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

and two more bump photos

a kiss for the baba...

bumping bellies!

bump pictures 37 weeks

37 weeks according to my dates, 36+2 according to hospital.

Loving my bump (apart from how uncomfortable it is!)! My friend Elaine took the pictures with her digital SLR and I did a bit of contrast, red eye correction, black and white and glow on them in picasa. This will probably be the last time my belly won't look wobbly! For the rest of my life! I got lucky after Emm and there wasn't much damage done, but this babe is meant to be bigger, and also, you probably can't stretch your skin like this, twice, and go back to normal afterwards!

christmas day

We had a very quiet, but lovely, christmas day, with a fire down all day, lots of chocolate and christmas sweets and mandarins, a little bit of unwrapping, but we kept it the presents to a minimum this year. We had a few more presents from Germany today (we did Christkindl, doing the 'Bescherung' together, on skype), and M is going to get more from Peter's family, but it was nice, even without lots and lots of luxurious presents! I have to admit, I enjoy buying presents, and it was nice to be able to do it a few years ago, when I was earning money and didn't have a mortgage to worry about. There were a few years where I was buying for all my family, and most of Peter's, and for my friends, and I loved it! I enjoy the giving much more than the receiving, mostly because I am quite picky about what I like. This year I got a voucher for pregnancy reflexology (something I would have just booked and gone for when I was pregnant with Emm) and a clipboard with lists, that I actually bought myself and P just wrapped it for me. It would have been nice to get some little surprises, too... Something I hadn't asked for or bought myself!

At the same time, we're all relatively healthy, M's eyes are OK for the moment and we have a new consultant, the pregnancy is going well as far as we can tell, and we were fortunate enough not to have to travel anywhere during the cold snap, and not to have to worry about the heating bill, or food!

her new kitchen being unveiled.

...straight to work!
raiding the tree

some more snow play

Today the thaw has set in, the snow's gone from the roof and trees and walls, the snowmen have melted to small mounds, there's rain and melting water everywhere. On the upside, it means some of P's family might come after all, for dinner on Tuesday!
Tomorrow we have to brave IKEA, and get Emm a new bed, we really shouldn't put it off any longer, with only 4 weeks till the due date! It'll be enough change for her, without giving up her cot and seeing it used by the new baby straight away, I think it'll be better for her to have a few weeks settling in, with the cot out of sight, before we set it up in our room.

christmas eve

snow pictures

P says this is the most snow he's seen since he was a little kid. It's certainly more than I have ever seen in Ireland, and I've been here for nearly 9 years... Emm is loving it!

On a not so nice note, the stomach bug that we seem to have avoided for the last two weeks seems to finally have arrived at our house, P is miserable today! Emm and I have met a lot more people just before and after they came down with it and have escaped so far, but it looks like we might all have it for christmas! For most of my friends it's been a 24 hour bug, so lets hope that's all it's going to be... I really hope that if we're going to be struck with it, Emm and I won't get it before tomorrow afternoon, as we just got tickets to see 'The Snowman' at the concert hall in the morning!  Fingers crossed...

pepparkakor

swedish gingerbread men and other ornaments! Other pregnant women apparently get the nesting instinct, cleaning their houses... i've clearly gone mad making and icing gingerbread... i really should be in bed, not tying red cotton string to biscuits. i've hung some of the ornaments into the tree, in the top layers, i better wait with the lower branches until christmas morning, I have a suspicion they won't last long!

Birdfeeders

Today we finally got a proper snow fall, I'd say 6 inches at least, and it's still going. We haven't had any snow to speak of in the last weeks, but it's been quite cold. Lately I've noticed some robins and tits out in the garden, They must have come from the countryside to the village gardens, looking for food! I spoke to my mum, who loves to watch wild birds, and she said the best way to feed them is to make some fat bird feeders. I bought some cooking fat and bird seed, got small clay pots, string and twigs from the garden, and checked my baking cupboard for oats, and some leftover nuts and seeds (great way to use up the slightly out of date ones!). As it's nearly christmas I threw in some raisins as a treat, too! you can also add peanut butter and any unsalted unroasted nuts and seeds.

You melt the fat (Vegetable fat, lard, beef drippings, whatever you can get your hands on.For today's batch I got some free cutoffs from the butcher, and added the rendered fat to the bought stuff) over a very low heat, then stir in your seeds, chopped nuts and oats. Leave to cool. You use the twig and string to hang the pot from a tree, with the twig serving as a climbing branch for the birds. Hard to explain, easy to show http://www.geo.de/GEOlino/weihnachten/52056.html this link shows it quite well.













During my first attempt yesterday I hadn't looked it up properly, thinking I remembered it all from when my mum made these when I was a kid. I forgot to put in the little branch for climbing, and also didn't let the mixture cool down enough before filling the pot. The birds don't seem to mind so far. I made another one today, and this one's by the book, just waiting to set on top of the garden shelve.

We had Emm's follow up appointment last  week and the professor said her retinas are reacting to the laser treatment as they should. He isn't the one doing her long term treatment plan, so he wasn't answering any questions, in fact, when I mentioned we might get referred to London he nearly seemed insulted and wound up the appointment very quickly. I don't think even as a professor, he has any reason to feel offended if parents are looking to see a specialist, if he has only had one or two patients with this condition in his entire career... I forgot to ask for the October photographs of her retinas and he didn't offer them either, I'll have to call the nurse on tomorrow and ask will she email them to me. I'm still annoyed the professor didn't take any before and after photos during the operation, and didn't repeat the angiogram, which is what the consultant had said would be done initially... We see him again in January, so I think we'll just have to wait until then to find out what the next steps will be.

I had an antenatal appointment on Friday, and the midwife reckons this baby will be bigger than Emm was! It's lying oblique at the moment, she said that's OK at this point. I certainly get lots of kicks and I think it's still twisting and turning a lot, sometimes it feels like there's just not enough space! I feel as big as I was just before Emm was born, and I still have 5 weeks to go!

making christmas cards

I've been experimenting with using Emm's artwork for christmas cards. My baubles didn't quite work out, but I was very happy with the snowman,


so I made a little series! I used two of her drawings that had only pale colours, and mostly blue, on white. I cut it into wide strips so that I'd have a rough guide to for the size of the circles, which I then cut freehand.


I used red card (which came with matching envelopes from a bookshop in Germany, 3.45€ for 10 about 2 years ago) and glued three circles on, trying to make sure to get a bit of texture by mixing and matching darker and lighter circles, or by turning them so the lines would go in different directions. The carrot noses are done with white glue and red glitter, everything else is drawn on with black ink.



Sure to delight grannies and aunties!

I love red and white for christmas decorations, but I might let Emm loose with lots of shades of green, and then cut shapes to make christmas trees, because I have lots of cream coloured cards in my paper crafts box! I'm not really a big fan of glitter, but it seems essential in irish crafts for kids (maybe in Germany, too, but it wasn't around when I was little...). Emm enjoys the stuff greatly, so I'm sure the christmas tree designs will feature some, too!

I enjoyed the bit of peace and quiet during her nap time, making the cards, ignoring my floors which are in dire need of mopping...

I've got a super itchy eye, which I'm pretty sure I got yesterday, ironically, from the hospital for Emm's eye operation! They had the air conditioning set to heat the place full blast, it was worst in the tiny play room, imagine sitting under a hair dressers dryer hood! There was no getting away from it, and now my bottom eye lid is swollen and itchy, can't think of the name for the condition. The pharmacist gave me some over the counter drops to calm it, but so far it's not making a difference! At least now Emm doesn't feel too hard done by, having to get eye drops, as she's not the only one!

Eyes update

We're just back from the hospital, and Emm had laser on both eyes. She was a very brave girl, didn't cry once or make a fuss, with lots of sets of eye drops, and blood pressure measuring and general taking her away from the play room and toys.
It's a bit strange, she was booked in for another EUA and FA, and if necessary they were possibly going to do some lasering. Then they phoned us on Monday and said they spoke to the specialist in London and he recommended they laser the left eye and see about the right eye. This morning we noticed the EUA and FA wasn't on her file, but the nurse added them. After the OP the Professor came down to speak to us and told us the OP went well and that he'd lasered both eyes. When I'd asked about the pictures he said he didn't take any! I'm a bit annoyed, as this was what our new consultant had ordered in the first place, a second set of pictures to compare and assess whether there had been any change!
We're glad they did the laser and that the Professor said he didn't 'see' any change, but I really would have liked there to be pictures to show it. Especially if we want to get a second opinion abroad it would be good to have some 'before and after' pictures from today. Also, I hardly even bake a cake without taking pictures, so I thought it strange of a surgeon doing extensive laser surgery without documenting the process... Maybe they were too busy? The ward certainly was full today...
He agreed to let us have copies of the images, but I'm not sure if he will have them digitally. I wanted him to just email them to me, but he was saying 'I'll have them for you next week, at the appointment'.

Emm's first snowman

messy baking with two year olds

I didn't quite realise before just how hard it is to bake with two year olds! While a 12 months old baby tried to eat raw cookie dough, two two year olds tried to cut cookies before the dough was even rolled out. When it came to decorating the first biscuits were eaten immediately (why would mama put sweets in front of me unless she's expecting me to eat them?) one was sprinkling hundreds and thousands onto icing only to lick it all off seconds later, while another just ate the alphabet sprinkles straight from the bowl! They did get into the spirit of things soon after, but another minute later they were bored and went off to play, while the mammies finished the job. Cleaning up afterwards was a sticky business! But all worth it, the girls had fun, and their mums, too, and proud little bakers brought home biscuits for their daddies.
Four of us had this great plan of craft afternoons for the little ones, but none of us have any experience, so we're learning by doing. About attention spans, the importance of being organised, and basically about enjoying watching them have fun, without getting to concerned about how perfect the finished project is going to be!