Come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song

Morgan woke me up with backfists flying in my face this morning. The moment I woke up properly, she went back to sleep.  I suppose she is working on becoming a pain in the arse - just like her mum!

Once up, I cleaned her  up and fed her, then napped a bit more.  Woke up a couple of hours later or so, and started cleaning the bedroom furniture I got her. Man - the layer of dust is impressive on them pieces of furniture! By the time I'm done scrubbing them clean I'll have HUGE biceps! Eventually, Morgan woke up again, and so I fed her and cleaned her up again.  When she went back to sleep, I managed to sketch the Green Man's face on the top of the wooden panel in which the dressing table's mirror is set.  These guidelines were awesome!  I doodled it in white pencil so that once I paint it, I won't have issues rubbing it off.

My mum came over and helped me try to figure out the washing machine - alas, a pro needs to have a look at it.  Told the landlady and she said she'll contact the tech dude.  Hopefully it won't be long before he comes over to check it out.  I pretty much am screwed without it.

Morgan was even more smiley today. There were times when she just looked at me and smiled without me saying a word to her.  It is comforting to think that she knows that I love her and that she's happy with what I do with her.  That smile can light up even the crappiest and gloomiest of  days.

Before she left, my mum and I bathed Morgan and fed her.  I managed to clean up the furniture a bit more as well.


Morgan and I then watched Ella Enchanted - which, as cheesy as it may seem, I actually really like.  She spent the evening pretty much sleeping in my arms the whole time - except when she woke up to be fed and cleaned up.

When I put her to bed tonight, I read to her a couple of pages out of The Neverending Story again until she slept.

Goodnighty world!

Once asleep, I put away some more of her clothes, grabbed a bite, and tried to find a book of mine with no luck. A book I own two copies of... Ah well. It will turn up, I'm sure.

I'll be leaving you with a video clip of Morgan playing with Emily The Doll.

Goodnight!

29 March 2012

And I say Thank You for the music.

The furniture was delivered yesterday morning! I'm pretty stoked! I found out that the chest of drawers and the dressing table both have marble tops. This, to me, is awesome. I looked up some info about stripping paint off wood and it sounds more complicated than I thought it would be. Therefore, I may very well leave it as it is, and just add some designs on it myself. The wooden panels in which the mirrors are installed are my premeditated victims.

Morgan and I watched Practical Magic - and miraculously managed to watch all of it without any interruptions! She will grow sick of watching it, I assure you. Ah well - can't help it if I have taste!
My mum came over just as the movie ended, and we took Morgan with us for coffee. The trip there and back also got us a much-needed lamp shade for Morgan's room.

I can't wait to get the room all set up! It is exciting for more than one reason. This is the first room I bought. So yeah - kinda pleased about it!

The thing I was not pleased about was coming home to find the washing machine had decided not to drain the water used. Just then, Morgan decided that she was bored in her pram, and started whining. I was trying to wring the clothes from all the excessive water and calm her down at the same time. Thankfully, music came to the rescue. She likes music so much that it tends to calm her down in a matter of minutes.

Once the clothes were hung up to dry, we played for a short while, and eventually, she fell asleep only for me to have to wake her up half an hour later to feed her. Once fed and cleaned up, I put her to bed and we both slept.

I woke up a couple of hours later to prepare her bottles, and I stayed up for a short while to chat with a couple of friends and look up info about different Mother Goddesses so that I could post about them on The Pagan Mama.

In the morning, Morgan seemed to wake up in a good mood - as can be seen in the photo!

Alas, being gassy meant she was cranky most of the time. Thankfully, music helped calm her down at various points throughout the day. Music and being held.

My grandma is wanting me to go out again this weekend just so that Morgan can sleep over. I don't see it happening though. Two weekends in a row might be a bit too much too soon.

Today I realised how quickly time is going by. Morgan is already 2 months old now, and my time with her is rapidly running out. I have no idea how the hell I will handle the return back to work. I hope I get to work decent hours though. I wouldn't want to be at work until her bedtime.

 Morgan playing with her Granny [26 March 2012]

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

"No shit, fuckin Sherlock!!!!!"
 
I walked towards the elevator screaming that to the sales girl, at the top of my lungs.

Of course, the screaming all occured in my head.

I'll start from the beginning, shall I?

Yesterday morning I had to go collect Morgan's birth certificate from the Public Registry. I was going to get a ride with my bro, but his plans changed so I bussed it instead. Silly me forgot all about the Shirt Predicament. I remembered only when, the moment I got on the bus, a couple of buses popped open, causing me to make a right tit of myself due to my forgetting I need to always wear a tank top or something underneath shirts.

Ah well. First stop:

2 minutes later, and €5 poorer, I had resolved the issue. See?

Admittedly, I paused on my way to the shop to check out some kidlet clothes in a shop within the same shopping complex. Managed to walk out bare-handed. Go me!
I made my way down to the Public Registry and thankfully didn't have to wait at all to be served.
Now, I know I had said I'd look into the whole How To Put A Guy's Name On A Birth Certificate After Him Being Left Out. Well, I couldn't be arsed looking into it. I may do if I'm motivated at a later date, or if I need to. I'll update you accordingly.

Once I had acquired the birth certificate (which cost €2.33), I made my way over to the M&S food shop. Coffee and sushi were had. NOM. Since I had yet another errand to run about an hour or so later, I decided it was time to get something useful for myself - a _good_ bra that _fits_.
Alas, no such luck was had at M&S as they only had ONE bra in the WHOLE store that was my size, and yet it didn't fit properly. I asked the salesgirl "Is this the ONLY 38G bra in the whole shop?" To which she replied "That is a difficult size to come by."

Which brings us in a full circle as to why I started this blog entry the way I did.
*Deep breath*

Not yet resigned, and with quite some time left to waste, I decided to try my luck at another Undies Shop.
 
Thankfully, the salesperson in there was WAY more helpful and actually had.. *gasp* a SELECTION of such ginormous sizes. Thankfully it was just me in the shop, since there was a blackout and I had to keep the changing room's door ajar to see wtf I was doing.

I walked out of the shop FIFTY FRIGGIN EUROS poorer. Having said that, I probably will be spending many more 50s in that shop. (That is the cost of a SINGLE bra :-/).

I ran to catch the bus and met the same person in Balzan as last week and bought more clothes for Morgan. Once the transaction was completed, I got the bus back home, and went over to my Grandma's, picked up our stuff and Morgan and walked it over to my place.

Once home, Morgan and I relaxed a bit and soon it was 10:30pm! Not having a clue where time flew off to, I fed Morgan and put her to bed. I read a bit from The Neverending Story to her - voices and all - and she listened quietly and attentively, and eventually fell asleep - as did I.
 
On a side note, I was made admin of The Pagan Mama yesterday. Since then, I've been busy keeping the page as active as possible since the other admins are in the USA. Whilst they're asleep, I'm awake. Therefore we get 24hr coverage now, which is pretty spiffy!

This morning, I got Morgan and myself cleaned up, fed Morgan, and made our way to Paola to catch the bus to Cospicua. The reason? Furniture Garage Sale!

I called the Bus Company's Call Centre first to check which bus was best to get, and the person taking my call was as clueless as me. Unsure of whether I'd be reaching my 1destination or not, I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I somehow managed to find my way - although it was quite a long walk - mostly uphill (where there was no pavement, so I was quite knackered by the end of it) and it was fruitful!

Et voila!

This, will be Morgan's new room - all that needs to be added is a mattress, some shelves and toy boxes. Working on the boxes bit though! The furniture will get delivered tomorrow afternoon. I now can't wait til the current furniture is taken away and we get to use the newly acquired one!
The moment we left the garage sale, Morgan was protesting as she was hungry. Thankfully my trustworthy phone helped calm her down - I put on music and stuck the phone next to her in the pram. The music put her to sleep, which meant I could get us to Paola without any hassles.

The journey back to Paola had a tiny incident where, whilst stuck in a bit of traffic, some Shipyard workers standing outside of a food shop started throwing kisses and making lewd gestures in my generic direction. I sighed, shook my head sadly and waved goodbye. It was so sad, it was borderline funny. You'd think a pram would act as a deterrent. Go figure!
 
Once in Paola, I stopped at a cafeteria in a shopping complex close to the bus stop, and fed Morgan and myself. Right after we were done, I managed to make use of the nappy changer in the handicapped toilets next door to the ladies' toilets. It looked like it had seen better days, so it was a bit daunting. At least it had a safety belt, so that made me feel a bit more at ease.


Once Morgan was all cleaned up, we made our way back home, and after a short while a friend came over for a bit, and whilst she was here, I fed and cleaned up Morgan again.

We are now finally relaxing a bit - listening to Practical Magic's soundtrack, whilst Morgan sleeps in her rocker.

Oh oh I almost forgot! I found a pair of purple fairy wings hanging from a tree branch on my way to the garage sale. They're awesome! They'll be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and put in Morgan's room.

Cut my life into pieces - This is my last resort

As those of you who follow the blog know, Morgan was born via C-Section. It wasn't planned that way - I actually had every intention of attempting natural birth - free of painkillers, even! Alas it was not meant to be.
I covered the details of the operation itself in a previous entry. What I wished to emphasise today is that a C-Section is not something to be taken lightly. A lot of people seem to think of it as a quick fix, or an easy way out. The truth is - a C-Section is MAJOR surgery. One with side-effects that can last until the day you die.

The side-effects I speak of are namely scar tissue, and nerve damage. It has been just over a week since I've been sliced and diced, and my incision feels numb. The numbness starts from just above my belly button, and extends halfway down to my pubic mound. It makes for a very peculiar sensation - almost as if you're wearing something that is too tight which is blocking your circulation. From what I read, the numbness lasts anywhere between a few months, and the day you die. When you're cut open, nerves are cut through too. This causes damages to them that can be beyond repair.

Although from the outside, the scar itself is looking neat, I can feel scar tissue building up on the inside, and this makes it more uncomfortable for me.

I have complained about the lack of independence you have to deal with when you're pregnant in another post, however C-Section recovery is even worse. How? Well.. I have been instructed not to carry anything heavier than Morgan. For about 6 weeks post-operation. She weighs just over 3kg. This means that strictly speaking I should not be carrying a couple of 2 litre water bottles - a restriction I find both ridiculous and extremely irking. I also am to avoid going up and down stairs. Good thing I live on ground floor.

Getting sewn up takes longer than having your baby cut out of your womb does. This means that whereas those who give birth naturally can potentially spend time with their newborn straight away, with a C-Section, you can't. Baby is taken away from you to be seen by the paediatrician and weighed and cleaned up and dressed. This, whilst they sew you up.

Then there is the fact that your guts are handled. Following the operation, there may be numerous issues related to your bowels. The chances of bowel injuries put aside, some women find it painful to poop, suffer constipation, or diarrhoea. This may be temporary, but it might also be long-term.

This link highlights in more detail what the risks are, and gives you links on how to prepare yourself for a C-Section and what not.

If you attend Prenatal Classes, make sure you attend both the sessions about Natural Birth, as well as the C-section. You never know what might happen - my case is a typical example.

Also, inform yourself before going for an Elective C-Section. The pain of natural childbirth might be more desirable to you once you get all your facts and figures.

Regardless of what birthing method you go for, ensure you have plenty of support available to you for the weeks following the birth. You will need every tiny bit of help thrown your way. Do your best not to over-exert yourself or you might suffer its repercussions in the long run.

Now, onto the personal updates which I'm sure a good number of you are wanting. Morgan is enjoying using me as her furniture (see photo) still, and I love it. Having her sleep on top of me is comforting for both. After spending 9 months sharing my body, being in such close proximity decreases any separation anxiety ewe might go through otherwise. She saved a Mega Nappy for my sis today - uber-poopy AND pissy, only to pee on my sister's finger whilst cleaning her up. I found it hilarious!

 Mama' mattress!

She also got given yet another load of pink clothes. Cute warm clothes which I will have to come up with clever combos to balance out the pink overdose. I blame the shops, not the people. Damn shops stock up on too much pink, blue and white, and little else.

Off to snooze with my little Fairy now!

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

"Aaaaaaaah!!! The Germs!!! THE GERMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That's the kind of message society tends to shove down people's throats nowadays.  Admittedly, health standards have improved in this day and age, but sometimes it feels as if it is being taken to ridiculous extremes.

Being exposed to certain germs and bacteria is actually healthy, to allow us to build a stronger immune system.  Living in a bubble-wrapped world takes its toll on our health in that aspect.

As you know by know, if you've been reading the blog, I am one for recycling as much as possible when it comes to baby stuff - by making use of 2nd hand goods as often as I can.  This means one thing though- someone else's poopy baby has used that item of clothing/furniture/toy.  So, how to clean it all - especially non-machine washable stuff?

Cleaning is not enough - you actually have to disinfect and sterilise to the best of your domestic capabilities.


The best advice I have come across so far when it comes to non-machine washable items such as prams, push chairs, cots, and toys, is this: White Vinegar.  Surprisingly enough, Vinegar should be your number 1 best friend.  Clicky here, and you'll see why.

It is a fairly simple process really- all you need is:

• White vinegar
• Hot water
• Clean spray bottle
• Vacuum cleaner with hose attachment/ Lint roller.

All you do is you either vacuum the small pieces of dust and/or lint - or use Lint roller.  Once that is done, fill the spray bottle half full with vinegar, and top it up with he hot water until it is nearly full.  Shake it well.  Et voila! Go spray happy on the fabric bits [the more you soak them the better results you get] and wipe down any plastic/metal bits such as handles, frame etc. with the Vinegar solution.  Once the process is done, just plop whatever item it is you're cleaning out in the sun and allow it to air dry.  If you need it to dry quicker, you can always use a hair dryer to help speed up the process.  The vinegary smell will fade away - but if it bothers you, or you need it gone quicker, some fabric refresher [such as Febreeze] can do the trick.

Some websites recommend the use of a few drops of Lemon or Tea Tree Essential Oils - however they might be too harsh for your baby's delicate skin -especially if you don't know how to properly use them.

There are other methods I've come across, but the above seems to be the simplest and most cost effective one of them all.  For other examples on how to clean 2nd hand items, you can clicky here.  Also, clicky here for some guidelines on how to clean fabric items which cannot be machine washed [such as the uber-padded bits of car seats, the cloth insides of Baby's bed]

Anything non-plastic, non-metal, and non-fabric [i.e. wooden, wicker etc] needs to be cleaned slightly differently.  The good news is that there are quite a few products that can be store-bought - and they don't have to be different from the products you use on your non-baby items! Here is a brief guide on the cleaning & disinfecting process.

One extremely popular brand of disinfectant is Milton.  I came across the name several times whilst Googling - and when I mentioned to my mum I needed to clean the pram and car seats, she immediately said "Milton." as well - so there must be something to it.  Here is a link that explains how this alleged wonder-product can be used.

The most important point I would like to make though is when it comes to washing liquids - be it shower gels, shampoos, or clothes detergents.  Make sure you go for specially designed brands whenever you can - simply using something which is "suitable for sensitive skin" isn't enough.  My being a "hippie" variant means I try to go for as much organic and non-animal tested and vegetarian-friendly products as possible.  Knowing that there is a chance Creature will have extremely sensitive skin due to it being the case in other relatives means that I would like to minimise the chances of contributing to his/her having reactions to these detergents.

One brand I quite liked whilst shopping around is Earth Friendly Baby - which hits the mark on all aspects of my check-list.  I will try and remember to let you know what the results were once I actually start using the products.  I've come across some pretty good reviews though.  Fingers crossed!

 To conclude - when it comes to washing your baby - at first a daily bath is not necessary.  Unless there has been a Nappy Explosion.  Until their umbilical cord stub falls off, you can just give Baby a sponge bath.  It is important to keep the umbilical cord stub as dry as possible to prevent the risks of infection.  You can either get a Tops 'n Tails bowl, or a small basin, to help you with the sponge bath process.  Once you're ready to give Baby his/her first proper bath, ideally, you should have someone with experience with you.  Slippery Baby is Slippery.  One gadget a friend of mine swears by is a Bath Support.  She says it makes her life much easier,especially when she has to bathe Baby on her own.  More on this another time though.  In the meanwhile, happy cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilising!