Parents evening

Yesterday we had parents evening for the girls, they are doing fantastic! Lacey is doing amazingly, she is so clever, where she gets her brains from I do not know! her teacher said she is brilliant at reading, numbers and shapes and her writing is great too, she is very outgoing and confident and she never misbehaves she had nothing negative to say about Lacey at all, I couldn't be any more proud. 
Rhianna is coming on great too, although she is quite behind she is making progress, she went into year 1 with small goals set and she has reached them goals, her teacher has now set her new goals for the end of the year which she thinks she is more then capable of reaching, she does tried hard though and I have seen an improvement in her reading (gone up two levels) and her writing, she is very well behaved at school also. So proud of my girls.

After easter Lucas will be attending nursery 4 sessions a week! two mornings and two afternoons and best of all it is now FREE i have been paying for the last 7 months but now he gets to attend free, he is going to love it, he gets bored at home having nobody to play with and he is better behaved on the days he does attend nursery (he currently goes two mornings a week). He is getting better at walking to and from places, aslong as they are short distance, a few months ago i couldn't even think about letting him walk the girls to school he was always strapped in his buggy, if he walked it would end up with him on the floor throwing a paddy and me sweating like a pig and getting very stressed out, but this morning I walked him with the girls and he walked really well not throwing one tantrum, my big boy will be three at the end of April and he is starting to grow up. 

Connor is doing well, I am getting him weighed this afternoon, he had alot of trouble with diarrhoea and last week went through 8 pairs of clothes in just one day, he was very fussy and had lots of wind, infacol was not working, I decided to change his milk from cow and gate to SMA and within a few days he is no longer a pooping machine! his poop is still soft but it's not pure water anymore and he doesn't have as many explosions. He is no longer fussy during the day but he does still have his moments every night from 7pm to about 12am he is very fussy, wingy and colicky, nothing compared to Lucas though which is good, I am going to get some gripe water which i used with Lucas and see if that works in the evenings, fingers crossed. 

Pictures off my piglets

So after a down entry I thought I would share some updated pictures of my piglets to hopefully make everyone smile.

The youngest piglet 

The eldest boy piglet

he is going through a "no pictures of me mummy" stage so that's your one and only!

The youngest girl piglet

Oldest girl piglet

little miss grumpy after red nose day at school yesterday

My daughters future.. what does it hold? Perthes Disease

... When you have a child you should pray they are going to be healthy ...

PRE RHIANNA'S DIAGNOSIS OF PERTHES DISEASE

Sadly our first pregnancy ended at just 4 months pregnant - our daughter had Turners Syndrome, Cystic Hygroma and Fetal Hydrops. I was young and very naive I was only 18 when I got pregnant, despite this my daughter was planned by both me and my boyfriend at the time (now husband) we tried for 6 months to conceive Ryleigh. When we got pregnant I did not think once about what could happen in our pregnancy, something being wrong never crossed my mind in the beginning, I was naive, thinking about all the clothes I could buy her, top baby gear she could have from buggies to furniture for her room the future and being happy together as a family. 

Which is why when I got pregnant with Rhianna all I prayed for was a healthy baby (although secretly inside I did wish for a girl, I wanted what I felt I should of had and lost) but had she of been a boy it would not of bothered me in the slightest, all I wanted was a baby, a healthy one, girl or boy. 

My pregnancy with Rhianna was tough, very tough, all I did was lay around and wait for her to be taken away from me, it didn't help that I got pregnant only 5 months after Ryleigh and I was still very depressed - again Rhianna was planned and we tried before my bleeding with Ryleigh even stopped I was scared of missing an ovulation even though I knew getting pregnant while still bleeding was unlikely. After the loss of Ryleigh i started self harming (which wasn't a first for me, I was a self harmer from an early age and did it all through high school, and I also suffered with depression on and off all the time Pre-Ryleigh.) I went to the doctors and got put on anti-depressants but as soon as I got pregnant with Rhianna I stopped taking them as I did not want to take any risks when it came to her health and development however small the risk was. My depression obviously came back full force, the anti-depressants were only masking the hurt from the loss of Ryleigh - there would be times I would lay in bed and cry with *feelings* that it would be the last night Rhianna would be alive in my belly, I would play her *favourite* lullaby bear to my belly and cry saying my goodbyes while rubbing my belly. My depression got bad and by 28 weeks I was signed off work with it to relax at home until Rhianna came along. 

Despite the extra scans during my pregnancy to keep an eye on her it was never enough and I never felt at ease, I had a few extra scans towards the end too as she was measuring too small and in the end I was induced on my due date with her because she was not benefiting from being inside and better out then in so they said. My labour was easy it was only 5hours 45minutes and an hour of that was pushing. I did end up having an episiotomy but that was the only negative thing about my labour/delivery. She came out and she was tiny, still covered in all the vernix weighing only 5lbs 13oz! I was asked if she was premature by the midwife but I knew she was not, I used the clearblue fertility monitor to conceive and we only ended up having sex once that month due to me feeling so down and depressed as my due date with Ryleigh was approaching and i wasn't yet pregnant (which was my goal to be pregnant before her due date came) so I know exactly when she was conceived. They checked Rhianna over and she appeared to be healthy the only thing that was a concern was her sucking reflex she would not take bottles, and after our first discharge she was re-admitted the next evening as she had not taken a single bottle - after a few days she finally caught on and she stated taking her bottles and we were discharged. 

Life with Rhianna was easy she was sleeping in her own room and through the night by 9 weeks old (kept an eye on via a video monitor that was in our room) she hardly cried and she was very laid back which probably led to me and the hubby getting carried away and creating Lacey (not planned) when Rhianna was only 11 weeks old!! there was meant to be a 11 month age gap between them but Lacey was a bit late making them have a 12 month age gap, We love having the girls close together and although it wasn't in our plans we wouldn't have it any other way, I love my girls so much. The next few years with Rhianna were relatively normal. 

RHIANNA'S DIAGNOSIS OF PERTHES DISEASE

The following story has been copied and pasted via her facebook group.

**********

"In February 2012 rhianna came home from school limping, when i asked her what happened she told me another girl had kicked her in the leg at school, i was angry but thought nothing much of the limp, maybe that the little girl must of gave her a bruise under the skin. A week later and Rhianna was still limping but there was no sign of any bruising, i again thought that it must of bruised pretty badly underneath the skin and asked Rhianna if she had been kicked any more, she said no, I went into the school anyway and spoke to one of the teachers and told them what had happened and asked him to keep an eye on Rhianna and said girl. 

Two weeks had passed and she was still limping and it wasn't getting any better, i decided to make a doctors appointment, which we had to wait about a week for, when we got there the nurse checked her leg over and said she can't see anything wrong but watched Rhianna limp, said it seemed "strange" and she couldn't give us an answer, prescribed Rhianna with ibruprofen and told me to make an appointment with the doctor if it didn't go away soon. 

We tried the ibruprofen with no change but i gave it a good few weeks before making another doctors appointment, by this point 3 months had past, when i told the doctor what had been going on he gave her a good examination and said there seemed to be nothing wrong, i kept going on about how long she had the limp and how it's not getting any better and that she hasn't had any x-rays done on the leg (i was beginning to think it may be broken from the kick!) he reluctantly made a referral to the childrens clinic at the hospital although by the way he spoke he made me feel like we were just wasting his time. 

It took about 2 weeks before an appointment come in the post and then a further 3 weeks for our appointment which was at the end of July 2012. When our appointment came the consultant did a good examination of her leg (the same as the doctor) and because she could hop and walk (she didn't have a limp on that day typically) that her leg seemed fine and she thinks "it's all better now" but as we were getting ready to leave she decided to do routine blood tests and x-rays just incase, she made us a new appointment for the beginning of October for updates on the tests. We went down to the x-ray department and got them done, then headed home. The next day we went and had her blood tests done. 

 A couple of weeks past and we received a letter in the post that the consultant had wrote to the doctor stating that she had seen rhianna and that her leg seemed fine, she was able to hop with no problems, walk, that her movement did feel a bit stiff but apart from that all was ok and that she sent her for routine x-rays and blood tests to rule out infections etc. I read that and automatically thought she was in the clear that nothing was wrong and just put the letter to the side and carried on waiting for our october appointment to be updated. 

One morning i was at the park with my cousins and our children (i have two other children) and my husband rang me on my mobile to say we had a letter come through for Rhianna. It read that rhianna had been diagnosed with a condition called Perthes Disease and then told us they would be in contact for an appointment at the hospital, it said there was a leaflet of information enclosed (of course there wasn't!) so i had to do all my research on perthes disease through Dr.Google! i read some horrible stories and automatically thought the worst, had a few cries. 

So yesterday (11th September 2012) Rhianna had her first appointment with a different Consultant , first she had to have another x-ray to check the progress of the disease, the Dr explained everything i researched on Dr.Google and how it meant no trampolines, bouncy castles, running, skipping, indoor play parks any kind of physical activities how swimming and cycling is good and how Rhianna would get a referral through for Physio in about 3 weeks time - about an hour after i got home i got a phone call from the physio department at the hospital who said the Dr wanted her to start physio treatment ASAP so she has her first physio appointment next week, we don't know how often the appointments are going to be yet, we will find this out at her first appointment, it could be weekly or monthly. She also needs to have regular x-rays to keep following the progress of the disease, depending on the x-rays and how physio goes will depend on her treatment, some of the outcomes of perthes disease are not nice at all, but there are many different outcomes.

For more specific information on perthes disease and to find out what exactly it is and what happens, please go here to this link, it gives you a full description of perthes :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perthes_disease

also here is the link to the offical perthes charity and website:- http://www.perthes.org.uk/"

**********

So since September she has had Physiotherapy appointments once a month and she had another x-ray done in December 2012 which showed the disease was still progressing slowly and she is still in the stage I of the disease, She has also attended sessions of Hydrotherapy. She does her exercises daily and she also does them at school when the other children are doing PE. What scares me the most is her future the disease has such little research that nobody knows why it happens and every case is very different. Will she need to have operations on her hip? will she be stuck in hospital on slings for months unable to move? will one leg end up being smaller then the other? will she have to wear a wedge in her shoe? will she ever resume normal activities again and get to enjoy her child hood? I don't know the answer to any of these questions and we just have to take it day by day but what may happen does scare me, nobody likes seeing their child go through pain, and the thought of her being in a broom cast, in a wheelchair for up to 6 months straight does scare me. 

Since her diagnosis she has been very brave and although it has been difficult for me and her dad she seems to have taken it well. She is not allowed to do PE, run around in playgrounds or at school, skip, jump or use a trampoline or bouncy castle, walk longer then 15 minutes (she has a wheelchair she has to use) She feels left out quite a lot but she covers it with a smile. She is my brave girl and through it all I have to smile and be grateful that it is only perthes disease and while i don't want my daughter to have any type of illness - who does? so many mothers are sitting watching their children suffer from cancer and terminal diagnosis, watching their child go down hill knowing they will pass away soon and I am thankful that my daughter has a disease which I know she cannot die from, she could be left with upsetting results but she will still be here & having to go through a loss of a child, giving birth to a dead baby, not watching her grow up and having a funeral for her then I can honestly say that perthes is nothing compared to that. If i can get through what i went through with Ryleigh and the months after then i can get through this - we as a family can get through this. 

I am just sad that it had to be her.

The Procrastinating Beauty Blogger ~ TAG

This tag was created by Hannah over at http://hannahheartss.blogspot.co.uk and i was tagged by Sarah over at http://mumx3x.blogspot.co.uk/ Thank you!! below are the rules! read and do a tag entry yourself :))

Rules:

1. You must copy and paste these 'rules' onto your post when you write it, it doesn't take long!.
2. You must state that this tag was created by “Hannah” and link http://hannahheartss.blogspot.co.uk/
3. You must thank the person who tagged you at the start of your post (link their blog as well) -follow them if you're feeling nice!, and then at the end of your post state who you tag, and then comment on their blog on their latest post to let them know you tagged them, and link your post so they can see what to do.
4. Title this post 'The Procrastinating Beauty Blogger TAG' so everyone knows what it is about.
5. Have fun! :)

So that's the rules bit out of the way, and now... Onto the questions:

1.Name a beauty regime that you rarely do?

Moisturise!! I just can't be bothered with all of that tbh i don't get the time anyway lol.

2. Is washing your makeup brushes something you do regularly?

Nope but then i only use one brush and i only use foundation powder! maybe i should get on to that brush washing.

3. How long will you last with chipped nail polish?

I only paint my nails on special occasions (so not often) if it chips it doesn't bother me, i am not a very girly girl.

4. How long do you put off buying/replacing a beauty or nail polish product even if you need it? (i.e purchasing a new topcoat, or a new foundation etc.)-

I always replace foundation when it has about one day left of use! i won't leave the house without it.. not being vain but it's confidence and self esteem issues due to bullying at school age, I do not feel confident without it. 

5. What is your worst beauty habit?

Ditto Sarah with the nail biting!! 

6. Name something non-beauty related that you put off doing all the time?

Sorting and putting the laundry away, it's so boring and with 6 of us in the house, it takes ages! i wait until i have no washing baskets left (3) to put it all away lol

7. When going out somewhere, do you leave getting ready until the last minute or not?

Again like Sarah my hair is so very thick i have to start that in the morning with washing and conditioning it, it takes 45 minutes just to dry properly and that's with a hair drier then a further 30-45mins to straighten, and even after that it still looks thick and somewhat fuzzy.. my hair is AWFUL! my make up i can do within 15 minutes as i only do foundation, mascara, lipgloss and eye shadow.

8. Can you commit to spending bans?

If there is a sale i get very carried away buying clothes for the kids even when they do not need anything!! i just love sales and if i see something cheap i just have to get it. Connor has plenty of clothes to keep him going until 6 months and Lucas has clothes all the way up to age 5! when it comes to food shopping though i am very good at cutting back and only buying what we need. 

9. How organised is your makeup and nail polish collection?

haha i have a make-up bag and it's all just thrown in there and kept in the bathroom, i probably have empty pots etc in there that can go in the bin.

10. What is the longest amount of time you have gone without writing a blog post?

Just over a week with my new blog i think.

I Tag...

• Julie 

Biscuits & Syrup

Biscuits and Syrup

I hope that everyone had a good Mothers Day - mine started with breakfast in bed (a very random breakfast chosen by my daughters) It consisted of porridge (yum)  a little dish of banana custard (yum although a little random with porridge) a handful of grapes and 3 rich tea biscuits with a little dish of syrup to dip them in!!  my husband said they picked it themselves  I'm glad he said that as I would have been a bit worried had he chosen the biscuits and syrup for my breakfast. They also got me some flowers and a  teddy bear.

We spent the day out of the house paying visits to our own mothers, still it was a nice day as my children were with me. We got home around 3pm and spent the rest of the evening bathing the kids, washing school clothes and doing dinner before putting the kids to bed and crashing on the sofa.

Tummy time & Smiles

Connor turned one month old today (where did that time go?) and he also had his first tummy time, he amazed me at how well he could hold his head up especially for a first time. 

He is also starting to do his first smiles, he did two yesterday and I am trying to catch one on camera but no luck yet.

He is doing really well and I am sad at how fast the time seems to be going but I am enjoying every minute of it, even when he screams for what seems like hours with belly ache but compared to Lucas' colic his is nothing I can't handle, I am just thankful it's not as bad as Lucas' was. 

Thank you for your views

Thank you to everyone who left their views on my previous entry, I also had views left on Twitter, Facebook and a mummy group I visit, and it seems the majority of woman never feel content with their decision to be done, even though they know they have to be done, it must be a maternal thing and I feel better knowing that it's considered "normal". 

Red Nose Day

Today is Red Nose Day and the girls have gone to school with red hair and red clothes. Rhianna has very blonde hair and I am hoping all the red comes out as it is very bright!

They also have a cake stall on this afternoon which I am sure Daddy will take them too as he finishes work early on Fridays and likes being able to join in with some school events when he can, he misses a lot being at work during the day. Who will be watching Red Nose tonight?? I sure will.

As a woman do we ever feel "done"..

I'd like to get as many opinions on this as possible so please spread the word of this entry and lets see what other woman feel.

Connor was my last baby, in pregnancy I knew I was completely done and I was happy with my choice to close the mummy hotel (aka: tummy!) when he was born I felt done, coming home from the hospital I felt sad .. sad that I will never be pregnant again, sad that I will never cradle my own newborn again or watch them grow to the age of 1, 2, 3 etc again... this was the last time I was going to be doing all the milestones.

The idea was my husband would be going for the snip (as far as I know he still is - although that appointment has not been made yet) that would give us no choice but to be done, but i found myself stopping and asking him if he was really sure this is what he wanted.. no more children.. EVER? what if we got to 5 years time and we wanted another? which brings me to this..

I know we cannot AFFORD another, if we had another then it would be taking from the 4 children we already have in terms of our haven holidays, Christmas, birthdays, days out etc and my body cannot physically handle any more pregnancies I get pre-natal depression as well as post natal depression and I have had problems with my back for many years and with Connor's pregnancy I had times where I could not move at all for up to a week and had to rely on family to care for my children (take them to school, pick them up, dress them..) there is no room in our house for any more either and moving is not an option right now. 

So why is this not enough to make me feel done? even though in my heart I know we have to be done. So my question to other mothers... are you done? did you 100% feel at ease with your decision? did you ever have any regrets? 

am I truly 100% done?? I don't know but I know my husband is in his words "You cannot keep having babies forever..." maybe that's it.. is it just the pregnancy and baby years I will miss? in time will them feelings fade away? should I count my blessings and move on...? 

Mummy Vs Tinned Spaghetti

Monday night and my husband went out to pick up some baby outfits I had bought and I was left too do dinner, I was very tired and opted for a quick meal (or so I thought!) Spaghetti and chicken pops. It took me almost half hour to open the tin!!

First off the tin opener had broke, there I was trying to open the tin little by little with the left over blade, Connor kept crying and I had to keep stopping to pop in his dummy and soothe him and then the kids start arguing, Rhianna falls over and starts screaming and then Connor starts crying again, Lucas gets scared and starts crying, I have three crying kids and a tin of spaghetti that just won't open - mummy was almost crying herself! 

After what seemed like forever the tin finally opened and I was able to cook the damn spaghetti, even better the kids ate it all, if they didn't I would of definitely been crying over my efforts of getting into the tin ;-)

**************

Bare with me, the sickness bug is still making it's rounds, it's been through Lucas, Connor and last night it was Rhianna. I am getting used to the no energy now and not taking as many naps so I will be back in the swing of things soon.

Sicky bugs!

I have been trying to write a post for a few days but my multi-tasking skills obviously need improving ;-) I have a little boy who does not like being put down and there is only so much I can type with one hand (he is currently in daddy's arms). Daddy finishes his 2 week paternity leave tomorrow and the girls will be at school so I will have to start putting Connor down more often and trying to get him used to not being held ALL the time. 

So tomorrow will be my first morning with all 4 children, I don't even know if I am going to wake up on time, let alone get them to school, I really don't know how I will do it, especially when they are all 5 years and younger and they all need me to dress them still in the mornings and with Connor not enjoying being put down we will see how that goes... may take me a while to get into the swing of things. 

Connor had his first sickness bug at 13 days old caught from his big brother (I am always telling him to share but this isn't quite what i meant...) Poor little lad was such a trooper though and was feeling much better by the next morning. He had his hearing test on the Friday which he passed with flying colours and tomorrow we get discharged from the midwife and he will be weighed, he was last weighed two weeks ago and was 9lbs 2oz and he eats constantly so it will be interesting to see what he weighs now, he must be near the 10lb mark if not over already - he is already in 0-3 months stuff and they actually are not that big on him, growing too fast already. 

I uploaded a few new pictures to instagram which you can see via the gadget on the right hand side I think it is & also talking of pictures i went to ASDA recently and look what i found

Of course i had to get it! 

#silentsunday

multi-tasking...

I have been trying to write a blog post for the past few days but something (or someone...connor) keeps grabbing my attention! at present he is asleep in my arms and i am typing one handed.. really need to get the hang of this multi-tasking...bare with me i will finally get the blog up before the weekend is over.

The birth of Connor James (Born in his sac in the water)

I wrote a quick version of my birth story on a forum i go on but some of the times were guesses and it was all from memory so some things were jumbled... since then i have found out my husband had been documenting times as they happened on his phone that was until i was squeezing his hand soo tight he could no longer use his phone.. so now i can write a better birth story, although still short as active labour was only a total of 1hr 10mins.. so here goes...

On Thursday 14th February at 10am 40+6days pregnant I had my membrane sweep done - twice! once from the student midwife and once from the proper midwife, I was already 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced I was booked in for another sweep the following Tuesday 19th with Induction booked in for the following Thursday 21st. After my sweep i went walking around town and i kept feeling alot of pressure and was finding it difficult to walk, my son was due to leave nursery at 11.45am and i asked my mum to pick him up so i could head straight home as i felt like the baby was going to fall out! (he didn't of course). The rest of the day was just filled with pressure and random tightnings.

Come evening i was getting two contractions an hour (at the time i didn't realise they were contractions just put them down as braxton hicks) so i carried on as normal and ignored them like i had every other braxton hick. Come 2am i was still getting the two contractions every hour i was waking up with them and then falling back to sleep until 4am where i woke up with contractions coming every 4-5 minutes apart i laid in bed for a good 15 minutes and downloaded a contraction app on my iphone which showed they were coming on average every 3 minutes and lasting 50 seconds long. I decided to go downstairs, walk about a bit as i still wasn't convinced it could be real, i ate a bowl of cheerios and bounced on the birthing ball still getting the contractions every 3 minutes, by the time 5.30am rolled around the contractions had gone back to 5-6 minutes and i thought that it must of been false labour as surely the contractions would carry on getting stronger and not start to fade away? i carried on bouncing on the ball and walking the house and by 6am they were back to every 4 minutes again, I decided to wake my husband who was oblivious to everything going on downstairs and asked him to run me a bath which he replies "A bath? you don't even smell..." before nodding back off to sleep... "Stuart i need you to run me a bath please".. while holding my belly and pacing the bedroom in pain which he wakes up "You're in labour?" .. "I think so.. I'm not to sure yet" I had been getting consistent contractions for 2 hours now and having to breathe hard through some and i still could not convince myself I was in true labour.

Stuart came downstairs and ran me my bath, I jumped in and stayed in for an hour, during that time I only had four contractions but they were very painful and they lasted a good minute I told Stuart that this was it, the baby was coming today. We had no plans for the kids who were all asleep upstairs and the girls had to be at school in 2 hours - Stuart text his mum to ask if she could get the day off work to look after Lucas and take the girls to school, thankfully she could, otherwise we would of been a bit stuck. I text my mum telling her that she better come round as i think it would be time to leave for the hospital soon. Only 10 minutes after sending that text message the contractions were 3 minutes apart and very painful I know I needed something more to cope with the pain and rang up the delivery suite asking them if I could come in because I needed some gas and air, they were more then happy to let me come in. I text my mum asking her if she had left yet because i was leaving for the hospital NOW! she informed me she was around the corner and would be there in a minute, my dad was also on his way as he was driving us to the hospital. 

We left for the hospital at 8am and the contractions in the car went to 2 minutes apart. We arrived at the hospital at 8.20am and made our way up to the dolphin suite (bit more laid back then the delivery suite, it has rooms with pools in for water births and is designed to be a more homely environment with a laid back approach). 

As soon as I got in the room I started on the gas and air I don't know if it's because I suddenly felt relaxed I reached the hospital or got my gas and air but my contractions went back to 3-4 minutes apart. They started running the bath for me at 8.45am and they gave me an internal check (As requested) at 8.55am I was 6cm dilated, they checked baby's heartbeat then carried on filling the pool while i puffed away on my gas and air. In between contractions i was speaking to the midwife about one born every minute the lady on the latest episode had a water birth and only just made it into the tub before her baby was born!

9.05am I got into the tub, it felt lovely being in the warm water, the first 10 minutes were fine, contractions coming and going, puffing on the gas and air, relaxing in between. (excuse the facial expression, a contraction was coming and i told him to hurry up and take the pic!)

After the first 10 minutes the contractions got 2 minutes apart and very strong. 9.20 came around and they put on my wrist bands and checked the baby's heartbeat again, all was well so I was left to get through my contractions. 5 minutes later and I am hardly getting a break through contractions, I had my eyes closed through the rest of the labour as I was in to much pain to even open them and concentrate I was constantly sucking on the gas and air, I remember knocking over a glass of water on the side (as pictured lol) and swearing a bit, then my body started pushing, this happened with about 10 contractions before I felt a burning sensation and realised his head was there, before I could even register what was going on I screamed out in pain and his head was out, I barely had a minute to breathe and take it all in before his whole body was pushed out. He was born inside his sac still and the midwife broke it for him once he was out.

Connor James - 15th February 2013 - 9.56am - 41weeks

He was placed on my chest and I still had my eyes closed, I placed my hand on his back and just remember thinking "Omg he is so slimey and long.." and then I managed to open my eyes and take a peep at him, I was so amazed at how quickly it happened once I got into the tub that I found it hard to register this baby on my chest was mine and that he just came out of me. 

Being wiped over.

Daddy then got to cut the cord.

I then got out of the tub and got to rest on the bed with my new bundle before he got weighed.. I thought he was going to weigh around 8lbs 7oz and Daddy thought 8lbs 4oz

but infact he weighed a whole 9lbs 1oz!! I was very very shocked, where did i hide him? he was a big lad and most of the outfits i packed were for a 7.8lb baby!! he only just fit into 9lb baby clothes. 

and here is a picture of him with his teddy that his big sister bought him, i promised her i would take a picture of him with it.

I needed around 7 stitches for a second degree tear and we stayed in hospital over night as Connor was having some side effects to my medication, we had visits from his big brother and two sisters and then we went home at 4pm.

Breakfast in bed..

....Although not the breakfast in bed I was hoping for, my eldest daughter Rhianna came into my bedroom with a huge smile on her face "mummy I've made you breakfast in bed".

She seemed so pleased with herself i had to say thank you over and over and pretend to eat my breakfast. such a sweetheart. The same day i am sitting on the sofa looking like I may fall asleep any minute and my 4 year old daughter says "Mummy, would you like anything to eat?" such kind children.

Connor's first stroll

On Wednesday at 5 days old Connor went for his first stroll, only a big circle around our area which lasted about 15-20minutes as I was still feeling really sore and dizzy. As we stepped outside a few snowflakes fell which made his little trip out more special. He slept through the whole thing and probably didn't even realise he had been outside but we got a few photos to document the moment. 

                                We love our brother

All of the kids have adjusted so well to their new brother I really am amazed, I expected a lot of jealousy from Lucas as he is such a mummy's boy but most of the time he ignores him and other times comes over asking to hold his bottle, give him a cuddle or just a poke on the cheek! My eldest Rhianna is being a right mummy and a really big help, fetching things, holding him, helping to feed, soothing him when he cries, she adores him. As for Lacey the one i thought would be the most clingy she has stayed out of the way preferring to play upstairs but has showed no signs of jealousy at all.

Flowers in a....drinks flask?

My nanny got me a beautiful bunch of flowers but I had no vase for them, I sat them on the side while trying to figure out what to use, a few hours pass and I remember the annoying drink flasks we got the kids from Haven far to big to carry around and the silly things leak all the time, why I kept them in the cupboard I do not know but on this occasion I am pleased I did because this one came in handy.

and last but not least a picture of me and all my children, this is the best picture out of the 6 we took, so you can imagine what the others look like. I am one proud mummy, I love them all so much and couldn't imagine life without them. I also tried getting pictures the next day of all four kids together, i think we took about 10/11 before they started getting bored and then not a single one came out nice, I will post them all in another entry.

Connor Update

I have so much to catch up on including my online Tesco food shop as our freezer is as bare as bare can be -but i thought i would give you all an update first (Priorities! ;)) I will do a few different posts over the next few days to catch up, unfortunately this one is not going to be my birth story (but i will get to that very soon) i really want to write that while i am wide awake (few months or years then!) and it will be complete with photos that i need to get uploaded too.

My newest addition Connor is now 5 days old and i still find it hard to believe he is here and that he is mine, the kids have all taken to him so well and we have had little to no jealousy from Lucas! i was so worried about how he would react as he is a right mummy's boy but he has been fine, asking to hold him and feed him and even gives him a kiss, this makes me happy. Rhianna has calmed down a bit now but the first 4 days she was constantly in his face, making sure she was touching him and wanting to hold him all the time, getting in a mood when someone else was holding him, but now it seems the novelty is wearing off. Lacey the one that was most excited she always called him her "baby boy" and thought he was just going to be hers, well she has took the least interest in him, has hardly held him, doesn't seem bothered by him, still spends all her time playing with her little people and doll house. 

The midwife came round today for Connor's 5 day check and he now weighs 9lbs 2oz so he didn't lose any but put on 1oz and that's no surprise he is already on 3oz bottles and is already into 0-3 months clothes, i have never "experienced" having a big baby before, my biggest baby weighed in at 8lbs 1oz and all of my children wore little baby and newborn clothes for weeks so when Connor totally skipped that age i was shocked, i now have a huge pile of clothes he never got to wear which i will need to sell, that's what i get for hoping i was carrying a 7lb baby ;-)

We have had a few visitors but we still have alot to get through! he still needs to meet some aunties/uncles/cousins and he is meeting the great grandparents tomorrow as well as his great auntie. Everyone has loved him so far but then who doesn't love a snuggle with a newborn?? My cousin got us a gorgeous hamper with nappies, wipes and lots of toiletries and a few outfits (not forgetting a bar of choc) which was really nice of her.

So far Connor is a laid back calm baby but then we are only on day 5 and we know how quickly things can change, he sleeps well during the day even around the children and all the noise (such as the hoover) but at night he won't sleep i think it must be too quiet for him and peaceful as he does seem to wake up and cry when all things are quiet, if he is on my chest or in the crook of my arm at night he will sleep a 4 hour stretch but otherwise he will just scream. 

We gave him his first proper wash tonight he was far from impressed but i don't think i would be very impressed being dunked in the sink either, i decided not to purchase a baby bath this time round as they are used soo quickly and a waste of money, he will be in the big tub before we know it so the sink it was. 

I will cut this short and save the rest of my rambles for another entry (one born every minute is on), here are some photos from the last 5 days. 

not impressed with his hair wash

Fluffy hair after having it washed

Just chilling out

Big brother giving a feed

Connor James is here

I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of my newest little piglet Connor James born 15th Feb 2013 @ 9.56am weighing 9lbs 1oz. I will post a birth story another day but for now will leave you with a couple of pictures.

Still going strong..

Little man is still going strong in there, he just does not want to come out! 6 days overdue now, only another 4hours until i am 41 weeks! I did go 12 days over with Lucas but i was really hoping this time would be different. I had a membrane sweep today had a few aches and pains so fingers crossed i go in the night, if not then i have another sweep booked in for Tuesday and then induction is booked in for Thursday night/Friday morning (depending on space!) send me some labour vibes, i really need them. 

Other then that he is now 2/5 engaged up from 3/5 last week (I think it works different in other countries but here in the UK it means only 2/5 of the head can now be felt) so he has made progress there, I am 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced.. my cervix is favourable for induction so now we just have to sit and wait... and wait... and wait.....

Three days overdue!

All through my pregnancy I said I would have this baby by 38 weeks, here i am 40 + 3 and still very much pregnant! I really should not be surprised, my daughter was 5 days over and my son was 12 days over!! the 5 days was a breeze but the 12 days... not so quite ;-) let's hope this little guy is somewhere in the middle. 

At the same time this is my last pregnancy and my last baby.. this will be the last time I experience little kicks (big kicks!) and the last time I will give birth and cradle a newborn and as much as I know I am DONE it really does leave me a little bit sad to know that this chapter of my life has come to an end but I have to keep reminding myself that I will be entering a whole new chapter of watching my children grow up together, helping them thrive and helping them grow into well mannered and respectful young adults.

So at this current time 11th February 5:55pm I am watching my three children sit on the floor rolling a ball to each other and this may be the last night i get to see just the three together as very soon there will be FOUR! 

My week in a nutshell

Rhianna had her doctors appointment on Tuesday to make sure that her urine was clear of infections (due to her recent accidents and her teachers concern that she was incontinent!) It was all clear.

Wednesday Rhianna had another appointment to see the Enuresis nurse at the Kirkley Centre, here is a picture of her building a school while waiting to be called in.

The nurse does not think she is incontinent because if she was her wee would be dribbling down her leg all the time. Rhianna's accidents started when she went to nursery and she would really hate change and being away from me, it's still going on 2 years later and we are looking at possible separation anxiety. She had bladder/kidney scans which came back clear. She dislikes being away from me and will try all sorts to stay at home, at the end of the day she is one of the youngest in her class (5) her birthday isn't until June, they do start school younger and younger nowadays, she was spending 5 days a week 6 hours a day away from me just as she turned 4 years. The nurse is going to speak to the Consultant and try come up with a plan of action as Rhianna is still going through 2-3 pairs of clothes at school a day. I will update more on this when we know more. I also attended toddler group with my youngest that afternoon as we do every wednesday, such a lovely, friendly group.

On Thursday i had my midwife appointment which i updated about below if you would like to see. 

On Friday Rhianna had her hydrotherapy appointment she has this once a week on a Friday afternoon for her Perthes disease. It was also my due date on Friday and i took some maternity pictures of myself (see below) and here is one i didn't get round to sharing. The candle is to say "Happy due date" to me, but now the kids think it was the babies birthday and is going around saying "The babies birthday was yesterday!" bless them lol.

Saturday the morning was spent inside and then in the afternoon we decided to go on a little bike ride around the bloke a few times as the kids were missing the fresh air. 

Lucas my 2 year old on the scuttlebug, he can't ride a proper bike yet but the scuttlebug is getting abit too small for him, bless him.

Lacey my 4 year old.

Rhianna my 5 year old.

After we did our ride around the bloke we went into town and treated ourself to Mcdonalds, one of our favourite takeaway places to eat at. We had a lovely afternoon and headed back home to try and fix the tent onto Lucas new bed! We got him a mid-sleeper earlier this week as he had outgrown his toddler bed, his room is really small so we needed something we could hide toys under to make his room a bit bigger, it looks much better now and he even has some space to play. (excuse the pile of washing these are the clothes that do not fit him yet, they were under his toddler bed in a drawer and now we have nowhere to store them!!)

Tomorrow is sunday and we have no real plans.. it would be nice if i could go ahead and have this baby boy! we will see what tomorrow brings.