Hello babies

Oops, I drove over the pram....

...thankfully sans babies.

How? oh, I just don't know. I blame general exhaustion, trying to get everything done quickly, and plain old bad luck.

The pram ended up very squished between the car and the garage door. Totally totalled. Unsalvageable. Rather entertainingly twisted out of shape.

Rather miraculously, the insurance company was able to approve the claim over the phone, we happened to find the last pram (had to be the same kind) in Australia, and were able to pick it up immediately.

So, except for the marks on the back bumper of the car, and that sick-to-the-gut feeling that you get when you know you've done something Very Bad, it could all have been in my mind.

Happy 10 week birthday boys

Darlings, you're 10 weeks old today. My goodness, you're practically men already. Where has the time gone?

So many milestones have been reached. First night at home, first walk in the pram, first restaurant outing, first smiles, first sleep through, and first 0000 outfits!

Now you're both old-hands at the walking and the dining out part. You love going out for weekend breakfasts. And you love your daily walk.

As for me, I love every bit. But I especially love the big grins, and the little cute noises you make when you're sleeping. I could watch you sleep for hours.

You've both grown so much too. You're definitely newborn size now. Both of you in 0000 sized clothes! When you were born you were too small to fit even 000000 sized clothes. You grow so quickly I can almost see it happening. From one day to the next you change so much.

You're funny little things. You have such different personalities, and it's amazing to me that they're so obvious even at this stage.

Hamish, our little wombat, you're so quiet and placid. You just lie there, even when you're awake, looking around and generally chilling out. You are a gorgeous looking little baby, and you give the most excellent newborn cuddles. You're a snuggler, that's for sure. You're so much like your daddy - you even have the same toes!

Lachie, our little squawker, you look like you're thinking something. Your beautiful eyes are enormous and constantly looking at the world around you. You stare at us with such intensity that my heart feels like it's going to explode from my chest. You look like a gorgeous tiny little china doll.

I've never been happier than I am now. And it's all down to you two - who knew that two tiny little things could change someone's life so much.

All the love in the universe
Your Mama xxx

The steep slippery slope to kitsch

Since becoming a mum, I have found myself doing a whole load of things I said I never would.


I wasn't going to rock the babies to sleep. I wasn't going to use dummies. I wasn't going to pick them up every time they cried. I wasn't going to dress them the same.


And I wasn't going to do this:






But I have.....

I know! Not only are they matching, but they're Christmas Themed.

I couldn't help it. And now I don't know if I'm going to be able to stop. It's not my fault. It's Christmas. It makes me lose my mind a little.


Forgive me boys. I really do love you. You're just so ridiculously adorable.

Sleep! Glorious sleep!

I hope I'm not jinxing myself here. I'm touching every piece of wood within reach.

BUT, I have had four nights - in a row - of sleep without the babies waking to be fed.

I had been led to believe this didn't happen for a long long time yet. Is it possible they have reached that holy grail of Sleeping Through The Night? At 9 weeks (with an adjusted age of only 3 weeks)??

I admit, I have been trying to achieve this. I am a routine girl all the way and have been feeding the boys every 3 hours between 7am - 11pm (or so, depending on when they wake up) so that they get their nutritional needs during these hours, hence reducing the need to wake up for food in the very uncivilised hours (or that's the theory anyhow).

I know lots of people think it's very selfish to do this to a baby - after all, it's for your convenience, not theirs - but to them I say "Do you have twins who don't sleep at the same time during the day, which means you can't rest? They're not exactly old enough to entertain themselves while Mama has a little lie down to recover from only 2.5 hours sleep overnight". After a few weeks of this I suspect common sense would prevail eventually and the routine wins the day :)

So, yay! Good boys. Fingers crossed it continues.

An explanation

I have just been reading Mama Mia (http://mamamia.com.au/weblog/2009/11/here-comes-the-bride-and-there-goes-her-name.html).

I didn't change my name when T and I were married. 5 years later I did. But I didn't lose my surname. I just simply added his to the end. No hyphen. Just two surnames.

I did it for a few reasons. One is that there was no way I was going to give up my name. It is part of my identity. It is who T fell in love with. It's me. It's mine. I love it. It's special to me.

Similarly, I am married to a wonderful man. We wanted to have a family. We wanted a family unit. I wanted to honour and respect our relationship and our future family.

T thinks it's pretty cool. Even if his mates tease him by calling him Mr my name / his name.

Our boys have my surname - the double one. I'm sure it won't confuse them. I don't feel sorry for them. It's not pretentious. It's a few extra letters.

But it's more than that.

It's a lesson that women and men are equal in marriage. That personal identity is important, and to be respected. That women are strong, independent and don't need a man's name to find their place in this life.

Important lessons for little boys, no?

So, my darling boys. That's why you have both Mama and Daddy's surnames. We both love you. You are part of both of us, and both of our families. We think that's important stuff.

And they're off and racing

I LOVE the Melbourne Cup Carnival.


Being a milliner, it's all about the hats and headpieces for me.


And being a bit of a purist, Derby Day is my favourite. But there's something about Melbourne Cup Day and all the colours of the rainbow that come out in celebration.

But because I've been pregnant nearly all year, I haven't been able to do much hat-making: the chemicals were best avoided.

I have, however, taken a couple of last minute orders and managed to finish them off, as well as make myself something to wear.


And in celebration of the fact that this is the first year since I finished uni that I haven't had to work on Melbourne Cup Day, I've invited some girlfriends over tomorrow. We all have new or nearly new babies, so it will be an interesting afternoon with about 13 little ones here, but I'm very excited.


Maybe next year - when they're a bit more mobile - we'll race the children.. hee hee

xx