Four Weeks

Its hard to believe that our little Tully Bee is already four weeks old - and also to believe that i havent posted here for almost three weeks! Truth be told i have wanted to post, and have had the urge to write, but my best ideas have struck at 3am when i'm breastfeeding Tully and i just dont have the patience to type out a blog post, on a tablet device, using only one hand...

But i'm here now, and i'm happy to say that its pretty much all good. Tully is proving to be a pretty chilled out, laidback little lady, certainly in comparison to how Flynn was at the same age. For one thing, she sleeps sooooooooo much better than Flynn did - i consider a " bad night " when she wakes twice, as on average she has only been waking the once, feeding for an hour, and then drifting back to sleep whilst she finishes her feed ( which means i can pop her straight back into her cot and head back to bed myself ). She's a hungry little milk pig and if there has been anything we have struggled with its been my milk supply. Tully is being mixed fed as my supply is much lower than it was with Flynn ( probably due to the extra stress of two kids and running a business ) and though at first i was reluctant to give her a bottle or two of formula a day i figured - very quickly - that " fed is best " and now my bubba girl is gaining weight and content after a feed. The majority of feeds are still breastfeeds and i'm enjoying the moments we have together, especially the one or two night feeds when its nice and quiet and un(toddler)interrupted...

Flynn is still in love with his sister - most mornings he'll greet her with a " Good morning Tully! " or my personal favourite " Hello my beautiful pumpkin! " ( which he copied from Daddy ). He constantly wants to kiss her or hug her or touch her hair, which i admit i find incredibly cute, except of course when a hug turns into him almost squeezing her to death or a pat on the head is more like a smack. He does go a bit overboard and get a bit rough sometimes, or a bit grumpy at a lack of immediate attention and he might try and bop her one, but so far he's been caught red handed everytime and told that that kind of behaviour is just not on. Speaking of behaviour, Flynn sookiness (as a way of getting attention ) continues but we're hoping if we refuse to acknowledge demands when he's being whiney, and instead wait until he can ask in a " nice " voice he might outgrow the whingeness soon. Right?!

This raising two children gig is going pretty well though, thus far. I havent had too many meltdowns yet, and though i get frusturated by one or the other of them from to time to i've found that overwhelming feeling of love and contentment far more common. Hell, i even found myself smiling away in the dark at 4am a few days ok, completely in awe of awesome my children and my husband are... and you know that isnt the pregnancy hormones talking, 4 weeks post birth!

Learning To Fit In

Or, I should say, learning hot to fit HER in. Her as in Tully - she's 11 days old today and we've been home from hospital for just over a week. Its been 8 days of Mick, Flynn and I working out how Tully fits into our little family, of the when's and where's of how she needs to do things, and of teaching Flynn how to treat her and how to cope when he can't be put first all the time.

Chilling out in her swing....

So far, things are going pretty well. Yes, we're still in the throes of learning how to breastfeed together, so there are long periods of cluster feeding, or that point  in the early hours of the morning where I wish Mick had boobs, but that's OK. Tully is proving to already be a much better day sleeper than her brother ever was ( and fingers crossed it stays that way!) and on the days Flynn is at home he is proving to be a very handy 'big boy helper '. He's still very much besotted with his sister and loves kissing her or touching her hair every chance he gets, or getting right up close and chatting to her when she's having awake time.

Hey Mum!

Mick and I are also working on how to best share the load. Its tricky because I know, being a professional driver, he really needs his sleep for work so I try not to disturb him during the night, but he has  started getting up with Flynn in the mornings and getting him ready, and letting me catch an extra hour of sleep before he leaves for work. 

This whole new baby thing is a but if a process, but we'll make it in the end! 

Forget The Minuses - She's Here!

OK... so she's been here for almost 5 days but I've been too busy soaking up her gorgeousness ( and trying to rest! ) to fill you guys in. Ahem. so, very pleased to introduce you all to my beautiful daughter Tully Maree Freshfield....

That's her, straight after her not so straightforward birth. I'll no doubt elaborate later, but long story short I started having contractions on noon Friday which just failed to progress, so I was induced Saturday night and Miss Tully there arrived Sunday afternoon! Suffice to say I was just a bit exhausted but totally in love - and so were Daddy ( who cried when he came in to see her ) and her big brother Flynn....

.... and how could you not be when this is what she looked like when she was all clean and ready to come home from hospital!

So, there you go and here she is! Once we've settled in a bit more look out for more adventures with me and Miss Tully Moo!

DD Minus 13 - Bloody Hell!

Bloody hell because its been another few days without a post - I should never have set myself a goal because I'm failing miserably at it! - and bloody hell because one of the kids at Flynn's daycare has shopping cough and he has been exposed to it. Now he's been coughing for 2 days so we're off to he doctor for a check.

Hopefully its a false alarm but if not - what he hell am I going to do? How am I going to keep a very excited new little brother away from a teeny, tiny, defenceless newborn? I have to admit, even though we know nothing either way at the moment, I had a bit of a cry last night.... it would just be so heartbreakingly unfair if Flynn can't meet his new sister for 6 weeks or so.

And also - it takes 4 days for test results to come back. So if i go into labour in the next day or two, what do I do? Does Flynn get to CME visit or do I wait for he results just to be sure?

Ah well, we'll see what the doctor says today. But bloody hell - as if I wasn't anxious enough already!

DD Minus 18 - Ranty Pants

I'm not ashamed to admit it.... today I broke down and had a little cry. At 37w3d you would think I would still be relatively happy to have bub in there, but today I found myself incredibly frustrated and anxious that Miss Jelly hasn't arrived yet.

I'm incredibly keen to met her of course, to see what she looks like and discover what type of little personality she has.... but its more than that. I hurt, high up near my ribs, during the day (thanks to being short in the torso ) and at night it feels like I'm sleeping with a rock stuck under my side. It hurts so much some nights I have a little cry while Mick sleeps comfily next to me. And, seeing as this is my second bub its very unlikely that she'll engage and drop down until I'm in labour.... so the only relief will come in getting her out!

So sorry for the dampener and my ranty little whinge. I promise I'll try not to do it again.... its just as a lady in her last 18 days of pregnacy I reserve the right to change my mind!

DD Minus 19 - My Little Helper

I've found myself with. New little helper around the house the last few weeks. I don't know if it everybody telling him he needs to help me, or whether all the talk about him helping when Little Jelly finally comes out has gotten to him but Flynn has turned into a great little apprentice lately!

 He's always enjoyed helping Daddy out with mechanical things ( like washing the van and the truck every weekend ) or helping Poppy out with things in the yard, but never really took much to helping me. Until about a fortnight ago - now you can't keep him away! And, most pleasing to me, the thing he likes helping most with is the cooking. I wish I had a photo to share of my apprentice chef in action, but truth be told I'm just enjoying our cooking sessions together too much to bother grabbing the camera. ( That, plus the camera is already packed in my hospital bag for labour!)

I hope his enthusiasm for helping, and for cooking in particular, doesn't wan too much once his sister arrives. I'd love to have a little dude in the kitchen who like to cook!
Sea, mummies of more than one - is this usual? Did your first born then into a little handy man or lady shortly before the arrival of their sibling, or is it just Flynn?

DD Minus 20 - Bumpity Bump

Yea yea, I missed yesterday. I really have no excuse other than it was a loooong day. Doing what you ask? Having maternity photos taken! My photographer friend did them for me and was keen to to try some different types of shots she hasn't used before.... so of course, I get got to be guinea pig!

I won't get the full portfolio of photos til next week, but for now please enjoy this sneak peek of what turns out is a very curvaceous belly!