a walkabout

we got out for a walk after dinner tonight, the four of us. Nuby in a sling on M, Kini on his bike, and I walked solo, savouring the freedom of not having two boys hanging off of me for an hour.

I swung my arms freely with glee.

we strolled/rode/shuffled past Kini's school where he will be starting JK in a few weeks... I'm so tied up in knots about the whole thing my heart races at the very thought.

but that's a whole other post that I've been struggling to write.

and I will, soon. I'll deal with it and figure out what to do.

just not tonight.

things I've learned

I'm only a few weeks into this being a mom of two boys thing, but there have been a few lessons learned already:

1. it is possible to breastfeed and do the robot (dance) at the same time. it is also possible to feel like a fool when you realize your son has actually moved on to another distraction while you awkwardly flail your arms about in robotic fashion while repeating 'do-the-robot'.

2. it is possible to go an entire day without eating only to wolf down your dinner without tasting it to get to your snuffling baby before he cries so your milk doesn't come in before you're ready, while keeping your left eye on your older child and offer him praise for eating well.

3. when you tell a four-year-old that you have eyes in the back of your head (which he doesn't realize is you just looking in the mirror at what he is trying to get away with), he will believe you. and bring it up often. which isn't necessarily a bad thing I'm learning because I kind of like that it's now my official superpower. and superpowers are very respected in this household. I see this coming in handy in the teenage years.

4. that it's possible to be bone-crushingly tired yet giddy with glee at finally, finally getting your baby to sleep in your lap on the nursing pillow after hours of false
starts only to hear a sweet voice call from the other couch 'mommy I'm hungry'. and that the tears that escape your eyes in defeat and despair will prompt your older son to rush over and say 'mommy, I love you' as a consolation attempt which only makes you cry harder.

4. that when you take fenugreek in an attempt to boost your milk supply not only do you now smell like maple syrup, but your pee and your baby will too. (it's also used to flavour cheap maple syrup, who knew).

5. that this pointy pixie ear will delight your very soul.


6. that it took a few weeks to get used to our new baby, but now that the sleeplessness is routine, you will want to pause time forever to hold your sweet boys in your arms.

7. that you will be ridiculously grateful when your baby sleeps 2 full hours at night between feedings. that these two hour intervals will make you feel like supermummy the next day until your body crashes at 4pm and you literally count the minutes until your husband comes home with fresh arms.

8. that you will look at moms with more than one child in awe and wonder how on earth they can be so put together--you can tell they've recently showered.

9. that the saying 'sleep when the baby sleeps' is still complete and utter crap. I have things to do, thank you, that I would totally be doing if I could just get the sleeping baby off of my lap.

10. that the feat of getting both kids out the door, one on bike and one in a sling for a 10-minute bikeride will be comparable to scaling Mt. Everest in your eyes. And that while you're ready to rush around the block, your body will protest with painful squeaks in your over-widened pelvis.

11. and finally, that watching your new son smile when he sees your older son come close will make your heart go mushy and tears creep into your eyes, to witness the power of the older sibling. Nuby is smitten with Kini and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

a beginning, of sorts

this. this right here is where I am, among the chaos that a 4 year old and 5-week old bring. and am I still technically a newlywed? 9 months married, and yes that would be a honeymoon baby.

let's take a tour of chez moi, shall we?


welcome to my living room (via fuzzy iphone photo). this is my life. that on the left would be what is left of our green couch, enthusiastically disassembled each day by by our 4 year old, Kini (kee-nee, and yes it`s a nickname). you can see the crumpled aftermath of said young boy's body on the cushion on the floor post-couch-jump.

that swing in the foreground would be the loaner swing that our 5-week old nuby (pronounced 'newbie', as named by Kini when I was pregnant, and yes another nickname), sat in and enjoyed for approximately 5 minutes one day many weeks ago had has rejected on a daily basis since. rejected by much writhing and yelling, I might add. yet still we try..

that extra large and ugly square coffee table is barely visible under the clutter, would you believe it actually has a glass top? and is intended for the storage of, well, drinking glasses and such?


moving a little to the north-west you'll note another couch (oh look! we have a floor!). see that empty spot on the right? that's where I spend my day, with nuby either feeding or sleeping on me. he doesn't like to be put down, ever. never ever.

to the right of the couch is the playpen, a charming device that has a shallow insert where your newborn is intended to sleep. our newborn, however, does not. ok, we've been able to get him in there a few times, but he really really prefers to sleep on something with a heartbeat. that elbow shaped yellow thing on top would be my nursing pillow, Aka the most useful item in our house right now. its big enough to serve double duty when I'm feeding nuby that Kini can cozy in beside me and tuck his legs under and feel a part of what we're doing. it's the only thing I can get nuby to sleep on (which is a whole other post), and it's really useful when you're reading. not that I've done that lately.

the tall black and white barrel in the middle would be one of our laundry baskets-- the bane of my existence. I truly don't mind doing laundry, I'm just flabbergasted at how much more there is to do with the addition of a pint sized baby.

the table just cut off on the right is our dining table, the hub of the living room.. when we find the time and coordination to eat at it. half of it is more than likely covered with stuff, here you can see the latest acquisition: the game of golf.


and here is the couch, reassembled. sort of. it's a grand effort by son number one, and the neatest that room looked all day (just ignore the massive table of clutter in the foreground).

and that's kind of how my days have been going these past 5 plus weeks. everything gets pulled apart during the day; the house, even me, and gets put back together, sort of, when my darling husband returns home.

why ginmummy? because I'm taking my new chaotic life as a family of four one drink, erm I mean day, at a time.