2 years.

Wow the last year has gone quick. Jacob had only just started walking this time last year. I was about to become pregnant. And Jacob was stable. So much has happened and although Jacob is back to having treatment, I know in another year from now things will probably be completely different again. Jacobs check up last week was a tough one again. He was an absolute sobbing wreck when I collected him from recovery after his EUA. The one good thing that happened this time was Jacob had fallen asleep before his turn to go down to theatre as he was second to last this time. He has never been that far down the list so I knew it was going to be hard. As soon as we got in the car in the morning, he was asking for a banana. He has a banana as soon as he gets up every single morning. Then when we got to the hospital, he was asking for juice. We managed to keep him entertained most of the morning with a ball, and we got to see Skylah again, who we met during chemotherapy. So they played together all morning, which was lovely. Jacob dosed off just before he was called to theatre so I carried him down as carefully as I could so he didn't wake. He jumped when they put the mask on him but then went straight back off to sleep. It was so much nicer than the crazed animal climbing all over me session we usually have. Jacobs consultant came to see pretty quick afterwards and explained he needed to give Jacob alot more cryotherapy as there is a little bulge on the tumour and it hadn't responded as well as they'd hoped. Absolutely gutted again, but it's just another bump in our road. It's so awful seeing Jacob in pain. He's older now and just cries so much more and is so much more aware of everything. The nurses could see he was clearly struggling to manage, so they gave him some oralmorph. Which totally wiped him out. He slept for about three hours and we aren't allowed to take him home until he is awake and has eaten and drank something. We ended up getting home around 4.30pm. My sister looked after Alba which was brilliant so Jacob had Rich and me all to himself at the hospital. And it was definitely a two person job this time, I was incapacitated under a sleeping toddler so Rich was my slave haha. I really missed Alba though, I've never left her for that long but she was in good hands! Plus, my nephew adores her so I knew she'd be okay. He constantly says "hello baby girl!" to her. He was devastated when he first met her and she wasn't Spiderman. We'd told him I was having a Spiderman baby and when he saw her he said "Char Char, I thought you were having a Spiderman baby?" I've never felt worse for lying to a child.
The distraction of Teddy meant Jacob wasn't quite so emotional that night or the next day as they came over to keep him entertained. I'm not good enough anymore. Jacob just says "I want to see Teddy!"

 Jacob and Skylah-Mae sightseeing.

Sleepy boy. 

Last week also marked the two year "anniversary" of Jacob's diagnosis. I absolutely dread it. It's also Rich's birthday on the same day, so I spent more time trying to think about that. We made birthday cards for him and I managed to get a painted footprint from Alba! Although Jacob saw this as a pass to paint her himself. I managed to stop him before any paint made it onto her, but stopping him from running around covered head to toe in paint and wielding a pot of red paint proved impossible. So I gave up and let him get on with it. It's washable paint, so I'd deal with it later! Jacob refused to wear clothes for the rest of the day. Another thing I dealt with later.

I've been trying to teach Jacob how to count for a while now but he just is not interested. I've always counted when carrying him down the stairs or if we are out and about, he just does not care for it. He says "1, 2, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6." I'm sure he will get it eventually. I remember helping teach Teddy to count using those foam number mats. But Jacob would rather throw the mats around than count. Any tips?! He has really come along with his speech though which is brilliant. He can say so many things now, asks for his lunch, tells me what he wants, tells me when something's wrong. It makes this parenting thing so much easier! He's due his two year check soon which I'm looking forward to. Our health visitor Claire is amazing and has given me some brilliant advice over the last two years. And she was there on the phone straight away when Alba was born and came round to see us. I rang her so many times in Alba's first few weeks when we were dealing with the reflux/colic issues and she was always one step ahead of me, ready with the prescription for her milk or booking a doctors appointment for her. Alba is due to be weighed this week, I'm so intrigued as to what she weighs now as she was 12lbs5oz 4 weeks ago and she has definitely grown a lot since then. She's officially in 0-3 month clothing which Jacob didn't wear until he was around 6 months. And size 3 nappies! Jacobs only in size 5's! It amazes me how different babies they both are. Both in looks and how they are. Obviously I know it was a different situation with Jacob as he was poorly and had trouble gaining weight but I think he would have been little anyway. I was a total bag of bones until I was about 12. Then the carbs found me. Haha. I've noticed how different Alba is with holding herself and her head up. It must be that extra chunk helping her out! Another big difference, actually HUGE, is Alba sleeps through the night! She has her last bottle normally between 8pm & 9pm and then sleeps until around 6. Not every night is like this and she has had a few where she's woken up and wanted feeding, but this is absolutely amazing regardless. I think every mum will agree that you don't ever feel like you will get a full nights sleep again when you've had a baby, but hopefully soon these nighttime wake up calls will be a thing of the past!

A few pics of what we've been up to recently...

We went to a couple of fun days in our local park with Jacobs friend Darcie. (Her mum is actually one of my friends but I don't think that counts after the kids are friends...haha.) 

 Not a great photo, but this was the red paint fiasco...

 Big girl napping in her cot. (Which Rich finally built after me nagging for 3 weeks!)

 Chalk and Cheese. How cool is Jacob's T-shirt?! Its from Next.

Cheeky chops.

Getting the hang of it...

I'm going to regret saying this, but I think I'm finally getting to grips with two babies. Obviously, we still have our tough moments, well, tough days. But I finally look forward to getting up and spending the day with my little offspring. Alba seems much more settled, although she is still being sick for England. Jacob wasn't a sicky baby at all, I think he was only ever sick about 3 times and they were during chemotherapy. Alba, however, likes to be sick ALOT. And it comes out of her nose nearly every time. And her little face when she panics about it breaks my heart. My mum tells me I was exactly the same, every single time I was sick. As a child with a sickness bug, she would have to hold my head in the toilet otherwise it was like the fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas. I would decorate everywhere with sick. And to be completely honest, I'm still terrible now. I absolutely freak out every time I'm sick and cry like a baby. Which is why I have so much sympathy for my little doll. She seems happy enough otherwise though, which is brilliant. She sleeps so well at night and has slowly started to go longer between her bedtime bottle and night feed. So hopefully she will drop it soon enough and sleep through! Which would be AMAZING as Jacob didn't sleep through until Alba was born, which is weird. But I'll take it!

 Co-sleeping. Again. 

Night Monkey Day Monkey is by far my most favourite book of Jacob's at the moment. 

Today was a day of achievements for me, I braved going into town with both children by myself. We never bought a double pram as they're so huge and Jacob likes to walk alot anyway. Instead we got a buggyboard for Alba's pram. They're brilliant! Jacob thinks it's a ride so is happy stand on it when we go out. He does get off and walk a bit, but I bought reins for him so I don't have to leave the pram in the middle of the street to chase him if he tries to run away. I know a lot of people don't like kids wearing reins, but when you have a boisterous little boy like mine, they're necessary. I actually had a girl of about twelve point to Jacob and say to her little friend (in the most chavtastic voice) "I think that's disgusting!" She had to settle with a glare and me asking her "what did you say?!" as she was only 12. Had she been older I may have ran her over with the pram. Her friend then tried to fix it by saying "oh no he looks cute!!!" Damage done my friend. Yet another reason to dislike the youth of today. So, we managed to get round the whole town centre, actually go in about five shops, browse, queue and purchase things and then get home without any hiccups. I felt so pleased with not only myself, but so pleased with Jacob for behaving the whole time. The first time I went on my own, I ended up calling Rich to come and save me in Asda as I was on the brink of a meltdown.
Second achievement of the day; both babies are napping at the same time. I'm sure any parent of two little sleep stealers know how amazing this feels. So, I've taken the opportunity to write this, and to drink a HOT cup of tea. Most of the time, my tea is of a dodgy, lukewarm temperature. Or just cold. So a nice hot cup is just fabulous.
And the final achievement of the day; we went out to dinner! With the kids! It's my brother's birthday so we all went to dinner, which was lovely. I fed Jacob before we left as he normally has dinner around 5.30 and we wasn't going out until 6.30, plus, I knew he wouldn't eat out as they have a play area where we were going so getting him to sit still would be troublesome. But Rich and me both managed to eat our dinner without running for a muslin, or chasing Jacob back to the table, or chasing the dog out of the room so Jacob doesn't throw all of his food at him! It was bloody lovely! I even had a glass of wine. As Charlie Sheen would say, winning!

Jacob was so emotional on Thursday after his hospital appointment. Every little thing made him cry, and his eye was so sore and swollen, it looked like he'd been punched. It's gone down now, but getting him to have his eye drops was an absolute nightmare. I have never tried to bribe a child so much in my life. 

Bribery has been a theme of the last week, after the news that Jacob hasn't gained weight in about six months, I've been experimenting in kitchen a bit more. And trying to get him to eat more foods. More meals mainly. I've been adding cream to mash, cheese to pasta dishes, cream to scrambled eggs. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. Which is where I start bribing. Mainly with these Peppa Pig chocolate lollies that he is obsessed with. But it doesn't work. We've been good though, despite the total meltdowns, he doesn't get the lolly if he doesn't eat his dinner. As he is still young, I don't leave him to go hungry of course. Although I have been told he is old enough to not get  anything else if he doesn't eat dinner. I won't let him go to bed hungry, so he can still have fruit and yogurt for desert. Just no naughty treats.
I made cheese and broccoli savoury muffins yesterday. Silly me thought that because they looked like cakes, he would eat them. So when Jacob asked for "cakey", I took the opportunity and gave him one of the muffins I'd slaved over. He looked at it, licked it, then looked at me and said "No mummy, cakey!" Handing it back to me. Fail. The kid isn't silly. To be honest, I am so unbelievably crap at baking, (I actually forgot to put the milk in the muffin mix, but they still looked okay so served them up anyway.) So I'm not surprised he didn't want them. Next time!

A bump in the road...

Jacob had his check up at the Royal London Hospital today. As the title says, it wasn't as positive as we hoped. He was first down to theatre and gone a bit longer than usual so I had a feeling he would be having treatment. He was totally inconsolable when I collected him from recovery and was this way for around half an hour. Normally he's quite settled, has a drink then inhales his ten million different foods. He came back from theatre around 9.30 and didn't eat or drink a thing until nearly 12. Definitely not like him.
Mr Sagoo, Jacob's consultant didn't come to give us the results until about 12.30 which is the longest we've had go wait for a while! And even though I suspected it, when he said the tumour in Jacobs left eye has become active again on one side, I just cried. Except this time Jacob knew I was upset, it's been a year since he had treatment and before that it was so run of the mill that I didn't really get upset as we were so used to it with our two weekly visits! We were absolutely gutted. I knew it would probably happen at some point but it still doesn't make it any easier. Jacob had cryotherapy which freezes the cancer cells, he will probably have 2/3 rounds of this every 3 weeks for the next couple of visits. So we are back to 3 weekly trips as opposed to 3 monthly! His consultant thinks that the cryo should get it back under control but it will probably be quite a while before we have a nice gap between appointments again! Jacobs eye is quite puffy and sore and he was very quiet last night. He woke sobbing around 10pm so he came into our bed. I've become a complete serial co sleeper. Oh well! They're only little for a short time!
We finally got to see one of the families we met while Jacob was going through chemo yesterday. Skylah is a little girl who is just four days younger than Jacob and they were diagnosed around the same time and we got to know each other as they had chemo together. That's a story for when they're older! But we haven't seen each other since before I was pregnant so it was lovely to catch up. She is still having regular treatment but is a total superstar. She reminded me so much of Jacob, the way she just gets on with it. They're back at the hospital in 3 weeks too so am looking forward to seeing them again. Although Jacob clung to me for dear life and didn't want to play, so hopefully he will be a bit more cooperative next time!

We also discovered that Jacob hasn't put any weight on in around 6 months, he isn't worryingly underweight but he should still be putting it on. Alot of it is probably how active he is, and he's never been a meal eater as such, more of a grazer. But the kid certainly eats ALOT. So we've been told to fatten everything up! Cheese, cream in mashed potato, white bread and pasta. More calorific foods. You can't win! He eats so well and has always eaten lots of fruit and veg and he isn't really a fan of naughty dinners such as chicken nuggets and chips so I've got to start trying to fatten him up! Well not fatten, but ensure he is getting enough calories! I'll be putting cheese on everything!!!

 Sleepy boy!

His little post theatre setup with all of his favourte foods.

Jacob is due some eye drops, so I'm off for a battle with him! Thanks for reading! :)

Two kids is tough!

Like the title says...oh my goodness. My biggest fear when Alba was born was that she would get reflux. Jacob had it and it was absolutely horrendous. He ended up on lactose free milk and about four different medicines. I remember spending hours pacing the garden in a bid to get him to stop crying and to sleep. So, when Alba was born, I bought anti reflux bottles and a sleep positioner that keeps the baby at a slight angle. I also made sure I kept her upright when feeding and for a while after. But the reflux god had other plans. After what I originally thought was colic, a horrendous red rash, violent hiccups, sneezing like crazy after feeds and more sick than I have ever seen (out of her nose and everything!) set the alarm bells ringing. A little visit from the health visitor confirmed it all. Alba has reflux and a big fat milk allergy. Fancy bottles be damned. They don't prevent a thing! For the last two weeks, I've spent most evenings, actually most of the day alternating between crying and wanting to scream. Alba literally could not be put down until about two days ago. Literally, if I even motioned to put her down, she started this horrendous screaming like someone was yanking her limbs off. It took me hours to get ready, and I spent the best part of the morning jumping in and out of the shower, running around in my underwear or sitting on the bed crying because I literally couldn't stop holding/rocking her for more than 30 seconds. I actually started to get up before the kids woke so I could get ready for the day. Everyone would say "don't worry! Stay in your PJ's!" But I can't do that, I never have been able to. I have to get up and get ready for the day. And I have never been one to ask for help. But I definitely needed it the last two weeks. My sister has been brilliant. Coming over after dropping Teddy at school so I can get things done. Needless to say, my house looked like something off of Kim and Aggy for a while there. Alba was given a prescription for lactose free milk on Thursday and since then she has slowly gotten better. She even fell asleep in her Moses basket by herself yesterday afternoon! I had to take a photo and send it to my Mum who is on holiday because I was so excited. Hopefully the stinky lactose free milk is the answer to our troubles!
Needless to say, Jacob has had a lot of TV and iPad time during the last couple of weeks. I have honestly felt like the worst mother in the world to him. All he has heard between Alba's cries is "in a minute". During the odd time that Alba has slept for more than ten minutes, I have done my best to give him all of my attention. Everyone says "he won't remember!" which is fine, but I will. We are slowly getting back into a routine and Alba has started to sleep for longer stretches in the night. Jacob didn't sleep through and had a bottle in the night until he was about 14 months, so I'm seeing it as a bonus if she sleeps through anytime in the next 12 months!

Alba has started smiling which has been lovely! Not very much I might add, but it's crazy how one little gummy smile can make you feel better when you feel like hiding in the bathroom with the door locked! 

A few photos from the last few weeks...

We went fruit picking at a farm near my sisters house, it was so lovely! Definitely recommend it. I had never been which was mortifying to Rich as he used to always go as a kid.

Jacob had his six month oncology checkup at Great Ormond Street last month, he's doing really well and now doesn't have to go back for a year! We still have to go to The Royal London regularly and we are there this Wednesday. Jacob has now been stable for a year which is amazing! Obviously this can change at any time but hopefully not! We got the train for the first time, I thought Jacob would love it, but he clung to Rich and me for dear life. I HATE the tube, I just get so travel sick and hate the millions of people and shoving around. Basically, I'm a wimp. He was a bit braver on the way home and had a little look out of the window. As soon as we got off, he was asking to go back on. Typcal!

Three becomes four...

Well five if you include the dog...

Alba Maxwell Wright arrived 6 days late on Thursday June 4th at 10.57am. She weighed a nice 8lbs 9 and a half ounces. Exactly one pound more than her big brother. And I'm pretty sure that whole extra pound was in her cheeks. 

I had started to get pretty fed up by the time I'd reached 40 weeks. Well pretty fed up is an understatement, I was extremely pissed off. Jacob was a day early and apparently subsequent babies arrive earlier. I now do not believe any of these old wives tales. None of them. I did everything to get this baby out. She was having none of it. So when I woke up at 4.30am on that Thursday with what I was certain was contractions, you'd think I'd have been overjoyed. Except the reality of having another baby hit me and I started freaking out. I was worried I wouldn't actually know I was in labour as I was so uncomfortable and in pain for the last few weeks, but my god, when it starts for real, you know. It all came crashing back. By 6am my contractions has sped up to every 3-5 minutes so my sister got her nice wake up call to come and collect Jacob and we went off to the hospital. Four and a half hours later, our last piece to our family puzzle arrived. And she is perfect. 

Labour this time round was a lot more painful and as she was in a rush to get out, I only had gas and air for the pain. Although I begged for an epidural! Alba needed her lungs inflated and oxygen when she was born which was very scary and after the longest two minutes of my whole life, she screamed the place down. And hasn't stopped since! It is amazing how different two babies can be. Jacob wasn't a very clingy baby at all, hardly ever wanted feeding, I remember if I stopped feeding to wind him, he would refuse to take anymore so it was a total challenge to see how much milk he would take before it was absolutely necessary to wind him. Alba however loves mummy cuddles, which is lovely, but also very challenging with a two year old fighting for attention too! She also loves her milk! She had actually gained weight at her five day check, and has been stuffing her face since. It's good to know she's doing well though. She was also tested for the cancer gene which Jacob carries and she got the all clear! Which is amazing. If there was even a 1% chance she had it, she would need screening under general anaesthetic for the first few years of her life. So to say we were over the moon would be an understatement. The doctor who called with the results must have wondered what was going on as I was absolutely hysterical on the phone. I'd blame it on the hormones, but I'm pretty sure I'd have been the same with or without them!

Jacob also turned two while I've been neglecting this blog! He has changed so much in the last month. There are new words coming out of his mouth almost daily, and it is so nice to be able to get answers from him when I ask questions. Although if I ask what he wants for lunch, the answer is always "cakey". Someone has developed a major sweet tooth recently and also become a bit slack with teeth brushing. Not a good combination. He has some time on the naughty step most evenings now when it comes to brushing his teeth. But we get there in the end! Alot of his naughty habits have come around in the last few weeks since Alba arrived, which I completely expected so I have allowed a little bit more breathing space than normal as I am sure it is an unbelievably unsettling time for him. He is an amazing big brother though which makes up for a lot of it. He is so good with her, although we've had a few instances where he has tried to feed her his breakfast. Again, expected.

Rich went back to work yesterday, so it's just me and the babies, and we are now most of the way through Tuesday and we are all still here. So that's a good sign to me! I'm sure it will be a different story by Thursday!

A few things I've learnt in the 19 days of being a mother of a newborn and a toddler..

• When the toddler naps, the baby is guaranteed to cry and wake said toddler up, and vice versa. They're a scheming duo.

• You will feel like you spend your whole day changing nappies.

• A shower is a total luxury, a bath is like winning the lottery.

• You will eat more biscuits and drink more tea than your body knows how to deal with.

• The tiredness isn't any easier second time round. If anything, it's tougher. I've actually drank Red Bull in a bid to stay awake.

• Your washing machine is never empty, and most of the time you will leave a wash in there for two days and end up washing it another 3 times before remembering to hang it on the line.

• Your toddler now gets to play with anything they want while you feed the baby. Including the dog poo you didn't pick up from the garden. (This actually happened today.)

• Your toddler now gets to eat a lot more crap than usual, and play on their iPad a lot more than usual. Despite me swearing this wouldn't happen.

• You'll surprise yourself at the things you can do with one hand. I actually learnt this the first time round but the list gets longer the second time, such as change a toddlers nappy.

• The feeling you get when you catch your usually rogue toddler stroking his little sisters head is indescribable.

• The same as when both babies are curled up on you on the sofa.

I was scared that I wouldn't love her as much as Jacob and didn't know how it would be possible, but my friend said something her mum told her, "you just have more love" Even if you didn't think it was possible, it is. And I genuinely couldn't imagine life without her now. Even when she is screaming the house down and waking Jacob up at 3am. But please do me a favour, if you see me in the street, don't tell me how much of a mess I look, or be offended if I cant remember your name. I just about remember my own.

Pregnancy Insomnia.

It's 4.30am. I've been awake for nearly two hours. After fighting the hunger and trying to get back to sleep, I've finally given in and made myself a cup of tea and eaten a banana. I can hear the dog snoring through the floor from the kitchen which hasn't helped my cause at all, and I would normally let him come get into bed with me but he is well overdue a bath and smells horrendous. Rich is asleep on the sofa because I have been a nightmare to sleep with the last few nights and he spent all of yesterday popping migraine pills like M and M's. It wasn't until I told him that you were only supposed to take 1-2 tablets 3 times over the course of 24 hours that he realised he was one more pill from an overdose. Why don't men ever read the manual?
I bought myself a book yesterday as I have had more bad nights than good lately and I thought that would hopefully help in the middle of the night, but nope, I forgot to buy a bulb for my lamp. So instead, I've laid here for two hours overthinking everything ever that has ever happened in the whole entire history of the world. Actually, I've laid thinking about labour pains, who I'd like to come see us in hospital, what pain relief I'm going to have, what I'll wear in the birthing pool if I get to go in there, what time I'll go into labour, how will Jacob cope, what photos I want my mum to take. It doesn't end. And then after that I start thinking about the whacko dreams I've had in the one hour bursts of sleep I've gotten tonight. One of them was about my friends daughter who went missing but she'd actually gone into hiding and then sent a letter saying she was going to kill everyone, but the letter was in one of my other friends very distinctive handwriting. And then another dream was the Mafia kept coming every time Rich filled the car up with diesel and were stealing it straight out of his tank. Oh and the last one before I gave up trying to sleep was Eva Longoria was my friend but all she wanted to do was exhume some friend of hers because she wanted her face. Has Eva Longoria not seen her face, why on earth would she ever want to swap it? Reading that back, I probably should have kept some of that to myself as if a psychiatrist is reading it, there's a chance I'll get locked up. But, I'm wide awake and bored, so that's that. It is mental what pregnancy does to you. All of yesterday, I was in such a shitty mood, all because I wanted some sugar ring donuts from Sainsburys. And as a non driving human, I could not be bothered to walk there. It only takes 15 minutes and I honestly don't mind walking, but that was just ludicrous to me at the time.
Some good news was that the baby's changing bag arrived. Although I had sent a really snotty email to the delivery company not long before as they didn't think it was necessary to update their tracking info so I was sat waiting, contemplating not walking to Sainsburys. I didn't want to go out, but I wasn't happy about having the choice taken away from me. They replied pretty quickly saying it should be delivered within the next 48 hours. Well that's fab. So, with the hump, thinking it wouldn't be coming yesterday, I went to nap. Except the minute I dosed off, some big brute of a delivery driver was bashing my door down, delivering car parts for a man who doesn't live here. Awesome. He was possibly the loudest man I'd ever met. And he woke Jacob up from his nap. And that boy does not like to be woken from a nap. The afternoon was not going well. Especially when I come down stairs to find a "We attempted to deliver your parcel" note from the company who were delivering my changing bag. They had obviously rang the doorbell which isn't working. If only the car parts delivery man had done the same thing. So my parcel was with my very peculiar neighbour and they're the only other people that are home in the day. I contemplated waiting and making Rich go get it from them when he got in from work, but excitement got the better of me. It took ten thousand very loud knocks for them to finally open the door. Then the kid who looked like he should be at school, stared at the delivery note for what felt like a week before I pointed out the parcel on the floor behind him. The very bright, spotty package with Cath Kidston written all over it. MINE!
And now Lady Wright is packed and ready for hospital. The bag isn't as big as I thought it was, but it's still cute. And has lots of pockets and compartments. And I love a pocket or compartment. Loser.

I am now officially 37 weeks, which means this baby is cooked! So come on then Lady... We cannot wait to meet you.

Have you seen that episode of "Friends" where Phoebe's new boyfriend shoots the bird in the morning? It must have been from the same family of birds that are outside my house right now. They've been tweeting away for over an hour and they seem to have been joined by seagulls on steroids. I am definitely not getting back to sleep. 

We have a play date this morning, and you just know today will be the day that Jacob decides to have a lay in after nearly 3 weeks of bad nights and early wake up calls. I wish I was allowed to drink Red Bull...

4am.

Bump Update: 36 Weeks Pregnant!!!!

Oh my goodness, I don't remember being this uncomfortable before. So this bump update is probably going to be me moaning more than anything. This pregnancy has been so much more tough than with Jacob, most likely because I have a toddler to chase around. A toddler that doesn't need sugar to behave like a child that has been given all the sweets in the land. He is 100 miles an hour all the time. To be honest, I think that's why I've started to panic that I've gotten to 36 weeks pregnant and haven't actually accepted it yet. I haven't had the time! I cannot believe that in possibly 4 weeks (well anytime from next Friday really) that we will have a newborn in the house. And I won't be pregnant anymore! I have done nothing but complain this pregnancy which I feel horrible about as I loved being pregnant with Jacob and honestly don't think I moaned once. But I have started to realise that soon, the bump will be no more, and I will miss it. We don't plan on anymore children after this one. Never say never, but for now, two is enough for us.

Midwife appointments are every two weeks now which I like as you get to hear the baby's heartbeat each time and being panicky Polly, this keeps me happy that she's happy! I had to go get monitored in hospital last week as Lady Wright thought she'd have a lazy day and not move, and any reductions in movements should always be checked out. Luckily everything was fine, and I had an irritable uterus which I had with Jacob. Basically, I think this means that you get tightenings much like Braxton Hicks and I suppose the baby just chills out til they're done. I have had Braxton Hicks contractions loads this time! It's terrifying because it's like a reminder of what's to come and as Jacob was in a rush to get out, I didn't have pain relief, so I remember all of the pain. And this time, I can honestly say I am a bit scared! I cannot wait to meet our little girl, but there is definitely more fear this time!!! When I was being monitored, we were in the same room where labour started with Jacob, and the room he was actually born in was opposite and empty so the door was open. I really freaked out and got a bit emotional seeing it as I hadn't been back there since he was born. It has also made me very excited too. I'm hoping to get to go into the water this time as the birthing unit where all the pools were was full when I had Jacob. It was a busy baby day!

Strapped up to the monitor! (And yes, I have edited this picture to hide my newly adopted whale arms. Vain I know.)

I had a babyshower last week organised by my brothers girlfriend Lou and my sister. It was really lovely, I didn't really want one this time as more than anything, I couldn't be bothered. Which is dreadful. But I'm glad I let Lou talk me into it as it was a lovely day and I got to catch up with all of my friends. We went for a bit of an afternoon tea theme, although not much tea got drank, but there was so much cake! I still have some left now. Which is not good! Lady Wright also got very spoiled with some beautiful clothes which I cannot wait to put her in! Below are a few pics!

I haven't bought half as much this time around as Jacob ended up with so much stuff, most of it only got worn once, if at all. I did finally order a changing bag too. I went with the Cath Kidston one I wanted originally as it looks quite roomy, big enough for two children's things!!! Plus it had shorter handles as well as the long strap which I liked as it will be easier to carry if I'm loaded up carrying two kids too! I'm going to look like a donkey.

My hospital bag is pretty much packed, I just need to get a couple more little things and a lightweight dressing gown and I think that's me done! The baby's stuff is all ready too, I just have to wash it and put it all into her bag when it arrives this week. Its all getting very real now!!!

I have started to get so hungry again too, I eat dinner, then an hour later I'm hungry. It is so hard to not just pig out on crisps and sweets and chocolate at night time as I'm so tired usually. I've been trying to have a bowl of reasonably healthy cereal such as Shredded Wheat or Weetabix or something like that. Although the Frosties and Coco Pops do win a lot! We've always got so much cereal in as I am quite partial to a bowl even when I'm not pregnant.
Sitting on the sofa has become a challenge in itself too. I have been trying to sit on my birthing ball more often than the sofa, not only because its good for me and helps the baby into position, but getting off the sofa is such a drama. Rich just sits laughing at me lolloping around like a seal. So glamorous!!! The same at bedtime, I have to get up to pee about eight thousand times a night at the moment and its such a work out! Haha.
I am going to miss being pregnant, but definitely not being so immobile. And I think Jacob will be pleased to finally have a mummy that can move through Wild and Wacky without the risk of needing to call the fire brigade to get me out!!

The naughty step.

We have hit the terrible twos. I'm sure of it. Tantrums galore. We originally started the naughty step around a month ago, but Jacob seemed to enjoy it and purposely do things he shouldn't so he could sit on it. Novelty?! Well that wore off after a week. And I hear that the offending child should sit there for same amount of minutes as their age. So we've been doing around 1 and a half to two minutes. Well I sincerely hope he learns quickly because those two minutes feel like two years. We've gone with the stopping crying before being allowed to come off also, but normally after the two minutes and telling Jacob to stop crying, he's normally pretty good. He does seem to be learning slowly. If I say "do you want to go on the naughty step?" He shouts "No!" And tends to stop whatever roguish thing he's doing. Obviously this isnt the case every time. Especially after some chocolate buttons or something nice and e number filled.
A few people have said to me that Jacob can probably sense the changes happening which explains the sudden change in naughty behaviour. To be honest, I'm sure all kids go through this trying phase and I'm just going to deal with it the best I can and my way. And if that doesn't work, then I'll just be a ragged mum of two constantly shouting at my toddler to no avail. But let's hope not!

Jacobs eating has gone a bit up the wall too, he's decided he no longer likes bread or any of its friends. So wraps, crackers, bagels, rolls, none of it is suitable for lunch anymore. He's taken to grazing most of the day but I try to stop him from eating anything from about 3pm so that he eats a full meal at dinner time. He's never been a fan of what I call "oven" dinners, so chicken nuggets, fish fingers etc but he will eat most other things. And the other day he ate a real sausage! Not one of the processed mushy ones in beans or spaghetti, a real sausage! Haha. I was so pleased because he's never really eaten real meat on its own. So ham, roast chicken, mince etc. If it's in something such as a cottage pie, pasta dish or a chilli for example, he will eat it but not a chicken breast or ham sandwich, but that could also be the current bread avoidance too! I hear this I quite common around Jacob's age so let's hope it's a phase.

Jacob seems to be coming along so much with his his speech, it is so funny listening to him ramble on. He says "yeah" now but in a little American accent and it is so cute. And he has finally started to call me Mummy!!! I have been "Char" for forever and I hated it! Now he calls my sister Char Char, which is what my nephew calls me. I cannot believe he will be two in less than three weeks. It's gone so so fast!

The weather has been lovely here for the last couple of weeks, so we've spent most days outside. We also went to feed the lambs at "Pets Corner" which is a little petting zoo near our house. It was lovely, although Jacob did try to kick the little lamb in the head. Everything is "goaaaaall!" at the moment. He is so into football already, Rich is very pleased!!

We went to a new playgroup last week at a church in our town. It was recommended by my friend Fran, so we went along. It was 10-11.30 which is perfect for us as Jacob normally naps around 12.30ish now. They have an hours playtime, then "tidy up time" which Jacob actually participated in, then they have snacks and then finish with singing. It was honestly the nicest playgroup we've been to so will definitely go again.

I have noticed Jacob has developed a bit of a nervous "thing" I guess is what to call it. When people are making a fuss of him, he tends to cover his right (artificial) eye. Its only been the last couple of weeks and he's even doing it to my mum who he sees all the time. We've not made a deal of it as I'm hoping it's just a little thing he is going through, but I am worried that it's because he knows it is different. Rich said he doesn't think so as he is so young, but I'm not sure! We will see how it goes!

I'm going to do a separate pregnancy post I think as its taken me nearly a month to write this one so I'll never get done otherwise. Worst blogger ever!!!!