Introducing....

Clement James! Born at home, on the 11th of April at 2:12pm - weighing 8lb 14oz, and 22.5 inches long.

Getting dressed for the first time - his first nappy (an xs Motherease Sandy's - for any cloth nappy/diaper fans out there! though it's on the largest popper setting, as he's a big boy!)

With nappy wrap on top (small Motherease Airflow)

And all dressed at last - I think this sleepsuit is a size 0-3m - and doesn't look like he'll fit it for long! Must dig out the larger baby clothes, as I can't seem him fitting into newborn sized things (like Benjamin did)...and certainly not "early baby" size like Abigail wore for weeks! :-D

So, my lovely baby boy is here at last! After a very long & tiring labour, I must say! I had various contractions and signs of labour since Monday this week - with two nights of contractions which kept me from sleeping. We even had the midwives out on Thursday morning thinking something was surely happening, but the contractions vanished! Then last night I had very painful contractions every 10 minutes the entire night...which means I had no sleep! However, I still felt nothing was happening this morning and nearly felt like giving up on the idea of having the baby at home. However, when the midwife came out at 9am today she said she wasn't leaving...she felt I *was* in labour! So, in the end we had 3 midwives out when Clement was actually born. It was a very long struggle, but eventually he was born this afternoon. I think a very big head was part of the problem - and prevented labour from getting properly established - also made for a difficult delivery! But thankfully, I got there in the end. I did resort to using "gas & air" for about 45 mintues (soon before he was born) just to help me relax, as I was sooo exhausted. So, natural home birth with no complications - just long and tiring! :) But certainly worth it - we have a lovely little boy, who has fed like a pro from the start, and is very happy and content.

Abigail & Benjamin are very pleased with a new baby brother. Abigail asked "Do we get to keep him tomorrow too" and at one point Benjamin said "Mummy got Baby Clement from a shop" ....tho when asked where Clement came from, he did say "came out of mummy's tummy"! :-)

OK, must try to get some rest! :)

40 weeks pregnant ... maybe!

Well, here's me at 40 weeks pregnant:

... that is, if the 12 week dating scan was correct to give me the 1st of April as my due date! My original due date (according to my dates) was the 7th of April - and with previous pregnancies, the scan only changed my dates by 1-2 days, so I did find it odd when they moved me a week ahead. Sooo, since baby isn't here yet....I think I'll just consider the scan wrong, and that I'm not due yet! ;-) Whatever the case, I'm big and uncomfortable! Don't feel I can hardly do anything, though I'm trying to stay as active & normal as can be - as don't want to sit around and make things take any longer than necessary. But it's not very easy getting in or out of bed...or even sleeping for that matter - especially when a 2yo little boy is in the already small double bed! ;-) LOL Oh well, guess I just need to take my mind off it and maybe something will happen - hopefully soon while Sarah is still here!

Still battling eczema with Benjamin! :-'( We keep taking him to the GP (seen 4 different ones so far) but not getting anywhere really. He last went on Monday this week, and I was pleased at least that this doctor (tho only filling in this week for someone, so not likely to see him again), but he actually thought steroids were *not* a good idea and likely to only make him worse. Most doctors just love to prescribe steroids for eczema, but Benjamin's skin problems have only gotten worse since using prescription meds/creams/emollients etc! The doctor *is* going to try and get us referred to a dermatologist, so maybe we'll get more help there, though I doubt it (can you tell I don't have much faith in doctors?! LOL) Oh yes, one main reason we took him again to the doctors was because of a nasty rash on his back. He's had it for over 2.5 weeks now and it's very itchy - started on the top of his back but soon spread to cover his whole back. It behaves rather differently to the eczema on the rest of him, and doesn't respond to the emollients at all (unlike the eczema). One of my midwives was sure it was a form of eczema; a previous doctor thought it looked viral; and the doctor on Monday said maybe it was some form of infected eczema, so prescribed fucidic acid cream (antibiotic). Don't think it's doing anything though. Soooo, last night I tried a handful of porridge oats tied in an odd sock (instead of Aveeno Bath Oil), and I also rubbed the sock all over his skin to let the "oat glug" get on his skin and I was very impressed with how much better he looked when he got out of the bath. Usually his eczema is quite red, but it was rather calm...and he never tried scratching while in the bath or being dressed (unusual for him!), so I think it must have made him feel better. Early days though, as I often think something is good at first and then it quits working. But I'm going to keep trying it - even outside the bath - and see if it helps. In the mornings I'm applying a Propolis cream, then later in the morning a Urea cream (not natural, but on prescription), I use his Beeswax emolliex cream at odd times during the day (same company as makes the Propolis one), and then at bedtime he gets a thick coating of Epaderm on areas with eczema. (Not that I'm overly keen on the Epaderm, which is more paraffin stuff....and worst of all SLS!) Anyway, just have to keep trying anything I can think of to stay sane - but it's all stressful and time consuming to look after his skin. And poor Benjamin feels depressed about it too - he refers to his feet as "poor, poor feet" or "sad feet" :-( And he's loosing a lot of sleep over it, as lately we've been up 1-2 hours in a night with him itching.

Here's Benjamin wearing more clothes that I made for him (sleepsuit made into a "secure eczema daysuit"! LOL) Only problem is...my sewing machine doesn't seem to like sewing knit fabric!! :-S Anyone reading this have *any* ideas??? Everytime I try to sew something from knit fabric, the seams just burst with very little stress on them. Guessing I just don't know what I'm doing (having been someone who always liked to use ordinary cotton that didn't have a stretch to it!). So I've got piles of fabric to make clothes for him, but if they're going to burst at the seams, they'll be little use! I've got correct needles for the fabric - but maybe I'm meant to be doing a special stitch?

A cute smile - even if he's got a rather oily face from creams! :-)

Abigail playing dress-up - she came up with this combination all on her own!

Benjamin playing in the back garden yesterday. We've got lovely mild weather at the moment. They had soooo much fun playing outside and not feeling cold! Was a bit breezy (and Benjamin likes his head covered!) but was so mild.

Playing in the gravel - which I find is soooo much less messy than either dirt or sand! :-D They were making mounds of gravel (which I think were cakes) and decorating them with grass etc. Benjamin looks sooo funny in this pic!

OK, guess I'll end this post here. Getting a very sore back sitting upright to type. Maybe I'll go do some crocheting before bed...though really I ought to be putting away the 4+ loads of clean clothes!

Benjamin is 2!

My little boy is now 2 years old! Benjamin's birthday was on Wednesday, but haven't managed to upload photos before now. I only just posted a long blog (i.e. lots of words!) on Monday, so this will be almost entirely photos.


Coming downstairs in the morning - he thought balloons were the best part and had to be told that the presents were meant to be opened! :-)

Opening his first present! I think Abigail's hair features in quite a few of these photos! LOL

Cars and trucks are his *favourite*

A big wooden Bertie the Bus!

"oooh, there are more presents to see!"

Benjamin's "Bob the Builder cake" - he was verrrry excited when he saw it! And he's had lots of fun with the minature machines afterwards!

Bus/van shaped sandwiches

Birthday lunch

Just before lighting the candles

So, that's all the pics from Benjamin's birthday. I think he really enjoyed the day and he is quite convinced that he's a big boy now! :-) I was carrying him down the stairs the other night and gave him a cuddle and told him he was mummy's little boy (not thinking anything of what I was saying!) but he quickly objected and said "Benjamin is a *big* boy"!

And part of being a big boy, as of 2 weeks ago, Benjamin is now fully weaned (as in, he no longer has his "drink from mummy" to go to sleep at night). So, bedtime routine includes getting into his pyjamas & sleeping bag (after being covered in some sort of cream for his eczema) and then mummy & Benjamin lie on mummy's bed (as Abigail can be too noisy/distracting for him to fall asleep in the same room). He *has* to lay his head on a certain pillow which has a Thomas the Tank Engine pillowcase, and he must cuddle his favourite stuffed Winnie the Pooh. Most nights he's asleep within 5 minutes. He usually asks mummy to be quiet (i.e. no singing), and he makes sure my head is on my *own* pillow, and usually doesn't want anyone touching him when he actually closes his eyes to fall asleep! :-) He likes a few cuddles, but eventually wants hands off while he goes to sleep - a bit of personal space, I guess! lol Anyway, occasionally at bedtime Benjamin is a total chatterbox and will talk for *ages* about anything and everything - complicated thought patterns too! It's quite fun to listen to him talk!

Today we had the monthly homeschool get together. The children enjoyed it, as usual. However, they must have been rather tired out, as both fell asleep in the car on the way home - and remained asleep when they were carried in the house! Here's what they looked like:

OK, off to bed!

A bit of an update

Thought I'd better post at least something, as it's nearly a month since I last updated. Apologies to anyone who I owe an email to - I know there are lots of emails I've not replied to lately. But life seems quite busy lately.

Part of what's kept me busy the past month was trying to get through a driving test. Unfortunately that didn't happen! :-( I'd hoped to pass the practical part of the driving test before the baby arrived, but I took the test twice in the past month and didn't pass either time. I had several lessons as well (the first instructor not being very helpful or encouraging) and the 2nd one (thanks to the recommendation from my friend Sharon!) was great and helped me loads in just the 2 lessons I had from him the week before last. I managed to successfully (with correct speed/gears/observations etc) do both a reverse around the corner (which I failed in my first test) and a parallel parking (my most feared "skill"). However, just after that, I got "seriously faulted" (i.e. failed) because I approached a blind junction in 2nd gear (instead of 1st) and the nose of the car was too far forward into the junction. The road is very narrow with the house walls right up next to your car, and the "give way" lines faintly painted on the road - some junctions being "give way" for traffic the other way etc, so slightly confusing really. Anyway, I still felt quite annoyed that I'd messed up on something that ought to be so easy. But there's no slack with UK driving tests. So, just have to put it behind me for now. There's no way I wanted to take a test any later in my pregnancy (having done the 2nd one at 36 weeks!). So maybe some other time I'll try again. But at nearly 60 pounds for each try, it could be an expensive experiment!

There's me at 36 weeks! (self-portrait of sorts, so no face included! lol) I had a scan on Friday last week (36w 2d) and the baby was measuring 37w 1d, so should mean a healthy sized baby. Everything was just perfect (position of placenta, amount of fluid, baby's size etc), so consultant was happy and signed his approval of my plans for home birth. That was really the reason for the scan this far along, to make sure placenta especially was in good position. Seen my community midwives today and baby has started to drop into place, so that's good too. :) They'll be bringing round the "home birth kit" (all their gear) next week. I'm sure I had everything here the previous times when I was only around 37 weeks (which I'll be this Wednesday), but they're not delivering the stuff (or going on call) until I'm 38w 1d - so just hope baby doesn't decide to come anytime before then!

Here's Benjamin and Abigail playing in a box together. I think they were pretending it was a boat.

Oh yes, was going to say that we learned the other day that Benjamin has a very good memory! Abigail has quite an amazing memory for insignificant things and remembers them in great detail. But we hadn't realised Benjamin did too - until last Friday when we were at the hospital for my scan. We were in the waiting area where there's a table of toys/books for children and Benjamin started to get upset and said "it's missing - it's missing" (or something like that). We asked him what was missing, assuming he meant his favourite Pooh bear (or the plastic bunch of bananas he'd brought along for Pooh!) which were in the pushchair, but he replied saying "the fish is missing!" It was *then* that I realised what he was talking about! When we were at the hospital before (for my 12 week scan in *September*) there was a large stuffed fish. Something from a Disney film I think, and about 2-3 feet long. He remembered it! He'd only ever been there *once*, and 6 months ago at that! Obviously being such a big stuffed toy it made quite an impression on him - but still, to think something he saw briefly when he was 18 months old, he still remembered!

Benjamin lying in the baby's bed! He doesn't quite fit like he used to! lol

Benjamin wearing a special suit of clothing I made for him (minus the wet bib, which was to help keep his neck dry while he had a nasty cold that made him dribble a lot!). I managed to find a pattern from USA (which I could buy, download & print) for a sleepsuit which goes up to size 4y (the one he's wearing being 3y) and I modified it to have the opening in the back instead of front, and put a zip in. So, this is my version of a secure eczema day suit! :-) He manages to get his hands into *anything*, even the mitten suits that the speciality companies sell for 30 pounds each! I got him some sleepsuits from Verbaudet (a French company) which have poppers on the back and back flap (which I sewed up), but they only go up to 3y (which he's nearly outgrown already), and they have a seam across the foot (which is right where his worst eczema is), so aren't ideal. So, I'm hoping to have a major sewing session in the next week or so and get him several of these made so he'll have some clothes to wear (around the house at least!). I have approx 42 metres of fabric being shipped to me this week (no, not all of them are for Benjamin!). But I happened to be looking on eBay for some cotton jersey fabric to make him some clothes, and it happened that the very day I looked, a lady (who I bought fabric from last May!) had just listed 13 auctions, each with about 6 metres of fabric. All cute cotton fabrics (cord, jersey, sweatshirt fleece, canvas) with lovely children's prints, for both boys & girls! And they're all a discontinued line of fabric from USA which has bright print on a white background, meaning it can be dyed to any colour! (The one he's wearing above was made from that fabric). Best of all, when the auctions ended on Thursday last week, there was hardly any interest and I got the fabric for next to nothing! So I was very excited to say the least - and best of all, nice boy prints to make clothes for Benjamin - at the very time when I was most in need of finding suitable fabric!

Anyway, sorry for the long ramble about fabric! However, if you knew the stress of dealing with an almost 2yo boy with rather severe eczema, you might understand! :-) Sometimes I'm not really sure what to do with him! I think my last blog was after we'd first taken him to the doctors and he was on his first course of steroids. Anyway, the eczema just about cleared up while he was on the hydrocortisone - but 2 days after the 10 day course of it, the eczema was back, and worse than before! We took him to the doctors again, this time seeing a different GP - but again, he just said to have another course of the same. He did give us different cream & stuff for the bath (both for moisturising). Again, the eczema cleared up quite nicely while taking the steroids, but 2 days later, it returned and even worse than the last time. I am very wary of putting them on him again - it seems that doctors really aren't coming up with any solutions for it, and at least in Benjamin's case, the resulting eczema is worse than before steroids. Plus, they can thin the skin, so aren't a good idea to be using all the time. Where to go from here, I really don't know. So far, what seems to actually give Benjamin the most relief is Beelief Botanics Emoliex First Formula ( http://www.beeliefbotanics.com/proddetail.php?prod=emoliexfirstformula_50ml&cat=7 ) which is all natural. I can't say it's actually clearing the eczema up, but it makes him feel a *lot* better! It has lovely cooling properties (from the lavender). When he wakes up in the night miserable and scratching, he is soothed back to sleep by me applying the above cream. You can tell it relieves the itching and cools his skin, but I just don't know how to keep the eczema better under control. We bought some Propolis repair cream from the same company the other day, so I'm trying that on him too. At the moment he's got inflamed skin on both feet, behind both knees, his neck (front & back), and all around his face. I'm just trying to "manage" it at the moment, watching him all the time, trying to keep him cool, in secure cotton clothes to cover most of the skin etc. But it also means I'm not getting much sleep - he was awake for a period of time twice last night - quite miserable. I hate to see him in such discomfort, but I feel that continuing the steroids is just making him worse, so guess we just have to see how things go over the next days/weeks.

One last photo of the children, which was actually meant to be above with the other similar pic.

Must get to bed, though I think I hear Benjamin stirring - so might not get to sleep for a while yet. Oh well - such is life for a mother, I guess.

Winter Wonderland

My "Tiggeriffic" little boy! :-) I found him like this while I was getting breakfast organised this morning and thought he was too cute not to photograph. He loves playing with words - yesterday he said "Mummy has a problem" - this morning it was "Perfect Mummy" and 10 minutes later "Tiggeriffic Mummy" - which was a nice change to the "mummy has a problem" of yesterday! :-) However, in the afternoon, I was talking about wool nappy covers coming from Germany - and the next thing out of his mouth was "German Mummy"! LOL :-) Soooo, can't believe everything he says (whether good...or bad!) he just likes to organise words into interesting sentences. Yesterday morning he was even asking & answering his own questions. We were sitting in the car while Peter was in the chemist and Benjamin said "What's that car doing?" followed by "the car is driving". I must admit, I ask him lots of silly questions (without any reason or point) to distract him either while doing nappy changes or getting him to eat food etc - so probably seemed normal enough to ask a question like that! :)

Last week the children were *delighted* with what they thought was lots of snow (though it turned out to be just a sprinkling compared to what we got *this* week)! (above & below photos taken last Saturday) Abigail woke up very excited to see white over the ground and they couldn't wait till they could go outside later to play in it.

Abigail looking quite grown up - children don't stay little for long!

My little boy again - this time ready for bed (last week). You might notice the redness around his mouth (mainly on chin) - he's recently had quite a flareup of eczema which I haven't been able to control with any of the previous ointments/creams etc. Having spread to his face (somewhere I can't cover with clothing to prevent the scratching) I realised I had to do something about it. So I phoned the clinic on Monday and managed to get an appointment with a GP for that afternoon. I didn't even ask for an emergency slot, they just happend to have a cancelled appointment for that afternoon, so I was pleased & relieved. It can be quite stressful when you have a young child who wants to scratch night & day - and manages to damage their skin even through clothing. And mummy can't sleep very well at night either when she is frequently woken up by a restless little boy who's trying to scratch his feet to pieces! Anyway, I'd always assumed it was eczema since it started early last summer (even tho never confirmed by a health professional), and the doctor certainly didn't disagree with my diagnosis either. So he prescribed him a steroid (Hydrocortisone cream) as well as Oilatum Emollient for the bath (to use instead of any soap) and Oilatum cream for applying afterwards etc. Must say I'd always *not* taken him to the doctors because I didn't want him on steroids, but as bad as it was getting, I felt I had to take him to maintain both his and my sanity! And I'm pleased to report that his skin has improved remarkably since starting the Hydrocortisone on Monday night. The redness is all gone, the eczema has disappeared from his face, and his feet look nearly all better, apart from the scars he's got from so much scratching. But the skin is softer too - and best of all, he's not waking in the night to scratch, and hardly any scratching during the day either. :-) Can't say I'm excited about the idea of bathing in Liquid Paraffin (or covering his body in it after a bath) which is the main ingredient in Oilatum! So maybe we'll come up with something better - even a bath with oats! But for now, I'm just very happy to have a happier little boy!

Lots of snow at last! We finally got a good helping of snow on Thursday. It seemed we were getting left out, as so much of the south of England had record amounts of the fluffy white stuff! So it was exciting to get several inches of it. Above shows Peter & Abigail starting on their snowman - first time ever to make one too! :)

Snowball getting bigger...

And bigger & bigger till....

The finished snowman - with daddy & little helpers! :-)

Giving the cold fellow a great big hug!

Me with children (though I didn't actually help at all - only came out with the camera!).

Climbing in the window to have a look at the snowman!

Well, that's all for now. :)

Walk in the Woods etc

Just thought I'd try to post a second blog before January is gone! Not sure I have anything to say really - but more photos than last time, anyway! :)

Here's Abigail wearing a skirt I crocheted for her! I made up the pattern as I went along, so not exactly perfect - but something fun & relaxing to do (instead of using the computer! lol)

Benjamin (making a funny face - or maybe just hiding from the camera's flash) and holding one of his favourite cuddly toys! Pooh, Tigger and a particular big teddy are all very special to him.

I seem to have a blank mind - can't think of anything interesting to say. Might be due to the fact of getting a combined 4.5 hours sleep last night! For one reason or other, it seems that both Abigail & Benjamin aren't sleeping so well just now! Sometimes it's dreams or needing the toilet for Abigail - and Benjamin either wants a drink from his cup, is just restless, or itchy with his eczema! Last night it was both of them - first Benjamin an hour after I went to sleep (tho he settled again quickly); then Abigail woke up an hour later - 3 times within the hour and I ended up sleeping in her bed for 3 hours, until Benjamin woke up at 5am, in a rather restless mood. He was awake until 6:45 (and so was I! especially as I had to make sure I kept him from scractching himself to pieces). I finally fell back asleep sometime after 7am....and about 30 minutes later Abigail woke up for the day...so that was the end of sleep for me. :-( Seems there's no such thing as extra sleep when I'm pregnant - if anything, it seems to be even less sleep! lol

Anyway, I was feeling tired and a bit breathless/wheezy with my asthma this morning, so decided we should go for a nice walk to get some exericse and fresh air. I think I end up feeling worse with breathing when I'm indoors for too much of the time (which I certainly have been for the past couple of weeks) - and fresh air (as long as it's not *too* cold) makes my lungs feel a lot better. So the rest of the photos are from our walk in the woods (about 5 miles away). I felt much better afterwards - apart from sore back now! :)

Abigail as we were beginning our walk

Benjamin, Peter, and Abigail

Our two lovely children - they were still full of energy at this point (but wanted to be carried part of the way back to the car!)

Me (with 31+ week bump), and Abigail & Benjamin (who was trying to escape from the photo)

Abigail & her daddy - sitting down to have a biscuit & juice before we headed back.

Wishing he could climb a big tree! (he said afterwards "Ben-ja-men climb tree big boy" - already planning what he's going to do when he gets bigger!)

Playing in the leaves & grass together

Well, better go cook some dinner before it gets too late. I think the children (and possibly me too?) could benefit from early baths & bed tonight. :)

A post of few photos...

Just thought I better post something here before I go a full month without blogging! Seems I have very few photos to post, so this might be an extra boring post. Sorry!

Here's Benjamin trying on a "sleeping bag" for the very first time (looking a bit shy, or maybe sleepy!) but cute too! :) He won't keep his duvet (or any blanket) over him at night, and since he wears thin cotton pyjamas because of eczema, he's been getting rather cold at night! So I thought I'd try him in 1tog sleeping bags (light weight because of his eczema) and I think they've been quite a success, as it means he stays covered all night long! Occasionally he says "don't like it" to the idea of being zipped up in a bag (lol) but I think the fact that the above bag is covered in red buses has helped a lot! :) His other sleeping bag is striped (with bright orange - a favourite colour of his) so both are quite popular with him, which is good.

We came down with a nasty vomitting bug the second week in January, which left us all feeling about 20% alive! From the symptoms we had, it seems it was the Norwalk Virus (aka norovirus). Benjamin got it first (around the 7th) and then I followed 2 days later, and Peter & Abigail got it later that day. Both of the children seemed to be rather more severely affected by it - being unwell for about a week. I went 2 days without any food & trying hard to just keep water down (which wasn't very easy for over 36 hours). But thankfully I started getting better just after I felt I was getting to a serious point with regard to dehydration, which can be dangerous when you're pregnant. The midwives would have wanted me to go to hospital for fluids, but I didn't see how that would be possible with Peter *and* both children being sick and in bed! So I was very thankful when I started to keep fluids down. It just left me feeling very weak and took about 4 days before I started to feel about 80% alive again! :)

Here's Abigail & Benjamin doing some cutting & pasting, while they were still feeling poorly with the virus. Abigail went quite a few days sleeping most of the time (and hardly eating anything), but would get up occasionally to do something until she felt exhausted again. They both enjoy crafty things, so this kept them occupied for a little while when I was trying to pack books/get post ready to go out.

Here's Abigail looking very excited as she's playing with some paper dolls for the first time! Her Auntie Leah sent them over to her and she was really surprised, as she didn't know they were coming. These are extra special too, as Leah and I played with these when we were little! I can tell you, we spent *many* happy hours with them. I'm really pleased that Leah kept them all these years and has now passed some on to Abigail. Leah also found some new (unused ones) off eBay which she sent over too. So I think we'll keep those in their new state until Abigail is old enough to keep them in good condition! The old ones are put up in a safe place too, but Abigail just *had* to play with them for a few minutes and try the various clothes on them! :)

An upclose photo of "The Ginghams" - and they even have an unofficial fanpage on the internet: http://home.xnet.com/~countzi/ginghams.htm

Well, can't think of anything else exciting. Maybe I should go to bed, as I've been awake since 6.30am (having gone to bed after midnight last night). Benjamin keeps waking up rather early in the morning and he didn't fall back asleep this time (thankfully he's fallen asleep again on the mornings when he was awake at 5am!). I wouldn't mind if he slept in sometime, but Abigail never sleeps much past 7am, so he doesn't get much of a chance anyway. OK, goodnight. :)