To sum it all up...

This week was the turning point. Starting to cope a bit better with the little rascals. Quaid went to a cranial osteopath and had a neck adjustment and some work to relax his diaphragm. Windy Quaid suddenly became peaceful Quaid! Lots of snuggles. Sleep is slowly creeping back into my nightly routine. New mothers pine and pine for the stage that a 5-hour sleep becomes possible. I'm pining! But we aren't too far away from it, I hope. Added yet another essential 'to do'...expressing milk for my return to the shed for spring calving. Not having much luck finding the time, but Quaid is good to take it from a bottle and he's been bonding with his dad over ebm bottle feeds when I can manage to do it.This will be a huge help for the nanny and Gran who will look after Quaid while I help out a bit.

Wyatt's vocabulary is growing, growing, growing. He manages 3 word sentences now. It's nice that he can communicate most of his needs to us; he still likes to have lots going on. I've struggled to keep the pace going for him with my frequent pauses for Quaid. Koru Kindergarten has been a tremendous help for us in this respect and I'm just a bit sad that we now have a 2-week term break and he misses out on his Koru time. But in a couple of days I'll be used to having him around all the time and he'll have remembered by then how to self-entertain a bit more and we'll be away! I have come to realize the trade off for daycare 3 days a week is that he's exposed to a constant stream of entertainment, activity, and options that I just don't offer from home. He gets bored so easily and that leads to picking on Ashley-doodle. And she doesn't put up with much without kicking up a fuss. 

Ashley had  her first 3 days at Koru the past couple of weeks. While goodbyes are tearful and noisy, I'm told she settles down very well for her caregiver, Marie and has lots of fun throughout the day. She has been standing and moving along furniture since she was 9 1/2 months old and we've been expecting her to walk any day now from about 11 months! Finally, at 15 months, Ashley has started to let go and take 2-3 steps on her own. She is having a ball doing this and usually collapses back on the floor in a fit of giggles.With the start of daycare comes the arrival of separation anxiety! Ashley is wary at all other activities that she's going to be left behind.

My days having hubby around to help are numbered. I'm trying to appreciate each and every one because it has meant that I can grab an extra hour's sleep in the morning, that I can have a hot cup of coffee when I finally emerge, I can scarf some eggs for breakfast, I haven't had to change & dress the toddlers for the start of their days, or feed them their breakfast...I've been able to tune the older kids out and bond with Quaid. I get a chance to clean the kitchen and tidy the house. I've been able to do at least one load of laundry every day. Yes, having my man home over winter has certainly been helpful and it won't be the same in a couple more weeks. To make the most of our time left, we are leaving the toddlers with their Granddad & Gran, and making tracks to Lake Taupo for a couple of nights.