Cheese!

Peek-a-boo! :D [8th June 2012]

So, I've been trying to post an update for a couple of weeks. I started typing it on my laptop and haven't had the time to finish it yet. Sorry, people!

Please bear with me (RAWR! Ha. Sorry, I always picture a bear whenever I hear that expression :D ) whilst I'm busy being a mum and trying to dispose of the bomb that seems to continuously explode over and over again at home.

Morgan is doing really well! We've now switched from pram to pushchair, and she has started to roll over from her back to her belly and back (though she sometimes gets stuck on her belly).

Things with HSS couldn't be better!

I am happy, and Morgan is happy.

The whole point of this blog initially was to have a place where I could rant, rave, vent and declutter my brain from all sorts of worries and thoughts. Since things are going so well, I haven't had the need to write anything worth while lately.

I shall post an update as soon as I find the time, with the story of how Morgan's Other Granny's Visit went. In a nutshell, it went well.

As I type this, I'm on the way back home where I shall shortly get Morgan all cleaned up and fed before taking her over to my mum's. She willk babysit for a short while to enable HSS and myself to go buy a bed guard for Morgan. Yay for safety!

I am currently looking up weaning info - silly UK/US sites mean different things by "weaning" - in the States they use it to mean moving on from breastfeeding to anything else, whereas UK sites mean to say the intro of real food as opposed to breastmilk/formula milk.

As you peoples know, my boobs failed in the function of noms, and have limited themselves to just being decorative. This means that _my_ weaning will entail the intro of real food. According to WHO (World Health Organisation), weaning shouldn't be introduced before Baby is 6 months old. Having said that, some start weaning from the age of 4 months. Not every baby has the same needs/appetite.
Morgan is showing a keen interest in food - she has that "Dog Thing" going on where she watches interested your every move whenever food or drink is concerned.

Omnomnomnomhandnomnomnom

She is currently drinking 210ml water& 7 scoops formula every 4 hours approx. Hungry bebbeh is hungry.

Oh, and we also now have set up her travel cot to act as a playpen. It has been filled with colourful stuff - toys and such. Enough distractions to keep Morgan amused for the long period of time that is 10 minutes.

6th June 2012

 

She has been experiencing some separation anxiety and panics if left alone for longer than 5 minutes.
That is about it for now.

Have a good day everyone!

P.s. Here's a Moving Morgan feat. HSS :)

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey

Today was THE DAY- i.e. the day when I get to take Morgan to hospital and get the results of her Genetic Profiling - meaning I would find out if she's a Down's Baby or not.  Before getting to the big revelation, I'll give you a background of what a day from hell it has been.

At about 3am, I gave Morgan her bottle and changed her nappy, and then went to the kitchen to prepare her next feeds and to enjoy a middle-of-the-night snack and hot beverage.  Yes, I just heard the words 'hot beverage' being spoken in my head by The Big Bang Theory's Dr Sheldon Cooper.  Oops - there we go again.

A thunder-cum-hailstorm broke loose out of nowhere.  And then it happened.  It was 4am. One moment I'm doing a Word Search, the next, a loud POP! was heard and the lights went out.

"FuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK!" I thought to myself.  Hugh, my laptop, was on standby, plugged in.  I ran to unplug it, whilst hoping it will still work once I give it a shot, to prevent any other possible damages.  I checked on Morgan, and told my mum there was a blackout.  Upon checking the circuit breaker, it turned out the issue must be related to the Electricity Main Thingy.  Great.

My grandma woke up and herself, my mum and I ended up bickering over what could be the issue.  Because you know, each one of us is a Certified Electrician, right?  Anyway. Everyone went back to sleep and I nodded off for about an hour until it was time to wake up.

I got Morgan fed and changed and cleaned up, then got ready myself.  It was soon after that hell broke loose over how on Earth I was meant to get to hospital.  Due to the sudden weather change, bussing it was out of the question, and the  taxi service I called was unavailable.  After a while, my brother managed to pick us up and drive us there.

A brief struggle to install the car seat and a mostly traffic-free drive later, and we were there.  My mum accompanied us to help me carry the car seat + Morgan as they are bloody heavy!  The Doc we had the appointment with hadn't arrived yet, so we sat in the waiting room, and did just that - we waited.

The wait was rather nerve-wrecking.  In the meanwhile, I received a message via Facebook from Morgan's Paternal Granny to say that Morgan's Paternal Great-granddad had passed away earlier this morning.  Yet another death that has affected someone close to me this year - brings the toll up to 5 in total.  It is rather sad that Morgan will now never have the opportunity to meet him, but I'm told that he was shown her photos and that made him smile.  So at least, there's that.  Now, we wait to see if this will impact her Paternal Granny's visit or not.  If the visit has to be rescheduled, then so be it.  It is a matter of prioritising after all.  If everything stays the same though, it would mean that we get Morgan's Paternal Granny over here on Saturday! Exciting stuff!

I was looking around me, observing other babies and children.  There was one colicky baby, who went bright red and just wouldn't stop crying.  Soon after, another baby joined in and started wailing as well.  I smiled, a bit smugly, I admit, at Morgan - who was asleep - and told her "Good girl, not to give in to peer pressure!"  This provoked a quizzical look and some chuckles from my mum.

I then was observing a boy - who was perhaps 10 years old - who seemed to have some disability. I didn't realise this until I heard him speak. That is when I looked at Morgan, a bit choked up and thought to myself how easy it is for a disability to stay hidden from the world, and how anxious I was to get the results. I kept hoping and hoping that everything would be fine.  Given the day's start though, I wasn't hopeful, to be honest.

Then, the Doc walked in and soon after we were summoned.

Doc said she was still waiting for Morgan's notes, and after a few moments, she broke the news.

Does Morgan seem Down to you?

No?

THAT IS BECAUSE SHE IS NOT A DOWN'S BABY!

The tests came back perfectly fine!  I was overjoyed to hear this, albeit it was a delayed reaction since I think I was somewhat shocked.  I had been preparing myself for the worst, just in case, so it was a bit of a dream-like situation.

Doc then weighed and measured Morgan - She now weighs 4.09kg [9lbs] and is 52.7cm [20.7inches] tall.  She'll be 5 weeks old tomorrow.  Quite impressive, at least to me!

Whatever else goes wrong throughout the day won't matter.  I know Morgan is well, and that is all that matters to me.

The awkward moment when you wanna purchase 2nd hand stuff

As mentioned on a previous blog, purchasing 2nd hand items can be a penny saver.  This, however, does not come without its own awkward moments.

I have met different stereotypes of Second Hand Sellers. I will attempt to draw a clear picture for you lot of a few of them.

The Grandmother
Walking into her house, you will notice that her grandchild must be at least 6 years old by now. The tell-tale signs? House is in order and full of china knick-knacks and statuettes covering any given surface - such as coffee tables and other places where you wouldn't normally dream of placing similar items when younger children are involved.

Once she shows you into the room where the Stuff To Be Sold is being held, you already know that most of it won't be to your liking.  It will be pretty old, and possibly smelling of mothballs after being kept in storage for a long time.  And then it happens.

"See how cute this onesie is?" Grandma asks you sweetly. "How about this top? Oh look at these cute shoes! We bought everything brand new! We even got these from England!"

With every second that goes by, you feel yourself slowly taking steps away from her, desperately trying to come up with an escape plan that won't make you seem rude.  "Err, yes. That is very pretty. I'm afraid it isn't the right season/size/gender for my child though. Yes, yes I do like that. Hmmm yes, it is a real shame, you;'re right!"

Somehow you finally manage to escape, but not without having purchased a few things that you know you will never ever force upon your child.  You just felt you needed to buy something off her just so that you don't break her heart.

The Bossy Mum
This is the one mum that you know doesn't take any funny business.  And forces her partner to actually contribute to night-time feedings... or else!  You can tell by the way her children, who obviously must be in the same room as the two of you for her to supervise, barely utter a sound, unless she speaks to them first.  She is the Second Hand Seller equivalent of those kind of salesgirls who follow you around and give you their opinion in a very judgemental, yet matter-of-fact kind of way. 

You will need to be extremely assertive and not allow her to patronise you, lest you end up buying her trunkful of pink, frilly, baby girl items - in spite of you having a boy.  She will convince you that it is healthy for a boy to wear the pink frilly stuff. "He will need to get in touch with him feminine side.  The boyish boy stereotype is sooo overrated.  And if he turns out gay? All the better! Who wouldn't want a gay son?"

Try not to piss your pants as you make your way out of her domain with your tail between your legs.  She can smell your fear, and will take advantage of that by making sure you continue buying Second Hand Stuff off her for the rest of your life.

The Chic Mum
She's the one to overprice everything, and try to justify it by telling you exactly which country the item was purchased from, what brand name it is, which outlet it was, what its value was around the time of purchase, and to top it all off, she will assure you that your child will be unique by wearing said item.  Surely, no one else on this tiny, overpopulated island can have her stylish tastes!

If your budget allows it, get one or two things off her and keep her number.  You might need her for a special occasion outfit in the future.

The Moving Mum
"Mummy leaving island/moving house. Must sell within a week. Everything must go!!"

BINGO!

Time your visit well.  You could contact her earlier in the week to check what items are available.  Don't go there immediately though, or you will seem desperate.  Well, unless you really are desperate!  By contacting her, you will ensure you have wedged your foot in the doorway.  By actually going over later on in the week means that the Desperation Levels have shifted, and Moving Mum is now the desperate one,  so much so, that she might knock off an extra few Euros from the original asking price, or throw in some freebies - just to make sure you don't bail out on her and actually purchase the Stuff.

Careful she doesn't throw in this kind of freebie!

My lingering question though remains this - If the Second Hand Sellers don't reply to your text message/e-mail/call immediately, what is the etiquette for a 2nd attempt? Or a 3rd attempt even?  How does one deal with the necessary pestering without making the Seller hate you without them ever even having met/spoken to you before?  Should you leave 10 minutes in between one call and the next? 15 minutes? An hour? What is too little, and what is too long? 

I personally end up envisioning what might be the reason for the Seller's delay in answering - feeding kidlet? That may take an hour. Changing a nappy? That can take anywhere between a few minutes up to half an hour or so, depending on how messy it turned out to be.  Putting kidlet to sleep? Can range between 10 minutes up to several hours.  Or perhaps, they're doing a non-parent activity and simply aren't in a position to respond. Or they didn't notice your message/call.  If anyone could shed some light on what is the messaging/phone call etiquette I would be pretty grateful as this seems to be one topic Google knows nothing about.