So, I've been to see a few nursery's. Read every Ofsted report I can lay my hands on. Spoken to nearly every Mum at my local baby group and  I've found one stand out nursery that I'm sure Edie will love. My only issue being that I'm just not ready yet. How can you prepare yourself for something like this? I know in the grand scheme of things, handing your baby over for a few hours to more than qualified carers, it makes me sound like I'm being a little dramatic but I've actually not left her for more than 15 minutes since she was born. Even then, she's only been with her Daddy so I know that of course she's fine. I don't know how I'll ever be able to leave her or what effect it will have on our breastfeeding journey.
I have until the start of October, so any tips you could give to help us through this transition would be greatly appreciated. How could I ever leave this little face for something as mundane as work?!

It's amazing seeing her develop from a tiny, sleepy newborn into a wriggly baby girl. She's such a character and her personality is definitely starting to shine through!

So, this is not an up to date post as we're in mid-April now but at 10:55 am on Saturday the 12th of March we welcomed this little lady into the world - meet my little Edith.


She was just too impatient to wait until her April 5th due date and wanted out ASAP. I'd been in and out of hospital intermittently in the 2 weeks before she was born but her birth still came as a shock to me. I'd convinced myself I was going to reach 41 weeks, I'd just stay at 3cm dilated and need to be induced... Wrong... So wrong! The actual labour itself was incredibly quick, 2 hours 10 minutes according to my hospital discharge papers. It was pretty intense (back labour is not pleasant), the majority of those 2 hours 10 minutes were spent in theatre due to complications. Without the complications I'm pretty sure she would have entered the world in the passenger seat of a Nissan Micra on the back road to my local hospital! That all seems irrelevant now though; she's here, she's healthy and she looks exactly how I imagined she would.

I spent the morning fluffing up the new cushion covers we'd purchased for our sofa and making up lampshades to be hung up in the rooms - we've had bare bulbs since we moved in back in December so this was a pretty big deal! We spruced the apartment up, munched on hot cross buns and sipped cups of tea. All very pleasant. I noticed a small amount of blood when I went to the loo, I gave the pregnancy assessment department a quick call and they advised popping over in about an hours time. My Mum drove me down and offered to wait with me, it was only a going to be a quick check and more just for reassurance. I was hooked up to the CTG machine and within 15 minutes I'd met the movement criteria and could be taken off the machine. There weren't any doctors available in triage as they were all in theatre, because I'd had a small bleed I was advised not to leave until I'd been checked over. This was standard procedure so they could rule out where the blood had come from.

We must have waited for close to three hours, I was feeling really uncomfortable however I sat on the bed and I was getting impatient because I just wanted to get back home to prep the food my sister had bought for my baby shower the next day. The doctor was eventually free, she had a quick feel of my tummy. Again, all normal and of no concern however she would need to do a quick internal check to locate the blood loss, however small it was. The rest all becomes a blur. The doctor used a speculum and found a lot more blood than she originally anticipated, this wasn't the pink blood I had described but fresh red blood. I could see the face of the midwife who had been backwards and forwards to me throughout the day change. I just remember her saying "Oh, there's quite a lot there." The CTG monitor was strapped onto my stomach,  I was pushed down flat and turned onto my left side. The alarm kept going off on the CTG machine as baby's heart was experiencing late decelerations. A nurse I didn't recognise was leaning over me telling me to stay as still as possible, not to move from my left side. I was wheeled through triage on the bed over to the labour ward. I could see all these people around me and hear alarms going off but I had no clue what was happening. All I could think of was trying not to move off my left side but my body had started to shake uncontrollably and I needed to call Liam.
I was moved onto a bed in a private room in the delivery suite, one doctor was putting a cannula in my arm and another was performing an internal exam as I had continued to bleed. I was 3cm dilated and my cervix was 100% effaced. The registrar arrived, he informed me that 1) I was in labour and 2) there is nothing they could give me to stop it progressing, my waters hadn't broken yet but if it's going to happen it's going to happen. He held his hand over my abdomen and explained how he could feel uterine contractions and discussed the possibility of a c-section. I remember him saying how impressed he was with the fact I was so calm and called the midwife over to give me my first steroid injection. 
I never really felt any pain, I was hooked up to an IV and had a total of 3 litres of fluid pumped into me over 10 hours. I don't really remember much of what was happening around me, I just spent most of the time asleep.





The next day came and I'd slept on and off the entire night, only waking to be sick into the cardboard trays scattered around the bed. Liam was by my side curled up in the chair and my Mum had left in the early hours of the morning after baby's heart rate had returned to normal. The registrar came to do his ward round and was happy that I could be moved out of delivery and across to the antenatal ward to be monitored.  I'm home now but I spent the next 2 nights in hospital. I've had uncontrollable nausea and vomiting, high temperature, raised blood pressure, raised heart rate (at one point they had to take me off the CTG because my heart rate kept setting the alarm off and there was only one midwife to 5 patients). I was given a course of antibiotics to take at home as they initially thought I was suffering with a water infection but the doctor informed me it was highly unlikely as there was no sign to indicate infection in my blood or urine samples. My iron levels have dropped in 2 days from 116 to 94, I'm due my next appointment for bloods and checks on the 7th.

The human body is so confusing. I'm doing everything I can to make sure my little girl gets as many days as she can inside before she enters the big wide world. Lots of bedrest for me. I just want to let her know how excited I am to finally meet her but I'd really prefer it if she waited until April to make an appearance!

Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter. A little seems to go a long way with this stuff. It's deliciously thick and leaves an almost velvet like feeling on the skin after you've applied it, no stickiness at all. If my tummy starts to feel tight or itchy I grab this, it feels so soothing on the skin and has a lovely light citrus fragrance that I can't get enough of! I've been using it as recommended, all over from boobs to bum when I feel I need a real dose of moisture (pretty much every other day as my skin isn't a fan of Winter). It's also recommended for use up to 4 months post-partum to help aide skin to shrink back to it's pre-prego size. The Tummy Rub Butter is free from parabens, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance and colourants, xenoestrogens, PEGs, glycols and pthalates and their Omega-rich oils and Shea Butter are now organic.


I'm in love with this body oil from Clarins. It's been specifically designed to prepare skin to face the strains of weight changes and stretching, making it ideal for use in pregnancy as you're going to be stretching a lot! The base oil is Hazelnut with 100% pure and powerful plant extracts including Rosemary, Geranium and Mint. It basically makes your bathroom smell like the most luxurious spa. I've taken to using it all over my torso after I get out of the shower and before I go to bed. Each application feels like a real treat for my skin and I definitely notice the texture of my skin after use feels much more nourished and plump. 


The Secret Saviours system is a 3 part kit, a Day Gel, a Night Cream and an Anti Stretch Mark Band. There is a handy sizing guide for the band on the website, I purchased mine in size S. I was 76cm when I initially ordered and I'm now 90cm so it's looking like the Small band will last me through the entirety of my pregnancy *fingers crossed*. I apply the Day Gel each morning to my bump, I use about 3 pumps and allow it to soak in a little until it has a slightly sticky texture on my skin. Then I pop my bump band on so the pads are facing inwards and go about my day. My bump feels nice and secure and my lower back feels lightly supported. Being a neutral rose pink also means I can wear it under lighter clothing without it showing through. Some days I'm able to keep it on longer than others, if my skin is feeling super sensitive I keep it on until I get home and then apply the Night Cream straight away. Both the Day Gel and Night Cream have a beautiful botanical spa scent (I'm loving these scent's during my pregnancy!), the scent alone makes application feel like a real luxury treat. There's a great video on the Secret Saviours website explaining in more detail exactly how the band works to dissipate stress under the skin and therefore prevent stretch marks forming. (http://secretsaviours.com/pages/how-to-use-secret-saviours)



I've tried more than a few dud products to get to this shortlist and the combination of these 3 products at the moment has given me the most amazing skin. I've also purchased a Brita water jug to encourage me to stay hydrated as hydration is the key to supple, elastic skin. Hopefully I'll make it to 40 weeks with minimal marks, I know there is evidence to show stretch marks are genetic and as my Mum did suffer with stretch marks too so I'm not expecting to come out completely unscathed. Either way I feel like my little massaging ritual has helped me to bond with my baby and I've enjoyed the time I've spent pampering my little bump.