Chez Lee

Charli has been cracking us up lately with her daily white-board updates outside her room. Here’s a few from the past week:

She also uses her whiteboard to vent her anger and on occasion puts up a sign to say who can and cannot enter her room! The other morning she was fed up with Sophie’s obsession with Hi-5 and decided to protest with a sign saying, ‘Hi-5 stinks!’. Let’s just say Sophie wasn’t impressed; but the protest did work – as Sophie agreed to let Charli watch her choice of television the next morning – which was a Michael Jackson dance DVD.

So… I am a walking milk machine. All is going reasonably well and Alice is gaining weight nicely. Here she is being weighed by my midwife (the girls found this technique fascinating!) and looking scrumptious sleeping in her moses basket:

Unfortunately, we’ve had a few unsettled evenings, with Alice producing green, instead of nice yellow, poo poos in her nappy. A quick ‘Google’ (thank goodness for the Internet!) and we discovered our little lass was filling up fast on the fore-milk and not getting to the calorie rich hind-milk. My boobs have been feeling like rocks and over-producing so the poor wee lass was gulping down the sugary, lactose rich stuff so fast that she had no room left in her tummy for the real McCoy. So, I fed off only one side for a whole night (spending a while in the bathroom relieving the overly full side with a session expressing milk over the sink) and then switched to the other side the next day. And the result? Yah! Yellow poos! Such is my life as a walking milk machine!

Alice is nearly two week’s old and her big sisters are making her very welcome. Alice is only awake for very short periods throughout the day, so they really have to make the most of the time when her bright eyes are open.

They’ve been so good for us. I’ve been making an effort to get up every morning to help with breakfast, though I’d dearly love to stay in bed! By keeping the ‘routines’ going as much as possible, they’ve been really settled with the new dynamics. Evenings are hardest, when I’m so tired, but we muddle through. It’s been fantastic having Dan help out with the school and kindi drop off in the morning – I really don’t know how I’d manage otherwise – well I would – but I’d still be in my p-jays!

Sophie loves to help with nappy change time and pulls up a chair alongside the change table to sing a song to Alice. When Charli was born I drove myself crazy singing nursery rhymes, pulling funny faces and talking aloud to her about the trees, sky and universe. Little Alice is going to have two big sisters to entertain her, which is fabulous for her and a big help to me too!

I can’t get over how big the girls now look next to Alice. And Charli is in absolute awe of Alice’s tiny hands, feet and shell like ears.

Here are a few cute words from the girls about their baby sister….

Sophie (with Alice asleep on her): ‘We are taking turns to breath. When her tummy goes out, mine goes in.’

Sophie, in response to a nurse at the hospital saying, ‘Alice, like Alice in Wonderland’: ‘No, not Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Roseland!’

Charli: ‘Is Alice’s brain working yet?’

Charli: ‘She’s so adorable, I just want to spend so much time with her.’

It’s been a scorcher today and after our Saturday morning ritual of Charli’s swim class and splash fun after with Sophie and Dan, the girls had great fun in the garden (thanks to Dan for mowing the lawn first and getting the water-slide out from the depths of the garage)…

I’d usually be in the swimming pool with them, but of course I’ll be on pool-side for a while whilst Alice is so young – not that I’m complaining. Dan has a fantastic time with the girls, whilst I get to chill out with bubs and drink coffee! Today was extra special as I had the magic company of my dear Mum, who sadly flies back to England tomorrow evening :( We’ll miss her so much, but have to let her go – as Granddad is really missing her and we can’t keep two old love birds apart for too long!

Dan took Sophie to see her first football match at the stadium today. She LOVED it! And the Wellington Phoenix FC won!

She has enjoyed having her Daddy home this week to practice her footie skills…