Blogging Jumble.

Yes, I know....where the hell have I been?
Well, having observed Bubba for a couple of days acting a bit more wierd than normal I decided to ring NHS Direct and they instructed me to take him directly to A&E.....nothing like an over-reaction to set the heart racing!  Basically, to cut a long story short, we had to stay in hospital for 3 nights, nothing was wrong but they gave him a blood test, 3 lumbar punctures and an IV course of antibiotics for good measure.  The nurses were amazing but the doctors a nightmare as they insisted Bubba must be having seizures or something equally worrying.....there was simply no telling them that he just has bad wind and was rather tired.
Speaking of nightmares, the following day after leaving hospital it was Baby Clinic time and I trundled up there for the first time, (no pesky Health Visitors invading my home anymore...hooray)!  The 'lady' looked at Bubba's bum in horror.  I should point out that due to the antibiotics we were enjoying a runny poo festival which had given my son a sore bum.  It was a straighforward sore bum for which I was administering lashings of Sudocrem and it was clearing slowly.  Not so according to the 'lady'.  He most definately had thrush and I was neglecting to seek proper treatment.  I tried to explain that a Paediat.....Baby Doctor had seen him the previous day but she was having none of it.  Baby was crying, I was stressed and I left almost in tears.  Not a good experience.  I want to take my baby's perfectly healed bum and stick it right in that bitch's face.  I hope she has thrush.

On the crafting front I am mostly cracking on with a crochet blanket for my middle-little sister to take to Uni later this year.  I must say I'm rather pleased with it although it meant I just had to buy more wool much to my partners dismay......by dismay I mean "What the fuck do you need more bastard wool for"?  Hehe.

Bubba is now 11 weeks old and amuses himself by peeing on me every time I change his nappy...little bugger.  He took it to new heights the other night when he projectile shat all over me....not good at 3am and having just peed all over the first clean nappy, (and my shoulder).  We've moved him into his own room and the big cot...mainly for sanity reasons but partially to protect my partner....if I see him sleeping whilst I'm feeding the baby then I really want to kill him.  Bubba sleeps much better now.  I'm planning to go back to Baby Clinic and tell the 'lady' that I've made this move and also tried him on a spoon of baby rice.  That should rile the bitch a wee bit!!

Right, that beer in the fridge is simply not going to drink itself.  I think I should adjust my pre-baby aspirations of becoming Mother of the Year.....I honestly thought it would be easy!!

Give Me Strength!

Phew!  Been one hell of a day and it's not over yet!  My bubba has spent most of it screaming.....not crying, actually wailing and shrieking.  It's utterly heartbreaking.  He's really tired but as soon as he gets off to sleep he throws his arms in the air and cries out.....I have concluded that it's trapped wind as he's farting for Wales every time I pick him up.  I've given him Infacol and he's downed almost 5oz of water (even refused milk as it's water he wanted) but nothing seems to shift his bloody wind.  I suspect that it's not the formula so much as all the other variables that cause these problems.  Have the bottles been sterilised correctly, did you make up the bottle bang-on and to the right temperature, how long before you fed him did you make the bottle etc etc.  It really is tough for a mum who so desperately wanted to breastfeed to see her baby going through this pain.
I'm just trying to ride the formula train until I can start the weaning process but it's very hard.
He's now straining and crying to have a poo so I need to give him reassuring cuddles with a G&T for me afterwards me thinks!
Wish me luck! xxx

Me Likey Long Time!

Wowsers!  I hear you cry...surely not two posts in one day!  I had to hop on and link an awesome new blog belonging to a new friend of mine.  We met, (in the virtual sense), through our pregnancy and thankfully she has decided to also write a blog.  Excellent news for me as I can have a nosey at a mum who also has a teeny baby.

Having just read the first post I can tell I'm going to love it and thought you might too!!

Here's the link...go have a peep :)

http://manic-mum-day.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Kerry xxx

While You Were Sleeping.

My darling son is not a great sleeper, he will fight with all his might to stay awake and has been known to allow me less than two hours sleep during the night.  It seems to have been decided, (although I wasn't invited to the meeting), that I will do all of the nightly feeding/cuddling/changing and for that reason I set up camp downstairs on the sofa.  Yes, our front room is not only a small zoo but also a nursery at the moment.  Now, the official reason for this is that my partner is working and needs his sleep but I would like to share with you the real reason.

Picture the scene for a moment:
It's 2am, darling baby is screaming and I trudge downstairs to make up a bottle.....I wish I had been able to breastfeed.  I perch, very uncomfortably, on the edge of our super-squishy matress and start to feed bubba.  My head is bobbing about all over the place as I fight off sleep, (it really is a miracle that I haven't dropped him during the night), and my partner stirs.  Does he check that we're ok?  Does he hell!  He rolls over as if to avoid being disturbed by our happy little party.  Were I not holding a baby, it is at this moment that I would smash his face in.  I really, really want to lash out at him and I can only put it down to sheer exhaustion coupled with a baby screeching in my earhole.  Instead of smothering him with a pillow I sit downstairs, make a brew and put the telly on....ok, I usually have a sneaky bag of Wotsits too but I need the energy, (no wonder I still look pregnant)!!

I long to climb back into bed, (the sofa is extremely uncomfortable), but I fear that my mugshot may end up all over the news.  NEW MUM BLUDGEONS SLEEPING PARTNER WITH A TOMMEE TIPPEE!

Alas, I fear I am destined to sleep on the sofa evermore......

In The Bag Baby!

Well, here I am again having finally surfaced 9 weeks after giving birth, (can you call it giving birth if you had a c-section?!), and I'm ready to crack on once again with the blogging malarky.
You may notice some changes to my blog....I am now a mumbling mum and the crafting, although not gone completely, has taken a serious back seat.
I've learned so much over the past few weeks.  You could say that I've had a peep behind the puppet show and seen the strings.....motherhood is bloody hard work....and quite lonely...very frustrating...constant worrying and an absolute delight all rolled into one, (although very much the hard stuff in these early weeks).
I could ramble for pages about babies and my own wee beastie but would probably not blog very much having done so.  Instead I'll dedicate each post to something I've learned or just want to share.
Please please please write comments and give feedback as I'd love to think that a struggling mum may one day read this and find some solice in our experiences.

So, my first post is all about what to take to the hospital in your labour bag.  I must have read 20 lists detailing everything I would need and quite frankly they missed out at least one very, very important item.

Massive, over-the-belly-and-far-far-away pants.  Here's why:

I didn't expect to have a c-section, I knew about them but it didn't really click that I might have to have one.  I did.  So, it's the day after my op, I'm bleeding (a lot), can't even bear to think about my wound and basically just crying a lot.  I need to use one of those super-delux enormous pads (they were included in the list) but unfortunately the top of my knickers sit right in the fold where my darling son emerged from and I definately can't wear them.  It didn't occur to me (well, I was very busy weeping) that I could get enormous pants from just about anywhere so I didn't request that anyone bring me any.  Instead I sat on a giant bed pad feeling grubby and disgusting for 3 days.....oh, the joys of motherhood!  Upon returning home I went straight out and bought 15 pairs and proudly wear them to this day, (although my belly is very, very slowly shrinking).
My partner finds said pants particularly amusing and takes every opportunity to hold a pair aloft and declare that he thought they were a babygrow/tent/t-shirt and chuckle merrily.  Sometimes you just don't realise how much danger you are really in!
Ladies - Don't forget your massive pants!!

So, what's the one thing you'd advise a mother-to-be must bring to the hospital?

I couldn't sign off without a photo of my bubba :

Look What I Made!

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all.  I trust you had a fantastic festive season and now enjoying the anti-climax of the new year!
Baby Jones in finally here having been delivered, eventually, by c-section on Dec 28th.  He weighed in at 7lb 8oz and is without doubt the most amazing human being ever!  I can't bear to put him down or stop sniffing him...I hope this is normal!
We had a massive fail with breastfeeding despite my absolute commitment to getting it right.  A real blow to the confidence but I now have a much happier baby who actually slept for a total of 8 hours last night...not bad for 8 days old!
I never realised what a complete shock to the system childbirth would be and that i would weep without warning most of the time.  I'm so lucky to have Mr Beastie for support, I simply don't know how any woman manages on her own - it must be very tough going.

Here are some photos of the wee man:

Happy Christmas Eve!

Well, how about that for a break from blogging?  Feels like forever since I last posted and I wish I had an excuse such as 'Baby has arrived'.  But, alas, I am now overdue and awaiting the inevitable Christmas Day Labour Fiasco to begin.  Lets face it, if anyone is going to be up to their armpits in contractions when they should be eating cakes it's going to be me!  I can't say I mind too much though, the excitement of finally meeting my son and first child is almost overwhelming and I know that every single contraction is one closer to that special moment.
Well, it's Christmas Eve and I shall mostly be restricting my cleaning frenzy today...although massive swollen fingers and ankles have meant that I'm not in the mood for anything really, (please note - I know all about my swollen bits being an indication of serious things but I am fine, baby is fine and I officially closed my ears to negative comments and all the horrific things that can go wrong)!! 
Despite being fully prepared for Christmas this year I still have a few things to construct craft-wise so may indulge in a spot of sewing today....when Baby arrives I doubt I'll get any sewing time for a while so best make the most of it I guess.

I do hope that you are all looking forward to Christmas and New Year this year and that you will be spending it with loved ones and people that love you.  Try not to stress out, what's the point?
Catch you all on the flip side of festivities and childbirth (fingers crossed) and may 2011 bring everything that you need for a most excellent year xxx