This post
is going to bring me pretty much up to date. I know there has been so much more
happen over this last year, but unfortunately, I was very slack at taking
notes, so from now on, you'll just get random bits as I remember them! There
have been many notable occasions since Will was born, but we will start with...
Worms. My
4-month-old got worms. At an age where he wasn't even crawling yet, he managed
to catch worms. At that age, you can't just pick something up at the chemist to
treat them, you have to go to the doctor. That resulted in an awkward
conversation as to how my infant managed to pick up a parasite (to be honest, I
think his love of trying to use my tires as a teething toy probably had
something to do with it) and how I knew he had them (that would be the
wriggling masses of them in his nappy). Interestingly enough, now that he is
mobile, he hasn't actually got them again, despite me having caught him chewing
on some really revolting things, including bones the dog has finished
with. I just try to remind myself he is going to have a good immune
system.
Will is
certainly on the move now. We are in fact on the verge of walking. He can crawl
as fast as most people walk and I'm doing well to outpace him in the house if
he wants to be where I am going. He is coasting around the furniture and is
standing and balancing with ease. We have had the odd step here and there, so
it won't be long before he is running. He also loves being outside. Over summer
I could leave the door opened and he would take himself out on the back lawn
and crawl around in the grass for ages exploring. I have had to go looking for
him a couple of times when he has hidden in the bushes.
I found
it took me about 4 or 5 weeks after Will was born to stop bleeding. Then I got
my period at 6 weeks. Whoever said breastfeeding will hold it off, was not
talking about my body, clearly! I've found that my periods now are a bit
irregular and very heavy. I'm not sure if that is down to any huge
post-pregnancy change, or just my body sorting itself out, since I'm not taking
the pill at the moment. I went on the mini-pill at about 10 weeks, but I have
since gone off it. I don't know if I was imagining things, or if it actually
was making me moody. I have also found my weight and body shape fluctuating a
bit and I didn't know if that was affecting it too. I can't go back to the
normal pill as long as I'm breastfeeding. I've managed another 9 months since
we first started having issues! (I still consider quitting every day).
Will
popped his first tooth through right on 6 months, a few days after Christmas.
He had made it to 8 teeth within a couple of months and is now working on
getting the first of the big ones through. We have a lot more dribbling when he
is teething, but he managed his first ones without too much trouble. The
current ones are hurting him a bit though.
Tim has
had a few issues of his own since Will was born. We finally got his shoulder
operated on in October. Fortunately, it was the quick healing problem, so he
was back at work after a few weeks. With the pain from his shoulder gone though,
he soon noticed he was having trouble with his hand. In April he was back to theatre
to have his carpel tunnel corrected, resulting in another couple of weeks off
work. His second recovery also coincided with my return to the basketball
court.
I was
lucky enough this year to get a spot on my old team, the Kilsyth Cobras, in the
Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). So a good portion of
this year has involved balancing parenting with basketball training. My first
trip away was to Perth, so Tim (recovering from surgery) and Will came over
with me.
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It was
Wills first trip on a plane, so we threw him in the deep end. We had probably
the worst days travel I have ever had and he handled it really well
considering. Between delayed flights, missed connections and broken equipment
we eventually made it there. We spent three days with my team, then another
three days catching up with Tim's family. Will got to meet his great
grandparents on Tim's side, which was pretty special.
We hired
a car for the week and hired a car seat from the car company, instead of traveling
with ours. We did take our pram with us, but made the rookie error of checking
it in. It would have been really handy to have been able to lay Will down for a
sleep in the three hour delay we had before leaving Launceston.
Since
that trip, Will and my mum has done one round in Melbourne with me, and Tim and
Will did another. We found that while Will doesn't sleep as well as normal in
strange places, he still sleeps really well in the car, so we used that to get
his naps in. Unfortunately, my team didn't qualify for finals, so we won't be
going to Brisbane this month.
We have
started Will in swimming lessons. Swimming's not my strong point, so Tim takes
a morning off one day a week and that is their time. Some weeks I go along too,
but most weeks it's my 'morning off' and I will have a few hours to myself.
I found a
lot of girls I know had babies around the same time as me, so we have kind of
made our own little mothers group. It started as a walk then lunch thing, but
as our babies are getting bigger, we have gone more for lunching with
playgrounds. They have been really important for me, especially since I'm out
of town a bit. I am a pretty social person, so having them around has helped
keep me connected (thanks girls).
The first
few months I was okay, things were constantly changing and I was kept on my
toes a bit. As Will gets a bit bigger though, and I've been longer at home, I'm
finding I need more stimulation. I'm doing more writing, baking, sewing and
card making. (I sound like a grandma, I just need to take up knitting). I find
having a creative outlet helps keep me sane. I just feel like I've become
really boring. I struggle finding things to talk to Tim about when he comes
home from work because I do literally the same thing, every day. So, I'm trying
to be more interesting. For me and the people around me.
I'm at
the stage now where I'd also like to go back to work. Just a couple of days a
week, enough to get me out of the house. I know I tire easily (I still have
naps during the day sometimes) and I like being around Will, but I need to wake
my brain up.
I think
it's a good thing to miss your kids a bit. You can't miss them when you're
always there with them. It is time for me to miss him, just a little.
