Newstocks

First steps

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It doesn't take long for Aidan's clothes to get from the dresser to the washbasket!

Overslept

So when our alarm went off at 7am this morning, I accidentally hit the “off” button rather than “snooze”.

I knew I’d done it, but let myself dozily slip back into sleep, secure in the knowledge that our other alarm – Aidan – would be waking us up imminently anyway.

Of course, this was the morning that he chose to sleep in until 8am.

Birth order of children

I'm not a big fan of "funny" email forwards, since my (odd) sense of humour isn't shared by most of the people I know. This one did make me laugh, though.

Maternity clothes

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month

The Layette

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries

1st baby: At the first sign of distress - a whimper, a frown - you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing

Pacifier

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Happy Birthday, Aidan!

It’s hard to believe, but Aidan was one year old today.

On one hand, the last twelve months seem to have flown by. On the other, I can’t remember what life was like before him. What did we do with all that time at the weekend?

I took today off work so Mandy, Aidan and I could spend the day together as a family. This morning we went to Baby Gymnastics in St. David’s for the first time, which was a huge amount of fun. I may even have enjoyed myself more than Aidan, rolling around on the mats and playing with him on the equipment. Lunch was at Mulligans, gazing out over the ocean and St. George’s golf course while Aidan happily wandered around and played with Mandy’s keys (much more interesting than any birthday present). Then this afternoon we had a mini birthday celebration for him with some of the kids from Mandy’s swimming classes (with cake, natch), followed by a barbeque with Granny and Poppa.

Aidan didn’t get a huge pile of presents, and I’m glad. I hate to see kids getting showered with gifts at birthdays and Christmas, barely glancing at each before rushing on to the next. That said, both Mandy and I are feeling guilty that the one toy and four books that we got Aidan really wasn’t enough. I think we’ll probably pick something else up for him on our next trip to town.

We didn’t get him a birthday card either. The Oatleys aren’t big on sending cards on special occasions anyway, and since moving to Bermuda, I’ve all but given up the tradition too. Most of the cards sold here are American, and thus unimaginative, unfunny or sickly sentimental. I really wanted to send Aidan a “Happy birthday son” card, but couldn’t find anything remotely suitable. Next time I go to the UK I’m going to have to stock up, I think.

Nevertheless, Aidan seemed to really enjoy his day, and wasn’t at all grumpy or fussy. And with another pool party with some of our friends planned for Saturday afternoon, the celebrations aren’t over yet!

Bioshock

Recently finished playing Bioshock. Beautiful graphics, amazing atmosphere, above-average story, but still not as good as all the rave reviews would have you believe. The lack of a death penalty, the sameness of all the enemies, a final boss fight that was easy even on the difficult setting, and a baffling closing cinematic sealed my disappointment. Worth playing, but not as memorable as classics such as Sacrifice and Far Cry.