You're in Clare Country!

What's 9 days old?

George & Michael's 9 babies, that's who!  Gone are their pink, translucent skins.  Now they have bodies speckled in black, white and brown.  They are also a lot more playful, tumbling around and exploring their immediate surrounds.  They haven't as yet ventured down the tunnel to explore their home outside the petting pen, but it's only a matter of time.

I called Pets on Broadway last week to tell them they sold us a male mice that had suddenly given birth to 9 babies.  After profusely apologising for the mistake, they offered to take them (& Michael) off our hands & exchange them for another male mouse but here are some things they told me that added to my freak-out:

• They can't take the baby mice off us until they are 5 weeks old and weaned.
• I have to make sure we offload the baby mice to the pet store no later than 5 weeks from the day they are born because baby mice become sexually active from 6 weeks!
• Female mice can fall pregnant again after a few days of giving birth to her litter (meaning Michael could be pregnant to George again!)
• Gestation period for mice is 3-4 weeks (meaning if Michael is pregnant again, she could deliver a fresh litter before we can offload the first litter to the pet store!)

Crapola!

Welcome, Christopher Peter!

Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I visited Danielle in hospital last night - Danielle had given birth to a bouncing baby boy a few days ago - Christopher Peter!  As a precautionary measure, only the parents & grandparents were permitted to see Christopher (he was born 3 weeks premature) but it was great to see a glowing Danielle (with an inney for a bellybutton at last) & the proudest papa in the world, Dennis.  We shared our birthing stories, laughed at male reactions & talked about what to expect.  We also talked about how babies look like aliens when they are less than 24 hours old.  Their faces are usually stretched (as was Christopher's & the captain's) & they look like little frogs.  Some babies are even known to have coneheads!  While I never saw one in the flesh I did see lots of posters of this phenomenon in the Royal Hospital for Women where the captain was born.  Funny that the hospital would put up posters like that.  It did make me laugh though.  And Captain Booger Features eyes positioned at the sides of his head when he was less than 24 hours old sure didn't seem so bad whenever I studied the posters of conehead babies.

Picture labelled "Conehead Jonah" originally uploaded by JonahChan.

How often does the average child get sick?

I was watching the morning program "Sunrise" & they had their resident pediatrician on, talking about what to do when your child gets sick with a fever or viral infection.  The doctor said that the average child gets sick (defined as a minimum of experiencing a fever) approximately 4-5 times a year.  Thinking on this, Captain Booger Features has been sick 4-5 times in his lifetime!  And he's 8 now!  Is this good or bad?  I guess it's good that he's so healthy but does his immune system need to be challenged more in order to become stronger?

Wherefore art thou, Pluto?

I am shocked & saddened by these turn of events - relegating the planet Pluto to 'dwarf planet' status!  Click here to read the Sydney Morning Herald article.  How can Pluto face the other planets in the cosmic playground?  I guess it didn't stand a chance when you look at the profiles of the other planets.

Mercury - one of the elements on the periodic table (can't fight science)

Venus - Roman goddess of love & beauty

Earth - we live on it

Mars - well-established chocolate bar

Jupiter - largest planet (can't ignore it)

Saturn - only planet with rings around it (for the ladies, perhaps?)

Uranus - butt (sorry) of many jokes

Neptune - Roman god of the sea

Pluto - Disney character (oh dear)

Picture originally uploaded by TimSpfd.

What Do Babies Need Most? Milk or Cuddles?

I was watching a documentary on the ABC early this morning about Dr. Harry Harlow & his efforts to explore the depths of human emotion.  In the 1950s, it was a cold era for babies because mothers were discouraged from cuddling their babies too much, especially boys because prevailing thought was that too much touch would make boys weak, afraid &/or gay.  Harlow sought to understand the importance of touch so he conducted experiments using infant monkeys.  He constructed 2 'mothers' - 1 made of cloth (for cuddlng) & 1 made of wire (however the wire mother carried a bottle of milk) - pictured.  He discovered that the infant monkeys were drawn to the cloth mother more, even going so far as to cuddle the cloth mother & stretch their hands to reach for the bottle the wire mother had (yet still clinging to the cloth mother).  He also discovered that if the cloth mother was in a room of unknown & scary objects, the infant monkey seemed to become emboldened by the presence of the cloth mother, enough to explore its surroundings.  However, if the wire mother was in the room with the unknown & scary objects, the infant monkey cowered in the corner & cried continuously.  Not unlike the behaviour of a baby in a room full of clucking strangers without his/her mother.  Babies get very unsettled & cry until someone he/she recognises holds him/her.

Harlow wanted to explore the depths of a child's love for its mother.  He put tiny spikes on the cloth mother as well as a small hose which spewed hot steam on the infant monkey sporadically.  Each time the infant monkey was pricked by the spikes or jetted in the face with hot steam, the monkey fled.  But every single time the infant monkey always returned to the cloth mother, regardless of how many times it was hurt by it.  Harlow's research did much to help us understand how abused children always return to their abusing mother in order to receive love, whatever the cost.

Harlow discovered that the infant monkeys raised by the passive cloth mothers grew up into maladjusted adult monkeys.  They lacked the social skills to relate to other monkeys & showed no interest in mating.  Harlow forced them to mate & have infant monkeys of their own.  He found that they were indifferent mothers, sometimes abusing & killing their own babies. 

It obviously isn't enough to be a passive mother.  Children require love as well as education in order to survive as an adult in the future.  It was an insightful documentary & made me think about how I am raising Captain Booger Features.  I'm so glad that I give him plenty of hugs & kisses to the point where Captain Booger Features often says, "Mummy, get off me." Noice, noice.

Pictures originally uploaded from The Adoption History Project.

Two Words: Homer Simpson

Last Saturday night, Ravi & I had dinner with Andrew at BBQ King in Chinatown.  Must have been the place to be because we were soon joined by Kim Beazley & friends) who sat at the table next to us.  It was nice seeing a politician roughing it like the rest of us!  It was great catching up with Andrew who looked happy & healthy.  As per usual with Andrew, our conversation revolved around politics & social commentary.  We started talking about the nuclear power debate: to have or have not a nuclear power plant.  With Ravi being pro & Andrew taking the negative, it was left up to me to break the deadlock.  I only had 2 words for them: Homer Simpson.  Would you want someone like Homer Simpson working at a nuclear power plant in your suburb?  Could we guarantee the screening out of all the Homer Simpsons in Australia who desire to work at the nuclear power plant? 

Since we were in earshot of Beazley, I wouldn't be surprised if I were to hear him say on live television, "To the people of Australia, to answer the debate of nuclear power, I ahve 2 words for you - Homer Simpson."  He's on a winner!  You heard it here first!

Picture originally uploaded by ridgarou.