11 weeks old!

I know that I have had a break from blogging for a bit but guess who has clipped my wings?!! Fortunately, Naomi sleeps through the night so I feel that I have a bit more time and sanity(!!) to blog again. On the whole, things are settling down which is very welcome. Naomi is able to smile more now but it's not guaranteed just look at the photo! She was lying on the bed watching our ceiling fan.

So much has happened since my last blog, Naomi has had her jabs and has been to 4 Mother & Toddler groups and I have changed countless nappies!!! Naomi is meeting many people and seems not to have a care in the world - yay! What's more, the crying seems to be contained (at last!) and sleep is no longer a luxury.

Whilst it has been wonderful getting to know Naomi there have been times tinged with sadness at the memory that Daniel only came home at 11 weeks. There is a sense of loss for that time that we didn't spend with him particularly when time was so short. I guess you could say that some wounds are not as well healed as I am now in environments which are more likely to trigger memories. This has come as a bit of a surprise but that said we are able to enjoy Naomi and celebrate her uniqueness. We also know her better than we did Daniel at this age. She also gets spoiled and not by us, I might add...

We have sent Naomi's passport off and hope to take her to France with us as soon as we can.

Smiling here but I can't remember what triggered this.

Just a quick update to stop the blogging nagging...

20 days old!!

My favourite photo of Naomi so far - looking angelic... Now there are two sides to Naomi's personality the one you see here and the one where she exercises her lungs from around 6:30 to 11:30 pm!! Someone kindly pointed out to me today that I would have more energy to deal with this if I was a younger Mum. So I would - but hey, can't change that...

We are all getting to know one another as a family and it does take time. I just wish children were like photocopying machines which come up with a little error message and you refer to the manual and then are able to decipher the error code.

Kevin and I took Naomi to have her birth registered on Thursday. The last time that we went to the Register Office together was to register Daniel's death so this time it was a celebration. We were going to get her portrait professionally done but she just slept and we didn't feel we would "capture" her personality on film at this stage.

Apart from the "wah wahs" lasting approximately 5 hours each night, Naomi has also learned to suck her thumb - bless. Fortunately, for us she does sleep up to a 5 - 6 hour stretch so we do get some sleep at night but unfortunately her little body clock is out slightly.

She has been to church and Asda sleeping through both. I had to laugh as the other day we met up with 6 other children and she slept through that too... however, when I want her to sleep Naomi is at her most rebellious. In personnel speak, I probably would have started her on the disciplinary process (a written warning at the very least!)

We are seeing the Health Visitor tomorrow and that should be the last professional visitor that we see at home. This too is such a change compared to Daniel who had 15 people in his entourage. It feels kind of surreal, really. Where has all the time gone? Will blog when Naomi resumes her "angel" like character again.

It's a girl!!

I know many of you will know by now, but I haven't had the chance to proudly tell the world that Naomi Ruth was born on Tuesday, 22nd of May at 00:15 a.m. weighing 8 lb 1 oz. After all the poking and prodding she finally came on her due date...

I am thrilled to tell you that both she and I are fine. The labour was quick as we only ended up in labour ward for 3 hours 15 mins (compared to Daniel 3 hrs 21 mns...) There were a number of what I call false starts but I decided to stand up and 45 minutes later Naomi was born!! Apart from the induction everything else was natural so no C-section and no stitches.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and best wishes which have helped to carry us through these days.

Although less than a week old, Naomi is showing diva type characteristics and like her parents seems to know her own mind. She is strawberry blonde and has long legs (ok not from my gene pool!)

We have been home from hospital for a day and so far it has been ok. Kevin goes back to work on Tuesday so I intend to try and get in some semblance of order before seeing many people.

Just a couple of piccies... Naomi and I scrubbed up after the exertions of labour and a picture of her today relaxing at home.

Bags of personality...

Well, it's been 10 days since I last blogged and I had really hoped that by now I could proudly announce details of Beanie's birth. Beanie on the other hand has other ideas... Despite going into St John's last week to be induced nothing happened!! Well, not quite nothing, I was prodded and poked and one day went from the Ante-natal unit to Labour Ward to the Post Labour Ward all without giving birth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can see the funny side but it is an experience that I wouldn't choose to repeat again as you don't get any sleep and very little food in hospital. The bad news is that I am going to have to do it all over again next week. I shall be readmitted on Monday, 21st May to go through the entire process again. Whilst this hardly fills me with joy I know that God's timing is perfect and that has helped me deal with these hellish few days. My last night at the hospital I was surrounded by women who had all given birth. One of these only just made it to the labour ward in time, I thought I was going to have a ringside seat.

The most positive news is that both Beanie and I are fine. Beanie is approximately 8 lb 3 ozs this week so at least I know that I am not going to have the biggest baby in the world...

I am too big to drive so I shall be resting at home or walking/waddling around Great Baddow when the sun comes out. I do feel happier that I have a brief reprieve but really would hope that Beanie would be enticed to come out to play of his/her own accord. I am going to be eating curries, walking for Britain, eating copious amounts of fruit and any other good old wives' tales which encourage labour. Yes, I am really getting that desperate...

No matter what the sex of this baby is, s/he will be called Mary (Mary quite contrary).

Please pray that I have this baby soon because if induction fails I will then have to have a C-Section with all the health and practical implications that this entails.

Not long now.

The countdown begins...

Well, today there are only 5 days to go until I go into hospital to have Beanie. Scary!! It hardly seems possible that it is nearly that time already.

It's been a bit of a strange week as on Thursday, 3rd May, Kevin and I spent time remembering Daniel as it was the second anniversary of his death. One of those days where you know it is going to be pretty awful but are glad to get out the way, nonetheless. In some ways two years isn't a long time in others it feels like it has dragged. How do you move on from such a life changing event? Somehow you do. Kevin and I do look back with fond memories and joy in the delight of our little boy but the obvious sadness never leaves you. It has been of comfort to us that people remember him and it has given us the opportunity to share happier moments of our lives with him.

That was the week just gone, the week ahead is going to be all about Beanie. This is quite an emotional adjustment. We are blessed to be having another child, something that we don't take lightly at all (those of you that see me know that there is nothing light about me just at the moment...) Whilst we are not overflowing with excitement at this stage, we can look forward to the future with hope. By this time next week, the waiting will be over and our baby born. Who knows when I will get the chance to blog after that.

Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers as we become parents again. This can be the most gentle of touches particularly when we are bruised.

I've got a date!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a quick update following my visit to the consultant yesterday. I am going to be admitted to St John's on 10th May (just a mere two weeks away now...) to be induced so Beanie should follow shortly. It can apparently take 2 days for induction to work so I can't say exactly when Beanie will arrive. It all seems to have happened so very quickly and I have to say that I am enjoying my time out from work. Part of me just wants it all to happen now because I've run out of patience (no surprise there!) The other part is writing/rewriting birth plans and just generally making sure everything is ready.

I don't know what size the baby is likely to be but my Consultant has said that I'm not going to give birth to a whale (encouraging really!)

It is good to have a date to work towards rather than thinking when am I going to go into labour? Last time, I wasn't too sure so sent Kevin off to work (where he couldn't be contacted) and he managed to get to the hospital some 20 minutes before Daniel's arrival. A bit of a close call. This time around there is likely to be a lot of waiting around and inactivity before Beanie makes his/her appearance.

It's all rather exciting but I can't help feeling that I've forgotten something!

Maternity Leave - day 10

Well, it's going very, very quickly. So far I have been to St John's hospital 4 times (twice more this week) and am scrambling around to get everything ready for when Beanie arrives. In between times I have met up with a number of friends, tried to tidy and clean the house as well as rest up. It's odd to think that I've got only 2 weeks to go now.

The gestational diabetes looks like it is settling down but every so often throws a bit of a curved ball. It looks like I won't be needing insulin which is a real blessing but being on a diet, I do feel that I'm missing out...

I am not sleeping at the moment so, this means that most days I am washed out and just moving from A - B takes a lot of effort. That said, I try to do some exercise most days. However, I don't think that I will be able to continue with my ante-natal exercises after this weekend as it is getting just that bit too difficult now... Today I went to St Johns for relaxation classes to help you during the latter stages of pregnancy and during labour. We had to go round and introduce ourselves saying whether this was our first pregnancy. I decided to fast forward this bit for obvious reasons.

On Wednesday, I go to see the Consultant to discuss whether the plan is still to bring my due date forward by 2 weeks. If so, I think I'll be given a date!! When I last spoke to him the plan was to be induced and I would prefer that to a C Section. Will let you know how I get on.