Summer Bucket List

In an effort to enjoy and make the most of the summer this year Philip and I have sat down and made a Summer Bucket List.  It is not a to do list but rather a guide for things we would like to accomplish this summer.  It is so easy to to get to September and realize all those "we should do this over the summer have gone undone"  So the list will be typed up and laminated and stuck to the wall above the changing table (hey where else am I guaranteed to see it a good number times a day!).

The Moore Family Summer Bucket List

Make Homemade Rotel- I love Rotel and have about a million recipes pinned on Pinterest that use it but can't get it in the UK but I have found a  recipe and going to give it a go.

Try the White Horse Pub

Go Strawberry Picking

Take Big J to Bekonscot Model Village

Adventure Island

Colchester Zoo

Fun Fair Chalkwell Park

London Aquarium

The list is deliberately short as it had to take into consideration a small baby but I think it is a fun and do able list for us and I hope it means we can make some great memories this summer.

This Time Around-Labour and Birth

This time around is so much different than with Joss and before it all melts away I want to jot down some thoughts on the differences and similarities of the first little bit of time with both of my amazing babies starting with their births.

This time around I laboured at home till about 90 minutes before Jasper was born: This was totally different than with Joss who was induced over 2 ½ days.  I was where I wanted to be it was just me at home with Joss and even then I flipped the TV on so I was pretty much on my own and it was a good place to be I stood just outside the back door so I could hear Joss if I needed to and really appreciated that “this was it”. Even when we got to hospital once with the exception of about 20 minutes it took to asses me and the 10 minutes at the end we were walking the hallways on our own.

This time around there was no epidural: There was some screaming and yelling about 30 seconds before I started pushing because I wanted one and it was too late but I didn’t really want one it was just transition talking and after everything was said and done it was so much nicer that I hadn’t had one.  Once Jasper and I had bonded had skin to skin contact and he had his first nurse I was able to get up and have a shower and move around and didn’t feel as out of it as I did after Joss.  It was so nice to have a shower right away and not just a sponge bath until the epidural wore off.  By the time the epidural wore off with Joss, Philip had gone home and I was afraid to leave Joss to shower so it was the next morning before I got a proper shower.

This time around I was upright and moving for all of labour except the pushing (with the exception of about half an hour I purposely laid down to slow the contractions as I was seriously worried Philip was not going to make it home from work they were coming so fast and hard): If I had not been coaxed onto the bed to be checked I also would have probably pushed on all fours on the floor but they got me on the bed and then wouldn’t let me turn over to push this will forever go in my gripe book. With Joss they put me on the monitor when my contractions started as I had been induced and they wanted to make sure Joss was coping and then left me on there for almost three hours and I was too stupid to ask them to let me off.  I was in so much pain it was insane.  By the time they let me off I was not sure what to do with myself and when they came to “check me” and broke my water and attached a head monitor on Joss restricting my movement I gave in and asked for an epidural.

This time around my water broke spontaneously: They broke my waters with Joss and I don’t remember feeling anything but it may have just been a small leak.  This was an all-out gush while I was standing at the nurses’ station wearing jeans that I then had to waddle and drip back to my room in, but oh it felt so good to have the pressure released.

This time around I swore like a sailor at the top of my lungs:  I wasn’t exactly sweet with Joss but I was afraid to truly let go, this time not a problem ask the two midwives who attended my birth I said so pretty horrible things.  At one point the midwife told me I was going to have to stop screaming and listen to what she was saying.  I informed her I could scream and listen to what she was saying at the same time. Also ask anyone on the second floor of Southend Hospital as I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

This time around Jasper crowned and didn’t just pop out in one push:  Okay I pushed for seven minutes and it only took 3 pushes one for him to come down one for him to crown and one for his shoulders but considering it only took 3 pushes with Joss and probably would have only taken one or two if I had started out pushing correctly with her.  I have to say not having the epidural made it SO much easier to push (says the woman who only pushes three times a baby).

This time around I walked out of the hospital four hours after Jasper was born and less than six hour after we arrived instead of 48 hours after Joss was born and 5 days after I arrived:  This was the closest thing to a home birth I was allowed to have and it was so nice to be tucked up in my bed at home and to be able to sneak in and kiss Joss good night when we got home.

One Month Old

My Dearest Jasper,

The day we found out we were having a boy I was so excited, I love your sister and was so happy to have a little girl but the news that I would also have the joy of building a relationship with a son brought tears to my eyes.  All of a sudden the five  months of struggles with gallstones while being pregnant and all the hard decisions not to treat them in any way while I was pregnant seemed worth it.  I felt like you became real to me that day.  After the scan I went out and bought what would end up being the only non-gender neutral clothes for you we bought before you were born (part of this was due to a good friend with two boys who passed on SO much stuff and part of this was due to the fact I didn’t want to jinx it.  Um yup we are talking about the woman who asked you father twice to make sure you were a boy just after you were born). I bought a sweet dark blue sleeper I remember walking through the boys section of the shop and wondering what type of boy you would be, how would you like to dress yourself when you were old enough to choose?

That sleeper suit was the first thing you wore when you were born and what you came home in a few hours later. Tonight you are wearing it for what will most certainly be the last night, time is moving so fast and I know from the fact that somehow your sister is almost three years old I will blink and you too will be older than I know how it is possible.  Sleep well tonight my little man.

Your Mum

Well Over Due (in more ways than one!)

Jasper Eugene joined us at 3.06pm on the 9th of May.
 He decided to keep us waiting a week past his due date .

Jocelynne is still smitten with him over two weeks later

One week old

Two weeks old

Jocelynne meeting Jasper for the first
time the morning after he was born

In so many ways both his birth and his just over two short weeks in this world have helped me to realize I  am and was a better mother than I realized so very many "issues" there were with Jocelynne right from the get go made me feel that maybe I should have done things different and now seeing how different Jasper is even though he has the same mother have made me realize that Jocelynne was just a very different baby and there was nothing I should or could have done to change that.

World Book Day

It is World Book Day so I thought I would share J's favorite book at the moment, seems Father Christmas did not fade away with the holiday season but lives on.  I get asked to read this at least once a day and it is a fabulous counting book so don't mind.  J loves counting all the things that Santa has had to drink and all the toys he has left.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Yesterday was a good day, a day without drama, the most dramatic thing was a small melt down when J didn't want to leave her friends and hey I didn't want to leave either can’t blame her. Yesterday was full of somersaults and beam crossing, sharing snacks with her best friend Seb, tuna pasta bake for lunch.  Yesterday saw a trip to Seb’s house for a play date while mummy went to see “the special” baby doctor (even that was drama free for once).  Yesterday had favorite snacks while mummy waited to get a special shot to keep her and baby healthy (whooping cough vaccination).  Yesterday was fun in the bath tub and a quick nodding of to sleep from both mummy and J.

Today, today was full of drama. The kind of drama that make you wonder when the parenting police are going to show up and inform you that actually you are not good enough to be your child’s parents.  Today was full of NO!, repeated falling over one’s own feet. Today included the poor village of Happy Land People being flooded by a wee in the knickers accident and then only an hour and an antibacterial bath later the same small village was bombarded by a flying tuna fish sandwich and raisins when J was  carrying her lunch “myself”. Today nap was met with tears, today snacks were asked for every 5 minutes but only the unhealthy ones were wanted. Today a 30 minute melt down was survived while driving home from Auntie Debbie’s house because I forgot to let J “do it myself” and lifted her into the car seat instead of letting her climb in herself.  This was followed by a smaller tantrum because rain boots and socks were taken off in the car and in a hurry to get in the house mummy only put the boots on not the socks.  Mummy has now learned it is impossible to climb the stairs into the house with only rain boot and no socks on. Today mummy let J play with an almost empty pack of baby wipes so that she could speak to her mummy for a bit.  Best £.49 I have spent this week.

Tomorrow, tomorrow daddy is home it is always better when daddy is home.  Tomorrow we will go to see Grandma and Grandmas are good.  

Licking the Spatula of Life

You learn when you have a child that you have to give up a lot to make it work but no on told me I would loose my spatula licking privileges.  Oh well it is her birthday cake I guess it is only fair!