The Weight Plateu (by sarah)

Well when I came out of hospital I was 13 st, the following week I had lost 3 pounds, then by last week I was 12 and a half stone - today I am still 12 and a half 🙁 I have reached my first weight platue 🙁

But on the plus side this is weight loss with just breast feeding and shuffling around the house abit but mostly sitting breast feeding or sleeping. Come Monday I feel that my wound will be heeled enough for me to attempt walking with the crutches. I did another outing and this time did not see stars or go sideways with dizzyness on route to the car though I still got very very tired after a mere half an hour driving in the car. The wound is still weeping a little but feels much better so I really feel that I can tackle walking (with crutches) if the anemia will allow it.

I will start with our drive way and progress to going for coffees in Cheltenham. I am hoping that some walking everyday will not only help the seperated pelvis but also help me reach the next weight platoe.

In fact I have a things fixed in my head as a progress for the fitness and weight loss. First off in another two weeks I will be able to start physio. Depending on how my wound is by then I will be able to go swimming and start pilates. However I feel that starting all these things at once will take up too much time and money plus more importantly make me very tired having gone from nothing to everything so I am going to stagger it. I am going to wait to talk to the physio over what to do first.

Eventually I want to take up belly dancing but that I think needs to wait until the crutches are gone. It is also rather expensive so may have to be instead of pilates and swimming or something.

Anyway - expect more moaning about weight.

Tantrums and Baby Behaviour (by sarah)

Jean has mostly been lovely with Mary, happily sitting cuddling the baby and being concerned when she cries. This is unless people announce they are here to see the baby (rather than Jean and the baby) or people have been hugging the baby too much (in Jean's opinion). The baby is very much Jean's so there is a two fold jelousy which we hadn't expected - as in Jean is jelous of the baby getting attention but also of the fact that the baby is with people other than her (mummy and daddy don't seem to count in this which is a relief as it means we can hug and look after the baby with no screaming ab-dabs).

The absolute worse case is my Mum holding the baby for too long - Jean starts trying to prize the baby off of Nanny and the more she is told to leave the baby alone the worse it gets. But next comes other people visiting who want to talk to mummy and or hold the baby - this results in Jean saying that she doesn't like said people or that Mary doesn't like them and that the people should go away. Generally this all calms down but yesterday it resulted in a trantrum and her sitting her room shouting and crying until she went to sleep (which was a relief in itself as she has been getting up early and going to sleep late since the baby was born as she wants to see the baby and play etc.. this has been exhorsting).

I feel really embarrassed when she does this but at the same time it is no where near as bad as we were expecting! The help booklet the NHS says that sometimes the older child does not initially love the baby - normally they love the baby even if they don't always like it but you can't assume this will be the case. Jean loves Mary very much and has from the word go.

But Jeany has been wanting more cuddles, Daddy to carry her up the stairs and in from the car, help getting dressed and wanting to pretend to be burped. This is known as Baby Behaviour - Jean is the mild end of the spectrum with some kids wetting themselves :/

Jean needs to feel looked after too and all those things the baby is getting done for her Jean wants done too. The books say to not say no to this behaviour continously. I think Jeany's mainly doing ok with this whole little sister thing and the main issue has been people taking up my time or me trying to sleep and not doing the Mary, Jean, Mummy time - Jean gets furious if this happens and starts trying to shove the reading books or films into my hands as I'm trying to talk to people 🙁

It has been particually intense this week as it is half term and people are visiting nearly everyday.

The Little Book of New Baby Poetry (by sarah)

I have spent this month working on The Little Book of New Baby Poetry - this is a series of poems and songs - some of them are from when Jeany was little and some I've made up specifically for this. It is for Jean it covers everything from Mummy's morning sickness to nappy changing, to boring babies who none the less grow into good friends for older sisters.

I wrote most of the poems at the beginning of the month and have been working on the illustrations for the rest of the month - today Al helped me put it all together - and turn it into a PDF. He then went and got it printed in colour for me at a place called Paper Box in Cheltenham 🙂

I have a bag full of stickers and one of the pages is for Jean's thoughts and poems. Jean loves the Little Books of poetry that I have made her in the past - this is the most 'complete' one and has cost the most! Both in time and money 🙂 I may put the rest of the illustrations up but I need to wash hair and make sure all is packed for tomorrow! I have pre-meds to take at 6 in the morning but hopefully by tomorrow lunch time we will be a family of four 🙂 I plan to give Jean the book and stickers when she comes to see me and the baby tomorrow afternoon!

Here are some photos of the 'book'.

Weight and Waiting (by sarah)

Alaric finially got me some bathroom scales yesturday - I weigh in at 15 stone. This is a stone lighter than I was just before having Jeany even though I started this pregnancy about 3 stone heavier than I was at the beginning of Jean's.

I am really happy about this as double my weight was not pleasant and I was petrified of doing the same with this pregnancy and starting out that much heavier it really would have been a health disastor. Of course I did loose weight at the beginning of the pregnancy with the whole 'food posioning' business but I have also I have been eating me and Alaric food and not the hospital food. I have also not been bed ridden and though can't walk far can still walk some and of course I have tablets and blood testing kit to keep the gestational diebetes under control. All so very very different from Jeany's pregnancy.

I have a birth plan as well - this involves saying yes to vit K injections and saying I want to breast feed. I found out that breast feeding is good for me as well as the baby from the midwife. I knew it helped with weight loss and with baby blues but there are medium and long term benifts too which include stuff like cancer resistance (specifically breast and oviarian which with mum going in for another lumpectomy is a encouraging to know) and the other one is after the menopause it will help me stave off osteoporosis - something I've been meaning to talk to the Dr about now I'm in my 30's anyway! (Again due to family history though I am sure my nan probably breast fed some of her children - nutrition would not have been balanced like it is today plus her teen years were during the second world war).

But I am a weird mix of board and worried and fantic about the house!

A Recipe for Riot (by sarah)

1. Take one apathetic, peaceful, book-loving student body intent on learning

2. Tenderise with cuts and broken promises

3. Optionally add agent provocateur/thug type - this speeds the reaction but is not necessary due to using the kettling technique - guaranteed to bring anyone to a slow violent boil

4. Sprinkle in a portion of police - ill-equipped and vulnerable causing the trigger happy reactions that seem justified - adds flavour

5. Leave to simmer with the odd bit of bait/sacrificial target to get the crowd proving

6. Knead in naive youth quick to follow the flow - after it swells to double the size - bash it down

7. Season with paparazzi to bring out the 'incite to violence for the perfect photo' flavour

8. Add a match and Voila! The Social Flambe - Riot

9. Garnish by only reporting the juciest politically-approved bits to the general public

10. Serve piping hot and full of bias and lies