Danny

What can I say about our Danny boy, our much loved black lab.  Born 3/9/2002 in Darwin.  Danny has been up and down this continent with me and is now showing some wear and tear. So sad when one day you realise gosh my dog is now old, he has aged.  Grey and limping but always up for a swim and ball chase.  Danny in true lab style is always in your way. Needing to step over him to get through the doorway.  Such a gentle soul, but often has passive aggressive tendencies.  He has never been interested in chasing anything.  Live and let live.  He will  dig to china on the beach, but leaves our garden alone.  He especially loves our son and Che adores him.  There is a symbiotic relationship with food between the two of them.  I know it sounds silly but it is Danny that stops me from going and working remote again.  I just dont think he would cope very well.
Love ya Dan.xx J

Chester

Born 1/3/04, Cavoodle, apricot colour.  Very bossy, super intelligent.  Special trick sings along with harmonica or piano accordian.  Used to be my "baby'.  Is still allowed to sleep on our bed at my feet.  Dan's best mate and arch rival.  Chester has grown up a lot since little human baby has arrived.  Guess he has come to accept him as part of the pack.  Chester is great at letting me know when Che is awake or crying.  Loves to chase bunny rabbits and howls when sees cows.  Love ya.

It takes a village to raise a child

It takes a village to raise a child
What I love about blogging is the time to sit and read other people's experiences when you might be feeling a little bit alone in your world.  Especially with being only new to a town/community and have yet to build those networks that support you and who you are.  The above link confirmed how really it is unusual in the word, to be alone with your baby all the time.  Fostering a village is what I'm looking forward to.

Pleased to say gently gently we have made some leadway to all of us getting some more sleep.  With some constant tweaking of the sleeping set up, we are now sleeping 6-7 hours before needing a feed say anywhere between 12 and 3am and then sleeping more peacefully again until the morning.  He is still coming in for that cherished early morning cuddle/feed.   It was really the time for Che to have some of his own space and I think is only now starting to say, in his own baby way, Oh yeh sleep, excellent!.

These photos were taken after one of our many country drives.  There are many exclusive old manors that are now made into top end boutique accomodation.  We just popped in on a hot day and took to the shade for some lunch.  We imagined staying there and being la- di -da.  We were alone in this beautiful courtyard away from the masses/hoards of xmas shoppers. Bliss.

one year ago today

One year ago today I was 38 weeks pregnant. I had just finished working as a local GP on the central coast.  The pregnancy had been uncomplicated.  I was doing regular yoga and walking meditations.  Positive visualisations regarding giving birth.  I did have quite annoying reflux and insomnia and was sleeping sitting propped up on many pillows.  We had been to the midwife earlier in the week and confirmed that baby was still posterior.  All we could feel was little hands and feet.  I planned this week to get many things into order, as I had left a lot of nesting to the last minute.  Here above we were sorting our all the stuff we had stored in the garage.  This couch ended up going to Vinnies.

I just scored this little cradle on ebay, second hand and was starting only now to wonder how would we all sleep?  Like most things in my life, I would feel what felt right at the time.  Our house was only 3/4 renovated at this stage.  No lounge room, but we had a  refurbished kitchen and bathroom that was the main thing.

I wondered if  I would go overdue due to the position of the baby.  But I could feel the baby was way down.   I felt very calm and it was warm and sunny.  The journey ahead of us was still very uncertain. 

       And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, speak to us of children.

And he said:

       Your children are not your children.

       They are the son's and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

       They come through you but not from you, 

       And though they are with you they belong not to you.

      You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

      For they have their own thoughts.

      You may house their bodies but not their souls,

      For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

      which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

      You may strive to be like them, but seek not to

      make them like you.

      For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

      You are the bows from which your children as

      living arrows are set forth.

     The archer sees the mark upon the path of the

     infinite, and He bends you with His might that 

     His arrows may go swift and far.

    Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for

    gladness;

    For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves

    also the bow that is stable.

                                      THE PROPHET, Kahlil Gibran, 1923.

Cynthia' Circle

A dear friend of mine is undergoing unique but unfunded treatment for her recurrent and progressive bladder cancer.  We were junior doctors together and shared a house and dreams in those salad days.  I now live at a distance but wish I was still close by.  So heartening to hear her mother's group have formed a fundraising venture to help her and her family out.  Cynthia is a mother of 2, incredibly strong and positive and a smart and dedicated Doctor.  If you are on the  Central Coast NSW and have next Wednesday 8th December, 2010 free there is the event below at the Avoca Cinema.

the subtle muscles of the pelvic floor

Sorry to go down so below ladies, but I feel this is an important issue to attend to.  Finally I have decided to be more proactive. Having had a posterior birth, things are not quite the same.  I consulted an excellent physiotherapist and realised even I was doing the exercises incorrectly.  I had been using more of my abdominal muscles and a pelvic floor contraction is quite distinct and much more subtle than this.  With real time ultrasound this was pointed out to me and gave me great bio-feedback.  If you have any issues relating to this I would say find local expert help as above and get more one on one instruction.  It will really help when change of life and age starts being more of a reality.

kindermusik

One of the baby activities that we have enjoyed the most in Kindermusik .  Our lovely teacher Tanya runs a class locally.  There are classes for specific age groups and they are developmentally appropriate.  They only last 45 minutes.  But we are guaranteed a good sleep afterwards.  Ours is a small class of only 6 or 7 babies up to 18 months.  Classes run up to age 7.  The use of age old songs, beautifully recorded music, repetition, movement, dance and simple instruments.  The classes has given me tools to continue on at home.  We have lots of fun with the waking up song.  Each term there is a new theme, with a CD to take home and new songs to learn.  Next term is daily rhythms.  Looking forward to that one.

I just had to remind myself of his early days, re above photo