As many of my readers would know, I am an IBCLC Lactation Consultant.
Every now and then (as a few of you know) I get emails from my wonderful, breastfeeding readers, asking tentatively for some advice, thinking they might be over-stepping a boundary, and intruding on my time.
Truth be known. There is no imaginary boundary, and I am always delighted to be able to offer advice to my friends, so there really is no intrusion on my time. Besides I can also answer emails in my paid working time – it’s part of my job!
I’m even happy to telephone you, if you live in Australia. I have free national calls and an excellent cap on my mobile, so it’s not a problem. In fact, sometimes a call is better because I can get all the information I need to provide better advice, rather than have numerous back and forward emails.
Obviously, there are times when advice won’t be enough and I would advise you to contact and see a local lactation consultant to assist you.
I will be attaching this as a page header, for easy access.
Click here for my contact details
Maybe it’s just a reaction to officially being over the hill?
Maybe it’s just because I’ve had a nasty viral lurgy all week and feel drained?
Maybe I’m just over-sensitive?
I’m feeling like a fringe dwelling teenager who doesn’t fit into any of the in-crowds.
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Despite all that, I had a lovely breakfast by the beach with family.
That would be my Saturday morning sleep-in vanishing in a cloud of smoke as ballet restarts *sigh*
I’m not a morning person. It’s not that I hate mornings, I just prefer to spend them in my bed.
Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with a child that prefers to spend mornings in bed, too. I will clarify here though, that she prefers to spend her mornings in my bed, as opposed to her bed. Morning in this case would pertain to any time after midnight, though usually somewhere between 4 and 5am. Though this week has seen very little bed swapping, maybe the tides are changing?
Both of us struggle if we have to be out of bed before 8am, which needs to occur at least 5 times a week now that school and ballet have started. If time permits, I will usually leave Boo sleeping until after I’ve showered and managed to down my first cup of java. While I down the 2nd cup of the day, Boo and I co-exist in a world of silence, and I continue my morning routine.
Once I’m ready to face the day, it’s time to get Boo organised. This is the time when the silence ends. There will inevitably be shouting and tantrumming (sp?) from the sleepy-eyed Boo. It will arise from clothing choices, hair brushing/styles, or having to brush her teeth. Occasionally, there is yelling about all three.
And yes, I’m one of those mothers that has sent her off to daycare in a pair of knickers, or in pyjamas, and either dressed her in the carpark or let the carers dress her when the tantrum has ceased. Thankfully, I haven’t had to do this for about 18 months.
As for thinking I’ll have a Sunday morning sleep-in this week. No way, my parents organised a family breakfast, so I’ll be hanging out until Friday now!
So what are mornings like at your place?
Today we officially began a relationship that will continue until the end of 2017. Miss Boo went to school. From the moment she got out of bed, she was asking when she could go to school.
Finally the time arrived, and after a few tears and a tantrum over what to wear, we set off on our first walk to St School.
After finding her pigeon hole and completing some puzzles, Mrs C rang the bell, signalling the children to sit on the mat and the parents to leave. Surprisingly, there were no tears from children (or parents).
It wasn’t until I was walking home… the enormity of it all overwhelmed me. I’ll admit walking across the park the tears ran down my cheeks as it hit me. THIS IS SCHOOL! By the time I reached the other side of the park, my composure was regained and I realised the butterflies that had been fluttering around my stomach all morning had vanished.
In the half day (that was not really a half day), despite my intentions, I achieved nothing other than marvelling at the fact that my baby is now a big school girl!
The verdicts in – SHE LOVED IT (especially the music room)! Can’t wait to get back there next week 
- One should not play with their blog settings when they are tired
- One should not fiddle with Feedburner settings with a headache
- One should remember where one had put passwords, images etc that they made need
There are probably many other lessons I’ve learn but these 3 pertain to what I’ve learnt in the past 24 hours!
As you can see, I lost my header – maybe I will find it on the external hard drive later? Or maybe it’s the blogosphere’s telling me it’s time for a new one?
If you read Me & Boo in a Reader or a feed, I’m afraid you’ll have to unsubscribe to the old feed.
Resubscribe with that little RSS Feed button over there on the right!
I promise I’ve learnt my lesson!
ETA: I found my header but can’t get it back where it was *sigh*
For one of us in this household, an exciting week is unfolding. School kindy begins, and swimming lessons and ballet lessons restart.
Since we moved to this house nearly 2 years ago, Boo has been eying off the school, questioning when she will start.
Then there was the school interview nearly a year ago, which made Boo think she was going very soon.
Then there was orientation in November just gone.
Now there is only 3 more sleeps until she starts. A half day on Thursday, 2 half days next week and then 2 full days.
For me, the next couple of weeks require lots of juggling (STUPID. HALF. DAYS).
I’m freaking out at the thought of being organised enough to pack a decent, healthy lunch box. I’m not happy with nut-free schools as the only thing I can get Boo to eat on sandwiches is peanut butter, so the easy lunch option is out. The lunch box will require preparation, and it scares me that there might be a competition for best lunches!
I’m concerned about getting a decent breakfast into Boo, but am thankful to Kate over at Picklebums for providing some fabulous options.
I’m not looking forward to losing my Saturday sleep-in to ballet, but I am looking forward to nattering with Sunny Road Mum at swimming lessons.
On a hot day in Perth there is nothing Boo likes better than getting on down to the beach.
It’s even better when Papa comes because he takes her way out… lucky for her Grandma and Papa only live a short walk from the beach!
She spends most of her time with her trusty friend Tinkerbell
Doing this!
Though apparently the waves weren’t big enough for her liking today!
It’s always nice to know someone’s watching for sharks!
And after an hour or so of surfing, there’s shell art to be done
Boo loves surfing nearly as much as ballet, and there were great dilemma’s as to whether to get ballerinas or surfie chicks on her name labels for kindy!
For a long, long time, Boo never watched television. ABC kids or a Dora DVD would be on in the background as she played but she never really watched until about 6 months ago. As for watching a movie. NEVER. 20 mins in front of the box was about all she could manage before she would be off doing other things.
Oh, there were many a day, I wished for the TV to entertain her *sigh*
The past 6 months have seen her watching a handful of favourite programs, but the last month or so has seen her become the movie queen.
Last Thursday we began our weekly movie night.
Movie night starts after bath time. Once in our pyjamas, we make a bowl of popcorn and pour a small fizzy drink each and then settle down on the couch to watch a movie of Boo’s choice.
Last week we had Little Mermaid II, and for this weeks cultural experience, Barbie in Swan Lake.
As my princess went off to sleep tonight, she happily told me that she loves movie night, it is her most favourite thing to do at the moment.
And you know what?
I’m loving movie night too.
Boo starts kindergarten in the formal education system in 2 weeks. It would be an understatement to say she’s excited and looking forward to big school… she is just so ready for it.
My biggest fear is that she may be slightly disappointed in what big school has to offer a 4 year old who has been in a private 3-4 year old kindy program for the past year. Of course, there are still many things that Boo can benefit from and many things to learn but her expectations of what school kindy has to offer her far exceed what early childhood education is about!
Sadly, Boo has been in a rush to do everything from the day she was born. She never slowed down to be just a baby. Every milestone was met early, rolling at 6 weeks from tummy to back, rolling everywhere by 4 months, crawling at 5.5 months, walking just before 10 months.
As for speech, at 3 months she would mouth and cooo her response in conversations, by 9 months she had a string of understandable words, by 12 months she was stringing together short sentences and before 18 months she would hold an intelligent conversation with you (daycare moved her in with older children as she had no-one to talk to in the under 2’s room)!
Looking in her child health book, the nurses comments at her 18 month check up is full of exclamation marks about Boo’s advanced language and comprehension skills, building towers of 7 blocks, her mature pencil grip and ability to draw shapes, her knowledge of all the colours (this is when I realised Boo was a bit special)!
At 14 months, Boo toilet trained herself by leaving behind a trail of wet nappies (she would remove them herself when they were wet! The carers at daycare were the one’s that encouraged me to follow her lead despite my thoughts she was too young. On her 2nd birthday she informed me she would not be wearing nappies to bed anymore!!!!
In the last few months she’s even looking way more grown up 
As much as I wanted to baby, my only child, she never gave me the chance. I have shed tears at every milestone she met way too early. There has been nothing I could do to stop her in her rush to not be a baby.
Yes, I’m very proud of my independent and precocious 4 year old, but I have days where I mourn the fact, that my baby was never a baby in the true sense. Now that she’s nearly off to big school, I’m beginning to mourn the fact she’ll become more independent of me and not be my baby anymore, just my little school girl.
I do rejoice at the fact that the stimulation she’ll get from a new setting an be a good thing.
Scruffy Mutt and I have just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the vet. Last visit, I was advised to watch his weight as he was bordering on fatty boombah status.
Sheez! I have enough problem watching my own!
Scruffy Mutt ventures on to the scales (not wanting to when there is so many smells and other things to investigate)…
Oh! Horror! I didn’t do a good job of watching his weight at all!!!
Two kilos! Yep, I’ve done a fabulous job watching his weight.
You may be thinking 2kg is not a lot? Well when you only weigh 15kg, it’s a massive amount.
Poor Scruffy Mutt begins his diet tonight, in an effort to shed at least 1.5kg so he can have some dental work under general anaesthetic.
My poor boy, is food obsessed. He’s not going to be happy with me.
And when it comes time to dispose of Boo’s leftovers, he’s going to look at me with those big, brown, sad puppy eyes and I’m going to feel horrible!
ETA: When I informed Boo that the dog needed to go on a diet and she couldn’t give him scraps anymore her reponse was “He won’t like that. Forget about it!”
Followed later with “I love Sheikh just the way he is. Forget about it!”