The missing "S"...and the missing posts

Well, it turns out I'm not good at New Year or new quarter resolutions and I've been a very bad blogger. But, in my defence it's been a very busy 11 months. After finally settling my Beautiful Girl into the creche it turned out I wasn't very happy at work. Nothing interesting - just fed up of a job I'd done for too long with few prospects for going much further. So I decided the skills I'd developed wrangling supposed professionals in the previous 5 years could be put to better use in one of two ways: 1) herding cats or 2) setting up my own business and having more time at home with a munchkin. Thus I became my own boss and more at home Mum.

We've been incredibly lucky and I feel like I've the best of all worlds. I work (usually) 3 days a week, when Beautiful Girl is off having fun in the creche, and I get to be at home or out having fun with her the other days. We've started baking and making and had our first make and do on Valentine's Day to make a card for her Daddy. The older she gets though, the more glad I am of the bit of work, bit of home balance - and I feel an increasing awe for all those women and men who have the patience for planning dinners for a week, endless animal noises, all day energy balls and tantrums.

But, there will be a decision to be made in a few months when (pg) Junior 2 arrives. He'll (we're not finding out whether he's a he or a she, but I'm sure he's a he!) be here in July I hope, although BG's timekeeping wasn't spectacular so I'm banking on another 42 week pregnancy.

So, until he arrives and I have constant nappy changing to use as an excuse, I will do my best to be a more frequent blogger and brain dump on a more regular basis.

Oh, and my "s" key keeps sticking on my keyboard, so excuse the typos!

The Wifeliest of duties

The Brig has a headache. He is in bed with his eye mask, ear plugs and a life time supply of paracetamol. He's wrecked; not surprising when he's been such a trooper - yesterday, he got up with Beautiful Girl at 10am and kept her entertained until I got up at shock horror, 1pm. He then got up with her twice last night, once just after he came up to bed and again an hour or so later. I think it's pre-emptive sleep storing as I've warned him that if BG is going to be weaned onto bottles before the end of the month, he's going to have to bite the bullet and get up to her more than once in the night to give her a feed.

And so I need to be sympathetic, afterall, didn't he give me a lovely break yesterday morning when all that was wrong with me was a tummy bug and cold. So the Wifely sympathy gene must be kicked into high drive and the tenderest of mercies must be applied.

Well see how long it lasts...

So much for New Year's Resolutions...

So I'm going to make it a new quarter resolution, and actually start posting again!

The last couple of months have been hectic. I went back to work in January, a week after Beautiful Girl started in the creche. Since she started, one or other of us has been sick, unfortunately mainly her. But we are coming out the far side of the viral bombardment - long may it last!

Hidey...Boo!

Beautiful Girl is having a week of firsts. This week, she has taken her bottle and decided she likes her bath. She has also sat up by herself and tonight has started playing hidey...boo! Right now she's sitting on the couch with The Brig, and she keeps burying her head in a cushion and popping up to us again. She's loving it, giggling like a loon and her face almost split with the smile. She is such a happy little girl, and so much fun...even though I hate that she's growing up so quickly, it's a wonderful to be part of it.

Get me to the church on time

Well, the church or anywhere else for that matter. Since I had Beautiful Girl, it is impossible for me to be anywhere on time. I used to be chronically early and being on time was almost as bad as being late. Not for anyone else, mind you, I was always the one waiting for them. It was a character flaw instilled by my father who is never late. I was even on time for my wedding. Yes, about a third of our guests (the ones who don't know me so well) arrived after I did. The car pulled up in front of the church at bang on 2pm, and I was walking up the aisle at 2.02pm. The General wasn't surprised.

So, now that I have Beautiful Girl to manage too, I find it impossible to be on time any more. She always needs a feed, a nappy change or a costume change just as we're walking out the door. Last night she decided to mix things up a bit, and I got the costume change, right after she projectile vomitted all over the only nice outfit I can fit into. So the General and I went out for dinner (our first proper date since she was born) and I was in a, thankfully new, cardi and jeans.

I find Sunday mornings the hardest. I go to church most Sundays. The congregation I attend is pretty small so the number of services per week is limited to one – 11am Sunday morning. It's a pretty reasonable time and day for religious worship, but because it's the only option, it's important for me to try to leave the house on time. Since three months ago, it doesn't happen. Beautiful Girl always manages to wake up just as I'm about to leave and wants to be fed, watered and changed. It doesn't matter what time she goes to be the night before, or how many times she wakes during the night, on Sunday mornings, she wakes at 10.30, just as I need to walk out the door. We then have a lovely 20 minutes of smiles and giggles while we're changing her nappy and getting her into her Sunday best. She always seems to want a chat while she's feeding too, which makes a usually quick and easy process entertaining but drawn out.

I may have to get over my fear of waking a sleeping baby one of these days. Either that or go back to being a Catholic and a choice of services over two whole days...

Things I didn't know about having a baby until I had a baby

I saw a post on a Mum and Kids forum about this recently, and it got me thinking about the things I never thought about before Beautiful Girl came along.  I know these aren't all of them, so I'll probably update this when the brain farts allow.

• you can get stretch marks because of giving birth, even if you had none beforehand
• you can still love your child absolutely, even if that fierce rush everyone talks about only kicks in a while later
• some midwives should not be as downright mean as they are
• it takes months for your, um, digestive system to get back to normal
• there should be an advanced course in how to pick the right kind of nappies
• a baby can still be cranky after a 4 hour snooze, a big feed and a clean nappy
• if you don't have a pre-pregnancy “figure” no-one will know how long it takes you to get it back
• having your waters broken by a friend of a friend is a bit too close for comfort
• if you hate housework, and in particular washing up, breastfeeding is great
• it can be acceptable to talk about poo to another adult
• doctors, midwives, public health nurses and your own mother do not always have the right answers
• sitting under a small child for hours on end is a great excuse to get through box sets of tv shows
• perfect strangers are really nice to you when you have a baby out in public
• it sucks more than I could ever have know when I realised I really will have to send Beautiful Girl to someone else every day so I can go back to work and we can afford to eat as well as pay the mortgage...