Piggie mania

Evan and Autumn have been really excited about Guinea Pigs since cuddling some at Chatsworth in Autumn.  Evan had a particular relationship with one Guinea called Patch.  We talked about it, read books and decided to get our own Guinea Pigs.  We went to our local Animal Farm in Graves Park, where they had plenty to choose from.  Autumn chose a lovely little one who is mainly grey with a white face, and called it Lily Bobtail (after her favourite Peter Rabbit character), and Evan chose the one that looked most like the Guinea he loved at Chatsworth, and named it after the same.

Life has become a cycle of cuddles, and cleaning out fitted in among our usual things ever since.  We have learned a lot about how to tame Guinea pigs and the best ways to look after them.  We have taken an unconventional approach to our Guinea Pig parenting, which is probably no surprise to those who know me...  here are some of the things we have learned:

The spot on Mite preventative sent the Guinea's a tad whappy, so we are reviewing different treatment / healthcare.

To tame our Guinea pigs we are cuddling them at least 1 hour a day, and giving them on the floor with us time for upwards of an hour.

During cuddles we are doing "super cuddles" which basically involves a type of swaddling so they feel safe and secure.  Lily seems to need this more than her older friend Patch.  Whilst in this super cuddle, we sometimes utilise the doll slings to hold them close. (but we keep the children downstairs whilst we do this to keep things safe)

We will be ensuring good health and less likely to suffer with mites through a good diet and plenty of cuddles and exercise.  We will endeavour to use Neep Oil if we do discover mites causing issues for either of the little Guineas.

We are using fleece and towels as bedding which means easy quick cleaning.

So that is the practical aspects of caring for our Guinea's.  We are also finding out about ourselves.  I have found myself having to spend lots of time sitting down, without trying to achieve lots of stuff, and I am actually quite enjoying this.  Autumn, who is not usually known for her stillness is increasing the amount of time she is able to sit still and be with Lily.  sometimes the urge to faff overwhelms her, but she is now able to sit there for around 15 minutes at a time.

Ill day

Today we all have horrid colds; Evan, Autumn and I. We have cancelled plans and taking a day at home together. This is such a rare event for us as we are usually so busy doing things and going along for the ride that we don't do home days if we have plans.  This makes me wonder a bit as I see myself as a parent who endevours to follow my children's lead, why then do I seem to ignore there lead when they are ill? 

Today we had quite a few plans, a ranger event at Meersbrook park, Nursery and I was also due to run my work's HypnoBabes coffee morning at my house. So I had double booked us as well. Ooops.  I have been working hard these last few months on cutting down essential non-changable activities and keeping things a little looser, which has been working, however I need to remember that even the essential things aren't really essential, even if we have prepaid for them.

Days like today make me crave being closer to shops, so we can stock up on fruit to help regenerate our bodies.  We've plenty of party snacks leftover from Autumn's birthday yesterday, but they are not all that healthy apart from the carrots.