Due to colic monster baby I have very limited access to two handed typing, so must write three blog posts all at once when by happy chance he is sleeping and not SCREAMING. [Any colic solutions welcomed by the way. HackneyBaby is transformed at 4pm every day into monster child. I think transporter beams may be involved.]
So my thoughts on Doctor Who so far as I'm sure Teh Internet is just gagging to hear them. I am far too tired to look up the names of the episodes so probably have them wrong.
The Eleventh Hour. Thought the "eating random foods" bit was very child friendly and wondered if we were seeing a metamorphosis into more of a children's show, but no. I liked how Matt Smith Doctor first met new companion when she was a little girl, so the relationship starts with him being older and more authorative and even when she is then older this feeling continues - otherwise with the actor being so young it might have felt more like two equals. Really like MS and Amy Pond is looking like one of my favourite companions ever. But what do I know, I liked Adric.
I went on to dream there was a sinister crack in HackneyChild's wall, but it turned out it led to a Salvation Army hostel filled with Australian backpackers, and our main worry was that they would wake him up.
The Beast Below. Really really liked this in terms of style and atmosphere. What I love about this programme is the Britishness, there's enough US sci-fi, so UK-in-space rocked. But the plot was pants. Why keep feeding children to the beast if it doesn't eat them? What was the point of the Smilers? Still really liked it though. I love that Amy took about ten minutes to get captured in the grand tradition of companions.
Er, that Dalek one. Not so keen. Liked Spitfires in Space. Liked the robot. Liked Daleks making cups of tea with teeny Union Jacks on. But a bit bored of Daleks now, even Smartie coloured ones. And what's with Amy having a crush on the Doctor; why do they all have to have feelings for him? Been there.
That Angels one I love River Song. I have no idea if this is a popular view as my internet surfing time is limited, but as with the Adric thing I suspect it is not. I like the idea of a relationship where the first time you meet your "wife" she dies. The angst. I look forward to the next episode.
In conclusion: I am liking the Moffat era.
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Trendy cafes are breeding on our street
Now we have not one but two trendy cafes on our road. After the opening of Wilton's last year now comes Violet, a cake bakery and cafe - at least somewhere you can get a cake and coffee - which is apparently set to open very shortly. This is very exciting, as cake is one of my favourite things.
It is bizarre that we now have two trendy cafes, a gastropub, and an arty vintage shop, when none of these things were here when I moved here, let alone Hackney_bloke who moved in some years before he let me join him. Back then we had a weird and very random shoe shop and a dodgy pub, and Hackney_bloke's scooter was set fire to outside our flat.
Of course, the bookies next door is keeping it real. And it wasn't that long ago we had our front door knob stolen - twice. But cafe owners and arty people, we appeal to you, keep up the good work and let's see those house prices soar ;-)
It is bizarre that we now have two trendy cafes, a gastropub, and an arty vintage shop, when none of these things were here when I moved here, let alone Hackney_bloke who moved in some years before he let me join him. Back then we had a weird and very random shoe shop and a dodgy pub, and Hackney_bloke's scooter was set fire to outside our flat.
Of course, the bookies next door is keeping it real. And it wasn't that long ago we had our front door knob stolen - twice. But cafe owners and arty people, we appeal to you, keep up the good work and let's see those house prices soar ;-)
East London Line
I am loving, loving, loving it. Today was due to meet NCT friend and fellow new mummy of two for lunch and running very late because HackneyBaby did a massive poo just as I was about to leave. But see, the East London line whisked me down a lift at Dalston Junction, sped me through Haggerston and Hoxton and deposited me on Bethnal Green Road (another lift!) in plenty of time to chow down on Thai green curry ( I really hope HackneyBaby is OK with this once it is translated into milk) on Brick Lane.
Meantime Hackney_bloke took HackneyChild on a ride to New Cross gate and back as he was sorely disappointed when we turned up for the launch yesterday and couldn't get into the station. This was because Boris Johnson was faffing about with dancers etc and generally taking credit for something which was nothing to do with him, as the Labour protesters standing outside were pointing out. I wanted to get a picture of BoJo and HackneyChild as they have very similar hair but it was not to be.
It's a shame there is no lift at Whitechapel station, it would be great to be able to get there quickly.
Meantime Hackney_bloke took HackneyChild on a ride to New Cross gate and back as he was sorely disappointed when we turned up for the launch yesterday and couldn't get into the station. This was because Boris Johnson was faffing about with dancers etc and generally taking credit for something which was nothing to do with him, as the Labour protesters standing outside were pointing out. I wanted to get a picture of BoJo and HackneyChild as they have very similar hair but it was not to be.
It's a shame there is no lift at Whitechapel station, it would be great to be able to get there quickly.
Thursday 15 April 2010
Books for breastfeeding
My memories of breastfeeding HackneyChild are of course mainly from the latter stage of his career, so I remember deftly doing things with one hand while supporting him with the other. I had forgotten that little new babies need careful positioning and adjusting, so my plans to both catch up with my own reading (at night) and read to HackneyChild to keep him happy (during the day) have been knocked a bit.
Still, I am managing to reead to HackneyChild a bit and I am choosing long books in chapters to keep us both interested, mainly from my own childhood. He likes Milly Molly Mandy, and so do I - I find the writing charming, and I think it is amusing to introduce words like "skein of silk" and "tea cosy" into his early vocabulary.
I also have Meet Mary Kate from my own childhood, which I don't find quite so charming but he likes the story about Mary Kate being ill and having her room redecorated particularly, I don't know why. I'm having to do a bit of editing while reading - Mary Kate's "black doll Bobo" is either just a doll or has a proper name, and the story where Daddy interrupts Mummy who is cooking to get her to sew a button on comes with the line "Of course, he could just have done the sewing himself". (I remember my Mum doing the same with the Famous Five ("Julian is being very silly. Of course girls are as good as boys.")
I also want to get from my Mum and Dad's Aurora and the Little Blue Car (seems to be out of print), a tale of a Norwegian little girl who lives in a towerblock and whose Daddy looks after Aurora and baby Socrates while Mummy works in an office (again it's all tiny things that are big adventures to children - they make jam, they ride on the mechanical horse at the shopping centre etc) and Matthew's Secret Surprises (they get the car cleaned, they get a new cat). Oh, and Tales of Joe and Timothy (tower block again, also has a character called Aurora, strangely). I wonder if there are any similar more modern chapter books about the small things that children do, that other children like to hear about? The Harry and the Dinosaur books are similar and we like them very much, but they are shorter.
Still, I am managing to reead to HackneyChild a bit and I am choosing long books in chapters to keep us both interested, mainly from my own childhood. He likes Milly Molly Mandy, and so do I - I find the writing charming, and I think it is amusing to introduce words like "skein of silk" and "tea cosy" into his early vocabulary.
I also have Meet Mary Kate from my own childhood, which I don't find quite so charming but he likes the story about Mary Kate being ill and having her room redecorated particularly, I don't know why. I'm having to do a bit of editing while reading - Mary Kate's "black doll Bobo" is either just a doll or has a proper name, and the story where Daddy interrupts Mummy who is cooking to get her to sew a button on comes with the line "Of course, he could just have done the sewing himself". (I remember my Mum doing the same with the Famous Five ("Julian is being very silly. Of course girls are as good as boys.")
I also want to get from my Mum and Dad's Aurora and the Little Blue Car (seems to be out of print), a tale of a Norwegian little girl who lives in a towerblock and whose Daddy looks after Aurora and baby Socrates while Mummy works in an office (again it's all tiny things that are big adventures to children - they make jam, they ride on the mechanical horse at the shopping centre etc) and Matthew's Secret Surprises (they get the car cleaned, they get a new cat). Oh, and Tales of Joe and Timothy (tower block again, also has a character called Aurora, strangely). I wonder if there are any similar more modern chapter books about the small things that children do, that other children like to hear about? The Harry and the Dinosaur books are similar and we like them very much, but they are shorter.
Welcome to the world
I wrote this blog entry already once, at about 3am, but the internet seems to have eaten it. So...
Alexander Philip, hence to be known as HackneyBaby, made his way into the world on Easter Sunday like a particularly hefty chick (9lb 7). You may feel the name is needlessly Macedonian, but actually Alexander is for Scottishness and Philip for my dad and uncle. (different sides of the family, it would be weird calling both your sons Philip).
Homerton hospital has improved greatly in the last two and a half years; it has a new birthing centre with spacious and clean showers (last time was a miniscule shared shower), double beds, birthing stools and pools. The midwife was brilliantly supportive. The community midwives have been much better than last time too, they actually checked my stitches which I didn't get before and helped me breast feed.
Unfortuately they blew it by losing my delivery notes for seven hours leaving me champing at the bit to get home (after the 24 hours I had to stay in anyway because of Strep B). It's not so bad if you know you have to wait that long but every hour it was "oh yes, nearly there". In the end I burst into tears as HackneyChild was plaintively saying "Come home now mummy!", cueing the most vastly inappropriate response from the ward midwife: "Why are you crying? [Me: "because I have just given birth and am very hormonal and you have lost my notes and I don't know when I can go home"]. I had some sad news today you know, my colleague has just died." OK, that trumps me.
Re: Strep B, I was dismayed when told I would need to be on a drip during labour, but actually it was only for half an hour, so anyone worried about that shouldn't be. The info you get in advance is confusing but the drip doesn't take four hours as everyone seemed to be saying, the antibiotics last for four hours and then you get some more.
Alexander Philip, hence to be known as HackneyBaby, made his way into the world on Easter Sunday like a particularly hefty chick (9lb 7). You may feel the name is needlessly Macedonian, but actually Alexander is for Scottishness and Philip for my dad and uncle. (different sides of the family, it would be weird calling both your sons Philip).
Homerton hospital has improved greatly in the last two and a half years; it has a new birthing centre with spacious and clean showers (last time was a miniscule shared shower), double beds, birthing stools and pools. The midwife was brilliantly supportive. The community midwives have been much better than last time too, they actually checked my stitches which I didn't get before and helped me breast feed.
Unfortuately they blew it by losing my delivery notes for seven hours leaving me champing at the bit to get home (after the 24 hours I had to stay in anyway because of Strep B). It's not so bad if you know you have to wait that long but every hour it was "oh yes, nearly there". In the end I burst into tears as HackneyChild was plaintively saying "Come home now mummy!", cueing the most vastly inappropriate response from the ward midwife: "Why are you crying? [Me: "because I have just given birth and am very hormonal and you have lost my notes and I don't know when I can go home"]. I had some sad news today you know, my colleague has just died." OK, that trumps me.
Re: Strep B, I was dismayed when told I would need to be on a drip during labour, but actually it was only for half an hour, so anyone worried about that shouldn't be. The info you get in advance is confusing but the drip doesn't take four hours as everyone seemed to be saying, the antibiotics last for four hours and then you get some more.
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