Sunday 28 February 2010

Broken words from a broken pink week

They say seven days is a long time in politics, they should try it with a newborn.

This post is going to be just about as consistent as a politician's viewpoint, but it's as good as it gets while my eyes refuse to open equally.

Today was our last day having the kraamzorg at home, and in fairness I don’t think she left with too many concerns over the welfare of Mango.

Born at 3660 grams (8lbs 1 ounce), she dropped to 3300 or so and is now already climbing back above the 3400 mark. She’s feeding like a demon and sleeping whenever the hell she feels like it.

She farts consistently like someone on a diet of Guinness and Weetabix, and seems to derive great pleasure from being able to sneeze in my face at every available opportunity.

If the baby had been ugly I would be feeling very hard done by round about now, we sleep very little and are surviving on what we can suck out of her spit up cloths.

Our house looks like he aftermath of a gay pride riot in a candy floss factory, with pink dripping from every wall. A pink obstacle course seems to have sprung up from nowhere, formed from boxes, piles of new clothes, cards, soft toys, balloons, and flowers. All pink.

Heather’s guess on the pool was the best, just 5 hours out, and pretty close on the weight too. Jo is probably 2nd. Tiff would have won, except her guess had just a little too much penis.

Some people have very generously asked if they could sent a gift, which is a wonderful gesture and thank you, but we might just die from guilt if people did that, and then Mango would be an orphan and someone else would benefit from her career as a child star, we just can’t have that. So, if you were going to send something, how about giving some of that money to the Joseph Salmon trust on Mango’s behalf instead? Any money donated there will go straight to the trust.

The trust was founded to help parents and families with the financial burdens that arise from having lost children unexpectedly. Should I get any sleep before July, I will be joining the Hadrian Walkers in an attempt to raise funds for the trust by walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England.

On the pronounciation of Mango's name, there was a YouTube video that explained it perfectly, but it's been removed. So for laziness purposes it simply sounds like 'Anna' with an 'S' in front. Well it does when I say it, and it's not my fault if you've got a silly accent.

Now, because my brain is fried, I’m surviving on chocolate biscuits and naps on the toilet, and because it makes people tell me again how beautiful she is, I’m resorting to a photo to close.



55 comments:

Wanderlust said...

Welcome to parenthood. And don't worry, you'll be able to sleep again in about 15 years or so. She is every so beautiful.

Hockeymandad said...

Cute pic! Naps on the toilet are so wonderful, no worries about wetting yourself then. Enjoy the sleeplessness, it lasts about a year. Heh.

Marylin said...

Ahhh the joys of parenthood... welcome to the club! You will never fully recover from the sleepless nights till the lil one is potty trained! ;)

She is *gorgeous*! :)

Lorna said...

It doesn't end after the first year, I had our 5 year old sleeping with me last night, she has a bad cough and ended up getting sick twice!!

Sanne is beautiful, those eyes.

The pink does take some getting used to - just wait until you are trying to co-ordinate all the different pinks and purples to get her dressed :-)

Edith said...

She is beautiful!!

Catherine said...

Look at that gorgeous kid :)

tiff(threeringcircus) said...

Ge used to the pink, you know, unless she is destined to be a tomboy. I tried to shake it out of all of my girls and it only worked for one.

It seems the young female is drawn to the shade, that and Barbies! Oh the Barbies!

She is very beautiful and her name is sweet too.

PS Sleep deprivation settles in the tween years and then ramps back up again once they start going out at night.

You're welcome.

My pleasure.
:)

Anonymous said...

Pink was going to be my worst nightmare! It will soon be pink Barbie shoes in the bed and glitter up the walls - not to mention boyfriends!!!!
But what do I know - I had boys!

Oh and the Guinness and Weetabix thing? Is that from personal experience???

Gail

Marita said...

My girls are 5yo and 6yo and they still enjoy stealing my sleep.

From one sleep deprived parent to another, she is gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Embrace the pink! I gave in and loved it, but then I did have a blue eyed blondie...

Woo, 2nd!

My husband still takes toilet naps..

She's beautiful!!

Veronica Foale said...

Yup, beautiful.

Sleeplessness, hahahaaa. Well, I'm not really laughing *at* you, more *with* you. In solidarity like.

Geeks in Rome said...

Gorgeous!! I looove that hair! She is also looking less hostile toward you. I think the pink won her over.

"Sleep by July..." hee hee. You silly man. You'll be changing your blog to Xbox4Sleep any moment now.

Heather said...

Horray for me! I've never won a baby pool.

Before I had my girls I hated pink. Now it's my favorite color on them, and one might even see me wear it now and then. In time you too may incorporate it into your wardrobe...

Such an adorable picture. Keep them coming!

Steve said...

We're desperately low on provisions in our house at the mo. I'm thinking Guinness and Weetabix could be how I start my day tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.

And she's stunning.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

U think this is bad? wait till they are teens and u r waiting up to all hours!. lol....

Iota said...

Whatever makes you think you need SLEEP to do an 86 mile walk?

They really don't prepare them very well for parenthood these days, do they? (sighs, shaking head sadly, with smugness born of having been a parent for nearly 13 years now...)

She may be Sanne, pronounced Sanna, but I'll always think of her as Mango. Fatso Mango, probably, though that's not terribly polite for one so beautiful.

Chic Mama said...

I know that feeling well...you wonder how you will ever be able to anything normal ever again. It gets better...;0)

J from Ireland said...

Oh she is so very beautiful!!

Tara R. said...

I cannot tell you how excited and happy I am for you both. Your daughter is gorgeous! I'm looking forward to many great new-daddy stories.

Mwa said...

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

The sleep deprivation gets better, I promise. Have you been able to take some extra holidays, on top of the pitiful Dutch father's leave? And, while I'm with the questions, is ET Dutch (I was pretty sure she was Irish) or is Sanne also an Irish name or did you just like it?

Hadrian's wall would be so great to walk. Shame I'll be a giant elephant by then.

Anonymous said...

good grief that is a pretty baby!

WhatAboutNovember said...

What a precious little face. mmm

:)

Poppy said...

She's beautiful...seriously. I am still amazed by the hair. Amazed!

I had 3 sons before finally having a daughter...I remember vividly the pink. It looked like someone threw up pink all over the house. But after THREE boys...I was in heaven!

Get some rest! Kiss the wife and the baby :)

Jenni said...

You are loving every minute.

Gorgeous.

Amanda Bowden said...

She is just too cute for words!!!!

Sleep. Yep - that sure becomes a distant memory!

But quit whining will you. I am STILL waiting for my little one to arrive. At least you have something to cuddle during the middle of the night - I just have a huge bump that wriggles from side to side :(

IrishNYC said...

She's so beautiful. She's making me all weepy.

Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] said...

My uterus and my ovaries hate you.

GAH the gorgeousness.

Erika said...

We are so living parallel lives right now. It's creepy. And, yes -- she is beautiful. Mine are, too. Damn rules about not posting photos.

Alyssa said...

Yes, she is absolutely beautiful.

I laughed out loud about the pink obstacle course and the guess with "a little too much penis"!

Bonnie B. said...

To quote the name of a book I saw "Sleep is For the Weak"

By the way, weren't you supposed to go to some concert just after the baby was born? And didn't I tell you that you would end up NOT going? Tell me I'm right, Martin. I love it when men tell me I'm right...

Ms. Moon said...

Look, dammit- she is plenty gorgeous enough without that wig! I mean it!
Now get some sleep!

River said...

I want to kiss those chubby little cheeks.
Sanne will adjust to the world soon enough and have a sleep/wake routine that allows you to sleep or at least to take turns with ET, one sleeping while the other gazes in adoration at Sanne.
As soon as she sleeps for any decent length of time, say 3 hours or so, learn to catnap and sleep when she does. Ignore all but the most essential of household tasks, these would be cooking and laundry. everything else can be caught up with later, when Sanne heads off to college.

Kelley @ magnetoboldtoo said...

that look on her face is totally 'Hey! Bring back the one with the boobs'

Eat. Sleep. Shit.

That is your life now buddy.

Jill said...

love the cheeks! she is to eat. enjoy every minute of it.

AnnB said...

What a beauty! Well done you two! You'll get used to the sleep deprivation eventually! Enjoy!

mammydiaries said...

I think my heart just melted, she is beautiful. :)

Russ said...

You'll have to learn to sleep in shifts. (This is a little tougher for E as she is the food source, but don't be surprised if Sanne tries to latch on to you!)

AnnD said...

I wouldn't listen to anyone, since having Jameson, all of my assumptions about "what a baby is like" have been thrown out the window. He has surprised me in so many ways and is definitely different than Emma ever was.

So, Sanne will be Sanne. If she sleeps through the night at 1-month, she does. If she doesn't, she's still beautiful, even at 3 a.m.

unmitigated me said...

You know, your post could have explained how my pants were on fire and my home was falling down around me, and at the end, I still would have said, Awww! What a beautiful girl! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see if we still have a fire extinguisher.

Barbara said...

Oh yes, the catching a quick nap on the toilet because you're so tired.

Now you know why some of my comments have been so crap over the years - lack of sleep leading to slow but creeping brain drain.

Sadia said...

Sleep makes it all easier, but they're never again quite as limp and awe-inspiring in your arms as they are newborn. Glad to hear she's doing so well.

I hear you on the pink. Somehow twice the babies resulted in four times the pink, with matching EVERYTHING. The only person who steered clear of pink was my aunt-in-law. Perhaps the fact that she has G/G/G triplets had something to do with the lovely greens she got us.

Deb said...

"...are surviving on what we can suck out of her spit up cloths."

Ew. Ew. Ew!

You will never sleep again. You'll sleep more than you are now, but never again the way you did before. It's okay. I hear they make up for all the trouble by hating you when they're teenagers.

V said...

Congratulations again! She really is cute and look at all that hair! By the way, her name pronunciation in German means "cream". So can I now call her the cute little cream puff instead of Mango? :o)

sewa mobil said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Martin said...

@kbxmas - Thanks :-)

@Hockeymandad - you normally have worries about wetting yourself?

@Marylin - she is :0)

@Lorna - I wouldnt mind the odd interruption, its the constant disruption that'll kill me!

@Edith - Ja zeker!

@Catherine - :-)

@tiff(threeringcircus) - hahaha, trouble maker.

@Gail - Maybe, maybe not :-)

@Marita - Thanks :-)

@Jo - Yeah I dunno how much the pink will work with this wild dark headed creature

@Veronica - shut. up.

@Geeks in Rome - yeah she seem sto have warmed to me a little

@Heather - Well done! you win the admiration and jealousy of everyone!

@Steve - there are worse ways!

@Chrissy - aggggh

@Iota - My little Mango :-)

@Chic Mama - i do hope so!

@J from Ireland - Thanks :-)

@Tara R. - awwwwww thanks

@Mwa - Nope, we're both Paddies, the name just stuck once we heard it. Will also make her life a bit easier here considering the surname she has.

@mooneyequalsmc2 - she is eh!

@WhatAboutNovember - nom nom nom

@Poppy - hahah nice

@Jenni - maybe ;-)

@Amanda Bowden - wow, you must be so done by now.

@IrishNYC - awww

@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] - The staff at Taco Bell hate you

@Erika - same birthday too....doo doo doo doo doooo

@Alyssa - all true!

@Bonnie B. - I was running around trying to oawn off those tickets last week, when the labour started and all was forgotten. It was on Tuesday night last, the day they came home.

@Ms. Moon - funny wig

@River - love the way you keep writing her name :-)

@Kelley @ magnetoboldtoo - that would be me.

@Jill - will do!

@AnnB - hope so!

@mammydiaries - oh, she is :-)

@Russ - the food source is now a can :-)

@AnnD - too true!

@Middle Aged Woman - yikes...

@Barbara - ahhh, finally.

@Sadia - its weird, it does make any small non-pink bits much nicer though.

@Deb - Yum!

@Kathryn - One of the more common origins of the name I found is German, short for Suzanne!.

areyoukiddingme said...

What is this sleep thing of which you speak? I was awakened at 1 am(our TV turns on by itself occasionally), 2 am (little one crawled into bed with us), 3 am (little one probably kicked her father one too many times and was summarily relocated back to her own bed - not sure, she was playing with my hair at the time) and 4:45 am (when the alarm goes off). So, um, more coffee? Reassurances that most parents survive with their brains partially operable? Lots of luck?

Susanica said...

8 lbs 1oz was Benji's birthweight exactly. Not so lil Fitzes!

Susanica said...

8 lbs 1oz was Benji's birthweight exactly. Not so lil Fitzes!

Geri Atric said...

Ah, it's a l-o-n-g time ago, but yes, I remember those toilet naps! Be sure to get only the softest toilet paper. Makes for a kinder 'cushion' - as you sag against the wall.
And look at those lovely chubby cheeks! (Talking about Sanne now..tsh, what are you like..!). You could just drown in those wonderful eyes.

Jill said...

She's beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I love being reminded why I don't want another baby. I think I need a reminder of the sleep loss every month.

Jill said...

Lorna - Oh my gosh it never, ever, ever ends. I don't think. At least not by 22, 15, & 12 years...

Tracey said...

Oh! Those little lips...that hair! Those tiny hands, that cute as a button nose...Mollie and I are in love!

Siobhan said...

Love her cheeks! You know, if things go well, she might be sleeping through between 5-8 weeks old. Ignore some naysayers, you WILL sleep again. Aren't baby farts hilarious? There have been times I've had to defend myself from blame!

P.S. If you can land some Gripe Water, load up on it. For her.

Martin said...

@areyoukiddingme - mythical stuff!

@Susanica - hmmm coincidences a-plenty

@Geri Atric - hahaha

@Jill/Twipply Skwood - that sounds, er, great!

@Tracey - hahah

@Siobhan - yes, but its hard to get hold of nowadays

sewa mobil said...

What a beauty! Well done you two! You'll get used to the sleep deprivation eventually! Enjoy!