My boy and his traumatic first few weeks!

Hello! I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. Having a newborn takes up a lot of time! I knew I'd be busy, but I can hardly find time to do anything!

Charlie is now 5 weeks, I can't believe how fast the time is flying, as when I was pregnant and desperately waiting for him to arrive, the days dragged! He is fabulous and I am totally in love with him. The labour and delivery was pretty awful (blog post coming soon about that!) but I can now not imagine life without him, even if I do want to cry when he screams all day! Although he is getting better at that now.

His first few weeks have been pretty traumatic actually. Three weeks ago today it started to snow late on at night. Hubby and I were up about 2am feeding and changing Charlie and the lights kept flickering on and off, eventually about 3am they went off and didn't come back on. The power was out. We didn't think anything of it and assumed it would be back on soon and that some snow was affecting the lines. However, it wasn't back on in the morning when we got up. So we boiled some water on our gas hob and were able to have hot drinks. We also had the step-daughter staying with us and since there was quite a lot of some by this point, she had a snow day as did the hubby. You might remember, we live in the Isle of Man and where we are it's quite remote, although only 10 mins from the village. Our road often gets closed for a few hours when it snows and we are used to that. Anyway, they closed our road and we once again, assumed that power would be restored shortly. By tea time Friday it had still not come on and by this point we were starting to get cold. Even though we live in a cottage, we have no coal or log fire, just oil central heating, which wasn't working due to no power! Our phone batteries were starting to die and we couldn't get out as we had between 5-12ft snow drifts all over the road. Our car was nearly covered right to the roof in snow and so there was no way out. Anyway, we all snuggled down in the lounge with candles and tried to keep warm. Power still wasn't restored by Saturday morning. I started to panic at this stage as Charlie was only 17 days old and he was starting to feel cold, despite numerous layers and blankets and being kept in my arms. He then started being sick - an illuminous yellow coloured sick and he wouldn't feed. I had turned my phone off on the Friday so I had a tiny bit of power left, so we rang hubby's dad and said please could he see if they could get the police or someone to come and get us out as the baby was unwell. That was about 8.30am. All we could do now was wait.
 After that we went round to our landlady's farmhouse; she had a gas fire and told us to go and sit round it and try get warm. To be quite honest, the heat coming from it was pitiful! But it was better than nothing.
Anyway, I was worrying and waiting and trying to get Charlie warm and had given up hope of being rescued really. And then, two god like figures appeared at the door! Two coastguard men had arrived to rescue Charlie and I! I have never ever been so happy to see two men in my life! They said we had two options - helicopter would hover above and winch us up or we could wait for their 4x4 which was slowly making it 's way up our road behind a snow digger! I decided to wait as I didn't fancy a 17 day old baby being winched up to a helicopter!
In the end it didn't take long for the digger to make some progress and they asked hubby to carry the baby through three fields to meet the waiting 4x4 as it couldn't get any further. So we trudged through the fields which by this point, because of the drifting, had 4ft of snow at some parts, me being only just 5ft found that walk very difficult and never would have managed it carrying Charlie. We got to the van and had to say goodbye to hubby as there wasn't enough room for us all, and off they took us, blue lights and sirens and all to the hospital!
Looking back now, if we hadn't had been rescued, god knows what would have happened to Charlie. When we got to A&E, his temperature was between 34-35, which was quite cool. But they quickly warmed him up with a heat blanket and we were admitted to the children's ward so they could monitor him and get him back feeding. Despite feeling extremely pleased and happy we'd been rescued I now worried about the hubby and step daughter. Particularly as the hubby is diabetic and we were running out of food and couldn't cook anything anyway!
On the Sunday, the coastguard man who had rescued us, added me as a friend on facebook and once again, if he hadn't I don't know what would have happened as he messaged me to say had hubby managed to get out, I told him no and he gave me a number to ring and tell them hubby was stuck. I did and a few minutes later he replied saying he had been tasked to go and rescue the hubby and step daughter! It took hours and I was pacing the hospital room, but they eventually arrived to me at about 4pm Sunday afternoon!
Our power was still out and the snow by now was even worse and there was no way we would have got out of there anytime soon. The stepdaughter went off to her mum's and the nurse allowed hubby to stay in the hospital with us. They were happy that Charlie was ok on Monday afternoon and discharged us, but now we were snowed out! So we went and stayed at the in-laws.

Our rescue would not have been possible without hubby's sister. They haven't always seen eye to eye and to be honest we didn't really talk to her properly until this. When we rang his dad on Saturday morning, she got involved. She contacted the police, who quite frankly, were a waste of time. I know they had a lot to deal with but they really didn't help. She then contacted someone she knew who volunteered for the coastguard who was off duty. He got in touch with someone who was on duty and our rescue came from there. If she hadn't have helped us, god knows what would have happened. We owe her a lot. We also owe the wonderful volunteers from the coastguard a lot too. They went above and beyond for us! They have even kept in touch with us, asking how Charlie is getting on. They are wonderful men!

So poor little Charlie has had an eventful start to life. But thankfully all turned out ok and we are now safely back at home with full power! Incidentally, the power didn't go back on until Monday afternoon, from 3am Friday morning. The poor electricity men worked very hard those few days and are still dealing with the after effects now.
I have never ever seen snow like it in my life. Driving down our road in the 4x4 van there was 15ft of snow on either side of us, it was like nothing I've ever seen.

Below are a couple of pictures for you to see what it was like, although they do not do it justice at all! We even managed to make the front page of the Isle of Man newspapers, so at 17days old, Charlie became famous! I've taken lots of newspaper cuttings and clippings and I am going to make a scrap book, so when he's older he can see what happened to him!

mummystartingout x

Snow on the Isle of Man 21st March -25th March 2013 

The snow at our front door on the Friday morning  

The snow in our garden! Somewhere under there is a table and chairs! 

Outside our front door - the window is 4ft up! 

This is the road we live off - normally a very busy main road around the Island!

Our road again! 

You can see the near 20ft wall of snow on the left side! 

Our heroes coming for us! (They took this picture, not me!) 

Our front page! 

My brave boy in hospital 

My boy is here

Just a quick update to let you know that Charlie Michael arrived 5th March! At last!

He is my world already and despite many sleepless nights, I wouldn't have it any other way.

mummystartingout x

Today's the day

Today is induction day. Or D-Day as I am calling it. I shall be 40 weeks on Saturday, i.e. the baby's official due date and my consultant wanted to induce me just before term because of my blood pressure. Apparently it's standard procedure.

So, tonight at 8pm I shall arrive at the maternity ward (as long as there is a bed for me!). I will be hooked up to a monitor to check the baby's heart rate and all being well, induction will begin. This involves a gel this evening, inserted you know where and then again 6-10 hours later. If that doesn't work then it will be discussed with me that induction is attempted again or there is the option of a Cesarean.  If the second attempt fails, then it will definitely result in a c-section. This thought doesn't bother me too much. I think I'd prefer to labour 'normally' but I would rather my little boy be born safe and well and that's what really matters. 

When induction was first mentioned to me about 5 weeks ago, I couldn't wait! I liked knowing that I wouldn't go overdue and I had a vague idea of when it was all going to happen. I went to see the consultant yesterday for the last minute checks and, even though I had to be firm and make them to keep to today's date (they wanted to wait until Sunday after violating me and declaring that my cervix is, so far, 'unfavoruable') I am now very, very nervous. 

Today is the day I have waited for and planned for 9 months and even longer if you consider this baby was very much planned. Everything has been in preparation for this moment - to go into hospital and come out with a baby. But, as excited as I am, I am also very scared. Which I think is normal. I have never ever spent a night in hospital in my entire life. I will also be away from hubby overnight, as I very much doubt that I am going to go into labour with the first attempt at induction. I think, at the moment, that's what is scaring me most. Also, my life and indeed hubby's and my life, are about to change forever. We led in bed this morning and he said this would be the last time we would be alone for the next 18 years or so! Our lives are going to change, but, I hope, in the best way possible. 

So, my kindle is charged along with my Iphone and I have a book and a few booklets about babies and breastfeeding etc, so that I can have a read and get prepared and I have something to try and take my mind off it, as I doubt I'll sleep very much during tonight. If I do go into labour, hubby will be allowed to come back obviously, but he is probably going to have to leave me about 10.30pm. 

Everything's ready for the baby and so really now, it is just a case of being patient, hoping induction works and if not then well, what will be will be. I think or I hope that by Sunday/Monday I should have a baby! I cannot actually get my head around that idea. It's very strange. 

So, thanks for reading my pregnancy journey the last six months, I hope I haven't bored you. And thanks to all those other bloggers who have helped me get through pregnancy, particularly Charlotte, at Write Like No One's Watching. Her blog has been invaluable! It's just comforting to be able to read that what I've been going through, I am not alone in and it's normal. 

Today begins a new chapter of my life and I can't wait....

mummystartingout x

My Dotcomgiftshop wish list

With my birthday coming up next week, I thought I'd put together a little list of some things I have my eye on from the Dotcomgiftshop website, just in case the hubby sees, haha!

I love home wear stuff. I don't know when it began, but I think I do have a slight obsession with goodies for the home. I'm always on the look out for little candle holders or trinkets etc. I have also been searching for cushions for our strange coloured sofa for ages. It's like a burgundy red leather colour. Sounds rank, but I assure you it's not. It's lovely and was gifted to us from my aunt and uncle. But I just can't seem to find decent cushions to match it. Until I saw the ones below!

I came across the Dotcomgiftshop online store about two years ago, not long after hubby and I moved into our little cottage that we live in now. We rent and therefore we can't do anything too dramatic to the cottage, but we can make it home with 'things.' I have to admit, I have only ever bought something from the website once because we live on the Isle of Man and they used to charge £9.95 delivery, which I just couldn't justify paying. However, I still popped on to their website, almost daily (haha) and that's how I discovered they have reduced their delivery costs to £2.95- yey! This is much more affordable. So I started pottering my way through their website and came across the following lovelies that are definitely on my wish list!

First of all, as I said above I have been looking for cushions for our sofa. I don't want anything too modern as that theme just wouldn't fit with the style of our house: it's a very old style farmhouse cottage, so whenever I do buy things for the home, I try and ensure they fit this theme. Anything too modern just looks a bit silly. So when I came across these cushions, I knew that they would be perfect!

Patchwork hippy Love cushion £9.95

Patchwork hearts cushion £9.95

Patchwork songbirds cushion £9.95

Next, I came across this fabulous cake stand on Charlotte's blog, Write Like No One's Watching and loved it! However, I would like to use it to store nail varnish and perfume in in my bedroom! 

Vintage cream 3 tier cake stand £8.95

I found this little trinket jar that looks so so cute. But again, I think I would put it in my bedroom for earrings and rings etc. I think it's a bargain! 

Strawberry trinket jar £2.95 

Recently, our kitchen seems to have developed a red theme. No idea why. It started out with a red washing up bowl, as I was sick of the horrible regular grey ones you can find. So I bought a red one. Since then, I have a thing about red and these I thought would look fab in our kitchen!

Red kitchen scales £19.95

Three tier red and cream cake tins £34.95

I love hanging wall signs and Dotcomgiftshop do some fab ones. I particularly like these and I would  hang them in our kitchen. 

Hanging wall sign £4.95

Hanging wall sign £4.95

I also love coloured glass and think these would look fab on our kitchen window sill either with candles or little flowers in! 

Set of 4 hanging jam jar tea light holder £7.95

I came across these little retro milk bottles as well, again I though they would look fab with flowers in, perhaps little daffodils for spring! 

Traditional school milk bottle £2.95

Finally, as it's coming up to Easter I was having a look at their Easter decorations. They always have bargain decorations on their website and these for £1 each, are fab ways of decorating the house cheaply for Easter! (heheh excuse the pun there!)

Easter chick hanging decorations, set of 2, £1

Hanging Easter chick decoration £1

Hanging metal rabbit £1

Easter bunny hanging garland £1

My maternity pay doesn't allow me to stretch to everything on this list, unfortunately! But I shall be adding some of the items to my basket and hoping the birthday fairies are very kind! 

mummystartingout x

What to pack in a hospital bag

In reality I actually had no idea what to pack in my hospital bag. It was though, something that I looked forward to doing from around 20 weeks and I was itching to do it for ages. However, I resisted, not wanting to tempt fate or anything and I finally managed to complete it last week. Since then, I've remembered a few little extra bits that I've thrown in, but they weren't necessarily the essentials. I think I've done pretty well but by all means, please suggest anything you think I might have missed that's important!

For research purposes I have read A LOT of blogs lately on what people packed in their hospital bags and I think I've got it about right. I hope so anyway! We live on an island so if I have forgotten anything, hubby won't be that long nipping home to get it for me haha!

So here is what I have packed....

Button front nightie
Nightshirt and leggings (to wear after birth)
Black tracky bottoms
Black vest
Black loose top
5 pairs of old knickers which I intend to throw away after
2 pairs of disposable knickers (just in case! Although, I really don't want to use these)
2 pairs of socks (I've heard that your feet can get very cold in labour?)
Black Belvia bra
Bikini (I really want to use the birthing pool, but that all depends on my blood pressure on the day)
2 towels
Slippers

Headphones (to go with my iphone for music)
Kindle
Paperback book

In my toiletry bag there is:

Mini shampoo and conditioner
Fragrance free shower gel
Dry shampoo
2 hair bobbles
2 hair clips
Headband
Bio Oil
Sachets of Palmer's body butter
Toothbrush
Mini toothpaste
Flannel
Lansinoh nipple cream

I got sent a little package in the post from Aptamil which had a free sample of bubble bath in it from a lovely little website called Boo Boo, who have now changed their name to Love Boo. They specialise in lovely products for mums to be and new mummies and also babies. The bubble bath was yummy and it felt like I was having a treat when I used it. I was having a look at their website the other day and I really fancy popping their Super Stretchy Miracle Oil into my hospital bag! My tummy has gone really dry lately as it is so stretched and this sounds lovely to slather on after birth.

Food bag -
4 x lucozade sports drinks
Box of cereal bars
Multipack of mini Cheddars
4 x packs of Dextrose (these are also for hubby)
Bag of haribo!
Pack of biscuits (again, these are for hubby as he needs something in case his blood sugar drops as he is diabetic)

As yet, I don't have a nursing bra, which is starting to put me on edge now. I like to be organised. It's not for lack of trying, I just haven't been able to find one I like. However, a couple of blogs I've read have mentioned the  Carriwell Seamless drop cup nursing bras. The other day I was reading A Mummy's View Friday Favourite blog post and she was reviewing the very same bra from a website called Boobie Milk. She said it was great and would really recommend it. Boobie Milk is a nursing and maternity underwear online shop run by a lovely sounding lady called Karen, who, if you live in the West Kent area, will come out and measure and fit you for a bra! This sounds fab - I would love someone to come to my home and measure me properly. However, since I live on the Isle of Man, I doubt Karen is going to trek over here on the ferry just to measure me! So, I will have to do it myself. However, Karen is very thoughtful and she gives very clear instructions on the website on how to go about measuring yourself, so with the help of hubby that is tomorrow's task! She also offers free returns, just in case you measure yourself wrong or the item doesn't fit right etc. I have struggled to find a nursing bra that I like:  M&S seem to have a good range but they are all a bit frumpy looking for me. I had a look in Mothercare as well and their range didn't seem very supportive and a bit flimsy. Quite a few people have suggested the Carriwell nursing bra and I am very tempted to buy it from Boobie Milk. It gets really good reviews and looks a bit more modern and funky than the boring cotton ones on the high street. I want to feel like myself still and just because I am breastfeeding, doesn't mean I can't feel good about myself!  They seem to have an offer on at the minute that you can get the hipster briefs in the same colour with the bra for £25!

If you haven't done so already, you really should pop along to A Mummy's View blog and catch up on her posts. She has very recently had a baby and her blog is all about being a mummy and being pregnant. It's a lovely read and I spent a couple of hours the other day reading back through her blog posts!

I really don't know if I have enough or too much. But like I say, we don't live that far away and I'd rather have too much than too little.

Do you think I have missed anything vital out here?

mummystartingout x

Recipe: Risotto

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen quite a few pictures of this dish! I LOVE risotto. Probably a bit too much. There seems to be something in this one I make that has an addictive quality. I find myself popping into the kitchen later on in the evening and scooping spoonfuls of the leftovers out! Even when I am stuffed!

Anyway, I thought I would share the recipe with you. It is really, really tasty and it is my absolute favorite dish. The hubby likes it, but not with the same enthusiasm that I have, he is more of a steak man to be honest.

150g chorizo (I just buy either M&S cooking chorizo or a chorizo ring from Tesco)
1-2 chicken breasts, depending on how greedy you are! I've started to just use one and I think it's actually better
1 red pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 red onion (I have used a white one in the past when I found myself with no red onions and the recipe still worked, but I do think red is better)
1 litre chicken stock (you could also use veg if you prefer)
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
1.2 teaspoon paprika
Approx 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (depending on taste - you could add more if you prefer, or take some away!)
1-2 tablespoons of butter
Salt and black pepper
350g arborio risotto rice
Olive oil

Method:

Slice the chicken and the chorizo. Chop the red pepper into chunks and do the same with the red onion and garlic, you don't want the onion too small.
Add a good lug of olive oil to a wide pan and allow to heat. Add the pepper, garlic and onion and allow to soften. Keep stirring or the garlic will catch and burn. Once nice and soft, add the chorizo for about one minute to let the lovely oils come out of it and then add the chicken. Stir for a few minutes so that the chicken looks a nice pale colour all over but not cooked through. Now add the rice and stir around so all the rice is coated with the oil from the chorizo. Now start adding the stock - I add about 3/4 to begin with and then leave it to cook for about 10 minutes before adding the remaining stock. At this point I also add the paprika. It will probably take between 25-35 minutes for the rice to cook, but you must keep checking it and ensure that for the first 10 minutes or so the rice is submerged in the stock to ensure it cooks.
After about 25 minutes, taste and check the rice is cooked but still with a slight firmness. Dot the butter around the rice and stir in so it melts. Now add some salt to taste and grind some black pepper into the rice. Stir around and cook for 5 more minutes. Now add the Parmesan and parsley. Tip - don't add the Parmesan until you are nearly ready to serve as it can dry the dish out and become a bit sticky if you cook it for too long with the cheese in it. Check the flavouring and add more salt and pepper or parsley if you wish.

Yummy!!

Let me know if you try it.

mummystartingout x

School dinners v packed lunches?

Does anyone remember what their school's dinners were like? I never had them at primary school, my mum always sent me with a packed lunch but I do remember every now and again persuading her to let me take some money on a Friday at high school for pizza and chips. What I do remember about school dinners, particularly at primary, is the smell - the yucky gravy and mash potato smell.

Working in a variety of schools, I have had a bit of experience with what school dinners are like now and, unfortunately, they vary depending on the area the school is in, the type of school (i.e. private or comprehensive) and the 'tyoe' of student that attends. Generally my experience has been bad, in terms of choice, nutritional value and indeed taste, but that's not to say that all school dinners are terrible.

If you are a member of Netmums or you read the papers, you may remember a story that came out a couple of weeks ago regarding school dinners. Basically, Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, who are food advisers to the government, decided to make the bold statement that packed lunches should be banned and all children should eat a healthy school meal. I am not sure we would find a parent that doesn't want their child to eat 'well.' However, as we've seen from the likes of Jamie Oliver not all schools are providing healthy and well balanced meals for the students. Netmums posted the article on their Facebook page asking for parents' opinions on the topic and boy was there an outcry!

Schools getting involved in what children eat has been a very controversial and also contradictory topic for me for some time now. My step daughter is allowed to take a 'snack' at her primary school for morning break, which I believe a lot of schools now do. This snack is supposed to be nutritious and healthy. So, no crisps, chocolate, cake, biscuits, sweets etc. They can take fruit, veg sticks, cheese, yogurts, Mini Cheddars, Snak a Jaks etc. Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly do not advocate that children have chocolate or sweets for a mid morning snack, but what annoys me is that they are allowed 'Snak a Jaks,' which, depending on the flavour you choose have just as many, if not more, calories than Walkers French Fries or Quavers! So what are they actually tyring to advocate here? They also deign to dictate what a child at their school is allowed in their lunch box, if they choose to have packed lunches. This is extremely childish of me I know, but it really grates on me that they feel they have the right to tell us, as parents, what our children are allowed or not allowed to have for their lunch. Is that not the job of us, as their parents. Rightly or wrongly, aren't we allowed to decide for ourselves what our own children eat?

This is why I got so wound up by these so called advisors' statements. Now I say so-called, because as I dug a little further into this story I discovered that Dimbleby is apparently one of the owners of a chain of restaurants (that I'd never heard of) called Leon. If you take a look at their children's menu (which is available online here) you will see that it consists of only three options - chicken, fish fingers or meatballs. Granted each dish is served with brown rice (bleurggh) rather than chips but where are the options for vegetarians? I really don't think this man is in a position to 'advise' that parents' rights to choose what their children eat for lunch are taken away from them, when he co-owns a restaurant where vegetarian children aren't even catered for. And what about other healthy and nutritional options such as jacket potatoes, or pasta? Why must children have to eat brown rice if they are going out for a meal, that is, quite likely, supposed to be a treat? I very very rarely give my step daughter chicken nuggets or fish fingers, in fact I can't even remember the last time she had them, but really, is a one off as a treat so harmful?

Dimbleby and Vincent state that another reason packed lunches should be banned is also cost. They say that if all children had school dinners, this would save parents £2 billion a year that could be used to fund the school canteens. Hmmm. My step daughter's school meals are relatively cheap (£1.95 per day) compared to some schools but I still think that I can provide a healthy and nutritious but yet enjoyable and filling packed lunch for less than that each day. In fact I know I can, I do it for myself every day of the week!

It's interesting that they announce their recommendations amongst the horse meat scandal really as it's been brought into question what actually goes into school meals. I saw on the news that schools in Lancashire for example, have had their food tested and have had traces of horse meat found in the 'Shepherd's Pie.' This is hardly going to help bolster the adviser's recommendations. In fact, quite the opposite I would suspect.
Again, I suppose the way I feel about it is rather childish in a way. I am completely for healthy eating, especially in children. But that (should) starts at home. My step daughter eats what we do - i.e. fresh veg every day, a source of protein and some (small portion) carbohydrate. I know what goes into the food I cook. I ensure we get a variety of foods. Of course, we have treats, but we eat fresh food every day. I am completely against someone telling me what I can or cannot feed my child. I know there are parents out there that send their children to school with chocolate or crisps etc for their lunch and who don't get a healthy, well balanced meal for their lunch or indeed their dinner in the evening. But wouldn't money be better spent trying to educate these parents about the different types of food and how to put together well balanced meals? Schools are there to educate, not dictate and before they even begin to demand that all children eat school meals, they really need to look at school menus. In a school I've worked in in the past, chips were on the menu nearly every day. As were jacket potatoes and soup and a different dish each day, such as cottage pie. But leave teenagers to choose what they want for lunch and the majority go for chips. Who can confidently claim that chips five days a week is better for children than a packed lunch, made by parents, with a variety of different food sources? At the moment, I'd rather take my child out of school for lunch than let them eat the crap that the majority of schools are serving - I mean haven't these advisers seen the work Jamie Oliver did and what came out of his research into school dinners?!

Am I just on my high horse or do you believe we, as parents, have the right to decide what our children eat?

mummystartingout x