Birth Plan Using Hypnobirthing

I shared a post a few weeks ago about my experience on a hypnobirhting course in London. I met with a lovely midwife at the hospital and talked about my birth plan this week and so today is the day to write The Plan. 

Our first birth plan was based on a belief that childbirth had posed no issues to my mum and millions of other women and that was long as baby came out safely and I didn't have pethidine all would be fine. Turns out this plan wasn't great, didn't prepare us very well, and possibly was a contributing factor in the outcome. 

I am now in a position of feeling empowered by my choices, confident in my body and knowledgeable enough to say "stop" before any decisions are made and paths started on. 

I have read a few birth plans, hypnobirthing and non hypnobirthing, to find the balance which is right for me and our birth based on us and our experiences. Birth plans are so unique and personal but maybe by sharing mine it will help others write theirs.

The Birth Plan of Mummy Morkus

Preparing for Peach

Preparing for a babies arrival is always an exciting time, it can also be fraught with indecision or doubt as you start to approach the wonderful parenting journey!

Having done it once before I had hoped that this time I will doubt less and know more. Three months in and I am not so sure. I have my essentials list, we have lots already on the essentials list, we have until October so there is no real rush, but, I am a planner and I like a list. And already I am thinking I have lots to do.

Baby no.2!

Twelve Short Months: what I wish I had known then

We arrived home with a three day old baby. I was still crippled with pain and discomfort from the cesarean. L was feeding lots but very well. My milk hadn't come in yet. 

We were in the eye of the storm. That quiet bit when you think danger has passed but in fact you're still in the middle of the drama and should be preparing for another direct hit. 

Father's Day passed in a happy mood of cuddles and feeding and the slight discomfort of milk coming in. I was on the the pain killers and thought the increasing pain was par for the course. After a feast of, much missed while pregnant, sushi, I attempted to go to bed with L around 8pm. She was by my side of the bed for easy night feeding access. 

On our first night home in a hand knit and next to our bed, it was hard not to
stay awake watching her. 

All Change for Bambino Mio

We love our cloth nappies. We have used cloth more all less full time since L was about 2 months old.

It's saved us a lot of money. We've hardly noticed a change in our weekly shop since welcoming L, in fact it's a bit cheaper feeding three mouths! We wash nappies 3 times a week and now own about 30 nappies along with reusable wipes.

These nappies vary but are all, bar four bamboo sized nappies, OSFA (One Size Fits All). This adds to the money saving element as they should last from birth to potty training, sometimes OSFA are called BTP. OSFA usually work by using poppers and booster inserts either in one foldable size or with sized boosters.

Weaning Wednesday: Yumbox Review

I was lucky enough to be sent a lovely Yumbox to review after admiring them on Twitter.

It arrived really promptly well packaged. I was really chuffed with the colour, I usually go gender neutral for these sorts of things but the pink was so bright and funky I couldn't pass it by.

Baba and Boo OSFA Pocket Nappy Review

When our parcel from Baba and Boo arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find they had sneaked in a nappy along side the shoes to review! Very cheeky but very exciting for this cloth loving mummy.

Nappy Woes

I am a cloth bum mum. For the most part I love them and have written about my love of cloth savings here.

But.

There is always another side to the story, a flip of the coin. 

My current most pressing nappy woe is this. Dry time.

What's In My Changing Bag Now?

Two months ago I took part in Make Do and Push's weekly What's in Your Changing Bag feature. 

I thought a lot about this when this happened to my bag ... 

Baba and Boo Shoes!

Baba and Boo did a shout out for reviewers for some of their shoes. As admirers from afar of their nappies I jumped at the chance to try some of their other products. Their nappies come in a hugely extensive range of patterns so I was hoping for something exciting and these shoes did not disappoint!

Baby Halloween!

I have never been a big one for Halloween. I usually spend the evening avoiding trick or treaters and maybe carving a pumpkin just for us. 

The Holy Grail of Parenting

 

How are they sleeping?

Do they sleep through the night?

How often are you up with them at night time?

TotsBots Easyfits: Easy Does It!

TotsBots Easyfits 

Easy by name and easy by nature

L's Toybox 0-3 months

L is starting to widen her toy choices so before we move on I thought I would look back at what she has enjoyed and how she has played with it up to now.

Lamaze Freddie, Flutterbug and Kerry

Freddie featured in the What's in Your Changing Bag feature  over on Make Do and Push and it has been chained to her pushchair since we received it as a gift when L was just two weeks old. It is brightly coloured, multi textured and has different things to play with. A mirror hidden in his wing, a squeak on another, grab rings hanging from his body and a teething thingmy which tucks into a little pocket on another wing. He also has nicely knotted legs and smaller wings on one side all with different textures. Oh and Freddie is so popular that every child in my group of NCT ladies has him on their prams.

Nappy Kind Boutique Leg Warmers

I saw a shout out to review leg warmers from Nappy Kind Boutique on twitter and jumped at the chance to try some out at a reduced cost. I was curious as to when I would use them and if they would suit us as a cloth family.
Nappy Kind Boutique stock a wide range of baby products from cloth nappies to taggie gift sets as well as very cool looking leggings. They also have a wide selection of leg warmers at varying costs and it was these I was keen to try. I chose two girly but not pink designs of polka dots and apples! I thought these would go with the widest range of our current outfits. The Apple Burst retail at £4.99 and the Purple Polka Dot (as modelled below) retail at £6.99 (although they are currently in the sale at £5.99)

The Passage of Time

At no other time in our lives are we so acutely aware of the passage of time. 

During pregnancy we count weeks and days. Contractions are counted in minutes. Labour is counted in hours. Once baby arrives and we count the weeks and months. 

L is 17 and a half weeks old. L is 4 months old. 

Free Books with Booktrust

Is there anything more magic than free books?

Not in my humble opinion.

Bookstart packs are given to all babies and nursery age children in the UK by the charity Booktrust. Booktrust are committed to helping inspire young readers as well as helping parents to help their children. 

We picked up out first pack last weekend at our local library, or if you are lucky your health visitor will bring your Bookstart pack to you! 

Decisions, Dummies, Doubts and Dilemmas

Every day we make a myriad of parenting decisions some easy and some that seem easy but, which can have consequences unknown at the time. Lets change her nappy now feed after, I'll pick up to sooth now I cant distract her in another way and let's try the dummy it might help her settle. This final decision is haunting me. 

Magic Moments with Daddy Morkus

The Week That Was Instagrammed: Week 4

Another Instagrammed week and link up with Make Do and Push! I really enjoy this link up as it means I write everyday about what we have been up to and it makes me take even more photos! These will be lovely to look back on once L is grown up.