This is a question that comes up time and time again and people tend to be quite divided on it, they're a bit like marmite in the parenting world.

At the start of my pregnancy, N and I were quite against dummies and just said that we weren't going to bother with them. Our main reason for this was because we didn't want Oscar getting into a bad habit with it and refusing to go to sleep/settle without one or waking up all the time in the night for us to put it back in.

However, when we were out shopping for baby things, I thought I might as well pick a pack up and use them if we felt that they'd be beneficial to Oscar in helping soothe him. - N wasn't too pleased about this but I just said we didn't have to use them if we didn't want to but at least the option was there.

I decided to pick up the Tommee Tippee dummies as we had the bottles (we switched to Avent a couple of weeks after he was born as the teats kept collapsing on themselves) and according to their website/packaging they help support the natural shape of baby’s growing palate and have a special teat that expands gently across the roof of the mouth which to support healthy teeth and gum development.
Dummies by other brands such as Avent and Mothercare's own range also offer the same thing though so there's quite a large selection to choose from and it's pretty much from an aesthetic point of view which ones you go for.

Once Oscar arrived it's needless to say that we did indeed go down the dummy route. For the first few days we were sans dummy and then in a moment of desperation when he was really upset, we decided to pop one in and see if it would help calm him down.

It did.

From that point on, if Oscar was upset for no main reason such as a feed/change/sleep etc, we would try him with his dummy and see if that was what he wanted. He would go down with it at every sleep time but we did encounter the issue we had feared where when it came out when he was sleeping, he would wake and cry for it until we popped it back in.

It was when we went away for a week and he was sleeping in his travel cot in a different room that we really had a problem, he was waking numerous times in the night rather than just occasionally and sometimes we were no sooner back in bed than it had fallen out again. This made for a couple of very tired parents and an unsettled night for Ozzy.

However, this all soon came to a stop as he seemed to find his thumb at about 12 weeks old and that solved all of our dummy related issues. He now only really ever wants his thumb and of course it's easy for him to find in the night as all he has to do is pop his thumb in rather than be unable to find his dummy. He sucks his thumb as his main way of soothing himself and also when he's tired. We do still have a dummy in his cot as sometimes he'll like to have it in at first and if it comes out during the night, he'll pop his thumb in.

At first we were a bit worried that the thumb sucking might become a serious habit that he could find hard to stop when he's older or that it could cause issues with his teeth developing but we'll just have to see how it goes. It makes him happy for now and I have read that quite a lot of babies stop sucking their thumb when they are ready, but we are prepared that it could be a difficult habit for him to break out of!

Overall, I'd have to say that I am in favour of the dummy.  One of the main positives that I was happy about was that research has shown that it can give protection and help minimise the risk of SIDS if you give them one as they go down to sleep as it can help regulate their breathing. It's also obviously good for baby to soothe themselves with and can help with babies who have a strong suck reflex that exceeds the time they would spend on bottle or breast.

The negatives are that they could potentially cause nipple confusion if you're breastfeeding, so it's recommended to keep them off a dummy if you are until they're about one month old. They can also cause the same issue as thumb sucking with teeth development and possibly causing a speech impediment. Of course, some people just don't like the look of dummies in a babies mouth and you could worry that you might be encouraging a lack of communication as they get older.

In my opinion, the positives and the negatives can balance each other out and if you use it sparingly, such as only at sleep times or at times of real distress, the chances are that your baby is unlikely to develop a bad habit with it and will be able to soothe themselves. You can also get glow in the dark dummies which are great for when little ones are a bit older and can spot them dummy and put it back in if it comes out! Or to be honest, handy for parents when you can't spot the darn thing in the cot when they're crying out for it at 3am...

What's your opinion on dummies? Could you never be without them or do you loathe them with a passion?

Oscar's Sleep Routine

Asleep on your playmat - not a usual napping place!

Oscar has always been really great (to this point, don't want to jinx anything!) with his sleeping. The first night he was at home he slept 5 hours straight and has only ever woken once during the night for a feed and a change in the first 3 months and after that point, he started to sleep through. He now currently sleeps 12 hours straight throughout the night.

We have never nursed Oscar to sleep, from the very beginning he has always been put down awake in his cot or if he was falling asleep on us, we gently moved him into his Moses Basket. I think this was hugely beneficial to us having him being a good sleeper has he has never grown attached to sleeping on anyone. We use Ewan the Dream Sheep who I cannot praise enough, Ozzy absolutely loves him and he has been another key element in him going down to sleep.

Once we started trying to get him into a routine at around the 6 week mark, we did have to go into our room and soothe him a little and pick him up for hugs and reassurance and then put him back down again and walk out. This really only lasted a week or two and Ewan was his main comforter in helping him sleep.

Again, around the 6 week mark, when we started to implement the routine we ended up feeding him at around midnight and then he would sleep through until about 6.30/7 am. That was the starting point for us eliminating the night feed as we started to gradually bring back his midnight feed earlier and earlier (usually around 15 minutes earlier each night) and then he ended up having his last feed at around 8pm and waking somewhere between 7 and 8am.

Also, we have always had him sleeping separately from us, for the first 10 weeks he slept in his Moses Basket in our bedroom but he got too big for it so he moved into his cot in his nursery and has stayed in there ever since. I know a lot of people tend to have their baby in with them for the first 6 months but we didn't really want to do that - he is quite a noisy sleeper crying out in the night and kicking his legs despite being asleep and also his cot is really too large to fit in our room.
He has been really happy in his nursery and sometimes he even cries until you go and put him in his cot and then he settles down and goes off to sleep.

His current routine involves him waking up at around 9am, having his breakfast and then he has a nap at about 11.30 for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour and then he has his lunch. Usually he is ready for his afternoon nap an hour after lunch which he has in his cot which usually lasts for 2 hours although he does go through phases of waking up after an hour or sleeping for up to 3 hours which we just let him do. He then has his tea and then another short nap for about 45 minutes and then he is awake until he goes down to bed at 9pm after having his final meal.

I'm not sure how much of it is down to good luck and how much of it is down to us getting him into a routine but we are extremely happy that he is such a great sleeper (obviously!) and I do think that Oscar has really benefit from having a routine as he knows when he's going to be getting fed, when his nap times are and when his bedtime is.

I spent a lot of time whilst I was pregnant reading all about the different ways to do things with your baby and for me, having a routine and not using any co-sleeping or attachment parenting was something that I thought would really work well for all of us. Oscar has always been fully supported by us and whenever he has been upset or needed a reassuring hug we have been there for him, but I do feel that he is a much more settled baby because he knows how to self soothe.

Week 27 & 28

I might start changing these updates to fortnightly as although you are advancing, I'm not sure that each week will be that different from the next! We'll see :-)

In the past couple of weeks, I mentioned it in your last update but now you really reach out for everything. I bring your food in, you want it. I get my phone/camera out to film or take a picture out, you try and take it, it's so cute. You have a really determined look on your face to have it!

You are drinking 3 6oz bottles of follow-on milk a day, one 7oz bottle of juice at lunch and another two smaller bottles of juice throughout the day, you seem to enjoy having your juice and it's helping you with going to the toilet too. Of course, you are having 4 meals a day too - you have definitely inherited mummy's sweet tooth - you're still not a fan of savoury meals but love all the fruit ones.

You can now grab with two hands properly (as you can see from the photo above! Don't worry, we still feed you.) and you are very strong on your legs when we hold you up on them. I am thinking it's possible that you might not be much of a crawler as you have always hated being on your front and you might skip that bit out and go straight to walking when you're ready.

Your language comes on more every day and you have a new little selection of sounds you like to make including "adada", "daai"  "mama" and "mmmi" among lots of squeals. You still love watching Baby Einstein and this is when you make most of your noises, I think you're trying to talk to the puppets!

You will have had your 1st Christmas by your next update, how exciting is that? I'm sure Father Christmas has got lots of lovely presents for you to enjoy.

Lots of love,

Mama xxxxx

Week 26

Hey Ozzy!

You officially turned 6 months old this week, I can't believe it. You seem to look much bigger this week than you did last week, I'm not sure if you've had a growth spurt or not but you are starting to look like a real little boy rather than just a baby.

You're still on your quest to sit up on your own, you are improving all the time but you're not quite there yet!
You have pretty much outgrown all of your 3-6 month clothes and we've had to get you a whole new wardrobe practically.

You've moved on to the Stage 2 milk as now you're eating at every single meal, you didn't need the Stage 1 anymore. I think it was too much for your little body and now you're having baby juice at one meal and your milk for the other meals. We've got a sippy cup for you but at the minute, you prefer chewing on it's handles rather than trying to drink from it!

You are so aware of everything around you now and also try and grab EVERYTHING. You also hate being put in your car seat (and your coat!) and without fail will cry every time you are put in it. We are looking at getting you a bigger seat so that you are less squashed up but we need to see if it will fit in our car first.

Love you lots,

Mummy xxx

Baby Christmas Picks

Daddy's Little Helper All in One - £8.00

My First Christmas Bauble - £3.00 

Reindeer 3-piece set - £12.00

Stocking (can be personalised) - £5.00

Santa's Little Helper hat - £2.00

Santa Booties - £3.00

I can never resist an opportunity to dress Oscar for the occasion - I was looking forward to picking his
Halloween costume before he was even born! So I thought I'd put together my pick of Christmas cuteness to share. I spotted the All In One in store and thought it was so adorable! I want something comfy for him to wear on the day rather than being too dressed up as we're only going to be relaxing at home or at his grandparents. I already have a santa hat for Oscar that seems to be glued to his head, he looks so sweet! This elf one is just as adorable.

What are your favourite Christmas baby items?

Weeks 24 & 25

Ahh, I'm sorry Ozzy, I missed a week! Bad mother.

We were pretty busy last week, after a family hiccup meaning I spent most of the previous week at home with you with Daddy, it was the complete opposite as it was your Grandma's and Auntie's birthdays two days in a row. We were round at Grandma's every day last week and you loved it, they lavish you with attention and your little face is so cute and happy with everyone smiling at you and amusing you constantly.

We didn't do anything much on Grandma's birthday as you had a long nap and it was too late to go for our planned walk by that time but on your Auntie's birthday, we went out for lunch at a lovely restaurant (The Botanist) which was your first outing to one. Your face lit up and you stared around in wonder at all the sights and sounds around you, there were fairy lights twinkling above you which you enjoyed. You were so well behaved and just sat quietly and then went to sleep, getting admiring glances.

You've been getting more and more of an appetite and now you're getting a taste for certain foods - your favourite being strawberry and apple puree, it smells like jam and you love it! You now enjoy grabbing your feet a lot and you've started to make proper noises - some sound like mama and dada! You are so smiley and get really excited over your food and make mmm noises when you eat.

You recognise your bottle and cry when you see one, even if it's empty. You saw me drinking from a bottle and you started crying as well. You now reach out for your toys and hold them and look at them properly, you still try and eat everything though. You can also take out your dummy and put it back in and keep on flailing your arms around, it's so funny to watch!
You're still trying really hard to sit up and your neck has gotten so much stronger recently. You've moved up into your new gro bags, 6-9 month clothes and new nappy size. You're growing up so quickly, I can't believe you're 6 months old in 2 days time, it's flown by. We love you so much and more each day.

Mummy xxx

Week 23

To Ozzy,

This week we have been on quite a few walks together and went on a couple of walks to the park too, you love looking around at everything now and liked all the pretty Autumn leaves! You seem to have caught the cough part of your cold and now have a rattly chest but you seem quite happy apart from that. The doctor says that you are fine, as long as your temperature doesn't go up and you seem like your normal self.
You are still doing so well with your food (apart from this morning when you kicked your tray and your breakfast all over the floor... Daddy wasn't too happy!) and you are now eating so many more flavours and more of it in general. I can't wait until we can give you food that we are eating too.
You are still doing so well with trying to sit up and you love to splash in the bath more than ever (and fart in it, ha!)  I can't believe it's been nearly half a year since you were born.

We love you more every single day.

Mummy & Daddy xxx

Pregnancy In Pictures

I just realised when I was looking at Oscar how it feels like it was a lifetime ago since I was pregnant. It felt like it flew by and yet dragged on forever and now he's here, it seem like a distant memory. I didn't take a massive amount of pictures when I was pregnant, but I have a few here ranging from 20 weeks up until 41 weeks, big difference!

Week 22

Hey Beanie!

Another week gone by!

You've really been trying to sit up this week and you have even managed a few seconds here and there where you've stayed put! We put you in our bed and you pulled yourself up before toppling sideways which is how you end up most times, but it's so cute helping you and watching you try to be more independent.

Your Dad and I have both been struck down by a horrible cold this week and I've been doing my absolute best to make sure you don't catch it as I'd feel awful if you did, let's keep our fingers crossed!
You've been full steam ahead with your feeding, experimenting with more new flavours and bigger portions, I can't wait until you can eat more solid food, we're waiting until at least the 6 month mark until we try that though. You now also seem to be more fond of your food rather than your milk which is a surprise, I thought you'd be glued to that bottle forever.

I'm starting to plan your Christmas presents already, I don't want you to be overwhelmed so I'm trying to pick a few things which I know you'll love rather than a lot of things you won't use.
You have also started to blow raspberries all the time which is so funny and you stick your tongue out at inopportune moments like when you've had a spoon of food go in to your mouth, suffice to say your bibs are getting more and more stained!

Love you lots :-) xxxxx

Week 21

Hey Oscar!

Another week has flown by - not too much has changed really! You are now more and more keen to sit up and love sitting in your Bumbo chair or on a member of your family. You have been quite clingy this week which has been really sweet, I had to carry you around in your sling so you could still see me and you kept looking at me to make sure I hadn't gone anywhere! You have been a bit unsettled with your afternoon nap and we have had quite a few tears and one day you refused to go down at all and slept in your carseat whilst I popped out.
You celebrated your first Halloween and you looked so adorable, even though you fell asleep during our little feast, you were the cutest skeleton and baby pumpkin ever! You're still doing really well with your food and have liked everything you've tried up to now, let's hope it continues!

Lots of love

Mummy xxxx

Week 20

Hey Oscar!

You're now 20 weeks old, I really can't believe how quickly it's going. This week you've been trying more flavours out and you are having food with every bottle now. You have baby porridge in the morning followed by a savoury puree at lunch, fruit puree in the afternoon and baby rice in the evening. You are brilliant eating with a spoon, you've taken to it so well!

You had your final jabs (until after you're one) on Monday and you were so brave. You didn't even cry on the first one but you didn't like the second, you only cried for a minute or so though and then you were even smiling at the nurse! You were a bit sleepy for the rest of the day but other than that you were your usual happy self and it certainly didn't affect your appetite.

You are now also trying to sit up, I noticed it in Boots a couple of days ago when you were in your pram and you were trying to pull yourself up and you've been doing it every day since then, you even sat up unaided on Daddy for a minute or two! I guess you're going to skip the rolling phase (I did) and go straight to sitting in the next month or so.

We have been on a couple of mini trips out this week to the shops and on a walk and you are so observant now, you take in everything around you and make excited little noises, it's so cute! You are spending the night at Grandma and Grandad's tonight and they've bought you a brand new playmat for their house so we don't have to keep moving the one from ours. 

Love you lots!

Mummy xxxx

Week 19

Hi Ozzle!

I can't believe you're nearly 20 weeks old - 5 whole months! This week we've been branching out from baby rice mixed with your usual milk to trying you on a few different things. We tried you on a raspberry yogurt and a banana and peach breakfast which you did not approve of - either of them. Then we tried you on banana puree and baby rice and apple puree and you enjoyed both of them apart from a couple of faces at the beginning!
You love watching the spoon come towards your face and you open your mouth as it gets near in excitement.
You've been getting fed up in your bouncer and prefer to sit on people or play on your mat. You're not a huge fan of rolling at the moment, you only do it occasionally and tend to complain when you're on your side and want to be rolled back.
You enjoyed sitting on me and watching Baby Einstein and you kept on looking at me as you watched and smiling, it's so adorable.
Daddy is off on a long weekend this week and we are enjoying spending more time together as a family, because he works all day you only get to see him for an hour in the morning and 1/2 hours in the evening.
You have your final set of jabs on Monday which I'm not looking forward to, you were so brave last time though and only cried a little bit, I hope you're ok, I'll be glad when they're over and done with and I know you're fine.

Love you lots!

xxxxx

Grandad took this picture of you!

Photo Friday #1

I thought I'd upload a snap (mostly unflattering I imagine.. heheh, what are mums for if they can't have a stash of embarassing pictures for the future?) every Friday of what Ozzy has been up to. He usually goes to his Nana's for the afternoon on Friday's so it's tea time this week. I wanted to take a pic of his outfit but it was hidden under a giant bib most of the morning and then he went out on his travels.

Mesmerised by my high chair toy!

Winter Clothes

I was just browsing around looking at more baby clothes (as you do) for Ozzy. He already has quite a lot of clothes but some of it is still quite summery and he needs a few warmer items. I decided to have a look on Next as I have a few bits and pieces from there for him already and found these adorable little items. He has a coat that's 0-3 months at the moment and being 18 weeks, I'm not sure if that's going to fit him anymore... Not likely. 

I'm obsessed with dinosaurs for his nursery and all of his clothes so I couldn't not love the dinosaur jumper, so adorable. He looks great in jeans and the braces just add that extra touch. However, for those days when he's not going out and just needs some super comfy clothes, the plum coloured joggers add a bit more of an autumnal feel compared to his usual grey/navy ones and he can relax in them too.
Finally, this little snowman jumper is lovely, I already have Halloween clothes prepared for him, so I've obviously got to plan for Christmas (yes, I said it!) too.

Tips To Help With Pregnancy Aches & Pains #1

I know that I've now had my baby but I follow quite a lot of ladies who are currently pregnant, most for the first time. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed at first with a lot of different advice and what symptoms I may or may not have. Funnily enough, most of my symptoms were ones I was not expecting to get! Disclaimer yada yada: No, I'm not an expert or medical professional, these are just things I found worked for me and probably would be worth giving a go if you're inclined :-)

1. One of my first symptoms was probably trouble sleeping, I'd find myself constantly tossing and turning. My hips would ache after a while on either side and I could not get comfy. Add this to the crazy vivid dreams during the 2nd trimester and night times were not fun. I invested in a body pillow from Argos, not specifically for pregnancy but it did the job by wedging it between my legs and lying with my arms wrapped around it. My boyfriend wasn't too happy with the new addition but it was a lifesaver for me! The Dreamgenii also comes highly recommended but the Argos body pillow is almost half the price (I actually got mine for a tenner in a sale) and it did a great job.

2. Heartburn. I was lucky enough to not suffer majorly with this until the later weeks, week 32+ and I found that Rennies did the trick most nights although I did have to use Gaviscon a couple of times. It's best to avoid eating later at night so you can digest your food before you go to bed and also avoiding anything overly spicy (easier said than done when I started craving curries!)

3. Backache hit me suddenly one day and after that it got gradually worse. It was fine if I was lying in bed but sitting down anywhere was trouble. I got a gym ball for about £7-8 and it was a miracle worker for me. All my back ache ceased to exist when I was sat on it, although I did get fed up after a while and went to lie down, haha.

4. For the extremely late stages - being overdue. Most ladies with their first baby will tend to go overdue and you really do not feel like being pregnant any longer when you get to week 40. I know a lot of them are myths and aren't really proven to work but even so, I found that Raspberry Leaf Tea really helped bring my labour on when I was overdue. I was drinking 4+ cups a day as I struggle with tablets (you can buy it in capsule form.) Mentioned before, the birth/gym ball. This is great for bouncing and rotating your hips on to help babies head engage and get everything started.

Week 18

I wish that I had written about the previous 17 weeks but sadly I didn't :-( I have written a couple of entries in my paper journal though. This is taking a little bit (ok, quite a lot) of inspiration from one of my favourite bloggers, Charlotte from Write Like No One's Watching.

Ozzy,

This week, you have still been doing really well (touch wood) sleeping through the night. We put you down at about 8.30pm and you don't get up until 8am, which is just amazing, we feel very lucky! I think it's partially down to the fact that you love to suck on your thumb now and you often spit your dummy out to have that instead!

We have spent quite a bit of time round at your Grandma & Grandad's and they love spending time with you. Grandad always has his camera out snapping pictures of you and Grandma is constantly cooing over you and singing you songs. Not to mention your Auntie, she can't keep her hands off you and steals you from your car seat as soon as you arrive.

You have definitely started teething, my poor little bean. You have adorable chubby cheeks that are bright red at times and you are always trying to chew on something, be it your hand, dummy, bib, bottle, one of our fingers or even a nose...

You have just started having one small portion of baby rice in the evenings and you are really enjoying it, opening your mouth waiting for the spoon to arrive and guzzling it all down. I'm not sure when we'll move you onto anything a little more adventurous, you seem happy with the rice for now.

You love watching TV after your morning milk and then having a little snooze before getting to roll around and kick on your playmat. You can roll on to your side now but you can't roll back and you get a little bit frustrated about this, I don't think it'll be too long before you manage it!

You have pretty much doubled in size from when you were born, and you were last weighed 3 weeks ago now, so you are probably over that now, I'm going to take you to get weighed next week.

Love you lots, little bean.

Mummy xx

A New Mum's Guide To Still Feeling Glam

Having a baby to keep you on your toes and work your day around, sometimes you can end up feeling a little frazzled. I thought I'd compile a little guide on how I try and keep myself feeling like, well, me.

I'm not going to lie, the first two weeks after having Oscar, I felt and looked like poop. I managed to step in the shower every day but that was pretty much where my efforts ceased. I lived in some comfy tracksuit bottoms and my maternity tops to hide my still inflated belly. No straighteners touched my hair nor a slick of makeup on my face. 

Then about 3 weeks in, I finally started to feel like putting a bit of effort back in. I got my boyfriend to be on baby watching duty whilst I took  hair dryer and some straighteners to my hair and applied some make up. I was only sitting about the house but I felt more like myself again. 

I'm fortunate enough to be a stay at home mum whilst my boyfriend goes out to work and even more fortunate enough to have my mum on hand whenever I need her. That's not the case for everyone though, so I'll try and make sure these tips can work for everyone whether you're surrounded by friends and family or doing it all on your own.

Tips

• Take advantage of the time when your baby is sleeping. You can fit in virtually anything you want to during their nap time, especially as newborns sleep most of the day.Whether or not that's getting some sleep, (I find that I can't sleep during the day no matter how tired I am, it's always early evening when I find myself wanting a rest and that usually isn't an option!) getting some cleaning and tidying done around the house, having a shower or keeping up your beauty regime. 

• Skater dresses have been the best thing for me. They skim straight over the top of your belly leaving you feeling slim and feeling feminine. Another bonus was that I managed to fit into quite a few of my pre-pregnancy skater dresses although a couple did become a little shorter due to my hips being wider.

• Floaty blouses have also been brilliant for everyday wear. I initially wore them over a pair of leggings but after wearing leggings for 7 months straight, I really wanted to find an alternative option.

• If you don't fancy floaty all the time, try a peplum top, they also skim nicely over your lower half. 

• Don't feel too bad if you can't fit into your pre pregnancy clothes as quick as you'd hoped. I had purchased a few items whilst pregnant that I thought would be nice to wear once I'd had Oscar but found that they didn't fit me quite as I'd imagined. I was disappointed at first, but then I decided to pick myself up as friends and family reminded me that it takes 9 month for your body to change and at least 9 months for it to go back (unless you're super lucky!)

• Accessories are your friend. If you don't want to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe to accommodate any extra pounds, make the most of what you've got in the clothes department and buy a few floaty scarves and some nice statement jewellery to perk up your outfits and hide any mum-tum you might have. 

• Keep it simple with your makeup. If my boyfriend's at home or my mum's round, I can afford to spend a bit more time on my makeup whilst they keep an eye on him but if I'm on my own or need to be out somewhere and making sure I'm fitting in around Oscar's feeding schedule then I switch up the products I'm using...

• You can simplify your makeup by swapping powder eye shadows for something like Maybelline's Color Tattoo's or my current favourite - Collection's Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencil's. A quick slick across your eyelids and your good to go. 

• Instead of applying a full face of foundation, apply concealer to any blemishes and under eye circles to keep your face looking fresh.

• So you don't have to spend ages making sure you've applied your lipstick perfectly, grab a tinted balm like Revlon's Lip Butters to apply on the go and mirror free whilst still keeping your pout pretty. 

• I found that I struggled to find a pair of jeans that fit me how I wanted to or flattered my new figure. They all seemed to fit low around my hips and just made my belly pop out over the top. Not a good look. I went for jeggings instead, so I didn't quite manage to fully escape the leggings I now at least look like I've got jeans on, no one else needs to know it's an elasticated waist, right?

• Primark have some good jeggings in at the moment for less than £10 but I got mine from Sainsbury's TU range for £12.50. They do a range of colours and fit exactly how I wanted them to, high on the waist keeping my belly under control and still skinny on the leg without any bunching around the ankle.

• Get a quick drying top coat for your nails so that if your baby needs you suddenly, you can have your nails dried in a fraction of the time. 

• If your hair could do with a wash but you don't have the time, spray in some dry shampoo and try braiding it or tying it up in a cute bun. 

I think that about sums up everything I've managed to do to still find some 'me' time to fit around the hectic life of being a new mum! Let me know if you find any of these tips helpful or if you have any extra ones!

Oscar's Birth Story

My due date was 25th May and I was pretty certain that the little man would not be making his arrival on this date. I was right and things didn't begin until 9 days later on 2nd June when I started getting mild contractions. They were really more like dull period cramps and not bothersome at all. When I went to bed that night I woke at about 2.30 am and I was starting to have slightly stronger contractions although still not anything that bothered me to any extent. I whipped out my phone as I'd installed a contraction timer app on it and started to monitor how frequently they were coming and for how long. I stayed awake for about 2.5 hours and they were coming every 7/8 minutes and lasting roughly one minute each. I was getting pretty excited at this point thinking that it might be the start of something. Sadly, it wasn't and they faded away when I got up in the morning and wandered around. I'd still have the odd one here and there but they were definitely not what you would call regular!

The next day on the 4th I was due a visit by the midwife to see how things were getting along. She told me that I was 2cm dilated and that she would book me in for an induction on 6th June if things hadn't moved along. She told me she didn't think that it would be likely that I would need the induction and that I would probably go in to established labour later on that evening.

Not long after she had left, I started noticing the contractions again. They begin to build throughout the day and by about 5pm they had started to become more uncomfortable. I tried to get some sleep but I was quite excited and found it hard to relax. By 10pm things were really starting to get pretty painful. I called the triage at about 11 to ask them when they thought I should come in as by this point my contractions were lasting between 45 seconds to 1 minute and coming every 5 minutes. They weren't very helpful and just told me to take some paracetamol and try and stay at home for as long as possible. Great.

After pacing around in considerable pain at this point, we decided (stupidly) to try and get some sleep at about 1am and head to the hospital for around 3am. This proved completely impossible as my contractions were really painful now and it was giving me the most horrendous back ache, my boyfriend had to massage the base of my spine every time I had one and they were causing me to cry out in pain, which is really not like me at all! I usually deal with things quietly so I knew that it was now time to head to the hospital.

Fortunately the hospital is literally 5 minutes away from our house and my hospital bag had been packed and ready to go for a good few weeks (after a scare I had a couple of weeks before where I was sent to hospital for a scan and thought I might need a C-Section because naughty Ozzy was lying transverse which meant if my waters broke the cord could prolapse... Yikes.)

When we got there, we buzzed to be let in but no one was answering so we had to wander around to the other side of the hospital and buzz round there, not great when I'm huffing and puffing every few minutes!
We were shown to a room where I had my blood pressure taken and after about 25 minutes the midwife in charge that night came and examined me and told me I was 5cm dilated. This meant I could now get in the pool as I wanted a water birth and also use the gas and air.

The pool really helped relieve my contractions when I first got in, it was nice and relaxing and that coupled with the gas and air had me foolishly thinking "this isn't so bad now!" I managed to deal with about another hours worth of contractions until I decided to give up on the gas and air. I found it distracting trying to breath it in when I was contracting so I decided to go it alone. The next few hours are a blur of contractions and I don't remember all that much in huge detail due to being so tired at this point.

I remember looking at the clock at 5am and asking when I'd next be examined as I'd been having the urge to push for a while. The midwife who was in the room with me the whole time told me not until 6.30am which was so disappointing. My contractions were horribly painful at this point and she was urging me to try the gas and air again but I just found dealing with it on my own easier. I was making a massive racket every time I had a contraction which I was surprised at but that was pretty much my pain management!

At 5.30 my waters broke which was the weirdest feeling, I felt a pop but obviously didn't notice the water as I was in the pool. My belly noticeably deflated a little and although the midwife said my contractions would increase in intensity at this point, I actually found it a relief and a bit easier to deal with. At 6.30 I was examined and she told me I was fully dilated and ready to push. I tried pushing in the pool for about 45 minutes but kept on nearly falling asleep in between contractions due to the heat and I'd been told all the windows now had to be closed so it was warm enough for when Oz made his entrance. This made the pool quite uncomfortable and it also seemed to slow down my contractions so I was told to get out of the pool to push.

After an hour and a half of pushing and getting nowhere, I was told to try the birthing stool and push on there. That did not work for me and I got a major (yes, even more major than contractions...) stitching, cramping feeling and asked to get off. When the midwife did her routine 15 minute check on Ozzy's heartbeat, after being 'perfect' throughout my entire labour, it was now really slow. I didn't even recognise it as being his heartbeat at first because it was so different. She told the student midwife to pull the emergency cord immediately and within seconds, there were people rushing everywhere and telling me to get in a bed and they were going to wheel me down to the delivery suite to help get Oscar out. When I got down there, they checked on his heartbeat again and it had fortunately gone up but he'd pooped inside me meaning he was in distress.

The whole team were lovely and amazing and I felt really calm throughout because I knew that they would deliver him safely. They told me to push whenever I had the urge to and that they were going to use the ventouse to get him out. I was given a couple of injections of local anesthesia and a catheter to drain my bladder (it makes me cringe even thinking about that, owwwie) and unfortunately had to have an episiotomy so that they could get him out as quickly as possible. Within 2-3 pushes I first felt his head come out and with one final push little Ozzlebean finally made his arrival at 8.26 am on June 5th 2013. He was checked over and then passed to me to give his first cuddle, he felt so tiny and he just clung onto me. His head was a little bit cone shaped due to the ventouse, but he was so perfect.

I have never been so tired in my whole life after finally giving birth, I'd been awake for 26 hours and I felt completely delirious at this point, I kept asking my boyfriend if everything was real, haha! I can't imagine what I would have been like had I had some drugs as I felt like I was in some weird dream world. After being abandoned in the delivery suite for about an hour whilst various people drifted in and out doing checks on me and Oscar, I was finally allowed to get up and have a shower and then I was wheeled back up to the ward to rest. My parents came and visited us and then I was asked if I'd like to go home later that evening (yes, please!) I was really stressing about having to have a wee before I left, I had barely drank anything in labour and so I was pretty dehydrated and I drank about 4 bottles of water before I even felt like I needed to go. It was mainly due to being kind of numb down there because I didn't have any problem going! We were finally allowed to leave the hospital at 9pm and I cried when I got home, I just felt so relieved. Relieved that I was home, that Oscar was born safely and soundly, that it was all over and I finally had my baby.

Although the birth didn't go exactly as I had planned, I'm still really proud that I managed to do it (not that you really have much choice in the matter, they've got to come out at some point!) especially without any pain relief, although not that it makes it any less of an achievement if you had every drug going, it's whatever works best for you.

Introduction

Hey,

My name's Kat and I am mummy to my gorgeous Son, Oscar. I currently have a beauty only blog but thought I would like to start a baby blog too and see how it goes! I plan to blog pictures and updates and maybe a few tips and tidbits of advice here and there. I decided to name it "Ozzy Was Born" because I thought it was funny how it sounded like Ozzy Osbourne (ha, not his namesake by the way) and also because my life changed when he was born and it's like a new chapter in my life. I hope you enjoy reading!