DIY Clay Hand Printing

Treasuring you little ones tinsy tiny hands and toes can become expensive if you choose to buy a moulding kit or a clay kit, however it doesn't have to be.

After trying (and failing) many different DIY clay recipes I have finally found one that actually works!!!

Over the last four weeks I have been scouring pinterest for the perfect recipe and tried numerous ones, the one I have found that works the best is as follows....

Ingredients 

1 cup of Salt

1 cup of Water

1/2 cup of Cornflour (You will need more to hand at the kneeding stage)

1/4 cup of Cold Water

Method

1) Heat the salt and the one cup of water into a pan for about three-four mins.

2) Add the Cornflour and 1/4 of cold water to the mixture and mix.

3) Then transfer into a mixing bowl and continue to mix.

4) Leave the mixture to cool for 20 mins (I learned the hard way... ouch!)

5)Once mixture is cool enough to handle start to kneed, adding more cornflour as you go so it doesn't keep sticking (I added quite a bit)- It will be quite sticky to begin with but just keep adding more cornflour and you will eventually get there!!

5) Then form the clay into a nice flat circle (or any shape you fancy really!) and place babys hand in the middle and press - I found this easiest to do when Darcie napped otherwise you may find that they scrunch up their hands.

6) Next you can punch a hole near the top so once it has harden you can thread string/ribbon through and hang (May be a nice 1st Christmas tree decoration)

7) Then leave to set, I left mine on a window to set and in set after three days (a long time I know but its better than any oven clay recipe you may find).

8) Finally you could decorate the piece perhaps adding babys name and age 

I hope you find this useful it took me absolutely ages to find one that would work for me!!!

Why do people think its acceptable to comment on your weight whilst your pregnant?!?!

This is something that really did annoy me whilst I was pregnant, but I have to admit before I was pregnant I used to say to my pregnant friends "wow your huge!!"! I always thought that this was complementary, however since going through pregnancy I now see it is very very wrong to comment on size!!!

Once I had past 24 weeks in my pregnancy it became apparent to me that my bump was very small, and secretly I was very concerned about this. At this point not many people commented. But when I got to 30 weeks and I was very tiny, a few people did begin to comment on the size of my bump, I had these comments from various people, some friends, some complete strangers...

"how far gone are you?.... WOW seriously?!"

"how far gone are you?... I think your dates must be wrong"

"Your very small, are you sure your eating enough... You sure your eating the right type of foods?" (this one shocked me the most, so disgusting that anyone would say this!!!)

"Nice small bump... That baby will fly out!"

Now your probably thinking that there not too bad. But let me assure you when ever anyone comments on the size of your bump whether it be because you showing smaller or bigger than "average" these comments really do strike fear into mothers. My fear was that something was wrong, and perhaps I had done something wrong in my pregnancy.

I did have medical reasons for my small bump (reduced waters resulting in an early induction), and so these comments where neither helpful or sympathetic.

So for anyone who is reading this who is yet to experience pregnancy, please just think about this and think before you speak, you wouldn't comment on someone's size when they are not pregnant (well you may, but that would truly be awful!!) so don't do it when they are!!!

I hope this doesn't come across as a ranty post, but it's something I was guilty of before my pregnancy and I think it's something that's not really discussed in this way!

What do you think, did you ever get comments on your bump? How did you feel??

Mummy B xoxox

Darcie 12 Week Update

So Darcie is coming up to 12 weeks old on Saturday... How time flies!

Are little family has really settled into a nice routine, it has taken us a while to get one established as Jamie has awful shift patterns! Having this established routine I think is key, Darcie is such a good baby I have nothing to complain about, the only time she has been at all grumpy has been when its been extremely hot... but then again who isn't a little bit grumpy in horrible hot muggy weather?! 

(Chilling in the garden)

Darcie has come a long way since my last update, its amazing to watch her develop. So at 12 weeks this is a little summary as to where Darcie is...

*Is sitting up really well aided*

*If she is propped up on some pillows she will try and pull herself up so she can sit properly*

*She reaches out on grabs toys, She loves her mirrored toys... vain child!*

*She tries to put everything she grabs in her mouth... she usually fails though bless her!*

*She will really "chat" to you now, with full on facial expressions to match... she always has such intense stories to tell!!!*

*She tries to hold her bottle*

*She has moved on to size two teats*

*She is in size three nappies*

*At her last weigh in (just over a week ago) she weighed 12lb 15oz*

*During a feed she will normally have between 6-7oz about 5 times a day... sometimes she will have an extra feed but it will only be about 4oz... piggy*

(Summer evening down the pub!)

Darcie is still showing all the symptoms of teething, she is so dribberly! To be fair to her she hasn't moaned much about it, sometimes when she has a feed she will cry a little but as soon as I put her teething gel on (I use Dentinox) she is fine.

(Me and Darcie, look at those cheeks)

(Darcie and her Uncle Jack)

I don't think it will be long before we start weaning her, they recommend you wait till six months, but I highly doubt she will stay contented for that long!

(Daddy and Darcie watching Norwich FC...)

All in all she is such a happy baby, she really is mine and Jamie's world. 

(Darcie having a good old chomp!)

Mummy B xoxox

A Great Idea to Jazz up a Nursery!

I have really been enjoying going to my local mother and baby group,  Little Ducklings, and last week we started a little Craft project that I thought I would share with you. 

One of the lovely Mummys is very crafty and brought in the materials and showed us not so creative lot this really easy and lovely idea for our little ones rooms.

(I have temporarily added this to her cot for the purpose of the picture, it will soon be mounted to the wall!)

(Close up - I do apologise for the poor picture quality!!!)

Its a really easy wooden bunting!! Her Husband cut off the pieces for us and drilled the holes then we were left to paint and design and then string the buntings!! Super easy and they look lovely!!

Mummy B xoxox

Things they don't tell you about birth and first few days with your baby

*our first meeting and picture*

Well as you may remember from Darcie's birth story it wasn't the magical picture that people try and paint so I thought I would write a post on some of the things to expect during labour that perhaps your not told or have realised....

Some of these are from my experience and others are things that people have shared with me....

*induced*

If I had the choice of induction I would not want to go through it again. I would much rather wait untill bubba is ready to come out on his/her own if they discussed induction because of going over due date(I had to be induced due to reduced waters and the safety of bubba). The method I had was new and was warned that it would be a very slow process... Well guess what they are not all slow... But before I get started on that I will just mention the ouch factor of having a pessary inserted. My midwife told me it would be like having an internal examination, well it's not... This women obviously never had to be induced and so didn't know how painful it really is!! My midwife also told me it would be like a tampon it's not... I have never know a tampon to have sharp edges!!!! It was honestly like a piece of cardboard!! They don't just insert it either, they like to "ripen" you to make sure it works well... This "ripening" basically means rubbing the inside of your noon, fanny, Mary, what ever you like to call it with the scratchy pessary for what feels like an eternity (probably was about 5 mins in total)!!! Awful!!!!  So on to the speed of induction.... I was fully prepare to wait 24-72 hours for labour to get started so I was completely unprepared for my first contraction to happen 5mins later!!!

*contraction timmings* 

Whenever I had seen films or tv documentrys it always appeared that you have a goodish amount of time inbetween each contraction, once labour got going I had a 30 sec brake inbetween each 40 sec long contraction!!! My induction caused my body to contract over time resulting in....

*injections to slow down labour*

Yup, you read right... "to slow down labour, why would you want that??" you maybe thinking, but yes this is what happened to me, as I was contracting a silly amount they ended up giving me this injection, I can't even remember where it was put of even of it hurt, but I had one! 

*cannula* 

They hurt and are extremely messy... End of!

*epidural*

They can fail... When I was contracting a stupid amount I decided to have an epidural, I just wanted the pain to go away as the contractions were just wearing me out, but because the contractions were so close together the anethastit didn't have much of a window to get it done. Once it was in I had a blissful 3 mins (I had just been given the injection to slow down my contractions) and then I was hit with an extreme pain down one side... It had only worked on my right side!!! NIGHTMARE!!!!

*weeeeeee*

You are warned that when in labour you are very likely to poo, no one tells you about the wee part!!! Mine was a funny story, I had a room full of people about 10, and the doctor was just about to brake my waters literally had his hand up there ready to go and I had a HUGE contraction and I peed! I was mortified, I said to the midwife "Oh no I have weeed....." she wasn't bothered neither was anyone else! But still horrible!! (Makes me giggle now though)

*emergency c-section*

So when my labour went all pear shape, that red button was hit, and they tell you that you are going to have an emergency c-section, your partner will not always be able to attended, and you may very well be put to sleep. As you know this is what happened to myself. When attending antenatal classes, and they discussed what would happen if things went wrong and they did discuss an emergency c-section and what it would entail. However they didn't mention either of these things. The midwife told us that the men would have to scrub up and you will be given an epidural or spinal and be awake for the procedure.... When I asked my Midwife after the event why they didn't tell us about my version of events she said it was because it was so rare that a c-section happens like that. Well it can and it does, and not being prepared for this was awful! 

*nappy horror*

Ok not quite a horror, but when I changed Darcie's nappy for the first time there was blood (only a tiny bit but still a shock and a worry)! I hit the buzzer and the midwife came, and she told me it was like a baby girl period! Apparently a mothers hormones can cross to baby and make them almost have a period like episode when they are born and is very common! But again I had not been told this or even read about it in the many books that I had read throughout my pregnancy.

*three day baby blues*

My midwife had practically banged on at me about postnatal depression and how it can occur near enough straight away or many months after birth and told me to be aware of all the signs. Well by day three I was very teary and felt like a failure as a mother (I was having trouble breast feeding). I immediately thought "oh god I have gone postnatal!" but no, what I was experiencing was the three day baby blues. Its very common, about 80% of mothers experience this and it usually passes after about day 6, luckily a Midwife noticed me crying and explained these baby blues to me!

*finally....*

No one can ever prepare or tell you how much love you can feel for your child. Its a very strange and intense kind of love and you would literally do anything for your baby. I knew about this. I HAD been told about this. BUT no one can truly explain or prepare you for it. Its the best "surprise" of all.

Now as I didn't get to experience the nitty gritty of labour I would love to hear about your experiences, or the things that happened that shocked you or you didn't realise about labour and the first few days of motherhood :)

Mummy B xoxox


*******************************************************
 More thoughts from other Mummys

On my BabyBump app I have met some lovely mothers all round the country and I asked them what most shocked them about labour and the first few days with their bubbas here are some of their thoughts:

"I don't think theres anything I hadn't really thought about with the birth cus I ask far too many questions! 
But it did surprise me about stuff like the midwives not telling you it was normal for your new baby to cough and choke for the first day or so as they clear any mucus they may have and that even though they give you a 90 ml bottle of formula it doesn't mean they'll eat it all! 
These things are the only bits I didn't know and would have helped me to not worry that my baby was choking constantly and that he wasn't eating properly!"



"I didn't realise I was having contractions at first even though I was in pain I didn't get any tightenings at all as it was all in my back.. 
I started pushing at 11:00am and had him at 11:17am.. Midwife said I did well as was huge baby but I thought would only be a couple of pushes an he would be out lol 
Also with being induced I couldn't walk round or go on a ball as needed monitoring early on which upset me a bit as could only sit on the bed or hang over the back of it but really wanted to move around...
I didn't know that sometimes if I didn't push all the way till end of contraction he would move down a bit but then go back so felt like wasn't getting anywhere... 
Also even when they had broke my waters for me an it gushed out... Bits still came after so I kept thinking I was weeing lol
And I thought he would jus be akin colour when he came out but he was dark dark blue like the colour of the atlantic as heart rate had dropped an cord round neck etc..."



"Being a first time mum I didn't realise my labour would be so quick! Had contractions all day but bearable until about 8pm. Went to hospital and was examined at 9.20pm and was 3-4cms. Had Lily 3 hours later at 12.17am on just gas and air. The part I was most scared about was the pushing. Lily fell out as my waters broke with just one push. I sort of feel like I've missed out or 'cheated' the pushing part as I didn't even feel her come out I was so out of it! I couldn't hold her for ages as I lost so much blood and fainted. 
Every one had warned me about the sleepless nights but I never really understood quite how little sleep I would get! I spent the first week at home crying day and night. I never knew reflux existed and no one had told me about colic. (lily had both!) I didn't have that rush of love every one talks about, not until Lily was about 6 weeks. But i think it's because I was so tired and ill from the blood loss. I feel horribly guilty about it now. And finally I wish I had had more support with breast feeding. The midwives advised me to change to formula as I was so ill and my nipples were so sore but I really wish I hadn't"


"After three boys, I was quite shocked about how swollen amelia's girl parts were when she was born! I got three different midwives to check them lol!
Also being made to cope on a paracetemol in a shared ante natal ward whilst in established labour after an induction was frankly barbaric! All the poor women who weren't in labour could hear me labouring for three hours and it was excruciating! I wasn't allowed any other pain relief till I was taken to the delivery suite! 
By the time I got there I was 8 cm and she was born 40 mins later!"

"I wish I had known that being induced with the drip often results in emergency c section, I never even thought I might have to have one, wish id been more mentally prepared!! It was soooo painful and a horrible experience for me x"

"I didn't know how brutal doctors can be to get the job done. After having my waters broken when only ONE cm dilated with a posterior cervix and SPD was the most terrified I've ever been in my life. Only on gas and air after them convincing me to wait for the epi. 
Took two MW , one either side and the doc to hold me still and my oh to calm me enough to get it done. 
Next time id rather suffer two extra weeks of the SPD than be induced. 
Barbaric."


"I wish id known how horrible the drip was, like hitting a brick wall!!! Contractions were thick and fast and incredibly painful.. I could manage them before that.. Also I had to have a clip on lo head inside to monitor his heartrate as it fell with every contraction x"


"Induction is evil! X"


"First time round i genuinely never thought about c sections! I could slap myself for it now, I had a great labour, bloody long but great- until I just wouldn't progress past 5cm. When I was told I needed a c section I cried to the consultant saying but I didn't read that part of the book!!!! Hahaahah! I didn't realise how quickly and terrifying it can be when things go wrong and how worrying it is. 
2nd time round I cut out the crap and had an elective lol was an amazing experience and one I would never change. Although part of me still wishes my body could have gave birth 
naturally xxx"


 "my sister was induced using the 6 hour pessary a year ago... An when I was induced at the same place in may, they had changed to the 24 hour pessary which they don't check you unless your having contractions... That put a downer on me knowing it would more than likely take longer... Was induced 9:ooam contractions started 5:30pm... Was texting my bf telling him I was gonna kill myself at about midnight lol was agony! Also with jus paracetamol, had him 11:17am next day! Thought induction would be quicker! 
Oh an I had given permission for student midwife to be there... Big mistake! I was there labouring guinea pig... Was a nightmare they kept fiddling and I was so sore an told them to stop but they jus kept telling me to have my gas and air so in the end I jus shut my legs as they kept sticking their hands up there for no reason so I will think twice next time about having a student mw too x"

My Spare Room Ideas

If you read my last blog post (read it here) you would of noticed that I am planning to decorate my spare bedroom for my Birthday, I am fed up of having a room with no function and no where for guests to stay. So I decided that as my Birthday was coming up this project could be my present!

So here is my plan so far....

(image created by FotoFlexer)

*Shelving and desk unit sold separately from Ikea, £30 for the desk and £75 for shelving unit *

*Paint Lemon Punch (£13) and Polished Pebble (£19.58) by Dulux from Homebase*

*Floor Lamp from Ikea (£7)*

*Desk Chair from Ikea (£35)*

*Stag print Etsy (£13.16) available here*

*Sofa bed from Ikea (£95)*

*Lamp Shade from Etsy (£36.20) available here*

*Fabric (for covering storage boxes) from Etsy (£7.24) available here*
*Cushions from Etsy (£19.71) available here*

So this is the plan, I'm really loving grey and yellow at the moment and I have LOVED the Ikea desk and shelving unit for years and I think its finally time to go for it! So watch this space for more updates on this project!

Mummy B xoxox

7 Things for 7 Days August

So I decided to join Louise of Sprinkle of Glitters interactive 7 Things for 7 Days blog (See Louise's blog here) and have not done too badly... 

So lets see how I did....

Exercise: I had a go at two of my exercise DVDs, a Zumba party one and the level one of the 30 Day Shred.... I wish I hadn't! I'm pretty sure it is still too soon to exercise, trying to do jumping jacks hurt way too much so I think I will be sticking to walking and swimming for the next few weeks!! 

Little Ducklings: I went to my local baby and mother group and loved it! Darcie was the youngest there and didn't really do an awful lot, but she loved looking at all the bright colours and was very inquisitive with the other babies. I think these groups are perfect for getting a good support network going, the other mothers there were of all ages and it was really good to have a good natter and share hints and tips! I will be going every week from now on, so I'm really glad I made this one of my goals!

Clean My Kitchen Floor: Well... its still not done.... So so so shameful... 

Prep For Craft Project: Well my original goal was to get prepared for making Darcie's keep sake cushion BUT I got slightly side tracked and did another craft project (I did a blog post on this here)... so I don't feel so bad for not quite for filling this goal!

(Sorry for the crappy pic, but here is the final look of my craft project)

Jamie Time: We managed to have a lovely day on Sunday, we saw friends, went out for lunch, did some shopping and then once Darcie was in bed we made our favourite burritos for dinner. Love the simple things in life.

Organisation: My original plan was to organise all of the kitchen cupboards but I only managed to do three, though they were the three mains ones that needed doing so I was happy with that!

Organise Blog Posts: My diary is now full of ideas and schedules for blog posts, you may also notice that this blog has a new look which I'm really pleased with!

So I don't think that was too bad to be honest!

Now instead of doing this every week I'm going to do this post once a month (this seems to be the general trend amongst other bloggers who are taking part in this interactive blog) So here are my 7 Things for August...

August 7 Things

Get My Bloody Kitchen Floor Cleaned!: Enough said!!!

Plan For The Spare Room Project!!!: This "thing" really excites me, my birthday is at the end of September and I would really like to have a functional spare room so this will be my birthday gift! My plan is to have an office space with organised storage with a guest bed which will probably be a sofa bed using the theme of grey and yellow. You may think that that sounds pretty planned, but being on maternity leave I need to budget, and know exactly how much this will cost and were I'm going to get all the pieces etc. So I am going to create a separate blog post on this and show you all my planning and then another blog post on the final result!

Buy A Printer: What a boring and simple goal... it is something I really do need. No end of times I have called my Dad and said " Daaaaaad.... Can you print something for me pretty please" of course he always does bless him, but I have another project in the works were I will certainly need a printer (watch this space). 

Arrange Girls Night In: This should really fall in next months 7 things but as most of my friends lead very busy lives and have children sometimes takes a while to organise anything. Jamie is planning on going on a lads trip to the Lake District to climb/walk Sca fell at the beginning of September and so I will have the whole weekend to myself. So I'm thinking of gathering all my girls and have an evening in with wine and giggles! We have not done this for so long so I think it will be the perfect opportunity! 

Plan for Christmas: I know its stupidly early to start thinking about Christmas but as I am on maternity leave and money is tight I need to start saving and buying presents now! And as it is Darcie's first Christmas I want to be able to go all out even though I will be on a budget and the only way to do this will be strict planning!

Have a BBQ: I have not had one all Summer, So now the Sun has seemingly decided to come out time to have a scrummy BBQ!

Shopping for Darcie: My little piglet is growing so quickly, need to purchase some bigger clothes for her pronto! 

Lets see if I can do this!

Mummy B xoxox

July Loves

This will be a monthly post just to chat about things I have been loving during the month, so lets jump into everything...

Jewellery: I'm loving being able to wear my rings again! Towards the end of my pregnancy my hands did swell slightly, not too much but enough to make wearing my rings uncomfortable so its been lovely to be able to wear them again. The ring I have found myself wearing alot this month is a ring my mum got me for my 18th - see pics below, which is nice and dainty and quite classic piece.

Make up: I'm loving the Loreal caresse lipsticks in particular Nude Ingenue 501, its a gorgeous nude colour and I have worn this every day with out fail! Its great for everyday and makes my lips feel so soft, that I have not needed to use any lip balm at all! I will, without a doubt, be making a few more purchases from this line!

Nails: I have been loving glitter polishes recently and grabbed a couple from Superdrug the other day, one I have been particularly loving is Barry M's Sliver Multi Glitter 338 its amazing and its a glitter that does not need any other colour underneath its just pure glitter loveliness!

Baby Related Products: Me and Jamie recently perchased Darcie a play-mat and she has been loving it! I love to see her get so excited!! The one we have is from Mothercare and is in a gorgeous pink and blue pattern and cost £35.

Things I Have Loved To Do:  Watch the Olympics!! I have gotten so into it this year, probably because it is in London, BUT I have really loved it, even watching sports I'm not usually keen on like rowing! GO TEAM GB!

What's your monthly favs?

Mummy B xoxox