Sunday, February 7, 2010

The manifesto of an idle parent

From here:

We reject the idea that parenting requires hard work
We pledge to leave our children alone
That should mean that they leave us alone, too
We reject the rampant consumerism that invades children from the moment they are born
We read them poetry and fantastic stories without morals
We drink alcohol without guilt
We reject the inner Puritan
We fill the house with music and laughter
We don't waste money on family days out and holidays
We lie in bed for as long as possible
We try not to interfere
We push them into the garden and shut the door so that we can clean the house
We both work as little as possible, particularly when the kids are small
Time is more important than money
Happy mess is better than miserable tidiness
Down with school
We fill the house with music and merriment

No idea what took me in this list the most but not being uptight which is my response to stress) is going to be our focus I guess!

My list to compile, arrange and purchase for the birthday:
- plastic drop sheets
- icecream tubs
- lip balm
- massage lotion
- bendy straws and plastic cups
- heat packs
- cord ties, newborn clothes, newborn nappies, blankets etc
- birth certificate to fill in (made myself at home!)
- prefolds and terry flats
- tea lights and matches and some essential oils
- witch hazel to put on pads to put in freezer
- squeezy bottle for peeing afterwards
- electrolyte packets (cause I struggle with low blood pressure and with vomitting at the best of times and this won't be !)
- fit ball
- notebook and pen
- towels
- colander and bowl for placenta
- colander/scoop
- garbage bags
- placental remedy bottle
- placental slice receiver for the freezer (ie a freezer-safe container!)
- epsom salts
- rescue remedies
- ice
- juice
- mint leaves (lollies)
- camera
- video
- support people

4 comments:

Unknown said...

May I suggest you add lavender essential oil to that list? My midwife had me put it in my squeeze bottle with water and it was very soothing to wash with and helped my tears heal up much faster.

She also massaged me with clary sage essential oil during labour and it really helped my contractions along.

You must be getting so excited about meeting your little belly passenger!!

Unknown said...

Oops. I forgot to add...I am soooo an idle parent! A big reason we chose to move where we did was the huge fenced backyard I can easily view through big kitchen windows. It is so nice to be able to put children outside to play while cooking dinner or loading the dishwasher!! Free play is so important to help little imaginations grow.

Jane1973 said...

I need to take note of this list:)

Btw I've found that the Gatorade Powder is a bit more palatable than the Gastrolyte Packs...I went through tubs of the stuff in the first 20 weeks...

Louisa said...

Ok, so here's a whacky addition to your list. We have recently been using marathon gel energy packs at births (the long ones) and they're the bomb. more potent than honey, and with a great whack of vittles too. I wish you a swift and easy birth mama. Enjoy the ride. Can't wait to meet baby in November. xxL