I'M BACK!

So, I am back!!

It took me a while to decide whether i wanted to do blogging again as babies take up a lot of time so i didnt really have the ability to do it!

But never the less the past 5 months have been a crazy whirl wind; Jakes getting so childlike now which might sound weird but he's not so much potato baby; he rolls over and enjoys tummy time, laughs at his toys and giggles like there is no tomorrow!

It has been a truly remarkable experience and now I'm back doing this I want to change up how I go about my blog; I want it to be a Mummy blog but at the same time I want to expand and do different things in hopes i get more interest and a mixture of followers.

Hope that doesn't make me sound braggy; but i have 3 months left till i return to work and I want to make them count!

Ive got ideas...I hope you can get behind me!

Thanks

Kerry xoxo

Baby Is Here...

Good MORNING!!

So, I had a baby...i went into labour on Tuesday 3rd Jan 2017; i started to get lower back pain and period type pains which started in the morning, i honestly thought they were just body aches from having such a huge baby in my tummy.

My contractions began tuesday night and i called the midwife unit at the hospital and they told me to have a bath and try and get some sleep! I managed too but when i woke up my contractions were every 20 mins apart and MY GOD they hurt! I kept thinking any time now i am going to be having them 3-4 mins apart and i can go to hospital and have a baby!

That wasn't the case, they went down to 10,9,7 then 5... then back up to 60 mins! That wednesday was the longest day of my life. 

I went to hospital to get checked out and i was 1CM DILATED!? I was so upset and in so much pain i couldn't sleep and just cried if i am honest.

On the Thursday I was due for an induction at 11am and i went in and was told they would hold off as i was already in labour.

Unfortunately i don't remember much more aside from being given 2 shots of pethadine (which was so helpful.... i slept) and waking up Friday morning being told i was going to the delivery suite and i was straight on the gas and air!

Fast forward again a few hours and i had my waters broken... I was so high from the gas i really don't remember much more then i suddenly threw up and i wanted to push!

I pushed for two hours and then the doctor came in to assist with forceps and at 21:22 Friday night i had my beautiful baby boy who weighed in at 9lb!

I have now decided i am going to use this space as my post baby diary with my personal experiences.

Wish I remembered more!

Kerry

39 Weeks Pregnant

So, i was being dramatic and my cousin said to me i should continue this blog so i am!

having a baby isn't just the pregnant stage its also the having the baby and then what happens afterwards!

I am now 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant which means i am actually in the home straight of having this baby and i wish it would happen right now!

Other then the aches and pains of my body changing preparing for labour, its very exciting feeling him move around and how low i can feel his movements too!
He's still not settled though and by that i mean his limbs are everywhere still and he doesn't feel like he's ready to come out which is nice to think i have made a nice home for him for the past 9 months but enough is enough and he has a lovely home and family to come and meet!

I am going to post a section about how i have surprised myself personally and how pregnancy just keeps throwing me curve balls!

Check back in soon,

Kerry x

Diary; I finally Know where My Baby Is! #9

Evening guys!

Sorry I have been MIA, i have had a very exciting weekend - I GOT ENGAGED!!! So I've not really been doing much aside from looking at wedding stuff and baby stuff, its all going on!

But focusing on my little man here, I went for my 31 week midwife appointment today and this couldn't of come at a better time because believe it or not i could not work out where my baby was laying! Not because i am being stupid but i was feeling several movements all over the place and areas on baby pushing out and i just couldn't tell!
At my last appointment babies bum was to the left hand side and his head to the right.... NOW he is head down and is 'back to back' which i was told thats when babies back is on your back... and this isn't good because it could cause your labour to be longer and more painful? No thank you!
So i have been told i need to sit forward, lay on my side and spend more time on all fours... this is to try and make baby move into a better position so hopefully next time i will know if it has worked - i can telly now its bloody uncomfortable!

Aside from that baby is doing really well! heartbeat sounds amazing and i am measuring 30cm from the top of my pelvic bone to the top of my stomach so thats working out 1cm to the week (which is good according to my chart) and as he is head down he is low to my pelvic bone but isn't 'engaged' so hopefully it won't be long and he could very well be getting himself ready for his arrival, the amount he's kicking i think he is running out of room.

As for me everything is also good - I've not been weighed but i was weighing 12st 9lb this morning, i am reaching that 3 stone mark which makes me sad but i know it won't be long till i am doing bridal bootcamp and getting myself looking sexy for then!
I need to keep my iron intake up as i am doing so thats lots of greens, almonds and also some cheeky dark chocolate!

thats it for now? Not much has really gone on this week if i am honest! I want to do more posts on getting my hospital bag ready and changing bag prepared; also do a post about getting a baby area ready when your living in a one bed flat!

Thanks for reading!

Kerry xoxo

Emma's Diary Freebies!

One of the best things about being pregnant (aside from having a baby) is getting freebies! lots of companies give freebies out if you know where to look and one of them is through Emmas diary.

For those of you who don't know who or what Emmas Diary is - its a magazine/website which has been around since my mum was pregnant with me and it gives loads of information about pregnancy in the form of a diary and different products to try and also testimonies from other parents! Its really cute!

Anyway i have been taking my sweet time getting these goody bags and you can pick them up from Boots and Argos, so i thought i would share what came in these packages!
Im not going to go through in a lot of detail, you should be able to see what was in each and I will go through the products in detail when I have used them or want to review them, but from what I have seen they include various nappy brands, creams, pads and leaflets with lots of offers... Which is always good!!!

Each are for different stages of maternity;

Mum To Be

Bump to Baby

New Family

Thanks

Kerry xoxo

Diary; My Second Trimester #6

Im not coming into the end of my second trimester and i can hardly believe it! Its officially the home stretch now and I couldn't be more excited to meet by baby boy!

Looking back on my second trimester I have to say it wasn't everything i was expecting purely because a lot of people referred to it as the 'honeymoon period' of your pregnancy! this wasn't the case for me; i was still very much lacking energy and with a ridiculously hot summer in the UK i can safely say the struggle was real. But in saying that it also showed me some of the most amazing moment i could of asked for!

Body Image

Well, I can safely say that this was the part of my second trimester i was not going to enjoy because this is the stages were you get BIG! for some women they don't for others they get bigger then I did but it was something very weird to get used too and where maternity jeans  and leggings actually become your best friends!
I will add a photo from about week 14 to week 26 which shows my bump progress!

I did put on a lot of weight in my second trimester which shows in my face and legs due to an increase in eating and lack of excessing because i have been so tired! for the first 5 to 6 weeks i really got down about this and would cry because i just felt like i let myself go, but the reality is - I'm pregnant and its going to happen! so now i embrace the fact that this is the best excuse i have to sit on my back side and eat cakes (occasionally).

I have however been exercising; going out for walks, doing pregnancy yoga and still keeping myself involved with BJJ. This has helped keep some of the weight off but don't worry too much - after baby is born is when you can worry about loosing anything!


Aches and Pains

Toward the end of my second trimester i noticed a lot of aches and pains were starting on my lower back and pelvic area!
I spoke to my midwife abut these and she has referred me to a physio to get it sorted as i don't want any issues during labour. I was told it is where the pelvis is now softened and the muscles, etc are now moving around to accommodate a growing person inside you which means that it is a lot weaker so doing your everyday tasks can be a struggle and even be the simple trigger!
If you are feeling any types of aches and pains make sure you do mention it to the midwife because it could cause a lot of issues; I find doing stretches in yoga and sitting down when it does get painful helps.

Baby Movements

This is by far the best thing about being pregnant in my eyes! Feeling your baby move - I can still remember the first time i felt him move inside me and it felt like a bubble popping, this was around week 17/18 and i remember being sat on my sofa and thinking 'what the hell was that' and it didnt happen again so i thought it might of been wind, i then felt it again a few days later with a lot of force and i shouted the same thing and i knew that was the baby!
Throughout the weeks the movements get a lot stronger and the popping feels more like a small kick and you can just about see your tummy move! Then comes the alien like sensations where your looking at your tummy and all of a sudden you can SEE the baby moving inside, this could be simply moving from one side to another or your tummy being lifted up in one area, it sounds weird but its actually really cute!


So these were the only things i could think of from my second trimester which were different from my first?

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks

Kerry xoxo

Diary; The Anomaly/ Gender Scan and reveal #5

Its been a while since you've seen your baby now and trust me it feels like forever when you just want to see there face again and how much they've grown!

By this point i really just couldn't wait to find out exactly what i was having! such an exciting time now being able to plan what to buy and get an official name sorted. I was a lot more relaxed this time going into the maternity ward as I felt good even though its a big scan you aways want to think positive!

Not a lot was going on to be honest through my mind at this time aside from wanting to see my little baby again but as always waiting for your name to be called does make the wait feel so long.
I remember needing a wee because i had a full bladder when i didnt need to so i went and then obviously as i come out when my name was finally called and the sonographer and Karl were just stood staring at me...Talk about undated attention.

When we were in the room it was all a familiar sight as before and there my beautiful baby was, just bouncing around and being a proper trouble maker for the sonographer! Just would not stay still i was almost emabarresed because the baby had a mind of its own and kept kicking back every time the doppler was pushing down, baby has sass! along with making it very hard for them to make sure all was good we finally got there in the end and baby was fine... All looking good!

We were then asked if we wanted to know the gender to which we said YES! She wasn't too convinced we would find out because of how much of a pickle baby had been during the scan but obviously i am the mother to one proud baby because low and behold legs wide open and you could see everything and thats when i found out i was going to be a Mum to a baby BOY! I obviously was beyond excited!

Me and Karl then went to Southampton for the day because we had to wait for the evening to tell our families what were having. I decided on gender reveal cakes which were made by a friends mum and she did an amazing job!
And i needed to make the reveal online stand out even more so with the help of Karls sister i made a cute little photo out of the scans and other items!

Thanks for reading!

It was a quick one because I'm not feeling brilliant and i have a baby kicking on my bladder but regardless i hope you liked it!

Kerry xoxo

Websites

This will be a quick post to inform all you first time mummies about some amazing websites and apps i have used and read through since being pregnant!


http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk

http://community.babycentre.co.uk

http://www.whattoexpect.com/what-to-expect/landing-page.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/pregnancy-and-baby-care.aspx


Have a look through these and hopefully they will give you some advice on your pregnancy and the stages in which you are at!

Thanks

Kerry xoxo

Buying for Baby on a Budget

This post is going to be along the same lines as buying for yourself but focuses more on babies... some things may be repeated but thats because its just good advice! 

So as everyone has probably told you, babies are expensive and yes they sure will be; needing new clothes, bedding, feeding items and eventually toys your going to find yourself quickly spending those precious pounds so here are a few tips on saving some money!

Second hand clothes

I have trailed the internet to find myself baby clothes from second hand websites because believe it or not babies don't wear them for that long so half of the stuff being sold is actually as good as new! I managed to buy a bundle of baby clothes for £10.... and when i say bundle I honestly mean three large bags full of baby clothes! Make sure your being sensible about your choices and not just buying for the sake of it though, look out for basic baby grows and tops because babies will be changed many times a day. 

Clearance sections

When your in your local Boots check out the clearance sections, I managed to get my hands on a Tommy Tippie sterilising set for £10! Save a good £30 and that went straight into the baby fund (to buy more clothes obviously) You will be so surprised just how quickly stock can turn over, if you have friends who are in the retail business and work in a store that sales baby items ask them to keep a look out. 

Furniture

Baby cots, bouncers, moses baskets and travel systems (push chairs... car seats) can really rack up the price in your baby budget so think smart about it.... your baby might be your whole world but does he really need that £1000 cot bed from Mammas and Pappas? If you have your heart set on it see if you can either find it second hand or in another store which might sell it for less! Even better see if there are any Baby shows going on around your area... you might be able to get a great deal (will speak more about this next)

My Mum bless her has been talking to me about getting a moses basket and i couldn't justify spending £80 on something used for three months and before i knew it she has only found one on a Facebook selling page for £7... YES £7!! 

Also see if there are any independent stores around you, i went to one which is local to me and bought my travel system which is an iCandy and that cost about £600 where as buying from iCandy or other leading retailers would easily have been the other side of £900 and they sometimes have offers... we got our car seat with this deal included and it was only £30 and its a Maxi Cosy! We also managed to buy a cot bed from the same store which was near identical to one we had both fallen in love with in Mammas and Pappas for £300... saving about £700?  You do the maths guys!

Baby Shows

And lastly Baby shows! I had never been to one till I managed to win tickets through Emmas Diary to go to the Baby and Toddler Show (Thank you!) and i am so annoyed I didnt take any photos but it was so busy... I can always include items which i was given as freebies and links to stores which were there... but to continue companies from Mammas and Pappas - Cossatto - iCandy and SMA were at this show selling items for a great discount, we picked up a Snugglebundl for £33; not to mention i could of mentally spent a fortune and when it comes to baby no.2 i will defiantly be going to more shows to get some more incredible offers! Make sure you check these places out if you have also had your baby as they have so many stalls for toddlers too which makes me excited to go again. 

I hope this helps and if anyone wants a haul with my latest baby buys i can do it?

Thanks

Kerry xoxo