Stuff to be Won!!

Angel is running this competition on her blog. And this is me finally entering:

No amount of brain-wracking produced any results when I first read about the competition and I couldn't think of a single old wives' tale, let alone one that would be interesting enough to blog about.

And I guess I still haven't thought of anything especially interesting. But I did eventually remember what it was like being a new mom for the very first time and how worried I was that I wouldn't be able to feed my baby properly. I was particularly worried about breastfeeding, because, unlike other women, my chest had simply never sprouted anything like a pair of boobs.
My gynae had assured me during my pregnancy that I had nothing to worry about - the boobs would grow. And they did. But not so you'd notice.

And then I ended up having a c-section and having to spend the first few hours after the birth flat on my back, during which time some know-it-all nurse had seen fit to bottle-feed my baby a generous helping of formula without ever bothering to get my consent. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed.

Apparently it's fairly common for nurses to do this, despite the fact that there is ample research showing that the colostrum your body starts producing weeks before your baby is born is more than sufficient nutrition for your newborn in the first few days, as well as providing your baby's immune and digestive systems with a vital boost.

The nurse said afterwards that she had followed procedure, as emergency cesareans often result in delayed milk production and my baby would have been hungry. The bottle feed, however, resulted in an even greater delay in my milk production, as my baby was too full for the next several hours to want to feed, preventing us from using those important first hours together to learn how to latch properly and ensure a healthy breastfeeding routine from then on.

I blame that nurse for the fact that my firstborn only breastfed for three months.

I say this to every new expectant mother I encounter, and will continue to do so: Read, read, read and educate yourself on every possible aspect of the labour and birth process and newborn care. And don't let yourself be bullied by medical staff who want to make you believe that they "know better" than you do. Sure, medicine, hospitals, doctors and nurses have their place, but that place is NOT between a mother and her newborn.

And that's my two cents' worth: Contrary to what the medical establishment would have you believe, your baby does NOT need his or her feeds to be supplemented until your milk "comes in". Your body has already ensured that baby's early nutritional needs are more than met.

Now, since I'm super keen to find out what mystery prize Angel is giving away for the most referrals to this competition, I've posted about it over here.

And there you have it. Good luck to all who've entered. And if you're entering because of either of my posts on the subject, please be sure to let Angel know it!

Rainbow Cake Pics

So I decided to wait until Friday night to start baking, so that the kids would be in bed and I would be able to get on with it in peace and quiet.

That didn't work. Megan and Michael were far too excited and wanted to watch the whole thing. They loved seeing the colours being mixed and were super excited, despite being half dead on their feet!



Having made up the batter, mixed up the colours and poured it all into a large baking dish, it all looked pretty promising.



But then I forgot that I was supposed to let it bake a bit longer, because I'd doubled the recipe in order to make a bigger cake. And being well past my bedtime and just utterly tragic, I couldn't face taking pictures of my brilliantly coloured cake with the collapsed centre. So I scooped out the goopy centre and chucked it and covered the useable parts and went to bed.

Woke up at sparrow's fart on Saturday morning to start baking again and decided to just make two separate cakes - one with the little boy's name on:



And one with the little girl's name on:



I reckon the decorating could have been better, but I also think it all turned out pretty well for a last minute job. The party started at 10:00 on Saturday morning, and I'd started baking at 7:00.

Once the two "proper" cakes were done, I decided to do something with the remains of the first cake, just for good measure and to make sure there was no shortage of cake at this party.

So I fashioned a snake-ish kind of thing out of what there was and proceeded to panic as it crumbled at the slightest touch. Icing it was interesting and resulted in a snake-ish shaped mix of cake crumbs and icing sugar, which I attempted to rescue by means of strategic placement of colourful jelly sweets:



Overall, I'd say the exercise was a success, considering how impressed everyone was when the cakes were cut and they were greeted with this:

(Old) News

I had a great time at Blogging Chicks Unite! on Saturday and really enjoyed meeting some of the people whose blogs I've been reading for ages now. I look forward to the next gathering and to participating a bit more in it.

I ended up not baking cupcakes for Jack's birthday yesterday, but only the almond triangles which ended up being circles instead of triangles because I got sick of trying to keep them delicate little triangles intact during transfer from cutting board to baking tray. No pics, unfortunately, because they were instantaneously devoured, as usual.

Today, I get to bake a rainbow cake for a kiddies' party tomorrow, on top of attempting to create some semblance of order in my house because I'm just so tired of the endless mess.

I'm also supposed to write some web copy - my first assignment in forever - and get it to the web developer by tonight. I'm terribly excited about it but also sooo unmotivated it's not funny.

A filthy house full of kids is simply not an environment conducive to any real productivity!

Otherwise, there's not much happening. Going on 20 weeks with the pregnancy and will be seeing the midwife instead of the gynae for my check-ups from now on, with only one more appointment with the gynae at around 37 weeks.

So far, I'm still keen on trying a home birth, but still don't know whether the midwife is going to be okay with this. My first appointment with her will be on 3 November, at which time I will more than likely find out.

Megan and Michael have now each had a turn to put a hand on Mommy's belly and feel the little guy move, which makes it all a bit more real to them. Megan was a bit miffed upon hearing that we're having another boy, but is warming up to the idea since having it explained to her that it means she doesn't have to share her bedroom.

And that's more or less the sum of it at the moment. Which explains why I'm so unbelievably bored. And so unbelievably boring.

Might decide to post some pics of the rainbow cake baking a bit later, though...

I'm Really Looking Forward To......

1) Tomorrow's Blogging Chicks get-together, which will be the first event of its kind that I attend. Thanks, Angel, for the invite!!

2) My baby boy's First Birthday on Thursday, 22 October. I can't believe how quickly a whole year has passed!

3) His Halloween-themed birthday party on Saturday, 31 October. It'll coincide with the Halloween festivities in our complex, with all the kids dressing up and going door to door, trick-or-treating. Everyone participates and decorates their houses & it's just a great time for all in general.

4) Seeing his face when he has his first ever piece of birthday cake!!

5) Earning money again as I start getting some work in again after having had no income of my own for about 2 months now.

6) Welcoming yet another baby boy into my life in March 2010!! Went for my 18 weeks scan on Wednesday and there was no mistaking it...

Meanwhile, I need to start thinking about names in a big way. So far, there hasn't been a single one that appeals to me and the stakes are high this time around because my husband is determined to name the poor kid something utterly ridiculous, like Sir or Harold (as in Harold & Kumar go to Whitecastle?)...

Just to make things interesting, we have a little game on with regard to the naming rights for this baby. If Hubby manages to give me R100 million by the time this baby is born, he gets to name him Sir. (I still get to pick the middle name, though!) I figure a) I'd really, really, really like to be that rich and b) I can always just call the kid by his middle name until c) he's old enough to pick a name he likes for himself and change it anyway...

Any name suggestions out there?

Lone(ly) Wolf

I used to be a bit of a loner as a kid. Never quite fit in and never really saw the need to. Other girls were interested in make-up and Barbie dolls. I was interested in... I'm not sure what. In how different everything would be when I grew up and could get out and do my own thing, I guess.
When I went off to varsity after high school, not much was different. There were friends and good times as long as my trust fund lasted, but mostly there was me and my awkwardness and issues and there were lots and lots of boys.
Over the years, I've almost managed to fool myself that things are different now. That I'm not that kid anymore, with all those issues and no-one to really talk to. But underneath all the layers of "normal" that I've wrapped around myself, the good, dependable husband, the busload of kids, the car payments and grocery lists and all those other things, there's still a gaping hole I don't know how to fill.
Most of the time, I can ignore it because there are so many other things to do, to put off doing, to worry about and to dream about. But every so often, when I come across something like this, I am reminded that I am unbelievably lonely.
I can't say that my being lonely is anyone's doing but my own. Maybe if I were more organised and if my house weren't always a mess and if I were a better mother and if I were a bit less weird and if I worked harder and made more money so I could get out more or something. Just something. Maybe then it would be different.

Sheew! When I started writing this post, all I really meant to say was that Exmi and Rebecca are really, really lucky.

I think I need to take a hard look at my life and figure out what I'm going to do about it. Starting with having a nice, long bath and pulling myself together...