Dear Baby A

I've wanted to write this letter for a long time, and yet I can never quite find the words. The words still aren't there now, but the feelings finally are. It's been a hard pregnancy, though not in the traditional way. It's been full of change and big, sometimes difficult, emotions to deal with. I've cried lots, and I've ignored your playful dancing at times, waving it away - I'm too busy to enjoy this. But lately, now that we're settling in and the worst of it all is behind us, I have slowly come to appreciate your clumsy tumbling around, and I have taken note of your sleep patterns and your excitable reaction to your sister's voice.

Slowly, you have become a person to me. You're not just an annoying bump that has made the move so much more impractical, so much more frustrating. You are a living, loving, playful little boy. You seem to have my nose and your Daddy's love for football (or whatever sport it is you're practicing in there). You adore your big sister already and she loves showering you with hugs and kisses, and "checking" in on you with various play doctor's equipment, making you react to her often cold hands.

And it's become exciting again. Just as it was in the beginning, when we knew we wanted you so badly. And when we found out you were on the way. And when the pregnancy turned out to be so much easier than your sister's was. Before I forgot to be excited because so much else took over, and needed to be dealt with. And I'm sorry about it, I really am. I promise I'll make up for it all with so many cuddles and kisses once you're in my arms, you won't know what's hit you.

I'm eager and I'm excited. I want to know what you look like, what you feel like. I want to discover how completely different you are to Emily (I already know you are!) and get to know you in your own right. I want to watch you and her get to know each other, learn each other's ways and adapt to each other.

So whenever you're ready, Little A, you needn't be scared to join the fold. We're looking forward to getting to know you.

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Don't forget to have a guess at Baby A's arrival date and weight here!

Baby Sweepstakes II

It's that time in pregnancy again. Feels like just last week I was organising sweepstakes for Emily's arrival! But now that I've been given the all-clear for a natural delivery (placenta has been hugely cooperative and has moved well out of the way, even by Maltese standards (long story)), when Baby A will turn up is anyone's guess!

I'll be 37 weeks on Sunday, and due on 31st March, so let's get guessing. You can guess date of birth and weight, or just date, or just weight. Up to you. It's just for fun. (Use metric or imperial - whichever you're more comfortable with)

Winners will get a shout out on twitter and facebook. (I'm too kind, I know.)



Here are the facts you may want to know:
I'm 5'3"
Emily was born 5 days early and weighed 6lb10oz / 3kg
According to my scan at 36+2 weeks, Baby A is currently estimated to weigh 6lbs6oz / 2.9kg and is measuring a few days ahead

Now for some comparison pictures...

Yikes! So now it's over to you. Have fun and be nice to me!! 

Springtime Treats

Featured Above

Speckled Egg and Twig Wreath by The Seasonal Barn

Watermelon Pink Resin Ring by RosellaResin
Vintage Butterfly Wall Hangings from VintageLoveJunk

Other Ideas
Hen Egg Cup by Katie's Originals

Melamine Pot Covers by Burton + Burton

Springtime Cushion by Sleepyheads England

Featured Below

Nello Spring Earrings in Aqua from Amrita Singh

Ella Red by Mia Tui

Moody Cow Balancing Room Candle by Cowshed

And have you come across the new Fruit Pastel Collection by Models Own? It's perfumed polish!

Pre-order the entire set for £20.00 (This is when I really begin missing shopping in the UK!)

The Big Boat Arrives

You might remember my newsflash that day (seems like weeks ago right now)... The Big Boat arrived a day ahead of schedule. This was excellent news because it meant we had a whole extra weekend to get some unpacking done. 

And so, on Thursday 21st February, we were at our rental apartment nice and early, ready to greet our 185 or so boxes and packages. It went smoothly, everything was in shortly after midday and most things even made it in one piece.*

The first van arriving. Yes, first. There were two.

First boxes on their way into the second floor apartment

The carnage

Emily was just happy to be reunited with her slide!

The following week is a complete blur. It was back and forth between apartments trying to unpack as many boxes as we could and still keep to Emily's routine as much as was possible. Nobody wants a cranky toddler around and we didn't feel it would be fair on her to unsettle her any further than we already had. With the help of several babysitters (grandparents), we pulled it off. 

Within three days, we'd set up Emily's room so she was able to nap in her new bed (which she LOVES), and within five days, we'd officially moved into the apartment. Eight days after the boxes arrived, we had a handful of boxes full of DVDs lying around the living room, and the spare room/study/storage room is, as the name suggests, a storage room for some more boxes - most containing baby clothes. Twenty or so others have gone into storage until we move into the new house in Summer, and in the meantime we can live in some sort of order. 

I'll post pictures of the apartment in all it's organised glory soon. 

* For the record, you may have seen a certain company's name on the boxes in the photos: I will make it very clear that they do not come recommended. I don't know if it was our two packers in particular that did an appalling job, in which case it's a huge pity as they let the entire company down, but I couldn't find it in me to recommend them to anyone planning an international move. So steer clear.

Packed

Ladies and Gentlemen

At almost 36 weeks into this pregnancy, I have finally been able to pack my hospital bags. General advice is that they are packed by 28 or so weeks. With Emily, they were packed by 25 (and repacked, and repacked, and repacked some more). This time, I was going slightly insane knowing I had nothing ready, then the Big Boat arrived (more about this later) and at long last I had access to my stuff. Yet still it took days until I could gather enough from various boxes and bags to create the hospital bag I needed.

Last night, when Mr Braxton Hicks was in a particularly teasing mood, David asked me to go get packed, "just in case." I didn't want to tempt fate much longer so I listened, and that's what brings us to today. I am packed. Baby A's crib is built, as is his changing unit (See what I did there? Aren't I such a tease?!) He is due in 4 weeks' time but I don't really believe he'll wait that long. We shall see. But until then, whenever he decides to make an appearance, I'm finally ready for him!

And relax.