Alphabets

3 months already?

Dang it was hard to walk out of the house and head for work last wednesday. Could not help but think of Bubba D all the time and had to resist the urge to call home 3 times per hour to find out how he was doing. Managed to call/text once every 3 hours instead: Ms Surprise, is Bubba D taking to the bottle ok? Is his belly alright? What about sleep time? Is he missing me as much as I am missing him? Suffice to say the day/week couldnt end early enough... 

Lots of changes in the workplace. All the projects I was running were completed by my team mates in my absence (I had planned for them to be closed by end of March but as we all know Bubba D had to come out 3 weeks earlier than planned). I am now taking on brand new stuff involving various departments I have never dealt with before. Changes abound in the people am dealing with (number of folks have left and some have been asked to leave) There has been a number of lateral and horizontal movement too. One of which involves my boss (whom I get on very well with) - he has been promoted and will be moving out of the division am in. Sniff.

So overall, am dealing with an "all  change" on a whole host of fronts - adjusting to the new situ within an old environment; adapting to being a working mum and seeing my bubba for a shorter time.

Aiming to remain positive, shake of the last 4kg of my booty, put on some eyeliner and lip gloss and become the yummy mummy that I said I'd be.

Work in Progress

 

Construction work next door continued during the week... Bubba D slept fretfully despite cotton wool in his little ears. Por love. Being a light light light sleeper, I am unable to doze of even for a second. Lack of catnap time + night feeds = sleep deprived me = likely to snap at surrounding adults within the vicinity. Shame. Trip to pediatrician revealed that we have got the wrong end of Bubba D. It is not his nose that is causing him much discomfort, it is his belly. Or to be more specific, it is the gas in his bell. According to the Doc, the pain makes Bubba D breathe hard and because his nasal passages are so small, it sounds as though his sinuses are blocked. Ooops. (Why wasnt this covered in the baby Manual is what I would like to know...) Now that we know the cause, all efforts are directed to relieve Bubba D of that mean old colic e.g: eucalyptus oil on Bubba's belly, cutting out broccoli, beans and other windy nasties in Mum's diet, ensuring he burps no matter what, homeopathy powder, et al. All other tips on getting rid of colic welcomed.

xxx

In moments of crisis - a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do - find solace and comfort in a new hairdo! And so I have done it. After much investigating and scouring around, I have FINALLY found a Hairdresser I am confident in and comfortable with in Singers. Woohoo. How happy am I that the search is over? Following this, a big part of thursday was spent in the salon of choice for a makeover session. My boring blearghy black hair has been uplifted with some red and blonde highlights (huzzah) and the length has been shortened considerably. Results: I am now Katie to AzuraPoshDec. Next on the agenda: some exercise to get rid of the remaining access kgs and a new wardrobe!

PS: For some reason my formatting has gone all awry in this post. Update: I think its fixed.

4 weeks on

Bubba D's nasal passages been bunged up the past week. It has got especially bad in the last 2 days. As a result the por thing has been fretting, waking up every hour trying to feed, then getting very frustrated when he is not able to breath and suck at the same time due to his congested airways. This has knock on effect on me both emotionally (painful to see him this way) and physically (I am more sleep deprived than normal). Suffice to say, there are a number of crankpots in this household this week.

Then yesterday we did a number of things. First we decided to abandon the moses basket (to ensure it was not the dust from the basket that was causing the blockage), then we called the air condition repairman to come and service all the units in the house (in case it was circulating dust - he will do so this weekend). We also changed the sheets (again) in his cot (in case it is the dustmites). Switched off the air condition then switched it on again (when he started to sweat buckets). Not sure whether any of these worked/will work but hopeful that in the long run these will lead to free flow nasal passages for Bubba D.

In the short term, we resorted to inserting saline drops into his twee nose which made him sneeze then enabled him to feed properly. He went to sleep quite peacefully (after 1hour of on and off crying) and have been feeding well last night/today. He is a much happier bunny today and so am I.

Hopefully his sinuses will clear up soon.

xxx

Bubba D is 4 weeks old today. I have to admit that since 3rd March (when we found out he had to be induced), life has changed immensely for me. I always thought that I would be one of those who would be somewhat detached from their bubba and that life would continue as-is-but-with-baby-in-tow. Not so it would appear. Not only do I feel intensely attached to Bubba D, I also seem to have developed an overwhelming feeling to protect and nurture the little chap all the time. Amazing Grace Jones. In the hospy I had thought that the lump in throat that appeared when watching the lion king (the bit where baby lion is left on his own) was due to shift in hormones and that it would dissipate over the weeks. aha.. not so.. I still feel wobbly at the sight of any defenseless creature, especially the one that is snoozing in the cot in the nursery next door as I type.

xxx

Am now wondering how on earth am able to leave Bubba D with Ms Surprise* and go back to work in 2 months time. Yikesa. I suspect I will have to make little trips out in May (to the hairdressers and the shops for new outfits!) to get used to the idea. You wont believe this but I find the idea of leaving him for nanosecond very scary. Do I need therapy?

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* Ms Surprise has improved tremendously since Ma Avis had a chat with her on her surprising ways whilst I was in hopsy. Surprises are getting less and less (yeay). She also seems to love babies and take particular interest in Bubba D (double yeay). The only nay is that she hovers when am breastfeeding/expressing (throughout the hour) and touches/speaks to Bubba D all the time even when he is on 'near sleep mode': both fixable issues with a bit of communication on my part I know.. I plan to do this soon as soon as I get some zeds in....

Pix of Bubba D

Bubba D changes daily. He started off a really pale, crumpled curly haired tyke,  then turned yellow with jaundice (por love), skinny straight haired little chappy earlier this week and now some days after photoray sessions -  he is looking much healthier - pink all over,  straight fine hair, ginger eyebrows (!) and filling out nicely.

He's sniffling though and this does get in the way of his feed (we're aiming to have this sorted at his next check up this monday). Still, he keeps his humour and has an overall calm temperament...

So here we are  everyone - here is the formal introduction -  meet Bubba D of the Avis-SF household, previously known as the Bump:

Arrival of Bubba D

WOW what a week its been. Following my previous post, we trundled to the OB thinking that it was going to be just another check up where we'd be told to watch out for signs of Bubba Avis-SFM wanting to make an appearance. Instead we were recommended to have Bubba induced ASAP as he was being very naughty, playing with the cord within.

Manic handover and sorting out last minute things on Monday 3rd, checked into the hospy on Tuesday 4th for inducement and 32 (long) hours later, on 5th March - Thank God and Huzzah, Bubba D makes his way into the world A-OK.

On site was the proud da SFM beaming from ear to ear and doting aunt Azuredec with her cool camera snap snapping away (am trying to upload a pix but am finding it difficult with Mac).

We're still sorting ourselves out, having just got out of hospy yesterday (mixture of me and my fever and Bubba D and his jaundice - we're both well now - thanks everyone for your kind messages) and will be updating more soon!

Not long now...

At last Monday's check the OB told us to expect the stork earlier than the official due date (Easter weekend). She reckons we are looking at 7-10 days earlier which means Bubba could arrive in about 2 weeks (!) Yesterday the ladies at the spa where I had my pedi and mani commented that the baby has dropped; one of them reckoned that it was not long now before I'd go into labour.

Oops. Just as well that I have finally packed my bag for the hospy and we finally purchased the blinds for the the nursery last saturday. We are also getting the air-condition installed for the room today. Talk about cutting it close.

Heading to the OB in 15mins - wonder whether she's got any new insights...

Yikesa - have you seen feet this swollen?

About a month ago, I picked up the new fandango pair of suede crocs - so I'd have something comfortable to wear to work. At the shop I wasnt too sure about the size I should go for. 4 or 5 (given that am 4 and a teeny bit). Salesperson assures me that I should go up rather than down. AND JEEPERS AM I GLAD I DID! Because in my current situation, there is no bleeping way I would be able to squeeze my BIG SWOLLEN feet into a bang on size 4 (pix thumbnailed for those sensitive types).

xxx

This afternoon, at a nail/wax salon, the person who was tending to me confidently stated: That baby in your stomach is no doubt a boy.

I said to her: Yes, wow, amazing grace jones, can you really tell and how do you know?

She says: Oh your belly is round as opposed to sharp.

Me: Really? (Patting round belly wondering what a sharp belly looks like and thinking I must be more observant of other pregnant women).

She then continues: Yes, usually women who are carrying girls - they tend to look beautiful - dewy (that word again!) and glowy.

Me: ... and women carrying boys?

She: Oh they look tired, have swollen legs and feet like yours and if they are unlucky they also have rash and strange pigmentation.

30 minutes later....

She: Ah I see your underarm has this pigmentation thing. Never mind ah, 6 months after the birth, it'll disappear. And your neck, what are you doing about the rash?

Sometimes, you just have to laugh.