Rain Rain Go Away

So I think that today was probably the first really rainy day for the year so far and a definite sign that winter is approaching. I was very chuffed that I managed to accomplish everything that I set out to do - including clean the garage and clean the inside of my car. 
Emily on the other hand was not that impressed with the weather and this morning at about 8 o'clock stood standing at the sliding door, in her cute little barbie panties and her too short T-shirt  - singing in the saddest and slowest voice she could muster up, "rain rain go away, come again another day. Barneys friends all want to play, rain rain go away!" I think she may even have sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear at the end of the song! (Wouldn't put that past my daughter and her dramatics!)

Anyway, so at about 9 o'clock she was still moaning about the weather so I decided to let her have a little rain experience. Out came the wellington boots and her big pink jacket and my enormous umbrella. Her face lit up with so much excitement when she realized that she was going to get to go and play outside in the rain. 
So out she went, singing her little song to anyone that could or would hear her. 


Yes, you are probably wondering how long the umbrella holding lasted.... not very long. She soonish realized that it was far to heavy for her little arms and if she put it down she would not only have two hands free, but she would also get wet!!!!! Double excitement! An exciting, muddy morning!


So that was our rainy day! Hope you enjoyed yours!

Potty training 101

After spending the last few months wondering how on earth I was going to potty train Emily - totally terrified and overwhelmed by this thought, she has totally surprised and proven me wrong this last week. I have read a gazillion things on potty training. Bought every magazine that claimed to have the 'ultimate potty training solution', and bought books and read blogs on how to "in 7 days." All still very overwhelming. Honestly, I came to a cheat solution and decided that I would leave it up to my gran to try and do when she comes in June to stay for 3 weeks to help me with the new baby and Emily. Something to keep her and Emily 'busy' while I see to baby!? haha, lame, I know!
Anyway, Emily started showing an interest last week in using the potty. She has made wees on it before - but not consistently. Last week her interest became fairly regular and I thought, 'OK, well, lets see where this goes.' So every time she asked to wee, I humored her and sometimes she did and sometimes she didn't.
But as the days this week have progressed I have realized that she is very serious about this... so I decided to get serious too. 
So half a day yesterday and so far this morning she has not worn a nappy and has done really well. She tells me when she wants to wee on the potty and yesterday told me she wanted to poo. When she did, she got a huge fright and was totally grossed out, but none the less, she did and I explained to her that making poos on the potty is good. She was a little less freaked out after that. Of course, at this point she is still wearing a nappy for nap time in the afternoon and in the night. Impressively yesterday when she woke up her nappy was bone dry and she went straight to make a wee on the potty. This morning as well - well it wasn't dry, but she went straight to the potty. 
Last night when Leon got home, he made her a toilet step so that she can get onto the toilet nice and easily, rather than using the potty. She is just loving it - only problem  is she has become a little bit of a toilet 'hogger' - which has made life very entertaining. Especially when her and Leon argue about who needs the toilet more! LOL!


So in conclusion, I have realized that there is no point in stressing about potty training. Your child knows his or hers body and will know when they are ready. So many times we make potty training a massive issue - and both you and your child get totally stressed out. We have a need to compete with the person down the roads kid that is already potty trained and is young than your child. We cant compare our child and the pace that they go. Boys and girls are different and,  EVERY child is different. We need to step back, take a deep breath and realize that everything will happen in good time and just enjoy the journey with our little "Bounce-A-Lots".

So I hope that this has encouraged any of you that might find yourself in this place. And for those of you that haven't gotten there yet - hope it gives you some peace of mind. For for those of you that have been there and done that and never doing it again - I hope that it makes you smile.


Have a sunshiny day everyone!

No more quack quack

After a lovely weekend of relaxing, gardening and a nice braai - we had a sad end to it all. For anyone who knows my little family, we have some chickens who lay eggs for us every day and one rooster who does us the honor of letting us know its morning at 5:30AM everyday - and he doesn't quite know when to stop. Sometimes at 3 in the afternoon he is still going! Sorry neighbors! 
Anyway, its all fun and we love our mini little farmyard - and Emily loves her chickens too! About 3 weeks ago I couldn't resist the urge to get us a little white duckie! Totally adorable! I brought her home and the first evening we put her in the chicken coop but in the morning, we found she had been a little hen pecked so we decided to let her just live in the garden. She found a little spot in the hedge near our sliding door that she slept in, and Leon built her a cute little duckie pond. Everyday she would sit and sleep outside the sliding door, a bit like a little dog.

As soon as Emily was in bed in the evening, the duckie would sense the calm and she would slip into the lounge and find a spot on the carpet near the TV and dose and sometimes keep one eye on the TV while grooming herself and spreading fine little white feathers everywhere. Very cute and very much a special little pet.  Sadly last night as we were getting ready for bed, Leon heard the duckie quacking outside - nothing out of the ordinary. Then suddenly he heard a thud against the door and as he got there and opened the curtains, he saw that the tyrant cat in the neighborhood had the duckie in his mouth. :( Whereas most cats would see someone standing over them and drop the bird and run, this evil thing ran off with the duckie in his mouth. Outside our property is bush and mountain so the cat and the duckie were gone into the dark. Leon tried for ages to try and find the cat and duck in the hope that we might be able to still rescue it but to no avail. They were both gone - as if nothing had ever happened. 
So as you can imagine, this really was not a cool way to end our long weekend and we have both been feeling rather sad about it today. The thought of getting another one has crossed our minds but how do you replace a pet knowing what happened and its not the same one. Cant really get my head around that.

So that's my story for today - hope that you all have happier ones!

Time out

I thought that I would take this opportunity to do a post while Leon and Emily are in the garage busy building a fire engine! I never take for granted these few moments of peace and quiet and I love the fact that they are having some special dad-daughter bonding time.
Friday was the day that I had to go and see the diabetic specialist and I am so glad that it is over and done with. I was so stressed out by Friday morning anticipating this appointment that I could hardly think straight. Every time anyone instant messaged me I wanted to throw my phone at them - except I couldn't... because they weren't in the room! duh! Eventually the time came and I could actually get this over and done with. 
Went through the run down of my diabetic history with the doc and answered all the questions I feel like Ive answered so many times already through this pregnancy. 
He decided that my sugar has gone a little out of control cause of increased hormones and has put me on a small dose of Metform to try and curb the sugar swings. I am happy to be on medication while at the same time it stresses me out a little cause I was very determined to managed my sugar with diet alone - but in the end it boils down to whats best for baby and I guess this is it. So I will be on this for the next couple of weeks and hopefully it works. If not then I will be going on to insulin for the remainder of the pregnancy. So I REALLY hope it works!

So that's my sugar update. Its been a nice long weekend this weekend and Ive enjoyed the relaxation. Emily learn't to swim on sat in a "BIG" pool - with her armbands on - but still. She can now actually move around the pool independantly and we have so much better peace of mind.


So until next time, have a brilliant Monday everyone!

Fetal Assessment

On the 20th of Feb we had an appointment at the fetal assessment clinic at Kings bury Hospital. I had to go for this to make sure that everything with the baby was OK. With diabetes, if it has not been well controlled there is the risk of heart deformities and Spina bifada. So as you can imagine this was incredibly nerve racking. The only exciting part was that we would hopefully have the gender confirmed. We got there early and I had packed in treats and things to keep Emily occupied for the duration of the scan. Leon had taken the morning off work so that we could share this exciting/ scary moment together. Unfortunately though, the woman doing the scan was totally miserable and would not allow Emily to come in with us - which meant Leon had to wait in the waiting room. So just a tip to anyone going to Kings bury for fetal assessment - get a babysitter. They are not flexible and will make your partner wait outside! (And I do hope that someone from their department reads this at some point!!) Anyway, thankfully I at least managed to persuade her to call Leon in for the moment that she was going to tell us what we were having. I really didn't want to experience that moment with out my husband!
After about 45 minutes - she had thoroughly examined the baby and had assured me that everything looked normal - she called Leon in. She then showed us that we are in fact having another GIRL!!! Woohoo! I was so excited! Emily would have a little sister - Another little pink princess! A sister to share a wonderful friendship with. My dream for them is that they grow up the best of friends, sharing and doing everything together. 

Tomorrow I am off to the diabetic specialist at Constantia berg. He will assess my sugar and decide whether I need to go on medication or insulin. So feeling a little nervous but will be glad to finally know where I stand and to possibly have some help controlling my sugar. Will update you all tomorrow.


Bye
 

Pregnant and "toddlerness"

For anyone that's ever been pregnant a second, third or fourth time round - you will know this one well! The first time, whether you are employed full time outside the home, newly married or any other circumstance you might find yourself in - no matter what - You have endless hours to sit and day dream and plan about the little person growing inside you. Its fantastic! Almost every moment of everyday is spent planning and thinking. By 3 months into your pregnancy you've probably thought everything though so thoroughly that you have nothing left to think for the rest of the pregnancy! hahaha
Second time round - It is sooooo different! From the moment you find out you are pregnant - you already know that your time and thoughts are not your own like they were.  Life goes on as normal and your toddler probably cares two hoots whether you have energy to cook them their favorite dinner, spend the later part of the afternoon picking all the toys up off the floor that they spent all of like 10 minutes scattering. They really don't see how hanging off the other side of the see-saw at the park so that they can go up and down, could be a problem and just bleat out, "more please mommy, more." Then finally when your tummy starts to grow they start to grasp the concept - Sort of! If your toddler is anything like mine, you'll know there are times that they find the thought of a baby in mommy's tummy totally annoying and think that its perfectly fine to just "take the baby out, place it on the coffee table or floor" and tell you to, "come on, baby's sleeping on the floor now." Everyday you find yourself thinking of new ways to get through the day and you are kept on your toes trying to balance the bouncy energy of your toddler, and the total lack of energy you find happening in your body. By the time the evening comes and  that delightful monkey whirlwind of yours has finally gone to sleep you can finally breathe! AND... that's when the little one in your belly decides to play and bounce on your bladder! I often find myself in these moments suddenly remembering about the pregnancy and taking those few moments to enjoy the bumps and squirms of monkey number two! 
Don't get me wrong - my darling Emily is delightful and I enjoy her to the utmost! She has the most incredible sense of humor and loves to spend her days making me and the people around her smile. (That's for the most part and in between the tantrums). She is growing into her own person more and more everyday and is developing her own opinions and ideas. It is always an adventure with her! I know that when this baby is born she is going to be so excited and she is going to love this little one so much! I'm looking so forward to the day they can play together and Emily can show her sibling all her favorite 'big sister' things and they will hopefully grow up to be the best of friends!

Caught the Rooster all by herself!

Holiday time

So Christmas came and went this last December with a mixture of excitement and busyness! Leon was home for 3 weeks, which was totally brilliant! The two of us got to go away together ALONE for the first time since Emily was born and it was greatly exciting! She stayed with her gran and pop pops. We went to a beautiful place near Wolseley and Ceres called White Bridge. www.whitebridge.co.za   
Its a  working fruit farm and has very private little cabins along the river where you can fish and swim. It was totally beautiful!  
The one thing that was very tricky for me about this Christmas was being pregnant AND diabetic! A totally awful combination when there's endless trifle and chocolate around! So needless to say I didn't do all that well and was on a constant sugar overload! 
My next gynae appointment was on the 20th of Jan and I do go dreading it. I know that he is going to give me a hard time about my sugar and its not something that I want to deal with right now!
So off we go - He is running very late as he is down stairs delivering a baby. Not that I mind - if it were me in labour I would want whoever is waiting for him upstairs to be patient too!
We eventually see him at 7pm and we go over everything. He is not happy with my sugar levels and wants me to go for a 3month sugar blood test. :( From there we will take the next step. 

Exciting part - we do another scan, everything looks perfect with this little one and he seems to think that i may be a girl... but nothing is confirmed. We must wait for our 20 week scan to confirm. I am almost 16 weeks at this stage, and I am secretly very excited that we may be having another girl!! PINK PINK PINK :) But we wouldn't be getting everyone excited until it is confirmed.

..... but I was bouncing inside! 

Weekend sunshine!

It has amazed me at how quickly heartburn has kicked in with this pregnancy. I am almost totally sure that with Emily I didn't have heartburn like this till about 7 months! Oh well, part of the joys of being pregnant - and I am not complaining :)

 Weekend in our household is always very busy and noisy for the most part. Especially when Leon and Emily start their very intense 'father/daughter' debates. The latest - We were leaving to go to grans house and Emily decided shes taking her baby, babies pram, bug box (Including Mr Lizz-aaard) , purse and baby's bottle! (of course every good mother needs all these things on an outing!!!) Leon not seeing the logic in taking all this with, tells her she needs to CHOOSE!! Hahahahaha! Thus proceeds a debate between them that lasts about 15 minutes - I quietly take myself off to wait in the car! Tip of the weekend - 2 year old's know what they want! STAY STRONG :) You know better!!! :)

So the Argus Cycle Tour is on today, so we cant go anywhere. All the roads around our house are closed. So I guess we will send the day pottering in the garden and I'll maybe sort out the baby's clothes cupboard. It suddenly dawned on me in the night - that I'll be 34 weeks pregnant in about 10 weeks time!!! that means that if this baby decides to come early - we could meet this little one in less than 3 months! That is such a scary thought! But I am pretty sure that that wont be the case - and baby will stay in there nice and comfy till about 38 weeks till we have the Caesar! Just the paranoid thoughts of a hormonal pregnant woman!

Time for me to say bye for now. Will do some more pregnancy catch up tomorrow! Have a brilliant Sunday!





 

Totally different ball game!

First visit to the gynae - appointment on the 2nd December! I call this a big deal because with Emily I wanted to have nothing to do with hospitals and doctors. I was determined to go 'AL natural' at home with just my husband and midwife present. Except my plan didn't work out as well as I had hoped that it would - Yes, I got to have our little princess at home but it wasn't all plain sailing. After just  hours of labour, her head 'popped'- but the rest of her stayed behind. She had what is called shoulder dystocia - this s what happens when the baby's shoulder gets stuck after the head has come out. Often happens when the baby is very large. Turned out Emily was 4.1 kgs - not what we, or the midwifes expected. In order to save her they had to get her out very quickly, which in this case meant pulling her out. As a result, I tore very badly and started hemorrhaging. My midwife tried for what I think was about an hour to stitch me up but I was loosing so much blood that then decision was made to take me to hospital. The hospital that I needed to get to was about 40 minutes away. That part is all a bit of a blur - I was in and out of consciousness because my blood pressure was so low. I think at this point I had more saline in my body than actual blood! Once at the hospital, they got emergency blood, UN STITCHED the stitches that my midwife had done and took me into theatre to have the stitching redone. The best part I can honestly say... was the spinal block! Which was brilliant after a mostly 'No pain relief' labour and birth. So as you can see, after my first experience which was supposed to be perfect and hospital free, it didn't exactly turn out that way and so now I was confronted with the reality that I would HAVE to go to hospital for number two. Not only that, but because of my diabetes, I would have to have a Caesar. Not that I'm really complaining about that though. It is just all a lot to take in!

So off to the gynae we go! My totally brilliant, committed husband at my side! We have our first scan and everything looks good. Baby is in the right place, Not in a fallopian tube or anything else equally scary and by the looks of it I am about 8 weeks at this stage! YAY! The excitement truly hits -  we are going to have a baby :)

3-4 weeks!

So three days later, on the 5th of November, I find  myself sitting in the doctors room, telling her I think that I might be pregnant. She looked at me as if I was slightly deranged. (Bearing in mind I have a toddler bouncing around the room at the same time). We do the blood test and it confirms that I am in fact 3-4 weeks pregnant. This is where the reality hits me! You see, I am diabetic. And diabetes and pregnancy - TOGETHER - scare the living daylights out of me! I found out that I am diabetic in May 2010, and the doc immediately wanted to put me on insulin. I refused and decided to try and manage it through diet and exercise. The doc gave me 3 months to try and do this and as I sat in front of her , she was happy with my readings and levels so far. But now the pregnancy could potentially  really complicate things. If any of you are diabetic you'll know that, even though you may have it under control, falling pregnant and the hormone changes that go with that, will almost defiantly throw your controlled  sugar levels out the window and make them go sky high! Anyway, this is the reality that I now have to deal with, no turning back! My Doc recommends me a gynae and that's the next step. This is all going to be so different from my pregnancy with Emily and the home birth that I had. ..... BUT that's a story for another day! Need to move my bum and get Emily dressed and ready for the day! We are off to go play at a touch farm. BYE!

finally did it!

So after having my blog for a couple of months already, Ive never actually got around to editing it and laying out a nice format etc. For those of you stay at home moms, with one or more toddlers running around you - you can probably relate to me. So bare with me while I still make it look pretty - its not totally there yet!

At present I am 22 weeks pregnant and Emily Rose is two and a half. I actually intended to start using this blog the day I found out I was pregnant, but you guessed it.... That didn't happen!

We found out that we were pregnant on the 2nd of November 2010. It was one of those strange moments. I actually did not expect that I was pregnant. I had spotted on the Sunday and was slightly confused and thought that on the Monday should do a test just to rule out pregnancy and then go to the doc to find out f everything was OK. Well, we all know how that turned out... At first I did one of those cheapy tests, saw it was positive and ran back to the shop and bought one of those fancy ones that tell you how far you are. It said 1-2 weeks! SERIOUSLY! One to two weeks! This felt somewhat like a joke and like there was a hidden camera somewhere. Now the trick was to keep this as a surprise till my husband came home..... not a chance! I phoned him for what I wanted to sound like a 'casual chat' except he knows me so well that he could hear there was something up and  that I was 'neglecting' to tell him something. i eventually caved and told him the exciting news! This was the first day and moment for us on this new journey as a little family of Leon, myself and Emily.... and now a tiny new little person on the way!

I'll do some more catching up tomorrow.... hopefully!