Lily's Party Time

As mentioned on Facebook, Lil had a bit of a four day Birthday Extravaganza. Cheryl's posted some photos on Facebook, so head over there to check them out.

Saturday we had family over for afternoon tea - scones with jam and cream, plus bonus savoury scones from Mum, followed by tiny birthday cupcakes.

Sunday was a party at the Fun Factory. Originally we had planned to combine both events into a party at home, but the uncertainty of the weather combined with the presence of stinging nettles through the yard convinced us otherwise. Once I saw 9 little girls running around screaming I was confident we had made the right choice.

It was great to have someone else organise the food, location and entertainment and pretty much just have to turn up. The 90 minutes went by really quickly, but both kids were exhausted and happy.. and I think if it had been a little longer we might have seen tears.

Monday was Lil's actual birthday of course, so for the third day in a row she got presents, this time from us (and Max). Because of the excitement of Sunday, and Kinder being the following day, we kept things fairly quiet and calm. She played with all her new toys, did some bubble blowing outside, and got a special package in the mail from Auntie Rach.

We went to Jojoes for dinner, which was Lily's choice and booked in her name :)

Finally Tuesday was Kinder day, and Lil took in boxes of smarties to give to all the kids. A nice ending to her birthday funtime, giving out presents instead of receiving them.

This Saturday looks to be equally busy, although this time for me and Cheryl more than the kids. I've got the Iaido seminar with Shihan Takeo all day. Lis is helping with water, which is awesome. Cheryl, meanwhile, will bring Os to the seminar when it starts (I've got to be there an hour or so earlier to set up), then go home and order pizzas for lunch (Anne, one of the other students' Mums, has offered to pick them up) and then take Lil to a party, and then pick Ossie up after lunch. So relaxing ;)

Lynwood Life

(i started this a week ago.. time flies when you're got a newborn at home!)

Can't believe our little one is four weeks old already! The days all blend into one.. :-) Bruce has had two weeks back at work and I had a couple of adventures last week (this week I've just been at home).

Last Monday I had an appointment at the hospital.  Because Bruce was back at work,  we took public transport - which meant two buses and a ten minute walk! And that was just too get there! Millicent was pretty good about it... she slept for most of the bus trips but didn't like waiting between times (especially as it got closer to her dinner time). 

Because we were out and about for most of the day, I had to get over my fear of breastfeeding in public - Bub's gotta eat! I gave her a quick feed in the waiting room at the hospital and then fed and changed her in the hospital gardens after my appointment (ooh, Al fresco!) We caught another bus to the uni where I fed her again (yes, she's a hungry little thing) and she slept most of the day after that.

I caught up with a couple of people at uni (most were away on holiday) and then went into town for lunch.. mm crepes. Unfortunately, my plan to head home at 3pm was scuppered by the fact that there were already two buggies on the bus (there's only enough space for two on each bus). So I had to wait for the next one.. and that wasn't for another half an hour! I didn't take the news very well - you don't tell an exhausted new mother that she can't go home and has to wait... in the rain! Needless to say, I was first on the next bus! Ah, adventures.

Last Friday Cardiff Chemistry had their staff BBQ, so I caught the bus in again (only one bus this time) and took Millicent to meet people. Of course, she was sleeping most of the time.. And eating if she wasn't sleeping! Terrie had a cwtch (a Welsh cuddle) and some of my work mates ooohed and aahhhed over her (the guys more than the girls!). Feeding her in front of my colleagues was a bit weird.. none of them thought so, but I'm definitely not used to getting my boobs out in public yet (and you have to, even with the best nursing tops). Bruce came in to town after work, so I didn't have the hassle of a bus home (and we had take away for tea because it was later than we expected). 

Unfortunately, they're the only stories I've got for this fortnight. Looking after a newborn takes more time and effort than you might expect (and yes, I know that most of you already know this)! I think she's getting a bit better at settling for sleep at night (hope I haven't jinxed things) and she seems to have more alert phases during the day. It's incredible think that she's four weeks old now.. it seems like the time has flown and dragged at the same time!

Here's the link to Millicent's photo album (photos of her, not ones she's taken): https://goo.gl/photos/DE2bwWQa15HXLU2M8

We'll add more to this as time goes on. Let us know if you want the original files (the ones on Google are smaller). 

What have you all been up to?

Lily's paediatrician appointment

We met Lily's paediatrician on Tuesday, Dr Tennakoon. He seems like a nice dude.

Long story short the EEG didn't show anything concerning. We're going to get another one done - a sleep deprived one, to closer mimic the conditions of the first seizure - which Lil thinks it's awesome because she gets to stay up until 10pm watching movies on the iPad (with headphones, so Ossie doesn't get woken up). When I wake her the next morning at 5am we'll see how much she likes it ;)

Apart from that she needs another "99.9% it's nothing, but I just want to make sure" test relating to her birthmarks, but he's said it's entirely likely we wont need to see him again.

The sort of doctor you want is the doctor you don't need to see ;)

Assuming all tests come up normal I reckon we'll just keep doing what we're doing - trying to make sure she doesn't get really exhausted over a few days, don't let her climb high up in trees, and make her wear a stackhat on the bike.  A few friends I've spoken to with medical backgrounds have said it's sometimes just a thing that happens once and never again, so hopefully that's it.

Millicent Valenna

I know I've introduced her on hangouts, but let me "formally" introduce the newest member of our family, Millicent Valenna Rogers. She was born at 00:56 on Friday 22nd July 2016, weighing 3.53kg (7lb 12).

She's named after our grandmothers:

- Millicent was B's paternal grandmother (who died when B's dad, John, was only 10 years old). 

- Valenna is a name that B invented, combining Valda (Nana Staley) and Lena (Nana Hicks) (my maternal grandmother and great grandmother - but you probably know that).

As you know, we didn't know whether we were having a little girl or a little boy (most of you guessed correctly). We couldn't quite agree on a boy's name (we'd got it down to three options), but we had Millicent's name all picked out from very early on. Lucky, hey?!

No one guessed the right date for Bub's arrival - but Daria was the closest with a guess of 21st July. Daria, is there any British chocolate or lolly that you'd like?

More than a week down the track and I think I'm finally getting the hang of breastfeeding, although I know there's a long way to go (especially if I want to go out! I couldn't feed in public yet!). 

Lissa still doesn't sleep unless she's being held, but we're going to try to do something about that this week (before B's paternity leave is up!). Thanks Damien & Cheryl for the loan of the hugabub wrap - I wouldn't have had any sleep without it! 

And I think that both Bruce and I are getting better at the little things - changing nappies (which she hates), dressing and undressing her (which she can't stand), and trying to comfort her after doing the previous things many times per day. We haven't given her a bath yet (she had one in the hospital and they said once a week was plenty). Maybe we'll try that tomorrow.

I'll add some photos to this post tomorrow - they're on the tablet (and the camera) and that isn't within easy reaching right now.

*hugz* to all, and Happy Birthday to all of you who celebrate at this time of year. ;-P