b is in Hilarity mood. I couldn't keep him off the computer so I made a makeshift playpen in the living room out of blankets - of course he is now trying to crawl through the gap between the shelf and the glass in the coffee table. today we played chase...
that's as far as i got yesterday before i was called away. it was a bit optimistic trying to blog with bernard awake in the same room as me!!!
i am at the lowest point so far. i feel so exhausted i'm dizzy half the time. bernard is lovely and increasingly mobile but ... i don't know how to get him to sleep through the night.
last night and the previous night he ALSO was unable to go to sleep in the first place; we had an awful evening of screaming. he fed to sleep and then sat up, and couldn't get back to sleep. to be honest, I don't mind him waking a few times in the night. i haven't slept through for 4 months. if bernard wakes fewer than 3 times a night i am awake waiting for him to feed. but it gets wearing. i am tired now.
we are trying to build up solid food during the day but he is not really keen on food. this evening i got home at 5.30, and fed him at six but it was too late: he barely swallowed a mouthful before spitting it all out and refusing point blank to take anything but a breastfeed followed by falling asleep. this spells disaster now, as he has slowly been getting worse at night if he misses a meal. if bernard doesn't get enough solids in the day, he now wakes up to 30 times a night ( i lose count). there's no way i can follow any 'go to his cot, pat him, cover him and then go back to bed' advice when he wakes that often. he is just in bed with us.
and he's teething and has a cold.
moan over. thanks for listening. hxxxx
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Sunday 24 January 2010
playdate
Bernard had his first playdate away from home today: a visit to Dan and Mindy's house to meet little Aubrey. Aubrey (a girl!) is one month younger but was so full of beans, and excited as anything to see another baby. Unfortunately, Bernard was in a bad mood today: teething, I'm guessing, although no sign of Tooth Number 2. He more or less ignored her, though he deigned to play with her toys - concentrating most on the ones that were the same as his own toys.
We had a lazy day yesterday out of necessity: Nicholas was away last week and exhausted from spending nights on trains, and the weather was a bit too cold for daytrips. I can't wait to drop into bed; we are doing better with the night waking but last night B was just awake to moan and groan.
We had a lazy day yesterday out of necessity: Nicholas was away last week and exhausted from spending nights on trains, and the weather was a bit too cold for daytrips. I can't wait to drop into bed; we are doing better with the night waking but last night B was just awake to moan and groan.
Saturday 23 January 2010
motherhood
wow, i forgot to record the first tooth, which was about a week ago.
Right now N is sitting opposite me eating home baked cookies and saying, "I wish I had a Refresh button." Today I had a massive cook-in: I boiled up a week's worth of babyfood, baked cookies and made pumpkin and coconut curry for lunch. It was a good antidote to the cold rainy weather. We are forecast a week more of continuous rain and flooding. Bernard is asleep in his cot. I just got back from going out BY MYSELF to join Emma and friends to celebrate her birthday on Chicken Street. We had a feast of barbecued chicken, followed by dancing in the street to The Only Way is Up. I am in charge of putting the video on YouTube. The motorbikes that went past called us, respectively, "crazy" and "drunk".
I've been wanting to write about Motherhood. People keep asking me, "So what is motherhood like? Did it come naturally?" The most general questions are the hardest and I tend to just talk from whatever mood I'm in at that moment. I guess I was surprised how it didn't all come naturally, and how it has been quite hard, especially the physical act of holding a baby all day. But now it's getting easier and easier, and baby is so much more responsive to us. Watching Bernard develop and enjoying his bubbly company has become the most important part of it. I suppose the hardest part right now is worrying if i am doing the right thing, eg. feeding and watering him correctly, talking to him and stimulating him enough, being strict or gentle enough etc. I thought that would all come easily but it hasn't.
Right now N is sitting opposite me eating home baked cookies and saying, "I wish I had a Refresh button." Today I had a massive cook-in: I boiled up a week's worth of babyfood, baked cookies and made pumpkin and coconut curry for lunch. It was a good antidote to the cold rainy weather. We are forecast a week more of continuous rain and flooding. Bernard is asleep in his cot. I just got back from going out BY MYSELF to join Emma and friends to celebrate her birthday on Chicken Street. We had a feast of barbecued chicken, followed by dancing in the street to The Only Way is Up. I am in charge of putting the video on YouTube. The motorbikes that went past called us, respectively, "crazy" and "drunk".
I've been wanting to write about Motherhood. People keep asking me, "So what is motherhood like? Did it come naturally?" The most general questions are the hardest and I tend to just talk from whatever mood I'm in at that moment. I guess I was surprised how it didn't all come naturally, and how it has been quite hard, especially the physical act of holding a baby all day. But now it's getting easier and easier, and baby is so much more responsive to us. Watching Bernard develop and enjoying his bubbly company has become the most important part of it. I suppose the hardest part right now is worrying if i am doing the right thing, eg. feeding and watering him correctly, talking to him and stimulating him enough, being strict or gentle enough etc. I thought that would all come easily but it hasn't.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
crawling
he is officially crawling as of yesterday. he figured out how to crawl without flopping onto his tummy each time - it involves lifting his arms up very straight for each step; looks like hard work.
today i went back to work. mindy has a double breast pump she bought in the states so she now takes half the time to get pumped, and can therefore enjoy luxuries such as a coffee, sitting in the staff room and going to the toilet during breaktime. i'm seething with jealousy, but then she is working full time. i have decided to stay at just sixty percent next year as well. i'm hoping it is the right decision; i've got a feeling bernard will want me around more rather than less as time goes by. if we don't have enough money i can always phone up my artist friend and teach him english (i.e. sit in his motor car and chat) for a couple hours a week! i'm reassured that n is paid for the next couple of years anyway. after that my novel will pay for everything (joke!!!!!!).
while i was typing the above, bernard had crawled to the table, and is now feasting on a pile of small pieces of paper. oh dear i think he just swallowed rather a lot. got to go!
today i went back to work. mindy has a double breast pump she bought in the states so she now takes half the time to get pumped, and can therefore enjoy luxuries such as a coffee, sitting in the staff room and going to the toilet during breaktime. i'm seething with jealousy, but then she is working full time. i have decided to stay at just sixty percent next year as well. i'm hoping it is the right decision; i've got a feeling bernard will want me around more rather than less as time goes by. if we don't have enough money i can always phone up my artist friend and teach him english (i.e. sit in his motor car and chat) for a couple hours a week! i'm reassured that n is paid for the next couple of years anyway. after that my novel will pay for everything (joke!!!!!!).
while i was typing the above, bernard had crawled to the table, and is now feasting on a pile of small pieces of paper. oh dear i think he just swallowed rather a lot. got to go!
Sunday 3 January 2010
xmas 2009 (cont)
Christmas morning walk to mango bay
b unwraps a beautiful hand knit scarecrow
b getting excited about his present
pine forest ho tuyen lam dalat
xmas 2009 (cont)
a little adventure: we found ourselves trotting round this beautiful lake through pine forest; ended up here (at a shooting centre) where we waited for a local boat to take us back to the other side
forest
top of mt. lang bian, highest peak in dalat. daddy earned respect from a group of hot and tired aussies.
our hotel in dalat: Hang Nga Crazy House
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