Mamatography 13: Me and Mine - March

This post is part of a blog link up hosted by Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy.

So, last month we didn't manage to get a whole family photo, but just a couple of days later we had some professional photos done. The girls are very photogenic; the hubby and I not so much! But here is our best one.

But, that was nearly a whole month ago, so here's a current family photo. We raided B's dressing up box, because if you're going to look crazy tired in a photo, you might as well look proper crazy! And our girls will look back on these photos and see that mum and dad were fun. 

And as a bonus, you get to see our cress head family portrait! 

B and I have had some fun with these. I drew the faces; she sprinkled the seeds and has enjoyed watering them daily, proudly showing off her 'seeds' to everyone who has come round.

This month:

The hubby has enjoyed...

More time laughing with me

Seeing M smile

Playing 2048

I have enjoyed...

Wearing Wingz which allow me to wear my short sleeved tops and dresses with covered arms

Green smoothies for breakfast

Joining in with the 100 Happy Days project

Watching Parks and Recreations

B has enjoyed...

Winnie the Pooh

Drinking through straws

Singing, especially A,B,C and Twinkle, Twinkle

Growing cress

Going to museums

M has enjoyed...

Rolling

Staring at her hands

Playing with her toes

Baths in the tummy tub

Watching B

Screeching with excitement

This post is also part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 12 - Dressing Up

This week I got fed up of tripping over play kitchen stuff, so that's up out of reach and the dressing up box came into rotation instead. It's not got a great deal in it yet - lots of sunglasses, a few hats and various headbands, along with a nurse's cape from my own childhood and B's elf outfit from Christmas. It also has her great grandma's bead necklaces. B really enjoyed dressing up, but she particularly loved picking out headbands for M to wear. M was not phased at all! And the best thing - B decided to tidy up the box and put it away all by herself, without me asking!

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 11 - Giggles

For St. Patrick's Day we all wore something green, and the hubby bought me a packet of Guinness crisps. B and I made a collection of all the green things we could find in the lounge.

My mum and dad got back from their month in Australia, and came to ours for breakfast on the way home. It was so good to see them and B was the most excited I've ever seen her. My dad and the girls are wearing bowls on their heads, because B insisted that they all wear helmets and these were what she produced!

 

This little monkey nut has started to giggle properly this week. She's been a tough crowd, but we're finally working out what tickles her funny bone, and it's lovely to hear.

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 10 - Siblings:March

M's biggest smiles are directed at B. She is always watching her big sister. B still wants plenty of cuddles with her little sister, but insists on getting her face so close to M's that she has, on occasion, had her face licked. 

We're in the middle of the four month sleep regression with M, and B has started waking early. She was always such a late riser, but M is the opposite and is wide awake and grinning at 4:30 in the morning. You can tell B is getting up much earlier than she is used to - look at the bags under her eyes. 

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 9 - Let's Go Fly a Kite

A sunny, blustery afternoon spent flying out new kite on Dunstable Downs. And yes, I did have to run after the kite when B left go, mummy-tummy jiggling all over the place! Thank God for supportive bras. 

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 8 - Me and Mine February

This post is part of a blog link up hosted by Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy. 

Sadly, due to a very busy month at work we haven't managed to get the hubby in our group photo, so you only get us three girlies. You can tell he's been doing lots of work by my crazy, tired eyes and unwashed hair!

This month:

Mamatography 7 - SNS

I've spent all week trying to think of an interesting photo to post. It's been a pretty uneventful week; we've had colds and not done very much. Looking at other Mamatography posts, I've seen people have included photos of their day to day lives, so today I'm sharing something that is part of our everyday life.

Mamatography 6 - Valentine's Day

I've come to the realisation that it is much easier to do activities with B if they have a theme, something to work towards. This week we focused on Valentine's Day. B and I made chocolates for daddy by putting sprinkles and melted chocolate into a silicon ice cube tray, heart shaped of course! B loved doing this, and probably felt quite grown up. 

Siblings - February

B absolutely loves M. She's constantly asking to hug and kiss her, and M is so patient, allowing the overpowering affection without a fuss! M watches B all the time and smiles her biggest smiles for her big sister. They've even had a few middle of the night 'chats' when B has woken up as M and I were getting back into bed after a feed; M babbles away in response to B's repeated "Hello, little girl"s. What makes me smile so much though is when B tells me, "I love her. She's so beautiful," and "Look at her lovely blue eyes. She's got lovely hair."

I think these two will be great friends. 

Welcoming Our Second Daughter - part 1

I suppose it's about time I talked about M properly. She was born at home in mid-November. It was a planned homebirth, despite being against 'medical advice' - I'm too fat to give birth outside of a hospital, and I had gestational diabetes. However, I fully researched and the hubby and I felt the risks were small. We had such awful experiences with the consultants at the hospital, that I did not feel safe delivering there.

I am so overjoyed that I got to birth at home. It turned that M was back to back, despite being the right way just three days earlier! I didn't know at the time. I just felt much more pain, and a bit panicky that it was more painful than with B. This made it tougher to push her out, and when meconium was seen in my waters, the paramedics were called out. I believe that if I had been in hospital a number of interventions would have been pushed, and I am so glad I escaped that. Once her head was out, I needed a bit of a rest, but the midwives were hurrying me, telling me that I would have to go to hospital if I didn't get the baby out now. I wasn't worried. I also wondered how they intended to get me downstairs with a baby's head between my legs!! My mum said the paramedics were wondering the same thing out in the hallway. 

However, I pushed her out - with no tears - and she was put straight on my chest, grabbing the hubby's finger on her way. I got my physiological third stage and her cord wasn't cut until after I'd birthed the placenta - which we saved to get made into pills. 

I used Natal Hypnotherapy again, along with a Tens machine and gas & air. No pethidine this time, which I have mixed feelings about! However, I think I prayed much more this time around, particularly asking Mary to pray for me - she knew what I was going through after all. 

B was downstairs with my dad the whole time and she was fine. When the paramedics arrived they made her some balloon animals, and when we left for M and me to spend a night in hospital for two hourly obs, they gave B a mask from the oxygen tank to put in her medical kit that M had bought her!

M latched on pretty quickly, and appeared to feed well, though I could tell straight away that she had a tongue tie, as I could feel a bit of pain. She fed and slept that night, waking for feeds and settling well. And she did two meconium poos in the night. I was hopeful that breastfeeding would be different this time around, as B didn't poo until much later on. Clearly M was getting more colostrum than B did, so I was either making more, or her ability to transfer was better than B's was. She slept with me on the hospital bed, and I felt pretty rested when the hubby arrived the next morning. 

To be continued...

Mamatography 5 - Snowdrops

It's still cold and wet, 

But Spring is now on her way. 

I do love snowdrops. 

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 4 - Me and Mine

This post is part of a blog link up hosted by Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy.

Not a particularly brilliant photo! But it's rare that we all four appear in the same picture these days, so it has to do :)
We were just about to embark on the long journey home from York where we had become the godparents of my best friend's twins. A great honour and a wonderful responsibility.

This month:

The Hubby has enjoyed...

Snuggles with B when she climbs into our bed at night
Blue-veined Brie
Not being a January-gymmer
Not going to Orlando with work and being able to spend time with the kids instead

I have enjoyed...

Watching Father Brown on iPlayer

The SNS which is enabling M to get her supplements at the breast

Our Close Caboo carrier

Seeing how much B loves M

The huge smiles M gives to B

B has enjoyed...

What Does The Fox Say?

Satsumas

Cuddling her little sister

Stickers

M has enjoyed...

Her big sister
Smiling
Breastfeeding

This post is also part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Mamatography 3 - Overcoming Fear

This photograph represents something huge. I passed my driving test in 2007, but drove very little after that. I became more and more afraid of driving, and I didn't need to do it because the hubby had a car and could drive me. Otherwise, most places were accessible by walking or public transport. 

When B was born, there was absolutely no way I was going to risk her tiny little life by driving her around myself. We were blessed by others offering lifts. However, when she moved up into her extended rear facing car seat, it was much more difficult as it didn't fit in many cars. We became a bit isolated. I came to the realisation that with baby number 2 on the way, I had to do something about my fears, or we would be stuck at home. 

I decided to try hypnotherapy. Natal hypnotherapy had got me through my first labour, so I was pretty confident that it could help me with driving too. I found a lady nearby who was recommended by a friend. We had one session together. We talked about my past, things that might have affected how I view myself or that had knocked my confidence. And we worked on turning negative thoughts into positive ones. How to see myself as a careful driver, rather than incompetent and hesitant. She did a visualisation with me and sent me a recording to listen to at home. I listened to her soothing voice telling me that I was careful, reminding me to think about successful drives in the past and to look forward to driving in the future. That was in the early stages of my pregnancy. I drove a couple of times when I was pregnant, but only with the hubby next to me, and they were short, simple routes. Fast forward to last week. I drove by myself for the first time ever, both girls in the back. I didn't enjoy it, but I am so proud of myself. I have fought my fears, overcome them and achieved freedom. 

This picture is of my awesome parallel park!!

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

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Mamatography 2 - Smiles

This week I have managed to capture M's smile several times. She's been smiling for a few weeks now, but, as is the habit of all children, she has very often refused to perform for the camera. Her biggest smiles are reserved for B and Daddy, and I have the mixed blessing of the nighttime smiles when she is content to grin and gurgle and refuse to sleep.

And, as a bonus, you get a rare photograph of me! 

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Siblings - January

This week has seen the return of the tantrums. I think B has come to the realisation that the baby is staying, and a bit of jealousy has sprung up. But, despite that, she still clearly loves M. She keeps telling me how beautiful she is, and helps to wipe her sick with a muslin; she's keen to cuddle her and kiss her. And when she was giving her a cuddle the other day I caught this lovely moment when she picked up a book to read to her baby sister. So precious. 

This post is part of a blog link up hosted by Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy. 

Mamatography 1

I thought I'd start the year with a look at my little family. Last New Year there were only three of us, and now we are four. B loves her little sister. M was grizzling when I put her down on the playmat, but as soon as B lay down next to her, and said, "Alright, little girl," the way I do, she smiled and chilled. The rabbits are B's and M's; presents from my sister. B has had hers for two years, and now M has a matching one. And I love this photo of the hubby with M - they have the same facial expression.

This post is part of the Mamatography 2014 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day, a collage or a picture each week to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

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Happy New Year

My Resolutions:

1) Less screen time

2) Institute family prayer & Bible time at least 3 days a week

3) Drive my car and stop being afraid

4) Blog more

5) Drink at least 3.5 litres of water a day

6) Return to meal planning

Jesse Tree 2013: 16th December - John the Baptist

Jesse Tree 2013: 14th December - Joseph the Carpenter

Our activity today involved wooden pegs, as a tribute to the man who brought up Jesus - the carpenter, Joseph. Pegs were the closest I could get to doing a wood based craft, without requiring dangerous tools!

We decorated the wooden pegs with sequins and glitter glue, and stuck magnets on the back to make useful fridge magnets, perfect for holding art work or recipe cards or my calendar. 

Whilst these magnets are decorative , their main role is a supporting one, a bit like Joseph. We know very little about him, but without him the nativity would be very different. He had such an important job. He may not have been Jesus's natural father, but he was His earthly dad, and a good and loving husband. 

Father God, help us to live our lives without worrying about who notices.