rest? (Or more like give you a break)
As per my previous post called, “Our latest Family Member”, we had to go to Nepean to have our third child. I did not want to go there due to what happened with the birth of the twins. However we had no choice.
Having birthday cuddles with our latest addition
We were finally at the hospital and due to the stress of the situation hubby parked in the car park. Yes I thought he would drop me off at emergency and go and park the car later. I asked why he did this at the time and he said, “Well, we are going to be here for a while”. Yes true but for someone that is finding it hard to walk due to constant contractions walking across a carpark to emergency to then be told to go to another building was not ideal to say the least!
Once parked hubby told me to get out of the car when I was ready. He had to wait a bit due to a contraction happening just as he opened the door. My legs were like jelly and I found it really hard to move due to the contractions making all my legs, pelvis and back go into spasms and just freeze. It was very painful, and I had to wait until they were over. So if you can imagine me walking then having to stop in the middle of the carpark every 5mins that would give you a picture of what it was like. Maybe a wheelchair from emergency might have been the way to go! This was arranged when I had the twins…. Although I think the race to get to the hospital freaked hubby out and he just lost it with the idea of a wheelchair and just wanted to get us to the hospital.
Once we figured out where we were supposed to be (the birthing suites or rooms) the nurses/midwives knew who we were due to Katoomba Hospital ringing ahead, which saved a lot of fussing about explaining everything.
I was then asked, “Would I like some pain relief?”
My response was YES! OF COURSE I WANT DRUGS TO HELP ME
Someone then said what would I like, and I then said, what do you have????
Yes open to everything and all if it helps make the pain go away!
I was offered morphine (I was told that I needed to use the gas to get the morphine injection. I found it interesting that I was having gas to therefore get another drug. The nurse said the injection can hurt a bit, and she was right. I think someone I mentioned this too said that it is injected into the muscle and that would explain why the nurse wanted me to be on gas to have the injection. I thought it was strange, but it did help a bit) and once that worked it helped a great deal. It certainly took the edge off the pain for a bit. Hubby said that once it started working I looked very out of it. I did not care! Bring on the medicine to make it not hurt as much. I am not a fan of natural birthing that you will feel it all. Even on drugs to take the edge off it hurt, so I can only imagine how horrible it would have been without them.
During this phase of the night I was telling hubby that I did not want to do it anymore, that I just wanted to go home and not be here. I don’t want to do it. Please can we go home I said? He just looked at me and said, “It is a little late for that” I know it was but I was scared and did not want to do what I knew was coming.
Why can’t the husband or partner do the subsequent child? I have visions of saying it is your turn. I then can hold his hand while he pushes out our child. Science has given us so much and maybe it can work on this. I know that men having kids will probably never happen but why can’t the baby come out small via your belly button and grow on the outside. Maybe a good idea???? (Maybe a futuristic idea) Not sure but might save all the bother of pushing a baby out of your bits…. Let me know your thoughts.
While I was still under the trippy and nice effects of morphine they prepped me for an epidural. Although before this happened I explained my fear of having it again and not working. When having the twins I had one and felt everything but could not move my legs. I was constantly asked by the doctors, nurses and midwives with the twin birth to move my legs but could not. I told them if they wanted them moved they would have to do it. Annoying that they never listened. I was hoping that this birth would be different.
I did not know what to do. I did want the epidural but did not want a repeat of what happened last time. I know that there can be no guarantees but I thought I would give it another go and hope for the best.
The anaesthesiologist listened to my fears and what happened last time as did the midwife. I then decided without a doubt to see if it will be different this time. I was told all the horrible things that could go wrong and the chances of it happening. I was completely freaked out. I still thought it was the way to go.
I had it done and the epidural started working. It was so good that I managed to fall asleep. Yes I slept while still having contractions. Who knew that this was possible? This epidural was completely different from the twin birth, I could not feel anything, I was blissfully unaware of anything for a long time, well until it started to wear off and the baby was pressing on my hip bone and pelvis and I could not get comfortable. I asked for more drugs… however they said that I could not have more and it was time to get the baby out.
The midwife told me that due to the morphine and the position of the baby that its heart rate was dropping and I needed to get it out as soon as I could. I said that I would do my best. She mentioned that we still had time and that it was not in distress yet, but if it went on any longer it could be and then they would want to make an executive decision on how they vacate the baby from my belly. Gosh, NO!
I did not want to have a C-section or have any unnecessary things happen unless it was life threatening, and I do understand if the baby is under distress but I was so close to having it happen naturally.
I tried to push while lying on the bed and sitting up a bit, but it was no good. I could not get comfortable and it was terribly painful due to the baby’s head on my hip and pelvic bone…. Very sore indeed!
It was suggested that I be on my side with a leg up in the air and to help reposition the baby… it did not help with repositioning but it was more comfortable to push from this weird acrobatic position. Not the way I was thinking it would happen and definitely not glam but childbirth is not a glam affair.
I was told to put my chin to my chest, hold my breath while having a leg up in the air all on my side. Yes a strange visual! I then had to hold my breath while working with the contraction and these contractions this time I felt over my belly and also to in my back but now I understand what contractions actually feel like. I found it hard to do all this while holding my breath. I had a terrible time as holding my breath made me want to pass out and I could not let out a sound or a grunt due to losing the momentum to push (energy or something with the breath). The midwife wanted me to do it in lots of threes so that we could get the baby out. Oh god, I found it hard just doing one!
After holding my breath I found that I wanted to throw up and they were concerned and I had a sick bag just in case. It did not happen but I felt nauseous and also had a bit of reflux during the whole process of holding my breath to try and get baby out.
During all of this a doctor came in to see how progress was going. I think the midwife wanted the doctor to check in to make sure that we had a backup plan if baby went into distress and needed help to come out. GOSH, now the doctor was talking about forceps and other things…. I hated the salad servers last time and due to the epidural not working I felt everything…. It was like I was being killed. I did not want that ever again.
The doctor left and then the midwife and nurse were talking about cutting me. WHAT THE???? YOU ARE GOING TO DO WHAT NOW?
They said that it would help the baby come out. I said no PLEASE DON’T CUT ME. I ended up negotiating them to give me more time to get the baby out.
I did not want them to cut me. No please no!
They were very keen to give me an episiotomy but I had no idea that is what they were wanting to do. I just did not want to be hurt even more if not needed.
I was so determined to get this baby out now! Hubby said you need to get the baby out. I got angry and just pushed and pushed and pushed. I was nearly passing out due to holding my breath and my acrobatic poses but I was on a mission.
The midwife yelled, wow we see a head full of black hair! Oh gosh, really this baby is going to have darker hair? I thought it would be like the girls and be bald and blonde, but you never know right. We still did not know if it was a boy/girl that was still a surprise. I however knew once I got told the hair colour that it was a boy, I just had a feeling. Strange but true. Hubby said that it could be a girl, but I just had an inkly at this stage that it was a boy.
I kept on pushing and then baby was out and here in the world. The midwife and nurse said that they should have threatened me with the doctor and episiotomy hours ago.
Alexander and I on his birthday
I was lucky that all went well, I could do it all naturally and that I did not get cut! Yes very lucky indeed. Maybe getting angry was the magic ingredient.
In comparison to the twin birth it was much nicer. We only had the midwife a nurse and hubby and myself in the room. With the twin birth we had 2 doctors for each baby, a humidicrib for the baby and about 30 or so trainee doctors it felt. The room was packed and it was crowded. I did not have any stupid things that happened before happen this time. When was about 5cm dilated and in the birthing suite waiting to have the twins I had two doctors come in to tell me it would be great if I could wait till I was 36-38 weeks….talk about stupid! I also had nurses try to give me medicine I did not need after I had the babies and the list continues. This did not happen with the birth of our third child.
I was very upset to not be able to have our last child at Katoomba Hospital but was grateful that the experience was better and nicer than the last. I must say that pushing a person out of you is hard and tough, but the ladies that helped us for the birth of our son made it a more calmer process. So thanks so much to you all. One thing that was a bit weird was that the midwives that helped me had the same names that I had. The night before the baby was born the midwife on duty had the same first name, then there was shift change and the next midwife had my middle name. It was like I was meant to be there. Odd indeed.
What was the birth like for your second or third children? Did the process and what happened differ from your first child?
Was it more of a calmer experience with the second or third child compared to your first? Let us know.
Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I have been very busy dealing with our latest addition.
Our third child was born on the 7th of January, exactly on his due date. Yes how prompt is he. We had a little boy and his name is Alexander. The twins are super excited to be big sisters and to give him cuddles and help out.
Our latest family member Alexander was born exactly on his due date. How clever is he! Only 5% of babies do this. Maybe he will be a prompt person? You never know right?
Ever since I had my third child I have had no time. Yes you can probably relate if you have just had a baby. Up all night feeding, expressing breast milk and just trying to settle the baby. The house is a total mess, laundry needs sorting, folding and to be put away. Things need to be tidied, chucked out or just put away. The essentials are happening, we are clean, have food and all is well, although life is a bit of a mess at the moment while we adjust to another person and trying to get into a routine. This is especially true due to having two kids who are full of beans that don’t seem to remember not to run, jump and bounce everywhere. It is not helpful once you have finally got the baby to sleep. Plus school drop offs and pick ups and also after school activities makes it harder to keep a routine. I have just planned to have food for Alexander, change of clothes, nappies and be ready if he needs anything while we are out.
This is my little boy. It was taken exactly when he was 5 weeks old. He looks very grown up here and also to a bit cheeky. I love the fact that you can see what he might look like when he grows up but also to that he such a cute little baby, well if I do say so myself. I am bias, I’m his mummy so I am allowed to be.
Our latest addition is hard to settle after a feed. He did not latch on well to the breast. I did try breast feeding but he screamed the place down that he had not gotten enough milk. I thought all was good as he was asleep after these feeds and then attempted to put him to bed. Once tucked into bed he screamed the place down. He gave all the signs that he did not get enough and was indeed still hungry. Oh how could you be hungry???? You have just had some from each boob and now you are claiming you did not get enough! Oh well. I did more and more and that did not fix the issue.
Breast feeding was terribly painful and I thought it would get easier. The midwives said it was normal to have a bit of discomfort and you will get used to it. They came and saw how the baby was latching on and to see how I was dealing with the feeds. I did everything they said but due to the baby being fussy and getting into such a state he was angry and then very unsettled for feeding (It was like the baby was angry that the café or restaurant did not have his food ready at the time he requested. Terribly annoying when you have such bad service!) This is not the time to try and be putting him on the boob. I then got annoyed, angry and stressed and this was the same for the child. Not ideal.
I then came to the conclusion that I should just express my breast milk and feed the baby like I did with the twins. Our new little person seems much happier getting more milk in the bottle. He is still getting breastmilk and I am less stressed about feeding and he gets it when he needs it.
Expressing my breast milk while in hospital.
However due to him not latching on properly he hurt my nipples and this in turn made me get ill with mastitis. I left hospital to only be back one night and that one night I was up all night dealing with the baby. He feeds well when it is in the bottle but sucks in too much air and therefore holds a lot of wind. Trying to burp and wind a baby is tough when it goes on for over 4 hours!
Yes, it is stressful and exhausting. Then once you hit the 4 hour mark or less you are due for his next feed and you have to do it all over again. Plus add changing nappies for a child that screams like you are killing him while you try and get rid of the pooey nappy.
I have tried to write this post for days now and today he has been all over the place and very unsettled, so I have been adding to my post in stops and starts all day. He seems to like cuddles and wants to be with you. This is nice but when you have a house to look after, other kids and things to do it gets difficult. Maybe when he finally sleeps I can sleep too or get something else done. Lately I have been more focused on sleeping, hence why other things like house and blog have been unloved for a while.
As mentioned I was only home for a short time and that time I was hot and bothered with a fever, I also got extremely cold and had the worst headache I’ve ever had (I could not handle light and found it hard to see). I had temperatures that were 38.9 and an hour after having Panadol it came down to 39.6. So not much of an improvement. I felt terrible; very ill and like I had an extreme case of the flu or more like the walking dead. I called the hospital and they suggested I come in to be looked at. They agreed that I had mastitis and I ended up having antibiotics via an IV drip and stayed in hospital for another 3 days. Not fun, the IV antibiotics burnt when it went through my vein and made me have a very tender hand for the next week or so.
The cannula for the IV. I always hate having them done. Very painful.
I did mention to the hospital before I left that I was burning up and was feeling all hot. I was told it was my hormones and that it will all settle down soon. It was obviously the infection starting and it just got worse when I came home. One of the midwives at the hospital said that I did the right thing by coming back to the hospital as she said it only gets worse if not treated.
I was convinced that I would have the baby earlier than it coming exactly on my due date, which in fact only 5% of babies do. So he is terribly clever to have done that. Maybe he heard the doctors say when he was meant to come, so thought he would adhere to that date. Maybe he might be a prompt person and always on time. I have no idea, but it is weird he came exactly when predicted.
I was so over being pregnant. I was approaching my due date and still no baby! Any week over 34 and 2 days for me was overdue; I had the twins at this time and any time after this felt like an eternity.
As I said, I was ready for the baby to come and was trying to coax it out. Here are some of the things I tried:
I was doing squats
I was having raspberry leaf tea
I went walking and tried to be more active
I ate chilli
I even had talks to the baby in my belly and was telling it that it needed to come soon as I was over it all. It of course did not listen.
As many women who are in the last trimester of their pregnancy you get to the point where you just want it to be all over and done with. I did not want to have the birth and was a bit worried about all that due to the drama from the twin birth and was concerned that it might be repeated.
My pregnant belly. Taken on 2nd of January 2016. Little did I know that just 5 days later the baby would be born.
I could not bend over. I was having pains and could feel things starting to move in the right direction but no labor had started. Damn! How annoying.
The hospital was doing their standard freak out as they were telling me that if I don’t have the baby by 39 weeks or I go over my due date they would like to induce me. What the????(The hospital said that if I go too far over my due date that could be high risk and they are not equipped for this, so if this happens then I would need to go to Nepean to have the baby) I have had an uncomplicated pregnancy. It is one child and not two like last time. I am not high risk, I did not develop gestational diabetes and have remained active throughout. I have even only gained 8kgs during the whole pregnancy so that was something that was good news for me. Although I felt like it was a lot more and I was HUGE.
I woke up at 4am on the 6th of January and noticed that things were happening. Yes 4am seems to be the lucky or weird hour that things happen. When I was pregnant with the twins my waters broke at 4am so this was strange that it all started again at this time. This was the day that the twins were going to vacation care and I had to get their lunches ready and all organised so that we could drop them off. I could not go back to bed and ended up having painful contractions that were extremely painful and I found it hard to walk and do anything. I checked the internet to see what needed to happen before I went to the hospital. The sites that I visited said that if I cannot walk and talk during contractions and if they are coming more frequently, if I lost my mucus plug, if I am in pain and not coping and so on. I thought this was all the case so phoned the hospital.
I spoke to a midwife who then said that it sounded like things were progressing and if all of the above had happened then it might be wise to come in and get looked at. She also mentioned some other things like breathing and something about pillows and my back and hubby helping. I was finding it hard to concentrate due to the pains that kept on coming and going.
Once hubby was we dropped the kids off at vacation care and then went straight to the hospital. This was just after 9am and they gave me a once over. The midwife we saw said that I was only 1 and half centimetres dilated and that I was not ready. Damn! Why can’t the baby be ready! All that pain to only be slightly ready…..very annoying.
13th of January, not even a week old.
While at the hospital the midwife told us that if we had the baby before a certain time we could come to Katoomba Hospital. If we had it after 7pm that evening then we would need to go to Nepean as Katoomba during this 24 hour period did not have a Doctor on call for the maternity ward and therefore could not have births there during this period. What the???? I go to a hospital for all my maternity care and now I cannot have the baby at the hospital of choice. Hubby and midwife suggested maybe mind power can help make the baby not come in this 24 hour period. I told both of them that I don’t think this would happen, as my body was doing things and feeling like it would be soon.
The midwife said that the way I was presenting that it will all kick off at 7pm and therefore would need to go to Nepean. I thought no way. But this lady sees a lot of women so maybe she knows what she is talking about. I thought we will see.
Hubby and I had plans to have lunch with some of our close friends so we went to the local pub all while having contractions. We went to the shops and although it was very slow going for me due to the fact contractions made me seize up and it was like all my legs, lower back and pelvis was in a muscle spasm. I could not move while it was happening, and during this I could feel the head banging to go further down…. YES painful!
7pm comes and we are reading stories to the kids and tucking them in for bedtime. My contractions were super painful and getting closer together and it was harder to talk and to do anything. They were 5-6mins apart at this stage.
I think the midwife jinxed us, as she predicted the time and the fact that it would all happen. Damn now we have to go down the mountain to Nepean due to the local hospital not being able to have us there. I called the hospital and this was a hard phone call due to being in pain with contractions coming and going. They said that we cannot come there, and that they would call ahead to Nepean and we needed to leave now due to the time it takes to get down the mountain and the times of my contractions. Oh great………a trip down the mountain in a car while I am screaming and in pain.
Hubby and I are in the car and screaming down the mountain due to impending birth (well I was definitely screaming). During our trip a P plate driver decides we are trying to race him and he revs up his car and tries to get in our way. A learner driver nearly crashed into our car, a truck nearly collected us and people did not get out of lanes so that we could get there more quickly. During the trip I of course was screaming and yelling due to the pain and the pressure was getting intense in my pelvis due to the baby pressing and pushing with even more gusto. I did not want to have the baby on the side of the road, or in the car. I was just hoping we would get to the hospital in time.
When you were pregnant did the hospital of your choice close at the time of labor or was not available for whatever reason? Did you have to race to go somewhere else when labor hit? Let us know.
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I have been thinking about what a year 2015 was. I did want to accomplish more on the blog side and professionally but managed to do a bit of what I had planned.
Kids completed year 1 and did very well with reading and many other things. They have grown so much and really developed as their own person. Being in separate classes I think has really allowed each child to be what they can be without disruption or upset to each other. It allows them to be themselves and to have their own wins and accomplishments.
I went to Problogger and networked. I also learnt a lot and got inspired to do more with my blog and other ideas.
We did some much needed DIY around the house. I know have a nicer bathroom, kids in a newer room and other things fixed that I have been desperate to have done.
We were lucky to get pregnant and soon we are to have baby number 3. I was hoping to not be pregnant while writing this but I am still. Currently I’m 39 weeks and 3 days with baby number 3 and rather annoyed that he/she is still in my belly. The countdown is on little one!
I was lucky to get better after having a rough patch with being ill and especially while being pregnant it did not help. I am much better now and the only annoyance is when this baby will vacate my body.
Due to the new baby to be, the twins got moved into the bigger room and we have done up their old small room for the baby.
On a sad note we said goodbye to some good friends last year and it was rather painful due to that issue. It was a tough year due to that alone and being pregnant throughout this made it more difficult for me to deal with. I felt bad creating life while dealing with the loss. I know… they would not hold it against me but I did feel bad.
On the up side, we are well, have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, have good friends and are looking forward to what 2016 will bring us. The new baby is also something we are excited about and wondering when this little person will want to join the world.
The twins are excited about being in grade 2 this year and finding out what classes they will be in. We are in holiday mode currently and filling the days to keep kids busy and rest due to impeding birth is an interesting mix.
I will endeavor to attach the goals yet to have been achieved to this year and to strive towards them. Yes, I am not giving up just adding them to the list. Have you looked back on what you have done and been happy or sad? Or just it is what is was…. that said, I did all I could do and we are all okay.
What is your major thing or goal you wish to achieve in 2016? Let us know.
We have picked names for either a boy or a girl due to not knowing the babies sex. We did the same when pregnant with the twins, we had two sets of boys and girls names ready (at least this time we only had to come up with one name for a boy or a girl) and once we knew we named them once born. I was asking my mum how she came to name me my name. She told me she wanted to wait till I was here and see what I looked like and what name suited me.
This little person is waiting to be named. I hope they like what I choose!
I know plenty of people have told me the same thing and that worked well for them. However our way ended up really suiting the children we named and we did not use this method. We just loved our names and decided that twin A would get one name and twin B would get the other name as at the time that is what they were known by.
In the end, these names that we gave our girls have really suited them and their personalities…. but we had no idea at the time.
My question really is how do you know if a name is the right fit and will eventually suit a child that you have just had or have not had yet?
I suppose the name ends up suiting your child and it becomes familiar. You chose the name for a reason, due to loving it and thinking that it would work well.
Did you wait until your baby was here to see if it suited your name choice? Did you change it if you thought it was not a match? Or just stick to it due to loving the name?
Let us know your thoughts. Why not continue the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
We are not telling people our choice of names as we would love a surprise when we announce the birth. Currently 37 weeks and 2 days and hoping this little person will be here soon.
I am nearly 30 weeks pregnant with one baby. I am on the home stretch, and getting very over being pregnant. As per some of my other posts I don’t love being pregnant but love the outcome; a lovely new person that will add joy to our lives and household.
I have been spending the last month or two wondering what this person will look like, what will they want to be and do with their lives, will they be blondes like the girls or have darker hair? Will it be a girl or a boy? So many things to wonder and daydream about.
Pregnant and over it!
Aside from the nice thoughts about this future little person I have not had fun. Many of the normal side effects of pregnancy I find horrible and hard to handle. See my list of complaints and annoyances below:
Nausea
Throwing up
Not able to eat things that you usually did due to reflux
Tiredness to the point of exhaustion. You cannot keep your eyes open and your whole body is zapped of energy.
Sore breasts
Weight gain
Headaches
Breathlessness
Constantly uncomfortable
Finding it hard to bend over at all
If things are on the floor they tend to stay there as getting them is difficult
Now the latest in a long list of complaints is sore and wobbly legs and horrible hip and pelvic pain.
Leg cramps at night that hurt and make it hard to sleep
Hips throbbing at night making it hard to get any rest at all
I have had conversations with hubby about how I am feeling and he said, “What did you expect? You have done this before so you knew what it would be like.” Well all I can say is that the constant leg, hip and pelvic pain did not occur with the twin pregnancy and it is getting worse. At times I find it hard to walk and that is just around the house!
This pregnancy is completely different than the twins. I did have the same symptoms early on and was very sick and freaked that I might be having twins again. If we did we would have been happy with that but all tests have confirmed one person is in there.
I wish hubby could experience all the things that have happened during this pregnancy to give him an idea of what it is like.
“If men were constantly nauseous, had issues walking and were in constant pain, I believe they would be in bed waiting for it all to end”
I don’t think hubby could cope and I am not saying this lightly. He is a tough man and soldier’s on when sick, however pregnancy throws you a multitude of symptoms at the same time. You think you are winning at times, but fighting nausea, reflux, headaches and constant pain in the legs and hips all at once does your head in!
What a pity you cannot wave your hands and have hubby experience a month or a week of what you are going through? Would you have liked to have done this? I know I would love to. Pity I don’t have magic powers.
Even getting up and out of the lounge is taking forever now… yes annoying really! So quickly going to do something is not quickly anymore…. It happens when it happens.
I know he cares and he is making sure all is well in the house to prepare for our new addition. He is actually nesting more than I am. He is stressing out trying to get the babies room ready and concerned that we are running out of time.
His main worry is that my belly will get too big to help move some things around or help out. My answer to this is to ask one of our mates to come move stuff if that happens (Which I think might be the case)
Have you found that the second or third pregnancy different from your first or others? Have you had some annoying symptoms that have made things harder for you to do things? I am still active and getting things done just a bit slower than usual.
What has your partner said or done that has helped or annoyed you? Let us know.
Today I’m driving to my mum’s and step dad’s place. They are currently house sitting in Newcastle and we are off to visit. The kids are excited as they are having a five day sleep over… Yes that means that mummy and daddy get a break (Mainly mummy gets a break in reality)
The kids feel very grown up having a sleep over with their grandparents and cannot wait for new adventures. When the kids come back we are going to be in the city and starting our weekend adventure in the city for the long weekend.
I’m staying over tonight but the kids are staying for the week and that will allow me to do some things that I have been really wanting to get done. Some of the things that I have been waiting to do are:
Tidying up in preparation for the new baby
Blog work for the new look and also posts for the current blog
Time out for me
Sleep
Sewing maybe????
We need to pack, tidy up some places so it is not that messy when we come home, have a shower and get ready to go.
I’m looking forward to our road trip with just the kids and I. I have made sure that I am not leaving in peak hour so that our trip will hopefully not be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
Have the kids in the holidays stayed with family? Has this given you a break? If you managed to have a break what did you get up to?
One kid has not been very well for the last few days. She slept in our bed last night and the night before for snuggles. I found it hard to sleep due to the snoring from said child and then getting pushed out of my own bed. I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling.
Sick child sleeping
Sick child in your bed is cute for a bit, however when they snore in your ear, hit you when they turn over, stretch and make it hard for you to have any room in your own bed. It is not fun and due to you not getting any sleep and then having to contort your body into weird shapes and positions to just get some rest (maybe if I was a contortionist, I would not have had an issue with little space in the bed). I decided that I would move to the spare room to sleep as I was being pushed out and the sound in my ear was not going to create sleep.
I did understand that the child was not doing anything on purpose and it was good that she was resting. I don’t mind if a kid is sick and comes to our bed for cuddles and some extra attention. That is all fine… it just makes it harder for me to rest as well. Do you find that? I do like the cuddles and time together with one kid and helping them feel better.
Due to moving rooms I did get some sleep and was grateful for that. The unwell child is getting better so maybe she will sleep in her own bed tonight.
What happens when a child or both kids are unwell? Do they want to sleep with mummy/daddy? How do you handle it? We end up putting the child in the middle of the bed and we try and work around that.
Do you start to worry when winter approaches? Do the kids get colds and the flu easily? Does it happen more now that they go to school or day care? I have had my fair share of sickness with the twins and being exposed to more germs at school can make things harder for the whole family.
So how do you all remain healthy in cold and flu season?
Make sure you teach your little ones about proper hand hygiene techniques. I’m sure you are already telling your kids to make sure they wash their hands after eating, the toilet and so on. I know I do.
This hand wash is fab as it smells divine and of course gets rid of the nasty germs.
Parents are teaching their children about proper hygiene but it can fall down when they are at school or elsewhere. Do you know if there is a policy to wash hands after eating or playing? I don’t, but will definitely ask now.
The lovely people at Dettol sent me this care pack so we can not get sick this winter. It has helped and with us getting a cold while on our holidays I have used this to ensure we don’t get anymore nasties.
The simplest and cheapest way to make sure you don’t spread germs on your hands is to wash them well with soap.
To help get the message across to little people Dettol have teamed up with Tina Harris, who stars as Lah-Lah from Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band and she has created the below song to help encourage kids to wash hands and to stay healthy this winter.
Dettol has also created a free initiative available to all primary schools in Australia. It has been developed alongside the “NSW Department of Education and Training to provide teachers with a range of curriculum aligned resources to help students stay happy and healthy.” If you wish to recommend that your school take part download the letter and give to your school or email Dettol to be part of the program now.
In my pack from Dettol I have a laminated card. This will be put up in the bathroom once the renovations are complete. It lists all 5 tips to ensure you have really well washed hands.These handy wipes are so great. They help make sure the counter tops and any surface is clean and rid of germs. Dettol Surface Cleanser Wipes are great to keep with you for any emergency.
Have you succumbed to the flu or a cold during winter? Or have you managed to dodge any germs so far? If you have what do you do to remain healthy during winter?
Thanks so much to Dettol for sending me a care package. It has come in very handy.
Branson went on to say that unless you have a job that requires you to fly a plane or the like, you probably can do your job remotely. He even went on to say, “Companies that forbid the practice, such as Yahoo, put pressure on families and limit opportunities for women, according to the Virgin Group founder.”
Brilliant. Yes you have hit the nail on the head! Many women myself included are highly skilled and educated. They wish to give back but due to family commitments it makes things difficult. Working from home is ideal. You don’t have travel. You can focus on the tasks at hand and of course get more done. There are so much on offer now to make telecommuting easy for all. There is Skype, Google Docs, Dropbox and more. Why not hang onto your best assets and knowledgeable employees that want to work and will go above and beyond.
Happy that she has a work from home job.
If you find that one or a few staff members are not pulling their weight. Well you give warnings and then you make the decision to either let them go or forfeit the telecommute option.
I for one would give 120% to be able to work remotely in a good job with great pay. (I have noted that lately some work from home roles are underpaying for what they expect you to do. One full time role was a management role and expected 40+ hours a week, conference calls overseas via Skype and to manage maybe 100+ websites. This they were paying at least 60K less than the going rate for this position. Not sure if it was the company or the fact that since you are working from home they have undervalued everything. The work is still the same, the job is still the same so therefore the pay should be the same as well. What do you think? I do accept that you don’t need to travel anywhere for your role and that is a bonus but why should you get short changed?)
Employers are doing themselves a disservice. Brain drain is a big issue. It does not have to be simply mothers or fathers wishing for a more flexible family friendly lifestyle. If you don’t treat people well, they walk. Loosing staff that know all your processes is tough. It takes a long while before you can train new staff to know what the former staff knew inside and out. This is a cost to the business in knowledge and also to money. You need to retrain and rehire.
Many employers offer you the world and then don’t deliver. They promise flexible work and telecommuting options, however whenever you seek to use this option there are myriad of excuses for why it cannot be applied to you and your role. You have not been here long enough was what I always got told, and another amazing one, we need you here to manage things.
One place I worked for I was there five years and I lived the furthest away. A day here or there would have been amazing, but no it was not to be. The girl who lived less than 30 mins away was always working from home. You would have thought three years somewhere and putting in extra hours and working on projects that were successful would have qualified. No it did not.
I wonder what the magical number is that qualifies you to work from home from a corporate or organisations point of view. Is it what value you can give them? Or more like is it seen as a perk and not a value to the business?
In February 2013, Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s Chief Executive put a stop to employees working from home. She believes that working side by side is better and more helpful for business and staff members. I do understand that interaction is nice and having catch ups is always something to look forward to. This can still happen if you have a fortnightly or monthly catch-up with say a team that is working from home and see how everyone is going. Maybe on these times you get everyone to come into the office to touch base and have a day in the office, although the rest of the work is from home. Now there’s an idea. What do you think?
Marissa Mayer is not the only one that has adopted this notion of side by side working. In the Sydney Morning Herald article it also mentioned that Patrick Pichette who used to work at Google as the Chief Financial Officer has also the belief that working side by side is more productive. How did Pichette work somewhere where they encouraged working remotely with “Google Apps” to allow employees to work from home to now saying that working side by side is more productive? In the article Pichette says the following:
“”The surprising question we get is: ‘How many people telecommute at Google?’ ” Mr Pichette said at a talk in Sydney on Monday. “And our answer is: ‘As few as possible’.
“It’s somewhat counterintuitive. People think, ‘Well, because you’re at Google you can work from anywhere.’ Yes, you can work from anywhere, but many just commute to offices . . . Working from the office is really important.”
Coffee and tools to work from home. Off to get a lot done!
I do understand that brainstorming and bouncing ideas off people does help a great deal, however quiet time to reflect and think is needed also. Maybe it could be a bit of both, some days in the office and some days working from home?
It is 2015 and more kids are tech savvy and will be wanting flexibility when they enter the workforce. I want it now and I’m not considered a kid. Why are we still that rigid when it comes to having staff work from home? As long as the job is getting done that is the main thing.
From the businesses point of view it is a cost saving if staff don’t have come to the office and have a permanent desk, phone and computer. They don’t need to provide this if you have a remote role (I know some places might give you a phone or laptop but that is rare). All they need to do is to maybe have a hot desk when you come in for team meetings and catch ups with your manager or team. Easy really. I just don’t see why it is so hard, especially in this age of technology and options.
I believe companies that don’t offer work from home and flexible options will not attract the right people in the future. We are moving to a work environment where you don’t have to be in an office. You could be on a beach or in your house with your pj’s on. As long as you are hitting your KPI’s the rest does not matter. For major corporates to not look beyond an office job is silly in my book, there are a lot of people with excellent skills that can do a great job from a home office, they just need a chance to show you they can.
What are your thoughts? Have you tried to work from home? Were you successful? Do you have a job that is a telecommute role? If so please share how it works for you.
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Kids are now back at school and having a fab time. YES! Thank goodness you hear me say! I think I need another two weeks to be at the same energy and speed I was at before school holidays. Do you find you need some weeks to yourself as your little holiday? I know I do!
Just between you and me, there have been more than a few times that I did deep breathing and relaxation exercises to chill myself out. Holidays are always full on in my house. Kids want to go at a million miles an hour and never seem to get tired. They wake earlier and carry on till late and then repeat it all again the next day. Exhausting really! Why is it that they can sleep in on school days but not holidays or weekends? If you know let me know!
I did love lazing about at home with no particular thing to do or be at. No school lunches to make and I did not have to race off to pick kids up from anything. This was great, but there was one thing that I missed and dread on school holidays.
It is some quiet time for me! I do love some time out with no noise, yelling, fighting and carrying on that allows me to just do my thing. I can think, I can just sit with my own thoughts for a while. Being on the go constantly takes its toll. Just having a little time alone is a help.
Meditating with Body Beyond Birth
So what did I do that helped a bit?
As you know I have participating in the Body Beyond Birth 12 week program. I have struggled with a sore eye and of course then school holidays, but I did manage to do some wonderful meditation videos. These left me feeling much calmer than before I did the mediation and armed to face the rest of my day.
If you have not looked at Body Beyond Birth, why not take a look at their brilliant website and all the great resources there. The program is fun and you can take it with you if you travel.
What allowed you to get through the school holidays calmer? Did you manage to find time for you? Exercise or see a mate that you love to chat to? Let us know.
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