NotSheep

You’d think I’d remember this stuff by the fifth baby, but I forgot all of it.

The head-bopping as they try, in a panic, to find your nipple. How they smile and laugh in their sleep. How your milk lets down when they make cute little gurgling noises.

How much you’d give if they’d only go back to sleep when it’s 3 am and they’ve woken you in the middle of a sleep-cycle.

How you can totally forgive them for it when they give you a huge smile - even at 3.47 am.

How lovely it is to watch the interactions between the baby and the older siblings

Toby was one month old this week, and is “waking up” - spending more time awake and watchful, making his feelings known more vociferously ;-), looking around him more, vocalising more. He’s got a fabulous huge smile

The others - well, they’ve been tremendously cooperative today, mainly because I read them the riot act yesterday. We were heading for a friend’s house, but by 11 am they still hadn’t done half of what they were supposed to have done. So I told them that from now on we didn’t go anywhere or do anything until the morning routines were done - and that if I had to remind them too many times, we wouldn’t go anywhere or do anything anyway. This morning, morning routines were completed by 9 am and they were asking what chores they could do around the house. Nice to know they listen sometimes

We went to friend’s yesterday, adults had a good natter, kids ran about and wore themselves out. Today we spent at home - the kids did some work: Barney struggled a bit with some geometry but finally got there (and it was fairly difficult stuff, stuff he’d not be learning for about another four years in school); George gave some French half his attention, then did some geography and some maths, and Freddy has been whipping through English books at quite a pace. Jack is doing lots of counting and recognising shapes etc.

Scratchy took the older three swimming tonight - our local pool has a family fun type thingy on Friday evenings, with slides and monster-floats and stuff. We promised them last week that if they all worked really hard in their swimming-lesson, we’d take them swimming during the week for practice. Well, it got to Friday and we still hadn’t…so off they went this evening. Jack would have gone too, but he was in do-the-opposite-of-everything mode today (you all know what I mean!) so I said he had to stay home. The others got back a little while ago and appear to have had a good time. They’ll be back in the water in less than 12 hours, for their next lesson.

Snippet of conversation with Freddy tonight:
Freddy: Can you take bits of dead people and attach them to people who are still alive?
Me: Well, yes, some bits - doctors can take bits of people who’ve died and put them in other people - like hearts and livers.
Freddy (with huge grin): I want a doctor to get two breasts off a dead woman and attach them to me.
Me (bemused): Why?
Freddy: So I can nurse Toby!

Those who know George well will be familiar with his tendency to collect things - stones, toys, markers, leaves, whatever. If it fits in a pocket, George will collect it - and therefore his pockets are nearly always full (to the point where it’s causing his trousers to fall down). So this question from George - made in a completely genuine and curious voice - will raise a few smiles from our friends: “What are pockets for?”