The Basics: done and dusted

Two days into doing nothing, and I'm already rattling around the house. 

This morning, I was up and about by 9 am, showered, and looking for something to do. I meandered through to the office and chatted to Mr Stubbles for a few minutes and then realised that bed was where I needed to be. Blagh!

A few hours of rest later and I've just stuck myself in the sunshine in the hope that it will have some miraculous effect on my mood. To be honest, I have my doubts but, if nothing else, maybe the colour of my legs will improve. It's been so long since they've seen sun that they glow in the dark.

Over the weekend, we did the last of the "if the baby arrives..." shopping.  After 8 years, I think that all that I have left are a few receiving blankets stashed away in the back of the linen cupboard. I'm not sure if, or when, I'm going to be having a baby shower so I don't think that I can rely on others to provide everything that I need. There are some things that one generally would prefer to choose for oneself.

Being of the mindset that babies really don't need much, we tried to get the minimum amount of essentials. My theory is that we can always get more as we need to, but at least we now have:

• basic clothes for 0-3 months: I didn't get newborn because both Numbers 1 and 2 were over 3.6kgs. Bean weighed in at 1.36 kg's last Friday, which I am rather pleased about. He almost doubled in weight in a month... the way that I'm growing, I feel like I may have doubled in weight too. 
• one set of towelling nappies to catch those spills, burps, all that puke, etc. Babies are neither clean nor tidy without a lot of on-going effort. And the same applies to mothers.  
• a starter set of bottles with a bottle brush and size 0 teats: Even though I am planning to breastfeed, I'm experienced enough to know that it doesn't always go so smoothly. When Number 2 was born prem, he couldn't feed properly so I had to express and bottle feed. Only after about 6 weeks did he manage to latch on and breastfeed effectively. 
• an electric breast pump: because I was caught out when Number 2 arrived home and couldn't feed. SO not having that happen again! This was definitely an item that I wanted to select myself. 
• a microwave sterilizer: goes with all the previously mentioned paraphernalia
• a receiving blanket: I know I'll need more but I don't want to end up not having any at all. 
• one warm baby blanket: hey, this is my first Winter baby... something that I am quite excited about since anyone who knows me, knows that Winter is my favourite time of year and that I absolutely melt in Summer. 
• and the piece de resistance, a sling to carry Bean about it. Being in a wheelchair means that I

  

  Number 2 in his sling, oh so long ago!
  Just love the toes!

  can't carry a baby and walk around (like duh!). I also can't wear a standard baby carrier because the legs hang down and I have legs of my own in the way. A sling was the greatest discovery when I had Number 2. They were new on the market then, and I had to experiment a lot with different products to find out what worked. This time round, I'm feeling a tad more comfortable with what I need to get going... except that things have changed in the last 8 years. (sigh)  

While I know that there are probably still a million things that we need, I feel a little more secure knowing that, at the very least, we have some of the basics.

Number 2 went with us, and was very good about not asking for things. I have an issue with children having stuff because they went shopping with you. He was also a champ at picking things up for me and helping me find the baby items that I was looking for. I get very tired very quickly so he was a real star. 

The great experiment...

This morning, I unpacked the electric breast pump and assembled it to ensure it works. Last thing I need is to end up with a new baby and a non-working pump. My inner control-freak needed to know in advance how to assemble, disassemble, reassemble and sterilize all the important bits.

I didn't try it out on my own breast since I certainly don't want to end up lactating at this stage, nor do I want to bring on labour. I was warned by the nurse at the hospital the other day that stimulating one's breasts and rubbing one's stomach can bring on labour.

I was about to pack it all away when in strolled Mr Stubbles. Being the brave lad that he is, I handed the pump over to him and he tried it on his hand, but it couldn't get a grip on the uneven surface. So, he lifted his shirt and attached it to his chest. His face was classic... eyes widening at how hard it clamped on and sucked. Rubbing at his chest afterwards, Mr Stubbles expressed his surprise at how tender his breast felt after only a few moments, and surely babies don't such that hard. Boy is he learning fast!

For the sake of his rapidly diminishing dignity, I didn't pull out my phone and snap a few pics... sorely tempted as I was. Got to love that man!

I think the sunshine may be working because I'm feeling marginally less like bawling my eyes out. I really wish I could pull off photosynthesis, perhaps then I might feel energized as well... and I might be green instead of blue.