Baby's First Illness

I'm told that we're really lucky that Josh hasn't been poorly at all until now. So I'm proud of my baby boy for reaching the grand old age of 8 and a half months before getting his first illness. 

The little man has little man flu! He needs to teach his dad a thing or too about how to cope as well. Both Josh and his cousin fell quickly down with sniffles, snot streams, chesty coughs and finally (poor boys) were diagnosed with bronchilitus. 

So out comes the trusty Calpol. Last used as a buffer for the injection pain which Josh barely acknowledged. 

I think it's more scary for the Mum's than it is for the baby. I had to force myself not  to keep vigil at his bedside or at the very least to whip out the baby monitor again and tie it to my ear like a crazy headset just to make sure he was still breathing ok. But I resisted. I'm not going to lie I didn't sleep for 48 hours straight. The first night because I lay awake worrying, the second night simply because I couldn't sleep through his 2 minutely coughing cycle. 

Josh didn't wake through the coughing though bless him. He was extremely needy though, very grizzly, refused to eat and just wanted hugs. I'm taking the hugs away as my little bonus from all this. 

He's on the mend though now. Still feeling sorry for himself, clutching his favourite 'Raffee' toy but he's getting there. It took segregating and isolating Josh and his cousin away from each other but it seemed to work. The only thing is *cough* I think I'm coming down with something now. Oh dear...

Halloween - babies in pumpkin trousers, sandwitches and a few token skeletons (well you've got to)

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you all had good ones!

Its been a looooooooong time since I've posted but I'm back for good now to post regularly. Since the last time I posted we've moved house, I've gone back to work, gained a gorgeous little nephew and the little man just continues to get bigger and brighter every day!

All year I'd been looking forward to Halloween (as I do every year) but even more so now I've got a little person to teach the joys of Halloween to. I love to get into the spirit of it.....pumpkins, candy, decorations, fancy dress. Most of all fancy dress to be honest! So poor Josh had 3 separate fancy dress costumes to get him through the day (they actually turned out to be much needed in the end, since he couldn't seem to keep them clean!) He had a white skeleton onesie, a Frankenstein costume and a black skeleton costume - complete with a matching skeleton beanie toy and skeleton lights which decorated his pram during the trick or treating outing with my niece and her friends.

Still though, to me, these weren't quite enough ;) I'd seen people had cut holes in pumpkins and popped their babies inside and taken pictures. I loved this idea. Just to make it a little bit different to the standard babies in pumpkins idea, I decided to carve them into trousers. After finding the biggest pumpkin I could find (not an easy task on the actual day, when most shops just had the pumpkin dregs left) I got carving and persuaded BD to take some pics.

 Josh loved being in there, so for good measure I grabbed my nephew and popped him in too. He didn't take to it so much at first until he decided to nibble the edge, then it took some effort to get him to leave it happily. I think they turned out well...I'm definitely doing this again if we ever add to the brood.

My sister had also agreed to throw my niece a little Halloween party and roped me in to help. I love party planning at the best of times but a Halloween party is always the best. I honestly think the planning is just as fun as the actual event itself! So after a little bit of research on Pinterest and just a bit of improvising we managed to get the boys down for a nap and got to decorating and prepping the food. I hate cooking but it was surprisingly easy when it came to Mummy Dogs, puff pastry cat and pumpkins, eggy brains, sandwitches and wormy jelly. My niece and her friends absolutely loved it!

I literally can't wait until next Halloween to do it all over again. In the meantime I'll try and calm down a bit because its Bonfire Night in 2 days! Don't want to hyperventilate with excitement....

Tried & Tested: Black and White

As promised, I'm reporting back on the effect of black and white on a newborn. Specifically my newborn. Everything I read about is true - it calms him, entertains him and mesmerises him. The mobile I made and put above his bed keeps him occupied in the late hours (I've caught him grinning at it as though its an old friend).

We've got a black and white throw on our sofa and when he's sat in our arms he's instantly calm, almost hypnotised by it. It verges on impossible trying to tear his eyes away from it.

There's also a newborn toy we bought for him that he now loves. At first he was a bit weary of it (it does have cheeks that remind me of 'jigsaw' from Saw) but now it's becoming a playtime favourite. It's the 'Zany Zebra' toy from ToysRus and is brilliant for introducing textures, sights and sounds with rattles, teething leaf, mirrors, taggy's, flashes of colour...and of course black and white stripes.

So far I've found black & white to calm, socialise, entertain and develop my baby. It appears to be a fantastic teaching tool but above all it makes the little man happy. And that's all that matters!

How To: Make a Taggy Toy Animal

Our little man loves bath time. He also loves grabbing hold of labels and tags from clothes. I thought I'd combine the two and make some taggy sea themed soft toys for him to play with, to keep him occupied whilst waiting for the bath to run or when we're drying him off.

It's also a perfect way to make use of any scrap material and ribbons that you may have lying around.

For this 'how to' guide I'll be making a whale tag toy.

What you'll need:

Material

Ribbons

Needle

Threads

Pins

Wadding

1. Cut shape out of chosen materials. For texture, I've chosen to use cotton (from on old bib) and an old towel. 

2. Cut ribbons to length.

3. Tack stitch the end of the ribbons together

4. Place the two shapes together back to back, with the outside facing in. Place the ribbons inside the two pieces with the loops facing inwards and the ribbon ends sticking out the edge of the material - this will be the water spouting from the top of the whale.

5. Sew around the end of the two pieces of material, securing the ribbon. Leave a gap in the stitching and turn the material the right way round by pulling it through this gap.

6. Stuff the gap with wadding. I already had some lying around from when I made a fancy dress Minnie Mouse bow but you could use the inside of an old synthetic pillow to save cost.

7. Stitch the gap closed.

8. Use another coloured thread to stitch the eyes and mouth.

I also chose to make a jellyfish and a turtle to finish the collection of sea creatures. 

We tested them last night with the little man and he seems to approve! I think they'd make a cute personalised gift or a fun craft project to do with older children. I'm planning on sitting down with my Niece and helping her make a taggy toy for her new baby brother. Like most kids she loves craft and these are fun to make plus it will be yet another way to encourage her to feel included when the future new arrival becomes a permanent addition to her home. :)

The Best Baby Diaries Ever!

Don't worry, I swear I'm not selling them. I just wanted to say just how amazing the journals by Amy Krouse Rosenthal are. I'm so glad I discovered them, especially for my first pregnancy. I've touched on them before when I wrote the post about 'The Belly Book' which I loved using during the pregnancy. Now Josh is born I've got the next journal in the collection: 'My Baby Book'

 Its written in the same brilliantly witty, non-cutesty style as The Belly Book, with curved edged chapters much the same also: 'My arrival', 'My first year' and 'Gallery of firsts'. I love the variety of ways the book allows you to document your child's life: interviews, photo sections, funny multiple choice questions, even an area for you to splash with the water from the first bath. `The cover also looks similar to The Belly Book so they'll look perfect on a shelf.

On Mother's Day, along with the gift I bought for my Mum, Josh gave her a gift: The Grandparent's Book' (wrapped in blue wrapping paper and 'signed' with his footprints). It allows my Mum to document how she feels to be a Grandma (again) and to write stories of her childhood to share with Josh, snapshots of our family history and share memories of times she spent with her own grandparents. It'll be a fascinating read once she's finished filling it in and I think a brilliant bonding tool for her and Josh once he's old enough.

Oh and also....did I mention I'm going to be an Aunty again! My sister is expecting her second baby in July and its a boy! :) so Josh will have a cousin the same age to grow up with. My nephew will have a big sister who's 9. She's always been the centre of attention so I wanted to get her something that would let her know that we will still be just as important to us as she always has been I thought 'The Sibling Book' would be perfect. It allows my niece to write about the new baby from her perspective (from pregnancy to birth and beyond, to keep photos of his miles stones and best of all compare herself with him e.g. scan photos and stats from birth. I gave it to her as an Easter present (along with an egg of course!) and she loves it. My sister tells me she's filled out lots already and she's brought it along with her on more than one occasion  I sneaked a peak and its adorable. She tells me its made her feel more included, so I hit my goal :) I also gave my sister her own copy of The Belly Book so she can document her pregnancy and she is obsessed too.

In summary, I am in LOVE with these books and now so are my family. Each book perfectly compliments the other and are even interesting for others to read (usually baby books are only interesting to the Mum). Having never been a diary keeper I am now addicted. And its all down to the books of Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

This week I'm Loving: Smiles

29th March 3am: Blurry eyed and exhausted I'm changing Josh's nappy. 4 weeks of interrupted sleep, (averaging at 45 minutes a time and 4 hours overall a night) I was a walking zombie. Couple that with the exhaustion of the manic days, I felt like I was on a never ending conveyor belt of nappy changes, feeds and comforting. Glancing down I could see Josh quizzically surveying my face. And then out of the blue, there it was - the biggest most beautiful toothless smile I have ever seen. It was as though he'd been testing my skills as a mum and decided that I deserved a reward.

The next morning, Me and baby daddy tried everything we could think of to get Josh to treat us to his smile again, but he just stared at us as though he couldn't quite believe these face pulling fools were his parents. I told family and friends who ALL responded with " Nooo, it'll just be wind." But then the smiles came more often; every time without warning and every time to a doubter. Each person exclaiming "Oh my god, he's smiling at me!"..... I know!!

Now, Me and BD are greeted with huge smiles every morning when he wakes up and all throughout the day during our little 'conversations'. I never realised as a Non-Mum just how heart meltingly brilliant your child's smile can be. It makes the 'mad hour' of crying (between 7-8 every night) seem a breeze. Just thinking of that smile when I'm swaying with my tired little man, in front of the extractor fan whilst watching/reading Corrie episodes with the subtitles on is instantly calming.

Josh giggles in his sleep. Maybe he's dreaming of winning the milk lottery or the cute little girl baby he passes every day in the park, but whatever it is it cracks him up. I can't wait until he decides I deserve that reward when he's awake!

7 weeks of being a new mum

Its been 7 weeks since my last post. 7 amazing weeks. 7 weeks today since the birth of my little man. And 7 weeks into now being known as a Mum!

I had every good intention to post sooner but I had no idea how busy a newborns schedule would be - his social life is better than mines been in years!  I still have a queue of people dying to meet him.

This is the first time I've managed to find the time amidst all the initial hospital chaos (and many many mistakes and oversights on their part - long story), visits from friends and family, getting to grips with the pram/car seat/ swing, learning to survive with the lack of sleep and initially erratic sleep schedule, getting to know our baby's gorgeous laid back, sociable, head strong personality and gazing endlessly in fascination at his little face and tiny tiny feet Life is now being lived at a hundred miles an hour in a sea of nappies and bottles with multitasking now second nature...but now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

On the 27th Feb 2013, baby Joshua James was born. The induction that was booked was deemed a failure after almost 2 days of intense labour. The contractions were so close together that the doctors made the decision that, as nothing was happening that we had to go ahead with a c-section so Josh didn't get distressed. The c-section went without a hitch and in just 8 minutes after surgery began, our son was lying in his dads arms. In the 28 minutes it took them to stitch me up Baby Daddy and I were chatting happily about what we should call him. A day and a half later he STILL didn't have a name.

We thought when he was born we would know instantly which name would suit him but this didn't happen! We were so distracted by just how gorgeous he looked that we completely forgot about naming him. It was only when we went down to visit him in neo-natal and introduced our selves as parents of baby boy that we remembered the urgency of it. While Josh was being looked after and treated for low blood sugar (due to gestational diabetes) me and BD were frantically scrolling through every baby name site we could find on our phones. Nothing seemed right. But as soon as Josh was wheeled back up to us in his little plastic cot, it clicked. Now, 7 weeks later his name seems perfect ...I still end up calling him 'baby' though - a habit I'm determined to break! :)

The last 7 weeks have seen 2  weekends away, 7 health visitor/ midwife visits, 1 trip to the zoo, 1 mothers day, 284ish nappy changes, 1 trip to the beach and so many beautiful smiles from our little man. Google, youtube and Babycentre forums taught me how to nappy change, bathe, bottle feed and baby massage. They put my mind at ease in the first few days when I wondered if that breathing pattern was normal or how to treat jaundice naturally at home. How any mum coped before the days of the internet I'll never know!

One things for sure this whole experience has given me a new found respect for my mum. Being a new mum is stressful, exhausting, educational but ultimately incredible, fascinating and rewarding. So this is why people have kids!! :)

Due date!

It's finally here! After 9 very long months our baby's due date is finally here. Not that he's showing any signs of budging. Luckily, due to the gestational diabetes I am booked in for an induction tomorrow so my (im)patience just needs to hold out a tiny bit longer. I would much rather have a natural birth but I'm told that for our baby's sake they will not allow me to go on much longer with the pregnancy. Now its just a case of passing the time. That's easier said than done!

9am

I have literally not slept. I have spent the night Googling ways to bring on the baby and what happens during an induction. Yet despite the lack of sleep I'm wide awake. All I can think about is "What if the induction takes days? What will we do to stop the boredom?" "What if it doesn't go as planned?" "Will the baby be ok?"....."What are we even going to call him?"

10.10am

BD has just woken up and before he's even had time to open his eyes properly I'm asking him the same question we've been going over for the last 9 months. "What are we even going to call him?"

After 30 mins of debating we've concluded....we still don't know. Or rather can't agree. He doesn't like any names I've come up with and the only name he can bring to the table is Steve. I'm sure its a very nice name on some men but that's just it - as far as I'm aware, I'm giving birth to a baby not  45 year old balding man. 

10.40am

Pamper. There is literally nothing better than  hot bubble bath and a pamper to pass the time. Only a mere hour and a half later and after a home facial, hair mask and skin treatment, I'm well and truly wrinkled like a prune but very relaxed and happy. The baby on the other hand is more active than ever but I'm going to make the most of what's probably the last moment of alone time I'll have for a while.

2.00pm

The baby will not be reasoned with. No amount of talking to my bump and trying to persuade him to vacate his little home is working. I've even found myself spending a longer than sanely necessary time repeatedly shaking the Magic 8 ball until it gives me that answer I really want. 

"Magic 8 ball, will my baby be born tomorrow?" *Shake Ball* 'Don't count on it' *Shake Ball again 'You may rely on it'.... Satisfied :)

2.30pm

Me and BD are out in the village stocking up on everything we might need over the next couple of weeks. Food, cosmetics... do we really need 3 tubes of tooth paste?? How essential is that pack of Malteasers?....Now that's done :) How are we going to carry all those bags back before it goes dark? I know its only  ten minute walk away but with my weeble wobble walk I better set off now.

3.00pm

Cleaning! Again! The house is cleaner than its ever been since we moved in but I cant stop! Its become a weird obsession. Cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer has become an urgent priority, even though I've got no clue what's in there. Ooh, is that a smudge on the window I cleaned yesterday...fetch me a duster!

4.35

Weigh myself on Wii....not as bad as I thought :) 

Bounce on Swiss Ball - probably a bit too energetically. No sign of contractions but now I have sore thighs!

Begin to do a 3 mile wander round and round the corridors of the house....get (a welcome) interruption from my mum who calls to say good luck for tomorrow.

5.15

Completely panic. Oh my god, I'm going to be a Mum soon! How am I going to grow  responsible bone in such a little amount of time. Text a friend who texts straight back laughing/reassuring me that I'm being mental. Still feel a bit terrified but spend 45 minutes returning texts to everyone who's kindly text over the last few days. I'm rubbish at communicating with my friends but god I'm lucky to have them!

.................It literally doesn't feel real. I'm a jittery giddy mess. I Can't believe in a few days time at the most I'm going to be Mum. Poor little baby :)

How to: Budget, Save and Make Money For Your New Family

"Kids are expensive!" or so my Dad constantly reminded us every time he had to write cheque for a school trip or handed over his card to the smiling cashier who'd just sold him the latest clothes we needed.

According to the news recently, it costs £218,000 to raise a child until he is 18. The sensible idea would be to plan to child and save before hand....hmmm. Whilst our baby is definitely wanted, it wasn't especially planned. Unless you count the 5 second conversation me and Baby Daddy had one night in bed:

Me:(looking at a friend's pic of her baby on Facebook): Do you want kids?

BD: (shrugging): Yeah, maybe... one day. Do you?

Me: (reading a text on my phone): Yeah, I think so. One day. 

BD: (not looking up from his laptop): Do you want one with me?

Me: Yeah.... do you?

BD: Course.

So as you can tell we had thoroughly planned our family expansion. Both me and Baby Dad work but, as I'm sure most parents to be are, we were worried about being able to afford everything our baby needs. For the first time in my life I decided to plan. To plan and to budget. Anyone who knows me will tell you this is not familiar territory for me so I needed to be as prepared as possible.

After a visit to the Money Advise Service website's brilliant section 'Budgeting for a family' and using their tool which helps calculate the cost of a newborn, I found our new baby would cost us around £3700 in his first year (https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/budgeting-for-a-family) This is including new baby equipment and childcare costs.I decided to make a list of everything we needed and spread the cost over the months before he's born and do everything I could to cut this cost down as much as possible without skimping on the quality of the equipment and products.

All in all I've so far managed to save 2 thirds of what would have been the total cost of stocking up his nursery with equipment, clothes, nappies and (hopefully) everything he'll need for his first few months.

Here's how:

Check lists:

I got hold of as many lists as I could from baby books, catalogues, websites and recommendations from some well practised mummies and compiled one which detailed everything we as a family needed.

The 3 lists I had were:

• Items needed for baby's arrival and first few months
• Items needed for my hospital bag
• Items needed for baby's hospital bag.

Good websites for check lists:

• http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/pregnancy/pregnancy-products/shopping-for-a-newborn.aspx
• http://www.newparent.com/pregnancy/baby-checklists/

Spreadsheet:

Don't worry, I'm more than aware of how ridiculously anal I sound but I used the check lists to create a spreadsheet listing everything we needed, which brands I wanted, How much they cost, Where we can get them cheaper and finally how much we actually spent on the product....and by this I mean saved.

Yes its geeky but its also so satisfying seeing exactly how much I've saved...without losing out on getting the brands and products I wanted.

Auction, Listings and Comparison Sites:

To save money and get what we wanted on the spreadsheet I used the website mysupermarket.co.uk to compare prices across the high street shops. I then spent a little bit of time checking a few other sites:

• eBay
• Prevloved
• Gumtree
• Free Cycle
• For sale and for swap group on Facebook.

I got some lovely barely used 'I Love My Bear' items from other mummy's on Preloved and Gumtree (nappy stacker, mobile, changing box and top and tail bowl) and my favourite bargain an almost brand new Mama's & Papa's changing table from eBay for £30, when the family who sold it had bought it for £280 on a couple of months earlier.

Vouchers:

I used to find even the notion of vouchers mortifying and would have rather paid double the price of something than to hand over a voucher to make it cheaper IN PUBLIC. Luckily, a very frugal friend of mine showed me the error of my ways. She taught me that the smug feeling of walking out with something cheaper than it should be (or even free!) completely over-rides any embarrassment factor or thoughts of being a bag lady type. At times you even walk out of a shop feeling like you've robbed them you've got that much for free... but there's no need to fear the security guard. 

Where to find vouchers:

• Baby magazines
• Catalogues such as ToysRus, Boots etc
• Baby Clubs 
• Bounty Packs (you can pick up your first one at hospital after your first scan)
• Emma's Diary bags (sign up to the app and you can find vouchers for these goodie bags under the 'offers' section.
• Product packaging

Freebies:

I cannot get enough of freebies. The nursery is full of freebies I've collected over the last few months such as Huggies nappies, baby creams, bibs, lovely pamper products for me by Palmers and Cussons Mum & Me and even enough samples of Fairy Non-Bio liquid and Vanish to last us through a fair few wash loads of baby clothes and muslin cloths. Most of the samples are full sized so I've saved a fortune on the little bits and bobs.

Where to find freebies:

• Bounty Packs
• Emma's Diary bags
• Freebie sites:                                                                   http://www.latestfreestuff.co.uk/free-baby-stuff/                                                 http://www.magicfreebiesuk.co.uk/free-stuff/c/kids-and-babies                                         http://www.freebiesiteuk.co.uk/baby-freebies/
• Baby Clubs (especially when you first sign up)
• Magazines (especially if you subscribe)
• Baby Shows

Out and About:

You can also save money, get freebies and hunt down bargains out and about in your local area. 

My sister and I went to The Baby Show Manchester and got loads of free bottles, bibs, baby cosmetics and food sample whilst browsing the stalls and deciding what products and brands we wanted for our babies. I don't mind admitting we didn't buy anything.... I went home and found the products cheaper elsewhere!

http://www.thebabyshow.co.uk/

There are also some brilliant Car Boot Sales out there which are for stall holders selling baby and kids stuff only. Our baby carrier, bottle warmer and electric breast pump recently came from a very popular and busy car boot. With so much choice and many items still unused in their boxes its worth dragging yourself out of bed on a Sunday morning for a bit of a haggle.

http://www.kidscarbootandswapshop.co.uk/

There are more charity shops on our village high street than you can cope with. They are however all modelling themselves on expensive vintage shops....their shelves stuffed with fur coats and well used suitcases but if the charity shops near you are more of the traditional persuasion you can pick up loads of brilliant pre loved baby clothes and toys. My lovely Gran found a few of my favourite childhood books which look pristine....Yes, I probably will enjoy reading 'Peace at Last' and 'Dear Zoo' to my baby much more than he'll probably enjoy listening to it!

Further Ways to Save:

Libraries:

Apart from my beloved Belly Book: Pregnancy Diary, I don't see the point in spending money on pregnancy or baby books. I'm a stranger to the library, having not been since I HAD to at uni so walking trough the doors of the local library was a bit of an adventure but I soon found the pregnancy section which was filled to the brim with books which covered every pregnancy subject possible: month by month guides, pregnancy exercises and home pampering for mummy's to be. Arms full, I took out loads of books from the library at the beginning of the pregnancy and jotted down everything I might need to know in a note pad I'm now calling my 'Mummy Manual'. Probably hundreds of pounds have been saved thanks to that treasure trove of books.

Apps:

I've also downloaded free pregnancy apps on my phone which take away the need to spend on books. They have been a constant daily teaching tool for this clueless mum and are a fantastic source of reassurance with the forums, articles and tools such as check lists and contraction counters. The best apps are:

• Baby Centre
• What to expect when you're expecting
• ipregnant deluxe

Youtube:

Rather than spending money on DVDs and CDs for all your pregnancy needs, have a look through Youtube and you will find some amazing relaxation, meditation and exercise videos as well as instructional 'how to' type videos and weekly pregnancy updates. Whether you're desperate to get some sleep, in the mood for some pregnancy yoga or just wondering what your baby looks like this week, you will always find a video to help. Some of my favourites are:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCSFobwvQTg (yoga)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk7SQ6ZZxUM (insomnia hypnotheraphy)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHDU7ThiBMg (weekly fetal update)

Surveys and Focus Groups etc:

OK so this isn't a savings tip, more of a money making tip but if you spend the money on your baby check list you're technically saving! With all the time I now have waiting for the baby to arrive on maternity leave, I have been able to devote time to filling out surveys for money and vouchers.

The best survey sites I have found are:

www.onepoll.com - short surveys for smallish fees (eg 20p) but they pay you by BACS or PayPal once youve reached £40 of earnings. In one day you can usually recieve roun 10-20 surveys.

www.valuedopinions.co.uk - longer suerveys of around 20 mins for larger fees (eg £1) but they pay out quicker - you can redeem vouchers once you have hit £10. In 4 weeks I have collected £40 of Sainsburys vouchers.

Focus groups are also a good way to make a little extra cash. Sarosreasearch.com hosts focus groups which will pay you in either money or good freebies. For example, the last invite I had for them was for a focus group in the city which paid £50 for a 45 minute session.

Mystery Shopping is also a bit of fun and a good way to pay for meals or shopping you might have already been doing. Marketforce.com is a good site to sign up to as it requires you to have no special equipment. Recently, we have had a free pub lunch & an extra £10 fee for giving them a little bit of an insight into our experience. 

Finally, preparing the house for your baby's arrival gives you the perfect excuse to clear out unwanted items and make money for your troubles. Sell bags of unwanted clothes to a local shop that pays a set fee either per bag or per weight or use websites to sell your goods:

• eBay
• Mazuma
• Music Magpie
• Amazon

..............Happy Saving and Money making everyone! If you have any more ideas, let me know. I a sucker for saving these days :)

Only 1 more week! (hopefully)

39 weeks today!....Still no baby to report.

At my last hospital appointment the midwife assured me that despite the fact I was not even a tiny bit on the way to labour (no dilation on sweep) that as I have gestation diabetes they will not let me go past the due date. Soooo this time next week I should hopefully have my baby! The plan is to go for another sweep on Tuesday and if that does nothing I am to be induced. I'm not against being induced but Id much rather he came naturally.

I spent most of last week meeting friends and enjoying my last few times as me being just me not mummy me and trekking to and from the Midwife's office at the Sure Start Centre. Baby Dad was working away in a whole other city. I thought with all of that time me and Baby Dad were apart, it would be tempting fate. With our luck, the fact Baby Dad would be a hundred miles away with no direct route home it should have been more than enough to tempt fate for our baby to arrive, resulting in Baby Dad missing the birth. That didn't happen. Baby Dad's home now, so I shall now be mostly spending today trying to hurry up our baby...

A few months ago Baby Dad asked me if I'd miss our baby living in my tummy and couldn't help but laugh incredulously.
"God no! I cant wait to not be pregnant any more, its been a nightmare." I remember telling him.

On the rare occasion the baby is having a quiet moment and not re-choreographing the entire set by 'Stomp', I sometimes forget that I was pregnant at all. I've gotten so used to my ever growing bump I forget about it altogether and skim off doors and accidentally belly bump people nearby. Only the other day I was with my friend catching up over food and a diet coke when I (quite skilfully I think) managed to lift up the whole table with my belly trying to pull my chair in closer....drinks wobbling threateningly as I banged it back to the ground. I'm used to him being in there now and I'm getting used to my big round belly. Its weirdly comforting stroking my tummy and if nothing else its a good place to pop my phone when I don't need it and an adequate writing table.

More than anything, I will miss him kicking about happily when I'm lying still, jumping at the sound of the toilet flushing, the hair dryer or his dad sneezing and feeling him hiccup endlessly. I've even gotten to love watching his little body pushing my tummy into all sorts of weird shapes and don't mind (most of the time) his favourite hobby of kick boxing all night, every night. I can't wait to meet my little man but in answer to your question Baby Dad...."Yes, I will miss him being in my tummy."....as weird as that is.

How to: Make a Black and White Baby Mobile

Newborns love black & white! According to the various baby books and websites I've read, when they're born babies see in black, white and shades of grey. They take their time to recognise colours and can see only see as far as 8-12 inches away and its blurry at that. Black and White stands out for them until they become used to the colourful new world they've found themselves in.

Surrounding babies with black and white shapes stripes and images has been shown to engage the baby helping him to develop his sight and also keeping him calm and content, even during nappy changing. Sounds perfect to me :) 

I started looking for black and white toys or mobiles and found them to be few and far between and of those I found, I wasn't keen on AND they cost a small fortune. Babies find the Black and White shades most stimulating during their first month and spending £30 for a mobile we'll use for 30 days seemed a bit excessive...so I decided to make my own! (and it cost me 40p)

What you'll need:

Black & White Foam Sheets (I used 4x A5 sheets of each colour - 5p each from supermarket)

Coloured foam of your choice (optional)

Pritt Stick

String

Pencil

Thin tipped black permanent marker

Scissors

Existing Mobile (I had one by I Love My Bear, ToysRus and temporarily untied the existing mobile characters so I just had the frame left)

Step 1:

Choose the shapes, characters or design you are going to use for your mobile. 

I decided to focus on black and white animals: Zebra, Panda, Cow and Penguin.

Step 2: 

Lightly draw your design on the foam and begin to cut.

Make 2 duplicate copies of each character as you will be sticking them back to back. 

For example, with the Zebra I used white for the main body cut this out and drew around this first piece to cut out the duplicate shape

Step 3:

Use the contrasting coloured foam to cut out the shapes which will add detail for your character. 

For example with the cow I used white foam for step 2 and used the black foam to make the cow's spots. 

You can be as free as you like but initially I lightly drew where I wanted the spots to be on the cow with a pencil as a guide. 

You can also use a bit of coloured foam to add even more detail but this will only really benefit us not the baby. I used pink for the cows nose...just because it looked pretty :)

Tip: use this time to cut out two of every shape you make so that both the original and the duplicate are the same. This saves time and looks better - I learnt the hard way...my zebra took twice as long to make than the other animals because I was faffing trying to make the duplicate match the original by free hand.

Step 4: 

Glue. Glue all your detail foam to the main body foam, then stick the 2 characters back to back leaving enough room at the top to pop the string in the gap between the 2 main body sheets and glue up later.

Step 5: 

Repeat steps 1-4 until you have 4 separate designs or characters ready.

Step 6:

Take some string and insert one end in the gap you've left at the top, between the 2 main sheets of foam and glue securely.

Tip: You could also add little shapes to the string. I decided on little hearts as the string looked bare.

Step 7:

Untie existing characters from your shop bought mobile and replace them with the ones you've just made. 

Keep hold of the characters you've untied as you'll be using them again in a month or so.

Tip: If you dont want to use your shop bought mobile, you could use 2 wire coat hangers, 2 wooden batons nailed together or an embroidery ring if you prefer.

Step 8:

Hang up over your babies crib or changing table for them to enjoy.

My little man hasn't graced us with his presence yet but I promise I'll report back to let you know if the  black and white objects soothe him as well as is reported. In the meantime, a bit of craft is always as welcome distraction from my ever-growing impatience for our baby's arrival.

Let me know if you the black & white thing has benefited your baby or if you have any more crafty ideas :)

Sources:

• http://www.childrensvision.com/development.htm
• http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/child-rearing-and-development/bright-starts-babys-development-through-interactive-5
• http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/senses/sensenewborn.html

Dealing With: Anaemia in Pregnancy

Again another serious sounding post but I just wanted to share my experience of having Anaemia during pregnancy as I know it can affect a lot of pregnant women unexpectedly or not.

It wasn't a surprise to me when the midwife told me I was severely Anaemic at the beginning of my pregnancy. 12 months earlier I had a lucky escape when I was admitted to hospital and given 4 blood transfusions. Anaemia tends to be asymptomatic usually characterised by feeling tired and faint. It had gotten to the point I was unable to walk 3 steps without almost blacking out, my heart pounding so loud in my ears I struggled to hear anything around me. Despite this I had managed to get it back under control with 3 iron replacement tablets a day (Ferrous Fumarate) which play havoc with your intestines but I never felt more alive.

Signs of being Anaemic:

• Breathlessness
• Heart Palpitations
• Tiredness
• Grey/Pale Skin and Eyes
• Cracked Tongue and Metallic Taste in Mouth

Many pregnant women don't know they're Anaemic as exhaustion and breathlessness are part and parcel of being an expecting mum. Anaemia is a condition which sees haemoglobin production at a low and without red blood cells oxygen is unable to be carried to your organs... and your baby. The baby will always take what he needs so it is more you that will suffer than your baby but at a time when he is building his own blood supply it is important to know your iron levels are at an optimum level to help him do this effectively. Your body makes more blood during pregnancy anyway so it is hard to feel any symptoms and if you've been anaemic before like me this makes you feel perfectly fine. The nurses look perplexed when I tell them I feel healthy when they can see from my blood results by rights I shouldn't.

Its very rare your baby should experience any complications especially when its managed but Severe Anaemia can increase the risk of:

• Low Birth weight
• Premature Labour
• Baby being born iron deficient
• Infection development during pregnancy.

I don't want to scare anyone because this is very rare. To put your mind at rest I am severely anaemic with a baby who's current weight is far from low, developed no infections and at 38 weeks pregnant I have not had a premature baby. As for him being born iron deficient, I wont know until he is born but this is very unlikely. Like I said, its the mum who will most likely feel poorly from Anaemia not the baby. The last thing you want is to experience Anaemia exhaustion along with pregnancy strain.

In most cases Anaemia is caused by Iron deficiency and will be treated by either Iron replacement tablets or an increase of red meat and iron rich food such as spinach in your diet. However, Other causes of Anaemia include:

• Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Folic Acid deficiency
• Sickle Cell Anaemia
• Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Its important to keep taking the pregnancy vitamins right until the end of pregnancy to combat any form of vitamin deficiency. They've never found a cause for my Anaemia but the pregnancy vitamins have definitely made a difference.

Also a change in diet to include iron rich foods or taking iron supplements will usually make a world of difference but if, like me, you find yourself having severe Anaemia you will more than likely be offered an Iron IVI drip as an outpatient. I had one last Tuesday and it only takes 15 minutes. I requested this as I was worried about needing a blood transfusion again due to blood loss after birth and having to stay in hospital longer than necessary  so you are within your rights to ask for this.

In extreme cases a blood transfusion as an inpatient will be required but again this will be unlikely - Anaemia is so common in pregnancy that its something that midwives will continually monitor with blood tests so it will be very unlikely get to this point.....I shouldn't say this but if you end up needing a blood transfusion you will feel incredible during the first bag of blood because you will have felt so poorly. I have never ever felt better and more alive than when I was having that first transfusion and the effects last....so it isn't all doom and gloom. 

The main point of all this is Anaemia is never a barrel of laughs, especially during pregnancy when you want to be feeling your best but there are a lot of treatment options out there so its not the end of the world. Eating more meat and veg and sticking to your bi-weekly blood tests will make it bare-able. I promise :)

sources:

• http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Anaemia-In-Pregnancy.htm
• http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a3073/anaemia-iron-deficiency
• http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/anaemiapregnancy.htm

I'm Loving: The Belly Book Pregnancy Journal

I can't tell you how much I LOVE this pregnancy journal. When I found out I was pregnant, I had this sudden and inexplicable desire to document EVERYTHING. I hadn't kept a diary since I was 12 and even then I didn't seem to have the time or inclination to write decent, regular entries (what with all my energy spent learning the moves to the Macarena, bleaching my hair with lemon juice and avoiding putting my hand up in class). What made me think I could find the time in my adult life to write one?

I spent ages trawling through Amazon reviews and staring up at the shelves in Waterstones. Every journal seemed to be a bit soppy and sentimental (in a bad way). I was beginning to think a pad of lined paper was the only way forward when I came across the Belly Book (The Belly Book: A Nine-Month Journal For You and Your Growing Belly by Amy Krouse Rosenthal). It completely stood out from the rest. Its written in a witty way, styled in a unique way with belly shaped pages and allows you to write as little and as such as you want. The ring bound pages allow you to rip pages out if you didn't manage to keep up with weekly entries if you really want to...but I found I got quickly addicted to it, so no page has been left unfilled.

Each week there's a space to fill in with an entry of the weekly goings on and a little place to put pictures of your growing belly. Every trimester there is space to write about antenatal appointments, scans, and to reflect on the months gone by. Its far from repetitive and monotonous with little polls every now and then such as what emotions you are experiencing that week and sections where you can jot down snap shots of that moment in society such as which book you are reading and which headlines are hitting the news.

This book carries on right until the baby is born and has subsequent books such as 'The Birthday Book' to allow proud Mummy's to continue to document their childs life right up to their 18th Birthday. I will be buying that book and will absolutely be buying this book again if I have more kids. I know as a grown man the last thing my little boy will want to do is read about the 9 months up to and including his birth but who cares, this is for Mummy :)

PS Pregnant friends, yes you will be receiving this as a gift from me.....and you will love it too!

Try it yourself:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Belly-Book-Nine-month-Journal/dp/0307336182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360547161&sr=8-1

Dealing With: Underactive Thyroid in Pregnancy

I have lived with an Under-active Thyroid since I was diagnosed when I was 12 years old so am very used to the symptoms and the medication but having an Under-active Thyroid whilst pregnant is a concern - especially when a little growing person relies on you. OK, I know this is all a bit serious sounding but if you have it, it is a big part of your pregnancy experience so I wanted to say something about it. I fell pregnant no problem but it is worth mentioning that the condition can cause problems when trying to conceive as it can prevent ovulation.  
It is also worth mentioning the horror stories if you Google - I tried to ignore them but as a first time mum this is difficult. The truth is, yes having a Thyroid issue can cause miscarriages and yes it can cause birth defects but my consultant assures me this is rare especially when it is effectively managed throughout pregnancy.
Many people either don't know they have a Thyroid issue and others like my Sister develop it due to pregnancy. Hormonal and life events can trigger the condition, so if you have never been checked for it ask your midwife to test you with a blood test.

The British Thyroid Association recommends that medication of Thyroxine should be increased by 25/50mcg a day whilst pregnant. This is something I have only recently discovered as my hospital felt the need to substitute the specialist consultant with nurses (who I'm sure are brilliant but both myself and the consultant are disappointed this information failed to reach me.) Needless to say I will definitely be increasing my dosage in my next pregnancy. During the early part of pregnancy the baby entirely depends on you for the Thyroid hormone so if you are lacking you will both notice it.

The common symptoms of an Under-active Thyroid are:
Rapid Weight Gain
Depression
Feeling Cold
Brittle Hair and Nails
Muscle aches and Cramping
Exhaustion

Some of the symptoms are similar to the experiences of pregnancy (rapid weight gain?? lol) and I honestly cant say if the exhaustion I felt was due to the standard pregnancy strain pretty much everyone feels or because of my Thyroid issue. As for depression, my Baby Daddy has admitted I was an absolutely hormonal nightmare in the first trimester and recently I've had a couple of 'moments' but who knows if this is due to my Thyroid function (or lack of) or just pre baby blues.
One thing I have enjoyed though is having strong long shiny hair and nails without the continual need of hair masks and manicures and I actually feel warm most of the time rather than wanting to wear triple layers in autumn. I'm sure this is down to the fact that my medication has been managed continuously throughout. The biweekly blood tests do drive me mad but they are totally worth it - I'm sure my baby thinks so too :)

sources:

• http://www.british-thyroid-association.org/info-for-patients/Pregnancy/index.htm 
• http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Thyroid-under-active/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
• http://www.webmd.boots.com/pregnancy/underactive-thyroid-pregnancy-and-an-underactive-thyroid-gland