Day before with spent with my pregnant friend who was having contractions and using TENS machine. I feel heavy and walking is hard… Nice massage and early bed… 11am – message hubby to say he’s probably got today but not tomorrow. Settle down with wire work craft project and episode of Shield. Bouncing on ball……
Having a baby is such a magical and emotional time… you’ve spent 9 months with little one rolling around inside you, glimpsed them on the scan pictures, done all sorts of preparation classes and the countdown is on for you to meet your baby… But one thing is starting to worry you, possibly even stress…
Today we reached a big milestone. Little one is now far too wiggly to continue using the side sleeper. She’s starting to crawl and pulling up on everything in a bid to stand up. It was a big moment for mummy me to undo those buckles and admit that one brief era was over. I’ve…
Agony!!! Now I don’t mean child birth… Or pregnancy… I mean actually physical agony of having, holding, feeding, carrying, hugging and caring for a baby! Eh… what on earth do I mean… surely that’s the nice bit?? Well after you’ve spent 9 months getting bigger, heavier and generally less fit (don’t even mention relaxin to…
Little one is 12 weeks old today and I’m starting to doubt myself. It got a lot worse yesterday after a trial baby sensory class… I’m full term Mum at the moment and I’ve been confident in saying that I want to take care of little full time (with a bit of part-time work on…
Today marks one year from losing our first pregnancy to a miscarriage. While the sadness remains, today has mostly been about counting our blessings and being very thankful for the small warm snuggly bundle of love curled up asleep on my lap. The devastation we felt that fateful day last Easter could have broken us….
So when your little bundle of joy has finally arrived and you are just getting to grips with everything… you have a parade of visitors wanting to hold baby… This should be a nice thing right… sadly that’s not what I felt. Sure, I was proud to show her to most some people but actually having…
This last month has been so diverse… the first half was full of work related finishing tasks and generally higher energy riding a wave of completed tasks… the second half… not so much! Heartburn has been a constant discomfort with a whole bottle of gaviscon not lasting a week! Without it I’ve not been able…
Between facebook marketplace and Pagham Children & Baby Table Top Sales I’ve done really well at finding a whole host of pre-loved goodies. I’ve found that the Table Top Sales are so well organised with parents taking time to clean and sort out their items that it’s a real pleasure to attend. Great for the…
The biggest development of the month has been getting a new midwife! I’m so glad I spoke up as it was really stressing me out to feel like I couldn’t ask any questions. I’ve now got a super lovely midwife who just really puts me at ease and assured me that there are no stupid…
In the mayhem of preparing for the festive season this month has absolute flown by! I can’t believe we could be meeting our baby in possibly just 6 weeks! This month we’ve been enjoying our evening hypnobirthing classes. Four weekly sessions with seven other couples. I’ve written a blog post about each session and both…
Today was the last session of the four part course and one we’ve been really looking forward because we had a tour of the birthing suites and delivery rooms. It’s been something that has been playing on my mind… I like to know where I’m going and what sort of environment I’ll be in. Not…
The highlight of this class was Hubby asking “why doesn’t everyone do this course as it makes so much sense?!!” He is so right, I really feel for the mums who have been told they are “high risk” and that they would be better off going straight for an epidural rather than suffering! It sets…
I really miss raspberry leaf tea! As a sufferer of lactose intolerance getting a good brew can be tricky. I’ve always liked juice though; to the point of driving my mum demented as a toddler when all I would consume was juice and nothing solid! Before we got pregnant I would have at least one…
I have to admit to loving a bit of crafting… I’ll pretty much try out anything but I’m a real sucker for crafts that include upcycling or repurposing. So when I spotted a pattern for making a babygrow in The Eternal Maker I thought it would be a perfect way to use up some of…
I have just got to tell everyone about this amazing shop! Baby2000 is an independent shop in the outskirts of Portsmouth, on Copnor Road. It has the most amazingly diverse range of buggies and travel systems in stock ready for you to try out… and the staff are so lovely. They know so much about…
Pelvic pain really sucks. I started with tailbone pain at about 14 weeks pregnant and then graduated to the double act at about 18 weeks. Basically it feels as though my pelvis is coming apart, especially at the front! Sitting down is a challenge because I have to get exactly on my sit bones half…
Why? Why? Why? That’s what was running through my head as I tried to sip my way through the sweet and sticky goop in five minutes at 7am in the morning? Why am I doing this? This is making me feel awful and I don’t even know why I’ve been told I have to do…
We’ve taken the plunge and started our first of 4 hypnobirthing classes. It’s an evening class run by the local NHS midwife team at the hospital. We’ve heard great things about how it can make a big difference in birth experiences. So despite our reservations that it might be a bit “hippy” we went with…
Today was Baby Allie’s true due date. Sadly we met them far too soon at just 9 weeks old. As the blood flowed and hope faded I held your tiny body in my hand and the waves of sadness crashed over me. Miscarriage Such a simple word that many people do not have to suffer,…
Ok – time is definitely flying now! I have no idea where the last month has gone and bump seems to grow as I watch it! Bump is living up to its name!! It’s certainly turning into quite a spectator sport… for me and Hubby at least… bump seems shy around other people and goes…
I have to admit that we didn’t buy our Peugeot 3008 as a family car. We bought it because the boot is huge, it’s a high level ride which helps with my knee problems and offers great comfort on long runs with the cruise control. When we succeeded in getting pregnant one of the first…
I’m not really very sure where the last month has gone! A big milestone that made me feel very much a woman… My boobs started working! Nothing particularly spectacular in itself… one evening of crazy itching and then a few tiny dribbles the next morning. But nevertheless a moment in my life that feels meaningful…
So here I am in the second trimester and over the last six weeks I’ve been feeling rather um… damp… down there! Sorry if too much info… don’t read on! I mentioned it to my midwife and she said is it wee? To which I replied… “probably?” …but really I wasn’t at all sure and…
Where did the first 20 weeks go? Looking back it feels like it’s gone quickly but it has also dragged too! I’ve been so anxious that getting to the anomaly scan with a healthy baby has felt like an unlikely challenge over which I had no influence… I’m not sure why I’ve been so anxious…
This weekend Hubby and I went to our first baby show at Sandown Racecourse. I was up nice and early bouncing around ready to go. Pretty much the first time in this pregnancy I’ve allowed myself to get excited and plan ahead. It did feel good! We arrived a little early and queued up outside…
This last month has flown by! Probably because the nausea and sickness of month 3 have gradually gone away, coupled with the relief of seeing wriggling baby at the dating scan. The fog has lifted and I can think clearer – a huge relief. I still get bouts of queasiness but usually over strong smells…
With all the big body changes coming up I decided that it would be a good idea to take care of myself for a change! So I hunted and hunted and hunted for an ante-natal exercise class… one found one. Just one! I found tonnes of post-natal classes but barely any for during pregnancy. Which…
Today was our dating scan day. It has felt like an absolute age in coming around. I’ve been very tense and anxious, barely daring to hope that a tiny little being was safely growing inside me. I hardly slept last night… not because I was laying awake worrying and imagining the worst case scenario though…
Well this month has been the longest so far – I almost said ever but I’m suspecting that Month 9 will take that title! I’ve had a long old wait for my “not 12 week scan“. It’s nearly week 14 and the additional eleven days have been very hard. I tried to ask people to…
So you’re pregnant… such an exciting and scary time… full of waiting and more waiting and more waiting. Early on you get told that the first trimester is risky and it is best (I totally disagree!) to not tell too many people about your happy little news until you have your 12 week scan… So…
Why count my pregnancy in months? Um… for some reason 2/9 seems better than 8/40 or 60/280… but then fractions have never been my forte! Smaller is simpler in my little brain. Plus the last few weeks have gone by in somewhat of a nauseous blur! I had every intention of trying to write a…
The Science of Pregnancy… how does it all work? I became my own science investigation while trying to conceive!
Yes that’s a baby… according to the scan lady. “There it is!” she exclaims… “Where?” asks my befuddled Hubby! “See that fluttering?”… “that’s the heart beating”… “ok, wow!” we both murmur. So this is really, really early: about 6 weeks and 4 days. I’ve been having quite a lot of one-sided pain and finally gave…
After the heartbreak of miscarriage it was a big decision to keep trying to conceive. The fear of a repeat occurrence is immense. Drawing from some deep unknown reserve we bravely faced the possibilities and allowed a tiny glimmer of hope into our hearts. This week we were rewarded with two blue lines that are…
Can we have our cake and eat it? #oogletime #FridayFriends
Apparently this whole conception thing is a whole lot harder to figure out than expected!
Coping with loss and coming to terms with grief is such a complicated journey. Anyone who has lost a baby through miscarriage will know that it’s an odd thing to deal with. People often say “its natural” or “it didn’t exist yet” or “its common – 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage” or “you…
Throughout my life I’ve always been the rough and tumble kinda girl. Brought up on outdoor pursuits with mud, water and sticks as playthings. Yeah… much as I hate the term… “a tomboy”. I fit in so well as “one of the lads” and am luck enough to have been accepted on an equal footing…
How do you help someone who has a miscarriage?
The most common response I get when telling people that I had a miscarriage was silence… awkward… people don’t know what to say… then they give you a hug… and that’s the start…
Last night I vividly dreamed about giving birth. Not in the fearful worrying kind of way. It was calm and each stage was markedly clear with such high levels of emotions I woke up with tears on my face. I imagine that dreams of giving birth are probably not uncommon in pregnant ladies… but I’m…
Congratulations on getting a positive pregnancy test…
Now what? Everything is up in the air and you may be wondering what to do?
“Two blue lines” Checklist…
This may seem like a very sad thing to expect.
But…
1 in 4 pregnancies naturally end in a miscarriage
So you’ve done the deed, survived the two week wait and got that all important positive line… now what?
This week has undoubtably all been about the boobs! Somehow it seemed very fitting for them to be paired with blueberries!
From microscopic pair of cells to an apple seed sized embryo… The last six weeks have been quite a roller-coaster of emotions and feelings…
I don’t know why I did a pregnancy test today… I just had to check… and if my eyes are not mistaken there is a line that just changed our lives!!! My last cycle started on the 15th February with a normal period of four days with medium to heavy flow and all the grumpy…
Have you heard about Implantation Bleeding?
“Trying to conceive” – a phrase signalling that you want to start the journey of becoming a parent. Something that until now seemed like a foregone conclusion of having unprotected sex. Not once until now did anyone mention that getting pregnant (and staying pregnant) is actually a rather complicated, unpredictable and challenging task! As a…
Picture this… Valentine’s Day, a walk together chatting about hopes and dreams, a lovely meal at home with red roses on the table. Excitement building as we find out whether we’ve conceived… It’s our first month of trying to conceive and I’ve had all sorts of signs and symptoms. I’m four days ‘late’ and have…
Raw Mum 