I’m pregnant again! Second pregnancy, it’s a girl!

Well as the title suggests I am pregnant again!

Myself and Luke got married on Saturday 3rd May, it was literally the best day of our lives. I remember in the months leading up to our wedding marking out on our calendar when my periods were so see if I would be due on on my hen do and wedding day. I remember wincing when I realised that I would be due on 2 days after the big day and saying to my best friend Jade that it would be just my luck to be ‘on’ on my big day!

I was having my eyelashes and nails done the day before my wedding and I could feel the familiar pull in my tummy, I put it down to nerves but sure enough the morning of the wedding I looked down to see a streak of red in my knickers.. Damn!

Anyway, apart from that (and Luke’s parents being their usual idiot selves – yes even on our big day they couldn’t be nice) the day went so smoothly – and quickly! I remember going down to a bluebell wood with Luke and the photographer. We had a beautiful moment where we were just chatting away about the day and I just said out of the blue “So shall I come off my pill then?” with a cheeky grin on my face (half expecting him to tell me to shut up and stop being stupid) and he paused and replied “Yes – BUT this is the last we mention of it, we are not ‘trying’, we are not putting pressure on ourselves, or telling people, we are just having fun… OK?” to which I held him tighter with a huge grin on my face.

I didn’t take my pill that evening, or any other evening since then. We had ‘fun’ over the coming few weeks, not really mentioning it but we did have more nookie than usual. One of the only times we did speak about it I jokingly said I wondered how long it would take for us to get caught out, we both agreed to shush incase we jinxed anything, but said it could take us months or even years so not to be disappointed each time my period came.

My period never came. In fact I peed on a stick just two weeks after the wedding as I felt so strange and just knew I was already pregnant. It came back negative as it was so early but I just knew. A week later I was doing the dishes and was washing a metal baking tray and I could actually taste the metal, I could feel it on my teeth like I was chewing on tin foil. The next day I couldn’t even be around Luke when he was eating my favourite sweet chilli crisps as the smell was making me want to throw up. The day after, Luke and I were getting down to some baby-making, even after a lot of forplay I couldn’t get myself ‘ready’ down there and I got upset that something was wrong with me. I stopped suddenly and said that we needed to do a test.

I still thought it was early so we waited until we were in town the next day and bought a test. As soon as we got back to work I dissapeared off to the toilet to pee on it.. and it was positive! I went back into the office to break the news to Luke – who was on the phone to his best man.. for like EVER… I ended up interrupting their converation by announcing very bluntly that we were pregnant and he looked all pale and finally said “Oh my God!” I too thought we would have had months of fun ‘trying’ and we literally got caught out just days after our wedding!

Anyway, the first 15 weeks were sheer hell, I felt like I was going to throw up at pretty much every smell, especially coffee and if I wasn’t threatening to spontaneously puke everywhere I was passing out or somewhere directly between the two nightmare situations. I became obsessed with drinking bottled water as water out of the tap tasted like chemicals (I KNOW THIS IS NOT NORMAL!), I craved toased bagels and Dime bars (again I look back and think I was being a diva).

Luckily for our Italian honeymoon I was normal again, and today I am 22 weeks pregnant! We found out our bump is a pink one and apart from the usual aches and pains I am feeling great! I even started a pregnancy yoga class which I am really enjoying! And I am also researching hypnobirthing as I feel so scared about the birth this time – I now know what’s coming!

Anyway I will write again really soon, I just wanted to fill you guys in 🙂 xxx

Update on me, sorry I’ve been quiet! (Marriage, in-laws and 2nd book to blame!)

Ok so I haven’t updated my blog in 9 whole months! *slapped wrist* Such a lot has happened, I’ll try and fill you all in as much as I can.

Luke and I bought our first house together in March 2012, then we got engaged in July 2012, I planned my wedding all last year and then got married 3 weeks ago!

My life has been a bit of whirlwind but I am the happiest I have ever been. I’m sure that anyone who has read my book ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown’ will want to know “What happened next?”. Luke’s mum is still majorly unstable, the news of our engagement didn’t go down well and caused us to have family counselling and for her to threaten to commit suicide. Things got slightly better when we had no contact with them for 6 months, but then got worse again as the wedding came near. She tried as hard as she could to ruin the whole lead-up to the wedding and on our wedding day his parents didn’t even congratulate us or watch our first dance.

All of that nonsense aside his mother being a complete pain in the ass is just what every in-law is supposed to do isn’t it? She is testing and trying me, and I have learned that I am now a better person for the hell she has put us through, I am more tolerant, more loving, more understanding, my patience has an epic time span, I am definitely the bigger person and I now just feel sorry for her. Now I am Luke’s WIFE (eeeek I still can’t get used to saying that) I have nothing else to fear. Our family is officially and properly united and we are trying for another baby. (well, not ‘trying’ just not using any form of contraception and seeing where it will take us). His mother gave birth to him and I can see why he gives her unlimited chances, it proves that I have married an amazing man and he will never give up on me.

On the book front, my second book is ready, I have again just asked my close friends to write a piece on their experiences of being a mum during their baby’s first year so once I have their pieces emailed over to me I will add them to my own book and send them off to the editors. Through Twitter I have found a local editor who I seem to get along with really well and I am really excited to be taking this next step. Fingers crossed my second book will be ready and published by September if not sooner – I just need a name for it – all suggestions are welcome. My first book is: Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown. So my second book needs to be: Mummy Diaries: (something to do with babys first year)… Any help will be greatly appreciated!

I have also got a book trailer for my first book made by a local web design company in Lancaster called Intelligent Internet Ltd and I couldn’t have even imagined my promo video could look this good! Ever! Here is the link: My book trailer on YouTube

And if that inspires you to buy my first book here is the link to my Amazon page: My book sales page on Amazon

Thanks for reading and for your patience, I promise I will be better at blogging and social networking from now on, big hugs, Lou xxx

Travelling alone with a baby… My funny stories

Travelling abroad on your own with a baby is horrendous. I never want to do it again. Airlines charge extra for baggage so Jenny and I had to share just hand luggage for our week vacation to Italy to visit my mum who lives there, but even if they had of supplied us with baggage I wouldn’t have been able to carry it as pushing a buggy AND pulling a mini suitcase it difficult enough. Then I had to take off my boots at airport security while trying to soothe an upset baby, before having to hold the baby AND collapse a very stubborn pram at the same time because the airport have some idiotic policy that they can’t hold the baby and they are all so stupid they can’t take my direction on how to fold the pram down themselves; the outcome being that I almost dropped Jennifer then squashed her while I was blinking away the tears whilst slipping in my socks on the shiny floor wishing I was wearing my shoes. If that wasn’t traumatic enough they made me taste the bottle of ‘metallic milk’ which almost made me projectile vomit all over the security man. At 6 months old I had just weaned her off the boob and on to this awful powdered stuff; Jennifer is by this point screaming hysterically, I’m a sweaty, red and blotchy mess and we’ve only just started our trip.

The airport lounge is no better with no seats available and just before we board I realised that Jennifer has filled her nappy to the brim and I couldn’t find a toilet with baby changing facilities. Finding our boarding passes and passports for boarding the plane was an ordeal enough but then realising we had to go down a large flight of stairs with a baby, pram AND a mini suitcase was impossible on my own. I was close to tears again waiting for a passenger to stop and help me. Once on the plane it was worse still, trying to juggle Jennifer with a huge bag and still holding onto my boarding pass and passport for dear life. Then I realised that Jennifer’s bottle was stone cold and the air hostess couldn’t heat it up until the seatbelt sign was off so Jennifer spent the entire ascent screaming because her ears hurt. When I needed anything from my bag in the overhead compartment I had to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me lift it down each time, who hated me because of the screaming baby. As my bag was massive and everything I need for our holiday was crammed in this bag I was forever rooting round for Jenny’s soft toys to keep her entertained whilst balancing Jennifer on my hip. Then getting off the plane I had the same issues again, with the added troubles of knowing ZERO Italian and I needed to find a train station and find, pay for and validate my train ticket; AND board the train with the same difficulties of boarding the plane but with the added bonus of not knowing the language to say ‘please help’ or ‘I’m sorry’.

Luckily the week spent with my mum was well worth the trauma of travelling alone. We explored the local town of Arezzo (Tuscany) and I was introduced to proper Italian cooking and the magical stuff that is Gelato (Italian ice cream). The last half of the holiday we decided to visit Florence and Rome, where I took pictures of Jenny outside the Colluseum and our trip went from being a fantastic catch up to being the trip of a lifetime.

The return journey from Italy was a nightmare as predicted. Jenny did the worst poos in the most awkward of places – one of which was the train which had no toilet! I had to take Jenny, her pram and our luggage to the end of the carriage where the doors are. I laid the buggy flat and changed her god awful stinky cess pit of a nappy with Jenny screaming at the top of her lungs. We were not stable stood up even with the pram brakes on, the high speed train was making me stumble and make even more of a mess. Meanwhile the other passengers were muttering in Italian and swiftly moving away from us and the smelly poo. There was nowhere to dispose of the stinky nappy so I had to carry it on the hour long, sweltering hot journey. My face was a shocking shade of red! Jenny still managed to do another horrific poo on the plane just as the plane started moving. The seatbelt sign was on for obvious reasons and Jenny decided to push really hard and let rip with gusto. The plane was packed and Jenny was sat on my knee when I felt something warm drip down my leg. Even before the plane had gathered enough speed to get us off the Pisa runway I had runny shit all over my jeans. The guy sat at the side of me unfortunately had a very sensitive gag reflex and started retching. We caused quite a commotion, it was awful, on the plus side Jenny found it hilarious.

My tips for travelling with a baby are:

Bring as many nappies as you can cram in your suitcase as not only are they mostly overpriced but the quality of the 3 brands I tried were awful.

Invest in a bottle cool bag as if the weather is warm and you have pre-made bottles they quickly become unusable.

When choosing a buggy to buy for a holiday choose the most compact and lightweight one you can find – also make sure you are able to collapse it one handed if travelling alone.

Pack LOTS of your baby’s favourite toys and books to keep little one entertained on the plane.

A drink will help with the pressure in baby’s ears on ascent and descent of the plane, for the next holiday I made sure I had cooled boiled water to hand.

Make a little bag inside your hand luggage you can separate by your feet for the plane journey so unlike me you don’t have to be rooting around in your main bag flinging underwear, nappies and bikini’s around the plane when all you needed was a bib!

Pack loose lightweight clothing for baby for hot holidays, nothing too fussy or fancy as you’ll probably need to dampen them if baby gets too hot.

Always keep an eye out for the nearest toilet with baby changing facilities!

Definitely get travel insurance as Jenny got ill on every holiday we have been on and it’s not worth the worry of expensive medical bills.

And finally take lots of pictures and enjoy yourself!

Bad reviews = Bad sma-shmoooos! Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown

As I’ve not written on here for a while (slap wrist) I thought it best to do a post and update everyone on how I am and what I’ve been up to.

I am still feeling bitter about the negative feedback I received about my book, I know at this present time I have TWENTY THREE 5-star reviews but the 1 x 1 star and 1 x 2 star, are really getting to me still.

It’s taken me a long time to write this as I didn’t want to end up rambling and ranting but the 1 star review really hit me like a smack in the face. People say you should focus on the positives and not the negatives and at the time I had 17 or so gleaming 5* reviews, but it was so unexpected! I was just checking my Amazon page as per usual and it said 18 reviews which was 1 more than the previous evening so I eagerly clicked on to read what wonderful things someone had said about me this time and BAM… 1 star with the title ‘awful’. It read as follows:

I had high hopes for this book but it was awful! I dont know why people are saying its an honest account, I find the author whiney and self centred. There is nothing useful about this book, a complete waste of money. dont bother!

I stopped breathing. This was someone who had read my book? I had spent two years of my life writing, re-structuring, editing, scrutinising, compiling the perfect hints and tips section, and harassing ladies I know to give me their pregnancy and birth stories as I know no two pregnancies and births are the same, to create the ‘perfect’ pregnancy companion and this lady had read this very same book??

So I did what any sane 27 year old would do and cried. Hysterically.

I also wrote Tweets with a few swear words thrown in for good measure. My friend Charlie (@charlieplunkett author of: The True Diary of a Bride-to-be, The True Diary of a Mum-to-be, The True Diary of Baby’s First Year and 100 Little Words on Parenthood) called me straight away, not that I could speak through the hysterical childish sobs. Luckily 15 minutes later she had calmed me down and my voice was back to normal, bar the bunged up nose and the random hiccup-things a child has after a raging tantrum.

It took days to shake off that horrible back cloud, someone HATED my book – not dislike, not “I won’t read that one again.” Nope, took the time to go online and slate it good and proper. The thing that really got to me was that it wasn’t even an Amazon Verified purchase so she most probably didn’t even read my book.

The next bad review was from a lady called Emily – Verified purchase so she had actually bought it – she gave 2 stars and it read:

This mainly focuses on the lady’s seemingly doomed relationship with the father of her child which overshadows any actual pregnancy information or stories. There is a good collection of her friends’ birth stories which is the redeeming factor of the book but I found it all a rather depressing read to be honest!

That I can deal with, not a personal attack, just criticism. I responded to re-writing some of the blurb on Amazon to:

*WARNING* this book is not sugar coated, I do not lead a perfect life and the future of my relationship is uncertain – I hope this will make people who have the wonderful, loving husband and the perfect(ish) planned pregnancy see a different side to pregnancy, and those in a similar situation relate to parts of what they are reading – above all I hope you have a great time devouring my honest account.

I knew that when I wrote and published my book I left myself wide open to public criticism, but I never expected to feel physically winded – like a punch in the stomach. When pregnancy is such a stressful and emotional time in a woman’s life, putting pen to paper is so hard, trying to describe how terrible you feel for most of it, coming to terms with changing relationships, changing body, changing life – everything is so unstable. So for me to pour my heart out and be so brutally honest when I felt most vulnerable I thought was brave and I thought by sharing it may help women in similar situations.

Above all, I felt the comments unnecessary this is why they have lingered with me for so long – never mind turning my glowing 5 star average into a 4 ½ star average. Grumble..

Anyway, my book ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – stumbling into the unknown’ is doing well, currently #10 in the Amazon Bestsellers chart for Motherhood on Kindle so I’m happy about that. I am running a May Promotion where my book is just 77p so grab it while you can and enjoy if you haven’t already! Make your own mind up 🙂

Lou xxx

An interview with me! Louise Hamilton, author of ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown’

What is your book, Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown?
Mine is a pregnancy book – it is in three parts: 1. A true and honest account of my pregnancy in diary format. From conception, to holding my little bundle of joy in my arms. 2. My mum and friends’ pregnancy and birth stories – no two pregnancies/births are the same, so I’ve given my readers a wide variety of experiences. 3. Hints and tips section e.g. What to pack in your hospital bag, How to write a birth plan etc.

What kind of readers is the book aimed at?
Pregnant ladies, mum-to-be, parents, mothers, ladies who want to reminisce on their pregnancy, and anyone interested in what a woman ACTUALLY goes through while pregnant – men included!

Does pregnancy and motherhood come naturally to anyone, or do we all need books like yours to learn it?
We don’t need books like this one to learn about being pregnant or a good parent – all advice is found through our amazing midwives. But it’s reassuring to read about someone else’s experiences as EVERY part of pregnancy is new to a first time mum – we can’t see inside our tummies, and half of my pregnancy was spent worrying that something was wrong with my baby. I’d look forward to seeing the midwife for reassuring bump measurements and using her doppler to listen to the sound of my baby’s heartbeat. Even at the last stages of my pregnancy, when I was the size of a house, I was feeling big movements from within my tum but I was worrying that my baby wasn’t moving enough, and then worrying that neither of us would survive the birth – it all sounds so silly and ridiculous now but those pesky hormones have a big part to play in this! All I’m saying is, pregnancy is a new and frightening experience and even if it’s a second or third pregnancy it’s hard to remember what happened the time before, and all pregnancies are different. It’s nice and comforting to feel a connection with someone who has written all of these symptoms and niggles down to relate with – I have had so many ladies write to me saying: “Thank God I’m not the only one!” It’s great to know I’m helping people.

What was the most unexpected thing that happened to you during your pregnancy?
The pregnancy itself was unexpected, it was unplanned and even though I’d been with my partner Luke 2 1/2 years we didn’t feel ready for this life-changing news. Also, pregnancy as a whole is completely unknown territory – it feels like every day you wake up with a new pregnancy symptom or ailment. Having your whole body taken over – you’re growing an entire new human being from scratch – is amazing, so each new symptom, movement, the sheer size of your swollen belly and the fact you can’t see your feet or reach them to even put socks on is all unexpected to someone who has never been pregnant before!

How long did this book take you to write?
It took me 18 months to write and a further 6 months to get right and edited, then published. It was based on the 9 months I was pregnant, and the diary I kept for the duration of my pregnancy.

It cannot have been easy writing while you’re going through the throes of pregnancy; was this the most challenging part of the process?
I had never written anything since school, my punctuation and grammar still need PLENTY of work! So the most challenging part of the process was converting my jumbled scribbles into a readable and professionally laid out book!

Another challenge was opening up completely. My book is an honest account and was written from my original diary so I had to be 100% honest with many a topic which I felt should be kept private. I had to learn to wear my heart on my sleeve and learn also, that nothing was out-of-bounds. Reading my book back, the honesty really adds a true connection to the reader and I am really happy with it.

There is nothing like this book out at the moment and I really feel it could help so many, I now just need a bigger audience – this is a challenging aspect also!

Usually at this juncture we ask the author to tell us about themselves, but, to be honest, it’s your baby we all want to know about. How is she? Got any baby photos for us to coo over?
My little girl will be 3 years old in April, she is a cheeky monkey and a little bossy, but most of all very strong-willed and independent.

She is so switched on and is constantly asking questions – her favourite one is “Why?” which isn’t irritating at all… I wouldn’t have her any other way! It is wonderful to see her grow and watch her personality develop and I couldn’t be prouder to be her mum. Being a parent is so difficult, it’s the hardest yet most rewarding job in the world and I couldn’t be happier.

I guess we best ask about you too.
My name is Louise Hamilton, I am 27. I live in Lancashire, UK with my fiancee Luke. While Luke is at work I spend my days playing and baking with my daughter Jennifer and watching Disney films! In my spare time (when Jenny is asleep and the housework is done) I write.

My life hasn’t always been this good, Luke and I have been through some tough times. In fact, I spent all of my pregnancy thinking I’d raise the baby alone as a single parent. His parents are literally the worst human beings I know and made for great writing if nothing else.

I used to read extracts of my diary to my friends and depending what the extract was about they would giggle or cry. It was only when reading about one particularly amusing incident with a girl inappropriately groping my pregnant bump in a bar and I responded to this weird gropey girl by grabbing her sizable breasts that one of my friends (after spitting out her mouthful of tea) said I should type it out properly for others to read. I didn’t think anyone would be interested in my scribbles but it appears people are!

I used to write poetry, but now my new passion is my series of parenting books in diary style.

Where can we buy your book?
Amazon ( US, UK).

What’s next?
My second book is yet to be named, but it’s about my baby’s first year including things like breastfeeding, weaning, nappies, coping on holidays abroad etc. I am also working on my third book which takes us from baby’s 1st birthday to her first day of school (so this won’t be ready for about 18 months). Watch this space! I am on Twitter @Mummy_Diaries and my Facebook page is www.facebook.com/mummydiaries – I love feedback and connecting with my readers!

Indie Author land interviews me about my ‘Mummy Diaries’ pregnancy book

I connected with a fabulous company a few weeks ago called Indie Author Land. IndieAuthorLand.com  is dedicated to helping self-published authors get the word out – For free!

They asked me a series of questions:

What is your book?

What kind of readers is the book aimed at?

Does pregnancy and motherhood come naturally to anyone, or do we all need books like yours to learn it?

What was the most unexpected thing that happened to you during your pregnancy?

How long did this book take you to write?

It cannot have been easy writing while you’re going through the throes of pregnancy; was this the most challenging part of the process?

Usually at this juncture we ask the author to tell us about themselves, but, to be honest, it’s your baby we all want to know about. How is she? Got any baby photos for us to coo over? and I guess we best ask about you too.

Your book is based on your diary; do you keep a blog? Where can we buy your book? What’s next?

All of my answers are on their website on the link below, I hope you enjoy the interview and enjoy my book ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown’ by Louise Hamilton.

Interview with Louise Hamilton, author of Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling Into the Unknown

Big thank you to David Njoku for the opportunity, and the interview.

Find Indie Author Land on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndieAuthorLand (@IndieAuthorLand) or on Facebook http://www.Facebook.com/IndieAuthorLand

 

Easy ways to get my pregnancy ebook – compiled a list – Amazon kindle, Apple, Kobo, Nook etc

This blog post is just to demonstrate how easy it is to download my ebook ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown’ By Louise Hamilton, no matter which platform you are using: smartphone (iPhone or android), any tablet, Kindle or other ereader, and Mac or PC and which app or website you want to use: Amazon (Kindle), Apple (iBooks), WHSmith (Kobo) and soon-to-be Barnes and Noble (Nook).

This is how to download the Amazon Kindle app to your phone, (iPhone, or android) Tablet, or PC http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_arl_lnd_pop_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000425503 

Then it’s so easy to buy my book through your Amazon account by searching for ‘Mummy Diaries’ or follow this link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mummy-Diaries-Pregnancy-Stumbling-ebook/dp/B00AO5MDL0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1357229931&sr=1-1

Here is where to download iBooks for you’re Apple devices: http://www.apple.com/uk/apps/ibooks/ Then search the iBooks store for ‘Mummy Diaries’

If you want the Kobo app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, PC or Android then follow this link: http://www.kobobooks.com/apps?__utma=1.1178057343.1357230085.1357230085.1357230085.1&__utmb=1.1.10.1357230085&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1357230085.1.1.utmcsr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&__utmv=-&__utmk=73029907

Once you have downloaded the Kobo app or have a Kobo ereader then either search for ‘Mummy Diaries’ or follow this link: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Mummy-Diaries-Pregnancy-Stumbling-into/book-CNoRSvrVh0K_Wc8wgGEELQ/page1.html?s=weLVYPdRbkGnrO5NM6d30Q&r=1

I’m working on when my book will be available on Barnes and Noble – ‘Nook’

I Hope this helps everyone, you can download my book if you have a smartphone (iPhone or android), any tablet, Kindle or other ereader, and Mac or PC .. Enjoy! And get in touch if you’re struggling – Twitter: @Mummy_Diaries or Facebook: www.facebook.com/mummydiaries

Love and hugs, Louise xxx

A little about me and why I wrote my pregnancy book

I am 27, my ‘baby’ is almost three years old now. I live in Lancashire, UK with my fiancee Luke. While Luke is at work I spend my days playing and baking with my daughter Jennifer and watching Disney films! In my spare time (when Jenny is asleep and the housework is done) I write. My life hasn’t always been this good, Luke and I have been through some tough times, in fact, I spent all of my pregnancy thinking I’d raise the baby alone as a single parent. His parents are literally the worst human beings I know and made for great writing if nothing else. I used to read extracts of my diary to my friends and depending what the extract was about they would giggle or cry. It was only when reading about one particurlarly amusing incident with a girl inappropriately groping my pregnant bump in a bar and I responded to this weird gropey girl by grabing her sizable breasts that one of my friends (after spitting out her mouthful of tea) said I should type my diary out properly for others to read. I didn’t think anyone would be interested in my scibbles but it appears people are! I used to write poetry but now my new passion is my series of parenting books in diary style. My first book ‘Mummy Diaries: Pregnancy – Stumbling into the unknown’ is available now on all ebook formats.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mummy-Diaries-Pregnancy-Stumbling-ebook/dp/B00AO5MDL0/ref=zg_bs_534510_15

My pregnancy book, is in three parts:
1. A true and honest account of my pregnancy in diary format. From conception, to holding my little bundle of joy in my arms.
2. My mum and friends’ pregnancy and birth stories – no two pregnancies/births are the same, so I’ve given my readers a wide variety of experiences.
3. Hints and tips section e.g. What to pack in your hospital bag, How to write a birth plan etc.

My second book is yet to be named and edited but it’s about my baby’s first year including things like breastfeeding, weaning, nappies, coping on abroad holidays. It should be available by summer 2013.. watch this space!

FINALLY… MY PREGNANCY BOOK COVER!!!!!

I really hope you all like it.. Let me know your thoughts 🙂 xxx

The stresses of breastfeeding.. Baby Jennifer is 12 days old

I feed Jennifer for her last feed which is around 11pm and then put Jennifer in her cream Moses basket. I peer down at her before switching the light off in complete adoration – how did I ever live without her? I’ve already forgotten what my life used to be like pre-Jennifer and although the sleep deprivation and night feeds are by no means easy I’d never go back even if I could.

2am she wakes, 4.30am she wakes, 7am she wakes, 8.30am she wakes – seriously can I take the previous mushy gushy stuff back?! It’s a whirlwind of crying and feeding, I feel a little like a dairy cow attached by her udders to the rubber suction cups which are stealing her milk and draining her of fluid and energy. The times that she wakes up in the night aren’t the problem, it’s the amount of time she feeds for and the fear of rolling onto her if she falls asleep on the boob keeps me alert and awake. At 2am she feeds for twenty minutes and falls asleep on the boob but I know this isn’t enough so I wake her up again by changing her bottom and burping her then I put her back on the boob and she falls asleep, I don’t change her bottom every time but if she really won’t take any more I have to wake her up otherwise she would want milk every half an hour. When she’s full and in a ‘milk induced coma’ then I gently place her back in her Moses basket and just about drift off to sleep before the next set of crying and feeding. I sleep with a pint of weak cordial by my bed and make sure that by morning I have finished it and the first thing I do when I wake up is make another one.

Although it sounds tiring I am getting the hang of it, I am concerned that my nipples are red raw and instead of the tan colour they used to be they are a vivid shade of pink, very shiny and cracked so that raw flesh was being exposed and they are stinging so much that I started to dread feeds. When she was on the boob I would cry my eyes out and swear profusely. I’ve found my expensive £10 a tube lotion made by the fab people at Lansinoh which I was convinced by the sales assistant at Mothercare that “I needed this in my life” and it kind of works, it helped them repair between feeds but the next day it is even more unbearable. Luckily the midwife is coming to visit today so I’ll get my baps out and see what she thinks – from a professional point of view of course! She is due any minute and mum, Luke and I are rushing round getting ready for the visit and vacuuming, tidying and cleaning because in my mind I don’t want her to think badly of me as a mother.

She arrives and checks Jennifer’s red book, feels my tummy and makes comments on how my uterus is contracting nicely. She weighs Jennifer and checks her jaundice and says she isn’t concerned as all signs of it have now disappeared. I tell her about my breasts and she inspects them and looks like she feels sorry for me, she then checks in Jennifer’s mouth and she has a very white tongue; she says we have thrush and are passing it to and from each other via her mouth and my nipple and prescribes me a cream and Jennifer a yellow anti-biotic medication for it, hopefully no more 5am nipple torture for me! She goes through our feeding patterns and her nappies and asks how I’m doing. I suddenly want to burst into tears and tell her I can’t cope but I’m too proud and seriously I don’t know where these sudden waves of despair and helplessness come from! I compose myself and tell her like every strong and natural maternal new mother that things are fine and I’m just breezing through it; lies. We say good bye and give a sigh of relief when the door closes and she’s gone – I feel like I’m being checked up on in case I can’t cope but luckily I’m not on my own otherwise I’m sure the paranoia would be spinning round in my head for hours after. We go and pick up our prescriptions and as I guessed Jennifer HATES the yellow medication and spits it everywhere while going purple in the face and screaming so much she can’t breathe. Fantastic! And I have to do this 3 times a day. My cream however is simple and starts working within a few days so I’m happy enough.