The best laid plans…

This isn’t the post I intended to share today… I was planning on sharing this post about how I am feeling alright at 38 weeks pregnant. How I was getting ready for my planned c-section next week… But oh boy how things have changed!

Some of you may have seen on twitter that we had a slight change of plans on Monday night. A few people had asked me what would happen if I went into labour early, and quite honestly I brushed it off. I really didn’t think it would happen.
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Stopping swimming & Monkey’s First Fairground Ride

Saturday was one of those days where things just didn’t quite work out the way we wanted them to. Lots happened but also lots of things went wrong. We had an early morning scooter session then Monkey and Daddy went for a walk to splash in puddles, only to discover that one of Monkey’s wellies had a hole in – cue one soggy foot and unhappy Monkey! Then I went off for a hair cut and Daddy and Monkey went to their swimming class. I haven’t really blogged about it before but Daddy and Monkey have been going to swimming lessons… and they haven’t been going that well.

Monkey is apparently very upset for most of the class and though he always says he has enjoyed it when he comes home, the look on Daddy’s face and Monkey’s red and puffy eyes tell a different story. After an 8 week term of unhappy Saturdays (Daddy finds it very tiring and frustrating and is in a pretty miserable mood for the rest of the day) we have decided not to carry on the lessons for now. Hubby wants to try and take Monkey swimming just the two of them with less structure, and then try the classes again maybe next year. Continue reading

38 weeks and a bit of last minute pampering

38 weeks pregnantI am 38 weeks pregnant today and honestly this pregnancy has flown by compared with my first. It has also, thankfully been so much smoother. With my SPD rearing it’s head at just 6 weeks pregnant I was so worried about how hard this pregnancy would be, but thanks to the physio throughout we have kept it at bay and I am so much more mobile. I haven’t needed to use my crutches at all and just generally feel so much better and still have quite a bit of energy. I think because I have been more mobile this time I haven’t put on nearly as much weight as I did last time either, which is also no bad thing.

It hasn’t been a bed of roses and I still get a lot of pain in my back and pelvis, and of course I am shattered and ready to not be pregnant anymore… But with just over a week to go I am trying to focus on the positives now.

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The Nursery is finally finished!

Over the summer we did really well with transforming our junk room into the baby’s room. #GetGoodSummer hosted by Claire at Clarina’s Contemplations was a great motivator for us and we did really well…. Then the progress sort of tailed off a little. The only thing left for us to do was the wall stickers, but we chose quite a big mural and I’ll admit I was pretty nervous about getting it on the wall, so we kind of put it off!

Last week though we decided to take the bull by the horns and just get on with it! It went really well and now, finally, thankfully, the nursery is finished (with just over a week until baby is born, just in time too!!). So here it is, our lovely nursery and a few of our favourite things in there.
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Disney Cars 3-Wheel Tri Scooter from Suppose.com

We were recently contacted by the lovely people at Suppose.com and asked if we would like to review a Disney Cars Scooter. We’ve held back on getting Monkey a scooter as, although we have seen lots of kids his age (and younger) having great fun on them, he is not the most coordinated of toddlers and so we weren’t sure how we would get on. As these kinds of toys are generally not very cheap we didn’t want to risk buying something he would not get much enjoyment out of.

Suppose.com is a great way of getting the best price for things, which is so handy with kid’s toys (especially coming up to Christmas), as they track the prices of things for you and let you know when there is a good deal to be had. The Disney Cars Scooter is currently on offer at a just £12.50, you can find out more here.

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Subconscious Stereotyping

With baby’s arrival only a couple of weeks away, we are in preparation mode and are trying to get the nursery finished. The last thing to do is put up the wall stickers. There will be another post to showcase these gorgeous stickers in situ once they are up, but I blogged about them when we chose them here. They are gorgeous and so pretty. I love the swirling branches and the cute creatures but… I suddenly realised something… they are very different from the stickers we put up in Monkey’s room when he was tiny.

Monkey's wall stickers

Monkey’s wall stickers

He has Hungry Caterpillar stickers, which we bought for no other reason than the reason we chose these latest stickers… because we like them. But, as part of the set, his stickers could be seen as more educational. Along with the characters from the book there are the days of the week, and also a big display of numbers. It’s part of the story, 1 apple, 2 pears, etc. etc. but it made me wonder, have we subconsciously chosen such different stickers for their rooms because of their gender?

Have we given Monkey stickers with numbers in because he is a boy? Have we given more simple, pretty stickers to baby because she is (we think) a girl? Or am I overthinking things and over-worrying? Quite possibly!

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Our little reader – 28 mths

Storytime at 3 mths old

Storytime at 3 mths old

We have read books to Monkey since he was tiny. Both hubs and I love reading books to him and it has been a major part of the bedtime routine since he was just a few months old. As a result, Monkey loves books. He is constantly bombarding us with books saying “go read, go read, go read” until we comply with his demands!

Now that his speech is rapidly developing he likes saying words and pointing out the names of things in books. He’s also ‘reading’ or rather he has memorised some of his favourite books and joins in with reading them. One of his favourite books (at the moment) is one that Daddy doesn’t even like, “The Tiger who Came to Tea”. Monkey loves it. He goes through fits and starts with lots of his books, insisting on the same one for days at a time, and then moving onto another.

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Packing your Hospital Bag for a C Section

hospital bag for a c sectionWith the date booked for my C Section, the time has come to think about packing my hospital bag. Some of the things you pack when going for a C Section are the same as you would for a natural birth, whereas others are very different, as a planned C Section is obviously a different experience.

There are of course tonnes of sources online for hospital bag checklists which are all so so handy, but I don’t think they cover everything. With the benefit of going through this experience once before I am hoping that this time I will pack everything I need. So here is my list for what to pack in a hospital bag for a C Section, including some things you may not have
thought of!
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Fun at Nanny’s house

As this pregnancy progresses I have been very lucky that my parents have been able to help out more with Monkey. The shop my Mum worked in recently closed down, meaning she has gone from semi-retired to retired, and the timing of this has worked out so well as it means she is able to spend more time with Monkey (allowing me to rest). Usually my Mum pops round on a Wednesday and takes Monkey out somewhere for a run around, but with the forecast looking so dire this week, she invited us round to her house instead.
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Conker Crafts and Activities for Toddlers

After our lovely walk a couple of weeks ago I said I would let you know what we had got up to with our massive conker haul, and well here it is! We have been conker crazy in our house lately! Some activities have been more successful than others but we’ve had fun trying lots of things.

conker crafts and activities for toddlers

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