Poppy has been ‘Hangin’ with her Homies‘ this morning at the park – a beautiful morning for a bit of scooting and playground action. Luka, Poppy and Lexie all met in our Mother’s group and love hanging out together – as do their Mums. Xx
Poppy and Luka also hung out yesterday afternoon and she insisted on dressing up in his glasses, hat, gloves and pack! She looks like she should be on the set of Moonrise Kingdom!
Today I am loving Tasmanian art and printmaking from Handmark Gallery. A gallery in Salamanca Place that you just feel great being in.
Nick and I have bought quite a few pieces from the gallery over the years, but now unfortunately our art budget and wall space is quite limited. My favourite artists include Madeline Goodwolf, Justin McShane, Jonathan Partridge and Alexandra Pitt. Xx
Today is Nick’s birthday and Poppy has been very excited about it (although she keeps thinking it is her birthday!). We went out to Nick’s work this morning and she sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ and adorned him with presents. Poppy then enjoyed a “Gee Whizzer” on the office chair!
We had pancakes for brunch at Cath’s on Sunday morning. I’m not sure what her secret recipe is, but here is the one that I use: Pancakes 1 egg 1 cup (250 ml) milk Pinch of salt 1 cup (150 g) plain flour 2 tbsp melted butter Caster sugar to serve Lemons Bananas Maple syrup
Bring on more winter festivals in Hobart I say! The city turned on the winter weather for the Opening Night of the Festival of Voices – First Light. Like the Dark MOFO Opening Night we rugged up, grabbed the brollie and braved the teeming rain. It was lovely standing by the fire but after an hour of that rain Nick and I looked at each other and agreed to call it quits. It was such a shame as it would have been lovely standing under the twinkling lights of Salamanca and the stars, but it wasn’t to be.
The rest of our weekend was very quiet with a visit to the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery for a spot of culture on a wet Saturday morning.
Sunday morning was a different story altogether. Hobart was bathed in spectacular sunshine with a blanket of snow on Mt Wellington.
Today I am loving this photo of Poppy as a wee baby.
I have also sorted through all Poppy’s Size 000 grow suits and have washed them ready to pack that hospital bag. They are so tiny.
Sorry for the late posting today. No sleep again for me last night so caught up today when Poppy had her nap. Oh the simple pleasures of a ‘Nanna Nap’! Xxx
During my nesting phase of cleaning out our cupboards on Monday I came across this classic “Spiritual Midwifery” that my friend Lil gave me when I was pregnant with Poppy.
I had an insatiable appetite for reading anything to do with pregnancy and birth. You name it I read – Kaz Cooke’s ‘Up the Duff“; ‘What to Expect When You are Expecting‘ and this one ‘Spiritual Midwifery’. The funny thing was I read so much about the various stages of pregnancy, I always knew what size fruit the baby was in utero (it is so funny that your baby is compared to the size of a peach)!
However when Poppy was born I felt out of my depth! I personally feel there is so much emphasis on pregnancy, labour and birth but little on the emotional impact that a baby has on your life.
I distinctly remember when Poppy was two days old, Nick was out celebrating with his friends and my sister Cath and her daughters came in to meet Poppy. They left my hospital room around 6:30 pm and on the click of the door I felt very alone and scared. But I wasn’t alone – next to me sleeping soundly in her little crib was Poppy – and I had no idea what to do.
I kept thinking to myself how did Miranda Kerr feel in this instance, or Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark or Posh? Did they have any panic attacks about what to do? They probably had 24 hour nannies and wet nurses!
I remember thinking my life will never be the same again and of course it hasn’t, but for all the right reasons.
I haven’t read any pregnancy/birthing books this time around but I will revisit the words of author Ina May Gaskin who is:
founder and director of the Farm Midwifery Center, located near Summertown, Tennessee. Founded in 1971, by 2011, the Farm Midwifery Center had handled approximately 3000 births, with remarkably good outcomes. Ms. Gaskin herself has attended more than 1200 births. She is the author of Spiritual Midwifery, now in its fourth edition…
The classic book on home birth that introduced a whole generation of women to the concept of natural childbirth. Back again are even more amazing birthing tales, including those from women who were babies in earlier editions and stories about Old Order Amish women attended by the Farm midwives.
Poppy was born in a hospital in a very conventional way, but I still enjoyed reading this book which gave me the strategies to tap into the ‘rushes’ (contractions) and to keep your hands, shoulders and mouth very relaxed during labour. Let’s hope I can hone in on those skills again for this birth??
It’s not just the making of babies, but the making of mothers that midwives see as the miracle of birth.
I made this recipe on Sunday night from my new Thermomix book – Cooking for Your Baby & Toddler. It has so many great family recipes and this one will be added to my ‘regular’ list.
Ps – I have converted this to suit stove-top instructions so I hope it makes sense?
Here’s a very pensive looking Poppy this morning with her Pom Pom regalia!
For the past several months I have been reflecting on her name and the many thousands of choices for our new baby.
When I was pregnant with Poppy we had several names on our short list for both genders but when she was born Nick said: “She looks like a Poppy!“. That name wasn’t on our list and after 24 hours of consideration – Poppy was perfect for her. I still LOVE the name and it suits her down to the ground.
However, with 6 weeks until we have our next baby, I am starting to feel the pressure as Nick and I haven’t even got a short-list this time. We are hopeless at agreeing on names and I randomly throw suggestions out there, with very few making ‘the list’! I love many names but don’t really love their derivatives and then there are the names that we like but family or close friends have snaffled them!!
Mmmm … maybe we will just use the same strategy and wait to meet our little boy or girl and make a decision then. I best remember to pack the Baby Names book again!
The Poppy Files 