moi moi moi

13 weeks has gone so fast...

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:14:00 +0100

…and this little one is doing some serious growing up. he smiles and chuckles and has full on conversations with me. he also cries hard because he has started teething and it hurts so bad. he has a great hairstyle going on with a lick of a curl at the back of his head and a strip of hair at the nape of his neck. he tries hard to roll over, loves a good stretch without his nappy on and manages to work himself from the bottom to the top of his cot by pushing himself up with his feet.

the boys are good - they talk and sing to emin and he watches them with great interest. gallo likes to hold him and although caleb did tell me that it was hard having a little brother because he screams all the time, he likes to help me and pushing emin in his pushchair is his favourite job.

love my boys a ton x

things that i had forgotten about babies...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:56:00 +0000

1. time passes ridiculously quickly: you could literally watch them all day and not get anything done unless you really force yourself

2. they know when you’re about to eat

3. the injustice of not having a boob in their mouth constantly is sometimes too much to bear

4. wind makes them smile and look cute

5. when they have a screaming fit it is so nice when they stop and open their eyes (usually when a boob is offered) to remind you that they aren’t actually a little goblin

6. they pull some fantastic shapes

7. sometimes a 15 minute lie down is all you need and the little things someone does can make all the difference

8. breast feeding = feeling hot and thirsty ALL the time

9. their fingernails are joined to their skin and are really papery and hang off when they grow

10. they smell good

got my eye on this blue floral quilt from cologne and...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:15:31 +0000

got my eye on this blue floral quilt from cologne and cotton that’s now in the sale. so pretty and totally justified now that i’m hanging around in bed with baby belle

emin belle

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:06:00 +0000

he arrived! cute eh? he ended up being 2 days late and was born on saturday 4 february at 20:02. i started having contractions at 18.00 and phoned the hospital an hour later to let them know. marv had gone to work and so i called him to come back home. half an hour later i phoned again to tell them i was pushing. they sent an ambulance (blue flashing lights being quicker than a midwife), and 2 ambulance men delivered baby belle in the front room. after we’d cleaned up the boys came downstairs (they had been sent up to their bedroom with my mum to read stories), and we had tea and biscuits and stared and cuddled and cooed. the chambord and cava came later.

the next day we had to go to hospital for emin’s blood test for abo incompatibility as the midwife couldn’t take any blood from the umbilical cord when she arrived. he had already started to look jaundice. we went back later on for another test as the first had shown that our blood groups had mixed. although his bilirubin levels had risen he was still under the line for treatment so we were able to have him at home with us that night. on monday we went back to the hospital early and another test confirmed that he had to be admitted. there was A LOT of waiting around. he was put under lights, had continual blood tests and a feeding tube until tuesday evening. there was more waiting around until doctors took more blood and got results back. he was finally discharged wednesday afternoon and although he still looks yellow, his bilirubin levels have been reduced. as he gets bigger he’ll be able to break them down easier with a little help from some folic acid.

so now i really get to enjoy my baby! it does wear you out being in hospital, even for a short while, and i missed my boys. it’s been lovely today just lounging about and luxuriating at home. emin slept really well last night and i’ve felt full of energy today - it’s lovely not having indigestion or going to the loo every 10 minutes and so good to be able to move quickly again. i do kind of feel empty though, i like being pregnant and having a bump but i am SO happy to see my gorgeous little boy at last!

baby belle - 40 weeks

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:33:42 +0000

baby belle was due yesterday and he’s not here yet. i’m off for a long walk…

i like this dress too. in an effort to stop cleaning everything...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:47:00 +0000

i like this dress too. in an effort to stop cleaning everything i am now obsessively trawling shops bookmarking dresses that i want to buy. i seem to have conveniently forgotten that all my money is going to be spent on nappies. and dresses are out of the question for time as i’m going to be boob feeding and no-one needs to see a dress hauled up around my tits, even if it is brighton

baby belle - 39 weeks

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:11:00 +0000

6 days left…maybe

LOVE this dress… …and this one too. by the time i look decent enough in one (deadline...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:38:46 +0000

LOVE this dress…

…and this one too.

by the time i look decent enough in one (deadline june, my postponed birthday celebration), hopefully one will be sold out so i won’t have to spend an extortionate amount of money on both, hee

i need this bag in navy and white. but it’s basically a...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:44:38 +0000

i need this bag in navy and white. but it’s basically a tote and it’s £87. £87. ridiculousness

baby belle - 38 weeks

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:54:52 +0000

do i look ready to pop? i feel it. i went to town yesterday and picked up the last few baby bits that i need - changing mat, top and tail bowl, feeding cushion, sheets for the crib, muslins and the first thing that he’ll wear…

…how cute is that?! at least marv will be able to pretend that he’s a girl for a little bit, it looks like a massive dress but there’s a ton of room for him to kick about and it’s super soft and comfy. i’m so prepared that i’ve also got the boys their gifts from baby belle…

…paper aeroplanes, star wars sticker books, super hero squad/pokemon annuals and haribo. nothing left to do now but play the waiting game!

baby belle - 37 weeks

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:57:00 +0000

here you are then, you’re looking at someone who has just finished work and is extremely happy about it! i only work part time but it’s going to be so nice going home after the school run wednesday to friday and pottering about. i’ve been exhausted by the time i’ve got to work and really uncomfortable sitting at my desk, struggling to get up to go to the loo/get water/stay awake. the people at work made me feel really special today as well. i honestly didn’t expect a fuss with baby #3 - a card perhaps, but my desk was decorated within an inch of its life, i got some lovely sanctuary bath goodies and baby belle has been given some gorgeous baby gap to add to his wardrobe. i did a little cry. i really was genuinely surprised, the lovely lovely people

although i’m not buying it just yet and will be using the...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:25:00 +0000

although i’m not buying it just yet and will be using the carrier whilst he is still tiny, this is the pushchair that i have decided on for baby belle. LOVE silver cross. had the sleepover pram for caleb but had to change to recliner pushchairs once we moved due to space (and stairs). gallo had the pop pushchair and baby belle will be having the dazzle, although he will be using the sleepover pram body and stand to sleep in until he gets big enough for the cot

i emailed about this twisted twee pillowcase a while ago....

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:17:00 +0000

i emailed about this twisted twee pillowcase a while ago. it’s now in the sale along with the bear one. i love both. you can thank me by buying me one or two…

my top 10 films of 2011

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:09:43 +0000

my top 10 films of 2011

baby belle - 36 weeks

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:01:05 +0000

where has the time gone? i knew it would go fast after christmas but now i only have 3 days of work left before i go on leave and baby belle, in theory, could make an appearance any time after the end of this week.

my main concern is to get things ready around the house. the front room is decorated now and is the room that i plan to give birth in, although i also need to get the bathroom finished and touch up our bedroom just in case things don’t go to plan and the boys are downstairs or something.

i had caleb in hospital. i had to walk through a&e late on a sunday night to get to the lift to take me up to the maternity suite. pissed people shouted go on girl and it’s a boy to me, i could hardly walk. i had waited until the last minute and kneeling in the back of the car was horrendous. caleb was born in the early hours of monday morning and although i had no complaints about the hospital and was well looked after, i just couldn’t relax and wanted to get home. you have to wait 6 hours until you are ‘released’ and i can honestly say that i was clock watching for that whole 6 hours.

i decided to have gallo at home because delivering caleb was so easy - i couldn’t do gas and air even though i was looking forward to it and hadn’t needed any help during labour. i had gallo in the front room late on a saturday night whilst caleb was upstairs asleep. when he woke up in the morning his baby brother was there in bed with us. gallo came much quicker than caleb - the midwife was called, turned up, told me to push and there he was. my mum was in a panic that she’d have to deliver him it was that close. i think that the 2 midwives must have been there about 45 minutes tops. we cooed, had a cup of tea and went to bed. it was a much better experience for all of us, especially as we knew that he would probably have to go into hospital for a little while afterwards.

after caleb was born he developed severe jaundice. the boy was orange. and we didn’t realise until the health visitor came around and said that we needed to get to hospital. they didn’t know what was wrong with him and he had to have a lumbar puncture. he was under a lot of lights and was within striking distance of having a transfusion. his bilirubin levels came down with the introduction of yet another light thank goodness and they discovered that he had abo incompatability. marv’s blood type is b+ and i’m o+. caleb turned out to be b+ too which meant that, in simple terms, when my antibodies passed through the placenta to him, they started attacking his red blood cells causing bilirubin levels to rise resulting in jaundice. it was scary.

i was monitored throughout my pregnancy with gallo although there is nothing that can be done to prevent abo incompatibility - it’s just one of those things and it’s dependant on what blood type your baby has (which can only be determined after it is born). i was on a targeted list which meant that a midwife came to visit the very next day to check up on gallo, confirmed that he was developing jaundice and to hospital we went. i think he stayed in for a couple of days under lights compared to caleb who was in there for a long time.

chances are that baby belle is going to have the same blood type as his daddy and brothers, so any chance i can get to have him at home and hold and feed him before he goes in under the lights i’ll take. it’s horrible just watching your newborn lying there with a feeding tube and heartbreaking not being able to pick him up. i don’t know how those with seriously ill little ones cope.

so i’m finishing rooms off, gathering old towels, popping to b&q for industrial plastic sheeting…exciting stuff. it’s even exciting not knowing when it’s going to happen. i say that now, as soon as i go a day past 2 february things will change and i’ll be moaning - a day past the date you’ve been given feels like a year, believe me.

want http://t.co/jjQQ6IFN

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:57:21 +0000

want http://t.co/jjQQ6IFN

my little helper x #picaday http://t.co/AzpE1Xn7

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:53:55 +0000

my little helper x #picaday http://t.co/AzpE1Xn7

gallo now thinks that his baby bro is going to arrive in a star shaped space ball swaddled in blue...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:53:42 +0000

gallo now thinks that his baby bro is going to arrive in a star shaped space ball swaddled in blue and red #disappointed

i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again. i LOVE donald glover. seriously

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:13:52 +0000

i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again. i LOVE donald glover. seriously

my lovely ma and i have just spent 3 hours stripping woodchip and i’ve found most of down my...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 10:50:39 +0000

my lovely ma and i have just spent 3 hours stripping woodchip and i’ve found most of down my bra