Playtime

Brain Dead

I've finally got a bit of time to myself this afternoon and I have posts I want to write, but I am brain dead! Adam has been sick this week which means I've had less time to myself (as he can't take Hamish in case he passes on his cold to him) and I feel a bit zapped.

Plus my weeks seem really busy with out of the house stuff at the moment - I've got a wall planner up now to plan my week on so I can try to schedule in a couple of days at home each week.

This has been my day so far:
3.30am wake up and feed Hamish
5.30am ditto
7am ditto and nappy change, quick pray and bible read
9am another feed and officially 'get up' for the day. Change nappy again and get dressed in front of heater (it's freezing!)
9.45am go to cafe and collect bacon and egg rolls for breakfast, and BIG coffee
10.15am another feed for Hamish, followed by another nappy change (I think...can't really remember!)
10.45am put clothes I washed last night on the line, put load of nappies in washing machine, get ready to go to mothers group
11am catch bus to mothers group. Stay there for just over an hour, which includes another feed and nappy change.
12.15pm go to Coles and do weekly shop. Also go to chemist to get cold and flu stuff for Adam.
1pm Adam collects me and we come home. Unpack shopping.
1.30pm feed Hamish and do his nappy
2pm cook chicken soup for lunch. Give dogs a bone.
2.30pm eat soup standing up while holding a screaming baby
2.45pm feed Hamish who finally falls asleep
3.15pm put on another load of washing and put clean nappies in drier.

I don't know if that gives an accurate impression of the day - basically I haven't stopped and a lot of the time while getting stuff done I'm carrying around 5.3kgs of baby at the same time which gets a bit tiring.

I haven't walked the dogs, brought the bins back in or cleaned up after lunch - but on the plus side, I have managed to eat lunch, get myself dressed and out of the house, and here I am blogging so I guess I'm managing ok! Phew.

I don't have anything on tomorrow so hopefully it will be a bit less hectic.

Life is good

Although life isn't perfect, it is good. I am enjoying being at home and running the house, and feel satisfied to be at this stage in life finally.

Crying Baby, Howling Malamute

Saffy has taken it upon herself to join in when Hamish cries. This is particularly delightful when it is 9am and I don't want to get up - having a crying baby is bad enough but when the dog starts howling...thank goodness our neighbours are understanding!

Less than Perfect

A related point to my post below is the fact that life is never going to be perfect. The last few years have been hard going for Adam and I for one reason or another, and I've often longed for things to settle down and for life to become easier.

I've realised recently that this is a false hope - life will have its ups and downs but the idea that we can engineer things so life is perfect is not going to get us anywhere. Of course we can make life easier or harder for ourselves by choosing this or that, but so much of it is out of our control.

Luckily, we will arrive at a perfect life - just have to wait for heaven!

The passing of time

I've had lots of thoughts floating round the last couple of weeks, about the passing of time and how we should live life. I don't really know how to put it into words, but I'll try! It's still all a bit of a mish-mash in my head, but perhaps writing it down will help me clarify it.


I guess I've become aware of time passing in my life and how we are all, inevitably, headed towards the grave. Sobering I know, but I think if we are to die in the end, that must impact on how we live now.


Obviously having Hamish has brought this to mind, particulary when introducing him to his great grandparents - seeing the youngest generation meeting the eldest is very special, and speaks of the passing of time. Also the fact that Adam and I have been together for long enough now for our shared memories to go back over 10 years which is a bit strange! We're entering our next decade, the 30's, which is an apt time for reflection on where we're at in life, and where we're heading.

Sometimes it seems to me that the longer life goes on, the more sad stuff happens - and more joyful stuff happens too. Life in all its beauty and ugliness unfolds before us and both aspects grow stronger the longer we are on this earth. I've become more aware of the unavoidability of this and how little control I really have over the world around me. The uncertainty is scary, but I know God is in control and looks after His children. I also know that nothing will be perfect in this world, and that God's plan extends beyond my years here.

Living life is like running a marathon where the finish line is not death, but just beyond it. We're not here to achieve perfection or 'nirvana' in this life, but to be part of God's family in the ever after, beyond this world and beyond death.

Anyway, tied in with this is how I want to approach raising kids. So far I've come to the conclusion that the great duty of parents is to prepare their kids for their journey through the world and to point them towards Heaven.

This means teaching our kids how to run their own race and giving them the tools they need to make it to the end - to appreciate the beauty and comprehend the ugliness, and to make it across the finish line into God's kingdom. What a huge privilege and responsibility.

My prayer for Hamish is that, at the end of his life, he will be able to echo the apostle Paul's words to Timothy: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

As for how to achieve this on a practical level, I'm still working on that!

OK, I'm enjoying it now

8 weeks in and life with baby is a lot more enjoyable than it was at first. We're getting the hang of things and having more fun. Hamish is sleeping well at night, and not crying as much during the day, and these things combined make life more relaxed and fun. He's also getting cuter and smiling lots!

The thing that keeps coming into my mind is how the bible talks about God 'delighting' in His creation and His people (eg 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me).

This is how I feel about Hamish - I delight in him. He is such a joy. Mind you, the hard stuff is still there, but there's more good stuff now to balance it out.

Too cute - smiles at 8 weeks

Just another day in the McCann household...

On the train again - with one major difference!

Today we caught a train to see my lovely grandparents. Although it was not Hamish's first time on a train (after all, he was there when I was struggling into work!), it was his first time as an Outside Baby, so I took some photos to mark the occasion.

As you can see, he was quite overwhelmed by the experience...

Attracting Attention

Going out in public with a baby in a sling is a sure-fire way to attract attention. Every time I've been out with Hamish so far at least two people have stopped to comment. Often it's older women saying what a good idea it is, and how they didn't have slings back in their day.

The other most common reaction is people doing double takes, and then saying (either to me or whoever they are with) "Oh, it's a baby in there!!"

We also get mums saying to their kids "Can you see the little baby?"

I've been reading a little bit today about 'babywearing' - there's a school of thought that reckons it's the best way to nurture a baby because they are close to you and feel secure. For me, I like it because it keeps my hands free, allows me to get around without a bulky pram, settles Hamish quickly, and feels nice! It's a lovely way to bond. I do think it's a bit funny after having a baby inside for 9 months to put them in cots and prams etc straight away. It makes sense that they want to be held.

Does get tiring though - but not as much as just holding them in your arms.

Giving birth

For those of you who are interested, you can read an account of what it was like for me to give birth here: http://www.birth.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=1107876#post1107876

I wrote it to remember what happened, and also to share with other members of the forum. I found it really interesting to read of other people's experiences when I was pregnant, so thought I might as well add my story to the mix.

(Don't worry - it's not too graphic!)

Welcome back beer

Mum very kindly looked after Hamish for an hour or two today so Adam and I could go out to lunch for his birthday. We went to the local sailing club and had a nice bistro meal looking out over the water.

I had a beer with lunch -the first beer I've had for about 11 months. It went straight to my head! It was Carlton Draught.

I like a good beer.

Diving

I am enjoying watching the synchronized diving on the tv. It's amazing what they can do!

Also

Adam is a hard worker. I admire this about him.

My wonderful husband

Today is Adam's 30th birthday. I think he is a fine 30 year old and I am lucky to be his wife :)

I've been thinking of things I like about Adam, and here's one - he's very practical, much more so than me. He knows how to do things the right way, so they don't end in disaster. This comes in handy as I am completely useless in this area (not that it worries me if things end in disaster but it's nice to prevent it occasionally!). For example, Adam taught me how to cook things all the way through, instead of getting impatient and eating things before they are ready. He taught me about the 'danger zone' with food - it's not good for you to have food that's not hot or cold enough. (Can you tell I had very low food standards before I met him? lol)

I will often come up with really bad ideas for how to fix things around the house, and he always explains to me why my idea won't work (or won't work for very long). And then he fixes it the sensible way.

Another thing I like about Adam is he knows how to do cool things, like how to bake bread and how to shoot stuff with a gun. Wow! What a man...

A moving post

I found this post on Nicole's blog quite moving. Worth a read.

Things I'm not doing

This is a list of things I'm not doing that I apparently should be doing if I don't want Hamish to turn into a juvenile delinquent:

• Read him 3 books a day
• Talk to him all the time (for language development)
• Give him at least 10 minutes a day on his tummy (referred to as "tummy time" by the professionals!)
• Bathe him once a day (hahaha - I'm lucky to bathe myself once a day at the moment!)
• Sterilise all dummies etc at least once a day (who has the time?)

I'm sure there's more to add, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Happy puppies after a walk

Options

If I had the choice between being pregnant, giving birth or looking after a newborn in the first few weeks of their life, I honestly think I would choose to go through labour and birth over the other two - it was the easiest of the three! Plus it only took 11 hrs...

Can I just say....

...Hamish is really, really cute! He's like a little pixie :)

Getting mobile

Today Hamish and I had our first outing together on public transport - we caught the bus to Gosford to go to mother's group. This is how we get around together at the moment:

Raining Rollerblades

Last night Adam heard a thump outside. He went out to investigate, and found a rollerblade on our roof! On further investigation, there was half a scooter in our yard as well, and a whole scooter outside the fence.

There were some kids hanging around so he asked them if they were responsible and they denied it (but then what were they doing hanging around?)

Adam decided that it would be sensible to remove the rollerblade from the roof, so picture the scene:

8.30pm, cold and dark. Me holding the torch. Adam on the step ladder with an impromptu claw made from two old meat hooks attached to some rope, hurling it at the rollerblade which is lit up for all the world to see by the torch. He got it down after a few attempts - I was impressed!

The kids were still hanging around so Adam called the local police, who said they'd do a driveby. Not sure if they did or not in the end.

We've kept the rollerblade and scooters, in case someone comes looking for them.

It was all very bizarre!

Walking

Today I walked the dogs, with Hamish in a sling. Not an outing for the faint-hearted! I was very careful to only walk on streets where it was easy to take evasive action if another dog came along, to avoid situations where I could get pulled off my feet.

I don't think I'll manage it every day, but it does make life a lot easier if the dogs get some regular exercise and in winter, it's too dark and cold to do it when Adam gets home from work, so I'm going to try to do it myself as much as possible.

Fresh

This is one from the hospital, about 3 hours after Hamish was born. He looks so little! We weighed him on Thursday and he was about 4.25kgs, which is up from 3.38kgs at birth.

143 Days

Apparently there are 143 days till Christmas - Toys'R'Us have a countdown timer on their website. A bit early to be counting down if you ask me!!

The week ahead

Adam goes back to work tomorrow after 6 weeks off, so I will be home alone. Planning on seeing mum, buying Adam's birthday present (with mum's kind assistance), going to mother's group, seeing friends on Wednesday, and having a few quiet days at home. Need to do some tidying up and catch up on emails etc.

Will be attempting public transport with Hamish - think I'll use a sling to carry him around.

Men and Women

An interesting post from Soph about the differences between men and women.