May 2006 Archives

Lately I had started craving chopping my hair off. For those of you who haven't seen me in a while it was very very long - too long. I think its the pregnancy hormones kicking in again because I did the exact same thing when I was pregnant with Emily. Except this time I was sensible and didn't got too drastic , just a short bob.

So while Joanne was here cutting my hair I decided to get Emily a trim too. Its the first time she has had it cut and it was getting very long and unruly too, although she only had a trim because we just love her long curly locks! She just loved it!

Yesterday we all went for a big adventure to Portstewart, which is about 1.5 hours north of where we live. We went in a convoy with Dec, Aine, Jordan and Molly. Em is such a great traveler I am pleased to say, she was as good as gold and mooed at all cows and baa-e at all the sheep on the way.

Portstewart has a wonderful beach and it was gloriously sunny. The only problem was that is was bloomin' freezing and very windy. We made a short attempt at a picnic on the beach but all we got was sand sandwiches so we ended up in the car.

Emily had a great day and to top it off we went for tea at Dec & Aine's house and Emily had a bath with molly to get rid of all that sand. It was a very late bedtime!

So here is the, not so flattering picture of me, but record of my bump progress so far. We recorded lots of pictures like this with Emily so it will be interesting to compare them. I am now just over 4 months I think, but I have already begun to lose count!

I really feel like I have grown more quickly this time, but its hard to say. A lot of people have said that this happens with your second one. I think I will be the same shape again, it certainly seems that way. So what are the bets, boy or girl? Hmmm its a toughy!

The past week has been a crazy week for me sleep wise. I am sleeping fine but the dreams are MENTAL. Its like every time I close my eyes I am pressing play to some completely bizarre film, it is that detailed. Any way best go and fill my head with TV and my belly with decaf tea...

When a child turns round out of the blue and says very sincerely "Mommy, I love you very much" it could positively melt your heart. It is just the most wonderful thing in the world.

But a strange thing is starting to happen and it has me slightly perturbed to say the least. Emily has taken to saying these exact words quite frequently and I have begun to notice that it coincides with her doing a poo in her nappy! I am not quite sure what to make of this but I am slightly worried that I have somehow instilled a sense of guilt in my child when she soils her nappy in this way. Am I reading too much into this? It is very strange, whatever is going on in her mind, I would love to know what makes her say it.

I have tried talking to her about it but it doesn't really work. She is due to be potty trained and for us to throw the daytime nappies away (for Emily at least!). But you will be pleased to know Sal, that we have decided to put this off until we return from seeing you. Somehow I think a 4 hour car journey with a newly toilet trained toddler plus staying in a new house is just asking for trouble.

I finally got around to taking some pictures of Emily's room, to show you and for the record! So here it is. I am so pleased with how it turned out and Emily just loves it. She is much more interested in playing in there than before which is great. Today her friend Molly came round and she was practically begging her to go upstairs to play! Its such a change, she seems so grown up now.

I still have to alter and hang the curtains, which are the same colour as the sky and I have seen a great bookcase in Ikea that we will somehow have to get. But other than that and sorting out her toys into baskets, it is finished. It seemed to take ages to get here (painting just doesn't go with pregnancy nausea) but I am glad we did it.

Oh nearly forgot, there will be a couple more painted things to go in there, but I will tell you about those some other time.

Finally the truth is out! Most of you knew by the time Warren posted about our news but posting it to the world kinda makes it even more real. It is a relief to be able to talk about it and most of all moan!

Right from the very start this has been a different pregnancy for me. Before I did the test I had an inkling that there might be a possibility but you just never really know until you see those positive lines. I'm not joking, literally from the moment the lines appeared I started to feel sick. Really sick. 24 hours a day, non-stop nausea. It was just awful! And such a shock to me as I only had very mild nausea with Emily - this was the sickness that I heard everyone else talking about. Nothing really helped it, but finally a few weeks ago it started to subside. Thank god. Until that is the tiredness replaced it ( I did tell you I was going to have a good moan didn't I?!). Now, the tiredness I can definitely remember from Emily. There is nothing like it, completely wiped out. But to paint you a brighter picture I am starting to get more energy now, from day to day - I still find it hard staying up past 10pm but I am getting there.

I think the biggest and hardest thing for me is being pregnant while having the constant demands of a toddler. I really think this is much harder than when I was working whilst pregnant. Emily, although lovely, can be hard work too, even simply having to entertain her with zero energy, let alone if she is having a naughty day. Lets face it, toddlers are relentless and unlike my first pregnancy I can't really decide to go and have a nap or flake out no the sofa and watch TV or read a book. Its all go go go. Saying that, our telly addict child will sit and watch a film so thats good (although too much of this and the guilt sets in). So yeah, this time around is a bit tougher.

Also, I suppose because of this I am not devoting my every waking thought to being pregnant, unlike last time. Sometimes I even forget (for now, until I am much bigger and getting kicked!). But the fact that Emily knows and shares the experience is just wonderful. She is always lifting my top and talking to baby and asking me if she can give baby a kiss. This morning, whilst brushing her teeth she asked baby if she can brush 'her' teeth too. Endless sweetness.

So watch out for the expanding bump pictures soon!

Max has given me the honour of making this announcement, so....

A few weeks ago (on the 15th of March to be precise for the record - 2 months ago today!) Maxine gave a little white plastic pen, with TWO PINK LINES.

Yes. That's right. Like Two Blue Lines, but these days they are pink, it seems.

So there you go. Number two is on the way. In fact, you can see the little critter in all their relaxing, reclining glory in our scan below (click to see it a bit bigger).

Maxine has been BURSTING to tell everyone since we found out, but I've managed to get her to hold fire (sort of) for a while.

The scan was our 12-week scan, but when the nurse did her measurements, she reckoned it was more like 14 weeks, so about 25 weeks to go! (Scan was last week).

Emily was with us at the scan, and gave the baby on the 'special computer' a wave. When we asked her what she thought of the baby, she said it looked "yukky". :)

She seems excited though, and has been talking about it a lot. Only tonight she was talking about 'the baby in mommy's tummy is getting bigger. It had some dinner". She said to me on the phone today that "I have a big girl's bed and the baby can have my cot. Baby Jump on my bed. I hold the baby's hands" - which is incredibly cute.

I'm sure there's plenty more for Max to write, now the cat is out of the bag, so to speak.

I've had little time to post these days, as you've probably noticed, but some things just HAVE to be captured for posterity...

Tonight, I arrived home from work a little late for dinner. Max and Em were already at the table. Emily was without her trousers.

"Pasta make me sick Daddy!" she said. "I was sick on my trousers". Ah. Not a ringing endorsement for Maxine's dinner, but I sat down with a bowl-full anyway.

While I was eating, Emily asked me "Are you having sick with YOUR pasta Daddy?" - "No" I replied, "I don't think so...". I had opted for Garlic Bread as my accompaniment.

"I had sick with my pasta Daddy" she added, as Max and I tried to stifle our laughter. Even when she's poorly, she's very sweet.

Well, we can officially say Emily is no longer a baby anymore, but a lovely, gorgeous, mischievous, cheeky little girl, who now sleeps in her very own 'big girl bed'. We have been getting her room ready for a while now, as we have moved her into the box room at the front of the house. I will have to put up a picture soon, but to give you an idea; the bottom third of the room is painted green, in a rolling hills type way and the top including the ceiling is painted sky blue with big white fluffy clouds. We bought a big yellow sun ceiling light from Ikea which is just fab. Warren thinks the room is just for me really, and I suppose he's half right! I could easily sleep in there.

It was so cute when we revealed it to her, she went in and said, 'Wowww, its beautiful!" and kept thanking us for painting it. So funny! Although, as suspected, the move from cot to big bed isn't a smooth ride at all. Every night we spend at least one to two hours putting her back in bed and trying to get her to sleep. Once she sleeps she is fine but I suppose the fact that she can get in and out of bed is too much of a temptation for her. We couldn't get a bed rail that fits on a slatted wood base, so we have resorted in putting the cot mattress down at the side of the bed so she has something soft to fall on if she needs it. She has fell out a couple of times but mainly she has been fine.

I just love going in, every night and seeing how cute she looks, snuggled under her duvet, looking so small in that bed. Warren said it was a bit like when she first went into a cot and I suppose he is right.

I was so pleased that Warren was able to take time out from work to have fun with Emily an I on bank holiday Monday. We all could do with lots of fun together! We went out for a lovely lunch (and it was fantastic - I had the biggest and loveliest burger I have had in a long time!) and then we went to W5, which is a science and discovery centre.

We have been one time before but last time the under 8's section was closed. We still had a good time then but it obviously wasn't quite as suitable for Emily. This time however, it was back open and I am so glad Emily got to experience it. There was lots to do including a mini Tesco's, where she could fill up her basket with food, a pretend cafe where the kids serve the adults with pretend food, a construction site (which Emily loved!) with a crane which they can use to pick up bricks and deliver them to children on a house, which they then build, plus lots more.

The picture is of Emily playing in the water park section, where she had lots of fun and needless to say got soaking wet, even with an apron. It was great day.