A few pics from the day

The first night was pretty uneventful - all the usual staples of newborndom: eat, sleep, poo, repeat. Over all she seems as easy going on the outside as she was inside - something I think must be a surprise to a few people given what a determined little livewire her brother is! (And he was one since the word go btw...)

I have been good and taking it easy as well. Had A, our primary midwife and S out today for a check-up though and I got the skeptical eye when she spotted the electrical cord on the porch and a log. "You WEREN'T cutting firewood -were- you???" (For the record, no I wasn't! It was for the mulcher and from the morning before... honest!)

Since it was such a lovely day we had to enjoy a bit of it outside though...




The critters were all curious, or possibly just wondering where their treats were yesterday and expecting double-goodies today. In the meantime bubs has discovered the fine joys of slings and is loving it. (Girls NOT in this shot as they will eat chook and sheep feed... or really, any food or a foodlike substance... they're Aussie Shepherds after all!)

La is slightly chuffed at being able to hold her.
"Aw mum, she's really, really beautiful isn't she?"

La is rather unfussed by the whole turn of events, aside from the points he gets to hold her when he's quite chuffed with himself. Yep. There's a baby but it's usually just sleeping and there's paintings to paint, soccerballs to kick, girls to play with and other very important things to discourse on... like the fact there's a moth flying outside the window. Now moths are truly newsworthy stuff!

The most noteworthy aspect of the labor and birth for him are that "Bubby made a BIG mess in mud puddles!" (read: the show of blood) which is apparently terribly funny. Other than that, he's been pretty cute although he's still feeling a bit under the weather. After everyone had left following her birth and we were having a little rest he patted me on the shoulder while looking at her and said, "Aw mum, well DONE!"

She's here! :-)

After a VERY quick labor bubs is here!

Waters went at 10:30 this morning, with contractions happily underway 3-5 mins apart shortly after and she arrived at 12:42 after a whole 4 minutes of pushing, a couple of minor grazes when I was a bit enthusiastic in pushing but otherwise I'm feeling very good. Wobbled off to the couch for lemonade and cookies while she had her feeds after she arrived waiting for the placenta. She measures 50 cm long and 3.74kg, so a bit more dainty than La who weighed in at nearly 4.2 kg. Most of the time since has been spent waiting for the placenta to hurry up - it was in less of a hurry than her!

La was gorgeous throughout and right there when she was born. When bubs was crowning and I hollered, he stopped and told Nic "Mummy is ouchy, I need to go help mummy!" Aw, my sweet little man.

Lots more pics on the camera but a few of them...

Apologies for worrying a few people... suffice to say I have not been dealing with Cami's loss very well at all and have been in quite a mood. It wasn't improved by a minor (but yech) infection, another flu which of course Laurent caught as well and then Nic, obnoxious amounts of contractions that amp up for 3-4 hours before going no-where and not sleeping more than an hour or two a night for the past few weeks courtesy of all of the above while attempting to keep pace and being majorly unimpressed with myself for not keeping up with training.

By this week things have leveled out and I had Sif, Jayne and Jen over along with their little people and an impromptu blessing way which was cheering. For those not familiar it's sort of like a baby shower but more to celebrate transition from one stage to another and represent support from the women around you. Also a bit different is that gifts are more symbolic than material which is nice given we've still got everything from Laurent's babyhood - ie everyone has a candle lit at the blessing way to take home to light once labor begins, everyone gets a bracelet to wear until the baby arrives safely or everyone brings a bead to contribute for a necklace to wear in labor representing their well wishes. So now I have a lovely lotus henna design on my bump, a red bracelet (left hand) and a jade lotus bracelet (right hand) which you can see here...

as well as the beads that will be a necklace once I find my crimp beads.

La was also very impressed with the whole event as A.) people were visiting, B.) there was a lovely banana cake and C.) Sienna was one of those people. I may be forgiven for this baby being human instead of canine yet given it heralded three things high on his awesome list in one day.

Other than that the pregnancy has continued to be boringly normal. Last MW's visit was Thurs. BP 120/80, bubs is happy, position is good, everything is ready to go. La having got the procedures down pat fished out the equipment and A had a "helpful helper" who 'took my blood pressure', used the Doppler to find bubs heartbeat and the placenta sounds after bossing her to 'put the cream on it' to make it work and turn the volume up.

In the meantime, time in the evenings that's too uncomfortable to do much is being invested in sketching and attempting to better my knitting. I'm still far from 'good' - just simple stuff which is dressed up a bit with embellishments but it's nice and rhythmic and doesn't require too much thought.

Last but not least... the last few days of La being an only child...

33 week MW appt this morning.

• I am normal (well, as I ever am)
• The dogs and kitten are as sure as La is that the MWs are there to see them and not me. ;-)
• BP is normal
• Squidge#2 measures at 33 weeks which is entirely appropriate for 33 weeks
• heartbeat is normal
• head is down
• the bits of bubs I thought were very pokey little back and bum are indeed a pokey little back and bum
• I miss having a bladder capacity of more than 0.003mL, especially when it wakes me up multiple times a night
• next meeting is birth plan meeting at 36 weeks by which point I will have hopefully switched into baby-mode. It would probably be useful to do so sometime before the baby actually pops out. LOL (Right now it's all La, dogs, training, house, birds, stuff that needs fixing around here etc! *g*)
  

We are still officially boring. That is all.

Oh. Forgot to mention. MW noticed Aussies are curious, nosey creatures given the permanent fixture of a dog stationed at my head or feet throughout the visit and watching curiously as she did the exam, took BP etc and asked if the dogs will be with me throughout the labor. "Yeah, probably. They were nearby through most of La's." Not a batted eyelash. Innit grand? :-)

And it just keeps getting better!

I've got to say, life is pretty darn great at the moment!

La is doing well, I'm doing well, Nic is doing well and Squidge v. 2 is growing steadily with only a few more weeks to go! Things are still quite relaxed, although in the next few weeks we'll start to finalize preparations for her birth when our midwives come over next.

In the meantime, training has started back up last week which brought with it a behaviour discussionand tracking workshop. Then Sam who owns Veri and Hope's sister the fantabulous Jahzzy made my week with an offer of Bob Bailey's dvds which are already in my hot little hands this evening! (Thank you soooo much again Sam if you're reading!)

As if I weren't already bursting at this spate of lovely happenings, on Monday I got a phone call from the agility club regarding a spot opening up. With La chattering LOUDLY while the lady was trying to talk it took several seconds for it to tick over in my brain that this wasn't Hastings but the other club - the one I've been on a waiting list for oh... two years, hoping to get a spot in! Oh. My. There are no words for how excited I am! So Hope and I are starting this evening! (After this long, even if I was in full labor I'd be crossing my legs and down there at as fast a clip as I could manage! LOL) Besides being an excellent club the classes are also late enough in the evening Nic will be able to watch La (and in a few weeks bubs too) which has been a major hold-up with most classes as he is gone from very early till quite late at night and we've no family here to babysit otherwise.

And just because this seems to be the week for doggy happenings, while at the HDDAP meeting I also ended up volunteering to be on the General committee and we'll be at the Melbourne Pet Expo's Aussie booth, probably with Sierra. So we should have a lot of fun with the puppers coming up!

30 Weeks

Pretty much this whole pregnancy up to this point I've been waiting to FEEL pregnant and it really just wasn't happening because there was just too much other stuff I was busy with or thinking about. Even up to last week I was saying this, despite sporting the ample evidence of pregnancy. Well, it seems this week I finally feel pregnant! Gee, it only took the first 30 weeks... LOL

After spending yesterday being much lazier than I'd intended (read: I spent most of the day playing around here with the animals and La) I had a number of what I'm guessing were stronger braxton hicks this morning which only subsided while I was actively walking and were flaring up whenever I was trying to kneel or do stuff in the garden, so we decided to spend the day walking around Gembrook for the market, the ice-creamery, cafe and watching Puffing Billy while we finished off the fruit we'd bought.

Afterward we headed off toward Launching Place to spend the mid-morning through the afternoon meandering around Kurth Kiln about 20km past Gembrook, near Tomahawk Creek and finishing after Shiprock Falls which was an easy but pretty little walk. Since no one else was there it was lovely sense of quietness and peace in the bush, despite being not terribly far out.

Out-takes

This pregnancy is going beautifully... I've been enjoying this stage I think the most of any so far. I'm a bit more tired with the odd wishful thought of La still having a daytime nap so I could catch a rest as well but I love the constant reminders that comes with the dozens of twirls, stretches and taps I can feel throughout the day. Doesn't matter what I'm doing, it's just nice to be reminded so many times a day that sometimes life is bountiful and beautiful - even if it's also crazy and there are a million and one things that need doing, planning, working on and remembering... lol... one does not preclude or even happen despite the other!

I keep telling myself I want to get more photographs of this stage that show everyday life... it usually seems it's just me snapping photos of Laurent like the ones above and below... when he holds still!



Not that it's not nice to have some like this in it's own right but I've sort of been looking through a lot of my photos and found a lack of 'snippets of life' pictures... not just snapshots per se but nice photos that show the little moments that aren't particularly unique or stand-out but still are so important because they are the majority of what makes up our lives and are so much a part of who we are and who we become.

Nic's holiday leave is over as of this morning and I need at least a few more weeks... LOL I had *heaps* planned for this time and only got about half of it actually finished. Among other stuff:

• Fencing for the ducklings and such done, but I need to repair the sheeps small-yard. I think it also needs an extra tension wire along the top. Here's the ducklings enjoying their own baby-space, two age groups. :-)
• A bunch of large pavers and posts buried at all the new gates (8) so the dogs can't scoot under but sloping enough I can get the mower over
• Did not get the new beds I wanted to get plowed done.
  
• I made a good dent in the weeds, blackberries and assorted pruning and chipped a couple dozen loads of sticks into mulch which is now covering a fair bit of the garden beds. Planted cuttings. Still have a heap of large branches/logs to chop.
  
• 2nd coat of oil on decks but I still need to prime and paint the skirting of the house.
• Nic disassembled the small aviary to the day pen and put it on a fox-proof base so his chookie has a place separate from the big chooks
  
• The retaining wall rocks were sorted into base, large, medium, small and corner pieces and in the front has most of the base excavated and first row placed but will take another few days on the weekend to finish.
  
• The large chook shed is completely undone... I think I'm most frustrated with that
  

And these are a few of the out-takes... from when we were putting in the base-layer of the retaining wall for the dirt I'm sitting on.

Sook-a-boo... Sierra leaning in for a cuddle, looking rather blissed/drugged out might I add... (check the so-relaxed-they're-rolling-back eyes)

*HONK* While La was trying to show me how he was digging and helping (those are his arms and feet on the right) Nic caught Cami being a cheeky-baby. Poor Sierra!

And the two-fer-one special on kissie girls... Veri (blue) and Sierra (red)

Twenty Six Weeks, attracting a crowd with a bucket

Honk: "Move off lamb! We is big tough geese!"

Honks: "See? TOUGHEST GEESE EVAH!" (Said with much headbobbing and posturing.)

Sheep: *STOMP*
Geese: "Okay, mebe not that tough!"

And bubba #2 is a.........

GIRL!!!!!!!!

3D view, profile of bubbas head

Curled up squidge, head on the right facing up

La is mildly disappointed there weren't puppy babies in there too but is happy his second choice - a sister - was granted. Also makes me feel much better as I've managed to avoid looking like an utter nutter given the amount of 'girls' clothing I've bought since just before this bub was actually conceived on the basis that I felt that while I would have prefered number two be boy I was going to get a girl... :P Nic, who'd wanted a little girl from the start, is also happy.

A nice day out yesterday at an Australian Shepherd seminar put on by the ASCV hosting for Sheila Polk with the extra bonus of having Nic being at home and minding La! Mind you I wasn't totally alone as Squidge V. 2 was alternating between a storm of little kicks and hiccups the entire time... LOL This show, combined with the agility/obedience/herding/MVA comp and then the seminar this weekend has been such an absolutely lovely thing for the club (and a few hardworking individuals in particular who saw to all the behind-the-scenes stuff you don't always get much recognition for) and very impressive that it's come off so well. I hope we'll be able to have something like this, if not annually, then every few years! What a fantastic resource to be able to see and put your hands on so many of the dogs you don't always get to see outside of photos and to hear from someone who has long and varied history and get their perspective on our breed!

When I came back in the afternoon from the seminar, I snapped these pictures of the little artist hard at work.

The artist ponders... A bit more here? A loopy squiggle missing there?

Inspiration hits."Ohhh!"

Success! (And a manic grin!)

Baby related I've also arranged to book into the back-up hospital (Warrigul) though have yet to speak to the OB there. Hopefully shouldn't be too much worry, given how cruisey the whole mood of this pregnancy has been so far. I was e-mailing my MW this morning and it got me to reflecting how utterly different this pregnancy has been to La's. Nothing is a drama, everything will get taken care of, everything is lovely-happy-good atm. It's amazing what not feeling like something the cat dragged in and not having to contend with a doctor who got his degree from Acme will do for one! Most days, despite the obvious reminder (I have certainly popped and plenty of little taps and kicks and hiccups) and having seen bubs on the ultrasound I just don't really FEEL pregnant odd as that sounds!

Meanwhile the weather is slowly turning to summer and the rhododendrons are putting on a show. I've had to slow on the major progress in the garden for a little while but the existing plants are making up for it now that they're happy enough to bloom and covered in a carpet of flowers! The pics are from a few days ago but La and I ended up spending the day puttering and planting today after I realized we were a few weeks overdue for someones vax and couldn't go to the obedience sign up like I'd thought. Doh! (Meantime the ratbag ate ANOTHER freaking collar!)




Meanwhile I've sold several chooks, which leaves me at my breeding groups and broodies waiting for eggs to hatch. Candling looks promising for most. Little Lucky the lone duckling has been joined by three little Aylesbury duckling buddies

Before long they'll be joined by Wyandotte chicks, Old English Game bantams, another Aylesbury all of which candled as looking nice last night. Possibly goslings! Baby birdies are lovely little creatures, they help curb the cluck-factor over puppies atm (and I do realize a baby puppy anytime soon is probably rather insane alas... *sigh* very sad as Cami will probably be flying out before long...) as La and I love our soft, warm, cheeping little "chicky babies".

The sheep are officially Yarn On The Hoof! LOL

Despite having lower rain than we should things are quite lush at the moment and increasingly (and welcomely!) warm golden days for the chooks to putter around searching for tasty bug between naps

For La this means he's able to run his ever-abundant energy off. Unfortunately he instantly recharges - when I nicknamed him Bunny I should have specified NOT the Energizer bunny! He's hunting for clover flowers and other such treasures here.

This also leads me into other treasures we've found lately. I'm generally not a fan of Stuff and my rule for buying things (well, aside from things like toilet brushes) is that it has to be something that will make me smile every time I look at or use but I do enjoy finding them when they appear in my life! Hence my too cool chook doorholder - solid metal, heavy and get this - she's an op shop score - $3!

Laurent also spent some of his birthday money on this really funkliscious dinosaur which he cannot be parted from for love or money. In the grand traditions of 3 year old logic I'm informed it's name is "Brontosaurus Rex", aka Rexie. Well... I suppose it fits with the toy croc named Gator right? LOL

And because this is turning out rather La-centric... it occured to me that some of the La-isms I posted on the joys of "chatterbox children" on AB the other day might also be appropriate to blog. I'm sure they'll be amusing when he's, oh, around twenty...

• The other night La was sound asleep... had been for four hours. Well and truly ZONKED, limp and snoring. I crawl in bed, he rolls over, snuggles into me and says, "Mum? Where's race car gone?" Even asleep he doesn't stop.......

• I've lost track of the random strangers who've been stuck in waiting rooms, trains, at a picnic or near us whom he's decided are new playmates who after being subjected to his enthusiastic and LOUD non-stop verbal barrage have asked in tones of fascinated horror, "does he ever stop?" or "how much red cordial and candy have you given him?!?" because he won't stop moving or chattering at hyperspeed. (Answer btw is he's had NONE... the idea of La on a sugar/cordial induced high sends chills up my spine...)
• I told him to shush at the dogs training class as he was making all sorts of weird screechy noises and cracking himself up doing so in this big echoy building. "BUT MUM! I LIIIKKKKEEEE TO MAKE NOISE!!!" Hn. Y' don't say... I never would have guessed!

• "Mum, what are you DOING?"
  "I'm making a cup of tea."
  "WHY?"
  "Because I'm thirsty."
  "Why???"
  "Because our bodies need drinks to stay healthy."
  "But WHY?"
  "Because that's how bodies work."
  "Mum, what are you DOING???"
  "I'm drinking the tea La - what does it look like?" (Ever so slightly exasperated!)
  "But WHY??????????"
  "Because I didn't make it to stare at."
  "Why?"
  "Because that wouldn't make any sense."
  "WHY???????"
  ....fastforward through fifty thousand whys to this afternoon...
  "Mum? Are you getting my chicken noodles soup?" (noodles is not a typo - that's how he says it)
  "Yes La."
  "Why?"
  

  He's the Elephants Child poem incarnate I swear...