33 weeks pregnant today

I spent most of yesterday washing the baby's car seat.

I will take it off the line today when it is completely dry and will put it back on the car seat.

After this it will be ready to install into uni's car.

I will be hiring a baby capsule from the ambulance at the end of April.

Am slowly getting through the cleaning of all the baby stuff.

The baby's room really looks like a baby's room now.

Kt has made some beautiful toys for the baby which are waiting for him on the bookshelf!

We can't wait to meet him.

the next day

Well Kt headed off to school and participated in the cross country.

She was pretty tired when I picked her up from school in the afternoon, but not anywhere near as sore or as uncomfortable as the previous day.

I carried her school bag home for her because she was too tired to carry it.

I was pretty tired by the end of the day too ... I almost fell asleep watching the final and very gripping episode of My kitchen rules.

In a way I am glad it is over (although I loved the series)because it made me so hungry watching it!

The last few nights I have had restless sleep either because I was worried of how kt would handle getting the vaccination needle etc, then on the next night worried if her reaction to the injection was too severe and might continue to cause her problems.

Finally last night I was able to fully relax and really sleep .. and I needed it.

Tonight I will try to go to bed early to catch up a bit more of my lost sleep.

I washed most of the pram yesterday and am finishing it today doing the parts that need to be sponge cleaned. Some removable pads also still need to dry completely on the line.

I also took out the stroller and washed that today too, while I am in the swing of things.

We probably won't need that for a few months but it seems a bit unfair to keep a whole lot of baby stuff in uni's recreation room for months and months on end until we need it.

The baby's room has plenty of space (so far) and if I can get things cleaned and stored up there now I won't have to juggle a young baby, a curious dog and more stuff to clean.

The only exception to this rule is the high chair which takes up a lot of room ... I may clean this and put it in the corner of the office somewhere until it is needed....

I got a few more nappies today ... found them accidentally ... on special (almost half price) at Coles ... newborn size ones at 20c each ... so I bought 4 packs ... 160 nappies in total.

I now have 377 newborn size nappies ready to go. (This is about $100 worth ... all bought on special ... and would have cost much much more at their regular price).

Still thinking about using some cloth nappies particularly as baby gets bigger and poos become more predictable ... also disposables get more expensive as the size goes up. I figure if I know when a poo is coming I can put on a disposable and then once that "danger" has passed I can put on cloth nappies which will be easy to rinse wee out of and just wash with our other stuff.

There are modern cloth nappies that are kind of already in a nappy shape ... you don't have to fold a square of terry towelling up like origami... and you don't have to fasten them with safety pins or anything like that.

I also think using cloth nappies will make toilet training easier and quicker because they do get wet and should teach little ones the connection between certain body feelings and the associated wet nappy.

Will have to try them and see how I feel after a few test runs!


I will get a couple of packets of wipes in the next few weeks too. It seems to me that a big box of 480 Johnson and Johnson wipes for $20 at either Kmart or Big W is the way to go ... will get a couple of boxes at a time so I am well stocked.

2nd post for today.

Today I took out kt's old pram, read through the instructions, figured out how to fold it, unfold it, adjust the seat, the handle, the canopy etc.

Most things worked easily and I vaguely remember doing it all when kt was a baby.

I did run into trouble when I tried to fold the pram back up ... it wouldn't fold beyond a certain point so I unfolded it out completely again and had a second go.

I was a bit more determined this time and it folded with a surprise cracking sound. OOOPS!

I think it was ok though because it unfolded again normally and nothing seems to be at an odd angle or broken.

I vacuumed its interior and I also washed the bits I could take off it and sponged down the bits that had to remain on it.

It is outside now drying in the sun.

I allowed myself the whole day for this job ... although it may not be completely dry until tomorrow.

Once it is dry I will attempt to fold it again and hopefully it will be fine and that cracking noise will have only been a one time thing!!!

I want to try and get out and have a bit of practise manoevering the pram about before the baby comes.

Might have to put a doll in there, cover the pram completely as if I am sunprotecting the baby ... and have a go a few times while we walk the dog or something.

Hopefully no one I know recognizes me and wants to look at the "baby" LOL!!!!

flu vaccinations

Yesterday Kt took the day off school so she and uni could get the new flu vaccine which includes swine flu.

She was very brave and handled it well, without tears. Many people made a fuss of her and she was proud of herself.

Uni came home and went to bed because he had to work in the evening, and kt watched some movies we got from the video store.

Her arm was sore from early on and by the afternoon she was complaining of a headache. I gave her panadol both times to help ease her discomfort.

By evening she was lying down not looking very good at all. She said her head hurt when she walked.

Sounds like we both had severe headaches in response to the swine flu part.

I gave her a bath in the evening and helped her undress, wash, get dry and dress again.

She was very sweet ... "thank you mum"

We read stories on the couch while she lay down.

She wasn't keen to eat dinner, but after heading off to the toilet and coming back she decided she would be better off trying to eat something (especially as it was her favourite spaghetti bolognaise). She had a few bites cheerfully and then went and lay down again.

We went to do bedtime stories in her room and she snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.

She fell asleep halfway through the first of two chapters and then woke up violently and looked at me in alarm saying that the bed had moved (I think she experienced that falling sensation we sometimes get when we fall asleep).

After that I quietened down my reading voice and she fell asleep as I reached the end of the first chapter.

I turned out the light and left her to rest, unsure of what kind of night was ahead.

I only had one dose of panadol left in the bottle and hoped it would be enough until the morning.

Luckily she slept right through the night and woke up cheerful and feeling much better this morning.

I took her to school after I was sure she felt up to it ... especially as she had the school cross country this morning.

Then I went and got more panadol immediately!!!

Because she is under 10 years old she will need to have two doses of the flu vaccine in order for it to be completely effective.

Adults and children over 10 only need the one dose.

Assuming she continues to be OK I will go ahead and take her for the second dose at the end of April ... although I will be prepared for how hard it is on her.

We got out flu vaccines as part of the majellan medical centre's flu vaccine clinic which meant that we were bulk billed for the visit and we had to pay $9.90 for the vaccine itself.

Other medical surgeries charged between $20 - $30 for the vaccine plus whatever the doctors fee is ... even though you spend minimal time with the doctor as it is the nurses that administer the vaccine.

We were booked in for 9.15 and 9.30 but ended up being their from 9am (because uni and kt were new patients and had to fill out paperwork) until 10.30am.

It seemed that they were grouping bundles of flu clinic patients together so the doctor could go around and quickly talk to each one about the vaccine one after the other.

Not quite as effecient from a patients point of view as I was expecting, but I may take kt with me next time I have an antenatal appoint and see if I can combine that with the flu clinic so she gets to come in with me to the doctor at my appointment time first thing, and then we can get kt's vaccination done when my appt is finished.

As it was we kept being moved from waiting room to waiting room until the doctor was finally ready to come and talk to us .... in the meantime she was seeing other patients in her room.

haircuts

Just all got our hair cut today.

We really needed it!

I have a bit of hair stuck in the back of my throat though ... must have had my mouth open while my fringe was being done.

Kt woke up early this morning (7.30am) which is her school day waking time. Saturdays are my only sleep in day and I was not happy to have missed out on it today.

I stayed up until midnight last night and was still very sleepy and unready to get up.

Am pretty sure I will be having an early night tonight.

I am 32 weeks pregnant today so I only have potentially 7 or 8 more sleep in saturdays available to me before baby is born and sleep becomes a distant memory.

I tried falling asleep on the couch once kt had eaten breakfast and was amusing herself, but she decided she wanted to play with the air drying clay I bought her last weekend.

She had come to the markets with me last sunday and been very helpful and we finished shopping at 10am which is when thurects opens, so I told her we could buy some air drying clay as a reward for her being so helpful and cooperative.

We didn't end up using it last weekend and I had promised we would this weekend ... so I got up off the couch intending to get her started and then try to nap while she worked.

The clay was pretty hard in its packet so I had to moisten it and cut it so it would be a manageable size to work with.

It felt really nice and soothing to touch and bump started kicking (as if he was interested in what was going on) and in spite of myself I woke up and started to make things with kt.

In the end we had a whole garden full of stuff ... picture to come ...

a snail, a frog (sticking out his long tongue), a cat, a fairy, a flower and a butterfly.

Then we had to eat and finish some frozen yoghurt so we could use its empty container to store the remainder of the clay in so it would stay moist and protected and not dry out!

So while there was a slow and reluctant start to the day on my part ... it has been kind of fun!

Then we played for a while, kt watched tv and I tidied the kitchen, then we got ready for swimming.

After swimming we came home and washed hair, ate lunch and headed off for our haircuts.

I am about to sort through and put up some photos now ...

feeling pretty good

Had a good day today ... tried not to do too much.

Brought baby bath upstairs ... will need to wash it and put it into the change table.

Put baby teddy mat out on the line again today to enjoy the germ killing properties of sunlight and give it a good air out.

I washed it yesterday but it rained lightly just before I brought it in so I thought it needed an extra day of sunshine.

I will put out the bouncer cover tomorrow. It came off the line dry yesterday ... but after having some discussions with uni about the benefits of sun and air on our clothes and things ... I think another day of sunshine is a good idea.

I ironed a whole heap of size 00 and 0 clothes last night and have sorted them into boy and girl clothes.

The boy clothes will go into the baby's chest of drawers tonight.

Now I have the chest of drawers fully stocked with clean winter sheets and size 00000-0 baby clothes.

The baby's toy box is filled with the clean and ironed 00000-0 size girls clothing. I still have to iron the summer cot sheets, but once they are done I will put them into the toy box too, ready for use in spring and summer.

So once baby is born I will have easy access to a years worth of clothing and clean sheets.

I will leave the sorting of size 1-4 clothes for some time next year! There is not nearly as much in these sizes ... and most of it is girly stuff ... so since we think bump is a boy there probably isn't much point worrying about washing and ironing this clothing yet.

I bought a new cot mattress for the baby earlier in the week and that is sitting waiting in the cot.

I have also stocked up on some newborn size nappies and in the next few weeks will stock up on baby wipes.

recording prices

Have done a bit of baby goods pricing and think I should record it here where it will be easy to refer back too.

Best price on huggies 108 newborn so far ... this week super iga .. $29.99.

Last week WW had them for 2 for $66 which worked out at $33 per box.

And the usual price for them at places like kmart, ww, target are $38 - $40 per box.

Aldi's mammia nappies are $16 for a pack of 56 so therefore 112 would be $32.

Their wipes are $2.69 for a packet of 80.

Big W have big bulk packs of Snugglers nappies ... newborn up to 8kg 144pack (can't remember the price but snugglers are usually cheaper than huggie)

Both Big w and Kmart sell 6 X 80 pack boxes of johnsons baby wipes (that is 480 wipes in total) for about $19.90 - $20.

Often 3 packs of 80 go on sale for $11-13, so getting a boxed 6 pack is still much better value.

Huggies 384 pack wipes are $18-19 at kmart and big w.

So J&J are better value but apparently you can easily tear the huggies wipes in half and potentially get double the use out of them.

I would have to test this theory out!

Terry cloth nappies ... preformed shape with velcro are $6 each at Kmart ... although they do not have very many of them.

Fluffies wooly pilchers are $5 each.

Bath thermometers are $9 from kmart.

Big W have fluffies waterproof change table protectors for $9-10 for a pack of 2 small ones.

baby preparations

I have been washing ... which has been quite a frustrating thing to do in the current weather situation.

Most days there is rain and sunshine and you can never be sure if you should do clothes or not.

I have been washing baby sheets, more clothes up to and including size 0 and generally trying to get things ready.

I also need to air out and wash things like the pram, baby car seats, baby play mat, bouncer, stroller etc, but I need to do this on a day that is guaranteed to be sunny all day so they will dry well.

It is very frustrating to have the weather against me. Usually February is rainy and march is sunny and windy and cooler, but the rain continues to persist.

We took Motley to the vet today ... uni caught her ... and did most of the talking at the vet ... I like it better that way!!!

I also bought a new cot mattress today ... so the baby will have a nice fresh new mattress to sleep on.

I bought some maternity sized pajamas too ... wintry ones! I am very happy with my maternity wardrobe now ... feel like there is plenty to wear ... and many things I will be able to continue to wear after baby's birth.

I seem to be handling the normal flu injection a bit better than the swine flu one ... my arm was a bit sore last night when I slept on it, but apart from that not going too badly.

I am also loving my compression stockings ... now that it is not quite so hot I have switched to the full length ones and so these extend well above my knees.

I bought some size talls but they were really tight around my upper thighs so I ended up cutting the two legs apart and wearing them separate from each other.

I also bought the next size up extra tall, and these can stay joined together but I just don't pull them up above my hips because they would squash my belly.

So now the blood vessels above my knees are getting some relief too!

Mobile desk

Uni has set me up at my new mobile desk and I am sitting borrowing Kt's chair.

It feels great and much more comfortable than being anywhere else.

The kitchen table has plenty of space but also lots of ants and needs to be wiped down before every use.

I think the desk top is a bit high, so I might have to find a chair that goes up higher than kt's chair... or use a couple of cushions.

This desk has a rollout keyboard tray, but unfortunately my laptop will not fit on that.

The change table is now in the babies room, and I am in the process of filing it and the chest of drawers with freshly washed and ironed clothes!

The second filing cabinet has been unpacked downstairs and I have redistributed our files throughout it. There is much more space for everything there now.

I am getting better and better at navigating the internet using the keyboard. I just needed a bit more knowledge.

I knew the alt key was involved I just didn't know how. Luckily I found some good help sites and I am away.

Now I can do a lot more stuff by accessing the keyboard and surprisingly it is faster in some cases!!!

I forgot to mention in recent posts that Kt's class has adopted some baby guinea pigs!

They are really lovely! All the kids have been bringing in snacks for them (apples, cucumbers, carrots, capsicum etc).


Ok well I better get back to my house cleaning and baby stuff sorting!

not sure if i should post or not

While I have been quiet, other voices have started up ... I think I like it.

Maybe I should quieten down for a bit and listen ... at least every now and then.

We have had a big week and there has been a lot going on.

I find it hard to sit or lie or stay comfortably in any position for long so my time at the computer has been limitted.

I have deleted all my unnecessary emails and am becoming more familiar with my laptop.

Uni will set up my desk for me this five day break and then I will have a more stable and comfortable home for my laptop (though it will be on wheels so it will be mobile).

Am even thinking I should take it out the back in cool of the afternoon to enjoy a break from the heat.

I loved today ... although it was incredibly hot, it has been the first sunny day in what feels like weeks.

I really needed sunshine for my wellbeing.

Early last week i got my swine flu shot and felt pretty yuck for about 2 days. During that time I didn't focus enough on kt to realize that there was something serious going on with her.

She had some kind of infection in her nose which seemed to be getting worse as I was starting to feel better.

I didn't take her to swimming and when I called to tell the swimming instructor why we wouldn't be there she said "oh that sounds like school sores" "You will need to go to the doctor and get an antibiotic cream for her"

I took her to the pharmacy not expecting to have to do anything so radical, but was told the same thing there.

Luckily it was saturday afternoon and the pharmacy was next door to the 7 day medical centre.

We walked in (no appointments taken on weekends) and were seen, diagnosed, handed a prescription and were back out of the pharmacy within about 30 minutes.

Uni was amazed and of course Kt and I were relieved!

Within 24 hours of putting the antibiotic cream on her nose the crust yellow stuff was starting to peel away revealing mildly pink skin underneath.

I have to put it on, up and under her nose three times a day for 10 days, but we seem to have it down to a fine art now.

I have also been very tired, and have had afternoon and night shifts looking after kt on my own and cooking and cleaning for us.

Now I am very much looking forward to the next 5 days uni has off.

He will get lots of work done, I will be able to follow on from the initial work he does, Kt will have a willing, capable and energetic dad to play with, I won't have to cook, I will be able to catch up on "extra" housework that I haven't had the energy to tackle during the shifts.

I will also have a lot more time for naps.

The last three days I have battled very severe headaches on and off as well.

I believe they are clearing and are a fleeting, perhaps stress related thing.

Hopefully they are not a sign of anything more serious.

I also picked out some new glasses last Friday and should have those maybe next week.

funny day

Today has been a really funny day.

I started the day with a bang when I headed downstairs to look for a loaf of bread in the downstairs freezer.

As soon I was out the back door it slammed shut and locked behind me.

I usually wear clothes with pockets and have keys in those pockets but very few of my maternity clothes have pockets.

I was stuck outside with no keys and uni and kt were both fast asleep. I tried using our intercom ... no luck.

Then I banged on the backdoor several times, yelled from the kitchen window and the downstairs window.

Uni heard me and tried to find me, but because I kept moving from place to place I didn't know he was looking for me and he didn't know where I was.

Finally he found me and after 9 minutes of frantic activity I was safely back in the house again ... reunited with breakfast, family and of course the toilet! LOL!!

We went furniture hunting this afternoon and now are the proud new owners of another filing cabinet, a small laptop sized desk for me for upstairs, an have on order a combination bookcase/toy box for baby as well as a lovely new chest of drawers.

They will be delivered on Monday.

We also picked up our printer from where it was being fixed under warranty, it works really well now but I can't close the scanner part properly and I think they damaged it while they were fixing it so I am not very happy.

I will get uni to have a look at it as he is much more patient,firm but still gentle with things that have moving parts and he may be able to coax things back into the right position for me.

At this stage though it does seem to work and I can even send a print command from my laptop upstairs to the printer downstairs!

I feel very technological!!!

Hmmmm thank you for the advice Aunty Izzy about the touch pad ... I think you are absolutely right that was the cause of my problems.

Luckily I can disable it and just use the keyboard at times when I want to type in my blog or type emails.

There is suddenly a lot to do again but I can't start straight away ... filling the filing cabinet, getting my new desk organized, filling the bookcase/toy box and chest of drawers.

In the meantime I will concentrate on figuring out how to use the two computers and what can and cannot be shared between them.

I also need to choose a new pair of glasses which is of course something I have been putting off as I do every year.

laptop help needed

Can anyone with a laptop advise me why when I am typing I sometimes end up with part of my word inserted further up in a previous paragraph.

Is there some sequence of shortcut keys that does this?

Or am I somehow doing it with the touch pad?

Any ideas anyone? It is driving me nuts!!!

the rain is getting me down

While this time last year I was loving all the rain, this time around I have had enough of the fact that there has not been a break in the weather.

Things are getting serious ... I am running out of clean underwear!!!!

I must have a day of sunshine soon so I can get some washing done.

We do have a few clothes lines under the house but there is so much furniture and stuff under there now that it is hard to move around and there is not as much airing space.

I may have to resort to the dryer ... I hope it doesn't shrink anything ...LOL!

Uni finished cleaning and painting the baby's room at the end of February on his last five day break. He also shifted all the computer equipment and desks downstairs and set up the office.

I got the carpets professionally cleaned straight after that and it has just rained and rained for days.

I am trying to air out the baby's room (and the whole house) to get rid of the smell of paint and carpet cleaning but it has been a bit of a struggle keeping the windows open and keeping the rain out!

Anyway if all goes to plan we will be looking for some baby storage furniture tomorrow ... chest of drawers, wardrobe, a small upstairs laptop desk for me, another filing cabinet for the office and maybe a bookcase.

Doing all this should take my mind off the rain and get me motivated to continue with the nursery.

I am really happy with our wireless Internet connection too. I am upstairs in the lounge room on my laptop ... receiving a very strong signal.

I have yet to try it in the bedroom and Kt's room but so far, the kitchen and lounge room are great.

OK time to go and watch lost now.

we are wireless!

ok back online again ...

going to have some lunch and will probably get serious on the computer later tonight or some time tomorrow.