Busy little bee

It's been almost two weeks since my last confession.. I mean posting, haha :)As to be expected, much has happened in our household, guess I should work backwards from today.

I made through my first week back at work after eight weeks off with Miss Baby C.. I missed her lots- I got by thanks to the great bunch of people I work with and seeing all my students again.. They apparently missed me!

Going to work meant having to express breast milk at every break.. I was curious to see how that was going to go - the Nursing Mothers Association advises you to let your employer know that you intend to continue breastfeeding after returning to work and the they need to find you a comfortable, clean place, and definitely NOT a toilet! So, I emailed the boss in charge of that stuff and I was pleasantly surprised with what they came up with, a room with a sofa to sit on!! It's things like this that made it easier to get up and go to work everyday and leave baby with Hubby..

speaking of dear Hubby, he did a fantastic job with little one- even took her out and about on several occasions..which I thought was really brave!The second day by himself he had to take her for the first round of needles. It's hard to believe she is two months old already!

As the weather has started to feel more like winter, the kids have all come down with colds and coughs that turned into bronchitis- all three of them had to have antibiotics- but it's looking like thy all have to go back to the doctor again - the cough is still hanging on- a nasty chesty sounding cough :( Thankfully Miss Baby has avoided it, possibly due to getting the antibodies via my breastmilk- I starts to come down with a mild version of it earlier in the week. Now Hubby is snuffly- just what we need- 3 kids and a hubby with man flu- okay, make that Four kids!

In the last two weeks of my time off I was able to do some stuff with Miss H on the days she wasn't at kindy- homemade playdough and cupcakes were just some examples of our activities..

On the topic of being creative I also indulged in some sewing.. A group of girls from church started a sewing circle to learn how to sew - I couldn't make the first session so I caught up a few days later. The first project was a tote bag- I have been under the expert tutelage of Shelle - her blog is really cool Time's fun when you're having flies

I made some decent progress and then had to leave it for a while- my sewing machine was cactus thanks to being dropped a few moves ago.. so I'll have to borrow a machine from my dear mother in law. It may have to stay on the backburner until the holidays - I have reports to get done :(

TGBTG
Anje xx

Organization is the key!

Well, my beautiful Mum always used to say that being organized was the key to success- and as usual, a mother's wisdom is pretty much spot on.

I have never been much of an organized soul- preferring to live "spontaneously" and "go with the flow"- well the journey of motherhood, tertiary study and the career of teaching requires me to actually organise myself out of a wet paper bag.

What prompts this post? It has been a long-term goal to be super organised and efficient on the home front- I ache to have a home that is pleasing to the eye and is ready for visitors at the drop of a hat.. It is very rarely in that state I am sorry to say... There is an ongoing battle to kee things in their place - working full time and having four children is not necessarily conducive to housework beyond vacuuming, washing, ironing, washing up etc.

Today held a motivating shove to getting started.. A visitor came over to drop off some lively gifts for the family- and my house was atrocious! What made it even more embarrassing was that this person is the epitome of organized!

Anyways- I got stuck into two key problem areas today and boy did I feel a sense of achievement when the dining room looked less cluttered and more spacious! It could become addictive!!

I have found some really cool blogs to inspire me on my long term quest to be organised..
Blissfully Organised

and

Planning with kids

Sigh- I remain optimistic until I stand before the ironing basket.. BIG sigh!!

TGBTG xx

Whooping cough scare :-o

Well, the last 24 hours I have been rather worried that our household may have contracted whooping cough...

Master D has been at home sick- he had been making this grunting noise and told me it sort of hurt to breathe when I asked him why he was making that noise. Two days after that he starts to cough and doesn't look too good. I took him to the doctor and as usual, before even checking him out he says it sounds viral... I thought here we go - he is gonna say give him panadol and get plenty of rest... Thankfully before I jumped up and started to choke him he had a listen to his chest - he could hear noises in the right side lung.. That's what the grunting will be about- it's a 'secondary infection' from the virus - aka bronchitis. So, we walked out with a script for antibiotics and home we went.

Next thing I get a call from a mate at work to tell me my eldest son asked her to ring me and tell me that there had been a confirmed case of whooping cough at school. Oh brilliant- we have a 5 week old baby at home who would be in terrible danger if she got it. My source at work dug a little deeper to find out if the child was in primary or secondary and it turned out it was secondary school.. Okay- Now I was panicking.

Back on the phone to the doctors surgery.. expecting the brush off from the receptionists- I was pleasantly surprised that when I mentioned the words suspected whooping cough and five week old they got the doctor to call me back!

As you do, I had started googling the topic in the meantime- if ZMaster D or T did have it then other family members should go on antibiotics to help prevent or lessen infection.. Babies are especially at risk if infected and would have to be hospitalized... Now I was freaking out, I couldn't bear the thought of our little one having it.

Thankfully the doc suggested the boys get tested by having a swab of the throat and nose.. That was a circus! Praise the Lord, the results were negative. Andrew and I went in first thing the next morning to get a booster shot- which was a walk in the park, hardly felt a thing! By the end of the day my arm was rather sore and tender. Not to worry though, if it means avoiding whooping cough I'm all for it 8-) bonus that the vaccine was also for tetanus and diptheria etc- we are good for another ten years.

Now I'm onto my next topic- WHY do poeple refuse to immunize their children!! I know there are conspiracy theories about these shots causing autism etc but seriously- do you really want your child to suffer any of these diseases and also expos others? Polio has been pretty much eradicated in Aus thanks to vaccinations..sigh.

Perhaps parents who are anti immunizations need to spend time in hospital with tiny babies who contract whooping cough and see the suffering it causes- grief even for parents who have lost their infants to this disease. It could be them if they aren't careful.

I have also learned that adults can contract whooping cough as their immunity decreases the longer it has been since they have been vaccinated. If they pick it up then they can pass it on to their children too. Hence the government has made booster vaccines for parents/grandparents and caregivers free.

It continues to amaze me everyday how loving and merciful God is- and the power of prayer.

TGBTG xx

Breastfeeding sucks!

Oh, don't panic, I mean it only in the literal sense, a pun on words only. Get it, sucks, right!?!

Anyhoo, my latest is about trying to get baby into a routine of sorts before I go back to work in 19 days --am soo depressed about that :{ -- setting a routine with a BF baby seems funny.. Especially when you are told by those in the know that demand feeding is the best way to go. Well, that's what i have been doing and basically I feel like I'm being used as a dummy!

I've googled to see what the general consensus is about routines and six week olds- so far the common theme is EASY - supposedly Eat, Activity, Sleep, Y...?. Ok, got that- but how long should the activity last and what should it BE? What do I do if baby goes to sleep while feeding?

This is baby number 4 and I still have all these questions!! Previously I would let them go to sleep feeding or rock them to sleep.. Not good habits to get into- ESP. When there are other kids to sort out in the house.

Am off to the newborn drop in centre tomorrow so I shall see what sage advice I come home with.