An Induction-Nola's Birth Story

Over a year later I am finally writing Nola's birth story, better late than never or so they say!

After giving birth to Eliot, a rather large 9lb 5oz baby in 2013, I'd had concerns through my second pregnancy that baby two was also going to be a whopper! In fact I was convinced that this baby was going to be bigger after hearing second babies are often heavier. My worries increased when a midwife discussed 'shoulders getting stuck' and booked me in to see a consultant.
I had a few appointments with the consultant and on the day before my due date I was given a sweep and booked in for an induction. I'd heard lots of various stories about sweeps and I can honestly say it was the most unpleasant experience! I was hoping the sweep would get things going but there were no signs of labour whatsoever. My due date 2/9/17 came and went then it was time to call the delivery unit on 5/9/17 to check what time I should come in to be induced. I rang after 10am and was told to give them a call back in the afternoon.

We made our way into London and went in to Pret A manger at Euston station for a coffee stop. I called St Thomas' at about 2:30pm as I'd been advised but they still couldn't give me a time to come in as they were 'very busy'. So the rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around coffee shops and worrying that they might not actually get me in.

Then finally about half six after we'd phoned them a few more times, they called back to say come in at 8pm. I was so relieved that the induction was going to go ahead!
We were sent to the antenatal unit where we were until about midnight until we went to the delivery suite and I was put in a bay with four beds, thankfully I was the only one there that night.
A midwife came to see me and get the induction process started by inserting a pessary. She checked my cervix and said it was closed which was surprising as when I had the sweep a few days earlier the doctor said I was about 1cm.

Finally on the labour ward in the most unflattering photo ever...pregnancy reality!

The night was very uneventful, I managed to get some sleep and in the morning I was moved to a room and the midwife looking after me for the day was called Lucy. There was no progression during the day and I spent it chilling in the room with a couple of walks downstairs and outside.
I'd been told that if things hadn't got started by that evening the doctors would make a plan to get things moving quicker.
A couple of doctors came in and checked me over, felt my bump etc. I explained my fear of having a 10lb baby but after having a good check of my bump one of the doctors said he thought I'd deliver an 8lb baby, good to hear but still didn't convince me! The plan was if things hadn't progressed by the early hours I would then have 'propess gel' inserted.
I did have cramps in my lower back that began around 9:30pm but nothing that was too painful. I tried to get some sleep and did on and off.
I think the cramps did up their game a bit but there was still no big changes. I should have had the pessary removed about 1:30am but the midwife had obviously been held up elsewhere. A different midwife came into the room about 3am, I removed the pessary (basically like a tampon) and the gel was inserted.
Shortly after things ramped up quite quickly, I'd had paracetamol, codeine and had gas and air to access but the contractions became so intense, they were much harder to cope with as they were very close together.

Gotta love that gas and air!

This time round I found the attitude towards pain relief much more laid back. When I had Eliot a natural drug free birth was very much encouraged and promoted. I had even included some of the things I experienced with Eliot's labour in my birth plan this time around, such as using lavender and clary sage but I don't think anyone actually looked at my plan! One midwife in particular was very supportive of pain relief and suggested different options and encouraged me to use something more to relieve the pain. Her attitude was very much 'why suffer in pain when you don't have to'.
It got to a point where I was finding the contractions incredibly hard to deal with and I remember being knelt on the floor doubled over in pain leaning on the bed, when a midwife I vividly remember from Eliot's labour came in. I had named her 'scary teacher' because she had been very strict and did in fact look like a teacher. During Eliot's labour she had basically told me I needed to calm down and did not want to give me any pain relief. Now I was basically begging her for diamorphine, this time she seemed much more sympathetic and friendlier, we had a fleeting chat about how we remembered her from our first borns labour and she joked she hoped they were all good memories.
Shortly after another midwife came in to administer the diamorphine. Having that meant I was able to get some more sleep, the contractions still woke me so I was also on the gas and air.
Everything from then was blurry as I was very much out of it from the diamorphine but at some point in the morning after handover they could see things had progressed and moved me to a delivery room. I remember having to stop in the corridor because of the contractions but eventually made it to the same delivery room that Eliot had been born in.
Lucy was my midwife again, she would be delivering my second baby along with a student midwife. I remember being checked and being surprised and disheartened to hear my cervix was only 4cm dilated. There had been so many intense contractions, what on earth had they been doing?! I asked if I could have a pool birth but was not allowed as I was being induced. At some point Lucy asked if she could empty my bladder but I had the joy of that experience after delivering Eliot so my response was a very dramatic no. She did make a deal that if I didn't go for a wee within a certain time period she would need to do it as my bladder could be making harder for the baby to be born.
Within an hour I had dilated to 10cm which seemed crazy as with Eliot it took hours!
It was time to push, at one point my blood pressure sky rocketed and I remember being given two tablets to swallow. My waters had still not broken at this point and Lucy asked if she could break them for me, I agreed and just as I did that I needed to push and my waters went all by themselves. Again this was very different from Eliot's labour and delivery, the waters were the first thing that went with him but with baby two they were the last!
Once the head had been delivered I remember Lucy very firmly telling not to push again just yet. Not long after our second baby was born and we were finally going to find out if it was a girl or boy. I will  never forget Lucy asking the other half 'what is it?' and his face staring, looking very confused for what felt like a lifetime before he said slowly, 'a boy?' Lucy looked at him in disbelief and said 'no it's a girl'. I mean WTF?! How hard is it to decipher an umbilical cord from a penis?!
Lucy said she was still covered in quite a bit of vernix which often means they aren't quite ready to make their arrival.

 I was absolutely over the moon to have a daughter as well as a son. I think I had the injection to help deliver the placenta, thankfully this time it didn't seem as difficult as when I had Eliot and came out quite quickly.
I eagerly awaited to hear how much she weighed, still convinced I'd birthed another 9lb-er. '3.505kg' said Lucy, I asked what that was in lbs and she said between 7lb 11-12oz. However when I converted the weight myself a few months ago, it actually is only 7lb 7oz, so my girl was even dinkier than I first thought and also the wrong birth weight went out on all the thank you notes!
As well as being in the post birth bubble I think I was also still in a diamorphine daze. When Lucy checked me over she said I had a tiny tear but she didn't think it would need stitches. YAAAASSSS! If you've had stitches you know how unpleasant they are but unfortunately after the senior midwife checked she said I would need one. Disappointing but not as many as I needed after having Eliot.

Then the day was spent enjoying my new baby girl in the delivery room whilst waiting for a bed on the postnatal ward. 

Grandparents came to visit and Eliot, who was thrilled and very excited that he had a baby sister.

Once again I felt very lucky that I had a very positive birth experience at St Thomas' and will always speak highly of the care I received when I had my babies. I was disappointed that I didn't get my water birth again but everything else went as well as I could've hoped for.

Here's a video of my experience if you fancy watching...

How were you birth experiences been?

The Golden Hinde London

If you're in London or not too far away,The Golden Hinde in Southwark is one of London's many things to do and is part of a perfect trip out for any pirate/history fans. 

 Eliot has always enjoyed being out and about across the capital and loves the varied sights of what the capital has to offer. Lately, he has been particularly fond of London’s historic sights and revels on the background stories and facts behind them. One of his favourite historic subjects at present is pirates and ships.  So when we mentioned paying the Golden Hinde a visit he was very keen! Especially when his dad told him stories and facts about of one of history’s most famous Elizabethan sea captains, Sir Francis Drake and the mighty ship, he couldn't wait to get there!

 

Situated on the historic banks of Southwark, moments from London Bridge Station, and under the shadows of the gothic majestic Southwark Cathedral, The Golden Hinde is an exact replica of the real thing and is moored perfectly to where many boats and ships of the time would have docked.

Below deck is very tight and apart from Eliot, the rest of us had to duck down as we explored the lower decks. It really gives you a feel for how difficult and awful it would have been for the crewman who manned the guns as explosions and chaos rumbled around the ship. The living and sleeping quarters  were extremely cramped which makes you wonder how the crew coped. 

Being a grumpy, bossy captain!

 

We enjoyed our trip to the Golden Hinde and learning about the different parts of the ship and what they would have been used for.

The Golden Hinde is open daily but do check the website as they close for private functions, you can also see what's on as they have special events on certain days. The day we visited there was a pirate training activity!

Jumping with excitement!

 

Have you visited the Golden Hinde?

 

 

*We received free entry in exchange for a blog post

 

The Baby Show 2014 At Olympia

On Saturday we popped along to the Baby Show at Olympia after we were kindly given some complimentary tickets. We went last year too, it's hard to believe that Eliot was under four months old back then!

We arrived in the afternoon and our first stop was lunch, There were tables and highchairs available but it does get very busy. I remember last year it was a bit of a challenge to find a table but we were lucky and got one straight away. There was also an area to prep baby food and there was even some free baby food on offer.

After we'd eaten we had a leisurely nose around, well if you can call attempting to walk in one direction while your toddler is determined to go in another leisurely! There were so many stalls to browse at but to be honest there weren't many that were applicable to us, it really is geared towards expectant mums and families with young babies, hence it being called the baby show!

One stall that Eliot took a particular liking to was one that was selling Happy Hopperz, he had the time of his life bouncing on them! But was particular fond of the attention he was getting from the ladies running the stall, it made him even more hyper.

He also kept falling off but he was fine and found that highly amusing too. We will definitely be getting him one of these for Christmas!

One of my favourite stalls at the show had to be Stokke, I love the giant table and chairs! It was very hard to get Eliot to keep still though!
Fisher Price had a Creche where you could leave your children for a bit of a play. Staff from Tinies agency were on hand to look after them. The OH was not too sure about leaving Eliot but Eliot was keen to go in as he could see all the toys through one of the windows. After filling out a form off he went, absolutely no qualms about being without us in a strange place. He was fine, we walked past a few times to see how he was getting on and he was totally immersed in playing.
Whilst we were Eliot free we came across a stall called Little Timbers which immediately caught my eye.

Our eyes were met by a vast display of pendulum clocks, from animals, to vehicles, to castles they were all beautiful. All handcrafted in the UK and unique, I knew I had to get one for Eliot. Clock and tick tock were one of the first words Eliot said. We're also moving and I have already bought some bits for a transport themed room, so one of the vehicles was a must! I chose the red bus and it was personalised with Eliot's name (I will show it in a later post or vlog).

Little Timbers also sell a range of other lovely items including name garlands which are gorgeous, I think I might have to get one of those for Eliot's new room too!

 

 

 



Once we collected Eliot from the crèche he managed to find the VTech toys play area and we managed to get a couple of family snaps even though Eliot didn't want to sit still!

 

Then after giving him a quick snack it was time to go. We had an enjoyable afternoon at the baby show and I definitely recommend it for those of you expecting. There are some great talks and offers on products.

The only issue I had was with the photography stalls, one in particular continued to ask us if we wanted our photo taken or wanted to tell us about their special packages. Which is understandable, that's why they were there, to sell. Personally I don't like that approach and one woman that spoke to us came across as utterly fake, if we were  thinking about getting professional photos that would completely put me off.

 

Did you go to the baby show?



Meet The City Kitties!

Apart from my About Us page I haven't really mentioned our pet cats, Mimi and Coco. I thought it was about time I did as they are a big part of our everyday life. They are our fur babies.  I pestered the OH about getting a cat when we moved in to our current home, he wasn't so keen but I persisted and one Sunday in 2011 two kittens moved in with us. I found them through Gumtree which in all honesty is not the way I would have like to have found them. I would have much rather rehomed them from a rescue centre. But I know they have strict guidelines and as we lived in a flat I knew it would be unlikely they would let us have any.

Mimi likes to think she is the boss and can be quite feisty but she is very affectionate and likes lots of cuddles. She also likes Eliot and will rub her head on him to show her affection. Eliot loves her too but is still a bit too rough with her.  

She also thinks she is a bit of a canine as she likes playing fetch with a plastic bottle lid. If you throw it she'll run after it and bring it back. Sometimes she will bring it to us to instigate the game!

Coco likes to keep herself to herself during daylight and avoids Eliot at all costs! He is too boisterous for her liking. She seems to prefer me to the OH and will seek my affection at certain times of the day, usually night time. She'll follow me into the bathroom and if she's not quick enough the door gets scratched until I let her in. She likes to drink from the tap in the kitchen and bathroom and lay next next to me in bed. 

They drive me nuts at times. like when Coco purrs and walks above my head during the night. She has probably woken me more than Eliot. Or when Mimi won't stop head butting me and gets in Eliot's way.

As friends they're not as chummy as they were as kittens, in fact they get quite uptight about each other and have little cat fights.

Anyway that's my little intro to our fur family :)

Have you got pets?

BritMums Live 2014

The posts are cropping up left, right and centre so if you haven't read about BritMums Live 2014 yet, where have you been?!

On the run up to the big event many of us bloggers had declared how nervous we were but it turns out it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined.

Through the wonders of social media I'd arranged to meet a few bloggers beforehand which was grand but on Friday morning my nerves started to kick in! I got in touch with Donna from The London Mum to see if she wanted to meet at Liverpool Street Station. A group of us had planned to meet at All Bar One but I found the prospect of turning up by myself extremely daunting. I am just crap in those situations, so I was relieved when Donna was up for to meeting first too.

We headed to All Bar One where we plucked up some Dutch courage with Prosecco, and thanks to Donna met some other bloggers including Katie from Hurrah For Gin and Kiran from Mummy Says. All very lovely and I discovered a few who had lived in the area I do now, small world!

With a couple of Proseccos down the hatch it was time to head to registration.  We met Gemma from Sunshine On A Cloudy Day, Andrea from Blogger Mumma and one of her gorgeous boys, baby Archie.

On our empty stomachs lined with Prosecco, Donna and I actually missed the introduction! I think we both assumed that there would be an announcement so carried on chatting to brands. But there were no notifications! As a grown adult I'm perfectly responsible enough to get where I need to be but failed massively here! I blame the Prosecco!

The first day went by in a blur of meeting fellow bloggers, seminars, crazy dressing up and the BiB awards.

I am so pleased to have met Kelly from To Become Mum, I love reading her blog and she is so lovely! I was really glad I bumped into Hayley from Sparkles & Stretchmarks, one of my blogging faves, another lovely person, who has been kind enough to give me blog advice more than once and for that I am very grateful!

 Over the two days I spent quite a lot of time with Vicki from Ellie Bear Babi who was also so lovely! I've repeated lovely far too many times but everyone I met was just that!

 Saturday was a day of more seminars, learning, being inspired and meeting more wonderful bloggers. It was great to meet Sarah from Toby Goes Bananas who I made a  'sort of pact' with about buying a BritMums Live ticket. Sarah bought hers the next day but I didn't after seeing the state of my poor bank account! A few weeks later though I did, so I didn't entirely break the pact! Over lunch I met Donna from Redhead Babyled, amongst other bloggers and again everyone was lovely!

One highlight had to be having cuddles with Andrea's gorgeous Archie, he was so well behaved (in fact all the babies were) and simply adorable!

What really made the weekend was meeting the people behind the blogs, especially the wonderful bloggers I spent lots of time with. Thank you Donna, Gemma, Andrea and Vicki for fab first time BritMums memories, roll on BritMums 2015 and the Butlins weekend/Trip to Northern Ireland somewhere between (hopefully!)

If you fancy a glimpse of what BritMums was like, watch my Vlog :)

London Gems

I have lived in London for very nearly five years now. As a professional pre-baby I thoroughly enjoyed the lifestyle, being a fifteen minute tube journey from central, catching up with friends and just general London life.
Now I'm a mum I see things a bit differently, I have a love/hate relationship with London. I personally don't want my son to grow up here, I may go into reasons in a later post but lately I have not been loving London so much. I forget the reasons why I love it. However, over the past month I've been pleasantly reminded about how great London is when visiting a few of its 'gems'.

1. Battersea park, I mentioned this in a recent post click here to have a read.

Spot the herons!

2. Vauxhall City Farm, literally just up the road from us. A fantastic place for a family trip to see/stroke/feed various animals.

3. Our most recent 'gem' has been Crystal Palace Park, home to the BBC mast (which we can see from our balcony) and plenty of green space. It has an abundance of things to do! Such as feeding the ducks, walking with the dinosaurs, visiting the farm and conquering the maze. See our video below of our afternoon in Crystal Palace Park.

Crystal Palace

Inner City Gems-Center Parcs' May Blogger Challenge

 

Over the past few weeks, London has been blessed with some glorious weather and what better way to enjoy such days than getting out and about! We all know the British weather is consistently temperamental so I believe you need to make the most of the sunny days we do get.

Living in London it's easy to forget that any serenity and greenery exists amidst the busy hustle and bustle. 

But take a leisurely stroll and you will surely come across some inner city gems.

Take Battersea Park for example, a beautiful green space with wildlife, a boating lake and even a zoo!

It's also home to a Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist stupa making it easy to contemplate you are not even in  London.

On our stroll around the beautiful gardens, we took a break to feed some of the resident ducks. Much to my surprise a heron flapped over and got stuck in with the carb heavy feast!

I adore animals so I was thrilled when the heron joined the ducks. I didn't expect to come across herons on our city park wander.

Here are another couple of herons we spotted as we walked through the secluded paths. Not as confident and/or hungry as the previous heron as they didn't budge when we fed another group of ducks.

Of course the pigeons flocked towards us rapidly to get in on the bread action. Now I know the majority of people dislike pigeons, I don't. In fact I feel sorry for them with the amount of  hatred they get. Regardless of their unpopularity there's no denying that they are iconic city wildlife, you will find them everywhere!

When the weather is good you just have to get in a bit of alfresco dining. On our walk we enjoyed a family picnic.

Time to take a break and recharge! Time to savour summer tastes and enjoy the sunshine. Time to chill out with loved ones. Time to admire the clear blue skies and do a bit of plane spotting...

 

 

 

High in the sky or on the descent to Heathrow. A stark reminder you are actually in London!

 

 

 

 

 

It was also an opportunity to snap some of these precious moments. I do love a selfie but it is hard to get little ones to cooperate! My cardigan is clearly more interesting!

 

And as a finale to our outdoor family time locally, Eliot enjoyed a jaunt on the swings...the smile says it all! 

 

 

On a recent venture out of London, we took advantage of the countryside gems! Almost no traffic and fields upon fields of green, with the odd flock of sheep and herds of cows here and there.  Extremely peaceful and relaxing!

 

 We made several attempts at some family selfies but as usual the little man was distracted by something else!

Rich Heath from Center Parcs gives four tips when getting snap happy outdoors. I'm torn so I have two favourites, taking family selfies for those precious memories and capturing nature, you never know when you'll come across that wildlife again!

*This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots100 May challenge. If I'm chosen, I would like to visit Longleat Forest

The Ordinary Moments #7 Family

These are my boys, my family. Once I used to wonder if I would ever have a family and here it is. It is truly amazing. It is the most wonderful feeling to love and be loved. Being a mum is hard work but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Yesterday we made the most of the sunny weather and headed to London's Southbank. One of my favourite places in London. We went for lunch before strolling along the Thames, enjoying the sun and watching the street artists.

Our route also took us past St Thomas' hospital where Eliot was born. We reminisced and attempted to work out which room on the 7th floor I'd delivered in. When it comes to views I'm sure this hospital has the best! Big Ben, the Thames and The Houses Of Parliament.

One of the best 'Ordinary Moments' is simply family time.

As always I'm linking up with Katie's blog Mummy Daddy Me Makes Three

                                                    

'Us Time' Valentines Day

As we all know, yesterday was Valentines Day, a day that many couples celebrate. I must admit that this year I wasn't really that fussed about it and didn't swap cards with the OH until after 10pm! However if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a photo I posted of myself and the OH heading out for a late lunch date. Even though I wasn't really bothered about the 'Valentines' aspect, it was great to spend some 'us time' together. I believe 'us time' it is important for a relationship but finding it is easier for some couples than others down to various reasons. We are lucky that OH's mum lives close by so she was able to babysit Eliot for us.

One of my all time favourite things to do is eat out, I've just always loved it whether its with the OH, family or friends. So I was thoroughly looking forward to our Valentines date at my favourite restaurant Siam Central, a Thai restaurant not far from Tottenham Court Road station. Especially since the last visit was a couple of weeks before Eliot was born!





Located on the corner of Windmill Street and Charlotte Street

I was first introduced to this lovely place by a work friend a few years ago and have returned on several occasions.

Awards

 

Its a small restaurant and gets packed even with some downstairs seating. We were lucky we dined a bit later and missed the lunch time rush!



Cute decs



During the week they have an 'express menu' for lunch time where you can choose two courses for £8.50 or three for £10.50. There is a great selection of dishes to choose from, such as the traditional green and red Thai curries and the well known pad Thai (one of my faves!).

Now here come the food pics! They were taken on my iphone so they certainly don't do the food justice. You have to eat it to savour the flavours!

We started with some nibbles, Thai crackers and sweet chilli dip. They are nice and spicy but not greasy like some crackers can be.

We always go for the two course lunch deal. The OH tried the chicken wings for the first time and described them as crispy and tasty but not his favourite starter here.

I went for my 'old faithful' dish, prawn and chicken sesame toast, which were as good as always!

For a main course the OH went for a stir fry with garlic and ground pepper, a dish neither of us had tried. Of course I had a sample and it was delicious, full of flavour and definitely something I would order. The OH had it with beef but there are other options available including tofu for vegetarians.

I was boring and went with one of my favourite dishes, 'drunken rice'. A spicy fried rice dish, I also had it with beef. I hadn't eaten it in such a long time I had to get it! It didn't disappoint and I scoffed the lot!

It was a lovely date, great to spend some quality time with my OH over lunch at my favourite restaurant. I definitely recommend it for lunch/dinner if your visiting London or live here and are 

looking for a new place to try. Unfortunately I don't think it's one for families due to the tight space! I don't recall seeing children here and I'm pretty certain they don't have changing facilities. So its one for a couple or friend date!

What restaurants do you recommend?