Sorry I've Not Been About

I'm so sorry I've not blogged for a while.


Bubs arrived on the 26th October after being in labour for most of the day on and off.


I managed to stay at home until the last minute and gave birth about 40 mins after arriving at the hospital.


Our little Kellan Jacob Elliott arrived at 7:01pm weighing 8 lb 3 oz.


I managed without any pain relief although I was asking for pethidine when I got to the hospital thinking I had ages to go yet.


I'll be back in the swing of blogging soon I promise.

Today is/was Bubs Due Date

So we all know babies very rarely arrive on the due date and I honestly didn't expect Bubs to.


We had some irregular pains and tigthenings yesterday which led to nothing. The mucus plug also came away yesterday but that doesn't mean a lot either when it comes to predicting when labour will happen.


I had a midwife appointment today. Everything is fab with me and Bubs is good too. Bubs is still head down and the tip of the head is in the pelvis but the midwife said baby will still be able to move in and out of the pelvis so it may not mean much.


I'm measuring 42 cms which is strange for me. I've only ever measured ahead with Gwen but at the end was spot on for dates. This time around I seem to be 1-2 cms ahead each week. This doesn't seem to worry the midwives but I have to admit it's worrying me as I've got to push Bubs out and I'm dreading the thought of a big head like Gwen's again.


I go back in a weeks time on November 1st and they can offer me a sweep then if Bubs is engaged otherwise it'll be a case of waiting until induction is booked. Hopefully Bubs will be here by then.


Here's my 40 week belly photo.

39 Weeks Pregnant

Another week has passed us by and draws us ever closer to meeting Bubs.


I've had braxton hicks galore over the last week. Bubs has been pushing down although it hasn't led to the head engaging yet.


I managed 2 school runs today and am now suffering and walking like a cowboy and quite sore on my pubic bone. My belly has dropped and is measuring smaller than last week.


Time has been flying by and hasn't slowed at all. Most people say how much the last few weeks seem to drag but it seems that just as soon as a week starts it's ending. I'm just wondering when Bubs will arrive.


I'm back at the midwife next Tuesday and I'm hoping we don't make that appointment but think I'm hoping just a little too much there.


So here's my 39 week belly photo

I'm measuring at 44 inches

Wow It's Been A While

So what have we been up to since last week.


To be honest not a lot has happened until today.


I entered a competition on a facebook page to design a fitted nappy and give it a name. I designed a cream coloured nappy with red, white and navy cotton thread trim and red and navy snaps and named it Jack as in Union Jack. The facebook page's owner will order a batch of the nappies in my design to sell on her website and I also get a nappy in my design too. I'm not sure when I get the nappy but can't wait to see it and of course will review it when I get the chance to use it. The nappy I won is made by Sloomb

Cerys failed the Kent Test which is to see if she is suitable for grammar schools in our area. We were fully expecting this as she's not at the year 6 level yet in all her subjects. We've now applied for the schools we want her to go to and have a long wait until March 1st to find out which school she has gotten in to.


We ordered a change mat for Bubs last week. We usually buy one of those large rectangular mats with foam around the edges and covered in plastic. We find they pop easily and  then you have foam hanging out of them. I decided that this time I wanted to avoid them and try something smaller. I looked at all the cloth change mats but found they weren't very thick and didn't feel comfortable using them with a newborn. I then came across the Bibetta Roll 'n' Go mat. It's small, plastic but not hard it's soft, very padded, can be rolled up and you can wash it in the washing machine. It arrived today and I love it. I can't wait to use it with Bubs. It'll be nice not having a huge change mat laying around the living room.

I also won a 20% off code for Bububebe nappies on their facebook page. I happened to be online when  Lisa, the owner, was having random giveaways after reaching 2000 fans. We've already bought Bubs a Bububebe nappy so we're going to buy another using the code for Bubs or Gwen for a christmas present.


We bought a new digital camera last week. Whilst at Howlett's our camera decided to play up and have lens error after lens error. So Darren, knowing we'd need a camera soon for Bubs birth, went out and bought a Samsung ES9. We've been using it and it's pretty simple to use and takes fab photo's. I'll have to get Darren to review it for the blog. I think he's just pleased we have a camera that won't cause problems when we need photo's taken of Bubs.

38 Weeks Pregnant

Today I hit the 38 week mark.


I had a check up with the midwife. Everything is fine with me. Not that I ever really have any problems and since my iron levels are great there's not much to worry about.


Baby is doing great. Bubs kicked the midwife off my tummy when she tried to listen to the heartbeat. Bubs was laying with their back on my left side and is still head down.


y belly is measuring at 39 cms so just 1 cm ahead and I' usually spot on so not sure if we have a big Bubs in there or lots of fluid. The midwife did say Bubs is a good size but not sure what her meaning of 'good size' is.


I'm booked in to see the midwife for October 25th, so 2 weeks time, which is my due date. Hopefully Bubs will arrive by then although I won't hold my breath I'm good at going over.


My waist is measuring 45 inches which is equally Gwen's record and I think I've dropped a little compared to my last photo.

I also bought Bubs a new outfit on Saturday. I simply couldn't resist it.

Howlett's Wild Animal Park

Yesterday we made a surprise last minute trip out to Howlett's, which is near Canterbury, Kent.


We arrived at around 11:30am and bought passport tickets which allow us free entry for a year. These cost £39.95 for 2 adults. Gwen got in free as she is under 3. They take your photo and store it on their system so they know who the card belongs to.


We strolled around looking at the variety of monkey's, big cats, rhino's, elephants, deer, red river hogs, ant eater, gorilla's, capybara, bison and lemur's.


Gwen found the monkeys climbing and jumping hilarious. She would try to call them over to them doing the noise you use to catch a cat's attention. She'd tell me to push her closer to the fences so she could see better from her buggy too. She found the gorilla's fascinating and I'm pretty sure she was dying to get in there with them. She could have sat there all day watching them.


We had a rather lovely lunch from the restaurant. I had a cornish pasty, which was gorgeous, hubby, Gwen and my in laws, Tom and Trish, had sausage rolls with chips. 


We then visited the nearby gift shop. Gwen loved all the teddies and we bought her a podling parrot. We found a t shirt for Harvey for christmas with t-rex's on it and 2 little dinosaur skeletons for the boys for their stockings. I loved looking at all the gem stones, fossilized tree slices and the magnetic gem stones. We treated the children to little note pads and zebra pencils.


Trish, my mother in law, had fun with one of the siamese cats that live in the manor at Howlett's. She had it sitting on her lap in the gift shop while we were having a look around.


We found a lot of the animals weren't out in their enclosures or very cleverly hidden out of sight. Which was a little disappointing but that's animals for you.


It was lovely and quiet walking around as there weren't many children in the park as it was a school day.


Here's some photo's from our day out.

Howlett's was a lot of fun. Gwen went last year but screamed most of the way round but she appreciated the animals more this time and loved walking around with us. It's a fab day out as a couple or as a family. It's easy to get to and great exercise and you don't even realise just how far you're walking when you go around the park. The passport tickets are a brilliant idea and well worth investing in. The gift shops are great for little treats for children and adults. I found a beautiful little charm bracelet and charms to clip on it. There's even a little farm shop at the entrance selling lots of yummy goodies, all very mouth watering.

If you live near Canterbury it's definitely a place to visit Howletts

Dolly Cupcake Wilmslow Cake Pop Review

Cerys won a competition on facebook for cake pops from Dolly Cupcake Wilmslow last weekend. She'd been dying to get them all week and on Saturday morning the postman delivered a package addressed to Cerys and we all knew what was inside.

She opened the parcel so carefully like it was a bomb due to go off lol. The cake pops were so well wrapped I had to do most of it for her. There was no way that those cake pops were going to get damaged Louise had done a fab job of making sure they arrived safely.

We let the children choose which cake pop they wanted to try and Archie and Jorja went for these cake pops.

Cerys, Harvey and Gwen all chose these cake pops.

Each cake pop was wrapped in clear plastic wrapping with a little tie to keep it sealed. They looked very pretty and extremely yummy.

Archie and Jorja's cake pops had chocolate cake as the center with a strawberry icing and little white chocolate stars on the outside. They found them a little hard to bite but once they'd managed a bite they made short work of them.

Jorja with her cake pop too show what it looked like inside

Archie was kind enough to let me taste his cake pop. Wow was it yummy. The cake in the center was so moist and chocolatey. The strawberry icing was lovely not too overpowering and went great with the chocolate cake. Jorja and Archie both loved their cake pops. They both said they couldn't find anything bad about them and they'd love it if mummy bought them some more to eat. Archie did say that he'd love a chocolate cake pop with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles though but I just think he's addicted to chocolate lol.

Cerys, Harvey and Gwen's cake pops had chocolate cake in the center with strawberry icing and then covered with chocolate sprinkles. Again they found them a little hard to bite into but once in them they managed ok with the rest.

Cerys showing the inside of her cake pop

Cerys let me taste her cake pop. It was again a lovely moist chocolate cake in the center with that just right strawberry icing and the chocolate sprinkles just made it that bit more chocolate tasting. Cerys and Harvey couldn't find anything bad to say about their cake pops. They loved them and said they'd love more of them. Cerys is also dying to know how Louise makes them. I took Gwen as eating all of hers as a sign that she loved hers too.

Gwen enjoying her cake pop

I really couldn't recommend these cake pops enough. They are £1 each and worth every penny. They are fab little treats and I'm going to get some for the children for their stockings this year. They aren't too messy even Gwen managed to eat hers without getting too covered. They are delicious and look fantastic.


Click here to find Dolly Cupcake Wilmslow's cake pops and other cakey goodness.

Meet Our Furry Family Members

It's about time I did an entry to introduce you all to our furry friends.


We have 3 adult cats. Our eldest cat is Fifi, she's 3. She came to live with us with her brother, Bumble, but when we got our younger cats he disappeared and we haven't seen him since.

Fifi

Next we have our younger cats, Ruby and Callie. They are sisters and were 1 at the end of April.

Callie

Ruby

Next we have our newest addition. Bella was born July 28th and is one of Ruby's litter of 3 kittens. Bella is obsessed with feet.

Bella

We also have Bella's brother Little Dude living with us until he finds a new home. He's a very hyper little kitten and attacks anything he sees.

Little Dude

We also have non furry friends in the shape of 5 Giant African Land snails that reside in the kitchen.

37 Weeks Pregnant

Another week has passed by and I've hit the 37th week.


I've been having a lot of braxton hicks and pressure of Bubs moving down lately. I'm blaming the warm weather and not quite drinking enough fluids.


I'm still managing to do the school runs even though it tires me out but I'm liking that I'm not stuck indoors just yet.


My waist is still measuring at 44 inches.

I'm starting to get excited at the thought of having a new little one around in 3-5 weeks time. I can't wait for the cuddles and using tiny newborn nappies again.

Thinking about Christmas

Today I've been looking ahead to Christmas.


So far we've not sat down and really thought of what to get for the children or other relatives we buy for. We've just been buying bits and bobs when we see things and we're starting to loose track of what we've gotten people.


So I've made a list for what we have so far for the children's stockings and what we have so far for presents then I made a list for what we need to get for stockings and presents.


The girls are easy to buy for when it comes to stockings but we seem to be struggling a little with the boys.


When it comes to presents we are struggling for everyone except Jorja.


Jorja constantly tells us what she wants and apparently if she doesn't get a Hello Kitty chair she'll cry. She's also after Barbies and anything Hello Kitty, nice and easy.


Cerys is at the age where she's too old for most toys but isn't really into anything that we can get her loads of. All she's asked for is a Twilight Team Edward bag.


Harvey and Archie are pretty much in to the same things and that's Dr Who lego playsets and figures, lego and angry birds.


Gwen has 3 presents already. An Iggle Piggle costume, Holdens Landing nappy and a rocking horse. We're stuck for what else to get her.


Then there's Bubs. This Christmas Bubs will be about 8 weeks old and have no idea what's happening so was thinking of clothes, rattles and maybe 1 big item for use when older.


I'm yet to figure out what to get hubby. I have an idea for one thing but after that I haven't a clue.


This seems to be a year we're struggling. Last year we found it so easy buying for the children.


Think I need some inspiration but where from?

We've not been too busy lately

So I would have posted sooner but we've not had a lot going on.


We've had the kids feeling a little off in the last week but not a full on bug just tummy aches and feeling tired. Archie was sent home from school twice and Cerys had the day off on Thursday as she felt sick. Archie was sick once on Thursday night. They seem to be getting over it thankfully.


The kiddies have been wanting Moshi Monsters cards so we've been treating them to packets when we can find them in shops. Not sure what is so great about them but the kids love them.


One of our kittens went to live in their new home on Wednesday. The couple were lovely and I think she's going to be their first pet. We still have the little boy living with us and hope he finds a new home soon.

I've noticed I'm starting to struggle with walking to the school and back. I get so sore in my pelvis from where Bubs head is resting that I then start walking at a snails pace so I suspect I may have to give up trying soon.


Gwen had her first hair cut on Thursday. She'd been long overdue for a trim but I didn't feel confident enough that she'd sit still for me to have a go at cutting it. With this warm weather she's been so hot and her hair has been so messy I thought it was time to just have a go. I ended up taking about an inch off the length and she looks so much better, no more straggly ends.

And finally Cerys won a giveaway on a friends facebook page today Dolly Cupcake Wilmslow for Cake Pops. She'll be doing a review when it arrives which will be posted on the blog. She can't wait to try them they look so yummy.

36 Weeks Pregnant

Today brings a new week, week 36.


This pregnancy seems to be flying by so fast and has been such an easy pregnancy.


I had a midwife appointment at the birth center in Canterbury. I didn't have my usual midwife.


Everything is fine with me and Bubs. Bubs is head down, took a lot of poking and prodding to tell which way Bubs was laying and even the student wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling. Bubs is in an awkward position either back to back, which Gwen was, or slightly to one side. The head isn't engaged yet but I didn't expect that especially after Jorja and Gwen didn't engage until labour had started.


I've been told that if my waters go I have to ring the hospital asap in case the cord comes down before the head does but it's very unlikely that that'll happen as my labours rarely start with waters going.


I go back in 2 weeks time when I'll be 38 weeks.

My 36 week bump

My waist is measuring at 44 inches and to Darren and I the bump seems a little lower. I'm not feeling many pokes from baby at the top of my bump its mostly in the mid section or really low down.

I'm so happy Bubs is head down. Since the midwife told me Bubs was breech at 32 weeks I've been worrying myself silly about c sections and how hard the recovery might have been with the other children about. Now I can leave the worry behind me and enjoy whats left of this pregnancy and just try to have a little hope that Bubs doesn't decide to arrive too late and induction starts to get mentioned.

Bebesnuggles Fleece Soaker Review

I've used cloth nappies now since Jorja was 5 weeks old back in 2006. I've always used pul wraps when using two part nappy systems.


Recently my other nappy using friends have been raving about fleece soakers instead of pul wraps. I was intrigued and also a little sceptic and wanted to try them but put it off.


I finally got around to buying a Bebesnuggles soaker for Gwen and kicked myself for not having done so sooner.


I ordered an XL size for Gwen and when it arrived it looked huge. I tried it on her over a fitted nappy (a nappy that requires a wrap) and it looked baggy in the crotch area. She wore it during the day just to see how it lasted on her and it managed 5 hours easily without any leaks.


It was washed and it then shrank a little and it fits better now. The fleece is still soft and looks great. To wash you simply throw it in the machine either with dirty nappies or with normal clothing and because it's fleece it dries super fast.


Gwen is a heavy wetter and most pul wraps can't handle her. The Bebesnuggles soaker goes over night without any problems or leaks. It's fantastic and she loves the little sheep on it.


I cannot recommend these soakers enough. They do exactly what they claim to do and regret not having bought these before. I've even bought Bubs a small and medium sized soaker for when they arrive and hoping to get more.

Gwen in her Bebesnuggles fleece soaker

Bebesnuggles are available from;


Bebesnuggles.co.uk

Babybots.co.uk

Etsy

What We've Been Up To Lately

We've had a lot of things going on the last couple of days so I thought I'd do one big blog update about it all.


Cerys is part of the school council. She gets to go into the younger half of the reception class when the teacher, Mrs White, needs to do something and Cerys will help the children to do things for about an hour each day. She starts her job next week.


Harvey found out he had also gotten a position on the school council on Thursday. He's not sure what his job is yet though.

We ventured into town today. We had no plans to do any Christmas shopping but ended up buying 5 advent calendars. Two Hello Kitty, two Toy Story and one Peppa Pig calendar. We also got a few stocking fillers for the children too. A mini dolls house and a new tooth brush for Jorja, nail varnish and a tooth brush for Cerys, bath ducks, toy phone and a tooth brush for Gwen and the boys both got a toothbrush.


Hubby got himself Gears of War 3 on the xbox, which he is on right now. I haven't heard a peep out of him for ages.

He was so immersed in the game he had no clue I took this photo of him lol

Archie had also given us a mission to buy him hair gel. He refuses to let us cut his hair so it's gotten quite long and he's wanting to style it a bit so we found him a huge tub of  it so he can go nuts with it.


Archie and Cerys also got some new school shoes. We decided to go for a shoe that has no straps or bits that could come off for Archie as his straps usually go funny and come away from the velcro or break off so he has slip on shoes which look smarter than his usual type of shoe.

For Cerys we decided we'd go for slightly more grown up looking shoes. She normally has shoes with a strap over the foot which is a bit baby-ish for a 10 year old so we got her some ballerina style pumps with a simple bow on the toe. She loved them.

We also had a look around at baby clothes and found some very cute Christmas outfits for Bubs in Boots. We couldn't buy anything yet as we aren't sure what size to buy as Bubs could be in 0-3 mths or 3-6 mths at Christmas so we'll have to wait and see nearer the time.


Canterbury had another bomb scare today, this is the 3rd in the last month. The police haven't arrested any one yet so it's very likey the  same person has staged all 3 hoaxes and wasted police time. Why they are doing this in Canterbury is any ones guess.


The children, the older 4, took part in a sponsored event today at school. They had to run laps around the playground including obstacles and tasks. Cerys managed to run ten laps, Harvey managed six laps, Archie managed to run five laps and Jorja managed four laps.  The money raised will go towards P.E and music equipment for the school.