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Here we go again! It’s a Saturday night, Dance is finished for the term, creating an open invitation for the impending welcome of Baby K! A sigh of relief, yet this encouraged a multitude of sentiments. As I tried to mask my overwhelming feelings of excitement, nervousness, exhaustion and contentment I couldn’t cease wondering when Baby K would greet us earthside!

Easter Sunday, I woke early for the big day ahead! Knox and I ventured off to collect Kayden and the three of us were off to church. It was my first time attending a church here in Australia (outside of my old neighbours in-home service) and I must state the experience was fascinating. Immediately after the service, and a play on the jumping castle, we were off to our local tavern for lunch and yet another jumping castle for the kids to be entertained. Arriving home late afternoon, I posted the usual IG story of my little tummy acrobat! At 40weeks plus 3 days the tumbling routines in my belly indicated little Mr Knight wouldn’t make his appearance any time soon, well at least that’s what we ascertained!

Around 9pm the BH contractions commenced as per usual. It seems as soon as I had the opportunity to relax, my body would remind me that I was pregnant…not just pregnant but overdue. I messaged my beautiful birth partner, godmother to Mr Knight, advising her the following:-

I was attempting to listen to my body, I remember coaching myself to embrace what was to come, embrace the birth experience. Even though I was unsettled, and unsure, I decided sleep was the best option. This was a futile exercise and my intended sleep was quickly interrupted with, what felt like, menstrual pains! It was 12:30am and luckily Bermuda is 12-13hrs behind Australian time so I was able to converse with Aria and my sister Jasmin during the early stages of labour. I still felt quite unsure and as I sat on the loo contemplating the severity and charting my pain, these two provided me with reassurance and urged me to get the ball rolling. I hopped in the shower, still messaging and charting when I took a screenshot of my contractions and sent them to Aria and my sis who seemed concerned and excited! I also messaged Kirsty with the screenshot below, although this did not wake her:-

Spotify’s Afro Bashment songs assisted in my circular hip movements as the heat of the shower provided relief on my lower back. At 1:12am, I contacted my midwife advising her that I was in labour and was going to start making my way in. At 1:15am, I woke Kirsty with the call and said “time to get the show on the road” and she replied she would be over soon. At 1:45am Kirsty arrived at my doorstep, looking glamorous for this time of the morning, I than advised hubby that I was going into hospital. He replied he would stay with the boys as Knox (who was unwell) and Kayden both lay asleep next to him. I gathered my hospital bag, the capsule and wore my tankini swimmers under my black fitted tee dress as I headed out the door. We arrived at the hospital as contractions seemed to hinder any swift progress along the hospital’s link way. I contacted the midwife again asking which level the birth centre was on and once we arrived I encountered another contraction straight outside of the lift. Kirsty announces my arrival and as we approach the birth centre room I increasingly become aware of the showdown I am about to experience.

I placed my bag on the chair, capsule on the floor next to the chair as my midwife asked me if I needed to use the loo. I took the opportunity to do so and to calm myself before the storm. As I felt so much back pain during this labour I jumped straight into the bath, well not jumped, stepped in. O the bath was so warm and seriously assisted during labour, I have had no experience with birthing dry so water birth is all I know and it felt right to do so. My midwife started her pc work, Kirsty pulled up a chair next to the bath. She offered me water and each opportunity I conceded. I lay on the side of the pool and between contractions I stated how tired I was and that I wanted to sleep, I also stated I wanted to bite down on the side of the bath which prompted Kirsty to get me a towel to rest my head on or bite lol. My midwife announced how glamorous I looked in labour as I lay perched on the side of the bath, I certainly didn’t feel glamorous but was very aware of all around me and my body! I indicated very quickly that I needed to push and Kirsty issued the message forward to my midwife who replied “she knows what she is doing.” So here we go…

My midwife sat down in front of me and checked me with a mirror, my waters hadn’t broken yet so she advised that after they broke it would allow for his head to pass through as I had stated that whatever I was pushing out seemed like a watermelon and bigger than a head lol. With 2 contractions I had pushed little Mr Knight out in the sac although this burst as his head passed into the bath. Kirsty could see Knight’s upper body swimming in the water and the midwife asked if I could give a little push to allow for his lower body to come through. Knight grasped my midwife’s finger as she assisted in his entry into the water and I lifted him out of the water!

As we waited for the bed for me to lay on to be ready, Kirsty stated how she couldn’t believe how fast it all had occurred and my midwife stated it was the best birth she had ever experienced. I felt honoured that I could provide such a positive experience for both women who were mothers themselves.

We were in awe of Knight and I was in dyer need of a shower, yes the request was issued immediately. Knight arrived at 3:06am and just after 4am I was itching to get home to the rest of the family. I felt I didn’t want to impede any longer on anyone’s time and of course wanted Knight to meet his dad and older brothers! I also felt guilty that the Easter Bunny hadn’t arrived and wanted to fulfil duties prior to the boys awakening but sadly had to remain in hospital for a bit longer. After mentioning my desire to be home a few times, I was awarded an early mark, meaning I discharged myself, at 6am and drove home!

You may wonder if I made it home in time for the Easter Bunny duties, sadly no! The boys were up eating Easter Bunny chocolates for breakfast and here I was walking in the door with their new baby brother – Knight Amour!

So there we have it, another birth story, another experience like no other, another safe delivery of a Baby K! Every mother has her birth story to share and no matter how the baby arrives we must highlight the sheer importance of the health and wellbeing of the mother and baby. I have been blessed to have no drug assisted births and all natural but I am in awe of every story, every experience and am still amazed at the strength women house!

Welcome to the Krew little Mr Knight ❤️🤗

This has been a long time coming, not having four boys, let’s clear the air there, but a post regarding what my day-to-day life is like with four Mini men!! While we are at it, I’ll throw in the man-child as well as let’s face its…there’s not much variance between the two!

It’s morning, and as I peer from the room I inhale the over abundance of testosterone in the air, especially if it’s been a warm night. The Scentsy wax bar stock is low or has been depleted so the remedy? Your new best friend….Glen 20! Forget toxins in the air, hayfever, or waiting for a climate change and a sudden tropical storm to accumulate gail force winds strong enough to eradicate the hovering smell, just a deep press of the finger on the Glen 20 can and “Bob’s Your Uncle” actually Howard is mine…problem solved!

So now that your nostrils are revived and you can let out a sigh of relief, the males awaken in the household. Awaiting the kettle to boil, because coffee is imminent, you hear the morning event in the loo with full commentary as if a play-by-play of the Comm Loo Games is necessary. Not only are you abreast with size, shape, colour, consistency, splash back or lack thereof, quantity, density and buoyancy, but you are also extremely aware of the sound and odour due to the males inability to SHUT THE DOOR! Yet again, the Glen 20 is in arms reach to save the day!

You sit on the couch and reach for the remote only to gaze back into the kitchen to see the herd ravaging the cupboards and fridge for something to stuff their faces with, but you cringe because you are 99.9% certain they never washed their hands after their Comm Loo Games!! So as they pass through the kitchen releasing their particles onto all surfaces and onto each other you inhale and exhale because deep breaths are required due to your inner disgust…and you surface clean with Dettol antibacterial wipes….or Glen 20!

Throughout the day the need to ‘adjust’ themselves because they are sweaty, their balls are sticking to their penis, the underpants are sticking to their penis, they don’t know why they are picking at their penis, is bemusing!! Fascinated with their attachment to their manhood you wonder why you don’t find yourself cupping your breasts or ‘adjusting’ your labia throughout the day! I’m just as flabbergasted as you! If they aren’t scratching, rubbing or picking their body parts or excrements you retrieve a thermometer to confirm they are in good health!

Let’s not forget the constant reiteration! You have now become completely turned off of your own voice. You’re so repulsed by the many octaves, repetitive phrases, as you issue instructions that you’ve given up verbal communication and instead issue sign language or eyeball language is its replacement because you’ve expelled too much of your daily allowance of energy. You’ve over exerted yourself and let’s face it….it’s probably only 9am!!

There’s always dirty footprints through the house, hand marks on corners and walls which you fear to test smell and the brood are incessantly hungry!! Every meal they engulf as if it’s their first intake for a year and if you’re lucky only one will actually chew with any decorum proving you have enforced table manners but of course selective hearing prevails! You even check the last time you wormed them wondering if there are a village of huge worms consuming the nourishment prior to entering their tummy pits! Shall I delve into the severe inability to remain motionless? Attempting to develop the ‘keep still’ skillset will deplete your energy reserves and prove a futile exercise, leaving you to accept defeat in this battle! Do so gracefully and utilise your energy elsewhere, there are bigger ‘fish to fry’!

If it can be slammed it will be, this includes the toilet seat. Either males do not understand their overwhelming innate strength or they just love the sound of things braking which than brings the need for fixing! Ooooo but fixing things…either you are blessed with able hands or in my case, able to commence unable to complete! Taking the rubbish out is done in parts, yet you know you could carry the rubbish, a car seat, a suitcase full of clothes and a toddler if need be plus a hot coffee. Your lawn, which is barely a yard space is also done in parts. A foot by foot patch is selected for the week and by the time another area is pruned the initial ‘landscaped’ patch is overgrown and welcoming wildlife! This ignites and inspires you to embrace the task at hand yourself, and you discover an overwhelming feeling of self accomplishment. The task may have taken a significant time longer but you can graciously pat yourself on the back for your achievements!

If anything goes missing, search the most incomprehensible areas of the house. Missing a sock, ok bad example, missing a pair of shorts? Check the loo…the actual loo not the floor! With the mention of loo, it seems every male refuses to utilise the perfectly huge circle manufactured to capture your excrements! The man-child loves a splashback, the eldest loves the surrounding floor or seemingly prefers the bath tub, middle #1 is successful and middle #2 is still in nappies but figured the shower is a great dumping zone! Hubby, aka man-child, has a hidden obsession with towel sculptures and the free admission invites a spectacular view each visit to the men’s toilet! These towel displays are extremely inviting for the eldest who enjoys watering the sculptures….speechless! I’m going to test the males in the household to see who can discover how to power on the washing machine, any guesses to who would be equipped with this knowledge??

I could provide full disclosure on my day to day discoveries being the only female in a household of 6, and the best is yet to come with the littlest male being a newborn, but I’ll leave this here for you to share your stories in the comments below…

Seated on a red double decker bus in London after the usual night out, feeling worse for wears, thanks to the copious amounts of champagne, provided me with time…time which was undisturbed and time to grasp some sleep as well. I established in that time that London was not the city I wanted to create a family in, England was not the country I wanted to form a family in either. Although I was totally in love with the English accent, this pro did not outweigh the cons of raising children in England for me. I longed to settle in the South of France!

Why? I honestly have no idea why I contemplated the South of France, I had never even traveled to the South of France not had I even looked it up on any map, but somehow it intrigued me. The lust of the French men, their cavalier attitude, French baguettes, blue skies, the sea and the romantic ring of the French language. I had depicted my own vision of what my life in France would be like. Cruising on the French Riviera on a yacht equipped with the best champagne, a picnic basket full of French treats, watching the shoreline disappear as my French husband guided the vessel teaching our child/ren how to set forth and sail.

Skip forward a decade and I’m nestled in Australia with its wildlife inhabitants roaming freely in nature, practically my neighbours, I’m married to a South Korean and I am blessed with almost 4 sons!! What a contrast in comparison to the life I had etched in my mind. I had never considered Australia as a place to visit let alone to reside in. Even the ads and postcards of tourists holding koalas or the jumping kangaroos could entice me to jet set half way across the world to discover Australia for myself. I also knew very little about Australia so had not developed an interest for exploration.

So than you wonder why I ended up on these Australian shores? Well, it’s pretty simple, whilst in London I met an Australian girl….and the rest I’ll continue in another blog post!!

Hmm imagine the conundrum you would face if hypothetically this was your morning….

Scenario: You wake up to the tantalising sound of screaming kids, stools screeching, bowls crashing to the floor, and opt for 5 more minutes of peace and serenity hidden behind a 30ml width and 7ft height wooden boundary – yes a door!! Your bedroom door practically becomes the gate keeper between your sanity and insanity.

I digress…

Let’s say, you slowly disembark your bed, enjoy a steamy hot shower (imagine it’s Winter) and sing “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman soundtrack to help motivate and inspire your already active morning. You pop out of the shower, proceed to get dressed and as you open the gate (meaning your door) you hear the magical gong and see an effervescent light….

Sorry I digress again…

You hurdle over the strewn toys all over the floor, the empty containers used as toys, you block out the blaring ABC Kids channel (even though it shouldn’t be on on a school day anyway), you place your hand on the kitchen bench to brush away the crumbs which lay beneath your feet only to raise your hand and find crumbs under there as well, you close the kitchen cupboards unsurprisingly left wide open and flick the switch to turn on the kettle!

Yes, yes a strong coffee is always needed…actually it’s a requirement as a Mum and you require two!! You retrieve your favourite mug from out of the dish drain because let’s face it, it’s utilised so often it’s never put away. Grabbing the sugar and coffee granules from the cupboard, because instant is just easier sometimes, you measure your scoops and your eyes ignite as you wait in anticipation, so eager and excited for that first smooth taste of coffee beans. The kettle whistles and you hastily pour the stifling hot water in grabbing a teaspoon out of the top drawer to stir away as if you are creating a syncopated swimming routine. You swing open the fridge and reach into the side door to grab the milk….you swing open the fridge and reach into the side door to grab the milk….grab the milk…..the milk. Where is the milk? You look back at the kitchen bench occupied by 3 cups beaming with traces of the last drops of milk. You are no more good. Where’s the Good Samaritan when you need them? The next door neighbour willing to offer their bottle, carton, jar or desperate times call for desperate measures….even a box of milk kept in the cupboard for moments like these? A bit of goat’s milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, right now anything will do your moment of sheer desperation…but you have nothing. You weigh your options of drinking the coffee black but you foresee the impending disappointment if that is the choice you select. In the background the kids are destroying the house and you haven’t even begun school morning routine in your panic for your morning medicine! You reach out to a few friends understanding some may possibly be just as busy as you are and some seem to offer a hand. You get excited over their gestures to assist, they may question what time you are you leaving, or state they are popping to the shops, so you graciously await the genuine offer to grab you a litre or two while they are there….and nothing! You thought you were chasing a lead and nothing! You know it’s time to get the kids ready for school, the black coffee is getting cold, and you settle for orange juice in a glass. Your morning happy vibes depleted, your house under kid arrest and you’ve missed your window of coffee bean opportunity. Welcome to the disappointment of Shallow Invites!!

This day in age people want to rely less and less on others because they don’t want to carry the burden of the disappointment. Why should people feel disappointed? Maybe the question should be, why wouldn’t you be? Family, friends, others (including the media) prompt and encourage us to ask for help when needed, but yet how many of them actually hear our calls and aren’t just listening to them? How many visibly see their friends distressed, no matter how seemingly insignificant the issue may be, and yet can not offer up possibly 20mins of their time to assist in resolving or eradicating the issue? Are we truly that busy? Or that self consumed we no longer back the hand we offer?

I am certain a few of my friends do not lean on my services due to my schedule of 3 kids, their extracurricular activities, their other parents, school, being heavily pregnant, running a dance studio, the list is endless, but I do have friends both local and overseas that know regardless of my circumstances, if I am able to I will go out of my way to ensure I am available. Sometimes obligations pose a threat to availability, as sadly we can’t physically be in two places at once, but I believe I make a conscious effort to keep my word. If I have to cancel at least I issue the notification in advance. We are all only human and can only try but we must make a sincere effort to hear others more and not just listen. Sometimes we must make ourselves available because between the lines their may be a very vulnerable person on the verge of a breakdown that is seeking revival. Times have changed and pressures have increased as we continue to age and mature, but it is important to invest in others, invest in relationships, remain trustworthy, loyal and honest. If this can not be achieved, how are we to set the example for the next generation of whom we already fear we are losing to social media in-turn lacking interpersonal skills? The next time a friend asks for a little assistance, respond with intent to assist, not to counter-comment with how busy your day is ahead! There’s a vast difference between listening and hearing, the latter is more useful!

Preparation status: Unknown

Game plan: Unknown

Aim: Enjoy the Experience

Post Game: Debrief and Absorb the Accounts from the Participants

Yet again I’ve left the reader utterly baffled as to the above reference. What match? Who’s the participants? Even more importantly, what game are we even playing? In this instance, I’ll take the stance of this metaphor and it’s symbolic reference to allow the reader to be privy to my sentiments in embracing and welcoming the FOURTH little man to our already bountiful home!

Preparation: Unknown

How? One must gather that by now I’ve established a status of expert in the field of mothering and nurturing boys! This opinion, although offering quite a positive connotation, is merely the thoughts of a spectator that views a glimpse of a day in the life of me and my offspring. As far as preparation goes, I’ve drafted or sketched how we are to accommodate for the FOURTH, but are we mentally, emotionally, physically, psychologically and even financially prepared for the new addition? Although yet to be determined, we can confirm he will be welcomed and embraced into a warm, loving home! He will have numerous hands to hold him, comfort him, nurture him, and provide him with an abundance of security. He will be sung to, talked to, danced with, fed by, changed by, and kissed by little hands and lips ready to meet him. He will be encompassed in an overwhelming amount of affection. He will be content and undeniably cared for! As far as all the essential necessities may be concerned, well I am leaving the powers of that process to be!

Game Plan: Unknown

What’s the plan regarding birth? What if you are unable to reach the hospital? Are you prepared to have your baby at home? These are the initial questions one becomes bombarded with when they reach the end of Third Quarter! Am I wrong to simply state…”what will be will be?” Am I disregarding what society has deemed to be in the unborn child’s best interest by taking such a nonchalant stance? Or, am I trusting my body to do what it innately has performed before and allowing the untimely matter to occur as intended, yet provide the best solution on the day? The answer to my game plan is unknown. I would prefer to be in the hospital where medical intervention can be provided if required, but if my unborn child decides otherwise and his arrival is imminent, I must also consider the possibility of a home birth, as much as this is deemed taboo still in 2018!

Aim: Enjoy the experience

Why not? YOLO…am I correct? Well, frankly, I’ve come this far and had my fair share of experiences, so why not continue on the journey I initially commenced? Sure, I’m now fending for, soon to be, four little humans, but this life we were so blessed to inherit must be lived! Reality is, we have no awareness in how long we will graciously roam the earth, so in knowing our fate is unknown, we must relish in every present, fleeting moment! The murmurs, the whispers, the glances, and views expelled by other “concerned” adults questioning my ability to carry out current functions and tasks must be expelled! The logistics can be viewed as impossible, but God never offers us anything we can not handle! I don’t aim to be the monumental symbol for heroism in today’s modern world, I just aim to try and be the best mother to a household full of boys I’ve been blessed with. Who knew the little girl who hoped one day she would be the mother to one daughter herself, would mature into a mother to four boys? I’m still geared with an abundance of faith and trusting in HIS plan!

Post Game: Debrief and Absorb the Accounts from the Participants

Honestly, I yearn for this moment. I yearn to be filled in on the boys open and honest account on the experiences they acquired whilst living in a household full of brothers. I also can not wait to be privy to their intimate thoughts and sentiments on my tuition as a parent with them. Whether they feel my parenting style adapted to their varying personalities or whether they felt I was unable to connect in certain circumstances. Either way I truly hope the lines and portals of communication with my boys remain stretched forth to establish and engage in such conversations when they are able to recognise, relate and reflect on past experiences.

The play-by-play commentary continues as we brace for the commencement of Match 4. In the meantime, the stance remains….what will be, will be!!