Tuesday 29 September 2015

Pregnancy update 32 weeks

So eight weeks till due date! We are getting sorted slowly.
I'm feeling large and very tired! Really hate not being able to pick up James.

Speaking of James he's finally started nursery school. If you follow me on Twitter you will already know this has not been a great start. Poor boy has been picked up in tears and dropped off in tears. This has not been good for mummy and her stress levels. Still we have eight weeks till baby is due to get him sorted.

Have finally packed my hospital bag this last weekend, still have a couple of bits to get and put in but it's mostly sorted. Baby h has his bag all packed too. 

I'm starting to run out of clothes that fit so living in trackies when in the house and my comfy maternity jeans and jumpers when out and about. 

Getting out and about is really tiring now. Went into Newcastle over the weekend to meet Andy from work and by time I got back I was exhausted and in bed asleep by nine. Was glad to get some sleep as I still have the dreaded insomnia between three and four most mornings! The furthest I tend to go now when Andy is at work is the nursery & shops. I can't even take James to the park anymore as I can't lift him into swings :( 

Mum and me had our tour of the hospital last week which was great! Fingers crossed he comes after 37 weeks so can use birthing centre! But on a whole I loved the whole hospital so if had to use delivery suit I wouldn't mind.

Next update in two weeks at 36 weeks! It's getting closer to d-day! 




Thursday 24 September 2015

Hospital Tour

So yesterday mum and me had our tour of Newcastle Birthing Centre and also the RVI delivery suit in preparation for the arrival of baby h!

What can I say about from it was fantastic! Me and Andy have certainly made the right choice in choosing to have baby h at this fantastic hospital!

From the comfy waiting area at the birthing centre to a lovely waiting area at the delivery suit I knew straight away I wanted to have baby h at the birthing centre! I knew from having James what I don't want to happen. I felt like the hospital I had him at were too quick to give diamorphine and also insisted on me being on the bed hooked up to monitors where as the people at birthing centre said even on a drip u can still move around the room. They also only let two people into the room with you so when I asked to see my dad my mum had to leave the room! The birthing centre does not limit the amount of people in the room with you which for me is great as I know I will want to see my dad and James pretty much as soon as I can after having baby h! 

Sadly Andy had to miss the tour as he should have been at work, but had actually been ill. But there is a video on YouTube he can watch!

Just under nine weeks now till due date and I'm feeling very calm especially now I have seen the facilities! 

Now all we need is for baby h to come of his own accord after 37 weeks!

Birthing centre 
http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/services/maternity-unit_wards-and-clinics_newcastle-birthing-centre.aspx

Delivery suit 
http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/services/maternity-unit_wards-and-clinics_delivery-suite.aspx

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Nursery induction- The One hour visit

So we have had our one hour visit to nursery. 

How did it go you ask? Well it started out great. James was happily playing outside till it was time to go in. Once in he saw the reception class next door to nursery had diggers so he dived in & got upset when mummy had to take him out. 

Once in the right classroom he soon perked up once he saw the animal figures and of course the fire staton he fell in love with before the summer.

He played quite happily in the classroom & then the kids were told they could go outside. This is when I knew there would be problems as James had spotted the diggers in the sand pit. I sent Andy a message asking him to come and meet us.

Once it was signalled as being time to go, that's when meltdown central really kicked off. I managed to get him into his coat and get him outside. Luckily daddy was there & he came n picked him up and took him home while I popped to post office. 

Meltdown central was still happening 45 minutes later! Still he calmed down when he got hot chocolate and mummy put on Thomas king of the railway.


I can't believe how grown up my little dude is! 

Hopefully things will go better next week when he's in for longer and mummy starts to leave. 

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Nursery induction- The Home Visit.

Yesterday morning we had our home visit from James new nursery teacher and nursery nurse. James being typical James decided he was going to spend the whole visit hiding under daddy's desk. This is pretty normal when someone comes to our house.

There was lots of questions on things he likes doing, what he likes to eat, what he's scared of etc. 

We also went through his routine ie bed times what time he wakes up. His favourite things to do ie trains, diggers, cranes etc. the teacher was telling us about a construction are they have this term. I think James is going to love it as he loves nothing more than building towers & bridges. His favourite toys are his digger, his trains & his crane! 

Even though he spent the whole time hiding he is very excited about going to the nursery on Wednesday for his hour, the big test though will be next week when he goes in for two hours, which will build up to the full three hours for a full start on Monday 5th October! 

I'm really excited for this new chapter that is starting in our lives. I think once James gets used to the new routine for mornings where he will have to be up,fed & dressed then put the door by half past eight I'm hoping he with start to thrive! 

Saturday 12 September 2015

Potty training - three weeks in!

So three weeks and two days after we took a tough stand on James and his potty refusal it looks like we have finally had a breakthrough!

This week he has been brilliant! We have been getting both number 1 and number 2s on potty. There has been less reminding him and asking him to go. There has been a lot of going on his own free will.

But the biggest breakthrough was yesterday (Friday 11/09/15) when we were out, he used one of his travel potty seats for the first time! Before that he would hold it in till we got home and he could use his potty.

We are so proud of him and how quickly he has adapted especially as he starts nursery school next week! 

The next step is getting him to use a seat on the toilet at home. I think this may take a while as our toilet is pretty old and high, so we may have to purchase some sort of higher step for him.

I'm so glad he is out of nappies/pull ups during the day! Especially as his little brother is due in 10 weeks time! (I'm saying more like 12 weeks as I'm convinced he will be two weeks late!)

So onto night time well surprisingly he's quite often dry in the morning. I would say normally five mornings out of seven when we take his night nappy off it is bone dry! I'm not ready to take him out of nappies all together at night just yet. I think once he is dry every night for a few weeks then we will consider it. 

Sunday 6 September 2015

The week before the madness starts

So this coming week marks my last full week at home with James before the madness of the nursery induction starts. I can't believe how fast the time has come for my little boy to start the journey of education. 

We have his home visit from his teacher on September 14th, then madness kicks in from the 16th when we spend our first hour in the nursery setting. Then we are back in on 24th, but this time we there for two hours. Then parents gradually withdraw and the time gets longer. So by October 5th, James will be in nursery full time 0855 till 1155 Monday till Friday! 

We have virtually cracked potty training this last week. Well number ones we have. Still having issues with getting to potty in time for a number two.

Mummy is feeling very emotional at the thought of James being away from me for three hours a day, but it will do us both good, especially as I enter the last few weeks of pregnancy. 

I feel lucky that the way Andy's work shifts work out he can share the induction process with me, giving me time to relax and rest at home before going to meet him & James at the end of nursery.

Then once James is in full time daddy can do some of the drop offs, especially as it gets closer to baby arriving. 

I'm hoping James settles in quickly so we don't have to be in with him for too long.


Tuesday 1 September 2015

Potty training Mr Stubborn!

When it comes to potty training, James is definetly Mr Stubborn! 

We first got his potty chair from mothercare in summer 2014 just before he turned two. Having it around the house was pretty good, but James was showing no interest in learning how to use it. 

As his third birthday started approaching I started to panic a little about having to send him to nursery wearing pull-ups, as well some days he could get through three pairs in an hour! We decided that the day after he turned three there would be no more pull-ups! 

We are now six days in & today we only had one little accident! We still haven't left the house yet, that will happen on Thursday when James goes to tesco with his gaga while mummy goes for midwife appointment.

Will do a training update in a couple of weeks! 

Trouser less till we can master staying dry! (Yes he is sat on a towel!)


Gro to Bed Review

Like most toddlers, bedtime can be challenging with James. One of the main problems is keeping the duvet and pillows actually on the bed.

James was a summer baby so even as a newborn baby, he would always be kicking off his blankets as he was too small to sleep in gro bags till he was about eight weeks old. Once he was wearing them we had no problems. But since he moved into a big boy bed with a duvet and pillow we again started experiencing him kicking them off during the night then waking up cold.

When The Gro Company got in touch and asked if we would like to test out their Gro to bed range we jumped at the chance.

The Gro Company say "Comfortable, safe and available in a number of lovely designs, the ‘Gro-to-bed range we make at the Gro Company is produced with the comfort and safety of your child in mind.

Gro to bed conforms to UK safety standards, and is produced using the highest quality materials. It features an innovative zip in system to ensure that a toddler won’t kick free of the bedding during the night or fall out of the bed." 
I love how the pillow case is fixed to the sheet meaning the child can't move it during the night. James has a habit of pushing his out the bed so this should solve that problem.
It was very easy to put on the bed. It was simply open box, unfold bedding, unzip duvet cover from sheet, put sheet on bed, pillows into case, duvet into cover & zip onto bed! James absolutely loved the fact it was covered in transport ie buses cars etc! 
After the first night on the bed I'm so far very impressed. Going in to check on James and not having to try and navigate a pillow back into the bed or put the duvet back on after it had been kicked off was great! We did have one wake up but that was for a drink which is quite normal.
The Gro to bed system has now been on a few days and we as a family are 100% loving it! It's the perfect solution for toddlers to get them used to moving from a Gro bag to a grown up duvet and pillow. I will definitely keep on using this and when the time comes for James little brother to move into big boy bed, I will invest in a set for him! 
Disclaimer: I was provided with the Gro to bed free of charge and All editorial and opinions are my own.

Pregnancy Update 28 Weeks

Argh only 12 weeks till due date! Yes panic has set in as we have a list as long as my arm of stuff we still need to get for little man, his bedroom & not to mention the rest of the house!

I'm feeling really really big! I haven't been able to see my feet since about 18 weeks hence why last night I ended up misjudging the freezer, stubbing my toe, then shutting freezer door on my foot. I'm now sporting a nice purple bruise on my left big toe! 

Think it's time to start slowing down a bit & remembering that I'm pregnant & only have a few weeks left to go! Im still baking crazy & made a four layer piƱata cake covered in sweets for James birthday! Now all I need to do is decide on Andy's cake for his birthday in a couples of weeks! 

The biggest thing to happen since 25 weeks is James has turned three & finally started potty training! He starts his nursery induction on 16th September so that will keep me busy a few weeks! Especially as the first full week without parents being in is 5th October

James seems to be getting excited about his little brother & Christmas lol! We have to keep reminding him that before Father Christmas comes, his little brother will come first! 

Baby boy's movement has got even stronger this last week! The kicks are starting to hurt a little bit, especially when they are around my hips or ribs! He spent the whole of my friends wedding service booting me in the ribs so I spent the rest of the day in agony! I seem to get a lot of kicks and wriggles on a night still when I'm settling James in his bed. Baby boy seems to react to his big brothers voice quite a lot!

Braxton hicks have also started up this week. Exactly the same time as when I was having James. Forgot how uncomfortable they were! 

The nursery is looking pretty good. The cot is together, we just need to get a mattress and some new sheets. We have the chair that was in James room as a baby in ready for when little man moves into his own room. I'm hoping he will be in with us a bit longer than James was. James was in his own room by eight weeks as he had out grown the carry cot we had. 


Next update will be 32 weeks!