My Tour de France is Over

Today is the 28th of November and Ben is 8 months old. Today is also significant, because I'm planning to express for the last time.

When I first started expressing (when Ben was four weeks old), it was with the intention of stopping breast feeding. But then I figured it wasn't too bad and maybe I'd keep expressing to maintain my supply and perhaps I could try Ben at the breast again. I did try breastfeeding again - but without success. So I figured I could express for a while and keep feeding him my expressed milk from a bottle. This went well, so I decided I wanted to keep going until Ben was 6 months old. Then of course 6 months rolled around and I wasn't able to let go (letting down was no problem!).

But in the last month I've found expressing to be more and more of a chore. Ben is so much more awake and active. Gone are the days when I could sit him in one spot and talk to him while I was expressing. So I've been trying to express while he's asleep. This means I haven't been able to do other things - like have a shower. And so I made a decision to stop. This has been a really tough decision to make. I'm full of mixed emotions about it. I want to stop - so that I can get on and do other things. But I feel quite upset at the same time. I think because we had such a tough time with breast feeding and because it was so important to me, in addition to the fact that breast feeding is so driven by hormones, I'm actually quite teary about it. Also I think that I'm lucky to have been able to maintain a supply for 7 months and perhaps I should make the most of it and keep going. One good thing about this is that I've gained an increased understanding of the emotions involved in nurturing a child. Geez mothering is an emotional mine field!

Anyway, I'm stopping. And so I've been gradually reducing the volume that I express, and today I'm pretty sure will be the last time. So after 7 months, 3 hand pumps, 1 horrible electric pump, a bit of help from Matt, many hand expressions, and approximately 750 expression sessions in all; I'm saying good bye to the pump.

During this time I've expressed approximately 105 Litres of milk (almost twice my body weight). The total energy content of this milk is about 70350 calories. So, without taking into account the emotional energy involved, this is roughly equivalent to:

• walking briskly for 46 days, or
• chopping wood for 30 days, or
• throwing a frisbee for 60 days, or
• doing high impact aerobics for 18 days, or
• scooting around for 26 days on a pair of roller blades, or
• riding for 14 days in the Tour de France.

Lance's Surprise 50th

On Saturday night Matt, Ben and I went to a surprise party for our friend Lance Beckett.

Lance and I

Michelle, Brother, Me, Ben, Matt and Mum

Mum was also there, as were Brother and Michelle, who had driven from Coffs Harbour especially.Lance and Debbie Beckett are friends from our Cessnock days. They lived across the road from us and have two wonderful kids, Ellie and Cain, who are entirely grown up now. I have many, many fond memories of the Becketts and they've been like family to me. So it's very fitting that I ended up as an aBeckett.

Ellie, Benj and I

Cain and Ben







Lance is a great person. Amongst other things, he taught me how to drive (when Mum and Dad had decided I was unteachable), in his F100 ute!!

The party was at Pokolbin Community Hall, which is where Matt and I got married. You can see from Ben's face that he got a kick out of seeing the place where his Mum and Dad got hitched.

The Band (and Brother)

Lance is well loved by many people so the party was HUGE!! Ellie, Cain and Debbie did well to keep it a secret and had gone to a lot of trouble. They bought Lance a Triumph Motorcyle and the party had a Blues Brothers Theme. Hence the hats, sunglasses and chicken wire around the band.

Pat, Debbie, a very unhappy Ben, and Mum

We don't get to catch up with the Becketts as much as I'd like and we were keen to party on, but Ben started to unravell at about 9:30pm (fair enough). So Brother, Mum and Michelle stayed on until the wee hours and Team aBeckett went home.

Outdoors Swimming Lesson

Yesterday Ben was supposed to go for a swimming lesson at the gym (which has an indoor pool). But it was such a stunning day I figured it would be nicer to have a splash at Newcastle Ocean Baths. Kel, Elliott, Beth and Alfie joined in the fun. Paul was there too, although he didn't take me up on my offer to loan him a bikini so that he could swim with the boys.

It was a lot of fun taking the boys for a swim in the ocean. The cooler water didn't seem to bother any of them (once they got used to it). And I reckon they enjoyed this outdoor swimming lesson more than the indoor ones.

The boys looked very cute in their swimming gear, but even cuter in their birthday suits.

It really was quite magical. And completely free!!

What Ben's Been Up To

Some recent developments:

Ben now has TWO teeth (got the second one about a month ago).

Ben can sit very well on his own!! For minutes rather than seconds.

Ben is waving bye bye (occasionally) when Daddy leaves for work. And sometimes he waves hello.

After weeks of pushing himself backwards and round and round in circles Ben is now commando crawling/ dragging himself forwards. He's always trying to get into boxes and cupboards, and often he disappears under beds.

He continues to create a lot of washing, but recently he's taken to filling the basket in his own unique way.

And I'm not 100% sure about this one, but I think he's saying "Da-Da" and today I reckon he said "Mu-Ma". I think he says "Da-Da" when he's happy and "Mu-Ma" is reserved for when he's upset!

Nick the Photographer

I looked after Nick and Will again today. At first Nick thought that he would like to be a "round rocket" but then he got a hold of the camera and decided that photography was more his go.

In the Pool

Yesterday Ben visited Alfie and had a splash around in his pool. Am happy to say that Ben seemed to enjoy himself. This was a nice contrast to his scritchiness when I took him to a swimming lesson a couple of weeks ago. Maybe Ben felt more comfortable because there was a little technicolour Jedi knight on hand to sort out any imbalances in the force.

Afternoon Tea

On Saturday Team Watson and Team aBeckett were invited for afternoon tea at Al and Anthony's. Al is another dietitian who graduated from the same course as Jane, Trent and I.

Al and Anthony have (fairly) recently moved into an amazing home, which they are busily making their own. The weather was perfect for afternoon tea outside. Jane made a GF Hummingbird Cake, so I was pretty happy!

Nick made the most of the expansive back yard, by spending time with Uno the English Pointer and Beryl the Chook.

Ben tried cherries for the first time (he gobbled them up).

And Boss the Border Collie just wanted to be in on the action.

Beach Boys

Yesterday Kel said; "Wouldn't It Be Nice to take the boys to the beach?" I figured it'd be Fun Fun Fun, so we took the boys on a Surfin' Safari to Stockton Beach.

At first they seemed happy hanging around under the shade of the beach umbrella,

but when we put their toes in the water they didn't get any Good Vibrations.

So we took them back up to the umbrella, where...

.... negotiations were had in regard to a little yellow duckie this time.

It was all good until the boys decided that sand actually doesn't taste nice. So we jumped back into Kel's Little Deuce Coup and went home.

I Can Handle More Than One!!

In the last week I've had the absolute pleasure of experiencing life with more than one little person under my wings. Last Thursday I looked after Nick and Will for a couple of hours so that Jane could get a bit of work done on her PhD.

The boys were little treasures. They all ate at the same time ......

.....Nick captured this moment). Then they watched play school, blew a few bubbles and then went home to Mum.

And on Monday, Elliott came to visit for the afternoon. I was worried that the yellow block was going to be an issue again.....

....but when the octopus came out the yellow block seemed to be totally forgotten.

Sleep was a bit of a sticking point that day. Neither of them thought sleeping in a cot would be much fun. So Ben and Elliott became acquainted with Phil and Ted (Jane's double stroller). This shot was taken not long after our walk started. Unfortunately Elliott didn't sleep for very long (and Ben only slept for about 20mins more), but they both seemed happy to be on the move. We ended up catching the ferry over to Newcastle. I had a bit of a look in DJs. The boys had a roll around on the floor in the mothers room, where they both had a go at pulling each other's ears. Then we cruised on back to Stocko, when Elliott slept for about 40mins (in the stroller). All together we were walking around for about three hours. Lucky it was such a beautiful day!!