Our family's life in New Zealand
Six boys live in our house. Want proof? Today’s game: tackling (till too many got hurt and came in the house saying they were done!).
Gayle butchered a goat yesterday and a couple of the boys decided to tan the hide.
….And number six would dearly love to join the fun! He can’t wait till he’s big enough.
Cooking a meal can be quite a challenge when baby wants to be held–and according to him, Mom is the only one qualified to hold him! He tends to be fussy in the evening, of course. Tonight, I cooked supper this way:
Isn’t he sweet? I love having him snuggled up to me that way, although it does get a little tiring after awhile.
This is like a Moby Wrap. After my last baby was born, a friend showed me the one she had made. It’s very simple. I just bought a 3-yard length of 60″ wide knit fabric from Joanne Fabrics, and cut it in half lengthwise along the fold. Then, I took one end of each of these strips and sewed them together securely with several rows of stitching:
That’s all! Then, to use, I wrap the cloth around the back of my waist and cross it over my front, then over my back, bring the ends around front and tie at one side of my waist. Put the baby in with a leg on each side of the X on your front and spread out the cloth to support and cover him. Then, jiggle and sing till baby goes to sleep!
Today was Baby’s first time to leave home. We took a picnic lunch to Gore Bay, and the older children played in the sand for a couple of hours. Esther and Grandma enjoyed taking pictures!
Baby slept happily on the way to Gore Bay and for an hour or more while we were there.
Lots of waves and lots of foam today!
When the waves went out, there was still enough water in the sand to make reflections. 
Daddy, Grandma, and the boys.
Baby was not happy about being in his seat when we left, and cried until he fell asleep (in a couple of minutes!) with this aggrieved expression on his face.
Yes, it’s been a long silence on this end. Baby decided to wait 11 days after his due date, and my mind was not functioning quite normally, then he suddenly got in a hurry Sunday evening and arrived after only 2 1/2 hours warning! Recovery has been slow, but he’s quite worth it all. Everyone is thoroughly enjoying having a baby in the house once again. They fight over holding him at times. Next oldest adores him; anytime he has the privilege of holding baby he laughs and laughs! He’s only tried carrying him once so far…all the way down the hallway from our bedroom to the kitchen! He got told off pretty sternly; hope he learns his lesson without doing it again.
All the children were thrilled to get to hold him just an hour and a half after he was born!
Why I love homebirth: immediately after he came I was able to clean up and crawl into my own bed with all the family around!
Finally this morning, at 5 days old, he had his eyes open for awhile in the daytime. So far, he had just been awake and alert at night.
