post cheat#1

so much for the self discipline required to keep a daily post happening here. seemed like a good idea. what follows is an extract from an email to a friend, with whom I worked in Mt Isa.

22.05.07 email to Lisa, 10 weeks to her due date:

so did you watch the hippie video at an antenatal class? we were equally amused and horrified to see that all family members, quite literally; including kids, were involved in the home birth. do you get along with the other couples? if you have nothing else in common, you will have all experienced childbirth very soon, so it just might be enough to be bothered to stay in touch. we enjoy catching up with couples from our original group and the babies-now-toddlers love their play together. we meet for a picnic and play in the park every month (just whoever can make it; it's usually most of the group, dads too) and this party on saturday involves the group, like one big shared first birthday mega event! in my official capacity as a Friend Who Has a Child Now, I'd encourage you to keep those original contacts! because it takes a while, while you're so busy and SO focused on your own child (and rightly so), to go on meeting other-couples-with-kids! we did a great job of seeing family and friends straight away because I felt really good and Poppy was an angel baby; easy to visit with. but THEN I got tired, not to mention tired of other people holding and adoring MY baby, so we started staying home and enjoying our own little world AT HOME! we also realised (took me much longer to realise than for Sam to realise) that it's so much EASIER for visitors to come to you. in your home! ha, but you already worked that one out!

I think you're probably doing the wardrobe stuff sensibly. buderim hospital gave us wraps and wondersuits and nappies and wipes for the week (actually chux, which were gentler than any of the wipes with their alchohol content. I bought all aromababy because I was obsessed with non-everything products but we didn't use much of that for the first 10 or so weeks). beyond that, I had bought stuff that Poppy wore only once or twice because she was so tall/long from day one (longest baby on record at buderim)!!! I eventually made my way into target on the 25% off days (25% off target gear means you take home a lot more than pumpkin patch gear with the same discount). people will probably give you cute outfits. people know me so well here and we were given very little in case it was 'wrong'...all very well for poppy's studio bambini style etc but no good on our bank balance!