Posts in category: Personal

It’s funny, I went to write this post of things I’ve liked and loved in November and at first couldn’t think of much to include.

It feels like it was just a pretty quiet month.

But then I really started to think about it and realised that actually, there have been quite a few lovely things about the past month.  That’s why I love writing these kinds of posts, they force me to reflect, focus and remember all the good things in life!

So, here are some things that have made me happy in November.

Visiting the Grape and Olive in Swansea marina.

A few weeks back I went along to a blogger and press event at the Grape and Olive restaurant at the top of the tower in Swansea’s marina.  It was a really lovely evening, meeting other local bloggers and getting to sample the delicious festive menu.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere a bit special to go for some great food.  If you want to read more about the festive menu you can go and read my full blog post about my evening at the Grape and Olive.

Watching the Swansea firework display with my family.

Every year there’s a huge firework display at St Helen’s in Swansea on Guy Fawkes night.  And this year we bought tickets for us and Steve’s parents to go down and watch them.  We all wrapped up warm in hats and gloves.  Nana and Pops treated the kids to a light up sword and fairy wand to wave around.  And we got to watch their little faces as they watched this huge, amazing firework display for the first time.  That’s a memory I’ll always treasure.

Baileys pumpkin spice.

I’m not sure I need to say much more about this one.  If you’ve not tried it, go out and get some.  And add a big splash to a cup of coffee.  So, so good.

Listening to the children practice their songs for their Christmas concerts.

I knew Rhys would be doing a Christmas concert this year.  What I didn’t realise is that, with Nerys in the nursery attached to his school, she would be doing one too!  So for the past few weeks we’ve been treated to them practicing their songs at home.  And one morning I woke up to the sound of Rhys teaching one of his songs to Nerys.  Not a bad way to start the day.

Gilmore girls revival on Netflix.

I’d waited for this for months and months.  And then the day it was released on Netflix I waited for hours and hours for the children to go to bed so I could settle down and watch it in peace!  For some reason though, I hadn’t realised that each episode was an hour and a half long.  Still, I made it through the first 3 episodes in one, long sitting.  And watched the last one as soon as I could the next day.

What can I say.

I loved it.  Every second.  I know it’s a bit weird to say about a tv programme, but it felt like being back home.  Everything was just so cosy and familiar.  I think I’ve made my peace with the last 4 words too, even if my immediate reaction was ‘what?  seriously, what?!’

Now, it’s back to series one again I think.  Time to start the journey all over again.

Oh, and I’m team Jess by the way!

Today is my wedding anniversary.

9 years ago today my husband and I said our vows in a tiny, low-key ceremony.

9 years ago we wandered over to the beach and toasted our marriage as the sun set.

9 years ago.

A lot has happened in those 9 years.

We have 2 children now.

We have 6 nieces.

We’ve been through a lot of changes.  Most of them have been for the better.  Like having the children, changing jobs, leaving jobs, pursuing new interests, making new friends.

But some of the changes haven’t been so great.  We’ve lost several family members over the last 9 years.  Which is to be expected I suppose, but it doesn’t make it any less sad.

What it has done though is make me cherish even more the present that my sister handed to me on my wedding day.

Unbeknownst to me, she had spent weeks and weeks contacting our friends and family and asking them to send us a postcard or a photo with a message on it, sending us their love and best wishes for our future together.

At the time it made me cry.  Reading all the lovely messages.  Knowing how much time and effort had gone into putting the whole thing together.

And now, just thinking of it makes me cry all over again.

Because there are messages in that album from people who are no longer with us.

But the thing is, reading them now, seeing their handwriting, makes it feel like they’ve not entirely gone.  All that love that I felt on that day 9 years ago.  It’s all still here.  It’s all around us.

So, as I celebrate our wedding anniversary, I’ll make a quiet little toast.  A toast to say thank you to those who took the time to write a message in a card, 9 years ago.

It means the world to me.

To absent friends.

I’ve been a mum for over 5 years now.  Which I suppose isn’t that long in the greater scheme of things.  But for me it seems like a long, long time.  In those 5 years I’ve most likely felt every possible emotion, and had so many special moments with my children.

One of the questions in the pack of coaching cards for new parents that I’ve got is, “what are some of the best moments you’ve had with your baby?”

This question is a really important one for new parents to think about.

In those early weeks and months it can be easy to get a bit low about things.  You can feel so exhausted that you might not always think about the wonderful moments you’ve had with your baby.

So it’s a lovely idea to sit with a cuppa and think about the best moments you’ve experienced so far.

And I think this is just as important for us parents with older children to do too.  5 years in, my days are often a bit of a blur of school runs and nursery runs, endless sandwich making and coffee drinking to make up for the fact that my nights are still generally disturbed.

I wanted to take a bit of time out from all that, to reminisce about the best moments I’ve had with my babies, even though they’re not babies any more.

Some of them are big moments, some of them are tiny, fleeting ones.  But they’re all wonderful to me.

The big moments.

Some of the best moments with both of my children were their first moments.  Those amazing, life-changing moments just after they were born.

With Rhys I was absolutely exhausted by the time he arrived.  So I just felt utter relief.  Relief that he was finally here, safe, in my arms.

Nerys came much more quickly, and I hadn’t had quite as much gas and air, so I felt much more ‘in the room’ when she was born.  So it was a different experience, an amazing experience, to hold her for the first time.

There’s nothing quite like those first few moments with your new baby.  And the first few hours that follow, when you just sort of drink them in.

The other big moments that I’ve enjoyed most have been the big milestones.

In particular, seeing them walk for the first time.  After months of them trying, there’s something amazing about seeing those first wobbly steps.  The look on their face as they realise what they’re doing.  And then, they’re off.

The little moments.

I think it’s so often the case in life that the little things are the best.

And as far as the best moments with my babies goes, I really do think this is the case.

When you slow down, and are present in the moment, you experience things you’ll treasure forever.

• Walking, slowly, with Rhys as a toddler.  And seeing the pride on his face as he told me all the different shapes he could see.
• Sitting on the edge of my bed, breastfeeding Nerys, and knowing it would be the last time I did it.  Taking the time to take in every last detail of that moment.
• Listening to Rhys laugh for the first time.  At us saying ‘rusk’ of all things.  Still makes me smile to this day.
• Lying in bed with Nerys sleeping alongside me.  That wonderful feeling of being the one she needs to feel safe and comforted.
• Sitting next to Rhys and listening to him read a book, and feeling so proud of how much he’s learning at school, how much he wants to learn.

There are too many more of these moments to mention.  I could probably fill a book with them.

Maybe I will.

A special book just for me, and my children.

To remember all those little moments, and the big ones too, that have made me so unbelievably happy to be their Mummy.

One of the most amazing parts of pregnancy is feeling those tiny movements for the first time.

I remember when I was pregnant with Rhys, feeling those little flutters and not knowing for certain if it was him moving or not.  Then I went for my scan and felt a flutter as I watched him wriggle around the screen.  A very surreal moment for me!

As the weeks went by there was no question about it.  I definitely felt him kicking and squirming and stretching.

It was the same with Nerys.

They were both very active in the womb.

And both had their little patterns of when they would wake up and move around more, and when they would seem to be resting.

I used to love feeling them moving around.

Those moments when you feel a little foot sticking out of your side and wonder how on earth they’ve managed to get it there!

Or that really odd sensation when they do a huge roll.  A friend described it as being similar to how your tummy goes when you go over the top of a rollercoaster, and I think that’s spot on!

Ahh, I can still remember exactly how all those movements felt.  It’s such an amazing thing to experience, I don’t think I’ll ever forget those sensations.

Looking back, I would say I was pretty in tune with both my babies’ movements during pregnancy.

Both times there were occasions when I realised I’d not felt them move as much as usual.

So I would sit quietly for a few minutes, drink an ice-cold glass of water and wait.

Sure enough, when I took the time to tune into them I would quickly feel them moving around again and was reassured that everything was ok.

But.

If I hadn’t felt them move much in those quiet few minutes, I most definitely would’ve been straight on the phone to my midwife.

Pregnancy is not a time to worry about ‘bothering people’ or potentially wasting their time over, what turns out to be, nothing.

If you have even the slightest concern that your baby isn’t moving as much as normal, please call your midwife straight away.

Tommy’s recently carried out a survey which found that 52% of women would be worried about calling their midwife if they noticed their baby’s movements had reduced, because they would be concerned about ‘wasting their time’.

Stillbirth rates are scarily high in the UK.

One out of every 220 babies born in the UK is stillborn.  And it is heartbreaking to think that part of the reason for these high rates is that women are worried about ‘bothering’ health care professionals.  Or that they’re simply not aware of how important it is to get to know their baby’s movement patterns.

A campaign to raise awareness of this issue in Norway brought stillbirth rates down by a third.

And now Tommy’s have launched a similar campaign in the UK to help more women here be aware that their baby’s movements matter.

They’ve created this video as part of the campaign.

You might have read in the past that there is a particular number of movements you should feel from your baby every day, but this isn’t quite true.

Every pregnancy is different.

Every baby is different.

You need to get to know  YOUR baby’s movements, so that you notice if they ever change or slow down.

And please trust that your midwife will never think you’re wasting their time if you call them about a change in movements.

When I went into labour, both times, I was asked when I phoned the hospital, “how are the baby’s movements?”

And both times I said that, actually, I thought that they had slowed down since my contractions started.

Both times I was told there and then to head down to the labour ward to be assessed.

I was monitored as soon as I got to hospital and luckily everything was absolutely fine.  But I was never once made to feel like I’d wasted their time.

The medical staff were primarily concerned with the well-being of my babies.

So much so actually that, with Nerys, I wasn’t even examined to see how dilated I was!

All the focus was on monitoring her movements and making sure she was ok.

It was only when I told Steve to fetch the midwife because I wanted to push that they examined me.  And Nerys was born about 10 minutes after that!

So, for any mums-to-be out there.

Take some time and get to know your baby’s movements.

Have a watch of the video above.

Pop over to the Tommy’s website for more useful information.

And never, ever hesitate before phoning your midwife if you think something’s not right.

You won’t be wasting their time.

You won’t be bothering anyone.

Trust your instincts.  

Even if it turns out to be nothing, it’s always better to have any worries checked out.

I was asked to write this post to promote the Tommy’s campaign but I’ve not been paid to do so.  I just think this is an incredibly important topic. 

Over the last few years I’ve heard more and more good things about Aldi, and how great the quality of all their products is.

I was recently tagged by the lovely Emma from Amelia’s Mum to write a list of 20 facts about me.  I always love reading these types of posts for the wonderful, often random, little insights they give you into the person behind the blog.

So I hope you enjoy reading my collection of random facts about myself:

1.  I was born on Friday the 13th, and as a result I love the number 13. I am superstitious about other things though.  If I see a magpie I have to greet him by saying “morning Mr magpie”.  And I feel really uneasy if I ever have to walk over three drains.

2.  I love autumn and winter.  Can’t beat wrapping up in woolly hats and warm scarves!

3.  There are 37 letters in my full name.  There are never, ever enough little boxes on forms for me to fit it all in.

4.  Despite my point above, I still gave Nerys names that add up to 33 letters.  Oops!

5.  I have a degree in philosophy and psychology.

6.  The first week of Uni one of my new housemates offered to buy me a drink and I replied no thank you, I’m not really thirsty.  I learnt quite quickly that thirst has nothing to do with drinking alcohol!

7.  I have a birth mark between my shoulder blades.

8.  I love the smell of freshly cut grass, the smell of rain on a hot pavement and the smell that comes from the tumble dryers at launderettes.

9.  Since being forced to eat it at school I can’t stand rice pudding.

10.  I didn’t drink tea or coffee until I was about 19.  I’m well and truly addicted now though.

11.  Even though I’ve seen every episode so many times I still love curling up and watching Gilmore Girls.  So excited for the new episodes!

12.  I don’t have any tattoos, but love the idea of getting a little one someday, maybe on the inside of my wrist.

13.  I considered going to Uni in Aberdeen, but ultimately chose to come to Swansea because there was a lovely vibe here, and you can see the sea from campus.  A real novelty for me because I didn’t grow up near the coast.

14.  In 2 years time I’ll have lived in Swansea for longer than I lived in Kent, which just feels like a really big deal!

15.  Since having my children I’m much less shy than I used to be.  But I’m still an introvert at heart.  I really crave time to myself and love just staying in at home.

16.  I’ve not spoken to anyone to get a formal diagnosis, but I have OCD when it comes to checking things.  I find it really hard to leave the house without first checking, multiple times, that doors are locked, taps are off, etc etc.  Even though I know I’ve locked the door, my mind will flash me an image of it wide open and I find it really hard to trust that the mental image isn’t real.  It’s something I’m really trying to work on before it gets worse.

17.  I call woodlice “cheesy bugs”.  I really don’t know why, but apparently it’s what everyone calls them in North Kent where I grew up!

18.  I can curl my lip like Elvis, but I can’t roll my tongue.

19.  Growing up I absolutely loved the baby-sitters club books.  My cousin passed on all her old copies and I thought they were brilliant.  I’m not ashamed to admit I still have one or two of them on my bookshelf.

20.  I now have the theme tune from the baby-sitters club tv adaptation in my head.  Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t admit that I still know how that goes!

So there you have it, 20 random facts about me.  

Have I revealed anything that’s surprised you?  Do you know why cheesy bugs are called cheesy bugs?!  Please do leave me a comment and let me know!

To keep the fun going, I’m tagging the following bloggers to write 20 facts about themselves:

Suburban Mum

OMG it’s a girl

And another ten things