Goodbye 2011. Welcome 2012

2011 has been quite a year for our children in many ways. Firstly Sue got preggers in (or around) March and spent the rest of the year getting larger and tireder. Emily celebrated her third birthday in March as well.

Emily also started her Dragonflies school in September, which has been a godsend.

Lastly, we welcomed Holly Grace into our little family only days ago (26th December).

Through the year, Emily has started to gain her own voice and personality. Things she used to do as a matter of us asking she now questioned and pushed back on (mostly food related). She also figured out how to be moody and angry and sulk (the number of times I've had to recently pick her screaming body off the floor in a shop, etc. are too numerous to count) ... and basically do all the terrible two things a child does at the age of two, a year late.

Emily still hasn't got around to accepting Holly, but that will come. I've taken great pains to ensure that Emily doesn't feel left out, and hopefully 2012 will prove to be quite a year for both our children.

It's all in a name

We narrowed it down to Chloe, Olivia or Holly.

While Emily and I went for lunch, both Sue and I seemed to have the same mental conversation with outselves - that Olivia just wasn't "soft" enough for a little girl, the way Emily is. We could go for a Livvy or similar, but it just didn't take.

When we got back from lunch, Sue said it could and probably should be Holly as it was a nicer, softer name.

We proceeded to call her Holly from that point on. However, Sue had previously written the three names on pieces of paper ready to pull out of a hat to see which name would rule. In the meantime, they'd fallen on the ground.

We proceeded to ask Emily to pick up the paper and give them to Sue. We read them in the order Emily handed them to Sue - first was Holly, second was Chloe and third was Olivia.

Thanks to Emily's fate-driven hand, our child was confirmed to be called Holly, middle name Grace. I couldn't slip the comedic Holly Esther in there unfortunately.

New arrival

Our new arrival came at 11.45 this morning. She looks quite fine and is currently having a feed on mummy. We're still trying to figure out which of our name list she suits.

I had a nice 15 minute cuddle whilst they stitched Sue back up. There's a lot of newborn stuff I've forgotten. It's going to be quite the learning curve again.

Almost there

The doctor's been round, we've had a nice chat and we should be going into the operating theatre in the next 20 minutes or so.

Take two

We had a lovely Christmas with dinner, games and presents and we're now at the hospital again ready for Sue's planned c-section.

Not sure what time the op is but Sue's having all the prep work done at the moment. Here's hoping we don't have to wait all that long.

False alarm

Sue has been examined and it's definitely c-section. They gave us the option of today or boxing day... So we're coming in on Monday now. Gives us the chance to have a family Christmas after all.

We get to come straight into the labour ward on Monday and hopefully have a baby around 2pm.

Moved upstairs

They came to get sue and move her from Bubby purgatory up to the maternity ward.

We might see a doctor now!

Even longer now

The nurse came round to tell us Sue won't be seen until 1 or 1.30 at the earliest. She'll be assessed then and see if they want to break waters and start the 6 hour wait and see.

I feel we may have a Christmas eve baby at this rate.

Still waiting

All that rush to get here for 8am. It's 11.30 now and we're still waiting for a doctor to come by.

Fluids and blood pressure have been taken, but we want to get this show on the road.

In hospital

Sue called the hospital this morning at 7am to find out when to come in for her induction. Happily she was told 8 o'clock. We took it they meant am and not pm.  Two hours later and our journey has begun. Sue is munching on breakfast and we're just waiting to be seen by someone.

Emily's choice of verbalising discomfort

When Em gets upset, and this happens quite a bit now she's getting her own personality, she tends to start her yelling, crying, etc. and segue into snippets of her favourite nursery rhymes. You can see the tears streaming down her face, listen to the screaming cries and just make out "... all day long." (from Wheels on the Bus).

It's quite discomforting as it reminds of those films where people are being tortured and to take their mind off the hideous act at hand they sing their favourite songs and the like.

Before you call child services on us, we are NOT torturing her and she did not learn this behaviour from such films.

My big hope for 2012 is this whole episode will be replaced with her actually being able to tell us what's wrong, unless she is and "all day long" is actually code for "I'm constipated and my stomach hurts."

Potty training fail

We're making SOME headway with Emily as far as potty training is concerned. Some does NOT equal a lot. We put her on the potty and the toilet and she doesn't have a meltdown. She also doesn't produce all that much.

Having said that, the other night Sue had Em on the potty and turned her head for a minute to grab a new nappy. Before you knew it, all the "love" Em wanted to share was working it's way out from her new location, leaning up against a cream leather chair in the living room. 

Sue, thinking quick, dove under Emily with fully cupped hands and received Emily's chocolate gift open palmed. Looking for a plastic bag, and being fully preggers, Sue ended up chundering her recently finished meal into the sink. 

Seems both John women were eager to get rid of that night. 

Since then, we've pretty much been eagle eyed on Emily when she's on the potty, ensuring that what needs to come out on the potty doesn't come out anywhere else. 

It's a long, horribly messy and quite crappy job, but some day it'll be over... won't it?