CharlieBeth's "My Life As Mumma Walker"

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Showing posts from March, 2014

Bumpdate @ 20 Weeks

Half Way Through!!! Wow..... I've made it to the half way point. I am reasonably certain that in 20 weeks time I will have my baby in my arms (that is the level of certainly I have about my induction). From this point on I will be counting DOWN to my due date rather than counting UP the number of weeks. My Bump is quite prominent now. I have had a few people say that they think I am carrying a girl by the shape of it, but I don't know how much faith I put in that. I'm still thinking this baby is another boy. Baby Bean is getting more noticeably active every day too. I find I'm feeling kicks mostly in the evenings, but also early afternoon and shortly after breakfast too. There's quite a routine setting in! I'm starting to get a few twinges of sciatica now, which isn't great. I'd never had it before my 3rd baby but I guess that as I've had it once I was pretty certain to get it again. But at least now I know how to hand

Stupidly Excited!

The next few days are feel like forever, second only to my last few days before induction / due date. On Sunday I reach 20 weeks, which means that Tuesday is my 20 week anomaly scan day aka the gender scan! I am so excited at the prospect of finding out if Bean is a boy or a girl! It's pretty much my one and only topic of thought if left to my own devices for any amount of time. I feel a bit silly really, despite all my reading up on gender prediction and our having fun "trying" for a girl I am quite certain that Bean is a boy. I think that other than actually seeing the baby's bits first hand, or at least at the 20+ week scan, the best way to determine a baby's gender is to go off the mum's gut feeling. And I'm feeling BOY. The scan is nice and early, I'm booked in at 10:30 which means I'm not hanging around waiting all day going insane, and that there is time for my mum to come up and mind Tom & Georgie (who will be at home unlike Jac

Atrium Canvas Review

I feel very lucky to have been asked to review this very special product, a collage canvas by atrium-canvas.co.uk . My Digital Design Those of you who have followed me for a while will know how much I love to take pictures of my kids. My Flickr account has a staggering number of photos of my kids. Although I am terrible for not doing much with them, save for screen saver slide shows and going gooey over after the noisy little angels have all gone to bed. Atrirum Canvas produce canvases of your photos. More than just a single image on a canvas, they also offer an amazing range of design ideas! It really does have to be seen to be believed! It's also an incredibly easy site to use . I selected a collage canvas that required 9 photos and quickly and easily uploaded a good selection on my favourite photos from the last 12 months. I was able to play around with which images I wanted to use, the layout of my images, zoom and out to get them perfectly positioned.... basically p

Pin it Party #23

Welcome to the Pin it Party! with your hosts My Life as Mumma Walker & Embracing the Good Life Let's keep it simple: Link up any posts you have that you would like to have shared on Pinterest Follow the Host boards: CharlieBeth79 and embracingtglife Check out and pin other party linkies - as many as you can! Follow as many of the other party linkies as you can Follow this party's board and wait to see your post get pinned! HERE I'd especially love to see great blog posts with pics, recipes, DIY, crafting, reviews, blogging advice, beauty & fashion. That said, it's pretty much rules free, but please remember that mine is a parenting blog so don't share something which might be seen as too offensive! The Button: You don't have to take one, but it's there if you want it! Tweet Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list... Follow Pin it Party by Ch

Weekend Box Club Review - Part 2

We took our second dip into our Weekend Box this week. This time we let Georgie have a go too. He is technically too young - the boxes are aimed at 3 to 8 year old's - but he really wanted to get involved so we split the last two activities up between us. Rocking Spring Bird I worked with little Georgie on the Rocking Bird. He loved getting messy mixing our own paint, painting the card circle, and gluing the decorations on. He did need a lot of help (he's 23 months) but really enjoyed himself and has played with the bird we made since. I was really nice that there was something in the kit which he was able to join in with while his big brothers did something a little more challenging. Sound Explorers Meantime the Hubby got involved and worked on the Sound Explorers card with Jack and Tom. Tom is coming up to 4yrs and Jack turned 6 this weekend so they are the perfect age for these. They worked together nicely and had a great time making all the animal noises,

It's A Jungle Out There - Part 4

This is the last part of this half term's project! The 3D model of a plant, complete with roots! Jack's favourite colour is red so he wanted to make some red roses. I had a browse on Pinterest and found this fab little image showing how to make roses out of paper. I figured we would recreate this with fun foam! So we made a couple of roses (only two because they are tricky when you're only just 6 years old!), wrapped some pipe cleaners on the back for stems, and made fun foam leaves too. The roots were easy to add, we got some garden twine and twisted some lengths onto the bottom of the pipe cleaner stems. Jack decorated a yoghurt pot and stuck some brown felt in for soil, then curled the roots in to the pot, and added another layer of felt to the top - with slits in to let the flowers through. He loves that you can left up the "top soil" and spy the root hidden underneath! Facebook has changed it’s policy for posts to Facebook pages li

All About Jack! (6th Birthday Weekend)

Wow.... Our Jack is 6 years old! This really shouldn't come as any great surprise to us, he does have two younger brothers after all, and a new sibling on the way in anything up to 21 weeks time. But we're still in a bit of a daze.... Our Baby, our 1st baby, is 6! Where have the last 6 years gone? I HAD to brag on Facebook! This is the picture I posted on Friday for his birthday. Such a handsome lad! It's been a busy birthday weekend for our Big Lad. Largely filled with pizza!!! He chose what we had for dinner; take-away pizza from the family favourite pizza place ( Starvin Marvin's if you want to know). Saturday he came shopping with me to spend some of his birthday money. He bought a DS game. Then he had the pick of what we did as a family. He chose lunch at The Station in Morecambe (he had pizza again), and a long play at their Wacky Warehouse. On Sunday he had his Jujitsu grading with Activ8 Self Defence - which he passed and is now the proud

First Kicks

I've been feeling Baby Bean kicking now for the last week. It's such a lovely lovely feeling (at this stage, I'll be less impressed towards the end when every boot hurts!) I usually feel Baby of an evening, once the kiddos are in bed and I'm finally relaxing with my feet up. Then the little thing goes mental! I've likened it to star jumps rather than butterfly flutterings! It's very reassuring though. I've been in danger of forgetting I'm pregnant this time round.With three kids to deal with and entertain already, plus Hubby trying to sort the bathroom out (such a loooong project!), and I'm still working too, it seems that I just need to blink and a whole week has gone by! And because we already have almost all the required baby stuff in place there's not a whole lot to do in the way of preparation for baby! A bit of room shuffling to make sure we can get the crib up by my side of the bed but that's all. Without having things to "str

Bumpdate @ 19 Weeks

A Busy Week It's been a very busy week, but not baby stuff. It was Jack's 6th Birthday on Friday so that's taken some organisation. I've had the new car in and out of the garage (it has an injection leak, but it's covered by the warranty so no big deal) and we're making plans for George's birthday in a few weeks time too. I had another bout of sickness on Tuesday morning, but it seems to have been a one off. Baby Bean is still kicking away! Baby seems more active on the late afternoon and evening - in other words once the kids are in bed and I can put my feet up for a bit. Babies in the belly are more likely to sleep when you're moving about and making noise too, so it makes sense that as soon as it's all quiet and I sit still for a bit my newest little one should wake up and start doing star jumps! It's also occurred to me that at some point this week - assuming I get my induction around 38-39 weeks - I will slip pa

What to buy for a 4th baby....?

I've held off buying anything for Baby Bean just yet. It's not going to be long before I reach 20 weeks and (theoretically) find out if Bean is Team Pink or Team Blue, and a baby isn't considered "viable" until 24 weeks so I am a little twitchy about buying a lot this time round (only because I'm paranoid, we've been so lucky with our three boys and I don't want to jinx this pregnancy) But just because I'm not buying anything yet it doesn't mean I'm not THINKING about buying stuff! I think about it a lot... Probably too much! The thing I think about most is WHAT TO BUY? The thing with my boys being quite close together is that we haven't got rid of anything. We still have a cot, crib and moses basket. We still have both the single and double pushchairs and baby car seat - all suitable from birth. I have my wrap for baby wearing that I was given when Georgie was small. I have all my cloth nappies. I breastfeed so I don't need

Pin it Party #22

The Anti "Bounty Mutiny" Rant!

I refuse to believe that I am the only mum in Britain who is NOT against the Bounty people visiting new mums in hospital. All this stuff on Mumsnet drives me crackers! They want to stop Bounty from visiting mums on the maternity unit and offering photographs of newborn babies. They claim that they use pressure tactics and bullying to make a sale, sorry "undue harassment". In my personal experience of 3 births and therefore 3 occasions to be visited by a Bounty lady.... UTTER RUBBISH! You don't want photos? Say "no thank you" and she walks away! If you can't say no to a 'sales rep' then your kids are gonna walk all over you! "No" is a word you are going to have to get used to saying when it's something you don't want. Unless you'd like to have a horde of screaming brats for offspring? Bounty Photo Website: http://www.bounty.com/bounty-portrait/content/home Bounty Portrait Photos. Tom, Jack & George. Worth every

Weekend Box Club Review - Part 1

This week we got a brilliant little box in the post from these people: weekendboxclub.com , and it could not have come at a better time! The weather here over the back end of last week and over the weekend has been cold, damp and foggy. Not exactly fun outdoors weather, and with all the DIY and such we're trying not to spend too much on indoor play areas either. So why is the Weekend Box such a life saver? Well it is PACKED with things to do at home with the kids, and includes pretty much everything you need to do it - no more "here's an idea, now get to the shops and spend a fortune to do it" (which drives me crackers!) it's all there and ready for you to do. This kit came with four things to do and we have chosen two to do this weekend (the boys wanted to save the rest for next weekend, so you'll get another look at this). They wanted to cook the Green Pancakes for lunch, and build & play with the Pot O' Gold game. Green Pancakes This was g

Bumpdate @ 18 Weeks

Consultants Appointment! Well the midwife was true to her word, and I got my appointment up at the hospital for Wed this week. The letter warned it could be a two hour appointment so I went armed with a bottle of soda water and a new book on my Kindle app. I was let out of work early to get there and I'm glad I did because parking was a nightmare and in the end I left the car in town and walked instead of driving round the hospital car park for a third time.... The Gestational Diabetes Clinic (GD Clinic) was the busiest I have ever seen it! In fact they had TWO clinics running side by side. The dedicated GD Midwife - who I have seen there since I was expecting Tom - told me that when I was first going 4 years ago they's see maybe 5 mums, that day they were seeing 25! Luckily for me and for them because I am an old hand at the whole GD thing now I was dealt with and out the door within an hour. I explained I had only ever been borderline, and that by

It's A Jungle Out There - Part 3

We've been out and about with my camera (on my phone) taking snaps of the spring flowers we have seen as we've walked around. How we haven't been pulled up by the neighbours and quizzed about why we seemed to be taking photos of their houses is a miracle! Guess we're lucky to live in an area where people trust mums with small kids and cameras, or are simply too busy to notice. Here are some of the pictures that Jack took. We're printing them off to take to class and writing on the back what they are. No doubt we'll add to the collection before the end of term when different flowers come into bloom! Facebook has changed it’s policy for posts to Facebook pages like mine. They are only showing posts to a few likers unless I pay to boost the views. Since I don't earn money from my blog (or at least not much, not even enough to buy one posh a coffee a week) I wont be doing that. The best way to make sure you will see my blog posts is to sub

Pin it Party #21

First GD Clinic

My first Gestational Diabetes Clinic for this pregnancy. My lovely manager let me out early for this, and I'm glad she did. 20 mins driving round and NO parking space at the hospital. I wound up parking in town and walking. Only just got there on time! I did okay out of this appointment though. They tend to drag on, and they were packed out today! 25+ people to see the midwife said to me. 5 years ago they'd only have had a couple of mums to see. That'll be the obesity epidemic then at a a guess! Anyway, since I am a 4th time mum, and 3rd time GD clinic veteran they rushed me through. I didn't need a half hour long explanation of what GD is and the potential effects on me and my baby during preg, after the birth, or in 10-20 years time. I know it all. They didn't need to lecture me on which food and drink I can and can't have. I know that too (and generally ignore it because my sugar levels are always fine regardless). I didn't need teaching how to use the

Time is flying!

Unbelievable... time is whizzing by so fast with this preg (remind me I said that in the 2nd half of my 3rd tri please). I am now over 17 weeks! I finally have my first GD Clinic consultants appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping that I get some answers and get to make some plans after this appointment, but I doubt it will go that way. It will prob be a case of nattering at me and telling what they want me to do over the coming weeks. The future of my pregnancy, blood sugar testing (aka very sore fingertips!) The letter I got says this appointment could be 1-2 hours long. They wont do my blood sugar test tomorrow, I know that much, because I haven't been sent the fasting letter. So they'll possibly arrange for that test to be done some time after my 20 week scan. They might give me the blood testing kit again, but I already have two! I've just checked one of them and it still works fine. I'll take it with me tomorrow. I'll likely see the consultant

The March Bathroom Update (1st Anniversary!)

Oh my...... it's been a YEAR since Hubby started "fixing" the bathroom. I remember because the broken bath meant that Jack couldn't have a bath on his birthday. It is now less than two weeks till it's his next birthday, and the bathroom is still not finished. In the last two week the toilet has leaked on three separate occasions. Firstly, mucky water (eeeewwww!) which stained the livingroom ceiling (good job that was already on the list to fix), then clean water, aaannndd then mucky water again. This is mostly because the loo is very old, and very corroded around the connections. This wasn't a problem until Hubby had to keep on taking the loo and sink out of the bathroom to sort the floorboards and tiling. After much swearing - from me and him - we finally opted for a NEW LOO! Well, since we'd have needed to replace the cistern lid, toilet seat, all the connectors and who knows what else on the old one, a new toilet was a lot cheaper! Less than £50 act

Bumpdate @ 17 Weeks

Heard Baby's Heartbeat! Smitten! It's been a good week! I went to see the midwife on Monday and she was happy with my progress. I've not heard back about any bugs in my water sample, my blood pressure is fine, and I got to hear my baby's heart beat for the first time! It's such an amazing thing... and it never feels any less amazing for this not being my first baby! I was really impressed that my midwife found it instantly (sometimes they can be tricky to find) and we had a lovely long listen to the "wow-ow-wow-ow-wow-ow". I told her that I hadn't had my appointment through from the hospital yet and she said she would get straight onto it for me because they should have sent it out, she was up at the hospital that afternoon so she would make sure it got done. I love my midwives! Here's what Fertility Friend says about baby this week: Your baby weighs about 5.25 ounces (150g) and now measures 5 to 5.6 inches (12.5 to