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Free Stuff!!
For all you new Mums or Mums-to-be out there,
I've just seen a Huggies ad on TV offering a free sample pack of Huggies nappies. Free stuff is always good with new (and expensive) members to the family. Go to http://www.huggiesforfree.com and fill in the form.
Jabs!
Jake went for his first jabs yesterday. I felt so bad bringing him in there and holding him while a nurse inflicted pain on him, but I consoled myself that we were doing it for his own good. He may not thank us now, he may not thank us ever, but it'll give us a bit of piece of mind concerning his good health.
He was first subjected to an oral dose for Polio, which he promptly vomitted up. Apparently, it's quite salty and, obviously, it wasn't to Jake's taste. Then he got a shot in the left thigh for Diphtheria, Tetanus and Whooping Cough (sp?). And finally, a shot in the right thigh for Meningitis C. After each shot, he cried out and it broke my heart. I picked him up and gave him a cuddle, silently apologizing for hurting him. His tears quickly stopped though and he was ready for another injection.
When the shots had been given, he was given another oral dose for Polio and, this time, he kept it down. Although the digusted look on his face was amusing.
So, Jake has now had his 2-month jabs. The bad news is that he gets the same ones all over again at 3 months and again at 4 months. Poor thing.
On his tummy
I took Jake to be weighed yesterday at a nearby clinic. As I predicted, he has now passed the 10-pound mark. He weighs 10 lb 2! He is not only following the proper line on the weight chart, but he is also adding to it a bit.
While I was there, I ran into a woman from my antenatal class called Jackie. She had a baby boy who is now 6 weeks old. Jackie complained that he was very high-maintenance and that she didn't feel like she could get anything done without him crying. She said that he was fine while he was being held, but cried as soon as he was put down.
I've been through the same thing with Jake. The word of the day is that babies should sleep on their backs. Apparently, there are fewer cases of cot death with babies who are put on the backs. Fair enough. Stephen and I abide by this advice and Jake sleeps on his back.
But recently, if we're around to keep an eye on him, we put in down on his tummy. And it works. He sleeps so soundly, so peacefully. He snuggles up, with his knees pulled up a bit towards his stomach - almost like the fetal position - and I know that I can get things done without him waking up as soon as I leave the room. I come back to check on him every few minutes.
I told Jackie about this and a nurse/midwife overheard me. She agreed that it did indeed work, in her experience, and that babies seem much more comfortable like that. She did, of course, reiterate that a baby should be watched when they are on their tummies.
It surprised me a bit. I'd kind of expected to be shot down for suggesting that Jackie try her baby on his tummy. Midwives and nurses are taught certain things and are told what kinds of things they should be advising women to do. For instance, during our antenatal classes, our midwife told us all about breastfeeding but said that she wasn't supposed to answer any questions about bottlefeeding, because "breast is best". In my opinion, that's quite a close-minded approach, as there will be parents who have to use the bottle. Wouldn't it be better if we were properly advised on everything?
Look. It works...
Hell's Kitchen and a day out
I'm loving Hell's Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay is such a dickhead! Well, more accurately, the persona he has created is a dickhead. But the dickhead is starting to show his softer side. His one-on-ones tonite were a bit of a turnaround indeed.
I like James. I hope he wins. Or Jen. She's good too. But then, I wanted Kerry McFadden to win I'm a Celebrity. Who can resist a cute little girl who proves to be stronger than she looks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We fancied a day out today so we got in the car and headed out to Southend and walked along the water. We took Jake with us and he pretty much slept through the whole experience. We spent a couple of hours walking, talking and eating. Lunch was had at a place called Caffe Luigi. Sounds posh but Stephen and I had burgers and chips and Ruth had eggs and chips. It was delicious, greasy and big!
Then we walked through the amusement park, whatever it's called, and marvelled at how ridiculously expensive it was. We had had intensions of left Ruth go on a few rides but she decided that she'd get more 'bang for her buck' - so to speak - if she spent the money in the arcades. I swear, she's a gambler at heart!
We looked around in a few of those seaside souvenir shops and I came away with a magnetic bookmark with the name Jake on it and a description of what the name means. That cost me 99p. It said:
Hebrew meaning "follower"
Boisterious, fun-loving and slightly eccentric,
Jake is always centre of attention.
He loves to socialise and has lots of friends
but has a tendency to be unreliable.
Expect him when you see him.
Then we rushed home for 5pm, as we had arranged for someone to come by and view the house. I showed the lady around and she did seem keen. But then, haven't they all.
Now, I'm watching Hell's Kitchen while I type. Jake is asleep next to me on the bed (on his belly, I might add) and Stephen has taken Ruth and Hannah to the movies to see The Day After Tomorrow. I would have gone, but I've found it too hard to leave Jake with anyone else so far. I trust Stephen to take care of him, of course, but I'm too nervous to trust anyone else. Anyway, I wasn't too fussed about that movie. I mean, I wouldn't want to miss the 'eviction' on Hell's Kitchen, would I?!!
Mmm...
We just had fried egg sandwiches for lunch and they were yummy. I now feel full and satisfied. Oh, and fat! I really want to lose some weight. Ever since I gave birth, I've felt the size of a whale. And I can't stop eating. I have such a huge appetite at the moment and I don't know why. I never used to be like this. I'll admit that I've never been big on exercise, but I've never really over-eaten. Now though, I can't get enough.
I've never had much of a sweet-tooth either. Savoury foods have been my weakness. Anything fried! That's where my weight-gain has come from in the past. But now? Chocolate! I love it and I crave it constantly. Why, why, why?!
Is it the breastfeeding? Am I craving more food, more sweet stuff, because I'm breastfeeding Jake? Has my body changed in some weird way since pregnancy and birth?
Well, either way, I'm feeling huge and none of my clothes seem to fit me nicely. Not that they ever really did, but now, it's worse. I vow to get my butt in gear and lose a feel pounds (hell, a few stone) by getting a bit more exercise and watching what I eat. I'm sick of feeling like I can't wear whatever I want.
But then, I've ranted like this before...
Jake is now 10 weeks and 1 day old. He's growing quickly now and he's changing every day. He's lost that 'newborn' look and he now has the face of... well, of a baby, rather than a newborn. He's got big chubby cheeks and huge round eyes. His legs are much stronger now too and he now lies with them stretched out, rather than pulled up to his belly.
And the biggest news is that he is now able to pull himself forward while on his tummy. When I let him nap on his tummy, he always ends up about 6 inches higher up on the bed than where I left him. He does this by dragging himself up with his elbows and knees, while keeping his tummy and, for the most part, his head still on the bed. Although he can lift his head now, he doesn't do so for more than about 10 seconds while lying flat. Upright though, he likes to look around all by himself.
The little guy is sleeping right next to me as I type. He's on his tummy, with his little bum in the air, and, as usual, I'm fighting the urge to pick him up and cuddle him. I won't do that now though. He's sleeping and I must take advantage of this time!
My New Toy
Oh the excitement!! We've done a bad thing. But I'm thrilled that we did it.
It started on Sunday, when Stephen noticed that his computer monitor was flickering. It flickered quite badly and was slowly doing his eyes in. It was an old-ish monitor and we knew that he was just about due a new one. He had expressed interest in the past in getting a flat-screen monitor and, checking the time, we calculated that we could fit in a quick visit to PC World before it closed.
We hopped in the car and headed to the Lakeside PC World, where Stephen chose a lovely flat-screen monitor. We had a look around the store - as you do - and I looked longingly at the laptops. I've wanted a laptop for ages. We both have. With the lack of space in our small semi-detached house (6 people and 6 computers now share this space!) and having to share our room now with Jake and all of his things, getting rid of my desktop computer has been in our minds. Also, when we arrive in Canada, our desktop computers will still be in transit. How sad are we that we can't imagine going without internet access until our stuff arrives?!
Anyway, we chose a laptop, which has now become my computer. We spent loads more than we had intended to when we left the house. Naughty, naughty.
Here are my new specs:
Intel Celeron 2.8 Ghz Processor
256 Mb DDR RAM
30 Gb Hard Drive
DVD RW Drive
15" TFT Screen
32 Mb ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 Graphics (not much memory, but that shouldn't matter unless I get into gaming again)
4 USB Connections
Isn't she puuuurdy?
But seeing as we were spending quite a chunk of money at PC World, I was hoping that they'd throw in a complementary laptop case free of charge. They normally cost anything from about £35 and up. I asked the guy who served us, pointing out that we were buying 2 expensive items from them, and his answer was simply "no way". He was very short with us and couldn't even muster up a "sorry, but we can't do that".
After a bit of deliberation, I asked to speak to the manager. The manager said that PC World doesn't do that kind of thing because they believe that their prices are already the lowest. "I don't doubt that," I said "Just tell me no and I'll go."
And you know what... I didn't get my free case but he did offer us £15 off a case of my choice. We took the offer and picked a £35 case. I feel like we got a good deal and I'm pleased.
Now I just have to install all my software...
First-timer, please!
We've had 2 offers on our house so far. Unfortunately, they are both subject to the sale of their houses. This could take ages! And ages we do not have. We would like the whole sale procedure to be completed by mid-September at the lastest, as my family's immigration visas expire September 29th!
Just a few minutes ago though, we had a second visit from a couple who are first-time buyers. Chris and his fiancee seem like lovely people and, better yet, they seem keen on our house. Our house, I might add, is at the bottom end of the market for this area and at a perfect price for first-timers. Luckily, this seems to be a very desirable area to live in though and, assuming we get the asking price, we'll make a huge amount of money.
In Canadian terms anyway. In English terms, it's squat and won't buy us anything better. A can't wait to get out of here and get something bigger!
It's been a while, hasn't it?
Gaaaaa, it's been a week since I last blogged! Time really flies. It seems like I wrote yesterday. But my excuse is that my life has been quite hectic recently. I feel like I never have more than about 5 minutes in a row to myself. And even then, during those 5 minutes, I'm still listening out for Jake.
Jake's been quite a handful over the last few days. He's been weepy and very, very hungry. It's a damn good thing that I'm bottlefeeding as well as breastfeeding. I just don't have enough in me to keep him satisfied. He just gets frustrated and agitated when the flow stops. He must be in another growth spurt or something.
But, speaking of growth spurts, Jake now weighs 11 lb 7! One pound and 5 ounces up from 2 weeks ago. And he's grown an amazing 8 cm in length in 3 weeks! Our little guy's not so little anymore.
I tried him out on his playmat the other day and it held his attention for a few minutes. He mostly liked staring at himself in the little mirror. Poor guy, his arms are still too short to reach the dangling toys. But, at 11 and a half weeks old, he's probably still a bit young for it. He just flails his arms around and makes frustrated grunting noises. But the mat is great and I'm hoping that, as he gets a older, it'll hold his attention for a while so that his Mum can get a few things done around the house! As it is now, I just get a chance to get something started, then he starts complaining.
Here's the mirror that gets his attention now...
In other news, I think that we have finally got a buyer for our house. The other day, we had a visit from a guy who was viewing the house and hoping that the purchase would mean he could get rid of his wife. Soon to be ex-wife, actually. They live together now but, I'm told, it's like The War of the Roses at their place at the moment. So he's buying her a house as part of their divorce settlement and she's moving out with their youngest child. The eldest 2 will be staying with Dad. (Money talks, the Mum tells me.) We've agreed a price that we're all happy with (not quite the asking price, but close) and we've now started the process of engaging a solicitor. This guy wants his wife out pronto, so we're hoping that everything goes quickly and that our Canada plans will go smoothly.
One thing at time, huh? I feel like I have a million things to do and I have no idea where to start.
