Rob's Ego Trip!

Ben doesn't sleep during the day. It's weird. He's a great sleeper at night but during the day it's a different matter. The problem is that it's stressful when Ben has to be mollycoddled through all his day times and Jon misses out on prime "me only" time too. Presumably, Ben will eventually pick up on the fact that he's supposed to sleep more than he does...

On the plus side, at least it's not at night.

EEEEAAAGGGGLLLLEEESSS!

"Forget Big Brother. Watching Paint Dry is the new reality show. The first reality show to do exactly what it says on the tin." Here

I'm trying to get some data from a remote SQL Server to my MSDE installation. It's painful on dial-up! I really really wish we had broadband...

Picked up our new car today. It's a 2.2 diesel Almera and it's quick! It's got an in car computer that's too complicated for me...

Ben settled nicely to bed tonight.

Jon didn't.

Jon managed to wake up Ben just before falling asleep.

Ben still awake 2 hours later :(

Jon's been a little terror the last few days. It's driving us crazy whilst at the same time, we are very aware that his feelings must be in turmoil. On the plus side, he's wonderful towards Ben still, it's just us that he's taking it out on!

Mum & Dad visited today with Brenda. Also, Jen, Leah and Jack turned up. All to see little Ben :) I haven't seen Brenda in years! 1996 was the last time I think and it was good to see her again.

Unfortunately due to traffic on the M5 everyone was late. As a result Jon didn't get to spend much time with Leah & Jack before nursery and they had to go home shortly after he came out. Hopefully we'll meet up with them again soon for a longer time.

That's the best thing that can be said about today...

It was hot and both kids were fractious with Ben not sleeping when we would have preferred him to and Jon acting up cos Ben was getting attention rather than him! All in all, not the best day, though last night went very well with Ben going back to sleep after his feeds very quietly :)

Today was a good day. We have started organising Ben's day and as a result he's eaten well, slept well and had some awake time today. I am hopeful that this will continue tonight (except the awake bit!)

A couple of things have gone wrong today. Firstly, my new shoes have broken :( A bit of the top leather has peeled away, so they need to be sent back to be replaced. Then the Micra's rear door is refusing to close. It looks like the latch has gone wrong somehow. I'll try and pull it out and have a look this evening, otherwise, it's a case of taking it to the garage with the related expenses :(

Another year passes. This year I had a celebratory glass of water! Somehow, having a 5 day old baby in the house has made having a special day to myself out of the question :)

The visitor parade has started :) Jacky and Sam came over to see Ben (and Jon of course!)

Jon to nursery today and I did chores :)

Dunno what to say about today other than I got through it awake! I took Jon to Parents & Toddlers group this morning. He played with a few of the kids and the grand total of three people spoke to me :) (The lady in charge, Dee (a friend) and a mother who recognised Jon and asked after G.)

The rest of the day was spent trying to entertain Jon without letting on that I was completely exhausted.

Doing the proud dad bit, more photos up in the Photo Album! I went to Blackburn today to pick up Jon too. Jen and Tim have been great and he had a good time with them which was a relief.

Georgina gave birth to Ben at 12:41 this afternoon. He weighed in at 7lbs 5.5oz and is wonderful!

The whole induction thing took ages. First of all there were no beds and so whilst we got to the hospital at 9:15ish Monday morning, Georgina's induction didn't start until gone 5pm. The induction phase then took all night until about 8:30am this morning when she was dilated enough to go to the delivery room. Things progressed much faster then with the aid of a wonderful anesthetist who's epidural worked "just right". Then Ben was born! To round off a great delivery, we were allowed to leave with Ben the same day!

The midwifes and staff at Worcester Royal were wonderful and made the whole experience remarkably stress-free. I cannot say how great it was to have such wonderful people compared to Jon's birth. In particular, Nicky, the midwife who was present during the labour and birth gave us 100% of her time and reassurance.

Georgina and I have't slept since 5:30ish Monday morning (expect for a 1hour cat nap!) and we are absolutely knackered.

Today is inducement day for Georgina and so far it hasn't gone smoothly. Although the appointment has been booked for a while, we were told to phone up at 7 to ensure that they could take us in at 8. Guess what? We phone at 7 and get told that they are "too busy" and to phone again at 9.

*sigh*

Has all that new money actually made a difference to anyone who actually uses the NHS?

Crystal Palace made it into the play offs!

Sorted out toys for Ben today. Jon was a little bemused seeing his old toys coming out and us calling them "Ben's new toys". Poor mite. Fairly typical Saturday really with not a lot done.

Planning permission for the extension arrived today... just need to get some quotes and find some money for it!

Today is Jon's 3rd birthday and he was most excited at the prospect of opening more presents :) He got a Thomas train set from us, a tricyle from his Nana (opened on Sunday due to good weather!), an artists set from Grandma and Granddad and a toolbox with a jigsaw from Jenni, Tim, Leah and Jack.

Ross showed his usual extremely good empathy with Jon and got him a cuddly Cthulhu which Jon is now insisting on taking with him everywhere he goes in the house!

Note to anyone reading this blog: I don't actually want random adverts in my comments. Especially not in a different language to English...

Not the best day at work: demotivated after a three day weekend which wasn't helped by knowing that I've a fortnight off after Friday :)

Today was Jon's 3rd birthday party. We held it in Wacky Warehouse as we are lazy and it's a good way to entertain a group of 3 year olds! Jon enjoyed himself immensely. I think his favourite part was opening all the presents though! After the party, we went to The Nightingale with Mum, Dad, Jacky and Sam for some grown up food. As usual the food was excellent and we had a good time.

Back at home, Jon was allowed to open Jacky & Sam's present - a tricycle as the weather was good enough for him to play with it. He kept repeating "bicycle" over and over again, so I think it was a hit! To round the day off, Gill and Helen came over and Jon had even more presents to open!

What a day!

Ordered an Almera; delivery before end of the month :)