No don't worry about me!!

I have just met another new mummy friend for a vanilla latte (who says being on maternity leave is hard!) in Costa Coffee. 


Having been there many times before, BC (before child) and since she has been born, I do know that the door is very narrow for my big Quinny Buzz wheels. (Anyone who has or has had a Quinny Buzz must agree with me that the wheels are rather large!)  


I attempted to open the door first and enter the shop before the pram, pulling the pram in once inside.  This didn't work so I went back out and tried to negotiate the pram in while still holding the door open. (No mean feat let me tell you!)


The shop was full of people having their coffee who actually sat their and watched me struggling, not to mention the people in the queue who had a good gawp too.


Now I don't think that I am royalty and deserve having the door opened for me, nor did I expect them to kiss my feet when I entered, but surely manners haven't completely disappeared and someone could have got off their chair to help me out when I was so obviously struggling?


I think my pram needs a set of L plates.  Will I ever learn to get through a door first time!?

My breast feeding experience...

Being new to the blogging world, I have been looking all night at lots of inspirational blogs and posts.  One that really caught my eye due to my current situation is a post on breastfeeding that has been written over at Mummy Loves... and this has inspired me to blog about my own breastfeeding experience.


Mads is currently thirteen weeks and I have been breast feeding exclusively since she was born.  She was born by c-section and at the hospital, although the midwives were all brilliant, I found it very difficult to latch her on due to being sore.  To make matters worse I hated hospital so discharged myself after just one night, when I really should have stayed in longer.


The first week was awful.  I can honestly say I have never been in so much pain.  I remember feeling like a  pihareana was chomping on my nipple everytime Mads latched on.  I had done NCT antenatal classes and during them they told us that if we were doing it right it wouldn't hurt. (Since then all the mothers in my class have admitted it hurt them too- I am not sure if we were all doing it wrong?)


The pain did get less intense over time- especially after slathering on tons of Lansinoh cream and after a while it didn't hurt at all.  The cream was my lifesaver!


However then we hit our next obstacle!  I developed such bad mastitis that myself and Mads had to go back into hospital where we both were on antibiotics and drips.  However we still carried on feeding as I wanted to do it more than anything.


After this episode Mads completely rejected my left breast, and to this day still only feeds off the right one.  (She is a fussy little madam even at 13 weeks!) so I have to constantly express off the left hand side which is very time consuming and frustrating!  I have developed mastitis in that side four times now, each time making me so close to giving up.  


Yet I am still breast feeding.


Because for all those setbacks it is something I set my heart on doing, and something which truly makes me feel good.  I love the fact I am giving my daughter a great start in life, and I love the feeling of closeness I get when we are snuggled up together before she goes to sleep.


Yes it does hurt to start with, but once you have got used too it, it is a lovely experience.  And best of all it's free!


There will be people out there who decide not to breastfeed, and there will be people out there who try it and for whatever reason can't continue, and they shouldn't be made to feel guilty for not continuing, it is our choice as mummy's.  


However I can truly say that it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done!

My hairy baby- first ever Gallery photo!

As I am new to this blogging malarky I have been having a nose around to see what I can do to get started and I have found a weekly challenge thats right up my street. 'The Gallery' by Tara from Sticky Fingers.





I have not been very imaginative this week and have used a photo that was already on my computer but it will have to do.


Below is a photo of my Mads at ten weeks.  My daughter was lucky enough to have been born with a full head of dark hair and it is growing thicker by the day whereas all her other friends seem to be losing theirs!  However the one thing I can guarantee everyone says when they meet her for the first time is...


'Oh wow look at her hair and those highlights.'


She has the best blond highlights and has had them since she made her appearance into the world 13 weeks ago, in fact the midwife commented on them even when we were still in theatre!  


They are lovely, but I am also a wee bit jealous and resentful of her, after all her Mummy has to pay £80 a pop for her's!

You can't really tell that well on the above picture, but its an excuse to put a smily baby shot on!

Baby Yoga...but not as I know it!

Well today Maddie and I have been flexing and stretching at baby yoga!


We have been doing it for about 5 weeks now and we both really enjoy ourselves.  As she is getting older, each week she is enjoying it more and more.


To be fair we don't actually do much yoga (more lots of singing and bouncing and embarrassing ourselves!) but I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone thinking of signing up for a course.


Some moves we won't be trying however are in the below video.  I found this video absolutely shocking!  Each to their own and supposedly the baby is absolutely fine, but I think Maddie and I will just participate in the odd song and moving of our hands and feet!


I am still not entirely sure if the baby is real in this video, but apparently he is.


Don't worry Maddie, Mummy won't chuck you over my head anytime soon!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20029037-10391704.html

The birth of my blog..and the birth of my baby!

I have decided to write this blog and dedicate it to all things baby. I know there are a lot of mummy blogs out there and I have a lot to learn but I am hoping that it will grow and I will eventually know what I am doing!

I have always enjoyed writing and I am hoping that this will be a way of documenting my little daughter as she grows and enjoys discovering the world around her.

I thought that my first post on my shiny, spanky, new blog should be quite rightly about my shiny, spanky, new daughter.

Madeleine was born on the 24th December 2010 and is currently 13 weeks old. I do feel awful that out of any day she could have made an appearance, it had to be on Christmas Eve. I am sure that she will grow up hating us for having conceived her in time to come for Christmas! It was the best Christmas present we could have wished for, but I am not sure she will think of this as a good thing.

She was due on the 31st December, but came a week early by caesarian section due to the fact that she was breech. I had quite a few scans before she was born and at each scan they said that she would turn and therefore be allowed to come naturally, but each scan came and went and she was still lodged with her head underneath my right rib. I knew deep down she wouldn't move, especially when they told us that she was big.

And I was proven correct....I got to 38 weeks and she hadn't moved so I was booked in for a c-section the following week.

On Friday 24th December Mr E and I arrived at the hospital at 8am. We were told that we were the only elective section booked in that day. (Funny given the choice, it is not a date most people decide on!) We were told the surgeon would be along to see us soon.

We didn't realise how soon! At 8.30am the surgeon came and told us that they would be ready for us soon. Mr E was given some scrubs to put on. (He would look rather sexy as a doctor if I don't say so myself!) We were then walked down to theatre.

When we got there I was surprised by how many people were there- at least seven of them all ready to have a peek at what was going on down there!

The anaesthetist put the needle in my spine in order to give me an epidural and within minutes the whole of my lower body went numb. I remember saying to one of the midwives that we should be listening to christmas songs so they flicked through the radio trying to find some, but in the end we settled for Oasis!

They put a large blue sheet up so we couldn't see what was going on and Mr E sat close to my head and held my hand. I remember hearing them say that it wouldn't be long and we heard a suction which Mr E thought was them shaving the area, in actual fact they had already cut me and this sound was them breaking my waters. Two seconds later we heard the most incredible sound in the world- a loud, wet scream- at 9.35am our beautiful daughter Madeleine was born.

I can't describe the feeling of hearing that cry. The last nine months of nerves, excitement, and occasional paranoia were all over and our little angel was here. They showed me her quickly and then took her over to check her and weigh her. She weighed 9lbs which is pretty big! Mr E was over there with her and they all kept saying she was lovely and she had a lot of hair. Eventually they bought her over to me and I got to hold her for the first time. This was without a doubt, the most amazing moment of my life so far. She stared at me with these large innocent eyes, and I never felt so much love. I cuddled her for ages while they stapled me back up.

Then they wheeled us back through into labour ward where our journey together would begin...

And this is where this blog begins...