At the end of May, I was scrolling through my personal Facebook page when I saw a competition that one of the local photographers in my area was running for a Family Photo Shoot. I entered (thinking I wouldn't have any chance of winning) only to be surprised when we actually won! I was over the moon as I had really wanted to get a lovely photo of the 3 of us while Erin was small.
We headed over to B Captured Photography in Leek on the day our shoot was booked in and were met by Leanne and one of their lovely photographers (whose name has totally escaped me). The only thing that worried me is we wouldn't be able to get any good photos if Erin was bothered by the lights or different poses however the team at B Captured were absolutely fantastic.
We took everything very slow, letting Erin lead us in how she wanted to pose and started with a few photos of the 3 of us together before getting a few of us separately and a few of Erin on her own. The team were so patient trying different angles and positions to get the perfect shot!
We then went back to the studio a week later to have a look through the photos! I was so excited. As part of the competition win we got a free photo, with the option to purchase other packages if we wished. We decided for the time being we would just get the one photo although it was so hard choosing just 1!
If your local to Staffordshire, I would defiantly recommend B Captured if you wanting to get some photos done. They have a great range of different packages available including parties and make overs. Head over to their website HERE for more info or look them up on Facebook.
If your a new mum, or toying with the idea of getting some family photos done I would say do it! It was such a great experience! As I say we are absolutely over the moon with the photo!
Heres a few tips I would suggest if it is something your considering:
- Try and coordinate your clothing - if you want to look consistent on the photo, try to all wear a similar colours. The dress Erin wore was white with Minnie Mouse on the bottom with red and blue on so I wore Red and Blue and Adam wore Blue. It just meant we all tied in together and it didn't clash.
- Book the best time - If you have a really little one, try and time it for when they are likely to be awake. We were able to get some good shots of Erin awake at our shoot as well as some of her asleep on us both too.
- Avoid black and white outfits - Photographers tend to use a mix of black and white backgrounds to shoot photos so don't wear all black or all white otherwise you will just blend in!
- Take a change of clothes (especially for little one) - Its all well and good taking the time to pick out the perfect outfit for baby but don't forget to take a change of clothes too just in case of any accidents! Some photographers will also let you change outfits during the shoot if you want a range of options.
- Include special objects - Again something many photographers will let you do is included special items in the shoot so if you have your tiara or veil from your wedding or a special piece of clothing or jewellery you want to include, take them along.
We absolutely loved the day we had at B Captured and it is something we will defiantly do again when Erin is bigger, or when we have any more children
As I creep ever close to 30.. and especially as a new mum, I am always on the look out for new skin care products to give my skin a perk up.
I was contacted by the lovely people at Eye Wake a couple of months ago to see if I wanted to try their Eye Wake collagen gel and of course I jumped at the chance!
Using an eye cream or eye gel isn't something I use religiously as part of my skin care routine so I was excited to see what using this product did.
The first thing I love about it is the packaging! Sounds daft eh but part of me really hates those eye creams you get in a pot where you have to put your finger in them. Although I keep my hands super clean all the time theres just something I prefer about a squeezy tube or a pump. The other thing to note about the packaging (while we are on the subject) is this is 100% recyclable. Thats a big tick for me! I'm not a massive recycling nut but I do try and recycle as much as I can so nothing annoys me more when some of the packaging thats made of things like plastic on products can not be recycled.
In the past when I have used eye creams, I have tended to lean more towards a cream so this gel was a lovely change. My first thought when I pumped it out was how watery it was, but actually I found this to be a positive thing as its not so much watery as just a thin texture if that makes any sense? However because of this it means you don't need about 10 pumps to get a decent amount. I just use 1 small pump on each side and go under my eyes and then on my brow bone too. If there is any left on my fingers I also go around the the sides of my mouth too (where the points of your lips are on the side) as I read somewhere using an eye cream here can stop ageing showing here (hey I'll try anything).
In some ways the formula of this kind of reminds me of a primer as the texture is quite a silky one. It feels absolutely lovely when you pop it on and isn't sticky which can sometimes be a problem in gel formulas. Its also lovely if you pop it in the fridge as it is very refreshing!
So the most important question.. have I noticed a difference? Its a huge huge YES from me! The skin around my eyes is defiantly softer and feels really hydrated. The dark circles have defiantly reduced too which is a big bonus for me!
Eye Wake Gel retails for £18.95 and can be purchased here on their website. For every gel sold they also donate 5% to Women's Aid, a charity which helps women suffering from domestic abuse.
This is for sure going to be part of my skin care routine from now on!
I was contacted by the lovely people at Eye Wake a couple of months ago to see if I wanted to try their Eye Wake collagen gel and of course I jumped at the chance!
Using an eye cream or eye gel isn't something I use religiously as part of my skin care routine so I was excited to see what using this product did.
The first thing I love about it is the packaging! Sounds daft eh but part of me really hates those eye creams you get in a pot where you have to put your finger in them. Although I keep my hands super clean all the time theres just something I prefer about a squeezy tube or a pump. The other thing to note about the packaging (while we are on the subject) is this is 100% recyclable. Thats a big tick for me! I'm not a massive recycling nut but I do try and recycle as much as I can so nothing annoys me more when some of the packaging thats made of things like plastic on products can not be recycled.
In the past when I have used eye creams, I have tended to lean more towards a cream so this gel was a lovely change. My first thought when I pumped it out was how watery it was, but actually I found this to be a positive thing as its not so much watery as just a thin texture if that makes any sense? However because of this it means you don't need about 10 pumps to get a decent amount. I just use 1 small pump on each side and go under my eyes and then on my brow bone too. If there is any left on my fingers I also go around the the sides of my mouth too (where the points of your lips are on the side) as I read somewhere using an eye cream here can stop ageing showing here (hey I'll try anything).
In some ways the formula of this kind of reminds me of a primer as the texture is quite a silky one. It feels absolutely lovely when you pop it on and isn't sticky which can sometimes be a problem in gel formulas. Its also lovely if you pop it in the fridge as it is very refreshing!
So the most important question.. have I noticed a difference? Its a huge huge YES from me! The skin around my eyes is defiantly softer and feels really hydrated. The dark circles have defiantly reduced too which is a big bonus for me!
Eye Wake Gel retails for £18.95 and can be purchased here on their website. For every gel sold they also donate 5% to Women's Aid, a charity which helps women suffering from domestic abuse.
This is for sure going to be part of my skin care routine from now on!
Dear Erin,
Its hard to believe how you are already 16 weeks old already! Every day, your changing so much.
The last 16 weeks have had a lot of highs and a few lows but every day with you is an absolute pleasure and watching you grow and change makes me all squishy on the inside 💖
Last week you rolled over for the first time! I think you completely shocked yourself when you did it! Mummy was very happy that she managed to get it on camera!
Over the last couple of weeks your personality is starting to really develop and shine through! Your defiantly going to be like Mummy. You know what you want and go for it! You’ve started smiling more and more, at pretty much everyone we know now and if you see the same people your defiantly recognising them more! I love how you have your extra special smiles for me and daddy too!
Last week you rolled over for the first time! I think you completely shocked yourself when you did it! Mummy was very happy that she managed to get it on camera!
Over the last couple of weeks your personality is starting to really develop and shine through! Your defiantly going to be like Mummy. You know what you want and go for it! You’ve started smiling more and more, at pretty much everyone we know now and if you see the same people your defiantly recognising them more! I love how you have your extra special smiles for me and daddy too!
I really don’t think it will be long before you’ve got a couple of teeth as that is really bothering you at the minute. Luckily your so chilled the rest of the time but them naughty gums are really bothering you!
We’ve got an exciting month ahead as we have Uncle Tim and Aunty Deanne’s wedding this month and we are going on your first hen party at the weekend for afternoon tea! If only you were big enough to eat some cake - nevermind Mummy will take you for some when your big enough! Because daddy is working on Saturday me and you are going up to Sheffield on the train which will be your first train ride!
We are also counting down the days to your first holiday! We’re going to centre parcs in September with nanan and grandad (daddies mum and dad) and uncle Craig and aunty Lisa! I really love centre parcs and can’t wait to take you! And wait till we take you in that swimming pool!! Hopefully you will love it as much as when me and daddy have taken you swimming at home!
We’re also counting down the weeks until you can start to eat some proper food! 10 weeks to go! You’ve started watching Mummy and daddy eat and are fascinated! I can’t wait to see what you think of it all!
Exciting time ahead!
Lots of Love.
Mummy xxx
♥
I've thought long and hard about sharing this on my blog as I know there is a lot of chat online both positive and negative about formula feeding vs breast feeding. However I wanted to share it because as a first time mum, there are things I wish I had known before starting out and World Breast Feeding week seemed the perfect time to share it...
I knew when I was pregnant that I wanted to breast feed. I was determined that I was going to give it the best go that I could. Everything during pregnancy pointed towards Breast Feeding and there was so much information about it but like I say I was determined I was going to throw everything at it. So much so that I after going to our birth class, they suggested if we wanted to give it a real go, not to pack any formula in your hospital bag, so I didn't...
As I mentioned in my birth story (here if you haven't read it), I ended up in theatre for an assisted delivery. I worried that this would effect my ability to be able to breast feed if I couldn't get skin to skin and a latch soon after birth however the theatre team were absolutely amazing and as soon as I was wheeled into the recovery area she helped me to get Erin latched on and our Breast Feeding journey began. I was so happy. It felt so natural. However I won't lie it was after that moment when the problems started.
I don't want to sound like I am not grateful to the midwives on the ward I was on, however as a first time mum, I won't lie, I felt a little... left to it.. I wasn't really sure what I was doing. We were both new at this and I felt a bit like a duck out of water. I was also the only person in my bay which was lovely but also very isolating. I persevered with it doing what I thought was correct. The midwife came round to do a Erin’s new born check and mentioned a tongue tie but then brushed it off (and I didn’t think any more about it) and I kept trying. We had to stay in overnight and I’d heard loads of people say if your not happy with how it’s going then ask and ask and don’t let them discharge you until your completely confident however the midwives seemed more concerned with the fact I hadn’t done the needed amount of wee’s since having my catheter out than how I was feeding particularly in the middle of the night. The first night was very hard and Erin basically cluster fed all night. If your pregnant and you don’t know what it is, look it up, research it and prepare yourself for it! I had never heard it uttered before but man it was hard - it basically meant she would feed, fall asleep and the minute I would put her down she would be crying to be fed again.. every 20 minutes or so... all night.
I knew when I was pregnant that I wanted to breast feed. I was determined that I was going to give it the best go that I could. Everything during pregnancy pointed towards Breast Feeding and there was so much information about it but like I say I was determined I was going to throw everything at it. So much so that I after going to our birth class, they suggested if we wanted to give it a real go, not to pack any formula in your hospital bag, so I didn't...
As I mentioned in my birth story (here if you haven't read it), I ended up in theatre for an assisted delivery. I worried that this would effect my ability to be able to breast feed if I couldn't get skin to skin and a latch soon after birth however the theatre team were absolutely amazing and as soon as I was wheeled into the recovery area she helped me to get Erin latched on and our Breast Feeding journey began. I was so happy. It felt so natural. However I won't lie it was after that moment when the problems started.
I don't want to sound like I am not grateful to the midwives on the ward I was on, however as a first time mum, I won't lie, I felt a little... left to it.. I wasn't really sure what I was doing. We were both new at this and I felt a bit like a duck out of water. I was also the only person in my bay which was lovely but also very isolating. I persevered with it doing what I thought was correct. The midwife came round to do a Erin’s new born check and mentioned a tongue tie but then brushed it off (and I didn’t think any more about it) and I kept trying. We had to stay in overnight and I’d heard loads of people say if your not happy with how it’s going then ask and ask and don’t let them discharge you until your completely confident however the midwives seemed more concerned with the fact I hadn’t done the needed amount of wee’s since having my catheter out than how I was feeding particularly in the middle of the night. The first night was very hard and Erin basically cluster fed all night. If your pregnant and you don’t know what it is, look it up, research it and prepare yourself for it! I had never heard it uttered before but man it was hard - it basically meant she would feed, fall asleep and the minute I would put her down she would be crying to be fed again.. every 20 minutes or so... all night.
The next day, not completely confident but not reassured by the midwives, I went home. The day after (Friday) my health visitor came and I mentioned I was struggling. She suggested I ring the community support team who I have to say were absolutely amazing! I had a really good chat on the phone to her and she offered to come out to my house on the Saturday which she did! When she came it was like a breath of fresh air. She watched me feed and then corrected my technique of how to hold. She also did another check of Erin’s tongue (she was now the 3rd person to have) and said she has a tongue tie which she suggested could have been one of the problems which her latching along with my positing. She booked me in to the tongue tie clinic the next week and said if she was right about it then it would be sorted there and then.
We corrected the hold and it got slightly better however the fact she couldn’t latch properly was causing us lots of issues as even if I eventually got her in the right position she would pull off. Plus a couple of days of bad positioning before actually being shown what do to meant Erin was making my nipples really sore.
Saturday night was one of the worst nights we’ve had! She screamed and screamed and screamed all night. I tried putting her on the breast and she would go for a few minutes then pull off - that was probably the worst night of cluster feeding there was! By the morning I was a broken woman! I sat sobbing on the phone to my mum at 10am and Adam decided that enough was enough and he would go to Asda and pick up a tub of formula so we could try combi feeding.
She instantly took to the bottle and was so much happier! I felt all kinds of mum guilt for having to give her a bottle at 5 days old but then reminded myself that if she had been fed that was surely the best thing.
I continued to express and we did a combination of breast from the boob, expressed and bottle. She had her tongue tie sorted at a week old and it made the latch so much better! I though YES that’s it! We’ve got this!
We then spent a few days at Adams parents house in Sheffield when Erin was about 10 days old and I’ll admit I found it very hard, finding it easier to offer her a bottle with all the visitors that there were. I expressed as much as I could while we were there but again it was hard.
I then made the massive mistake of leaving the top to the breast pump in Sheffield which meant if I wanted to express I had to use the manual pump I had which worked great but needed 2 hands and twice as much effort!
Then just after we got back from Sheffield we had another set back when I noticed Erin had trush in her mouth. It also caused something called nipple thrush which meant every time she fed from the breast it caused absolute agony for me! I tried expressing as much as I could with the hand pump but she ended up with more and more formula.
At 4 weeks old, as I sat in a puddle of tears, I decided enough was enough. Trying to express as much milk as I could from an ever dwindling supply was making me really miserable and Erin stopped latching properly, preferring to take from a bottle and was screaming any time I tried to feed her from the boob and thrashing around so much she was going to hurt me and herself, so I decided enough was enough! If it was making us both unhappy then was it worth it?
As I fed her the last expressed bottle of milk I had, I cried, feeling like some kind of mum failure that I had only been able to make it to exactly 4 weeks - no where near the recommended 6 months - but then I reminded myself that 4 weeks was 4 weeks! She had the best start I could have given her and that ultimately fed was best for her!
I can’t help thinking so many obsticles were thrown in the way for us! I feel more confident that when we have baby no2 I would be able to give it a try again however ultimately I have realised that if it doesn’t work then it isn’t the end of the world. Erin is thriving and healthy and following all the charts as she should! At the end of the day isn’t that all that really matters?
♥
It’s been a whole month since I sat down here in my little sanctuary of my blog and what a month it has been! Life has definitely been challenging and testing in July!
If that wasn’t enough to be going on with, my dad also had his surgery. I can’t remember if I’d mentioned that he was waiting for heart surgery but he finally got it done on the 20th July. It’s been a difficult time but he is thankfully on he mend!
I can’t believe how quickly she is changing and developing her own personality! She is such a calm and placid baby apart from a few moments of teething pains! Bless her!
I mentioned briefly about the work we were having done at home after the leak we had. Our house has basically been upside down! There have been a building site! A total nightmare when you have a little one! We had to have the living room and bedroom replastered, redecorated, new carpets, bathroom redecorated and new floor and the loft reboarded! Hectic to say the least! Me and Erin moved in with my mum and dad while the main part of the messy work was done but frustratingly we’ve had quite a few delays!! Anyway it’s nearly done!! As we speak the guy is just finishing the loft and that’s it! All done!
If that wasn’t enough to be going on with, my dad also had his surgery. I can’t remember if I’d mentioned that he was waiting for heart surgery but he finally got it done on the 20th July. It’s been a difficult time but he is thankfully on he mend!
Erin is growing quickly and changing every day! She’s 16 weeks old today! I’m not quite sure how that happened!!!
I can’t believe how quickly she is changing and developing her own personality! She is such a calm and placid baby apart from a few moments of teething pains! Bless her!
She’s almost rolling now - she gets half way and is nearly there! There have been so many close calls! I don’t think it will be long!
August is a pretty exciting month! I have a really great month planned business wise and have started planning Christmas already!
We have my brother in laws wedding at the end of the month and my future sister in laws hen do in a couple of weeks!
September is going to be a good month too as we have Erin’s first holiday when we go to Centre Parcs!
I am hoping now I’m back to some kind of normality, that I can find the time to sit and enjoy my little space again!
Being a mum, especially a first time mum is probably one of the most amazing things you will ever do in your life... its also makes you question yourself 100 times a day.. holy crap do I actually know what I am doing! Its so weird, you have a 9 month build up to the big day when your baby gets placed on your chest.. but in that moment your whole world changes!
Heres a few things that no one tells you about being a new mummy (and a couple you will probably hear over and over again)
Heres a few things that no one tells you about being a new mummy (and a couple you will probably hear over and over again)
- Even if you say you won't be that parent that talks in ridiculous baby voices or use made up words.. suddenly you find yourself doing exactly that! Embrace it... it happens to us all...
- Get used to drinking cold tea or coffee or not drinking them at all. And suddenly the moment your able to get through even half a cup of one its the most magical drink you have ever experienced!
- You become the master of doing things one handed... I can count on one hand the amount of meals I have eaten with 2 hands! I have become a master of eating meals with a baby on one knee because no matter how you try and time eating, babies suddenly have a sixth sense for the moment you are eating
- Babies are like people magnets, particularly old ladies! The amount of people who will just come over (that you don't know) and have a little nosey in the pram for a peek and to tell you how beautiful your baby is is amazing. Particular hot spots for this.. Marks and Spencer's and Coffee shops
- After the excitement of finally being able to park in a parent and child spot when you go to the shops you quickly realise you can never get one because they are always full! For some reason shops (particularly where I live) only have like 5 parent and baby spaces yet have about 20 disabled spaces! And suddenly you also realise what an idiot people are when they park if you have to park in a normal space!
- You will suddenly become that person who has never been more excited when a little person poops! For the first 8 weeks or so, Erin really struggled with going for a poop and would only go maybe twice a week. Trouble is it would be horrible for her because it would cause her such pain bless her - you know what it is like yourself.. imagine being that small and not understanding whats going on! Luckily that problem has sorted itself out!
- Your camera roll on your phone becomes 99% baby photos and you have to seriously hold yourself back from posting ever single cute photo all over your social media
- First Baby? Worried you wont know what your doing? I'm the first one in our family to have kids so there are no babies that I have been around so this was all very new to me and a little part of me worried that even though I had read up on everything, I wouldn't have a clue what to do... if this is you don't panic... suddenly some kind of instinct sets in the moment you hear that first cry!
- Suddenly everyone is an expert in babies and will give you advice, whether you ask for it or not...
- When you finally feel ready and up to leaving the house its suddenly like a military operation making sure you have everything you need... Baby - check, Food - check, nappies - check, umbrella in case of sun, rain cover in case of rain, change of clothes! The list is endless!
Just remember... how ever your feeling... you got this girl! So what if it takes you until 10am to get yourself and the baby dressed some days! Your rocking it!
♥
Hello my lovelies!
How are we all? Are you all enjoying this lovely weather! Grab yourself a nice ice cold drink or an ice pop and lets catch up. If you love an ice pop I can definitely recommend these that I picked up from Aldi last week! 99p and they are absolutely lush!
The last couple of weeks have been SO hectic! I mean I know life with a newborn is hectic anyway but even more so this last couple of weeks battling to try and get the house sorted after the leak we had! I never did fill you in...
Basically one morning - when Erin was 12 days old, I woke up at around 6.45am to water dripping on my face... I was a bit confused and nudged Adam who went to have a look at the window to see if it was raining... men eh!
I said again about there being water on my face and he went from our bedroom and into the bathroom next door where you could hear the sound of practically Niagra Falls (I kid you not). There was literally water pouring through the light fitting, down the walls.. everywhere! I scooped Erin up and told Adam to run downstairs to turn the stop tap off while we figured out what was going on and I had a little cry on the end of the bed about the fact that this was all happening while we had a 12 day old baby! I threw some clothes on, filled a bag with stuff for Erin and rang my mum in a total flap asking if I could come round to their house (luckily they live in the next street along) and went downstairs to find the a huge hole in the ceiling and water all over the living room floor!
Anyway I went off to mum and dads and Adam (who luckily was still on Paternity leave) sorted everything and rang the insurance company etc.
Its been a long process of loss adjusters, professional driers and dehumidifiers, having the floor ripped up in the living room and having to live with a concrete floor for the past 6 weeks or so but I think we are finally getting there. I have been very insisting with the insurance company about getting the work done quickly with having Erin and on Monday the builder finally came round to double check the work and say he could potentially start next week or the week after! I am so relieved as it has been horrible. You can NOT get cosy in a living room with no flooring. We have no floor in the bathroom, the paint is all pealing off on the bathroom walls and theres a massive crack in our bedroom ceiling (not forgetting the hole in the living room ceiling too). The builder said we are lucky to be getting done so quick as some people have waited 9 or 10 months but there was no way I was letting it drag on any longer! So hopefully we are nearly sorted! We've had to pick all new paint and wallpaper which is a little annoying considering we only decorated a year ago when we moved in but has allowed us to change things up a bit and have been able to swap from laminate to carpet in the living room! If you head over to my Instagram I am sure I will post come pictures over there once the work is done.
Elsewhere Erin is continuing to discover new and different things. Last week we went to our first baby class - Baby Sensory! Erin absolutely loved it! She has really started to come into her own and get more alert looking at different things these last couple of weeks. I brought her a hanging toy for her pram a couple of weeks ago and she is obsessed with it!
In line with all the work we have been doing inside the house we have also been sprucing up our garden which is especially nice in the lovely warm weather we have been having. We hadnt enjoyed the garden that much last year and it has been difficult because we didnt let our 3 cats outside because we live on a main road however since having Erin they have got really restless being in all day so we decided to bite the bullet and let them out! What it now means is we can sit and enjoy the garden with the doors open so we are trying to get the garden lovely so it is an extension to the house. I am currently sat outside with Erin in her pushchair in the shade which is lovely! I could get used to this! Lets hope the sunshine lasts!
My Book business is going really well. I am enjoying being able to build a beautiful collection for Erin and this week I even got my first new team member which means I get to help another lovely mummy build a business just like mine which is exciting. If thats something you like the sound of give me a shout!
Anyway my lovelies. I think that is all for now! I am on the hunt for some more baby classes and new things that me and Erin can try. My friend from work who is also on Mat Leave has just booked us tickets for Bring you own baby comedy in Manchester in September where Jason Manford is appearing. It is basically a comedy show, in the day so its like a night out you dont need a baby sitter for because you can take your baby along for free. Find the details here as there is lots of different venues. Cineworld also do something similar called Cinebabies where they show normal films but have the volume lower and it is more baby friendly. I am hoping they will have Mama Mia 2 on that when it comes out! If you know anything else like this please let me know!
How are we all? Are you all enjoying this lovely weather! Grab yourself a nice ice cold drink or an ice pop and lets catch up. If you love an ice pop I can definitely recommend these that I picked up from Aldi last week! 99p and they are absolutely lush!
The last couple of weeks have been SO hectic! I mean I know life with a newborn is hectic anyway but even more so this last couple of weeks battling to try and get the house sorted after the leak we had! I never did fill you in...
Basically one morning - when Erin was 12 days old, I woke up at around 6.45am to water dripping on my face... I was a bit confused and nudged Adam who went to have a look at the window to see if it was raining... men eh!
I said again about there being water on my face and he went from our bedroom and into the bathroom next door where you could hear the sound of practically Niagra Falls (I kid you not). There was literally water pouring through the light fitting, down the walls.. everywhere! I scooped Erin up and told Adam to run downstairs to turn the stop tap off while we figured out what was going on and I had a little cry on the end of the bed about the fact that this was all happening while we had a 12 day old baby! I threw some clothes on, filled a bag with stuff for Erin and rang my mum in a total flap asking if I could come round to their house (luckily they live in the next street along) and went downstairs to find the a huge hole in the ceiling and water all over the living room floor!
Anyway I went off to mum and dads and Adam (who luckily was still on Paternity leave) sorted everything and rang the insurance company etc.
Its been a long process of loss adjusters, professional driers and dehumidifiers, having the floor ripped up in the living room and having to live with a concrete floor for the past 6 weeks or so but I think we are finally getting there. I have been very insisting with the insurance company about getting the work done quickly with having Erin and on Monday the builder finally came round to double check the work and say he could potentially start next week or the week after! I am so relieved as it has been horrible. You can NOT get cosy in a living room with no flooring. We have no floor in the bathroom, the paint is all pealing off on the bathroom walls and theres a massive crack in our bedroom ceiling (not forgetting the hole in the living room ceiling too). The builder said we are lucky to be getting done so quick as some people have waited 9 or 10 months but there was no way I was letting it drag on any longer! So hopefully we are nearly sorted! We've had to pick all new paint and wallpaper which is a little annoying considering we only decorated a year ago when we moved in but has allowed us to change things up a bit and have been able to swap from laminate to carpet in the living room! If you head over to my Instagram I am sure I will post come pictures over there once the work is done.
Elsewhere Erin is continuing to discover new and different things. Last week we went to our first baby class - Baby Sensory! Erin absolutely loved it! She has really started to come into her own and get more alert looking at different things these last couple of weeks. I brought her a hanging toy for her pram a couple of weeks ago and she is obsessed with it!
In line with all the work we have been doing inside the house we have also been sprucing up our garden which is especially nice in the lovely warm weather we have been having. We hadnt enjoyed the garden that much last year and it has been difficult because we didnt let our 3 cats outside because we live on a main road however since having Erin they have got really restless being in all day so we decided to bite the bullet and let them out! What it now means is we can sit and enjoy the garden with the doors open so we are trying to get the garden lovely so it is an extension to the house. I am currently sat outside with Erin in her pushchair in the shade which is lovely! I could get used to this! Lets hope the sunshine lasts!
My Book business is going really well. I am enjoying being able to build a beautiful collection for Erin and this week I even got my first new team member which means I get to help another lovely mummy build a business just like mine which is exciting. If thats something you like the sound of give me a shout!
Anyway my lovelies. I think that is all for now! I am on the hunt for some more baby classes and new things that me and Erin can try. My friend from work who is also on Mat Leave has just booked us tickets for Bring you own baby comedy in Manchester in September where Jason Manford is appearing. It is basically a comedy show, in the day so its like a night out you dont need a baby sitter for because you can take your baby along for free. Find the details here as there is lots of different venues. Cineworld also do something similar called Cinebabies where they show normal films but have the volume lower and it is more baby friendly. I am hoping they will have Mama Mia 2 on that when it comes out! If you know anything else like this please let me know!
♥
Today marks 2 years since Adam and I said I do! I can’t quite believe how that’s happened! It only seems like 5 minutes ago since we were standing at that alter exchanging vows!
Year 2 of our marriage has been pretty amazing as our 2 became a 3 and we extended our family 💖 Last night we had a lovely night out to the cinema our first night out without Erin... I won’t lie.. I spent the entire time thinking about her but I think the good thing about going to the cinema was that I couldn’t keep checking my phone or texting my mum. I knew she would be ok as she was with my mum and dad but hey.. a Mummy can twitch eh!
So what have I learnt during my second year of marriage?
- There is nothing better than being at home and cuddling up on the couch! I spent a whole chunk of this year of our marriage being pregnant which meant I didn’t always feel like getting dressed up and going out.. but you know what.. that’s ok! Sometimes cuddling up on the sofa with a movie or binge watching your favourite TV show together is even better
- That said it is still nice to go out and enjoy time together just the 2 of you! I’m still a big believer in enjoying date night! Just because your married doesn’t mean you should stop enjoying this time together
- Be grateful for each other. No matter how busy your day is always take that moment to have a kiss or a cuddle. Adam and I have developed a new routine where we take Erin to bed after her bath and while she is falling asleep on my chest we cuddle up as a 3 on the bed and we do a crossword together - sounds cheesy but this is a lovely part of my day.
- Marriage is about compromise. Sometimes it’s nice to let him have the football on the TV because even though you have no interest whatsoever he does. Last year for our anniversary I got Adam tickets to see Jools Holland even though I don’t really enjoy his style of music but you know what.. we went and it was a lovely night out together - even though I didn’t enjoy it as much as him, seeing his face light up with how much he enjoyed it was worth it
- It’s important to dream together. Last year Adam and I brought our first house together. I say first house.. I mean forever home (cause I’ve told Adam ain’t no way I’m moving again - it’s too stressful 😂) so we have spent a lot of time this year dreaming about what we want to do to the house.. extensions.. loft conversions. Plus having Erin has helped us to dream about other family wishes.. having more children, wanting to take her/them to Disney when they are old enough, family holidays - sometimes it’s lovely to just sit and dream about the future together
I’m so excited to see what this next year brings... in year 1 we brought a home, in year 2 we had our daughter.. let’s see what year 3 brings! Adam says a lottery win - although I did remind him he needs to actually start playing the lottery to win 😂
I know I keep saying this but how on earth did my baby get to 9 weeks old!! Time is just flying by at the moment!
9 weeks in, Erin is still sleeping really well. Most of the time she settles off after a feed at around 10 after her bath and will sleep until about 2/3/4 when she will wake for a feed and sleep through until 6/7 - the other night she slept from 11-5! Total flook though!
Speaking of baths, Erin absolutely LOVES the bath! We have started getting into a routine of bathing her every night - I know it isn’t recommended but I only use products on her once a week (on a Sunday) and just use water every other night. I’ve found that having a bath helps settle her and as I say she loves it.
This picture makes me laugh so much! This face was the result of Adam splashing her. We use the top off my dry shampoo bottle and just tip it over her... she loves it! She thinks it’s hilarious! We recently also upgraded her to the big bath and picked up an Angel care Bath seat on Facebook for £5! I tell you what I can not understand people who turn their nose up at buying second hand because we have had some great bargains! It makes it so much easier to bath her with this seat as it means I can bath her myself and just let the water out and go and get her ready for bed which is especially helpful on the nights when Adam isn’t home at bathtime (like when he has choir practice).
Last week we had the dreaded 8 week jabs! I think I was probably more traumatised that she was! She had a little cry when she had the actual injection but there were no lasting effects and she spent most of the day snuggled with Mummy! At least they are done now! It also means we can now take her swimming which I am looking forward to and we are going to take her this weekend! As she loves the bath so much I am hoping she will love it! I’ll report back!
Erin is now developing a proper cheeky personality. I love when she wakes up in the morning and I go to her bedside cot she has the biggest smile when she sees me. She’s definitely knows different people now especially me and Adam but also my mum and dad too. She loves sitting on my dads chest and staring at him apparently grandad is fascinating - great tummy time practice too!
I love watching her grow every week and how much she is changing but also wish it would slow down.. just a little bit 💖
If your anything like me, from the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was counting down the days to starting my maternity leave, not just because it signifies being closer to your baby arriving, because heck who wouldn't look forward to having a good chunk of time off!
The options for maternity leave vary, depending where you work but I chose to take 9 months off. I finished work on 29th March and aren't due back at work until early January. Bonus for me is that my annual leave from work runs from April to March which has allowed me to tag all my holidays for this year on the end of my maternity leave which means I am not back to work until the middle of February!
Although your counting down to your maternity leave and you of course have baby to keep you occupied during your time off, you really don't want to spend the next 9 months just sitting at home with baby! Heres some ideas of some things you could do maximise the time you have off :)
Learn a new skill
I've been saying for ages I wanted to learn how to crochet and have taught myself the very basics - I can now do a square! I'm working up to actually doing a pattern!
Read more books
They say sleep when baby sleeps, it doesn't always work like that! But chilling with a book when baby naps is a good alternative! I've recently started adding some more books to my to read pile and am seriously looking forward to Louise Pentland (aka Sprinkle of Glitters) second book being released later this in the Summer.
Listen to podcasts
There are some great podcasts out there. I recently got into podcasts and particularly love Giovanni Fletchers podcast - Happy Mum, Happy Baby where she chats to different mums about there experience with motherhood.
Go to new places
The perfect thing with having baby at this time of year is that if the weather is good there is nothing better than grabbing the pram and going for a stroll. Perfect time to explore new places - even if its just in your local area.
Start a creative / business idea
I'd been toying with the idea of starting a new business before my mat leave began after chatting to a friend I went to school with about Usborne books. I decided to become an Usborne Organiser as it sounded the perfect way to make a bit of extra money, earn books and meet new people. They have some truly amazing books and I can't wait to build Erin's collection. Browse the books here.
Start a blog
I love blogging as a creative outlet and being a new mummy is the perfect time to start a blog and document your journey
Get your home / finances / personal affairs in order
Obviously maternity leave is hard because the pay is less than you would normally expect and you have to tighten those purse strings a little. Its the perfect time to look into all your outgoings and see if there is anything you could change. We did a review of all our direct debits and cancelled anything we were paying for that we didn't need to be and did a comparison on our energy supplies to see when our tariff ended if we could save any more (we did). I also looked into life insurance - something about a little one makes you think sensibly like that - I havent picked one yet but its on my list of things to do!
Get fit and healthy
Although now isnt the time to be putting pressure on yourself to suddenly drop a lot of weight and get super toned, getting out and enjoying a walk and getting those steps up soon adds up. There are also a few different exercise classes you can take your baby along too! I'm particularly looking forward to trying a baby sling dance class (I will report back!)
Educate yourself about food
Pregnancy makes you very conscious about what is actually going into your body and even after baby is born, it is the perfect time to get yourself some knowledge about food and what you are putting into your body. Its also perfect to take the time so that when your baby is ready for weaning you know exactly the perfect food to be giving them.
Take the time to think about what you want
There really is nothing like having a baby that makes you reevaluate th
Consider a career change
Depending on who you work for, you need to be careful as if you decide not to go back to work while on maternity leave, you could end up paying your maternity pay back however it is the perfect time (in line with the above mentioned) to have a think about whether its time to try something new.
Network with other mums
One thing I looked forward to most about being on maternity leave was meeting other mums and making new friends.
Visit places that are usually busy at the weekends
So far we have the zoo and aquarium on our list - certain places like this may also be cheaper if you visit in the week.
Rethink your wardrobe
Just last week I went through my entire wardrobe and drawers and bagged up all the clothes I felt no longer matched my style. I'm not saying being a mum means you have to adopt a certain style but its finding a balance of happy mum style.
Look after your skin
Post pregnancy is the perfect time to maximise your skin care routine and try and maintain that pregnancy glow as long as you can!
Plan and make visions
Again there is something about having a baby that makes you think about the future. I started myself a pinterest board HERE of plans we have including a house extension and loft conversion and saving up long term to take little miss to Disney
♥
If like me your a shopper at Tesco, be it regularly like us, or on the occasional visit, you probably have a Tesco club card and collect your Tesco points when you shop.
It’s been well known for years that you can exchange your Tesco club card points for vouchers for things such as days out to places such as the Merlin attractions, cinemas and other local attractions (Trentham gardens is a local one for us).
From 11th June, some of the companies who are partnering with Tesco on their club card exchange are changing the amount you will exchange your points for..
What is basically means is that some of the partners who you currently get 4 x the amount for will now be dropping down to 3 x the amount. So if you have been saving your points up for a family day out, it is worth checking if the partner you are planning to use if affected.
It’s not all bad news though as some of the attractions that you currently only get 2 x on you will now get 3 x on.
If your a regular Tesco shopper it is definitely worth heading over the website and checking it out.
I had £16.50 in vouchers and have just exchanged them for vouchers for cover admission for me and Adam to the sea life centre. As the voucher is valid for 6 months we are going to wait towards the end of the year and take Erin for a day out, when she is a bit bigger and able to enjoy seeing the fish and sharks!
You have just 1 week to go so head over to the Tesco website and have a look what you can exchange your points for.
When your having a baby there are hundreds of lists on the internet about the essentials that you need for your newborn. It only seemed right now to pass the occasion without adding my own list of what we have found to be the essentials. Obviously it’s worth noting every baby is different and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. So here goes...
- Tommee Tippee Perfect prep machine - £75 - I’m in the process of writing a post about feeding and our journey into breastfeeding but needless to say, we ended up switching to formula around 2 weeks ago. I’d seen these prep machines online while I was pregnant but at £75 (the older model is nearly always on offer) we decided it wasn’t an essential. We quickly realised awesome this product actually is and I picked one up second hand on Facebook marketplace for £15 - total bargain and worth every penny. It makes a bottle at perfect drinking temperature in 2 minutes - perfect when your little one is having a melt down because they are starving. The only problem I’ve found is that it only does a minimum of 4oz so if your little one isn’t drinking that much in one go it can be a waste
- Holder for your changing bag - I got my craft on before Erin arrived after seeing bags online where you could store nappies, wipes and nappy sacks. They rang e from ones that are effectively like a make up bag to posh ones which have a changing mat built in. Which ever you decide to do - it’s so worth having your nappies, wipes and such in one little zip, grab easy bag as it means if your in a coffee shop or somewhere where you may change baby on the go, you don’t need to take the whole changing bag with you as everything is always in one place
- Tommee Tippee starter set - £159.99 currently £69.99 at mothercare - this set is amazing! It literally comes with everything you could ever need for your bottle feeling journey from a steriliser, bottles, formula holders and a bottle brush. I really love the Tommee Tippee bottles so this was perfect for us - we picked it up when it was on offer in mothercare - currently is again
- Sleeping bags - These have become popular over recent years and there’s so many available in everywhere you go to varying in price. I picked up a couple of them in Sainsbury's at Easter when they had the 25% off in TU making them around £10 - one in a 1.5 tog and one in a 2.5 tog - they are available in 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months. We will defiantly be using these until she is too big to. She loves being snuggled up in them.
- A playmat - Erin loves nothing more than lying on the floor and kicking her legs about and having a good stretch. We decided that with some of the money we received as presents when she arrived we would buy her a play mat so she could enjoy some time lying of the floor and having a kick. The one we decided on was from Mothercare (after spending at least 15 minutes looking at the different ones available. It has lovely bright colours, was a good size and the lion makes different tunes. It also comes with a cushion that helps with tummy time.
- Baby Sling Wrap - I actually purchased a different carrier before Erin was born however every time I wore it, it didn't feel right. I loved the idea of baby wearing and had read a lot about it while I was pregnant so I persevered. We went along to our local Mum2mum Market last week which is a second hand market / table top sale where parents sell all their baby stuff. If you have one in your area I would defiantly recommend it! Here I picked up a Kari Me Baby Sling (available here on amazon) for a bargain price of £10 - I have only used it for a week but i am SO in love with it and it feels so much more secure. And even better Erin loves it too! If like me you have been looking into baby wearing I would say go for it! I am just sad I didn't do it from the start but I have learnt my lesson for next time.
- Nasal Aspirator - £6 - I'll be honest - this was on a lot of the baby essential lists I read however, I passed it off thinking it was just one of those gimmick items you didn't really need. However this last week Erin has had a cold and cough and I'll admit I turned to Amazon's amazing prime next day delivery (here) and ordered one which arrived the next day. It is awesome - never thought I would be that person who say things like that about a nasal aspirator.. but when your baby is too young for Calpol and can't breath through there nose properly its amazing what you get excited about.
- Baby Swing - This is one of those, depends on your baby products, some babies absolutely hate being in a swinging chair - Erin however loves it. She is quite happy to sit there watching everything thats going on or having a little snooze. I wasn't sure she would love it as she HATES the car seat with a passion. The picture above is her sitting in the swing while I cooked tea the other night. I positioned her in the kitchen away from anywhere she may get splashed or anything and she sat quite happily and watched me. A lot of babies are quite happy to sit like that as long as they can see you. Its been quite handy for getting things done as I can just pop her in it and crack on as long as she is happy. The one we have is the Fisher Price Chair - It was given to use by a friend however is still available in Argos HERE for £59.99 (on offer - normally £84.99). What I love about this one is it folds flat too so we can take it on holiday to Centre Parcs when we go in September
- Ollie the Owl - £34.99 - Again this one was on a lot of the lists we saw and one we picked up after lots of recommendations. We havent' had to use it too much as *touch wood* Erin tends to settle easily however when she isn't quite settled we set it off and she soon goes off to sleep. What I love about Ollie is it has a mode on it where you can set it so if baby stirs in the middle of the night, Ollie will go off automatically by monitoring the motion.
Thats our essentials so far! Im sure as we go on there will be lots of other things I can include and I may do another one of these list as she gets older. There are also lots of these lists around of things people wish they had not brought. I'll be honest, at the moment there isn't anything I can think go that I would defiantly say I wish I had not brought. I spent a lot of time during my pregnancy viewing different lists and watching videos about essentials so I was very clued up about things before we brought anything. Again there may be things as we go on but I will update you in the future.
Ever since I was little, I've always been the bigger one in my friends.. the "fat" one if you like.. however I'll be honest.. it has never really bothered me - not in a way of I wasn't bothered about my weight... thats not what I mean. I mean it has never knocked my confidence enough to stop me from getting my arms out or wearing something I loved. I found my style, dressed for the shape I had and embraced my curves.
They say that pregnancy can change you. I absolutely loved being pregnancy and was one of those people who loved to flaunt my pregnancy bump. I mean why hide the fact your doing something as amazing as growing a human?
Since giving birth, I embraced my post baby body. I didn't gain much weight during pregnancy and quickly lost it within a week of giving birth. However a couple of weeks ago, we went to a party for one of our friends who was turning 30. One of our friends took a picture of Me, Adam and Erin and the moment I saw it on Facebook it made me cringe. Then over the last couple of weeks I have started to feel uneasy. Every outfit I put on I haven't felt right in and haven't been comfortable. All of a sudden my body confidence seems to have disappeared.
I know what your thinking... Erin is only 7 weeks old, I should give myself a break but its such a weird feeling when you have always been pretty happy in your own skin to suddenly feeling self conscious and uneasy.
So its time to make a change. I've made a couple of changes which I am going to put into place to try and boost myself again, including changing my Slimming World Class. I've been going to the same class since I was a teen and bob up and down with my weight loss. Before Adam and I got together I successfully lost 4 stone and gradually have put 3 stone of that back on over the 4 years we have been together. I think attending the same class has become more of a habit now and I don't feel like I am getting anything from the group. I'm hoping a shake up will be just what I need. Plus the new class we have found is on a Saturday morning, which will be better for taking Erin along to. I need to be excited about it again. If you head over to my Instagram I want to start documenting my journey on their more. We've decided to take a break this week and will be rejoining the new class next Saturday. I'm hoping a little break and a fresh start will give me the kick up the butt I need. Watch this space!
Do you have any tips on boosting your mojo?? Help a girl out!
Hope you all have something lovely planned this bank holiday! Make the most of it guys, next one isn’t until August!!
Hopefully the sunshine will stick around so you can get out and about.
I’m spending the day with my mum and dad today so that the industrial fan and dehumidifier we currently have in our living room can stay on for the day and I can take little miss away from it - I don’t know if I went into the story about the leak we had ? a story for another day if not! But I’m trying to minimise the amount of time Erin spends in the living room - she can’t be in there when the fan is on as it’s too cold so made sense to go out and let us do it’s magic!
Anyway have fun kids. Don’t do anything too crazy!
You cant beat an old fashioned letter can you? I think in this digital age, sending proper letters is a lost art. I've seen the idea of writing letters to your child on blogs for as long as I have been blogging and its an idea I have always loved - heck someone even made a book out of it!
I'm putting together a scrap book for Erin and one thing I wants to do, was to include letters in it. Something so she could look back on and see what we were thinking and little things that were happening.. something not just for her to look back on but for us too. I'm not sure how often I will do this, but I thought I would include these letters on here as well as including them in her scrapbook.
Dear Erin,
From the moment I found out that I was pregnant with you my life changed forever. Even before you were born, I had so much love for you, more than I could ever comprehend but when you entered our world at 08.33am on 11th April, I knew from that moment, that my life would never be the same again.
Everyone says that having a child changes your life, but that moment, I knew that no matter what, I would move heaven and earth to make sure that you could have everything that you ever dreamed of.
6 weeks in and its hard for me and daddy to remember what our lives were like before you came into them. The last 6 weeks haven't been easy, we've all been getting used to each other and finding out what our routines are and what works (and what doesn't).
So fa we have worked out that you love a good snuggle - especially on mummies chest (which is totally ok with mummy) and that you love to be a little tinker for daddy when mummy goes to bed at 10.30 - still, its good to keep daddy on his toes! You love singing and a dance around the living room. You especially like it when nanny sings heads, shoulder, knees and toes to you (your not a fan of Old MacDonald though... not sure what he ever did to you!) and you love the singing at church - must have been the 9 months of listening to mummy singing in the choir while you were in her tummy.
Every day you are changing and learning new things. Your quickly learning how to hold your head up and you have learnt how to do shocked face (which is hilarious) and just this week we have seen the first little smiles. We've nearly cracked licking your tongue out too - I'm sure you must think mummy is crazy when I keep doing it for you to copy.
You make mummy and daddy so happy and so proud. You have truly changed our lives and we will never be able to tell you just how much we love you - but don't worry - we will certainly try.
Love Mummy xxx
I'm putting together a scrap book for Erin and one thing I wants to do, was to include letters in it. Something so she could look back on and see what we were thinking and little things that were happening.. something not just for her to look back on but for us too. I'm not sure how often I will do this, but I thought I would include these letters on here as well as including them in her scrapbook.
Dear Erin,
From the moment I found out that I was pregnant with you my life changed forever. Even before you were born, I had so much love for you, more than I could ever comprehend but when you entered our world at 08.33am on 11th April, I knew from that moment, that my life would never be the same again.
Everyone says that having a child changes your life, but that moment, I knew that no matter what, I would move heaven and earth to make sure that you could have everything that you ever dreamed of.
6 weeks in and its hard for me and daddy to remember what our lives were like before you came into them. The last 6 weeks haven't been easy, we've all been getting used to each other and finding out what our routines are and what works (and what doesn't).
So fa we have worked out that you love a good snuggle - especially on mummies chest (which is totally ok with mummy) and that you love to be a little tinker for daddy when mummy goes to bed at 10.30 - still, its good to keep daddy on his toes! You love singing and a dance around the living room. You especially like it when nanny sings heads, shoulder, knees and toes to you (your not a fan of Old MacDonald though... not sure what he ever did to you!) and you love the singing at church - must have been the 9 months of listening to mummy singing in the choir while you were in her tummy.
Every day you are changing and learning new things. Your quickly learning how to hold your head up and you have learnt how to do shocked face (which is hilarious) and just this week we have seen the first little smiles. We've nearly cracked licking your tongue out too - I'm sure you must think mummy is crazy when I keep doing it for you to copy.
You make mummy and daddy so happy and so proud. You have truly changed our lives and we will never be able to tell you just how much we love you - but don't worry - we will certainly try.
Love Mummy xxx
♥
Hey lovelies! My blogging has been a bit sporadic over the past few weeks - I am sure you guys will understand... first of all can we just take a moment to question how on Earth Erin is 6 weeks old already! It does not feel like 5 minutes ago since she was born!
I finally feel after 6 weeks we are getting into some kind of routine. Adam has been back at work a couple of weeks now so it’s just been me and little lady.
I’ll be honest, the last couple of weeks have mainly consisted of us spending time at home with the occasional trip out, however I’ve been spending time looking into different things we can get up to.
Let’s be honest, newborns spend a lot of time snoozing in the day and Erin loves nothing more than been snuggled up on your chest which is totally ok with me!
Now she has hit the 6 week mark I have been looking into different classes and found a couple that take my fancy including baby sensory, baby massage and a dance sling class! I’ll report back with any we go to!
In other news I have started a lovely new business to keep me good while on mat leave and earn some extra pennies in the process. I’ve been looking into joining Usborne Books at home for a while as I am very passionate about children having access to good books and a friend of mine that I went to school with is a team leader so I bit the bullet and started my business! I am excited to get going and am sure I will be sharing reviews of some of the lovely books 😊
I am absolutely loving my maternity leave and am doing lots of exploring of things to do and am looking forward to getting out a bit more and meeting some Mummy friends! If you have any great Mummy blogs that you love hook me up!
How did this happen? I have a 4 week old baby! I can not even believe it’s been 4 weeks although! What a 4 weeks it has been!
It’s so weird... you spend the entire 9 months of your pregnancy preparing yourself for the fact that at the end of the 9 months you will be greeted with the best present ever! However I’ll be honest, I don’t think at any point as a first time parent are you fully prepared! You can read all the books and watch all the videos you like but suddenly your on the post natal ward with a baby that’s yours to take care of!
First of all any new mummies or any mummies to be our there, start my giving yourself a big old high 5! If you can get through the first month you got this! Yes you’ll be tired, you have no idea what day it is and your hormones are all over the place but my gosh is it worth it!
The first few days after we brought Erin home are a blur. I was recovering from the last effects of labour and was confined to the sofa by my lovely husband (what a star). In the hospital Erin took to breast feeding straight away however the first few days were a struggle. I won’t go into a lot of detail as I will save this for another post.
Sleep wise Erin sleeps like an absolute dream. Ignoring the first couple of nights where we had cluster feeding she has been amazing. We have got into a lovely routine where she has a feed at around 11pm / 11.30pm and then sleeps through until 3am / 4am - she then sleeps until 7am / 8am.
Weight wise, she has been gaining weight beautifully. She lost 4oz on her day 5 check up and after that has been gaining steadily and is following the line perfectly.
We have been very lucky. Because I was scheduled in for an induction it meant Adam could schedule his paternity leave in. He had previously booked 2 weeks holiday from my due date before we knew what was happening because we decided if I went over due he would deffo be off. Tagging his paternity leave and days off on to this meant he had 4 weeks off which has been total bliss and a luxury we know not everyone has! He went back to work yesterday and I am glad to report that me and Erin survived the first day of just the 2 of us - I even managed a load of baby washing too!
So after nearly 3 weeks away, I wanted to introduce you to our newest addition 💖 Erin June Barlow
Here she is on her first official photo
As you know from my last post, I was booked in for an induction on Tuesday 10th April (11 days before my due date). So here’s what happened on that elusive day!
I was told to ring the delivery suite on the day of induction to check they had a bed etc. I rang up bang on 9am and was told to come up to the maternity assessment unit. My dad agreed to take us up to the hospital so we hadn’t got to park our car because we knew we would be there all day and as we only live 5 minute drive from the hospital it made more sense so I gave him a ring and off we went.
When we got to the assessment unit, we were booked in and settled into a bed and ready to get things going. I was the first of the ladies booked in for induction to arrive and the midwife told me that she was allowed to break 1 ladies waters so as I was there first she would break mine if she could.
I was examined, at about half past 10 and induction was started (basically a tablet is inserted into your cervix a bit like a small tampon which is left in for 24 hours to soften it) and told that I would be put on to monitor every 4 hour to check baby and see if I was having contractions. Unfortunately at that point she couldn’t break my waters as she said my cervix wasn’t soft or dilated enough! Boooo.
We were told if we wanted to go off and have a walk we just needed to be back in 4 hours so we decided to go off for a nice long walk around the hospital grounds (you know to test out the old wives tale that a long walk could start things off) and picked up some pineapple from the fruit stall for good measure then went back to the ward. By mid afternoon I was having light pains but only niggles so when we got on the birthing ball and spent the rest of the afternoon bouncing up and down on the ball.
By mid evening I was still having light pains but not what I would describe as contractions (everyone said you’ll know when your having contractions so figured this wasn’t it as it felt like period pain). At 9pm, Adam and my mum had to go home as the ward I was on was the assessment ward and no visitors were able to stay. Adam really wasn’t happy about leaving but I insisted I was fine and didn’t think anything would happen as these niggly pains didn’t feel like anything was happening soon.
All night I was still having pains on and off - again nothing I thought was the real deal and I was convinced when I was examined at half 10 the next morning I was going to be told nothing was happening and would have to have a further 6 hour peasery (if the first 24 hour one doesn’t work they put another 6 hour one in and if that does nothing they start talking C section).
At about half past 6 I had the most horrific pain which felt like a popping - just like someone had burst a balloon but inside my stomach. I was convinced my waters had gone but the bed was dry so I gave the midwife a shout and said I thought this was the start of things. She decided to pop me on the monitor for 15 minutes even though I wasn’t due to go on yet. I couldn’t have any more pain relief at that point because I had 2 paracetamol at around 4am to help with the niggly pain which kept me awake most of the night.
After 15 minutes on the monitor the midwife confirmed I was deffo having contractions and decided to examine me because at this point the pain had started to kick up a notch. At about 7am I was examined and to my great shock the midwife announced to me that I should ring my husband as I was 8cm dilated!! I couldn’t even believe it! In a complete panic I rang Adam (who didn’t answer) and my mum (who luckily did answer) and told them to get here right away and was whisked round to delivery suite before I knew what was happening.
By the time I got to delivery suite I wanted to push however the midwife told me I couldn’t until they broke my waters which they didn’t want to until adam and my mum arrived. I was given the gas and air (which is as wonderful as everyone says) and went into complete panic that Adam and my mum were going to miss the birth.
Luckily they arrived quite quickly (to which I burst into tears and sobbed “I thought you were going to miss it” - everything then happened so quickly! The midwife tried to break my waters and couldn’t, a doctor appeared who couldn’t either asked if I was sure they hadn’t already gone. I began pushing however after I had been pushing about 10 minutes, the doctor examined me and said baby was now back to back (they think this was the pain I had felt about 6.30) and they needed to turn her. When they tried to flip her face down it was too painful and baby started to get a bit distressed so they decided to take me to theatre and have a forceps delivery. Before I knew it I was signing a consent form and lying on the operating table with a spinal block in. 2 or 3 pushes later and baby Erin was on my chest!
Unluckily for me, I had to have an episiotomy and even worse I suffered a 3rd degree tear (which apparently is very uncommon once you have had an episiotomy- lucky me). I was stitched up and in recovery and back on the ward before I knew it!
Our first official photo as a family of 3
3 weeks later I still can’t believe she’s here and she is ours! It’s such a weird feeling to look at her and know that you made that! Even weirder when you have spent 9 months watching your bump grow wondering what this person will develop into, wondering what or who she will look like and then all of a sudden she is there in front of you!
Make sure you are following my instagram to keep up to date with photos as it’s totally baby spam over there! I have a whole list of baby related posts that I already want to share with you guys! So keep your eyes peeled for those! Any requests on things you want to see let me know!
Today is the day! Induction day! Let me tell you all that does half feel weird saying!
As part of our present from my baby shower at the weekend, my Nanna gave us an envelope with strict instructions that it was for me and Adam not baby and told us to treat ourselves. So last night, knowing it was our last night as a couple we went for a lovely meal at chiquitos - we drank mocktails (well.. I did), chatted and had a really lovely evening!
After 9 months of building up to a due date.. waiting for baby to appear, knowing that you are booking in to be induced is sure a weird feeling? Has anyone else experienced this? Can you relate?
When your waiting for baby to arrive on their own, everything you do, you wonder if it will be the last time... the last time you get a full nights sleep, the last night you go out just the 2 of you.
Knowing today is the day everything is going to happen is strange!
As part of our present from my baby shower at the weekend, my Nanna gave us an envelope with strict instructions that it was for me and Adam not baby and told us to treat ourselves. So last night, knowing it was our last night as a couple we went for a lovely meal at chiquitos - we drank mocktails (well.. I did), chatted and had a really lovely evening!
When we got home.. Adam said to me.. well it’s weird to think the next time I drive the car will be to pick little Miss up from the hospital (my dad is driving us today to save us taking our car) which was a bizarre thought!
I got up this morning, knowing that the empty crib next to our bed would have a baby in it next time I slept in our bed and took an extra couple of minutes in the shower this morning knowing it was probably the last time in a while I would enjoy a shower rather than it just being a quick get clean and get out! 😂
So yes.. all in all... I feel strange! I’m so excited for today! And a little nervous too! I know I can do this, I guess it’s just the unknown! Keep your fingers crossed for me anyway!
Oh hey!
Don't worry, my disappearing act for a week wasn't because I gave birth.. I am still very much pregnant... What with easter and everything this past week has just flown by! Who can believe I am now technically classed as full term.. wasn't it just 2 minutes ago we saw the words on the stick??
So where are we up to? Quite a bit has happened since my last update at 32 weeks. Ive officially finished work now (I finished the day before Good Friday) so I have been settling into the routine of being at home and getting everything ready for baby to arrive including cleaning the house like a crazy person.
This week we had another scan up at the hospital which was booked after we went for one at 35 weeks (one of the joys of a high BMI has definitely been closer monitoring and more scans). They booked me in for another scan because little miss was measuring on the larger side, around 7 pounds 5oz at 35 weeks they thought! They booked me in for Wednesday and said they would make a plan because they would be likely to induce me should she continue to grow above this line. Don't worry the midwife said, it can be a pound either way.. thanks love.. reassuring to know the baby could actually be around 8 and a half pounds with 5 weeks to go.. queue thoughts of birthing the worlds largest baby!
Anyway we went on Wednesday for our scan and the tables have now turned. They measured baby at 6 pounds 15oz meaning in 2 weeks she has dropped around 6oz. I won't lie, its not nice when you are sitting in that maternity waiting room for a midwife to "review" your notes! Especially in one of those situations. Luckily for us, one of the consultants who knows my mum through work (she is the clinic sister where she does one of her clinics) spotted mum with me and Adam in the waiting area and decided to take a look at my notes. I'm not normally one for pulling favours and being all not what you know its who you know but lemmi tell you, at that moment, knowing she was looking at my notes felt great.
Anyway she decided to see me as an extra on her clinic and just like that booked me in for an induction next week! She said because I'm full term (i.e. past 37 weeks) there really is no point in hanging around any longer. She wasn't too worried about the scan and the drop in weight - she seemed to think it could be an inaccurate scan when we came at 35 weeks and that if it wasn't clear the measurements could have been off. But yep... looks like this time next week little miss Barlow will have arrived.
Ive been having little niggles for the past couple of days, I actually have thought a couple of times I was going into labour but nothing has developed.
Last Saturday we went up to Sheffield to visit Adams family and had a baby shower up there which was lovely and tomorrow I have one with all my friends and family here.
Had my final weigh in at Slimming World last night and was amazed to discover I had lost 4 and a half pounds which means my total gain throughout my pregnancy has been 8 pounds. I am so happy that I decided to continue with Slimming World during my pregnancy. I know that out of everything I have done during this pregnancy, sticking with it during the good and bad weeks has all been worth it and I have given miss the best possible start! I'm also determined that I am not going to go mad after she is born too and my batch cooking will come in handy to keep me on track after she arrives as I don't want to suddenly start putting lots of weight after working so hard to keep it under control during my pregnancy.
Just time to sort all the last minute bits and enjoy our last week as just the 2 of us! Looks like things are about to get hectic!!!
Don't worry, my disappearing act for a week wasn't because I gave birth.. I am still very much pregnant... What with easter and everything this past week has just flown by! Who can believe I am now technically classed as full term.. wasn't it just 2 minutes ago we saw the words on the stick??
So where are we up to? Quite a bit has happened since my last update at 32 weeks. Ive officially finished work now (I finished the day before Good Friday) so I have been settling into the routine of being at home and getting everything ready for baby to arrive including cleaning the house like a crazy person.
This week we had another scan up at the hospital which was booked after we went for one at 35 weeks (one of the joys of a high BMI has definitely been closer monitoring and more scans). They booked me in for another scan because little miss was measuring on the larger side, around 7 pounds 5oz at 35 weeks they thought! They booked me in for Wednesday and said they would make a plan because they would be likely to induce me should she continue to grow above this line. Don't worry the midwife said, it can be a pound either way.. thanks love.. reassuring to know the baby could actually be around 8 and a half pounds with 5 weeks to go.. queue thoughts of birthing the worlds largest baby!
Anyway we went on Wednesday for our scan and the tables have now turned. They measured baby at 6 pounds 15oz meaning in 2 weeks she has dropped around 6oz. I won't lie, its not nice when you are sitting in that maternity waiting room for a midwife to "review" your notes! Especially in one of those situations. Luckily for us, one of the consultants who knows my mum through work (she is the clinic sister where she does one of her clinics) spotted mum with me and Adam in the waiting area and decided to take a look at my notes. I'm not normally one for pulling favours and being all not what you know its who you know but lemmi tell you, at that moment, knowing she was looking at my notes felt great.
Anyway she decided to see me as an extra on her clinic and just like that booked me in for an induction next week! She said because I'm full term (i.e. past 37 weeks) there really is no point in hanging around any longer. She wasn't too worried about the scan and the drop in weight - she seemed to think it could be an inaccurate scan when we came at 35 weeks and that if it wasn't clear the measurements could have been off. But yep... looks like this time next week little miss Barlow will have arrived.
Ive been having little niggles for the past couple of days, I actually have thought a couple of times I was going into labour but nothing has developed.
Last Saturday we went up to Sheffield to visit Adams family and had a baby shower up there which was lovely and tomorrow I have one with all my friends and family here.
Had my final weigh in at Slimming World last night and was amazed to discover I had lost 4 and a half pounds which means my total gain throughout my pregnancy has been 8 pounds. I am so happy that I decided to continue with Slimming World during my pregnancy. I know that out of everything I have done during this pregnancy, sticking with it during the good and bad weeks has all been worth it and I have given miss the best possible start! I'm also determined that I am not going to go mad after she is born too and my batch cooking will come in handy to keep me on track after she arrives as I don't want to suddenly start putting lots of weight after working so hard to keep it under control during my pregnancy.
Just time to sort all the last minute bits and enjoy our last week as just the 2 of us! Looks like things are about to get hectic!!!
♥
I can't lie. From the moment I found out I was pregnant I knew that I wanted a nursery inspired by something you would see on Pinterest and up until the moment we went for that first scan, I had a hidden board on Pinterest collecting ideas.
When we moved into our house in April last year, we knew our spare room would at some point become a nursery (since we were trying for a baby) so we decorated the rooms before moved in, we decided to decorate it something that would be gender neural and nursery suitable when the time came, opting for yellow and grey. We chose this wall paper from B&Q knowing it would be suitable for either gender when the time came.
One of the first things I started pinning for the nursery was wall art and had seen lots of nursery mural stickers online. Knowing we had a blank creme wall in the room I knew I wanted something to cover the wall however the ones I loved were priced around £75+ on etsy and other sites for something that would cover the whole wall so I decided I would get my pencil and paper out and design something myself. Adam told me I was crazy when I said I was going to draw a mural on the wall. I've always been crafty and am constantly doodling however I've never done anything on that scale before and I don't know if he was skeptical about how it would turn out. I was determined to give it a go though so I sketched out my plan on paper and then free handed it on to the wall. I picked up some sample pots of paint which cost me a grand total of around £10 for all the different colours I wanted and set to work.
One of the decisions we quickly made when discussing the nursery was that we didn't want to purchase a "baby wardrobe" as we wanted something would last long term and not something we would have to replace in a few years. We previously had this Dombas wardrobe in our rented house before we moved and they were a fantastic size and a bargain of a price at just £60. It has a double side rail and a single side containing shelves for storage which we loved for storing other things such as nappies and eventually toys.
While in Ikea, we picked up a Malm unit which we have in our room and again we love. I love the deepness of the drawers and again a fantastic price at just £40.
Also from Ikea we have this Kallax unit which was previously in our garage but I decided to move to the nursery for storage of books and things.
Another thing we decided pretty quickly was that we wanted a cot bed instead of a standard cot. Again because we knew it would last her quite a few years. We shopped around in a few different places before we fell in love with this one from Babies R Us. Its a has Winnie the pooh on one end and a handy storage drawer underneath - handy for storing blankets!
The Winnie the Pooh bedding and the mobile were both from Mothercare however it looks like they are no longer available online. They have some other lovely sets available online and in store though.
The pink bear is one we picked up from Life Through a Lens where we had our Gender Scan. I would definatly recommend them if your local to one of their stores are looking to book a private scan as they were amazing. This bear cost us £20 and contains a recording of our little girls heartbeat from the scan - the perfect keep sake.
One of the other things I really wanted for the nursery was a nursing chair however most of them are around £150-£200. As I am hoping to breast feed I loved the idea of sitting in the middle of the night on the chair with her however could not justify the price. I kept keeping an eye on Facebook and Gumtree for a second hand one but kept missing out however one day I spotted one that was just down the road from us and was the first person to ask if it was still available - and it was! We went to have a look at it and was in almost perfect condition! And a total bargain at just £40!!! It even came with a foot stool which also rocks.
I am SO happy with how it has turned out. It really has lived up to everything I wanted it to be and I can not wait to bring her home. I know that she isn't going to be sleeping in here for the first 6 months but just knowing that this is ready for her when she is ready to sleep in here makes me happy. It has been so lovely getting everything organised and putting all her clothes away in the drawers and wardrobe and I can't wait to bring her home now!
Lets be honest, how many of us love going to a wedding or special occasion because it gives you a chance to crack out the make up you reserve for such occasions...
When thinking about my make up for the wedding we attended last weekend, my go to foundation is Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. It was my foundation of choice for my wedding day after reading a lot of reviews and is always my go to if I know I am going to be wearing my foundation all day and night. It also photographs amazingly well.
I saw an advert pop up on my Facebook a couple of days before the wedding for a free 10 day sample of double wear and since I was going to the day before the wedding I figured I would get matched and pick up a sample since I had heard that sometimes during your pregnancy your skin pigmentation can change...
I went to the Estee Lauder Counter at my local debenhams and got chatting to the lovely lady who chatted to me not only about the double wear but also the newest in the double wear family, the double wear light. I decided to give the double wear light a go which offers a sheer to medium coverage which is buildable and is available in 10 shades - not quite the 50 offered by the double wear original however the wonderful lady on the counter soon took to trying the different shades on my face to find the perfect match. After trying a few shades, we decided on intensity 3.0 and away I came with my 10 day sample. Straight away I was impressed with how the sample felt on my skin so decided to give it a go for the wedding. I'll do a better review when I've used my 10 day sample properly.
First of all lets ignore the car selfie which was totally taken on the forecourt of Morrison's petrol station as Adam filled the car up! Hey you have to take the opportunity for a photo while you can! So heres what I used to create this look:
Primer: No7 Airbrush Away Primer - £16.50 - Here
Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light - £33.50 - Here
Concealer: YSL Touch Eclat - £25.50 - Here
Powder: Maybelline Matte Maker - £3.99 - Here
Contour: Anastasia Contour Palette - £42 - Here
Blush: Clinique Blush - Free gift with purchase
Highlight: Mac Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle - £25.50 - Here
Eye Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion: £17.50 - Here
Eyes: Too Faced Chocolate Palette - £39 - Here
Eye Liner: Soap and Glory Super Cat Liner - £7 - Here
Mascara: Benefit Roller Lash - £21.50 - Here
Brows: Soap and Glory Archery - £8.50 - Here
Finishing Spray: Urban Decay All Nighter - £8 (I have travel size) - Here
Lips: Rimmel Acropolips in Big Bang
Can we just take a moment to just have a little cry.. I've totally just discovered that Rimmel have discontinued their acropolips lip lacquers! I'm beyond gutted as these are my absolute favourite.. I popped this on at 10am yesterday and even through eating, talking, drinking etc it was still on last night when I got home at 21.45 when i got home - all be it not as bright but still there. So if you know any lovely lip lacquers which are a high street dupe for the YSL lip stains, hook a girl up!
First of all let me start by saying this post is not sponsored.. I've seen JD seasonings all over on Instagram courtesy of lots of the lovely slimming world people I follow over there as these spices seem very popular in the slimming world community so when I went to group one week and my consultant offered me a voucher for 20% off I decided it was about time I ordered some and saw what the fuss was all about.
There are so many different options on the website to choose from. You can choose to order individual spices - priced at £1.45 each or they do the saver bundles which vary in price depending on which one you order.
I decided to just order a few of the individual spices since we hadn't tried them before to see what we thought, ordering ones I knew we would enjoy, then maybe branch out to some other flavours next time I ordered.
For every 7 kits you order, you get a free one (which you can choose) so I decided to order 8. 2 chips and wedges spice which I'd had lots of recommendations about, 2 tikka masala, 2 chilli, a bolognese and a sausage casserole.
The order itself took about 4 days to come however I ordered them on a Friday night and they came on the Tuesday so I was really impressed with the quickness. I love that each of the packages comes individually packaged in little resealable tubs - handy if you don't want to use a full portion. Each one contains instructions on how to use them and what else you need to add to them.
What I was even more surprised about when they arrived was the added extras that were included in my parcel! I was SO unbelievably excited that the lovely people at JD had chosen to include lots of different ones for us to try especially when I wasn't expecting it or had not asked for it!
Included in the extras were 25 of their other favourite spices! Some of which I'd had my eye on but decided not to order on my first go and some, i'll be honest I would not have tried. Again I was very grateful that JD had sent us these lovely free gifts!
We have been using these spices over the last couple of months since ordering them and have definitely found some firm favourites. What I love about these is that they are resealable which is especially handy when there are only 2 of us.
We have defiantly been loving the chips and wedges spice and this will be one that will be a constant on our orders as we both absolutely LOVE it! It just jazzes chips up and makes them taste amazing. I just chuck a spoonful into the actifry with potatoes and a tablespoon of oil and boom.. perfect chips!
We love the chilli one as well, we have lots of chilli so its perfect for us! One I wouldn't have tried but would defiantly reorder was the Jalfrazi one. We both really enjoyed it and not something we would normally have tried. I will defiantly be trying more of the curry ones. Another one I wouldn't have tried is the tried is the steak rub. I am not normally one to add spices to my steak and don't tend to order any sauces etc if we go out for steak but seriously, this was amazing! Teamed with our order of muscle food steak and the chips and wedges spice, it makes a perfect tea!
As I say we are slowly working our way through the others.. I tend to add my meals to my Instagram page so if you want to know what I think of the others head over there and give me a follow so you can see what else I have been loving (@mybeautifulforever)
♥
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