Happy 1 week birthday Pippa! A week in photos....

So, our darling Pippa is now 1 week old!  I cannot believe it!  I guess this is the first of many mini-milestones to come. Don't fear though,  I shan't be publicly celebrating every single weekly milestone.... just this first one!

I thought the best way to show you all how we have been spending this first week is to share some photos  (and surprise, surprise....we have taken just one or two!).

Her first screaming fit....

I'm back and.... with an announcement!

Firstly, let me apologise about for going AWOL for a week.  

In the true spirit of motherhood I thought there'd be no time more appropriate to update my poor neglected blog than at 5am, whilst up and feeding my baby.........

.....MY.....BABY.......!!!!!!

Seeing or using these words together in a sentence is still so amazing and unbelievable to me. I simply cannot yet grasp the enormity of what that means. It is the most wonderful and awe-inspiring thing to have ever happened to me and I think it'll be some time before I can utter the words "my baby" or "my daughter" without a) grinning like a mad thing and b) pinching myself to check I'm really awake.

Because yes, if you didn't already know through other forms of the social media grapevine, Husband and I welcomed our daughter Philippa Beatrice into the world last Thursday (20th) at 2.28pm, weighing 6lbs 14oz.

Everyone, meet Pippa!!

A case of tmi....

Today has been another gloriously sunny day here,  really beautiful weather, so Rufus has had two nice walks today.  One with a lovely neighbour and her dogs (one of which is Rufus' favourite girlfriend) and the second in the afternoon with Husband, as he managed to get home from work early.

Now, the beautiful sunny weather wasn't the only reason for extra walking today.  I had a home visit from my midwife.  In the majority of cases,  once you're officially overdue,  you are offered three visits (or appointments in the hospital if you'd rather) leading up to D-Day:  it's the first stage of 'getting things moving'.  As most of you know,  I am due to go into hospital on Saturday evening to get the baby evicted (commonly referred to as an induction),  so my three visits were scheduled for today, tomorrow and Friday. 

A day in photos....

I've seen a few other people doing this,  so I thought I'd be oh-so-original and jump on the band-wagon!  Here are some photos of my day.....

After our midwife appointment this morning I took Rufus out for a nice, sunny walk......

41 weeks and....

.......no show!!

This morning we went for my 41 week appointment.  All is well and the baby seems very happy - engaged and all set to go,  but obviously too happy just where he or she is right now!  

The midwife said she had no trouble whatsoever telling which way the baby was lying without even laying a finger on me.  I can see why!  I just took a photo which I think emphasises the point....it is ridiculous!!  Sometimes when I look down it looks so lopsided that I am surprised I'm not leaning to the right permanently.  Maybe I am.  It would certainly explain a lot of the looks I attract in public....... less "wow, she looks like she's ready to pop" and more "wow, she is seriously wonky, how is she not falling over?".

I tried to convince the midwife to make a guess at how big she thinks the baby will be, but no joy.  What do you think?!

Operation pram clean-up!

We have had this beautiful pram in the family at least since the late 1940's and has been much used and loved by the last two generations.  However, it has more recently been residing in rather unstately surroundings in either my father's or our own garage.

So I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and drag it out for a good old 'Spring Clean'.  It's still in really good condition considering its age but could probably do with a re-paint at some point. 

And.......a not-so-healthy ritual...

On Friday Husband, Rufus and I went Sloe picking.  It's Sloe Gin time!  Now, I know this shouldn't technically appear under the heading of 'Health and Fitness',  but as it includes a recipe I thought it was the best place for it!

A new morning regime

Last night I decided to have a good rummage in the cupboard and dust off my old smoothie maker.

(Admittedly, I have to confess that I don't think said smoothie maker has ever made an actual smoothie before in its life; I used to use it to make up the delightful meal-replacement shakes I drank as part of numerous weight-loss attempts in the past.  Ugh).

Time to test those theories....

So I am now 40+2... that's 40 weeks (plus 2 days) pregnant for those not down with the preggers lingo.  

I am officially OVERDUE!!!

Until Monday (my due date) I was ridiculously relaxed and laid back about the arrival time of this little one.  However, now I find myself suddenly rather impatient...I just want to meet him / her!  So I have been doing my research and have begun my efforts to naturally induce labour in earnest.  

A few days ago I had a mouth-burningly hot curry and I also ate a whole pineapple......

I bought some raspberry leaf tea and have been drinking it religiously and with vigour.......

D-Day!

Yeyyy, the day has come!!  (Well, come and gone actually....on Monday....I've been a little lax!) 

I had my 40 week midwife's appointment at the Birth Centre where I shall be having the baby (hopefully, unless I end up being induced, in which case I'll be in the labour ward) and it's all good news - the baby's head is engaged. Whoop!  But, otherwise, no progress so far.

Husband and I thought we had to mark the day somehow so we went out for a lovely meal at a local gastro-pub.  A white wine spritzer went down very nicely too thankyou!  I figured the baby is well and truly cooked now so it can't do too much harm?!

(Uploading these photos makes me realise how my hamster-cheeks have grown in the last few weeks.  I shall blame it on the water retention....nothing whatsoever to do with my burgeoning appetite for chocolate of late). 

A lovely last weekend before the big day

So Saturday started with Husband getting home from a boys' night away and whisking me off for a sunny dog-walk around a local lake.  He was very keen to get there as soon as possible, which I thought odd, but was probably best as this place gets packed with the buggy brigade and dog-walkers.  

Should I be worried?!

.......that my first ever Embrace the Camera upload is a day late?  I like to think of myself as relatively organised and that such a trait is going to be invaluable once the 'little one' is here.  But.... as it turns out I don't have that trait.  It is very clearly Friday today and I was supposed to do this yesterday, it's all going wrong....I shall surely drown in a pile of dirty nappies and missed appointments?

If you read my earlier post, here, you will know I spent the vast majority of the day yesterday in the kitchen, slowly getting frazzled and swelling up like a balloon. Soooo I didn't really get the opportunity to take a picture of any interest, and if I'm honest - I did also forget!  

Cooking up a storm!

So, a while ago a lovely neighbour of mine gave me some wonderful advice - to cook up some freezable meals in advance, so that the stress of deciding what to cook (and actually cooking!) in the first few weeks is taken care of.  

Yesterday I decided that I would do just that - be wonderfully prepared and organisation personified by cooking lasagne, bolognese, sausage casserole and chicken curry. However, I think the smarter plan would've been to do one or maybe two of these and then the others on another day....as it was, I spent about 5 hours in the kitchen.  The result? Cankles the size of tree trunks, aching legs and a foul mood!

Embrace the camera!

Today I stumbled across a really brilliant post on Emily Anderson's blog The Anderson Crew - she started something called 'Embrace the camera', where she endeavours to get in front of the camera herself - whether it be with one or more of her children, her husband or a friend - and post it on her blog every Thursday.  

One week to go....think we're ready?!

So I think the nursery is finally ready for the arrival of 'bump'!

We didn't have a 'theme' in mind as such, partly due to the fact that if we were to permanently decorate the nursery in any way (ie. paint it) the army would make us revert it back to beautiful magnolia again before we leave.  So we've been limited to accessorising like mad instead.  This actually suits us better as neither of us are too keen on any big areas of bright, lurid colours and of course, it needs to be 'gender neutral' too (ugh, hate that phrase!).

Talk about a deadline..!

I've just received a confirmed commission for a child's portrait....deadline is the 16th Sept. However I have a sneaking suspicion that another little deadline looming on or around the 10th might just trump that. Better get cracking then!

Totem-Pole Dog!

So, does anyone else's dog do this?!  He has remarkably good balance and seems to pull this trick out of the bag as a last resort, if not enough homage is being paid to him!  Funnily enough.....it works.....

The Chia craze is coming....

One of the blogs I follow is called Eat Yourself Skinny, by an American girl called Kelly.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that Kelly's blog name is so very apt for myself, as I have spent the better part of the last 10 years attempting just that, to eat myself skinny, with limited success and many £££ lost along the way.  Since becoming pregnant I have obviously ditched the fad diets which, until now, had sucked me in at every stumbling point.  I have made a new rule;  to achieve my goal through healthy and sensible eating along with doing more exercise....who would have thought it!??  What a novel concept.....why did I not think of this before!?  

A badge given to me by friends after
my declaration of scrapping
fad-diets.....
I think you can imagine what
the full script read!