I feel bad that this blog is getting shamefully neglected. We were both saying today that we’d like to blog more, but between juggling work and study and BB’s needs it’s proving hard to find the time. Add to that the fact that I, for one, am struggling to hit my stride as a “mummy blogger” and what you have is scant posting, my friends. I feel like a bit of an asshole posting about how fabulous it is to have a baby, because I know how many of you are still stuck in the hamster wheel of TTC hell. I also feel like an asshole posting about the hard stuff because somehow actually HAVING a baby feels like it invalidates the right to bitch. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding it difficult to navigate the transition. Guess I’ll just keep trying. Hey ho!
It’s been HOT here in the UK this last couple of weeks. We’re British, we don’t really do hot. We’re not equipped. Just like leaves on the line or the wrong kind of snow, extreme heat can also grind us all to a halt. Given that so much of the world manages to bring up kids in hot places just fine, I’m at somewhat of a loss as to why we struggled so, but a baby in the heat was hard. We couldn’t keep the bedroom at a sensible temperature, even with the fan that jay so valiantly dashed out to buy. BB had to just hang in his crib with only a nappy on. No swaddle. Added to that was the fact that, as his only source of liquid intake, my boobs were in great demand day and night, we all slept for shit and spent the days frazzled and fractious. We are mighty glad that the hot spell has broken and we’re back to sunny spells with passing showers.
In other news, now our boy is nearly 4 months old (what?!) we’re starting to think about weaning him off the dummy (pacifier, soother, dodie). He has it at night and for naps when we swaddle him, and we’ll probably carry on with that whilst he’s wrapped and can’t reach his fingers, but we’re trying to cut down usage where we can, so are trying to put him down without it in the first instance, or shushing him to sleep first. We’re making a concerted effort to try other things before offering it up during waking time too. Any advice on distraction tactics, or on when we should bin the thing for good. It’s been an absolute lifesaver for our sucky baby, but we don’t want him going to school still sucking on the damned thing!
Oh, and I had a present today. A new breast pump. Not that there’s anything wrong with the old one, but at least I’ll only need to sterilise half as often. I was given it by our local SCBU to help me in my new role as milk donor. Jay and I need to get back to trying bottles with BB, to free me up to go out and earn some cash now and again, and I figured if I was going to commit to pumping regularly, I could offer to share what I collect with the milk bank. Our friend just delivered her daughter who weighed in at only 4lbs. She’s stuck in special care and her mum is unable to nurse her. It got me thinking that donated milk could really make a difference to babies like her, so why not spare some. I’ll let you know how it goes.
vee xxx
