Waiting patiently :)
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: August 22, 2011
Well hospital due date has been and gone, August 19th. My own due date of August 26th approaches and I can’t help but feel excited thinking my date is right and being days off my date, surely our new addition will enter the world any day now?! 
I’m starting to get physically uncomfortable now. I really don’t think there is any more room for the little mite to grow. The one plus side to this is that I get to not only feel but also see each and every movement! When I sit in the evenings I get so much fun out of watching this little foot poke out of the side of my bump. It’s the most bizarre sight and feeling ever. It pokes out so far I can almost catch it with my hand and hold it. No matter how hard I try I can’t get a video clip or photo of it 
maybe it’s meant to be just for me.
Himself is a bit of a nervous wreck. If I move suddenly, take too long to pee, or bend to often I’m fussed over! I can’t bend, lift, walk to far, worry, stress etc how sweet & yet how ready am I to be able to do all things and have no one notice!
Our Monkey Moo has given up asking when the baby will arrive and has instead decided he can no longer bend down either, a subtle hint that he is sick of being asked to pick things up off the floor for me!
So we wait and while we wait we try all the remedies to get things moving. I have drunk gallons of Raspberry Leaf Tea, number Clary Sage baths, copious amounts of sex and walked as much as SPD will allow me! We have tried laughter, getting a fright (in fairness done quite badly), dancing, (my sister invented the labour dance!), jumping and squatting. I met a friend of himself who believed in prunes then he suddenly remember that no that was actually for constipation … got me thinking though it’s not far from the same thing is it? So prunes are on the list this week.
We have even tried making plans and hope we never get to see them through … otherwise known as the tempting faith option! All to no avail.
So on this beautiful sunny morning. I wait patiently. I walk around the house and run my hand over the waiting cot, the crib, the changing station etc I look through the clothes all ready, washed, ironed and neatly folded. I smell the lotions and potions to capture that baby smell. I visualise and focus on positively and just for the heck of it I imagine a sprinkling of labour dust falling over me Once completed I sit with my Hypnosis for Giving Birth by Anna Thompson cd on my iphone and I prepare as much as I can for the journey ahead and hope as much as I can that it will be soon and started by my own body
Waiting patiently … I don’t do patients ordinarily but this time I make myself practice it especially for such a good miraculous cause! xx
The power of Reiki
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: August 10, 2011
Once our 30 week scan confirmed all was as good, well as much as they can tell it will be. I could feel myself really relax into the pregnancy. Before now had been about staying positive but now I felt if baby was born any day they had a good chance and that he/she was here in all his/her glory :) But I was feeling a little detached. I wasn’t sure why but figured it was fear. By now on my first pregnancy I would have been chatting away and singing to bump constantly. This time I felt I was doing this alot less. It bothered me so I decided to try spending time with bump just the two us
I had been hearing a lot about Reiki but knew nothing about it. I had met a lovely lady in a business group who lived close to my home and so one call later and I was booked in!
WOW! I wasn’t expecting what happened next. Kate asked a simple question “What do you hope to get out of these sessions?” Brightly I started to answer, raise energy levels, connect with baby, then I stopped and tears filled my eyes. I was shocked more than Kate. My voice started talking and I wasn’t even sure it was me because the voice in my head was saying “What are you talking about woman?!” but it poured out of me.
All my fears, all my anxiety poured out. To want something SO badly and live every moment of every day, even if subconsciously, with the knowledge of how delicate the whole journey was, and how fearful I was it would end badly, had in fact taken its toll. I sat and cried and relayed, with both hands on my tummy feeling baby kicking and wriggling away. Kate understood. Unbeknown to me she has been there.
I had 5 sessions of Reiki, one every 2 weeks. With each one I became even more amazed. The change in me was instant after that first session. Even himself noticed the difference and became very curious about the whole thing. It’s so non invasive and yet so powerful.
At each session baby was so content to relax with me. When Kate put one hand over my heart and one hand over my bump baby would move instantly. He/she was definitely feeling something. After a few minutes baby would settle again. It was an amazing experience.
Reiki gave me the connection I craved at a level that I didn’t even fully realise I didn’t have. It also raised energy levels and because of my sessions relaxed my entire body. Taking the time out to spend time with bump just me and bump was invaluable and I am so grateful to the art of Reiki and such a good, honest, genuine Reiki master like Kate for opening yet another door to the world of alternatives and the power they possess
Men & Wine!
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: July 17, 2011
Today I read an email circulated by a friend and I read it with great interest. It went like this ….
A Real Man
A real man is a woman’s best friend.
He will never stand her up and never let her down.
He will reassure her when she feels insecure
and comfort her after a bad day.
He will inspire her to do things she never
thought she could do;
to live without fear and forget regret.
He will enable her to express her deepest emotions and give in to
her most intimate desires.
He will make sure she always feels as though she’s the most
beautiful woman in the room and
will enable her to be the most confident, sexy,
seductive, and invincible.
……No wait… sorry… I’m thinking of WINE.
Never mind.
I laughed when I first read it, which was the purpose of the email, however, I went about my day and it was on my mind. My man is a real man and he does all of the above. That’s not me boasting, it’s me admiring my real man and being grateful for him.
He is strong and dependable. He can make me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. He always has one eye on me when in company, not in a possessive way but a protective way. He has given me his coat in the cold and umbrella in the rain. He heats my side of the bed then moves over to the cold side once I climb in. He admires my achievements, no matter how small and encourages my dreams no matter how big.
He gave me our son and this pregnancy. He made me his wife. He can drive me to distraction and the brink of excitement. He can make me angry as hell, spitting fire and gentle as a pussy cat eating out of his hand. He sees my true colours and let’s them all shine. He supports me. He loves me. He thinks about me and remembers me. A lolly pop, a text, a hug, a flower, a tale to recount over a cup of coffee that will make me smile.
He’s a man, my man, a real man to me. Look for and relay the positive about your man. Re affirm their place in your life and have faith that contrary to what television advertisements tell us, they can in fact wash a floor or clean a bathroom without a major catastrophe
Wine on the other hand ….. Relaxes me, makes me giddy, makes me talk crap and then leaves me in a dark, quiet room with a three day major migraine!!! ))
30 week scan …
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: June 22, 2011
Wow cannot believe we are here. It feels amazing. This is THE scan for us. As positive as we have been, as upbeat, we have been waiting for this in-depth growth scan to just confirm everything is as ok as they can tell us. Having had friends get to this stage and hear bad news it just opens your eyes and makes you want to hear those magic words “everything looks good”.
Scan was at 4:30 pm so we didn’t know what to do with Monkey Moo. I really wanted him to see a scan. He has been so interested in the pregnancy and so thoughtful and considerate. I really wanted him to experience this, so we took him with us. We didn’t tell him what was happening. Just that the doctor was going to check mummy’s tummy. When we arrived I asked the consultant to give the nod that everything was ok before we explained to Monkey Moo what was going on.
I lay down on the bed. My boys sat and watched. I looked over and my little man gave me the biggest smile and a thumps up! My heart melted.
The consultant took the time to take measurements etc. and said everything looks perfect. He then turned and started to explain to Monkey Moo what was happening. He came over to look closer. He was amazed. He got to see everything and he listened intently. Smiling and watching. He asked when the baby was coming and what its name was :) Himself and I were handed a scan picture and Monkey Moo was handed his own with his name on it. :) It was an amazing experience.
We were 30 weeks and everything looked perfect. MAGIC!!
That was my signal to get started … well we only have 10 weeks now to get the house sorted and everything in its place
Ice Lollies!
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: May 28, 2011
We are anticipating the sunshine here in the Allsmiles house So we decided to try out our new Ice Lolly Moulds! We kept it very simple and just used juices from the fridge, orange, apple and ribena.
Book review: The Family Book
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: May 1, 2011
Title: The family Book
Author: Todd Parr
Price: £3.99
Theme: This book celebrates all kinds of families and shows how each is special and unique
in its own way.
Characters: The characters are a variety of people and animals. All different colours and shapes!
Style: Written very simply one sentence per page with lots of colourful writing.
Personal rating: 3/5
Personal Response:
I bought this book after my son came home from pre-school asking questions about why another little boy didn’t have a Daddy. I wanted him to understand the diversity of families in today’s society but in a very simple easy to understand way.
I was a little disappointed with some of the illustrations. Lots of animals and even a family that look like aliens are part of the characters. I am not sure that this highlighted to my son that we were talking about every day people in our lives.
I also felt the need to expand on what was being said in the book and giving examples of people we knew or might meet to help with understanding and clarity.
We certainly enjoyed reading it in our house and it did create lots of discussion and questions which in turn created lovely quality time over a book.
Overall I felt this book gave a good structure to start to introduce your child to the different types of families we have in society with lots of discussion and questions.
I would recommend it for young children 2 to 4 age bracket after that I think you would need something with a little more substance.
Book Review: There’s a House inside my Mymmy
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: April 15, 2011
Title: There’s a House inside my Mummy
Author: Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban
Price: £5.99
Characters: Mum, Dad, Little Boy and a new baby brother.
Style: Written in lovely easy to read and understand verse.
Theme: This book uses verse rather than narrative to explain what is happening when Mummy is pregnant. It’s about a little boy waiting for his brother or sister to arrive.
Personal rating: 5/5
Personal Response:
I bought this book for my son when pregnant on our second child. My son was 3 when I bought it and he loved it. It’s very easy to read and understand. Lovely colourful pictures and easy to understand explanation about what is happening to mummy during this process. For my son it was a great way to explain my expanding tummy as this was very much within his line of vision and curiosity! J It worked particularly well for us because the book is about a little boy and baby is a little boy just like our family.
I would highly recommend this book and would be suitable for toddlers and young children.
3 year olds, questions & stories!
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: March 25, 2011
Monkey Moo and I were getting into out pjs to veg for the evening. Being Mr. Independent he was ‘Doing it himself’ with my help. I had just taken my top off and was reaching for pj top when I caught him looking at me. I smiled and said good job dude you have your top on as a form of distraction! It didn’t work … then came the question …
“ Mummy do you have a baby in your tummy?!”
I was a little taken aback. I looked at him looking up at me. He was totally serious and waiting for a response. I hadn’t the heart to lie to him. How could I? He is so perceptive. So as causally as I could I said yes I do love.
The conversation went like this:
Mummy do you have a baby in your tummy?
Yes darling I do, mummy is trying to grow a baby in her tummy.
Is it one baby or two?
It’s one baby sweetheart.
Why is it only one baby? (we have friends who have twins)
One baby is enough for us love.
Pause while he thinks then …
It’s ok mummy you have one baby in your tummy and I have 2 babies in my tummy (as he patted his own tummy!) then he leans forward and says We’ll have LOTS of babies!!!
Off he goes to finish getting changed!
The next day at crèche everyone heard the story that he was getting a sister, she lived in a cave and was coming to us by aeroplane. She has silver hair and her name would be Sophie! I was met that evening by the crèche owner who looked a little shy and began very badly doing a suss :) I laughed so much. The staff were convinced we were adopting, he was so convincing
So the one question that remained … would it be a girl?! Just how perceptive was our little boy
Telling People …
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: February 28, 2011
After much thought we decided to tell people. I had stopped the weekly bloods and I was determined to stay positive and enjoy the rest of the pregnancy. 20 weeks was a milestone to aim for and come what may I was determined to get there!
Telling people brought everything to a new level. We fed off the positively. Anyone who was not 100% positive I gently put a stop to any of their negative thoughts or words. Seeing and hearing my sister’s excitement and my mother was so delighted for us was the best ever! Friends cried for us. Hugs were a plenty. It was amazing, truly amazing. Most of them only knew half of the heartache we had been through and yet the support was like they had not only known it all but had been there themselves. It was uplifting and a real boost for us Anyone in our lives that we knew lived on negativity we didn’t tell … as I said I was determined to stay positive
At the same time I also was acutely aware that himself was fretting deep inside about me and about the road ahead. I was also accutely aware that the more positive and confident I was the more relaxed he became. The more relaxed we both were, the more relaxed the atmosphere in the house and for our Monkey Moo who continued throughout to light up our lives.
So I settled into pregnancy and every morning and every night I visualised a safe delivery and me holding our new baby in my arms. On fretful days I did this maybe every hour. The second a negative thought came into my head about the pregnancy I would get rid of it immediately.
We were officially pregnant and I was going to enjoy every second and appreciate every second of this most amazing experience.
12 week scan ..
Posted by: Allsmiles Mum on: February 22, 2011
This scan was in our local maternity hospital. The same hospital and scanning room that we had been in so many times. I was a nervous wreck again. Not because I really believed we would get bad news. My bloods were good and I was feeling every bit of the pregnancy. I was nervous and upset because of the memories. I was dreading going back into the same waiting room and scanning room. All the old memories began to flood back. Himself was nervous also. We sat in the car outside and took deep breaths and agreed to go in and make the most of it. We went in with a positive and determined attitude holding hands feeling the strength in two.
Once in there we really made an effort to smile and think positively. We were almost false! So much so himself and I ended up with the giggles
Jeremy Kyle was on the TV and himself had heard so much about it but never seen it. Well if you can imagine a busy waiting room, the two of us giddy from nerves and excitement. We couldn’t talk much without everyone listening. Himself kept giving me these horrified looks like he was totally engrossed in Jeremy Kyle. He was tutting, looking shocked, horrified and sad all at the right times for the show. I was in stitches trying not to encourage him. I am sure everyone knew he was taking the p*ss but terrified he would offend anyone I was trying to have nothing to do with it I was never so glad to have our name called!
With deep breath I lay down and waited. Himself took hold of my hand. I was afraid to look at the screen. So I focused on him. He looked at the screen and the moment he could see the heartbeat I could see the relief on his face and he looked at me and nodded with a smile. Then I looked. There it was again and measurements were a week ahead. Immediately I questioned this but was reassured it was not an issue what so ever. I still goggled it but decided to accept it for what it was a healthy little baby growing fast and strong. It sure as hell beat hearing the opposite!
Over our customary coffee & muffin I got a thousand questions on Jeremy bloody Kyle! Most of which I had no answer It seems himself was struggling to understand why anyone would put themselves up for the show and sure it had to be exaggerated!! How our coffees after scans were coming back full circle to happy good times laughing and talking and just being I savoured the moments with one hand on my little growing bump and one hand on his leg listening and again for more than the first time grateful for his chatter
