Sleeping like a baby

.

All aboard the Nappy Train

Mark's brother Greg and his lovely girlfriend Kelly visited us on Sunday to meet Emma for the first time. They brought us a gift that was so delightful I had to take pictures of it before I could use it. It is a train made up entirely of things you can use for your baby. The engine and the three carriages are made up of disposable nappies and the wheels are made of muslins and facecloths. The carriages are filled with tiny clothes, baby toiletries, a dummy and a bottle. I have never seen anything quite like it before and I think it is fantastic. It seems such a shame to break it up!
.

My brother-in-law Greg and his girlfriend Kelly meeting Emma

.

There were three in the bed...

I popped Emma down on the bed this morning while we were getting ready and she dozed off. Tom and Lily were upstairs with me, so it seemed like a good opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot. It's much easier to get decent photos of three children if one of them is asleep!

Tom and Lily announced they were going to sleep like Emma, said 'Goodnight!' and pretended to go to sleep. I wish it were that easy at bedtime!

.

To sleep, perchance to dream

Sadly, only one of them is really asleep.

Oh for the days of the midday nap!

Have pram, will travel

I think Emma brought the rain with her as it seems to have been raining constantly since the day she was born. We have now had two dry days in a row however, so this afternoon I popped Emma in the pram, packed a bag of snacks and ventured out for our first trip to the park together. Tom and Lily were thrilled to get out in the fresh air and had a lovely time and Emma was very obliging and remained in a good humour the whole time we were there. She stayed awake and just stared about her, taking in her surroundings and the apparently rather fascinating design on the pram cover. The Podlings love the park and it was good to get out, so I'm hoping for some more good weather so we can go again soon. Hoping, but not expecting...what is it with the weather this year!

"How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!"

from 'The Swing' by Robert Louis Stevenson

.

Emma in her pram, just taking it all in
..

So far so good

Today was my first day on my own with three Podlings and it went pretty well. It helped that Emma slept for six solid hours last night and had to be woken for a feed at 6am, so I was reasonably well rested. Because we still haven't managed to get Tom and Lily back to their normal bedtime, they are currently sleeping late in the morning. I therefore had time to get up, drink a cup of coffee and get dressed before any of the Podlings woke this morning. I'm always in a better frame of mind if I can manage this. I had a good hour with Tom and Lily before Emma woke and the morning went pretty smoothly. Thankfully it was a dry day, so the the older Podlings were able to play outside.

I had my final midwives appointment this morning and have now been officially discharged. Emma now weighs 7lbs 8oz, so no worries there! My midwife suggested that if I have another baby, I should plan to have it at home and not even think about trying to make it to a hospital!

Mark's mum and dad came for a visit this afternoon (so technically I guess this wasn't my first day on my own) and brought a fabulous fish pie for tea. We have been so blessed by Mark's mum, who filled our freezer with casseroles, curries and sauces before Emma was born. We haven't had to cook a meal in a fortnight, which has been a huge blessing. It is so nice to be able to enjoy good home cooking at a time when our energy levels are at an all time low!

All three Podlings are now tucked up in their beds and I feel like the day went quite well. We'll be heading to bed after Emma's next feed and I'm hoping for another six hour stretch of sleep (a girl can dream can't she!). Hopefully the next couple of days on my own will go smoothly and then I have a week long visit from my parents to look forward to.
.

Victor/ Victoria

We didn't know Emma's gender before she was born, so whenever the Podling's expressed a preference we told them that the baby could be a boy or a girl and we wouldn't know which until it was born. Tom told us he wanted a brother and Lily was adamant she wanted a girl, but they would both tell anyone who asked that the baby could be a boy or a girl. Shortly after Emma was born, I peeked under the towel the baby was wrapped in and discovered a little girl. Tom immediately responded to this piece of information with "Can I have a boy next time?".

Lily was obviously pleased to get a little girl, but seems a little confused as to where the boy comes into it. Her first response on learning that the baby was a girl was to ask "when is the boy baby coming?". She seems to have been expecting one of each. Having established that there is only one baby, she now seems a little unsure of the permanency of Emma's gender. Since about two days after Emma's birth, Lily has asked almost daily "Is Emma a boy today?". We keep explaining that Emma will always be a little girl, but the question keeps coming nonetheless. I tend to dress my newborns in white towelling babygros, but I think we'll have to start putting Emma in frilly dresses and hair bows to avoid further confusion!
.