Photo Friday: Sick bubba… 😢

March 17, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So as you know from our last post… our little guy is one sick bubba. And it didn’t seem like he was getting any better.

Well, after two doctors visits we finally have an answer. Poor little Jesse is currently fighting through a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease!

Yup, that’s right, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease is the worst. Vomiting… diarrhoea… lethargy… Jesse is certainly not enjoying himself. And I know exactly how he feels, because I’ve had the pleasure of having caught this disease myself as an adult. Renee is now the only one in our house to not have to suffer the effects of the most unfortunately named disease out there.

I mean come on… how awful of a name is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease!

So unfortunately, all we can do is make Jesse as comfortable as we can while he fights it off. It means plenty of paracetamol, keeping up his fluids as best we can, and letting him sleep it off.

Which is exactly what he’s been doing for most of today.

Get better soon little buddy… we miss your cheeky smile and bubbly outlook to life! 😢

When toddlers go full Exorcist!!!

March 16, 2017March 16, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

Our house is in turmoil! Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it is. Our house is in TURMOIL!!! Throughout this week, our happy go lucky (for the most part) boy has been not so happy or lucky. He’s been quite the opposite. Clingy… Sad… Cranky… Sleepy…

Jesse is unfortunately, not a happy bubba… Jesse is sick. And I’m not just talking teething symptoms or head cold sick… I’m talking a projectile vomiting, diarrhoea inducing, inconsolable crying and just plain miserable kind of sick. The kind of sick that you wish you could just heal them from instantly, even if it meant taking on the symptoms yourself.

While our little fella Jesse has been out of sorts for a little while, it has been the last few days that his symptoms increased in severity. What started out with what appeared to be just teething symptoms, turned into a scene straight from the movie ‘The Exorcist’!

It all started when we brought him into our bed on Wednesday night so we could lay with him while he fell asleep. It’s what we do every night. We love that time laying with him, listening to each breath and hearing that transition from being awake to that slow heavy breathing when he finally fell asleep. But not that night. There was a different plan for us that night.

Instead of hearing his breathing slow down while he fell into slumber, we were instead met with the sound of him heaving followed by projectile vomiting all over me and all through our bed. I had no idea this much liquid could come out of such a small human being! It was everywhere… all over me… through the sheets… over our pillows… and it was 9pm so the last thing we wanted to deal with was a vomit soaked bed. It was lucky that we had just recently invested in a mattress protector.

I tell you what… you have never seen two people jump out of bed quicker than when your toddler decides it’s the perfect place to unload a gallon of vomit.

Despite the start to the night, we survived the rest of it until the next morning when the diarrhoea, and more vomiting came. The diarrhoea wasn’t so bad to deal with… his nappies were holding up sufficiently. However, is delicate little bottom was another story. His poor bottom looks like it’s been smeared with a Ghost Pepper it’s that red. And every time he passed wind, it would inevitably end up with follow through which would end in crying and screaming because of how red and raw his delicate little bottom was.

And then on top of that, we again had to deal with projectile vomit. Luckily, he chose the tiled floor as his canvas this time, so the damage was minimised. Until later that night, when he decided Renee was the perfect target this time… with more vomit… and more crying.

RIGHT!!! THAT’S IT!!! Time for a home doctor visit…

Fortunately, there isn’t anything majorly wrong… it doesn’t seem to be a virus… he isn’t dehydrated… the only think we can really put it down too was we changed his formula. Since changing him back to his regular formula, the vomiting has seemed to stop and the diarrhoea seems to be less frequent.

But he is still in a sort of zombie-like state where he just seems really lethargic and run down.

Luckily, we have endless episodes of Pingu and Twirly Woos to keep him content while he battles through it. Isn’t streaming just the best invention ever! I mean who doesn’t want to just lie around binge watching tellie when they’re sick?!

And on that note, isn’t being sick just the worst… but watching your little one be sick and not being able to do much to help… that is heartbreaking!!!

Let’s talk about (Pregnancy) Sex, baby…

February 24, 2017March 1, 2017 Renee Barton1 Comment

We don’t often write about sex. After all, many of our readers are our relatives. But let’s be real, we are having our second baby so even our parents know we’ve had sex at least twice!

When you’ve been married a long time like we have, sex is fairly predictable. Not in a bad way by any means, you just know what works. You know each other’s needs so well you can pretty much just assume positions and get it done… so to speak.

It’s lovely and familiar and satisfying… But predictable.

But then something throws a spanner in the works. You’ve heard of parent sex right? You know, that ‘hurry up and get your pants off, the kids are finally occupied or asleep’ sex. The type of sex that’s more about speed and efficiency rather than foreplay, intimacy and taking ones time…

Well pregnancy sex is a whole other challenge entirely. And pregnant-parent sex… well that’s just funny really.

It all started when we finally had our bed to ourselves again last night. Yes! Hurdle number one overcome. Jesse was asleep, and he was asleep in his own bed. Time to make the most of the opportunity. Who knows if (or when) he will wake up and want back into our bed!

However, we quickly realised hurdle number two. Pregnancy. You know that familiar and predictable yet satisfying sex we talked about earlier? Well, it no longer works when you’ve got a huge belly to accommodate. Just rolling over is a struggle let alone trying to be sexy and getting into a position that’s comfortable and…. ahem…. effective.

Oh well, not to be perturbed we pressed on.

Just when we think we’ve found our groove…..dammit… leg cramp. That’s ok. Let’s keep going. Shit… butt cramp. Hang on, let me roll over for a second.

“Ok, let’s try something else. What about we try getting into a position that’s more comfortable?” he says.

Yup, great… let’s do that! Again, not to be perturbed by mood killing cramps mid-session, we fumble our way in the dark. Only slightly resembling a beached whale and sea world rescuer.

Who cares! We press on with the knowledge we might not get the opportunity again for a while. And it’s only going to get more difficult! Initially by a larger bump as we head towards D-day, but then by being parents of two under two.

But as for last night, yes it was funny… no it wasn’t the most romantic time we’ve had. But we got the job done!

High fives all round because we just had pregnancy sex and it was awkwardly great!

This Time Around: A dads perspective

February 6, 2017February 6, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

Back in October 2016, Renee wrote a post about her second pregnancy called ‘This Time Around‘. It was about how things were different between her first pregnancy, and this one.

I loved the post! But it got me thinking… how are things different this time around for me? What’s different? What’s not different?

Well, the big difference to kick things off this time around, was that Renee completely surprised me with the news that we are expecting again. Great surprise! Loved finding out the way that I did. But now that the initial surprise has come and gone, we really have just gone back to business as usual why we wait for the due date to roll around.

And with that, I don’t mean to downplay this pregnancy, I just mean that this time around, we both seem to be taking a more relaxed attitude toward the whole thing.

With the first pregnancy, like I’m sure it is for most newly pregnant couples, it was new water we were wading out into. There was an excitement and uncertainty there that just flows through you for the duration of the pregnancy. It’s a new experience! And an experience like nothing you’ve ever had before!

So when it comes to your second pregnancy, there isn’t that air of uncertainty that follows you around. You’ve been through it all before. You kind of just know (to a certain extent) how things are going to play out don’t you?

So am I more relaxed this time around? Absolutely I am!

Am I not as excited this time around? Absolutely not!

While it would seem that I am, this time around, taking a more relaxed attitude, it absolutely, positively does not mean that I’m not as excited as I was the first time around.

I still get butterflies when I think about how quickly the due date is approaching. I still get excited when Renee and I talk about possible names for Baby Barton #2. I still love that feeling you get when you see your wife glowing in pregnancy and as her belly grows and grows. I still get excited when planning out and constructing the new nursery that will eventually sleep Baby Barton #2. I still get the warm and fuzzies when I’m out shopping and I stumble across the baby section with all the incredibly cute clothes you can buy. And what I am most excited about, is finding out whether Baby Barton #2 is going to be a boy or a girl!

I am just feeling all those feelings with a more relaxed attitude!

I also think, that because both Renee and I have taken a more relaxed approach this time around, that it has helped Renee tremendously to cope with this pregnancy. Not that it’s been a difficult pregnancy… Well, what I mean is that on all accounts that it’s been a pretty normal pregnancy… Ok, I’ll stop digging the hole. I’ll probably get in trouble for this later…

But at the end of the day… I think it has all helped!

It does get me thinking though, with the massive difference in our approach to this pregnancy compared to our first, what’s it going to be like if we do end up having a third child? Will we even bother doing anything special for that pregnancy? I mean, once you get to your third the novelty has well and truly worn off right? Both during the pregnancy and after it? You just don’t care as much right?

Oh yea, and a big hello to the third born in both our families, Jesamine and Lia…

Footage Friday: Jesse’s Big Boy Bedroom

February 3, 2017February 3, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So… it is getting closer and closer… and closer and closer… to the due date of Baby Barton #2.

Time is absolutely flying by at such a rapid pace that I feel like we only found out we were pregnant just the other day.

And as time ticks by, there is one thing that we have been meaning to do. And that is, to create a proper Big Boy Bedroom for Jesse.

Because the room he was using still looked and felt like a nursery, we figured the easiest option for us would be to turn the spare room into Jesse’s Big Boy Bedroom, and move him into there, rather than converting the nursery and having to shift two lots of furniture.

And so that brings us to Sunday, 27 January 2017. The day we finally committed to creating his bedroom… and wow, did it turn out great!!!

We are so happy with it. In fact, I’m a little jealous… I wish we had stuff like this for our bedrooms when I was a kid!!!

But we did… We finally bit the bullet, went to Ikea and Kmart, stocked up on flat packs and the necessary trimmings, and created what is now, Jesse’s Big Boy Bedroom.

I think it turned out pretty good too… If I don’t say so myself!

Photo Friday: Summer Love

January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

Summer in Queensland is hot. Very hot. So whenever you get the chance to swim in a pool, you take it!

And that’s exactly what we did yesterday.

It was a such a nice and relaxing day by the pool with some good company, good food, and good laughs.

Exactly how summer should be spent in Queensland.

Oh yea, and we also have the worlds youngest beer pong player on our hands. Because once we cracked out the cups and table tennis balls, all Jesse wanted to do was play too.

Lulla, save our sleep!

January 26, 2017January 27, 2017 Renee BartonLeave a comment

Honestly, waking up through the night to tend to my baby hasn’t really bothered me that much. Obviously it’s been hard at times… really hard. But I’ve tried not to obsess over it despite everyone you come into contact with seeming to associate a ‘good’ baby with one that sleeps well. I just figured all babies are different and ours would eventually stop night waking in his own time.

After 19 months night waking has just become part of my life. Only now it’s once a night instead of every two hours, and usually all I have to do is prepare a bottle for Jesse to feed to himself while I go back to bed. That seems totally dreamy to me given that for a very long time I was probably spending more time awake than asleep through the night. Especially during the 10 months I was breastfeeding.

The topic of ‘sleeping through’ has often come up, usually Kaine saying “This is ridiculous, shouldn’t he be sleeping through the night by now?” This coming from the person who, 9 times out of 10, hears nothing!

I think the first time Jesse ‘slept through’ he was about 14 months. It has been becoming more of a regular occurrence recently, perhaps once a week. But, with the stark realisation that I will very soon be returning to those sleepless nights once again, it would be great to have one child sleeping continuously.

In comes the Lulla Doll. I have been intrigued by the Lulla Doll for some time now and wondered if it would help. Jesse has never been attached to a blanket or soft toy (despite me trying to force these things!) for comfort and self settling but I figured it was worth a shot.

If he hated it or if we were too late on the band wagon, at least number two might benefit from it.

Lulla has now been in our house for almost two weeks. On night one I took Jesse into his room, gave him his bottle and handed him Lulla; his first time hearing the heavy breathing and heartbeat. He protested and promptly handed it back to me. I tried again and Lulla was thrown on the floor.

Night two was very similar but by night three he was happy to have Lulla lie next to him. It seemed it was taking him less time to fall asleep but he still woke up once each night for a bottle.

On night four he actually gave Lulla a cuddle and slept through until 5am with no waking. Following that night, he has now slept through every night since except maybe one or two.

While we can’t be sure if Lulla is actually helping, I’m very happy that sleep through’s are becoming more frequent. Even if Jesse has been waking super early.

We’ve had a two week heat wave here in Brisbane with temperatures reaching 30 degrees by early morning, so I’m not surprised he’s up early.

Would I recommend it to others? Sure. Lulla is definitely worth a shot for any sleep deprived family. Though no sleep aid will ever take the place of a cuddle with mummy or daddy, we all need a break sometime.

Photo Friday: 2016, it’s a wrap!

January 13, 2017 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

2016 has come and gone. It’s official. We are now in 2017.

Renee and I are another year older. Jesse has a few more teeth. And neither of us are much wiser…

But we did achieve a lot in 2016.

We laughed…

We cried…

We celebrated…

We did a lot. So what better way to celebrate the year that was, then with a snapshot of the year in photos we’ve taken along the way.

So with that said, here is our 2016 snapshot in photos… enjoy! 🙂

Life with a toddler

January 10, 2017January 11, 2017 Renee BartonLeave a comment

Having a new baby is certainly tough at times. There’s the broken sleep every night, 2 hourly feeds, endless nappy changes and the tummy bulge that just won’t budge.

But with all of that comes binge watching Grey’s Anatomy (you have to do something during all that couch time for feeding), day time naps, coffee dates and plenty of visitors bearing pre-cooked meals and willing to cuddle baby while you sleep / shower / have 5 minutes without a baby in your arms or attached to your boob!

Believe it or not though this is actually the easy bit. Soon enough that little newborn that stayed in the same place if you put it down to go to the loo turns into a toddler that insists on following you in every single time, pulling the toilet paper off the roll and wanting to push the flush button for you before you’re even done.

Suddenly getting 30 minutes to watch a tv show or read a book or just do the dishes without a tug on your leg is seemingly impossible. The tables of control turn and you find yourself at the beck and call of a walking, talking, small human.

As my baby has now turned into a toddler seemingly overnight, there are a whole host of things I am learning to be at peace with when living with a toddler.

1. Mess! Food is constantly being dropped on the floor instead of eaten. Toys are more often than not scattered on the lounge room floor and there are crumbs and chocolate stains on the couch.

2. Unfolded clothes. I’ve given up folding his clothes because the clean folded ones inevitably end up in the laundry hamper and the dirty ones in his draws. It’s a fun game apparently.

3. A ‘helper’ for everything. Whether it’s sending an email, sweeping the floor, putting a load of washing on or taking the rubbish out there is my shadow; bashing away at the keyboard and swinging the broom handle around knocking over anything in its path.

4. A dirty child. Food all over his face, dirt on his feet, drawings on his legs and a sweaty head. Keeping this kid clean is near impossible.

5. A new boss. If he’s not helping me do whatever menial yet important task I’m trying to complete, he is literally bossing me around. Not doing what he wants? Be prepared to have him grab you by the hand or clothes and drag you to where he wants you to be. Sometimes he will walk around and push you until you get to his desired location. The bedroom. The couch. He will even grab your hand and push it up to the handle on the fridge if he wants something like the not so secret stash of Maltesers we currently have.

Okay so I’m still working on pretty much all of these. I still cringe when he feeds himself a messy meal with a spoon. And my new handheld vacuum is my best friend.

But there are also loads of super awesome things about life with a toddler. His vocabulary is growing every day, he clearly understands everything I say to him (though he doesn’t always listen) and his little personality and quirks are just so cute as he learns about the world around him.

Not to mention the way my heart melts with every kiss and cuddle he plants on me.

Life with a toddler… I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Photo Friday: Cranky Santa Photos

December 23, 2016 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So… Jesse got his photo taken with Santa again this year.

However, it didn’t quite go as smoothly as it did last Christmas.

Last Christmas, Jesse was fascinated with the fat man in the red suit with a big bushy white beard. So much so that all he wanted to do was tug on his beard.

This year however… well, I think the photo speaks for itself.

I don’t think Jesse quite liked sitting on Santa’s lap this year. I can’t be positive about that, but it’s definitely a strong feeling I get!