The art of happiness

Last night

BAD: kiddiewinks went to sleep very late
BAD: agonising backache
BAD: unstoppable tickly cough

This morning

GOOD: sunny
GOOD: girlie slept in my bed (rather than on me) for first time in her 11.5 weeks and slept just as soundly (only waking for three feeds)
BAD: boy woke her at 5am when he decided we should all wake up
GOOD: man took boy and girlie so I could lie in
GOOD: cough has turned into a sore throat - while bf I can't take cough medicine but I can suck strepsils :-)
GOOD: backache mostly gone! :-)
BAD: girlie's cough made her puke in my bed at her 6.30am feed, scuppering my lie in
GOOD: we will have nice clean sheets this evening :-)
GOOD: man still loves me despite being grumpy in the mornings

And this is how to be happy. All in all, life is wonderful. Time for a shower and breakfast.

An ordinary life

Today I'm tireder than usual because I went out last night. With my two month old daughter and just to a positive birth meeting, but it was nice to sit around with other women and drink tea and eat cake, to be out of the house. I felt a bit more me. Though it meant a late night.

This evening it's windy and rainy outside. I'm cosy curled up on the sofa with my baby girl sleeping on my chest, a lovely snuggly soft blanket covering us, the room around me slowly getting darker...waiting for the man to get the boy to sleep so I can eat more and maybe watch something funny on TV.

Life is full of blessings.

A wake up present

From my 2.5 year old son, delivered with a cuddle and a kiss. My heart is melting.

Friday night dilemma

Organic lettuce so organic that even on fifth (very thorough) wash, the water is full of aphids. Do I keep washing it, just eat it or throw it...?

This evening's great pleasures

Cutting tomatoes with an exceptionally sharp knife.

Mastering the art of feeding my infant in a sling while writing this/cooking our dinner (fajitas).

Tasting my homemade guacamole (best yet!).

Snacking on baked cauliflower leaves.

Listening to my son and husband chat, while one tries to make the other sleep, while the other tries to keep the other one awake.

The soothing sounds of fajita sauce bubbling on the hob, the hum of the tumble dryer, the tick of the clock through the baby monitor and the occasional satisfied baby sound of my nursing infant as she falls asleep.

The knowledge that soon both kids will be asleep and I'll be eating a yummylicious dinner.

Contentment is...

Front and back lawn mowed and strimmed with baby in sling, and toddler sweeping and guardian of house keys. Blue skies, sunshine, sounds of neighbours lawnmowers, toddler nibbling chocolate buttons, baby feeding, me about to eat bagels. All is well with our world.

Sleep deprivation dreams

Dreamt I had a migraine and was explaining an aura to someone who'd never had one, then woke up with one. I think I'd rather have more interesting dreams, like going to the moon or eating candy floss clouds or living in a tree house or doing yoga in India. But no, I dream I have a migraine.

Logistics ninja in the making

We're now three weeks in with a 2.5 year old and (obviously) a three week old.

Last night was "baby awake for no reason, baby feeds, goes to sleep, toddler wakes and wails "want mamaaaaa", has mama cuddles, falls asleep, baby wakes, does big poo, wants to feed, toddler wakes and wails "want mamaaaaa" and so on". Logistical nightmare. Thank goodness for an equal partnership daddy. My respect for single parents, while always been high, is at all time high this morning.

Today I had a logistical victory. I have just figured out the logistics of doing a poo. Usually involves putting baby in a sling or putting her in the car seat and propping it up in the doorway more vertically so (a) she doesn't vomit (refluxy baby) and (b) there's no chance she'll get smacked in the head while I'm not able to move!

While I currently have no idea how I'll ever be able to leave the house on my own with two, I'm aware that this is one logistical nightmare down, a small victory from the outside, but a huge achievement from where I'm currently sitting (no longer on the loo, you'll be pleased to know!)

Sleep times

We're slowly settling into newborn/toddler sleep patterns and getting used to four in a bed. Cosleeping certainly helps with breastfeeding and my nine-day old has now well exceeded her birth weight on boob alone.

Anyway, while she may be awake for hours overnight, the toddler has slept through the last three nights (amazing and a first for him), which helps massively as he refuses to sleep in his own room at the moment. I've tried asking him why and this is our conversation.

Me: why don't you like your room anymore?

Him: dream outside in dark. Scared.

Me: there's a scary dream when it's dark outside?

Him: uh hmmm. Mama cleaned it away and gone to real dark now.

Me: the scary dream in the dark has gone to the real dark now?

Him: um hmmm. Scared. Dream, dark outside.

Me: but your room isn't scary anymore because mama cleaned the dream away.

Him: hmm. Dream walked away into real dark outside. Scared. Sleep in mama room.

I think that's his final word on things. Not sure how to convince him that his room is fine, but obviously in his mind, it's not OK. Not at night anyway. Nap time sleep in his room is fine. I guess we need to keep our dialogue open on this one!

Anyway, I came across this article on reasons why toddlers won't sleep and found it rang true and made me laugh, so I'm sharing it here.

Little luxuries

Today I am revelling in the luxury of being able to sleep on my side OR my back. It is heavenly.

I can't sleep on my front still, but this is small price to pay for nourishing my child.

* No sleep on back during pregnancy due to pressure on major blood vessels due to weight of baby; no sleep on side immediately post c-section due to pain; and no sleep on front due to breastfeeding - discomfort and risk of blocked ducts...