The Baby Shower Chronicles: Part 2

6pm, and I am alone.  It has been a long day, but an enjoyable one indeed.  Out of the friends I had invited, only 2 managed to make it - some had other plans,others had to work,others still were poorly or hungover.  Quality over quantity is the way to go though! So, it was just myself, my elder sis,my mum, my future sis-in-law, and a couple of friends.

My sis went through  the trouble of making - yes, making, not buying - a Nappy Cake [with her boyfriend's assistance - so a big thank you goes to him too!], and his sister did an awesome job at making the cake!  She also did orgasmic cake lollipops which everyone loved.  Having less people attend meant more cake for us all. YAY!

Courtesy of Little Mama's Cakes

Once everyone arrived, we all chilled in the living room, talking and having generic banter whilst making sure our stomachs were appeased.  At one point.one of my friends decided we should play a game and see if we can guess my circumference by means of a string cut at the appropriate length. Not having string at hand,we used wool instead. It turned out that I overestimated myself and cut a piece that was way longer! My mother, on the other hand,got extremely close to guessing the correct measurement. I guess she had enough training over the years, whats with buying clothes for me without my being there.

The game was followed by another guessing game- this time, to try and figure out Cartoons Theme songs ranging from the 80s up until today. Needless to say, I did well where the 80s were involved but sucked at modern day cartoons.

Even more banter was had, during which we were discussing names and how inconsiderate it is for parents to go for certain names which provoke bullying.

This is the playlist I created for the occasion:


All in all, it was good fun! When we cut the cake open, a surprise awaited us!

RAINBOW! I love rainbows! The Amazing Amanda [the mastermind behind Little Mama's Cakes] actually baked each coloured layer separately. Truly, she is one of those women that all other women secretly hate for her talent, and yet can't help but commissioning her to cater for their special occasions because her cakes are so scrumptious.

Cake was had with even more banter, this time, discussing the hawtness that is Edward Norton, and the success Thor had with the generic female population the moment his shirt came off.  Robert Downey Jr was also drooled over,obviously!  Yes - we were discussing the up and coming Avengers Movie. That will be one occasion I'll have to get someone to babysit Creature for.

Not my cup of tea, but anyway.

Eventually, it was getting late for everyone, and I was exhausted.  Everyone helped with tidying up, the cake was split in generous portions for people to take home with them, and we all parted ways.

Good times!

The Baby Shower Chronicles: Part 1

After managing to sleep about 4hours - split up in hourly doses - I woke up not knowing what  the day was about to bring along.  Everything is being taken care of by my elder sister. 

Not knowing if she had been out the night before, I decided to allow a more humane hour to come by before I call her to ask what time she was coming over.  In the meanwhile, I started tidying up a bit -being a hoarder means My Tidy is Another Person's Nuclear Explosion Site.

Eventually, I got hold of her and she said she'd be over shortly,but might have to split her journey in two to get everything over at my place.  With a raised  eyebrow, I asked "How much stuff did you get?!" to which, being my sister, she replied cryptically "Ah. You'll see."

Puzzled, but having resigned myself to facing my fate anyway, I shrugged and hung up to start working on a playlist for the day. After about half an hour, she arrived brandishing what to me looks like the Epitome of Cake.

Honestly - this must be one of the coolest, most awesome cakes ever! I shall include pictures later, so as not to spoil the fun for whoever is going to show up.

Cake delivered, she departed again, leaving me to my getting ready and tidying up - speaking of which- I'd better run off for now!

Toodles!

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock

Anyone who has been a 'friend' of mine on Facebook for at least a year knows I like countdowns. Not just generic countdowns.  Mine would be exact to the minute. I like counting down to whatever it may be that I'll be looking forward to. Travels, a particular event- you name it.


Therefore, this sucks.

I don't like not knowing when Creature will be here. Having an estimation is not good enough for me.I have come to realise that I really do love plotting and planning! Not just evil mischievous schemes - but serious stuff too.

A friend of mine recently asked me if I had any dreams in life. I thought about it for awhile and realised that I don't.  I don't have dreams - I have plans.

Not so much nowadays.

I grew accustomed to being in control at all times of my life.I don't like being helpless or having to rely on others.That is why it has been so tough for me to adapt - I think I have come a long way though when it comes to involving others in things I cannot take care of myself at this present moment in time.

I only wish I had a better idea of when Creature will be evicted from my womb.

I look forward to having my internal organs shift back to their original places and to be able to sleep on my stomach again!

There will be plenty of challenges I will have to face, mind you. I am currently trying to figure out how on earth I will manage to successfully have a shower with Creature around.I will have to keep him/her close so I can keep an eye on him/her. Either that, or have someone come over and babysit whilst I shower.

Cooking might be tricky as well - mainly to keep the food from getting burnt. Ah well, practise makes perfect they say!

Brainstorming

Tonight I don't have anything in particular going through my head. It is merely a mish-mash of thoughts and question marks that only time can eliminate.

It is funny how much I've  changed over these past 8 months.  My priorities have shifted more than ever.  I see friends of mine who had children and who changed overnight. Suddenly they became parents and seemed to have lost their identity. I fear it is an epidemic condition - I have been exhibiting such traits myself recently.  Sometimes my mind feels like it is turning into jelly. 

Someone, please shoot me if I become one of them people who go on and on and on about their perfect - or perfectly diabolical - child 24/7.  In this blog, it is to be expected - but I would still like to be able to talk about other stuff outside of the blog.  I don't want to become a mindless drone.

Another thing on my mind is "How the hell am I going to cope?"

Tomorrow, my elder sister decided to organise a Baby Shower for Creature. I'm providing the venue,but everything else is out of my hands.  I have never been to such a thingy so I am not sure what to expect.  We'll see.  I will keep you updated!

Now, I'm off to combat heartburn again.  I feel as if I'm turning into a mint plant with all the Gaviscon I've been chewing on!

When Love and Death Embrace

Although I know the chances are pretty remote, I can't help but wonder - what if something goes wrong?  During birth I mean. Apparently it is a thought that has been on my mind long enough to work its way into my dreams.

During my last nap, I dreamt that for some reason, I needed to undergo an emergency Cesarean Section - and was put under general anaesthetic. I somehow found myself at my parents' house when I woke up, clueless as to what had happened.  Creature was nowhere to be seen and was told that s/he was at my grandma's house being babysat by someone - my brother's fiancee, I think.  I was insisting  that I wanted to see Creature and I kept getting told there was no rush and that I needed rest. I asked how they had been feeding Creature and they told me they breastfed her.  They didn't need me to be awake to do that it seems.  I complained even more saying I needed to see Creature and that I didn't even know if it was a girl or a boy.  They ruined the surprise by saying "A girl, of course" and then I woke up from my dream.  It sucked.


An element that is pretty popular in literature and film is Death during Childbirth - the death of either mother or child, and having to make the decision  who to save - or the death of one of them or even both.  It is not as common nowadays within the 'developed' world, however it is an issue that is still existent.  All it takes is something as simple as an infection, or an oversight.

I wonder how many people go into the whole Pregnancy experience and are aware that as unlikely as it may be,this could very well be the death of them.  Everyone seems to be concerned about the welfare of the child but fail to remember that they too are at risk.

It may sound wrong - hell, even to me it sounds wrong! - but in all honesty, if asked whether I'd be willing to die for Creature to live, I don't know what I would say.  I wish I could tell you that I'd say yes in a heartbeat.  I am not saying I wouldn't give up my life for his/hers, mind you.  I just don't know. A lot of people claim they would take a bullet for their loved ones, or just die for them in general.  Faced with the situation though, how many would actually keep true to their word?

What about stillbirth? It happens. I have had to deal with a fair amount of death in my life and some deaths were tougher than others when it came to dealing with the whole mourning process.  I have no idea how it might affect me if I  had to face this kind of situation.  I cannot even begin to imagine the pain parents go through when similar events occur.  Having successfully carried the pregnancy to full-term, only to be told that your child died...

I can only hope that things will turn out well.

Once bitten, Twice shy

I've always been a dog person.  I grew up with dogs and to me, a house without a dog is just that - a house, not a home.  Unfortunately, rental properties rarely allow pets, so at the moment, my canine family members reside at my parents' house - and my sister's resides at my grandma's.

about 2 years ago or so - Whiskey & Cara  [courtesy of my sis]

I am aware that introducing a new family member can be an awkward situation - especially when it comes to babies and dogs.  I've been asking around to see how different people coped with the intros.  I've been given more or less the same kind of advice by both pet-owners as well as people who work with animals.

I don't know if their advice will work - as in my case I have three dogs to introduce Creature to.  I am not really concerned about Whiskey and Cara - they are very outgoing dogs.  Whiskey is extremely friendly and energetic, but very obedient as well.  He is used to not jumping up to greet me nowadays whenever I see him, so   I don't think it will be an issue walking in my parents' house with Creature.  

Although people may say it is a bad idea to ever trust an animal - I do trust Whiskey.

Cara, on the other hand, is more shy in her approach but she is still very friendly.  Being a small dog means I'm not overly concerned by her jumping up to greet me as with her forelegs outstretched she barely reaches my knee anyway.  I find her trustworthy as well.

Whiskey & Cara

The one dog I am a bit concerned about is my sister's dog.  I never trusted him - for some reason he has a very odd character.  He can quite easily snap at you for no apparent reason at all - quite a moody dog.  When I voiced my concern to my sisters, they both said we would need to keep an eye out to ensure things run smoothly.  I am not sure how to proceed though.  I myself have been snapped at by this dog - and all I did was try to pet him.  I happened to be sitting at the table when this happened - he clearly was wanting food, not to be petted.  Other family members have been snapped at but thankfully no one has been actually injured.  I'm just worried that the injured person will end up being Creature - you can't really tell a baby/toddler not to be all fussy around a certain animal and expect them to obey.

It is a bit of a dead end as I don't know how to go on about this issue.  I'm guessing my best bet would be to keep Creature as far away from this grumpy dog as much as I can - this though would mean that whenever my female siblings, or my mum, would be babysitting Creature, it would need to be done either in my own home, or at my parents' house.  This is quite unrealistic since my Grandma needs to be looked after as well.  It is why I'm stumped.

Enough rambling, anyway.  What I've been advised to do is to get someone to take home a piece of clothing, or a burp cloth for example, which has been used by Creature and give it to said dogs to sniff at.  This would help them familiarise themselves with Creature's scent before taking him/her home.  I'll be giving that a try and see how it goes.

In the meanwhile, here is a site I found with some guidelines of how to prepare well in advance for similar circumstances.  I've only mentioned the one solution of sorts as that is the only one applicable to myself since I don't live 24/7 with the aforementioned Dog-people.

That is music to my ears!

I can't help but wonder whether Creature is insomniac, just like his/her mother - or whether s/he is a very fidgety sleeper, like his/her Elder Aunt. The Aunt that likes to entangle herself in blankets, resulting in them being stolen off any unfortunate soul sleeping next to her - such as yours truly on quite a few occasions!


I get kicked and punched a lot - however it somehow seems to increase after midnight.  The moment activity increases, this song starts playing in my head:

There are a few songs that I tend to associate with Creature - besides from the above.  One favourite of mine is by Franco Battiato.  For those of you who understand Italian, here it is.  This, is its English version - which I don't find to be as beautiful, but still delivers the message.


To me, music has always had a special relevance - and I do give importance to the lyrics - perhaps even more than the melody itself sometimes.  Which is why I don't think Creature will have any traditional lullabies sung off-key to him/her.  I don't find their words appealing.  I would much rather sing badly something along these lines.  Or perhaps, this.