Confidence

So I was browsing YouTube earlier and was watching some of the Draw my Life videos and I came across one by 'suzistyles' (you can watch her video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S6iFzpE8xo) where she talks about a teacher when she was at school laughing at her and knocking her confidence because she had asked 'what a novel is?'

This really made me feel sad and got me thinking about how much one comment from a teacher can really stay with a person throughout their childhood and even throughout their life. As a teacher (I must point out I do not work in a school, I work in a private after school tuition centre for children who need extra support or who need an extra challenge) my main goal with all my students is for them to leave my centre brimming with confidence and self-belief each and every time they come to see me. It makes me feel so sad that one comment  can affect a young person throughout their schooling and make them feel belittled and stupid.

Even as adults who are role models for young people it is important to ensure that all young people feel valued and supported and that we ensure that all young people feel confident and that we help them to be the best that they can be.

Do any of you have similar stories about teachers or adults knocking your confidence?

Sunshine

Tilly cat enjoying the sunshine!

What pets do you have?

Push present

I forgot to share this before.... but I got a beautiful push present from Adam at the birth of our daughter.


What push presents did you get?

MUA makeover!

I decided to give myself a makeover with the beauty products I showed you in my last blog post.


Here are the results.....

Prepared!

We are definitely stocked up on the baby milk this week!

Beauty Haul!

Today I went shopping for makeup with my sister (check out her blog here: www.eleanorsusan.blogspot.com)

I don't have a huge make-up collection. I have the usual foundation, concealer, mascara and eye liner and that's about as far as it goes! I usually rarely buy make-up but when I do I tend to go for the high end products like Dior but today I went on a big drug store shopping spree!

Here are my purchases:

MUA bronzer - £3

MUA brow kit - £3.50

MUA foundation - £5

MUA fixing mist - £5

MUA highlighter - £3

Check out my YouTube video for more on the haul

 Have any of you tried MUA makeup?

Friday night takeout!

I just had a yummy Indian takeaway :)
- chicken madras and boiled rice.

What's your favourite takeaway?

Weight Loss!

If you flick back to my New Years Resolution blog post I mentioned my resolutions on there: lose weight, make more money and make more home cooked food. Well I have actually for once stuck to one of my resolutions! Woohoo, go me!

I have lost half a stone! I don't know how, I haven't been dieting or exercising but somehow I have managed since January to lose half a stone! I am very proud of myself right now as you guys can probably tell and this has spurred me on to try and lose some more. I am hoping to lose another stone and then I think I will be back to my pre-pregnancy and probably be back to the size I was back in 2010 which would make me have the biggest smile EVER!

My make more money resolution is sort of coming along nicely. I haven't myself made more money but my partner is up for a pay rise and therefore will affect our finances as a family for the better....I'm still hoping for that lottery win though....then I can buy my mansion and Ferrari and jet off across the world....OK I need to stop dreaming now.

We have also been pretty good with our making more fresh food resolution too, we have been cooking shepherds pie and fresh pasta dishes. It's hard when you both work late but when you plan your meals for the week it makes it easier and I think this is key for us.

Bio Oil Review

Bonjour, aufwiedersehen, ciao.... ( I have no idea if all of those mean hello....I hope so...)


Many women who are pregnant or have been pregnant use or at least know about bio oil helping to reduce/stop/prevent/heal the dreaded stretch marks! Here is a picture of the large size bottle, I think this size costs around £20.

I used bio oil from being 6 weeks pregnant right the way through to the very end and did it work for me................................not exactly!

I'm not going to say it did't work because I actually had no stretch marks until 37 weeks pregnant and even then I only had 2 or 3 and they really weren't that bad. I was applying bio oil religiously twice a day and although it was a pain as it didn't really soak into your skin properly so it would end up all over your top I was determined to continue as I had been using it for so long and had heard good things about it. My stretch mark dilemma all happened (apart from those 2-3 I mentioned) when I went into hospital :( Alas I believe after having my c-section I came out with 5-6 extra little buggers :(

I continued to use the bio oil for weeks after my baby was born but honestly it seemed to make no difference to the appearance of my stretch marks.

I am now a firm believer that it is down to genetics and how big your baby gets etc as to how many (if any) stretch marks you are going to get. What I will say in bio oils defence is that I didn't get a single mark until 38 weeks.. could of been down to the bio oil, who knows and that it does leave your skin really smooth after you apply it. Also it is a great substitue for massage oil if all else fails....

To those of you who have lots of lovely babies and do not end up with a single stretch mark, I hate you.................haha only kidding.

Mummy and Baby Favourites 0-5 months!

Firstly............It's sunny in the UK finally!!

I have decided to do a quick post today on favourite baby items that have been useful for me and useful for baby since she has been born. 

First on the list is this teether toy. It's called Sophie le Giraffe which I think just translates into Sophie the Giraffe?! It's a great baby toy as the handles are small enough for baby to grab and its easy for them to chew on. This costs around £7 and can be purchased from most baby shops in the UK.

The second item we have been loving is this baby mobile bought from Mamas & papas. This is in the Zeddy and Parsnip design which is the design we chose for the nursery. It plays the tune of 'English Country Garden' as the characters Zeddy and Parsnip are gardeners and baby just loves it! It doesn't help put her to sleep but she loves trying to grab it and staring at it. This cost around £30.

The third item is another piece from the Zeddy and Parsnip range from Mamas & papas and is a sleepsack. I like this because I know it's keeping her warm but she isn't pulling the covers over her head and she can't kick this off so she stays warm all night. This cost £36. A little expensive maybe, and you can buy cheaper ones but it matched her nursery. 

The fourth item is a boppy pillow :) I think this is actually called a Widgy pillow and I bought this before she was born from Asda for £14 which I think is really reasonable. The cover is removable so you can wash it and I use it to help her sit up or sometimes we use it for tummy time. It can also be used to help support your baby while feeding.

The fifth item is this sun blind. We actually picked this up at The Baby Show. For those of you who don't know what The Baby Show is, it is a big event held a few times a year in different locations around the UK where there are loads of stalls selling all kinds of goodies for mums and babies. This sun blind was bought with the intention of not having to buy a parasol, however this has not worked in place of a parasol as the wind moves it every time you are walking down the road which is really annoying! It is however brilliant for attaching to the car seat and using as a window blind in the car instead of sticking up blinds on the glass windows which I hate doing as it leaves horrible marks. This cost us £8.

Below is the sun blind folded down so it is easily transportable too :)

The last item is this Vtech tambourine. We bought this to hang off the car seat to keep baby entertained while in the car, she loves lights and sounds and other toys we had tried would only keep making sound if you kept touching them whereas this one works off a shaking motion (as if you were to shake a tambourine) so obviously as the car drives it moves and therefore the music and lights keep playing. This cost £12 and we bought it from The Entertainer.

I hope that list proves useful for some of you looking for good baby buys for babies from birth to 5 months. 

Bye for now.....

My Labour and Delivery Story

So I am not going to post any gruesome pictures of my labour and delivery, this post is just going to be me writing my story so if you like looking at photos too I apologise but I promise I will upload a new post with lots of photos soon!

It all started on a Monday (November 19th) I hadn't been feeling baby move as much as usual so we went into the hospital to be monitored. We sat on the machines for what seemed like an eternity and although they said everything looked OK they asked me to come back the next day to be monitored again.

 I went back on the Tuesday and was monitored again and although they had said the variability wasn't great - no one explains to you all the lingo you just accept what they tell you, they sent me home again.

By Wednesday evening (21st November 2012 - which actually was my due date!) I had been at work and had the worst headache of my life! I don't just mean a little niggling headache from being dehydrated or from staring at a computer screen for too long, a full blown migraine! I came home and took 2 paracetamols to try and ease the pain but nothing worked! I tried to sleep but it just wouldn't shift! It was horrendous! Anyway the next day I woke up and called my mum to tell her I was still suffering with this headache and she decided it would be a good idea to take me to the hospital just to check everything was OK because I was due now and I also hadn't been feeling the baby move as much as usual still. I was put on the machines again and now the midwives seemed concerned a the variability still wasn't great. They decided to keep me in overnight and induce me in the morning.

So now we are on Thursday 22nd November, I got given my own room after making a fuss about the snoring elephant in the maternity shared ward and was put back on the monitors. The midwives said Adam could stay with me and that they would induce me in the morning. They gave me a stretch and sweep - this is rather uncomfortable and unpleasant to say the least.....anyway not long after the stretch and sweep I started getting contractions, I told the midwife who told me it wasn't contractions as it wasn't showing up on the machine.....hmmmm well I was definitely feeling a new pain that wasn't pleasant! It got to 1:30am and the midwife told Adam he had to go home! I was so upset as I was still having these pains and left alone, scared and not knowing what was going to happen. By 3am they had decided to move me upstairs onto Labour ward as they were going to begin inducing me at 6am. I called Adam and my mum and told them to come back at 5am as they were going to break my waters at 5:30am ready to induce me at 6am. By 3:30am the Doctor came in and wasn't happy with the babies variability still on the monitor and told me she was going to break my waters there and then to get things moving. I had no one with me to support me and let me tell you breaking your waters hurts, not as much as contractions but it still hurts and it's very frightening when our alone and going into the unknown! She broke my waters and saw that there was very little fluid which I could tell worried her, she left the room to speak to her colleague. By the time she returned Adam and my mum walked in (thank goodness!) The doctors had decided I needed an emergency cesarean to get baby out as quickly as possible.

I don't remember much after this. I remember them giving me a sheet to sign which said something about if you die in surgery' 'if you need a hysterectimy' it was terrifying but to be honest I was in so much shock and in such a daze I really can't remember a lot. My mum came in with me as Adam didn't think he would be a good support as I think he was also in shock and he was worried about something happening to me or the baby. He actually ended up going outside and throwing up! The theatre was like a big space with bright lights and lots of medical professionals running around everywhere. I remember getting the spinal and it didn't hurt at all but it did give me the weirdest sensation in my legs - the only way I can describe it is like the consistancy of slush puppy (crushed ice) going down your spine into your legs. After that I lay there waiting to meet my baby. It didn't take lnog, maybe 5-10 minutes and she was here!

The midwise quickly showed her to me and then whisked her away to another room to weigh her and make sure her breathing etc was stable. She was perfectly healthy - thank goodness. She weighed 6Ib 2oz and was 19inches long! She was perfect!

Baby Mia was born on November 23rd at 6:26am!