When I was pregnant he rarely sat in the buggy, so I decided there was no point in getting a double buggy. I found a second hand bibi strolli online and put it up in the attic for when the time was right. I attached it to the pram the other morning and we set off to the playground that is about 15 minutes’ walk away. What a magic buy! I can’t get him off it since and it’s surprisingly easy to manoeuvre, so I definitely think I’ll brave a longer walk now.

And for me, until I can get back driving, it means FREEDOM when I’m at home alone with both kids. I can just pack them up and off we go!!!!

So that’s Jack sorted and Jessica, well she’s a little pet! She’s much more alert this week too!

We get lots of questions from mums-to-be asking why other people’s bumps are bigger/smaller/neater etc. The answer is every pregnancy is different!

Take mums-to-be of the moment Kate Middleton and Kim Kardashian.  Both are currently around the 30 week mark but have had completely different pregnancies and baby bumps. Kate’s tiny bump has started to become more pronounced, while Kim’s baby bump has always seemed larger.

This is very common and some of the questions we get asked a lot are:

• When will my baby bump start showing?
• My friend/celebrity is at the same stage in pregnancy as me but my bump is not as big/small – is my due date wrong?
• My bump is much bigger this time around – why?

Here are some of your questions answered:

• No two pregnancies are the same so it is normal for your bump to be bigger/smaller etc than the person next to you in the hospital waiting room.
• When you will start to show is hard to tell. Some people can start to show towards the end of their first trimester while others may not start to show until they are well into their second trimester.
• You may find that you start to show earlier on your second pregnancy than your first.
• Usually your due date will not be off by too much and if worried your doctor will be able do another scan to check.

If you have any questions about your pregnancy, why not get in touch with our midwife Sinead.

I worry about him and how the whole experience has affected him. The cracks are definitely starting to show. For example he has been potty trained for a while now (well we have the odd accident, but he was doing great), but this week he is having an accident if not multiple each day (the washing is endless!). Don’t get me wrong, he used to have the odd accident when he was too distracted to remember to go to the toilet, but this is different as it’s every day, but only when he’s at home (not in the crèche). I spoke to them in the crèche to get their opinion and apparently it’s completely normal and should only last a couple of weeks, while he adjusts to the new arrival. The poor little man, he loves her to bits, but she’s turned his world upside down!

On another note, cabin fever is setting in with me – a sure sign that I’m on route to feeling more normal again this week. The no driving for 6 weeks after a section, coupled with not being able to walk very far is driving me mad!!!

The second thing is the eating disorder comments that are starting to infiltrate my world. The other day in work, after the Easter gorging of chocolate, someone brought in a leftover packet of mini crème eggs, now I must admit that I did partake in ONE! However, when the speed with which the eggs were consumed was noticed; “THE PREGNANT ONE” quote – unquote, was blamed!

Even better, again in work (I’m seeing a pattern!!) we were all attending a bake off, where one employee competes against another with beautiful baking delights, and we all pay €2 in order to vote, which goes to charity. Whilst walking into the canteen, another (male) colleague suggested that I pay double as I will no doubt be eating twice as much as everyone else.

It’s lucky I’m not the sensitive type… sniff…..sniff….

Have you had any insensitive things said to you while pregnant?

Now they are expensive but if nothing else it is really helping my back with its support. The instructions say to wear it day and night and to only take it off to shower, so I am (not sure how long I’ll last but this week I’m following it to the letter. I have to lie down on the bed to close it ha ha….but once strapped in I feel great. And even after a few days I definitely think it’s helping to push things back in place. Now I’m not sure it’s worth the money I paid as I know there are cheaper versions available, but too late now.

If you remember after my last pregnancy I suffered from diastasis recti (where my stomach muscles separated during pregnancy and never re-joined – you could fit 2 fingers into the gap!) and it really drove me mad, I hated my stomach as I had a permanent pot belly no matter how much exercise I did. So if this can help improve it brilliant, but if nothing else once it prevents it from getting any worse, I’ll be happy.

Only time will tell!

I tried two tactics;

1)      Firstly I navigated my way in and out of many shops, pulling on & off dresses that appeared nice on the hanger, but hung differently on me… I did this one day and I found the whole experience exhausting, it’s not as easy anymore to get in and out of your clothes, I find myself huffing & puffing a lot more than I should be. Although in the end, I bought two dresses, but I felt when I got home that neither was particularly suitable for the communion day. I reassure myself by reminding myself that they were a bargain!

2)      Online – Now let me pre-warn you, I love buying online; however I find with me, that once that “I’m going to buy something” switch is switched on, there’s no knowing where it will end!! Credit card is on fire!

Anyway, back to the shopping…. There are a lot of good websites out there, many of them though are in the UK, and you really need to feel comfortable with the style in order to buy it online. I ended up buying a long dress, this was because I read somewhere that you cannot get spray tan done when you are pregnant, because you might inhale the chemicals that are flying in the air. Now that could be one of the many urban myths that you hear when you are pregnant, but seems plausible to me, so I’m taking it as the truth.

I eventually bought the dress on asos.com, which have a huge maternity range, and are very reasonably priced. But did I stop at the dress… oh no, I then went onto eBay, bought the bag, another website for the necklace & bracelet, and last night as I lay in bed surfing on my phone, finished off the outfit with a  pair of earrings. The outfit is complete, but all of it in transit. Fingers crossed it’s as beautiful in reality as it is in my head.

asos.com

tiffanyrose.com

jojomamanbebe.co.uk

eloramaternity.com

nelomaternity.com

Now back to getting the house straightened out for the big day… my husband’s list of things to do gets longer every day!!

There is nothing like your own bed and being able to make a cup of tea whenever you want!

Well so far so good. Jack just loves his little sister, I immediately got him involved in the nappy changing and he has since taken it that it’s his job! So he helps by passing cotton wool and even wants to wipe her bum too and loves putting the nappy in the bin for me (that won’t last too long!). He is fascinated by her small hands and says things like ‘ahh look at her tiny fingers’. Thankfully it’s all going smoothly so far. When he came into the hospital I had a present ready ‘from Jessica’ to give to him so he was delighted with the surprise (a doctor set and a small Bob the builder toy) he loves nothing more than checking our temperatures now!

With the early release programme a midwife from the hospital calls to the house for 2 days after and then the public health nurse calls. It’s a fantastic service, it’s just you and her and they stay as long as you need them and give lots of tips and advice.

Our first night was torture – she cried all night if she wasn’t in my arms, which meant absolutely no sleep!! Jack was the same when he came home from hospital. So the next night I was more prepared as I remembered a few tricks that the midwives told me the last time and I also followed the advice of the midwife who had called in the next day (I’ve listed a few for you below). The next night was much better, she slept for 5 hours and may have slept longer but her brother wanted to change her nappy so decided she needed to wake up! I think this might be a common occurrence – the poor little thing will be hounded by him

Tips for newborns that will not settle in the crib:

1. Roll up a towel and place it under the sheet in a semi-circle around where their head and shoulders would lie. This makes them feel more secure and cocooned. I actually saw a bed that was made especially like this in Mothercare a while ago but it was very expensive and you only need to do it for the first few weeks.
2. Drape the blanket that you are using for them over you whenever you can during the day, your smell will help soothe them when they are snuggled under it at night.
3. Before you are about to put them down, put a hot water bottle in the crib to warm it up for them.

Other than that – my big tip would be to accept all offers of food. My mother in law has cooked us dinner and delivered it every evening (as much as I complain about her that was amazing!). When Jack was born I remember a friend called up with dinner one evening and it was the best present to get. Honestly the first week is a shock to the system, you will be tired. Just go with it!

I keep telling myself the first 2 weeks are the worst, then everything will start to settle down – both with baby and if you’ve had a section it gets easier then. I can do it!

The house or rather the state of the house is a whole different thing!! I am not a particularly neat person (apparently it’s a genius sign ha ha), but I do like the basics done, floors hoovered, bathrooms cleaned, just a bit of general tidiness, but mayhem does not even begin to cover it!!! I guess working full time is hard enough, but on top of that growing a little person inside you & whoa, don’t even think about me picking up those shoes in the middle of the sitting room, (anyway my bump is preventing me from doing that too.) I have to shut the door on the ever increasing mountain of clothes in the laundry room that are begging to be ironed……aggghhhhh

I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be admitting that I am looking forward to when I have time to do the housework! Although I’m sure the impending arrival will have something to say about that.

When we got into the hospital I was examined and told that I wasn’t ‘in labour’ what a joke!! I’m in bits are you serious, I thought to myself!! They offered me Pethidine – biggest mistake I made. I just felt really drunk, with the room spinning and I felt sick as a result, and still felt every contraction, which were coming strong and fast by then….what was the point of that, all I could do was lie down because it makes you so dizzy. Disaster!

Finally when it started to wear off the midwife suggested that I get in the shower (Now remember this is all new to me, I had a section the first time and never went into labour as Jack was breach so it wasn’t an option – I hadn’t a clue what to expect). The shower was the best thing ever; I could’ve stayed in it for hours.  It definitely gave relief and must have relaxed me as well……because I’m then told that I’m finally in labour, yaaay!! To cut a long story short, I got an epidural – fantastic invention, as soon as I had it I said to myself for the first time ‘I can do this, it’ll be fine!’  I didn’t have to though as I failed to progress, I never made it past 2cm, they even gave my oxytocin with a 4 hour time limit (because I’d had a section before). Time was up, so off to theatre we went! At that stage I didn’t mind, I was ok with it and I suppose having had a section already, it was easier this time as I knew what to expect.

IT’S A GIRL! We called her Jessica. She was born in the early hours of the morning, just past her due date by a couple hours; her time keeping wasn’t bad anyway!

I don’t really know how I felt when she was born; I was excited, yet physically and mentally wrecked. My body wouldn’t stop shaking, a reaction to the epidural, I also felt sick….but I have a little girl now so all worth it.  I saw her for probably a whole 10 seconds in the operating theatre, and then I went off to the recovery room and didn’t get to see her again for nearly 10 hours later. She spent the first night in the NICU due to her blood sugar levels, but she’s fine now and she’s mine!

All I’ll say is ‘BEWARE OF DAY 2 HORMONES’!

I remember them hitting me the first time when Jack was born, I was only just out of bed after the section and I was going to change his nappy, my first time, but when I got to the door of the nursery I burst into tears saying to myself ‘I haven’t a clue what to do’ (I was rescued by a lovely student midwife, I’ll never forget it). This time I was worried about Jack coming into the hospital and how he’d react and him having to leave me in there…the tears started in the morning and when he arrived I was in tears again as soon as I saw him. The entire visit was an emotionally roller-coaster and saying goodbye…awful! I was so delighted to see him, but hated the whole situation. He’s only small too and sure it was a lot for him to get used to too. Again, an amazing midwife came to my rescue that night. A good cup of tea and a few biscuits cures all sorts apparently

Thankfully I’m able to enrol in the ‘early release programme’ so I’m out of here asap!! I walked the corridor all of last night with her; she would scream if I sat down, let alone lay down! Why is it that every other baby was asleep but mine!? I’m wrecked!! The same midwife that saved me with the tea has just told me that I may be able to go home today (slightly less than the 72hrs limit if you had a section, but hey who’s counting if it gets me home to my own bed sooner). I have to wait for the doctor to give me the ok though….fingers crossed!

Some websites tell you that the additional calories that you need when you are pregnant is equivalent to one banana, ONE BANANA! Hand me a bunch of bananas, dipped in chocolate, with a side of crisps and pickles please! I seem to be constantly hungry, lunchtime is the worst, and I find myself starring at the empty plate after demolishing my wrap, thinking to myself, what will I eat next!!

One thing I am conscious of is getting my 5 portions of fruit & veg, and 3 dairy portions a day. I am very lucky to work in a company that provides fruit for its employees and there are yogurts available too. My way of ensuring that I get my daily allowance is to get a little bowl & wash 5 pieces of fruit & bring it to my desk, that way  I happily munch on it throughout the day, and I know that I don’t have to worry about that element of my diet.

Now if I could only hide the biscuits when I get home!!!