Pretty. In Pink!

 Watch the clip Pretty in Pink - Psychedelic Furs (1986)


Strapped to a skyrocket, we prepare to be shot into the sky at an alarming pace. Its not the going up that worries me, nor the speed at which we will ascend, but it's that potential BANG!! at the end.... that's the scary part. But, we have gone past the point of turning back, its onwards and upwards now - and we've got a brand new baby girl home from hospital, just four days after she was born!!! =8^O

Oh man, isn't she pretty in pink! Isn't she?

Its funny how surreal this all seems. The better half has a baby by caesarian one day, has a few short days of sumptuous nursing care and attention, then its "off you go, you're on your own now". As we strapped our brand new baby girl into the child restraint in our car, I thought to myself, 'how many people get the same sense of awesome responsibility just about now? No.... check that.... I think its more like a very LARGE brick falls out of the sky onto your head which reads: 'REALITY - IT'S YOURS'!!!!

It doesn't seem to matter how prepared you are, or how many times you've done this all before - there's still this amazing blend of wonder, doubt, confidence and blessing that washes over you like a summer storm.

Sophie was lucky though. We brought her home to a loving household, with doting grandparents on standby ready to receive their long awaited little gift from the heavens. Both Nana's are tickled PINK , and glad to see a bit of gender balance being injected into our small family. My parents especially were digging the new grand daughter gig and they stayed for the first few days after Sophie came home to lend an experienced set of hands. It was much appreciated.

Anyway, a week has gone by now and Sophie, it seems, has been here before. She has already settled into good routines with 4 hourly no fuss breastfeeds and she sleeps like a quiet little lamb. When she is awake, she is calm and serene and takes things in without distress, with a hint of knowing that you might expect from old souls.

Despite the odd worry, tears and fears that our lil' fella Ryan might feel outta sorts with all the new changes, he's done impeccably well. He's shown a real interest in Sophie Belle and been prepared to share his toys and mother's love without jealousy. Mum can't pick him up though (he's now 13kgs!!) as she needs to wait another 5 weeks or so for her caesar op scar to heal.

Daddy Day Care has already been doing his bit with the heavy loads - hanging the washing, lifting Ryan all day long and moving anything that the ol' chook can't lift. What was the line in that old Madonna song.... "everything I give comes back to me"??? Yep, it has, already... things couldn't get any better than this =)

Kids grow up so fast. One day they are in nappies and everything you do seems to be just for them. The next, they are teenagers stepping out into the big bad world. There's only a few precious moments in the vast scale of time where our kids actually WANT US to be around, to be part of their life.

Take the time to be there. It doesn't ever last long enough.

Be good blogmunchkins, talk to you again soon!!

Hodgie

Fast Forward!

Now I know what a DVD feels like, especially after someone with the remote has skipped through loads of scenes at high speed!

Well, to say that things have moved along since the last post just a few days ago would be to mildly understate reality. Put it this way, if we were at Cape Canaveral, we would definitely be hearing "Houston, we have a lift off!"! After waiting and waiting for nine whole months....well, 39.5 weeks actually... to meet our newest addition to the gene pool, she made an Express Post delivery last Friday, 12 November.

Bugger this waiting for mum to get her body into gear! Stuff the waiting around for the cervix to ripen and dilate! Our girl decided that while mum might be a great brooder, she sure doesn't seem like much of a hatcher. Doctors... and babies, it seems, don't like waiting.

In reality, mother hen just wasn't showing all the signs of a healthy and normal late pregnancy. For medical reasons the decision was made to to take the safer journey of a c-section delivery. And Friday was the chosen day!!

Do you know just how weird it is to walk into hospital with your better half in the morning, only to be confronted only hours later with this cute little wriggling gift from the womb? Its like going from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds flat! No easing into things, no build up of expectation and no endless hours of hearing mum groan like a chook with an egg stuck half in and half out. Nup, in fact, after what seems like 20 or so minutes after the caesarian is commenced, there you are trying to grip the side of your chair so you can get rid of the sense of disbelief that its all over. Not that I mean that in any negative way - but its just all over so damn quickly!

Never mind me, I think I'm just in mourning. I'm gonna miss that giant pregnant rice bubble that has slipped into bed beside me for the last 9 months. Now the baby is here, there is a little sadness in me (soppy as it is), that this beautiful little stage of glowing motherhood is over once again for my little chook =8^(

But, on the bright side, we now have a BABY GIRL!!!!!!!

World, meet Sophie. Sophie, this is the world!

If anyone does actually read this dribble of mine, you might be happy to know that everything did really go just like textbook. Both mum and bub are healthy and doing fine. Sophie weighed in at a small, but worry free 2.96kg, or 6lb 8.5oz in the old scale. She's a good stretch of a girl just like her mother and measured 51 cm from crown to heel.

She's already met her big brother (Ryan, 20 months) and had her first hospital bath to wash away that greasy coat of vernix and dried blood. Mum has been able to get the environmentally sustainable breast milk supply flowing freely and the pair of them have already imprinted and bonded without any drama. Even Ryan seems to be okay about having a little sister... although she *did* bribe him with a small Lego gift that she managed to buy on the way out from the womb >;^)

With luck, mum and bub will be home early this week, then our family life can settle into the routine that millions have experienced before. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for us its the small things that count. The joy of experiencing life again through kids eyes is something every hardcore punter out there should do!

From little things, big things grow =)

Be good Bloggers, I'm off to visit my two amazing women in hospital.

Hodgie

SPASM!

"Oh my God! I'm having a spasm!!!" shrieks the old girl.

Well, it really was more of a quite murmur, but spasm was definitely the keyword at play here. "Spasm, as in baby contractions?" I ask. "Spasms, yep.... as in the little bugger is trying to bore its way out of me RIGHT NOW =8^O " was the reply. The mind races, checklists start blinking through the cranial space that doubles as a peanut gallery and the adrenaline really starts to flow.

So this is it, we look like we are off and running!

Well, er...... no, as it turns out.

Last night, Helen's little "baby version of her" must have thought it was time to rehearse the parachute manoeuvre, getting ready to JUMP when the light shone through the escape hatch. Rehearsal it was, sadly, as things seem like they have gone quite again today. Oh well, for a few hours there, it seemed like we were ready for lights and sirens and a quick Ducati paced hop into our country town hospital.

Man, this waiting gig over the last few days has been exciting! I almost want to leave the car running (despite the enviro vandal badge I'd earn if I actually *did* leave the car running) just so we can do the 15km bolt to town without any delays. I mean, if things DO get left to the last minute, there'll be nothing else for it - I'll *definitely* have to fire up the Ducati then and strap the old girl to the back.... just so we can cut around 10 minutes off the trip to the hospital >;^)

Anyway, I'm only typing this little post because I'm anxiously whiling away the time while mother-to-be catches a few zed's. We're off to the quacks again this arvo to see what progress has been made. No doubt he'll ask pertinent questions like "has your cervix ripened?" ("what... like an apple???" I ask), or "have your water's broken?" ("um, well the bore pump actually broke the other day, if that's what you mean" I reply). If he needs to look and feel how dilated things are, I might just turn my head and whistle, just in case the baby has a chance to peer out and say "Huwwo Dadda!!".

Whatever the case, we're about 24 to 48 hrs away from meeting our new addition to the gene pool. Welcome to earth lil' mate =)

Hodgie

Hel with her number one son on board the old Ducati - it might be the quickest way to get her to hospital this second time around >;^)

On the Up

Heya Bloggerites!

Its been a busy week or so since my last post. Me and the better half are in countdown mode for baby number TWO, due at the end of this week (one way or another!), so the throttle has been screwed wide open trying to get all those last minute things done - you know, the things that *should* have been done about six months ago!

We've opened up Pandora's box with this one. A new bub in the house means major reshuffles for us, with the guest room being converted into a nursery, new furniture being knocked together (cots, change tables, chests of drawers, bookcases), more decorating and new light fittings to boot! All the crap that was being stored nice and conveniently in the spare room now has to find a new home... and there's just no space here for boxes and boxes of photos, art and craft materials,old uni notes, baby number ONE's toys and other paraphernalia. Its amazing seeing just how much stuff most of us accumulate over a short period of time - stuff that invariably we could really do without, especially when its just gathering dust and rarely gets a second lookover.

Oh well (sigh). Time for Hodgie to don his Viking helmet and swing the old battle axe into anything that resembles junk..... or maybe we'll just schedule a garage sale after the new bubba arrives and we've settled into parenthood, part two!! >;^)

More importantly, the better half is still... well, better...... and this 2nd pregnancy gig has done nothing to diminsh her non stop disco work ethic. Man, while most other ladies would be be-Othcing and com-Plaining as they struggle towards D Day ("D", for De baby is here!), my little sweet muffs is shining like a true champion. Here she is, 3 days out from her due date, jumping paddock fences, moving her horses around, gardening, weeding and chasing the chickens! If the baby comes out running, there won't be any surprises at all! =)

Anyway, amidst the chaos and busy demands of the last few weeks, I'm happy to report that there's a definite atmosphere of serenity, contentment and bliss right here right now. We've done about as much as we can to prepare baby number ONE for the arrival of his new little sibling and to make the nest as snug as any new duckling could desire, so its just down to waiting time now.

And best part of all, I've got a few weeks off to share with the old girl as she confronts motherhood head on again, so that's gotta be sweet! Things are definitely on the up!

Er...... but I *did* manage to sneak in an afternoon of climbing at the Dam Cliffs yesterday.... lets just call it "stress management"! >;^)

My ever smiling, rope carrying second on his way up Jug City, Dam Cliffs

Hel being pregger-licious with baby #2