Our Christmas pictorial

Despite staying up late on Christmas Eve, there was no sleeping in for Henry who was up not long after 6.00am. I too was awake, feeding Buster. Henry then felt it necessary to wake everyone else and let them know Santa had been.

Santa made an appearance to hand out the presents and had two little helpers at hand.

Action figures and anything Ben 10 were on Henry's Christmas list. The first present Henry opened was a packet of Ben 10 underpants. He was soooo excited. In fact, if that was all he got he would have still been the happiest little boy in the world.

Looking more like a Japanese robot than Dora the Explorer - then the mask came off...

... to reveal Milly in a wig.

The hot and humid weather and too much excitement saw Milly and Lamby take afternoon naps.

Our newest mooch also took to sleeping the day away, especially if he could snuggle up to someone.

The Boxing Day 'Hukkas' tournament, where we literally play for Grandad's ashes. Dad was crowned this year's champion.

A second Christmas celebration, this time at Mum and Peter's place.

A bike and a trike.

Santa Claus is coming...

The Christmas spirit is alive and growing in our children. For the past month the kids have been anticipating Santa and all that he brings through all the decorations they see at the shops, the influx of toy catalogues in the mail, completing craft activities at preschool, decorating our own tree, wrapping presents and sending cards. We'll be spending Christmas in Coffs Harbour with my Dad and Tracey. Corin and Yin will be joining us, as well as Tracey's daughter, Nikki. It will be a big Bartley family Christmas.

A jingle bell jig from Henry as he and Milly pull out the Christmas tree decorations (breaking most of them). In the background, Buster failing in his job as supervisor.

Sticky fingers at work decorating the gingerbread house.

The Christmas card photo.

And below some of the photos that didn't make the cut.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Mini mister

Our Buster is doing well. We think he looks like a skinny version of Henry when he was born. He even has Henry's dimples when he smiles.

Henry loves his little brother a lot. So much so I'm constantly tell him to "get out of Buster's face". It's great that he wants to shower Buster with affection, not so great when I'm breastfeeding Buster and he gets startled by Henry and pulls on a nipple. Ouch!

Little Mister and Mini Mister.

Buster and GrandJan.

It was all a bit too much for this party animal.

Nature boy

Our boy Henry loves insects and bugs. Sometimes he loves them a little too much and they don't survive the cuddles he likes to give them. Othertimes the creepy crawly things he finds are happy for him to pick them up for a good inspection.

Henry also likes to call his finds his "pets", and he always gives them a name, the same name - "chicken nugget".

A red-eyed cicada.

A skink lizard or lizzy lizard as we call them.

Henry's collection of cicada shells found in the garden.

At home with Buster

Five days old - his first day home from hospital and it was a stinking hot day.

Henry and Milly rarely call Buster by his name. Instead they call him "little baby" or "little gorgeous". More recently they have started calling him "Buster Boy".

Family photo.

Buster is quite the feeder and sleeper. He won't be a small fry for long.

A rare sighting of Buster with his eyes open.

Friday Night Fever

Last night Henry's preschool held it's annual disco. Henry and Milly were very excited about getting dressed up and going out for the evening. Plus Henry was very keen to show off his "funky moves".

Milly in her party dress.

Henry practising his "funky moves".

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Despite the all day build up of going to a disco, once we arrived Milly declared "I don't like it". Not a surprising first reaction from her as we were confronted by a room of kids, some running around, some dancing, and loud music. Henry headed straight for the dance floor and got his groove on. Milly headed straight for a chair next to Michael and didn't want to participate.

It was a well organised disco. There were kids entertainers on stage playing music and getting the kids to dance or do the limbo. They even had instruments set up for the kids to play. Henry headed straight for the guitars and managed to pull off some impressive guitar poses.

All rock gods wear glow-in-the-dark necklaces.

Milly is finally coaxed onto the dance floor but refuses to enjoy herself.

Back to the safety of Dadda.

Despite the noise, Buster slept the entire disco.

Keith Moon.

After two hours and as the last song is played, Milly finally lets herself have a good time and has a dance.

Buster Hobson - the birth story

It's 5.45am on Monday, 16 November 2009. We've been asked to be at the hospital by 6.00am in preparation for the c-section scheduled for 8.00am. I finish packing my bag and sneak into Henry and Milly's room to give them a kiss. My mum has stayed the night to take care of getting Henry to preschool and entertaining Milly for the day. As we get in the car and pull out of the driveway it suddenly hits me we are about to have our third baby, all the emotions that I've put aside come alive and I cry all the way to the hospital. Michael is my rock and reassures me it will all be ok.

We check into the hospital and two midwives show us to our room. The 'usual questions' are asked and answered: "Is this your first baby?", "No, third"; "What do you have already?", "A boy and a girl"; "How old are they?", "Four and half, and two and a half"; "Do you know the sex of this baby?", "No". I then have a shower and put on my hospital gown that ties up at the back. I'm weighed and the scales show a gain of 25.5kg. We sit and wait in our room and I'm getting more and more nervous as the time passes. At 7.50am a different midwive enters our room and introduces herself as Laurel, the midwife who will be with us during the operation. She lets us know they are ready to move us to the operating rooms. An orderly arrives and he and Laurel wheel me out and down the hall to the lifts. I start to cry again but am glad Michael is right by my side. I'm sure he's nervous too. Laurel and I go through the 'usual questions'.

I'm wheeled to the pre-op room and Michael is taken away to get dressed in his surgical gear. When he gets back we take a moment to reflect on what is about to happen and I start crying again. Gary, my anesthetist, arrives and we talk through the spinal block procedures, post-op pain relief, and I air my spinal block anxieties from my previous experience when having Milly. Gary is great, doesn't dismiss my concerns in any way, and I start to relax a bit. We then go through the 'usual questions' as he inserts a catheter in my left hand. The 'usual questions' are then asked and answered again when the assistant surgeon comes in to introduce herself. It is now after 8.00am and we are just waiting on my obstetrician to arrive.

Michael realising a third child means we will be outnumbered.

A nervous smile waiting in pre-op.

Finally Oliver, my obstetrician strolls in and it's showtime. I'm wheeled into the operating room and am sitting up, slouched over a pillow on the operating table. Gary is talking us through the spinal block as he goes. I'm trying not to listen and do my yoga breathing to keep me still and relaxed as he completes the injections. Next I'm lying down on the operating table and the warm sensation of numbness creeps from my toes slowly up to my waist. A urinary catheter is inserted. I'm swabbed. The blue separation sheet is put up. Gary is checking with me how I'm doing and we're having a chat when I feel some tugging on my tummy. "Oh, has it already started?", I ask. Yes, it had.

At 8.45am the blue sheet is lowered and a baby is pulled from my tummy - it's a boy. Michael and I are totally shocked as we were convinced it was going to be a girl. We all laugh as our new baby does a wee all over me or is that in me, as I haven't been stitched up yet. Laurel takes the baby over to a table to clean him up, Michael cuts the cord and baby is weighed (3050gms/6lb 12ozs) and measured (50.5cm). I can't believe how tiny he is. Henry weighed 4080gms/9lb when he was born. Given how big I got during the pregnancy, I was expecting a bigger baby.

I'm stitched up and we are taken to the recovery room where I am monitored for an hour. I'm so pleased Michael and baby can be with me in recovery. Michael is nursing baby and we start to discuss names. We have two boys names picked (Archie and Buster) but can't decide between them. I'm feeling very out of it on the morphine and am doing all I can to focus on the new baby. Choosing a name is the last thing on my mind.

We are finally taken back upstairs to our room in the maternity ward and I can feed baby for the first time and have a proper cuddle. It is love at first sight. We spend the next hours adoring our new little boy and calling family with the news. Michael leaves to pick up Henry and Milly and my mum comes in to meet her new grandson. When Michael returns with Henry and Milly they are excited. We tell them they have a brother. "Does he have a doodle?", asks Henry. "Yes", we reply. Henry starts jumping up and down and says "Hooray, he has a doodle. It's a boy!". Michael and I still can't decide on a name so agree to sleep on it overnight.

I have a good night at the hospital. Baby has spent it in the nursery and slept from 10.00pm through to 6.00am. I missed him not being in the room with me and didn't sleep that well. During the night the name Buster kept popping up my mind. When Michael comes in the next morning he tells me he can't stop thinking of having Buster as the name. So Buster it is. Bryan John are picked as middle names, which is my dad's name and middle name.

Buster Hobson

Day 2, and we have given him a wash, cuddled him silly, spent hours watching him sleep (someone has to) and yes, given him his name.
As we have done for Henry and Milly, we have also given little Buster a couple of middle names. The full version for use on any official forms or when he is in big boy's trouble with mum or dad, is Buster Bryan John Hobson.


So far it has all seemed easy with what appears to be a baby who is quite settled. This could be partly due to the fact that we've been here before which means we are generally more relaxed around him ourselves, but in reality it is that we are experiencing the calm before the storm, with the length of his sleeps and the time between feeds soon to shorten along with a dramatic increase in appetite. All part and parcel of the demands of a baby on the grow of course, and an easy first few days has been great for Tiff's recovery which will no doubt help when things start to pick up in the coming days.
We would also just like to say a big Thank You for all the well wishes and support over the last few days, and hope you have enjoyed the pictures as much as we have. More to come later.