new arrival!

This is our little boy, Ti, (his actual name is spelled irish-gaelic and pronounced /ˈteɪɡ/, /ˈtiːɡ/, /ˈtaɪɡ/, like the first half of 'tiger') who arrived Thursday morning, much like his sister after a quick labour and delivery, about and hour after arriving at the hospital. Much like his sister he also is giving me some difficulties feeding him, so it'll be quiet here for a while, as we're working on the correct latch!

Winter Sun

This is how long our shadows were at twelve noon today! But it's good to know that the days are getting longer... Did I mention we got an 'Ecological Calendar' this year? I love it, especially watching how the amount of day light increases, and the different night sky events.

Emm and I had to do some banking today, and added a charity shop visit (very successful, with a 'Peppa Pig' book, 'The Little Red Hen' ladybird book, a tablecloth that might be intended to be embroidered (which is very unlikely to happen anytime soon), some flashcards and a Peter and the Wolf CD, narrated by Dame Edna Everage. We also had a little walk on the beach, which ended in a tantrum when it was time to go back, and I intended to share some lunch with her, in a little cafe (where Emm refused to eat anything, at all, and instead chose to colour Peppa Pig pictures (yes, we're dealing with an obsession here)). Apart from the tantrum, it was a nice relaxed morning for just the two of us!

Her eye appointment went OK, both eyes still dealing with the effects from the laser OP, as they should, and no disease related changes visible during the slitlamp exam. It wasn't nice to get actual numbers for her eye sight (3/60 and 6/60 at the moment, which for a grown up means legally blind), when it seems like she sees all she needs to, but it's all part of the process of getting her all the support she needs. The consultant says the decrease in her visiual acuity (while we weren't told numbers before, her file had 6/24 written in it from a previous visit) is partly due to (hopefully) temporary shortsightedness due to swelling from the laser operation. However, as she grows, and her eyes with her, she is very likely to become more and more shortsighted, on top of the retinal problems she has, and which are also likely to worsen. The optometrist and consultant both were quick to point out how 'very bright' she is, and what great language skills she has for her age, which I think was intended to distract me from the fact that her eye sight is not very good at all. If her eyesight doesn't decrease she should be able to go to a normal school, using low vision aids.

So now I should be free to mentally prepare for the baby, but today it doesn't feel right yet, it's all to fresh on my mind and I'm filling my day trying to get the house and bills organised while trying to spend quality time with Emm, too, all at an awfully slow pace, because I'm really feeling 'heavily' pregnant now! So very different to the last few weeks of pregnancy with Emm...

waiting for baby...

I knit a little hat for the baby, but I think it's a bit small, I better make another one... The pattern is called 'Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap' and can be found on www.ravelry.com. It's meant to have ties below the ears, but I think I'll make a bigger hat with ties before I put more time into this one. The wool is 'sublime' merino, in 'sage'.

A friend of mine organised a pediatric 1st aid course for 10 of us, it was a hard day for a 38w pregnant lady! Those manikins really are sturdy and CPR is much harder work than you'd think! We learned a lot, mostly refreshing knowledge from previous occupational first aid, and concentrating on what things you do differently for children and infants.

The baby's head has descended a little bit into my pelvis, to just above his/her eyebrows, according to the midwife yesterday, I'd say after all the CPR practice today it might be another bit lower! I'm getting nerve twinges in my groin, and pressure, too! P already brought down the crutches from the attic, in case I get the badly trapped nerve again, that immobilised me for nearly three weeks before Emm was born! I'm sitting here, typing, and looking at my belly, and already starting to feel nostalgic about it being gone soon. This time next month I should have either had the baby or being induced! I'm in two minds, I do feel ready to meet the baby, but at the same time I worry about being able to still give Emm all the attention she needs!

She has her next eye appointment tomorrow morning. After hitting the 37w mark this is another day I want to get through, before going into labour. Maybe after that I'll relax a little more. The roads are still very icy at the moment, too, so it wouldn't harm if the baby decided to come on a day it wasn't so dangerous to drive! I remember before Emm arrived I felt really ready, I had nothing important left to do, lots of little things planned but nothing that was vital! I hope I'll get a little more time to spend with Emm on my own, this weekend was so busy, I hardly spent any time with her during the day. She got an extraordinary amount of bedtime songs though, and lots of extra cuddle time. I think I'm going to make a list of lots of little things to do with Emm before the baby comes, going to the beach, the library, bake... something to look forward to each day while we wait for her sibling!

Our christmas tree and decorations are gone, the living room feels a little bare, but also so much bigger again, with space for the pram, for the baby to sleep in during the day!

Health and Happiness to you and yours!

Happy New Year 2011!


2010 has been tough, tiring because of the pregnancy, and the slow realisation of what is wrong with Emm's eyes. But as bad as the outlook for the future may possibly be, for the moment she's well, and we're all healthy otherwise, as far as we can tell, P has his job, we have a cosy little house and so far don't have to worry about the heating bill, this unusually cold winter. Looking back at the pictures from the last two posts I'm realising how lucky I am, there's love, and beauty, there are friends, hopes for the new year, in just those few photos. I tidied up a lot of photos on my camera and harddrive last night, and came across so many happy moments throughout the year!


Hopefully in 2011 there will be less health worries (although we've got several hospital appointments lined up already) and I hope we will continue to take each day as it comes, and see the good in each one of them. Sometimes it's hard not to get stressed and irritated and argue about small things, but I'm working towards putting things into perspective. We have so much to be thankful for, and so many enjoyable things in our life!


I hope all will be well with this baby, I do worry about the birth a little, mostly because the 30-40 minute trip to the hospital could turn out much longer, with the cold snap we've been having, and a lot of people have been telling me their 2nd child came much quicker than their 1st! And of course I also worry about the baby's eyes, and Emm's...


I have just been reading other blogs, enjoying all the thoughts about the old year gone by and new year ahead. Melanie of Kimono Reincarnate had this lovely blessing in today's post, I've taken the liberty to post it here, too, because it matches so well what I'm thinking, about what matters, and how good we have it, and how I wish to everybody to be able to be grateful for these things!

"Wishing you always...

Walls for the wind,

A roof for the rain

And tea beside the fire.

Laughter to cheer you,

Those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire"

                            An Irish Blessing