Friday, September 25, 2009
It's a YouTube-y type of day...
Don't think it should be titled 'Why Moms Can't Do Yoga'. Maybe 'Mom Finds a Way To Get Better Let Down'.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A game
The girls in the teenage class introduced me to a new game. The game is called 'Penis'. The aim of the game is to say the word 'penis' more loudly (louder?) than the last person who said it. Essentially it's a room full of people screaming 'penis' at the top of their lungs.
They started this game during rehearsals for the end of year play. I asked them to stop before somebody called DOCS.
Nobody mentioned how to deal with these sort of things while I was at uni.
They started this game during rehearsals for the end of year play. I asked them to stop before somebody called DOCS.
Nobody mentioned how to deal with these sort of things while I was at uni.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver ~
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver ~
Monday, September 21, 2009
Parent's Room Adventures
For an able bodied person with out a pram the world is your oyster - provided it's an oyster that's easy to get around and doesn't require lifts or travellators. For a person with a pram the world is shrunk to those places with 'disability access'.
A mother with a new baby doesn't go from home to city to shop to cafe. Instead it's more like - home to parent's room to shop near parent's room to cafe with room for pram and also near parents room.*
When Troggers was born I had a shocking time with my supply (for the uninitiated that means I wasn't producing enough breast milk). I was using one of these which involved sticky taping tubes to my breast whilst simultaneously getting a new born to latch properly while not letting all the milk run out over my shirt. Sigh. Fun times. So I was reluctant to feed in public and parenting rooms which were pleasant to sit in and clean became very important. (Since then I have fed in planes, train and automobiles but that's an entirely different post)
Some issues immediately presented themselves:
1) Not all parenting rooms are created equal.
2) Some are just glorified toilets. Infact, some make toilets look like havens of hygiene.
3) Some parenting rooms are obviously designed by people who have never had children. Or have met any children. Or ever were children.
4) No one wants to tell you where the good ones are.
So, in an effort to make this blog a little bit useful to mums I am going to start doing parent's room reviews.
This parent's room is found near JB HiFi in the Galeries Victoria in the City. It's my favourite City parent's room at the moment.
The pros:
1) It is a bit of a secret so it's very rarely used.
2) Every time I have been there it has been clean and it smells fresh. No over full nappy bin smell!
3) It has a button to open the door as you go in. I hate struggling with doors and a pram.
4) The toilet is large enough to wheel the pram in with you. Crazily enough some parent's rooms seem to expect you to leave the pram outside while you go to the loo.
5) It has one of these thingys. I've never used it and I assume it's only useful if you have a bottle of food rather than something stored in tupperware.
6) It has a sink and change tray/table/fold away thingy.
Cons:
1) It only has one chair to breastfeed in and it's out in the open. As very few people go there it wasn't a huge issue for me. The chair itself is comfortable and roomy.
If you're very lucky Trogdor's feet might appear next to you.
So, there you go. My first review.
* Having one of these is a life saver at times but as Trogdor was 13kg by 7 months a big day out meant I needed to have a pram with me.
A mother with a new baby doesn't go from home to city to shop to cafe. Instead it's more like - home to parent's room to shop near parent's room to cafe with room for pram and also near parents room.*
When Troggers was born I had a shocking time with my supply (for the uninitiated that means I wasn't producing enough breast milk). I was using one of these which involved sticky taping tubes to my breast whilst simultaneously getting a new born to latch properly while not letting all the milk run out over my shirt. Sigh. Fun times. So I was reluctant to feed in public and parenting rooms which were pleasant to sit in and clean became very important. (Since then I have fed in planes, train and automobiles but that's an entirely different post)
Some issues immediately presented themselves:
1) Not all parenting rooms are created equal.
2) Some are just glorified toilets. Infact, some make toilets look like havens of hygiene.
3) Some parenting rooms are obviously designed by people who have never had children. Or have met any children. Or ever were children.
4) No one wants to tell you where the good ones are.
So, in an effort to make this blog a little bit useful to mums I am going to start doing parent's room reviews.
This parent's room is found near JB HiFi in the Galeries Victoria in the City. It's my favourite City parent's room at the moment.
The pros:
1) It is a bit of a secret so it's very rarely used.
2) Every time I have been there it has been clean and it smells fresh. No over full nappy bin smell!
3) It has a button to open the door as you go in. I hate struggling with doors and a pram.
4) The toilet is large enough to wheel the pram in with you. Crazily enough some parent's rooms seem to expect you to leave the pram outside while you go to the loo.
5) It has one of these thingys. I've never used it and I assume it's only useful if you have a bottle of food rather than something stored in tupperware.
6) It has a sink and change tray/table/fold away thingy.
Cons:
1) It only has one chair to breastfeed in and it's out in the open. As very few people go there it wasn't a huge issue for me. The chair itself is comfortable and roomy.
If you're very lucky Trogdor's feet might appear next to you.
So, there you go. My first review.
* Having one of these is a life saver at times but as Trogdor was 13kg by 7 months a big day out meant I needed to have a pram with me.
Friday, September 18, 2009
With silver bells and cockle shells
Thought I would post an update on my gardening adventures.
Even though we are on the second floor of a block of units the balcony is now never referred to as 'the balcony' - it is 'the garden'. Each morning Trogdor and I inspect the garden together i.e I look at the plants and he eats dirt. In the evening I check the garden again to make sure nothing has wilted or been devoured. I'm a trifle obsessive about it these days.
It all started in June of this year when I thought I would pick up a couple of dwarf fruit trees to provide a bit of greenery and (hopefully) fruit. Then I decided to try to grow tomatoes. Things just sort of got out of hand from there.
I began well before I had any idea of what I was doing. The majority of the 'hardware' (the polystyrene boxes, large tubs, drink-bottle-watering-cans and packing crates) have been 're-purposed' after I found them lying on footpaths around the suburb. I like to think of it as 'County Garden meets Mad Max'.
Some of my garden has been grown from seed (which I think is a hella impressive even if the plants themselves aren't) and some of them are from seedlings (less impressive effort with a more impressive result).
From seeds:
Roma Tomato seedlings. The white around the base is potash which is meant to be very good for them but no two gardeners can decide when is the best time to apply them to the plant.
The first of my basil seeds to germinate.
The first of my 'Cottage Mix' flower baskets. I should be thinning the seedlings but I'm just going to let them grow and see what happens. (Is it odd that I feel horribly guilty after chopping out perfectly healthy plants?)
The second of my flower baskets. This one was sown more thinly with seeds so we'll see how it goes.
Beetroot. Has been thinned. Needs more thinning. (I feel like my garden is on some sort of Jenny Craig ad.)
Coriander.
My snow peas. They have been growing like crazy and are my most impressive seed grown plants.
Things I didn't grow from seed:
Passion fruit. I think it has some sort of fungal whatzi so I've been spraying it with whatzi fungal pesticide. It's going to need a much bigger container if it's going to grow. Luckily I have some 're-purposed' 20L Omo buckets.
Asparagus. I have no idea how to grow asparagus. Apparently it will be another two years before it starts growing spears and only if I chop it all back, mulch it, replant it, give it lots/little/no water and/or fertilizer, sacrifice a goat to the asparagus gods... Plus, it's covered in tiny bugs. I don't think they're meant to be there.
An amused Trogdor, who can't understand why I don't get my food from booba like sensible people do.
(He should probably be in the 'grown from seed' section')
My three strawberry plants with one flower between them.
Spring onions.
My peach tree - formerly known as 'stick in a bag'.
I have also developed an interest in heirloom/heritage tomatoes. I have a few seedlings struggling away at the moment but they're a bit depressing really.
And there you have it folks. My garden.
Even though we are on the second floor of a block of units the balcony is now never referred to as 'the balcony' - it is 'the garden'. Each morning Trogdor and I inspect the garden together i.e I look at the plants and he eats dirt. In the evening I check the garden again to make sure nothing has wilted or been devoured. I'm a trifle obsessive about it these days.
It all started in June of this year when I thought I would pick up a couple of dwarf fruit trees to provide a bit of greenery and (hopefully) fruit. Then I decided to try to grow tomatoes. Things just sort of got out of hand from there.
I began well before I had any idea of what I was doing. The majority of the 'hardware' (the polystyrene boxes, large tubs, drink-bottle-watering-cans and packing crates) have been 're-purposed' after I found them lying on footpaths around the suburb. I like to think of it as 'County Garden meets Mad Max'.
Some of my garden has been grown from seed (which I think is a hella impressive even if the plants themselves aren't) and some of them are from seedlings (less impressive effort with a more impressive result).
From seeds:
Roma Tomato seedlings. The white around the base is potash which is meant to be very good for them but no two gardeners can decide when is the best time to apply them to the plant.
The first of my basil seeds to germinate.
The second of my flower baskets. This one was sown more thinly with seeds so we'll see how it goes.
Beetroot. Has been thinned. Needs more thinning. (I feel like my garden is on some sort of Jenny Craig ad.)
Coriander.
Marigolds. These desperately need to be thinned out. My plan is to replant them into little pots this weekend and give them out as presents.
My snow peas. They have been growing like crazy and are my most impressive seed grown plants.Things I didn't grow from seed:
Passion fruit. I think it has some sort of fungal whatzi so I've been spraying it with whatzi fungal pesticide. It's going to need a much bigger container if it's going to grow. Luckily I have some 're-purposed' 20L Omo buckets.
Parsley. Needs re-potting. I have also been growing parsley from seed but it's harder than I thought it would be. Apparently the seeds have a very low germination rate and even if they do germinate I've found them to be quite temperamental (they just die for no discernible reason)
Dwarf lemon tree. Lots of flowers. All the other lemons in the area are covered with fruit so I don't know if the little guy is a bit backward.
Broccoli. I have to remove the middle row and re-pot them. Note to new gardeners - pay attention to the spacing guidelines when you're planting!
Asparagus. I have no idea how to grow asparagus. Apparently it will be another two years before it starts growing spears and only if I chop it all back, mulch it, replant it, give it lots/little/no water and/or fertilizer, sacrifice a goat to the asparagus gods... Plus, it's covered in tiny bugs. I don't think they're meant to be there.
An amused Trogdor, who can't understand why I don't get my food from booba like sensible people do.
(He should probably be in the 'grown from seed' section')
My three strawberry plants with one flower between them.
Spring onions.
My peach tree - formerly known as 'stick in a bag'.
I have also developed an interest in heirloom/heritage tomatoes. I have a few seedlings struggling away at the moment but they're a bit depressing really.
And there you have it folks. My garden.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Possibly the greatest song ever written.
Music has the power to soothe, energize and uplift. It is a wordless language that manages to speak to human emotions - some would say to their very souls.
But out of all the music written through out prehistory up until the present day which is the greatest? Which song can soothe the wild beast, calm inner turmoil and even let you feed a cranky 11 month old or give you enough time to change a pooey nappy before he tries to flip over and crawl away, bare bummed and fancy free?
Why this song of course:
By the 50th listening you might think you have discovered all the song has to offer and by the 100th you may be at the verge of convincing yourself you hate it but I beg you, gentle reader, push through to the 200th or even 250th listening. Become one with the music, the lyrics.
Understand what it is that truly drives us. Understand the nature of hope and desire. Understand what it is to want a hippopotamus for Christmas.
Is it just me or does any one else think it looks like the trombonist has shat in his instrument?
But out of all the music written through out prehistory up until the present day which is the greatest? Which song can soothe the wild beast, calm inner turmoil and even let you feed a cranky 11 month old or give you enough time to change a pooey nappy before he tries to flip over and crawl away, bare bummed and fancy free?
Why this song of course:
By the 50th listening you might think you have discovered all the song has to offer and by the 100th you may be at the verge of convincing yourself you hate it but I beg you, gentle reader, push through to the 200th or even 250th listening. Become one with the music, the lyrics.
Understand what it is that truly drives us. Understand the nature of hope and desire. Understand what it is to want a hippopotamus for Christmas.
Is it just me or does any one else think it looks like the trombonist has shat in his instrument?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
BMs with Dr Seuss
Pooey Poos for Pooey Pooing
That's what that Poo Poose is doing
Do you choose to poo poo too, sir?
If Sir, you Sir, choose to poo sir
With the Poo Poose, poo Sir
Do Sir. *
*I realise these posts are just getting stranger.
That's what that Poo Poose is doing
Do you choose to poo poo too, sir?
If Sir, you Sir, choose to poo sir
With the Poo Poose, poo Sir
Do Sir. *
*I realise these posts are just getting stranger.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Freud would have a field day...
In my dream last night a gay friend of mine was pregnant. Except Phillip is a man.
Apparently he had decided to be a surrogate for another gay couple and had a fetus implanted via IVF. The act of carrying the fetus released various hormones in him which caused him to spontaneously grow a uterus. (No, I don't know where he kept it before then. A shoe box maybe?)
I was absolutely gutted in my dream because after a 48 hour labour with no pain relief he managed to have a natural birth.
The last image I have of my dream is of me passionately telling some-one, a doctor maybe?, that it wasn't really a natural birth because after all, Phillip's a man.
Awesome. Apparently my subconscious hates me.
Apparently he had decided to be a surrogate for another gay couple and had a fetus implanted via IVF. The act of carrying the fetus released various hormones in him which caused him to spontaneously grow a uterus. (No, I don't know where he kept it before then. A shoe box maybe?)
I was absolutely gutted in my dream because after a 48 hour labour with no pain relief he managed to have a natural birth.
The last image I have of my dream is of me passionately telling some-one, a doctor maybe?, that it wasn't really a natural birth because after all, Phillip's a man.
Awesome. Apparently my subconscious hates me.
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Mother of All Rallies
There will be a rally today in Canberra. Briefly, it is about this -
I'm not there because I doubt Trogdor's ability to tolerate the car trip and I foretell a massive burnination by the end of the day. I wish I were though.
Let's be clear here. This legislation won't stop homebirths from happening. All it will do is force homebirth underground (no, not giving birth in mines) (although...)
When I planned my homebirth for Trogdor (which didn't work out, as it happened) I had a trained midwife who brought with her - a Doppler to listen to Troggers heartbeat during labour; resus equipment in case Troggers wasn't breathing at birth; syntocin in case I hemorrhaged; sutures in case I tore; a birthpool because they are cool and a whole lot of other stuff. If I want a home birth next time guess what I get? Probably nothing. No midwife. No medical support. No right to push a baby out of my own body where ever I see fit with the support I feel I might need.
Let me put it this way. Did banning homosexuality, inter racial marriages or the practicing of different faiths (among others) prevent any of these things from happening? Nope. And whatever my personal opinions about those things I'm not going to support the government in effectively outlawing them.
Look, homebirth isn't for every one. I know that. Believe me, it was a hell of surprise when I realised it was what I wanted to do. I know that many women, despite the arguments in favour of a homebirth, would rather be at a hospital and I'm fine with that. I'm not going to turn up at your home as your labour starts to chain you to the bed and force you to listen to whale music. But don't force me to get into a car and go to a hospital during a normal labour.
For those with concerns about the safety of homebirth you might want to check out these links.
Currently the House of Representatives is debating the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related bills to create Medicare funding, access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Indemnity insurance support for midwives. If passed into legislation in their current they will not provide funding or indemnity for homebirth midwives. This legislation will then intersect with National Health Registration legislation (to come into force in July next year) that will require all health professionals to hold indemnity insurance. This will prevent midwives providing homebirth care from registering and thus make their homebirth practice unlawful.
I'm not there because I doubt Trogdor's ability to tolerate the car trip and I foretell a massive burnination by the end of the day. I wish I were though.
Let's be clear here. This legislation won't stop homebirths from happening. All it will do is force homebirth underground (no, not giving birth in mines) (although...)
When I planned my homebirth for Trogdor (which didn't work out, as it happened) I had a trained midwife who brought with her - a Doppler to listen to Troggers heartbeat during labour; resus equipment in case Troggers wasn't breathing at birth; syntocin in case I hemorrhaged; sutures in case I tore; a birthpool because they are cool and a whole lot of other stuff. If I want a home birth next time guess what I get? Probably nothing. No midwife. No medical support. No right to push a baby out of my own body where ever I see fit with the support I feel I might need.
Let me put it this way. Did banning homosexuality, inter racial marriages or the practicing of different faiths (among others) prevent any of these things from happening? Nope. And whatever my personal opinions about those things I'm not going to support the government in effectively outlawing them.
Look, homebirth isn't for every one. I know that. Believe me, it was a hell of surprise when I realised it was what I wanted to do. I know that many women, despite the arguments in favour of a homebirth, would rather be at a hospital and I'm fine with that. I'm not going to turn up at your home as your labour starts to chain you to the bed and force you to listen to whale music. But don't force me to get into a car and go to a hospital during a normal labour.
For those with concerns about the safety of homebirth you might want to check out these links.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
I cried to dream again...
Last night I had a dream. A person who had died turned out not to have died at all. For over a year we had all thought he was dead but no! Last night, in my dream, he returned and was planning on meeting all of his old friends and surprising them with his sudden appearance. As I woke up I had in my mind the list of people I was going to call to tell them the good news. And then I realised...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)