NOAH

22nd June, 2014 - the day my life changed forever - I became a Mammy.

Three weeks early, nobody was expecting a surprise arrival. Being my first baby, everybody warned I would go at least 1 - 2 weeks over; even the doctor. 

This little guy had other plans.

At 21.45 on June 21st, my waters broke and I went into hospital. Despite one nurses initial request for me to go home, I was admit to the ante-natal ward where I waited from 23.30 - 05.45 to be told I was finally in active labor (1cm). NO ONE in all my ante natal classes told me there was so much pain before labor even begins!! I mean seriously!!!
Hours into the battle, I was asked if I wanted pain relief to which I shouted YES! The nurse came back with 2 Panadol. Really? We thought maybe they were for Alan's headache.

At 06.20 I was finally brought to the labor ward, in massive pain, thinking I still had hours to go but ecstatic I could finally get the Epidural. Once again, this little guy wasn't hanging around. I was already at about 9cm! I don't think I wanted anything more at that point than to get that needle into my back as soon as possible! For someone who is terrified of injections or a bit of blood, I would have happily allowed them inject Epidural into my eye balls if required.

At 07.18, we welcomed our 5lbs, 8ounce tiny baby Noah into this world. It was a beautiful Sunday morning with the sun shining in through the windows. What a nice time to come into this life. Without doubt, the most amazing moment of my life. The smell of a new born baby is something I will never forget. He smelled so so sweet, I can't compare it to anything or describe it more than that - just so sweet. {I hope it's not a direct result of the amount of sweets I ate throughout the pregnancy?} The feel of him on my chest, the little noises he made, and that smell are things I will never forget.

Just moments of life...

Meeting his Auntie for the first time. Love at first sight

Getting ready to go home!

With Papi!

After 3 days in hospital, so happy to be home...

Excited to be 5 days old!

Thank you to my Dutch family for my first book! I was doing some good reading! 

I am so grateful to all of my family and friends, near and far (and very far) for their unbelievable generosity with gifts and cards flying through the international mail services.
Mostly, I feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing family so close to me and who can watch Noah growing up to be the amazing boy I know he will.

Visits with Auntie Dearbh

I definitely have a whole new appreciation for all the mommies out there. Being at home with a new born is definitely a full full full time job. Everyone always makes it look so easy. I find it hard to get time to go to the bathroom, let alone take a shower or eat when I am home alone. Only positive of that is, I should lose my extra pregnancy pounds pretty rapidly!

Celebrating ONE WEEK last Sunday!

I can't believe it's almost time to celebrate two weeks.

What an amazing time.

Thank you Auntie Dearbhla for my little outfit and Eva for my amazing blanket! 

To all the mommies out there - All tips and advice welcome!!!

Have a great weekend! 

The Unknown ~ Motherhood

With less than 4 weeks to go to me becoming a mammy, I find myself with so many different emotions: 

 

Excitement 

Worry

Happiness 

Surprise 

Anxiousness  

Wonder

Joy 

Fear of the unknown 

I have seen so many of my friends become parents over the last few years and I could always imagine the excitement - they all make it look so easy!! But only now do I know how it really feels. 

The unknown always carries with it fear, questions, uncertainty. I ask myself every day the same questions:

 

Will I be a good mother? 

Will I bond with my baby as soon as I see him? 

Will I know what to do when we go home from hospital? 

How is my life going to change? 

Now with a few weeks to go, this fantasy is becoming a reality with each kick, with every ante natal class and with every trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night! 

From this point on, everything is unknown - when the baby is going to come, where I'll be, who will be with me, going to the hospital, how long I will be in labor. For someone who is terrified of a bit of blood and a small needle and more times than not, have ended up on the floor after seeing either, you can imagine the fear inside me for what is to come! 

Ante natal classes and yoga teach you how to breathe, how to focus your mind on other things but you never really know how you're going to react until you're in the situation. I imagine I will be such a treat to all around me! 

Apart from working, house hunting and getting ready for the new arrival, I have been taking my mind off the more serious matters by doing a little (a lot) of retail therapy. Etsy has done extremely well out of my credit cards this past 2 weeks and my shopping cart is still 26 items full! Ooops! 

With a few weeks to go - am I ready to become a mammy? I think so but who really knows?! 

Finally... Having woken up again after another massively broken nights sleep - one massive unknown ~ HOW do all of you pregnant ladies/ mommies fall asleep at night between everything going through your mind and the fact you have a giant watermelon for a tummy? And then, once you fall asleep, how can you avoid the 7 trips a night to the bathroom? Any advice appreciated!!! 

And now while I'm getting kicked from the inside, I will go and write in my diary and tell my baby what he's been up to the last few days in there. 

Have a lovely weekend! 

BABYMOON

I decided I wanted to see some sunshine and the beach before I hit my last trimester and couldn't travel anymore. We only had a week off work but still decided to go transatlantic for some guaranteed sunshine - Florida. We got to see blue skies, friends, go shopping (Little Baby's wardrobe expanded), dine well, swims, walks on the beach and of course spent time with Suzie, my car!
While I was super excited for all of the above, he was most excited for the below two items:

Big Gulp from 7-Eleven and Cheetos!

Alan wanted a real American breakfast experience. We had great breakfasts at the hotel, but it just wasn't what he was looking for. I decided Cracker Barrel was the way to go. Old country American.... he loved it!

We weren't let down with the weather... blue skies 6 out of the 7 days. Maggie and Joe visited us at the hotel - we spent the day on the beach and by the pool... the boys talked about beers and boy stuff, and Maggie and I caught up on life! The worst part of the day was that I couldn't use the waterslide at the pool.. it was fun however, watching their faces as plunged into the water at high speed!

Mid week, we went to Miami for the day...as I listened to music in the car, Alan watched for alligators all the way along Alligator Alley. Unfortunately, again, there were none to be seen. {Thank God we found one in the lake at our hotel a few days later; otherwise, I fear Alan would have completely given up on Florida.}

We visited South Beach and watched the world go by over these bad boys.....

We then visited the American Airlines Arena for the first time to watch Miami Heat play the Minnesota Timberwolves. After living in the States close to 7 years, I never once went to a NBA game so it was pretty exciting. Sadly, by the time the game had started, I was falling sleepier and sleepier. We had fun though! Alan came up with a few choice phrases such as "Nuttin' But Net" which kept me very entertained.

The night prior, in preparation...

I had a surprise visitor from Tampa..
Eva and I were roommates and teammates at University and hadn't seen each other for about 4 years. How fast the times passes, but the greatest thing; it felt like nothing had changed at all. Ok...slight understatement from the pregnant person, but, you know what I mean.
We went to 5th Avenue for dinner, ice cream and chats.

Back at the hotel and under the sun...

I feel like I already had my own mini babyshower. Thank you so much to Eva and Liset for the beautiful presents for Little Baby, and to Gloriana who sent something all the way from Mexico to Florida as a surprise. (My friends are cooler than yours)
Muchas muchas gracias chicas!!!!

On the last day, we did a maternity photoshoot. Neither of us ever did one before but had so much fun with it. A few photos to come in the next post!

Completely unimpressed with having to leave, we bid Florida farewell for another few months. Next time, I imagine it will be a hugely new experience! :)