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| Welcome to magriller.net, the
home of all things magriller related. Below you'll find Caroline's blog of
her pregnancy and the early months of actually being parents for the first
time. Be warned that she doesn't pull many punches!
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40 Weeks |
17th June 2006 Deano & I went to the Foo Fighters concert in Hyde Park, London. Whilst queuing we somehow got onto the topic of starting a family and basically we both said we were ready. It was a very strange, but lovely feeling knowing that we’d decided to start our family! We said that my next pack of pills would be my last.
23rd June 2006
26th June 2006
July 2006
31st July 2006
August 2006 Disaster strikes in the week where I’m likely to be most fertile – Deano has a water infection. Wee sticks tell me my LH surge is on 17th August (day 18) but things aren’t good for Deano. We try again the following day and fail. We both got a bit upset but thought we’ve always got next month to try again!
August 31st 2006 I go up to our en-suite bathroom where Deano follows. I do the test and wait. There’s a really faint line on the test in the ‘Pregnant’ panel. Surely not! Deano & I look at each other and don’t believe what we’ve seen. We’ve decided to have a lovely curry from the Shamrat that evening so we order chicken dhansak, chicken tikka massala, plain naan and bombay aloo. We’re told it’ll take 25 minutes so we decide to go to Tesco to pick up another pregnancy test as we really didn’t believe the previous result! We pick up two tests in Tesco and decide to do one on the morning of Friday 1st September. Curry is absolutely lush as usual, however, no sooner than I’ve put my fork down my belly really hurts. I put it down to my IBS.
Friday 1st September 2006 Pain in my tummy persists all day and night – maybe it was fate but it meant that as it was known I was in pain it didn’t look bizarre that I wasn’t drinking. Menu choice probably not good for someone in the family way – smoked salmon for starters, chicken for main course (can’t see that would be a problem) and chocolate mousse (which was quite runny).
Saturday 2nd September 2006 Deano feels the need to give ‘the being’ a name. He calls it ‘Quintus’ – what?! I go along with it so that is how we refer to the thing growing inside me! We work out we must have conceived on day 16 which was just the most perfect evening lying together and listening the Snow Patrol’s song ‘Chasing Cars’.
Monday 4th September 2006 – Sunday 10th September 2006 I spoke to my dad in the evening – found it really difficult not to tell him. Deano & I have decided not to tell anyone until I’m 12 weeks gone. There are so many people that we love that we speak to during this week that we’re dying to tell – my parents, Dean’s parents, Sarah, Jon, Vicky, Adam, Dave but we don’t. Having Dean’s sister Holly over for the weekend we both found it really hard not to tell her as we know she’d be pleased. Found out that Dean’s Auntie Bub’s recent operation for breast cancer wasn’t as successful as we’d thought and that she needs another operation and chemo. Want to tell Dean’s parents to cheer them up but know we still need to keep it quiet. Pregnancy symptoms start during this week from being the most spotty I’ve been since a teenager (I thought I was meant to get a bump in my belly not on my face?!), to crying at the most ridiculous little things (forgetting to buy friend Josie’s birthday card whilst out shopping), to being soooo tired I’m asleep by 9:30pm on the sofa most nights! I am also painfully constipated – joy! One absolutely lovely feeling about being pregnant is that I feel an overwhelming sense of calm – that feels lovely!
Monday 11th September 2006 My left nipple is acting strangely – Deano finds this absolutely hilarious! I find it annoying! Drop off urine sample at the doctors and am told to call on Thursday after 2pm. Constipation is now all gone thankfully. Still really tired though!
Tuesday 12th September 2006 In work today Helen broke out the Quality Street one of our former colleagues gave us. Realise I can’t eat my favourite flavours anymore as they’re all the nutty ones. Christmas is gonna suck! Get upset when I get home as Deano asked me to pick up dessert and wasn’t happy with my selection of melon! Honestly, I can’t believe how easy it is for me to cry – what’s that about?! Left nipple back to normal again though so that’s a relief! Speak to Mark & Jen who’ve not long seen the arrival of Baby Emma. Jen relives birth trauma not realising that I’ve got it to look forward to in 7 months time! Look forward to being able to tell Mark & Jen as we know they’ll be really chuffed for us. Have strange fear today about the possibility of it being an ectopic pregnancy. Put these thoughts out of my mind as best as I can but still wonder if Quintus is lodged in the right place.
Wednesday 13th September 2006 Miss Deano today as he’ll be out by the time I get home from conference I have to go to in Cardiff. He’s left me a lovely note though so this cheers me up! Speak to Sarah who is 5 and a half months pregnant and having a few issues with cramps, heartburn, sleeping position, etc. – wish I could tell her mine but I’ll have to wait a couple more weeks yet. Deano & I are both looking forward to speaking to GP tomorrow as it will be nice to have it confirmed as actually happening. Keeping my fingers crossed still that all is ok!
Thursday 14th September 2006 Don’t think Quintus related so that’s good. Spend most of the day in and out of the bathroom and in and out of sleep! I called the doctors today and the Receptionist said that my notes said that I needed to make an appointment to see the GP (in other words positive result!). Appointment made for Monday 18th September at 5:30. Hope they haven’t found anything untoward in my sample as Receptionist didn’t actually say more than instructions are for me to see the doctor. Will try not to worry – I know Sarah’s results found E-coli present so hope it’s nothing like that.
Friday 15th September 2006 Note to self: take Pregnacare in the evening not in the morning! Stuck with it though and waited for the next train as I’d managed to miss (by seconds) my usual one. Felt like crap the whole way and did not feel good at all in work. Had to by a return ticket today as my weekly pass was no longer in date – totally forgot day returns have 2 parts and managed to forget to take it out of the machine. I only realised this when I got to Bristol and upon realising burst into tears. What a sad act. Can’t believe what ridiculous little things make me cry! Got sent home by ‘Mum’ Helen so bought my single fare and had a lengthy journey home. Felt better after having a nap. Off to JC and Vicky’s tonight for their ‘We’re Getting Married a Year from Today and JC’s I’ve finished my dissertation’ party. Will try to eat as sensibly as I can.
Sunday 1st October 2006 Morning sickness is well and truly underway and I feel rubbish pretty much all the time. Deano has noticed that I’m not myself despite the fact I’m still overjoyed that I’m pregnant. I feel like I’m being a rubbish wife as I’m just knackered all the time and feel like doing very little! Many people are now aware of our news, both our families, Jon & Vicky, Sarah & Mark, my work (couldn’t disguise morning sickness there!), Mark & Jen and Dave. All have been really chuffed for us and some have possessed ‘witch-like’ intuition and had already guessed – Dean’s dad, Dave and Mark Howell-Jones all had hunches. Vicky couldn’t believe that she’d not picked up on it as she’s thought about so many things which should have given it away to her. Holly was super excited about becoming an aunt and both sets of parents are delighted which has been lovely. Both grandmothers to be are already planning for the new arrival and I think Baby Magill will be spoiled rotten by them!
Sunday 8th October 2006 My work trousers are getting really uncomfortable now so I need to start looking for maternity trousers! I’ve made some purchases already – 2 pairs of size 8 boarding trousers which I can wear now, a pair of jeans to grow into (as they go around the bump) and a beautiful silk evening dress which I’ll probably wear to my Sales Support Recognition Gala Evening in November. More people know now about our news, Ads sent us a nice card, Josie was shocked but definitely excited, Gary who I used to work with at Ashwood Financial Services thinks it’s great news and when Deano went to Boyz Night on Thursday, Colesy, Hywel and Garabaldi true to form mocked us in a sweet way. Met Andrew Holland who used to work with me as an Account Executive yesterday and he thought it was lovely – he really wants a baby too, bless him. Emma (Maiwell) surprisingly hasn’t phoned me since finding out though I hear she’s not been feeling very well. Deano travelled down to Brighton to see Ben yesterday so it was lovely to have him back today. Quintus and I really missed him. Deano’s job is to rub my stretch mark cream into my belly every night and it’s really nice to have him involved with doing little things like that. Getting to work has been a struggle this week as I’ve still got morning sickness but it seems to be a bit less severe now – thank god! My tiredness is making revision something I could really do with out but I’m not going to stress over it – I can only do what I can. Looking after baby and I is what’s important now rather than future career. On a positive note my boobs are getting bigger – woohoo!!!
Saturday 14th October 2006 Mam, bless her, made me homemade Gingerbread Men as ginger is meant to be good for nausea. They are totally yummy (Deano agrees). I’ve also been about as useful as a chocolate fireguard around the house and revising has not gone particularly well. I’ve got a few more days to go until my exam though so all is not lost. At the moment I will probably manage to write my name on my answer paper – oh god I hope I’m not sick during my exam! This week I’ve mainly been in a coma and just going through the motions of going to work – I may have been there in body but certainly wasn’t in spirit! Jen has sent me some really sensible books on pregnancy and it’s nice to know that now I’m at week 10 Quintus is officially a foetus – aww! My dating scan date has come through now so Deano and I will be off to see Quintus for the first time on Monday 23rd October 2006. Got a feeling we might get misty eyed at seeing our little one.
Thankfully the scan went well and our baby was brilliant posing away for photos! When I spoke to Mum last night she instructed Quintus to give her a wave and her wish was fulfilled (see scan picture number 2)! We spent a lovely weekend up in Hull with Mark, Jen and baby Emma. Emma B is a very lovely baby and I can only pray ours will be as well behaved! I had my exam last week which did not go brilliantly unfortunately and I really don’t see me re-sitting in April seeing as it’s a bit close to babe’s due date. Morning sickness appears to have disappeared – thank the lord! I seem to be much more like me again though I can still sleep at any given opportunity (no change there then!). I now have a bump! It’s not a particularly big bump but it’s a bump nonetheless. It came out of nowhere though – I went to bed on Thursday just looking fat and then Friday morning there it was! I have put on 4lbs in my first trimester which I don’t think is too bad considering I’ve been eating lots of cheese, bread and potatoes!
Sunday 29th October 2006 Though I’m not feeling so nauseous anymore I am still being sick which is a bit mean. Talking of mean I’ve been a right moody cow and Deano has started to call me Rage Against the Machine!! Thursday was particularly bad – I wasn’t feeling too well and my performance at work was not great – cried on the phone to Deano and had a chat with Sarah and felt loads better after. We put it down to being overtired! I am able to do more and have done a decent amount of housework this weekend so I’m a bit more useful now. We’ve still got to sort out the baby room as it’s still a warehouse for Deano’s toys! Deano and I are saving for Baby Magill’s arrival in our money box that Alma gave us – can’t believe how much stuff there will be to buy! We won’t start collecting anything though until we’ve had our 20 week scan. Talking of which the date for that is Monday 18th December at 11:20 and I for one can’t wait to see our little one again.
Tuesday 7th November 2006
The weekend was great because I can now eat curry quite happily again so I enjoyed going out to The Raj with Sach and Himali. My brother and Nerys came down and it was really nice to see them both. We threw my brother a birthday tea so Mam and Dad came over as did JC & Vix. Had a Pictionary war – boys vs girls – girls won comfortably. If Quintus is a girl then she’ll have to maintain the legacy! Although Deano’s drawings delivered points every turn – when the boys actually had a go!!! Went to a fireworks display on Sunday night and pregnancy has definitely made standing up a bit more painful in the back area. I probably need to stand properly rather than doing my usual ‘duck’ look! I still have a short fuse which is not a nice trait. I’ve become this random ranting person particularly at the train station. Trains have been awful this week – must remember to write to complain… I feel the best I have done for ages – no morning sickness since Friday. Woohoo! My gums are bleeding quite a bit though but apparently this is completely normal – as are nose bleeds. Nice! All of a sudden I can’t remember the last time I had a poo – was definitely before my brother was down. Hmmm.
Monday 13th November 2006 I’m still feeling really good now no more morning sickness. I’ve had a few headaches which haven’t been so great though. I had two particularly late nights – one for the Sales Conference and the other for Ads’ 30th. Both events meant seeing lots of people who have just found out that I’m pregnant so I feel all talked out about pregnancy! It’s was so cool catching up with people who I haven’t seen for ages and they were all so excited for Deano and I. Deano looked most handsome in his DJ and thankfully my dress still fitted me! Blood and urine test results came through on Saturday and thankfully are completely clear. Phew! Bit nervous about next week’s blood tests for Downs Syndrome but hey I’m sure it’ll be fine. I am still a little bit ‘fiery’ – I have nearly got out of my car a few times to give some idiot drivers a piece of my mind! Deano is still referring to me as ‘Rage against the Machine’! I know it’s only Monday but I’m really looking forward to the weekend as it’s the first one in ages where we haven’t had big plans so we can just relax :)
Tuesday 21st November 2006 Had quite a good week in work - went on my Recognition Dinner and was presented with my award by the MD which was pretty cool. Got home from work on Friday very tearful though I don’t really know why! I’m dealing with a girl in work who needs to have an abortion (for health reasons) but it’s not that simple and I have to admit that it’s probably not the best topic for me to be dealing with right now. I’ve also got to put someone on Disciplinary and get rid of 2 temps. So when I say I had quite a good week in work on reflection it was probably a mixed bag! Alma popped round on Friday night with some Maternity Wear for me which was really lush of her. Cried on her and Dean – how embarrassing! I think I was getting anxious about the blood test for Downs Syndrome which I had yesterday. At the moment I am praying that I get a letter from the hospital rather than a phone call as it means there’s something wrong if they call. I’m not likely to get a letter until early next week so this could be the longest week ever. I’m not sleeping properly either which I think is related to my stressing over it. I did however lapse into a coma yesterday after having blood taken – wuss that I am! Deano was the cutest thing though yesterday and brought me home a bunch of gorgeous lilies to cheer me up with a lovely card – bless him. I’m looking quite pregnant today – more so than yesterday! It’s probably just all the food I ate on the weekend catching up with me! Headaches appear to be the biggest issue for me at the moment – I’m wondering if it’s something to do with my sinuses. May ring the midwife on Thursday if things don’t improve although I haven’t had a headache since this morning (that’s quite good!).
Wednesday 29th November 2006 Thank the lord my results came back on Saturday and it showed I’m low risk for Downs Syndrome. I know it’s no guarantee but it’s a hurdle that we’ve crossed now. Bump is definitely growing and on Friday last week started to feel Quintus ‘playing’ in my belly! It’s a weird but wonderful feeling – kind of like feeling really nervous but so reassuring that it’s literally alive and kicking in there!! Even Deano was able to feel it the one night which was lovely for him too. Friday night was awful coming home from work. My train was delayed, then only 2 carriages turned up instead of 4 so it was absolutely rammed. Came over very dizzy and thought I was going to pass out on the train so got off at the first stop that I could. I called Deano as soon as I sat down and promptly burst into tears! Trains are really irritating me know and I don’t really know what to do about it. I went to see my sister, Katherine, on Monday evening so I spent a couple of hours with her Simon and the girls which was really lovely. Jessica has died her hair black as she’s definitely her mother’s daughter! Tirion was just hilarious being ‘naked girl’ and She’s also copying my sister by shouting to her dad, “Si!” rather than Daddy! She was then unable to say my name properly, she was calling me Carrot or Auntie Cow and wouldn’t have it that it’s Auntie Caro! She did enjoy having cuddles from Carrot though! Bless my sister though as she’s started knitting the baby a hat and a blanket – Mum had to be sat down when I told her my sister was knitting as Kath has never been able to knit (she does it backwards!). Headaches don’t seem to be as frequent at the moment but I did have one again yesterday but thankfully nothing came of it. I can’t believe that this week I’m 4 months pregnant – time is flying up to Christmas so it will soon be 5 months! Found out today that I am able to have off all of Christmas week plus the Friday before. However, when I told Deano this he told me that he’s in work on Christmas eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. Sucky!
Monday 11th December 2006 Only four days until I get my H15 results, only one week to 20 week scan and only two weeks until Christmas!! Not a lot to report on the Quintus front except he/she likes playing when I’ve been lying down or sat still for a while which is kinda nice for Deano & I. I am also officially giving off the pregnant belly look as people keep commenting on how it’s growing! To get into the Christmas spirit this weekend I put up our decorations, made my cake and watched Santa Claus the movie with Vix which was cool! I feel the need to watch Love Actually and It’s a Wonderful Life to feel really Christmassy. Had some energy return this weekend which meant the house got thoroughly cleaned – hurrah! I’m anxious and excited all at the same time again about next week’s scan. I really, really hope everything is ok as I can’t bear the thought of not being with Quintus I’m too attached now. Is it weird that I love him/her already? Deano is still lush at giving Quintus and I hugs and kisses which is very reassuring particularly when I feel like a mutant and never going to get my waist back!
Dean & I went for our 20 week scan today and we’re relieved that they couldn’t find any anomalies with Baby Magill. We can’t believe how much of a squirmy worm Baby is as it wouldn’t keep still whilst the sonographer was trying to measure it! It fits in though with the fact the Quintus keeps moving about when I’m sitting or lying down – such a lovely feeling at the moment but in a few weeks when it starts kicking me and punching me I’m sure it won’t be so lovely! Whilst the scan was being done we could see one of my blood vessels and baby was using it as it’s very own bouncy castle – most amusing to see! Sex of baby is unconfirmed but we have our suspicions…! On the way back home we popped in to see Alma who showed us the boxes of stuff she’s been collecting for baby – there’s bottles, sleepsuits, shampoo, baby bath, scratch mittens, a photo album, booties and all sorts of cute baby stuff. Being a bit superstitious the boxes will stay at Hayden and Alma’s until much later in the pregnancy. Bless her for putting all this stuff together for her grandchild though – what did I say in an earlier blog about this child being spoiled!!
Dean & I went over my sister’s on Saturday night to celebrate my Mum and Dad’s 40th Wedding Anniversary. We had a lovely evening and Jess and Tirion were certainly entertaining! Wonder if Quintus will turn out like Tiri who is so full of beans I don’t know how my sister and Simon keep up with her! I guess she is 2 so it’s kind of expected. I think my non-maternity jeans will have to be relegated soon as they’re pressing uncomfortably on my uterus now :(
Tuesday 2nd January 2007 2007 is here! The year Baby Magill will be born and I’m really looking forward to meeting the little one though still really anxious as to whether Quintus will come out alright. I guess that’s normal to worry about and that I’ll continue to worry about it until baby is born.
Baby Magill had Christmas pressies which I find a bit mad – obviously pressies came from both sets of grandparents, no surprise there then! Even the Great-grandparents got in on the act by bringing a lovely knitted silk-lined pram blanket over from Ireland. In addition Grandma and Papa Magill have bought Quintus a travel system which is totally awesome. Gonna take me some time to figure out how to use all the features! It was lovely seeing lots of people over Christmas and some very cool news came from the Dave & Annwen camp as they got engaged just before Christmas whilst they were in New York. Exciting! Mark, Jen and Baby Emma were down staying with JC & Vix and Emma is still a great advert for good babies everywhere. Please give us one that’s as good as her!! Deano has some concerns about life postpartum as he doesn’t want his (or our) lives to be all about baby. We just need to be sensible about it though and ensure we still spend time with friends, have alone time with each other and spend quality time with the little one – we just need to find a balance. Sounds simple in theory but I know it will certainly be a challenge! Life is going to change no doubt but we’ll make it work for us. Luckily we have fab family and friends around us who will be the best support group for our family that we could possibly hope for.
Tuesday 9th January 2007 I feel quite huge! Lots of people have been noticing my bump is growing by the day and commenting on it. It’s kind of nice but I’m still wondering if my size figure is lost for good! Must make sure I do my pilates regularly. Someone on the train has even offered me their seat which means it’s now obvious through my coat! Baby Magill is now packing quite a punch which is quite reassuring to know that it’s playing around in there. Appointment has been made to see the midwife in a few weeks so I should receive my MAT B1 certificate so I can tell work when I’ll be starting maternity leave. Checked on best friend Sarah yesterday to find out if there’s any sign of Baby Howell-Jones yet but bless her not yet! Will have to keep a close eye on that one. I have made my hospital bag checklist so I can work out what I’ll need to get together in preparation for packing. Thankfully there’s not too much but I’ll probably start working on it now whilst I’m still feeling pretty mobile. My legs puffed up yesterday which wasn’t particularly pleasant but a nice, relaxing bath and some cooling leg gel seemed to do the trick. Some lovely news came this week – Susie (who was my Chief Bridesmaid) got engaged to Gareth. Our friend Dave asked Deano to be an usher at his wedding in November which is also very cool. Can’t believe how many weddings we’re going to this year – gonna need a lot of outfits!
Monday 29th January 2007 Well, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged! Baby Howell-Jones put in her first appearance on Thursday 11th January and is called Evie Grace. She is very dinky as she only weighed in at 6lbs, bless her! Deano and I have been to see Family Howell-Jones and they were all well. Sarah will be keeping me informed of learning to cope with her new found parent status. Deano has had his head down revising and generally doing brilliant work on his Masters degree – the boy’s got talent so there’s no stopping him! Quintus definitely LOVES the Deano as it springs into action whenever he’s near. It’s really cool and now you can visibly see my belly move whenever the squirmy worm starts beating me! One funny thing happened the other night – I was asleep and cwtched up to Deano and Quinnie was kicking him and keeping him awake. Ha ha ha! We have now bought a few things to prepare for the arrival of Baby Magill. Not particularly glamorous I’m afraid – breast pump, changing mat, top and tail bowl and a blanket! We’ve been wedding suit shopping with JC & Vix for their wedding and helped JC pick out a really lovely choice of outfit for the big day. They’re gonna look lovely. Deano & I went to see Susie on Saturday at her and Gareth’s new pad which is very lovely. Sadly one of their puppies which they can only have had for a few weeks died on the Saturday night having been in intensive care for the 4 days previously. Bless poor Frank. At least Molly the dog seems fit and healthy. My crazy sister has a new edition to her family – Thor the Parrot. Random! I went to see the midwife on Thursday last week and thankfully my blood pressure, urine sample and baby’s heartbeat were all fine. I am a little scared, however, from the chart of growth that is being plotted Baby Magill is looking to be a 9lb10oz monster at full term. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday 6th February 2007 We’re in week 27 which I think means we’re officially into the third trimester of the pregnancy – not too much longer to go now – ish! Baby stuff is now beginning to take over the house as we’ve now got the crib, stuff for feeding, washing and clothing Baby Magill as well as the travel system that has lived here since Christmas. Deano is making a shepherd’s pie to his mum’s recipe for us for tea this evening which is promising to be good. I’ve begun to get indigestion if I eat too late on so food like shepherd’s pie is great for that. I went to see baby Evie last Thursday who is now 7lb and getting to be quite strong. Sarah seems to have had a few issues with her midwife which resulted in her getting an infection – not good. On Saturday I went with Vicky and the other bridesmaids to go bridesmaid dress shopping. All will look lovely and I was very jealous of them all because all of them have waists! I wasn’t feeling too good on Sunday so went back to bed for a bit and bless my lovely Deano he went out grocery shopping for me without even being asked. I’m a lucky girl. I had a couple of interesting things come up today. The first of which being that at the end of February I’ll be joining a car share which means I don’t have to commute on the train in the last few months of pregnancy. The second was that the Area Sales Manager for Halifax in Cardiff wants to meet up with me before I go on maternity leave to discuss the possibility of my getting a role as a Personal Financial Adviser within a branch in Cardiff should a vacancy come up. It’s nice to feel that someone will be interested in me post pregnancy.
Thursday 15th February 2007 I have now had the experience of Braxton Hicks contractions – very weird. I’m really well at the moment and I seem to be needing slightly less sleep. I went to see the midwife again today which went well – my BP was normal, baby’s heart was strong and rhythmical. Yet again was wriggling whilst the midwife was trying to listen to it! Baby Magill now weighs 3lbs – how is that possible!! Crazy (but lovely) Mother-in-Law came bearing more gifts so we now have Milton, more breast pads, a storage bin in the shape of a bear, a V-Tech toy thing (both from the Macken children) and baby monitors!! Deano won on the Premium Bonds, only £50 but that’s all good. His premium bonds were a gift from his grandfather when he was a baby so it seems poignant that his numbers should come up on them again now. I had my legs waxed for the first time on Sunday as I’m rubbish at bending all the way down to my ankles now I have this bump in front of me. I am liking the results and think I may keep doing it after pregnancy. Deano and I had our 10th Valentine’s Day yesterday and we had a low-key but lovely evening in. We had a curry from the Shamrat which was all good. Talking of curries which are all good – we went with JC and Vix to the British Raj on Sunday and had an all you can eat buffet. So good and so full!! Have purchased my first nursing bra and am waiting for it to be delivered. More on that next blog session!
Wednesday 21st February 2007 Nursing bra arrived – it’s weird and not particularly attractive! Can’t believe I need to buy more of these hideous articles! Also bought the nightshirt I’m going to wear for the birth – again another unattractive purchase! On Sunday we had my folks, my sister and the girls over my house for a birthday tea for my mam that was really lovely. Jessica looked really grown up – can’t believe she’s going to be 11 on Saturday. Tirion was really funny and introduced me to ‘Cowbag’ (a rucksack in the shape of a cow) which she takes everywhere apparently! She did make us laugh when JC & Vix came over and she launched herself at them when they came through the door to give their legs a hug. Thing is she’d never met them before! Dave, Annwen and the boys came over Monday night for tea and that was nice too – the boys did really well with their tea and I think they enjoyed playing with Deano’s Star Wars models, although I think they preferred the nutcracker!! Baby Magill is active as hell and has found my ribs. Great! Better her do that though than go quiet as that freaks us out. My iron count came back fine - 11 point something which is good.
Monday 5th March 2007 Week 31 – can hardly believe it. So much has been going on! Car share has started which I feel is giving me my life back as I’ve been getting home about 5:30 and having no stress thinking, “Am I going to get a seat today”. Brilliant! We had a busy weekend with Mark, Jen and baby Emma staying here over the weekend. Emma was so good and I can’t believe how much she’s grown up since I saw her last at New Year. They brought a haul for us as well, like clothes, books and swaddling blanket which was lush. I had my Ranger Reunion meal on Saturday night which was really good. I was quite apprehensive about going but it was really nice to catch up with people that I haven’t seen for 12 years. It’s amazing how little people change and how much people remember! Quinnie is now huge and pressing against my stomach which made me sick during the night last night which really wasn’t very pleasant! I’ve bought some Gaviscon which I hope will do the trick as I haven’t been able to eat anything all day. Deano hasn’t been too well, bless him, with a terrible cough so we’ve both been keeping each other awake at night! Birthday’s aplenty recently with my mum’s, Dean’s dad, Jessica and JC’s all in recent weeks. No party tea for us next weekend though as it’s no-ones birthday – mother’s day and Ric’s birthday the weekend after though!
Wednesday 14th March 2007 I went to see the midwife on Thursday and all was well with Quinnie & I. Baby Magill is about 4lb7ozs now and it does feel like there’s far less room in there now for it to move. Baby has started to do something weird to my belly by favouring the right hand side making me look all lopsided! Most embarrassing that it did it during a meeting yesterday! Also loves kicking me in the ribs which is quite painful at times. Little meanie! Deano and I went to the Midwife Unit at the hospital last night for the Bump to Birth workshop which, quite frankly, terrified me! It went through the phases of labour, pain relief and we were able to see the rooms and birthing pool at the unit. I’m still not sure about the whole birthing pool hoopla but I’m not ruling anything out at this point. Deano was also a little freaked out and is thinking about heading to a Greek island whilst I’m going through labour so he’s not anywhere near me!! Needless to say I had a few choice words to say to him on the matter! I had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions in work which was a bit bizarre but not painful. The baby room is now looking pretty good and Deano put together the crib which was his when he was a baby. There was this strange but lovely feeling that his parents were doing the very same thing 29 years ago – made me a bit sentimental. We’ve made some more purchases for baby – they now have a 4-way baby carrier and 2 Grobag sleeping bags. All of which great deals from Ebay! I’ve got a meeting next Tuesday with the Area Sales Manager for Halifax to discuss my suitability for a Personal Financial Adviser role in Cardiff. Hopefully, something good will come of this meeting so I’ve got my fingers crossed!
Tuesday 20th March 2007 Only a calendar month left in work now so it’s getting closer to handover date. Sarah and baby Evie came round to see us on Saturday – it’s lush seeing Sarah so happy and natural with her new found role as a mum. I only hope I take to it as well as she has. Mother’s day was Sunday - Baby Magill is incredibly talented as it had managed to tell Deano what card to get me, what to write in it and the exact book to get me. Totally lush – I loved Mother-to-be Day and I so love Deano! Both sets of grandparents had stuff to give to us for the baby – this child is so lucky! We were also given an outfit from a friend of Alma’s called Marion who wanted to give us something as she had a lamp which we were throwing out! Bless her, she didn’t need to do that as it was just going to a car boot sale or charity shop. We also got baby some things – a Mamas & Papas bouncer, a mobile and some more bedding. I had my meeting today with Philip Howells from Halifax who’d also brought along a fellow Sales Manager, that threw me a bit. I think they liked me as I’ve been asked to go and spend some time in a branch before a 2nd interview is arranged. It was less of an informal chat than it was a formal panel interview but I think I came across alright. Watch this space I guess.
Friday 30th March 2007 Well the baby bedding washing is all done, I can’t think of anything else we need to buy apart from snacks for Deano so I guess we’re pretty much ready now! I’ll be packing my hospital bag this week. Baby room needs to be finished but that’s not far off now – think Deano will tackle the remainder this weekend though he may well be busy with coursework for Uni as he was last weekend. He’s got to fit in car shopping as well so he’ll be a busy little bee. As long as he has some ‘playtime’ though he’ll be just fine! I went to see the midwife yesterday and that went fine. Had a student do my measurements though and am not entirely convinced that it was correct but if she was right then our little one is now about 6lb 3oz! Blood pressure and urine sample all good. Next time I go I have to have blood taken so they can see if I’m fit enough for labour without having to give me any extra iron, etc. I’ve got so much to do though psychologically before the baby comes – I’ve got my assessment for the PFA role on 12th April so I’ve got some reading to do for that, I’ve yet to do the handover of my job to anyone yet as my boss changed her mind as to who would be looking after things for me whilst I’m on maternity leave, and I’ve got some baby books I want to read before our little bundle arrives. Also, it’s JC’s stag weekend in a couple of week’s time, Susie & Gareth’s engagement party tomorrow night, my dad’s birthday on 13th April, my brother will be coming to stay for a couple of days after JC’s weekend and I’ve got the assessment centre which I need to go well. So much is happening before our due date it’s a heady whirl! I just need to make sure I don’t get stressed out now as I don’t want the baby to be affected by my stress levels. Another thing I’m looking forward to doing is planning what we’re going to do with our back garden but I’ll probably leave that until I’ve finished work. It is feeling more and more like the end is in sight and Deano and I absolutely can’t wait to meet our little one so that’s really keeping me going. I had an interesting day today spent observing a Halifax Financial Adviser – I think I could do it but I need to re-hone my skills to be able to give advice. There are some things I’m quite happy that I’ll have the adequate skills for, e.g., talking to customers and building strong relationships with other branch colleagues (which can be crucial to being successful). The product side of things I should be able to learn and they seem quite straight forward from the sounds of it. It’s weird that more and more people (that I don’t know) are asking me how much longer I’ve got left until the baby is due whereas before they would ask how far gone I was – just a little observation of mine! I’m still feeling good though and in fairness I’ve not been too bad with indigestion which I know plagues many an expectant mum. Tonight curry is on the menu! Mmm, curry…!
How much chocolate is in the house?!!! I think we may be having a chocolate baby! Even before Easter I was a bit of a chocolate fiend as I’d ‘stolen’ some of Deano’s chocolate. Like his mini eggs, the last of his selection box and there’s probably been more than that if I really think about it. I have bought him a curry to make up for the mini eggs but don’t think I’ve repaid him for the choccies from his selection box! Deano & I were meant to be going over Hayden & Alma’s for Sunday lunch but sadly Hayden isn’t very well :( Alma has brought lunch around for us though so we’re cooking and she’ll come back later to collect! Best laid plans and all that… My offering was going to be cornflake cakes with mini eggs on top – how old am I?! It’s hardly cordon-bleu, but it’s fun and tasty. Baby has had Easter presents as well from Papa and Grandma – some cute knitted cardies, bibs and a duck sleepsuit with matching hat! Hospital bags are all packed now so we’re ready to go when Quinnie tells us it’s time. Deano has a new car which is very Quintus-friendly (a 2003 Mondeo turbo diesel), we need to fit one of the car seats we’ve got so that Deano can drive baby and I home from hospital. Saw Josie this week which was cool as I’ve not seen her in a while. Her first words to me were, “Oh my god, you’re huge… and blonde!” Ha ha ha! We’ve also had Vicky over this weekend as JC is away at an event. Deano made us a kick-ass curry Friday night (recipe courtesy of next door neighbour, Himali) which we’ll have to have again really soon as it was sooo good! I’m now at the point where I’m longing to know that our little one is going to come out healthy – I’m not looking forward to labour (obviously) but I just want to know our baby is okay. We both can’t wait to meet it! Well, Deano and I have some work to do today. Deano needs to work on his essay and I need to prepare for my assessment centre on Thursday. As soon as that’s out of the way I can relax. I don’t think Deano can though as he’s got more coursework and exams to do before the Quinster comes. Poor dab. Mam & Dad are coming over later which will be nice. They gave me vouchers for Christmas as I wanted to have a pair of bay trees to go either side of the front door, however in December it’s not a good time to be buying those sorts of things. Well, I have managed to spend the vouchers now but I didn’t end up getting bay trees, I went for a pair of buxus topiary shrubs instead. I’m looking forward to showing Mum and Dad their pressie to me when they come over.
Sunday 15th April 2007 Well this past week has flown by and I only have one more week left in work – woohoo! I had my assessment centre on Thursday which went better than I thought it would do but I’m not counting on having done well in it. Did my best though so that’s all I could’ve done. Deano was away this weekend for JC’s stag weekend in Manchester which sucked as I missed him a ridiculous amount! Whilst he was away though I went out with Mam and Dad for a meal for Dad’s birthday, went and confirmed the details with the florist with Vix and then had a good chat over a Starbucks and then had Emma over last night for a Chinese and dvd. I was meant to have seen Sarah this morning but I had terrible diarrhea through the night and it didn’t stop until 11am. Mean! I think my body may well be preparing for labour as I don’t feel ill and I don’t think it was anything I’d eaten. Maybe I was just lovesick for Deano! My brother has come back with Deano so he’ll be staying with us for the rest of the week. He dropped a bombshell on me though this evening by telling me he’s getting a motorbike soon! I’m sure lots of people have motorbikes and don’t have accidents but that won’t make me worry about him any less. Deano & I were supposed to go out for our anniversary on Thursday as we don’t know what the situation with Baby Magill will be – will it be here/not here, etc. However, I felt rubbish on the night, my legs had swollen up and I had major back and pelvis pain. We just had a Shamrat instead, but that was still nice.
Monday 23rd April 2007 I went to see my sister and the girls last week which was nice. Tirion was trying to see the baby in my belly so she lifted up my top, looked very confused and said, “Baby Gone?” So cute! Jess looked lush and quite grown up with her new bob but sadly Kath wasn’t very well. Hopefully she’s feeling much better now. Today is my first day of maternity leave and I have to say it’s probably not been a typical day! I found out last week that I’d been successful in securing the financial adviser role with Halifax so I went to meet my new boss this morning to discuss salary, where I’ll be based and when I’ll start. All of this is pretty much up in the air at the moment though as he’s not sure where the next vacancy will appear. Watch this space I guess! The feedback he gave me from the assessment centre was really good so I’m feeling quite chuffed with myself! Last week saw my last week in work and it was quite strange as it’s not for certain that I’ll be returning there after hearing about the job at Halifax. The management team got me a picture frame and room thermometer in a fancy Winnie the Pooh design, my team got me vouchers for Oasis so I can spend them when (and if) I get my figure back and Michelle got me some lovely flowers and silver earrings so I feel well and truly spoiled! Poor Deano has had so much to do this past week with Uni work but thankfully he’s got the main bit out of the way. We’re going to have a nice night in this evening over pizza and we’re going to watch Casino Royale – I’m really looking forward to it. Deano bought me curry on Saturday to celebrate my new job success and we had a lovely time. (Well my brother’s gone back home now so Deano and I have returned to usual food eating habits – always a struggle finding things that my brother likes as he doesn’t eat many of our staple meals.) My visit to the midwife last week did not go brilliantly as Baby Magill’s growth plotted higher than the top growth line of my chart again – I’ve to go back to see her this week to check this and if it’s still above then I’ll be referred for an ultrasound. Apparently, there’s more chance of an obstructed labour if it’s too big for me. I don’t particularly want a caesarian but if that’s what it’ll take to deliver my (not so) little one then it’s something I’ve got to do. I’m trying not to think about it too much and I’m sure Quinnie is fine. I have been saying my prayers though this week to ask for baby to be here fit and well. Deano and I aren’t getting too anxious though as that won’t help. I’m not even feeling remotely like Baby Magill is going to put in an appearance soon – knowing my luck it’ll be a couple of weeks late!
Monday 30th April 2007
My first week of maternity leave I kept myself busy and I’ve begun to enjoy it now which I wasn’t the earlier part of last week. I went to see the midwife on Thursday and thankfully the little one measured far more normally so there was no need for me to be referred for a scan. However, I had glucose present in my urine which is probably down to the Milkybar easter egg that I scoffed last Wednesday night! To be on the safe side though the midwife has said I’m to avoid sugar this Wednesday so that I should (hopefully) get a clear urine test this Thursday. Deano & I had such a lush weekend. Friday night we went out for pizza and had Chicken Supreme with jalapenos that Deano didn’t think was spicy enough for me so piled on the crushed chillies in an effort to get Quinnie moving! We then went over to see Hayden & Alma as we hadn’t seen Hayden for quite a while. We watched a montage of home movies starting with Alma when she was a girl right up to Dean’s christening. It’s really cool that they’ve got a record of some poignant moments in their lives – I don’t think my folks have anything like that which is a shame. Saturday we had to go to the garage to have a few things on Dean’s car sorted, then we went looking a bicycles for him so he is now the proud owner of a new push bike! So far he’s been out for a ride each day and has discovered a really nice local lake for us to walk the baby round. There had been mention of a picnic at Roath Park but time was pushing on so we had some Asda sandwiches in the car down Cardiff Bay. Not quite the romantic picnic we had planned but we were together so that’s all that mattered! When we got back home Deano fitted the car seats so both our cars are ready for the arrival of the little one. We rounded the evening off with the lovely jeera chicken curry recipe of Himali’s which always goes down well. Sunday we didn’t do a huge amount but I managed to cook lunch whilst Deano put up the blind I bought for the dining room. Great team effort! I know the weekend doesn’t sound terribly exciting but it was just lovely being with Deano and we savoured the possibility that it was our last baby free weekend. I’ve not got too much planned for the week ahead, I ran some errands today and JC is coming over for tea this evening, I’m meeting Sarah & Evie tomorrow, Wednesday Deano & I are going out with Ads & Debbie, Thursday I’ve got the midwife and Josie’s stopping by for a cuppa and then Friday it’s our 5th wedding anniversary (where does the time go?!). I’ve bought Dean’s pressie and I’m praying that it’s ok, I’ve no idea what I would like so I’m sure I’m doing his head in! Possibly something nice from Tiffany & Co but I’m not really sure what I’d like!
Sunday 6th May 2007 Well the week came and went as planned above and I had a good time. Deano liked his digital camcorder that I gave him for our anniversary so that’s a bit of a relief. We had a nice bath together and a lush curry so we had a lovely time on our anniversary. I demolished the Maltesers Deano gave me in pretty swift order – no change there then! Maltesers is not my actual anniversary gift in case you’re wondering! Deano also bought me gorgeous lilies and will take me on a shopping spree when my have some idea what my postpartum size will be. At my appointment with the midwife on Thursday there was nothing exciting to report – no real change from the week before but at least my urine sample showed no glucose this time. Baby Magill still needs to drop quite a bit but that could happen during labour itself. Due date is tomorrow but I don’t think there’s anyway our little one is going to see it – more likely to be the week after which is a bit annoying. Deano & I just want our baby here now, even though all of a sudden I’m petrified of dying during childbirth and not ever getting to see him/her. I’m trying all the things that are suggested to bring baby along but all to no avail (sigh), I know it’ll come when it’s good and ready – it’s obviously got far too comfy in there! Anyway, all being well I hope the next time I blog Baby Magill will be here, will have a name of his/her own and Deano & I will be parents! Fingers crossed that it happens soon. I’ve not got a lot planned for the week ahead as I was kind of expecting
to have a little person to entertain but I’m sure I’ll keep myself occupied.
There are some cupboards that could do with cleaning!
Monday 14th May 2007 I can’t believe that there’s still no sign of Baby Magill. I’m convinced it’s a girl now and that she’s busy in there doing her hair and makeup or practicing being fashionably late for social functions! At the appointment with the midwife all was well with both of us and the baby still only 3/5ths engaged. The midwife will be coming this Wednesday to do a stretch and sweep to encourage my cervix to start contracting. If that doesn’t work then I’ll be booked in to be induced no later than day 13 after the estimated due date (I think that’s Sunday). So, no matter what by this time next week our baby will be here – woohoo! I’m getting loads of Braxton Hicks contractions, nesting instinct has well and truly kicked in and I’ve been more hormonal as I was quite irrationally upset on Saturday that nothing was happening but I’m feeling positive again now. I’m not entirely sure but I think that the mucous plug (nice!) is starting to break down as there have been some jelly-like consistency appearances when I’ve gone to the bathroom. The weekend was good – Mark, Jen and Baby Emma were down to stay with Jon & Vix so we spent a fair amount of time together. Also, Annwen and the kids were down with Dave so the 11 of us went out for Sunday lunch which was scrumptious! It was a shame that Quinnie hadn’t arrived for them to meet with the little one. Hopefully, the Bateman family will be coming down the first weekend in June so they’ll get to meet then. I’m baking a cake as I write this which seems very Stepford-Wife of me. As my mum says, “it’s a sign that you’ve not long to go when you start baking cakes or feeling the urge to turn out a cupboard. At the very least you’ll have a nice cake and tidy cupboard!” Again, I’ve not got a lot planned for this week but at least I know something will be happening. All of a sudden I’m freaking out about labour – how the hell am I gonna get through that and will Deano disappear off to Greece??!!
Friday 25th May 2007 SHE’S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ilyssa May Magill was born on Thursday 17th May 2007 at 8:50am weighing in at 7lb 15.5ozs. Labour was short and sweet thank god! I had 'period pains' after having a stretch and sweep done by the midwife on the Wednesday morning so thought nothing much of it. Deano had a Safety Day which he was going to be presenting and would have to get up early on the Thursday to go and sort things out there. We decided to go to bed early (about 11:30pm) to try and get a good night’s sleep. From about midnight I was getting twinges every 10 minutes but I was ignoring them and trying to sleep. About 2am Dean’s car alarm went off twice which we thought just typical when he needed his sleep. Then, my waters broke in spectacular fashion all over our new mattress at 4am so we called the hospital to let them know and to get some advice as to what we should do (about the fact I was in labour, not what to do about the mattress!!). They said it could help to take some paracetamol, walk around, take a shower, sip on water, etc., and to give them a ring in 12 hours to let them know how things were progressing. As I didn’t really believe I was in labour (I thought it was false labour) Dean tried to go to sleep on the sofa whilst I was in and out of the toilet and trying to walk when I wasn’t on the toilet but it was very painful. I asked Dean to walk with me but he replied, “I’m zonked and need to get some sleep!” I was fine with this as I still believed he would be going to work as the midwives drum it into you not to go to the hospital too early and as I said I thought I was in false labour. I thought I’d try having a shower which was an interesting experience. I only got as far as washing the shampoo out of my hair and decided that I couldn’t stay in there any longer. I started bleeding bright red blood soon after though and it frightened me so I called the hospital again whilst Dean was asleep and they said if I was worried that I should come in to be assessed - this was about 6:15am. I woke Deano up, we got ready (meaning we both just threw some clothes on) and we put the bags in the car and got to the hospital at 7am. After what seemed like the longest walk of my life from the car park to the concourse in the hospital Dean decided to get me a wheelchair so that he could zoom me up to Maternity Admissions. When we arrived there they checked my pad first of all and thankfully it was just a bloody show rather than a blood loss to be really concerned about - at this point I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. They then listened to the baby's heart rate and each time I was having a contraction her heart rate slowed down so they decided that I needed to go to the Consultant Led Unit rather than the Midwife Led Unit so that they could continue to monitor the baby as apparently they don't use continuous monitoring on the MLU. The midwife then checked me and was shocked to see I was 7cm dilated so she soon got me some gas and air! Whilst they were still monitoring the baby and organising my transfer upstairs to the Consultant Led Unit I felt the need to push - Deano went to let the midwife know and they whisked me upstairs. Deano asked if he should go and get our hospital bags and they said no, he shouldn't go anywhere! The midwives were great and Dean was so supportive and brilliant that by 8:50am Ilyssa was born. Amazingly, my downstairs area survived intact! I’ve got a bit of a graze but that’s about it so I feel like I got away with it lightly. I had to stay in overnight with Ilyssa as she wasn’t feeding properly.
However, she got the hang of sucking on the Friday and we were able to come
home at 4pm. We're a week down the road now and life is an endless circle of feeding, burping, changing and cuddling the little one and I have no idea if what I'm doing is right! Visitors come and go and it all seems like a bit of a blur. I am persevering with breast feeding but I can understand why people give up as you can feel a bit of a prisoner to it. I’ve managed to get out a couple of times on my own but not for any length of time before needing to come back and feed Ilyssa. It’s really difficult getting around to things when you’re in this
zombie-like state but I’m slowly getting there. I need to sort out our birth
announcement cards ASAP as I’m very aware we haven’t sent out any ‘Thank
You’ cards for all the wonderful presents and acts of kindness that we’ve
had from people. Emotions are obviously a bit of a rollercoaster but I do feel that we've been incredibly blessed. I’ve been anxious about various things like is she feeding ok, why hasn’t she pooed yet, what is she crying about, etc., so I’m trying to read as much around the subjects as I can as this tends to offer me some reassurance. Deano again is brilliant at pep-talking me whenever I’ve got a bit tearful. He’s such a great Dad and I’m so proud that this is my family. I still can’t believe she’s ours and I’m so happy that we get to keep her!
Monday 11th June 2007 Lots has happened in this time - Sarah managed to burn herself horrendously by knocking a cup of coffee into her lap and had to receive daily treatment at the Burns Unit at Morriston Hospital, Swansea. Thankfully, baby Evie was well away from the coffee so she was safe and sound. Sarah is now making a good recovery. I managed to injure myself too by falling face first onto a radiator whilst putting away Ilyssa’s activity gym and putting my tooth through my bottom lip. Had to have dental treatment as I managed to crack and chip my tooth – all of this just 10 minutes before the South Wales Echo photographer was coming round to take Dean, Ilyssa and my photo for the birth announcements. The article was not what I expected as it was a huge article taking up most of the page and the photographer airbrushed my bleeding lip so that I looked (vaguely) normal! Ilyssa and Deano look fab in it though. Deano and I have been out on a date together without Ilyssa to celebrate the fact he’s finished his 2nd year of his Masters. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do going out without her but she was in safe hands with her Grandma. There were a few tears from me but I was soon enjoying going out as a couple. Dean’s back at work now so I’ve been getting used to looking after the little one without having another pair of hands, and I have to admit that it’s not so easy! I have given up breastfeeding now as Ilyssa is a hungry Magriller!! I just couldn’t keep up with her. It was earlier than I’d wanted to, but it coincided quite well with the fact that I was going away on Saturday for Vicky’s Hen Night at Center Parcs so would be taking my boobs with me too! Ilyssa seems far happier now she’s on formula, it means Deano can get involved more now and I get a lot more freedom. My boobs went like rocks though and were leaking like mad but the worst of that appears to be over. Vicky’s Hen Night was good fun and I think it did me the world of good to rediscover ‘me’. It meant that I was able to recharge my batteries and come back home more relaxed. Of course I missed Deano and Ilyssa but it was only one night and I’m glad that I did this when she’s still so new – I think it would only get harder the longer you leave doing something like that so at least it should be easier the next time something comes up where I have to go away. Deano of course coped admirably though I’m not sure what kept him up more in the early hours of Sunday – Ilyssa needing to be fed or his car alarm going off (no the car hasn’t been checked yet!). Well, I have never felt less attractive in all my life – I’m still bleeding, my boobs leak, I’m at least a stone overweight, my hair needs a cut and colour, I’ve got a fat lip and my tooth doesn’t look quite how it used to and to top it all I think I’ve got piles!! If Deano can love me and fancy me whilst I’m like this then I’m a very lucky girl indeed!
Wednesday 20th June 2007 Ilyssa is now smiling! In particular she loves smiling at her daddy which makes me feel a bit left out as she doesn’t smile at me so much. It made me melt last Friday when it was really obvious that she was actually smiling voluntarily. She’s also becoming a lot more aware generally now so she’s a bit more ‘fun’ and she loves sitting propped up on the corner of the sofa! She’s doing really well and at her last weigh in she came in at 8lbs 11ozs, so she’s probably around 9lbs now. She’s beginning to grow out of some of the smaller Newborn size clothes so I’m going to have to think about boxing some of her things up ready for the next baby?!! I’m glad she’s putting on weight though, as recently she’s been being horribly sick. Touch wood, she’s not been sick the last 3 days so hopefully that problem has gone. As for me I’m recovering well as I’m no longer leaking and my piles treatment seems to be doing the trick! We’ll both be checked out by the doctor on 5th July. It was Deano’s birthday on the weekend and we had a barbeque at the house which was a sedate affair but I think he enjoyed himself. The pressies that Ilyssa and I got for him seemed to go down well so I feel we did pretty good. It was also Father’s Day which meant that Deano, Hayden, my dad and Papa all needed cards from Ilyssa and of course pressies! Deano and I have noticed that the 17th of some months has been quite poignant. For example, we decided to try for a baby on 17th June last year and the same date this year we were celebrating Father’s Day. Ilyssa was also exactly 1 month old on Father’s Day. When we were trying for a baby August 17th was the date of my LH surge and exactly 9 months later Ilyssa was born! I now know that I’m not going back to work at Clerical Medical as my new boss called to say he would like me to start end of July/beginning of August. Watch this space. We’re getting out and about quite a bit now which is so much easier as Ilyssa’s bottle fed. Alma has been able to baby sit for us a couple of times so Deano and I went out for a meal together on our own and again with Adam and Debbie last night. It’s quite nice being able to be our old selves and not just our new persona as parents. It’s great that Alma has looked after Ilyssa for us but I don’t want her to think we’re taking advantage of her. Not that she would think that as I know she loves any opportunity to be with her grandchild. I think that Alma and I have become a lot closer since I’ve been on maternity leave and it’s nice that I get on so well with my mother in law. Some really irritating things have happened recently though – our washing machine bit the dust on Thursday and what’s the most upsetting is that I’ve lost the diamond out of my engagement ring :( I need to check our contents insurance to see if I can claim.
Thursday 6th September 2007 I’m ashamed of myself because I’ve not blogged since June! In my defence, so much has been going - on looking after Ilyssa and returning to work. Little Ilyssa May is doing so, so well and she’s now 12lb 8oz but still in 0-3 months size clothes. She had her 3rd set of injections today but thankfully she’s ok. Ilyssa is ridiculously smiley – it’s as if she’s swallowed a coat hanger! She’s now able to grab things with both hands and her hand eye co-ordination is coming on well. She’s got a lovely little giggle and I can’t stop looking at her and smiling. Deano is a fantastic father and adores her soooo much – I love seeing them together. They have a special song – Twinkle, twinkle little star – which never fails to cheer her up whenever she’s grouching. She’s teething, bless her, so she chews on anything and everything within her grasp (usually her hands or my hair!). Everyday she’s getting stronger and I don’t think it’ll be too long before she’ll be able to sit up by herself. She absolutely loves standing up and her door bouncer is always a winner with her. Ilyssa’s favourite toys are: Flo her dolly, Cecil the caterpillar book, Tigger on her activity mat, Hugh Heffalump and her new ladybird book. The furthest Ilyssa has been is Center Parcs with daddy and she so loved the pool. She looked so cute in her little bathers and orange inflatable seat! She’s now full time at Grandma’s and she gets on well with the other kids. In fact she’s off to Eiriana’s 5th birthday party on Saturday – social butterfly that she is! The housework has somewhat gone to pot since my return to work but I’m sure that’ll get better when I’ve finished my exams. We’re starting to plan what to get her for Christmas so I’ll be compiling a wish list for her very soon. I promise to blog more regularly so expect more next week in the run up to Jon & Vicky’s wedding.
Sunday 23rd September 2007 Well JC & Vix’s wedding has come and gone and a fabulous day was had by all. Both bride and groom looked fantastic on the day and Deano’s Best Man’s speech was very entertaining though he struggled to get through it towards the end as he was getting choked up – the pineapple that he is!! Speaking of JC, I omitted to mention in earlier entries that Ilyssa dribbled into Jon’s mouth one day when he was playing ‘Superbaby’ with her – gross yet he still loves her! Ilyssa May has been an absolute joy this weekend and that’s a good job as poor Deano is suffering with a rubbish cold. Hopefully he’ll feel better by the morning as he has another Journey Day (yes, they’re still going on). Ilyssa has also had a bit of a cold this week but nowhere near as nasty as her dad’s thankfully. She’s now 18 weeks old going on 19 weeks and getting stronger every day. She’s still not quite sitting up on her own but she’s very nearly there. Ilyssa has great fun with Emma (Bateman) last Sunday and found her every word hilarious, although Emma must have said something Ilyssa found offensive this one time as she slapped poor Emma across the face! I have now passed all my exams at work which I’m really pleased about and it’s actually meant that I’ve had a whole weekend when I’ve not had to revise. The housework has definitely benefited from that! I’m off with the little one tomorrow too which will be an added bonus. We went to see Sarah and Baby Evie yesterday, Evie was a bit under the weather though so not quite herself. Sarah seemed quite down, I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that she’s back in work now and missing her little girl. She’s looking forward to cutting back on her workload and going part-time. I went a bit bonkers on things for Ilyssa this week as I bought her a lovely outfit with tights as it’s getting colder in the mornings now, a coat, shoes, mittens and a cute hat. She’s gonna look lush! Also picked her up a book and some sleepsuits. She’s still in 0-3 months size clothes even though she’s 4 months old now! She’s quite dinky but she’s got long legs – that’s something I’ve never had. She’s so her father’s daughter!
Monday 1st October 2007 I’ve been off since last Wednesday and have had such a lovely time just playing wife and mother for the last few days. Ilyssa has been such a little treasure and we’ve done loads! I took her to Baby Clinic last Wednesday morning and met the new health visitor who was super pleased with how our girl is coming along. Ilyssa now weighs 13lbs 4oz and is following the line on her chart nicely. I spoke to the Health Visitor about weaning the little one and she’s happy for me to do so. Plan at the moment is to start on Saturday as I’ll be off then for 2 weeks which should give us all chance to adjust. I can hardly wait for our kitchen to be redecorated in 20 seconds flat by one small pot of Petit Filous! After clinic Ilyssa and I went to town to pick up Halo 3 for Deano (yes, I am an Xbox widow again) and birthday pressies for Sarah & Annwen. Thursday we met my sister & Tirion in Cribbs Causeway and had a lovely time. Ricky & Kate were down on the weekend so it was great to see them too. Ilyssa has started blowing raspberries! Really quite amusing to us but it’s a good stage of her development for formation of speech. She’s also moving about quite a bit more now and loves trying to ‘help’ holding her bottle when feeding her! I had a bit of a cry last night as Lyss did a face that was so my nan! I’m sad that nan’s not here to meet her but as weird as this may sound I feel like she’s here again which is lovely as I’ve not seen her for 17 years. I know, I know I sound bonkers but it’s how I feel. God I’m welling up again now just thinking about it. I’m off to Leeds on Wednesday until Friday this week which is a bit mean but Team Magill will come through!
Saturday 13th October 2007 (2am – up now as I’m not v. well) Well Leeds for me wasn’t so bad –same cannot be said for poor Deano though! Ilyssa became the girl who didn’t want to go to bed, work was a nightmare for him and his car broke down on the motorway, bless him! We’re both now suffering with really annoying colds, which thankfully Ilyssa hasn’t caught (yet!). Week one of Ilyssa on solids was absolutely hilarious. We started her off with baby rice which is white like her formula so it isn’t too messy , The same cannot be said of carrot however, which made her look like a baked bean after only 2 spoonfuls on Tuesday! I couldn’t stop laughing when she actually said, “Bleugh!” and started retching. The faces she pulls when she’s having food are most amusing, but at least she’s not pushing the food away. She seems to like pureed apple though and is still getting used to her training cup which she has her juice from. Today she’ll be having solids at 2 mealtimes rather than just the one. Ilyssa’s array of sounds is increasing by the day and it is sounding like she says, “Hiya.” She was able to stand unaided on a couple of occasions by supporting herself on her chair at Grandma’s and up against Evie’s activity desk. She’s far too small to be able to do that, but she can - the strong little thing! The most bizarre news of the week is that Deano has been asked by work to go to India for a week!!! Awesome opportunity for him and definitely one he can’t pass up even though I’m also going to be away in Leeds again that week. Don’t panic – Ilyssa will be staying at her Grandma’s house so we know she’ll be well looked after and treated like a princess! I’ve got one more week off left before I go to Leeds for 3 weeks and Deano will be joining me at home from Thursday so we can have some really good quality family time which I’m really looking forward to. Ah well, best get myself to bed again and try not to wake Ilyssa up with my sniffing and coughing. Lovely!
Sunday 18th November 2007 Well Deano didn’t need to go to India as the trip has been postponed which was good for us in reality. My 3 week stint in Leeds has come and gone and it was very difficult for the 3 of us, but it was definitely made easier by the help Dean’s folks were able to give us. Whilst I was away Ilyssa got her first 2 teeth through – just in time for Halloween so she was nicknamed ‘Fang’ for a little bit! Though she was always lovely, Ilyssa gave Deano hell some nights waking up at 4 – 5 am. Thankfully we seem to be getting through that phase now. Dave and Annwen got married whilst I was away and it’s totally mad to think that Dave is now a husband and father! Ilyssa was 6 months old yesterday – where has the time gone?! In some ways it feels like she’s been here forever but mostly it’s just flown by. As she hit the half year mark it meant that she spent her first night in her cot in her own room and she did really well bless her cotton socks! She’s eating solids pretty well now and porridge is a definite favourite! She’s having 3 meals a day now and she’s doing well. The Health Visitor was happy with her progress when Alma took her to clinic on Thursday and our little girl now weighs 14lb 10ozs so she’s still quite dinky really. Ilyssa is a regular action woman now and it takes ages to dress her as she’s busy rolling off to wherever she sees something that interests her. Shiny stuff is a definite attraction for her! She’s loads better at sitting up unaided and can push herself up on all fours now albeit briefly. Won’t be long until she’s able to crawl so we’ll need eyes in the back of our heads! We love Ilyssa’s personality – she’s really smiley and chatty. She often says ‘Dada’, ‘Mama’ and ‘Alma’ now which can just make us melt. Our washing machine has died so we’re waiting for our new one to come Tuesday – can’t wait! We so need a washing machine, particularly now that Lys is on solids – it’s impossible to keep her clean so she goes through clothes like nobody’s business! Ilyssa has a new toy, a maraca, which she love, love, loves! At the moment our girl is snoring away on her Dad’s lap as content as can be and they look so lovely together. I love my family!
Wednesday 28th November 2007 We have a washing machine and it’s awesome! Sorry – had to put that in! Our little girl is doing well but the new challenge is getting Ilyssa to sleep properly through the night. She’s been waking up out of habit at ridiculous o’clock which is tough for us when we’re working. We’re doing the controlled crying technique and she does seem to be getting there. She is action woman extraordinaire though and today she propelled herself out of her ‘inflatable doughnut’ which helps her to sit up. Thankfully she was fine. She’s got a cut on her head at the moment following an ‘incident’ with Jo and a box of Christmas crackers yesterday! It was a total accident and our girl is fine – I think Jo was more upset bless her! Work has been tough – it’s really tough being observed day in day out for 3 weeks and it’s been a steep learning curve. Thankfully, I don’t think I’ve made too much of an idiot of myself! I’m really looking forward to starting in Newport on Monday out on my own and I’m happy with the target I’ve been given for December. Due to a restructure that was announced yesterday I’m not sure who my manager will be in the new year so that feels a bit weird. Deano has been a busy, busy boy and we’re both absolutely knackered! I think Deano really needs a holiday, hopefully he’ll have a decent amount of time off over Christmas so he’ll have chance to relax and unwind. We’ve both been getting back late from work recently and it makes us feel really guilty as parents as we’re not able to spend the time we’d like to spend with the little one. Alma has been great for not being annoyed with us picking Ilyssa up late. My poor girl is crying at the moment – Deano’s just put her to bed and she’s less than impressed about it! Her dad’s just gone in to see if she wants some milk and it appears to be doing the trick – fingers crossed!
Wednesday 2nd January 2008 Well the year of our lord 2008 has arrived! I can’t believe that I didn’t blog once in December, but it was so busy I didn’t find time to do it – naughty girl that I am! I’ve started my new job properly in my own branch – unfortunately I missed target for the month which I am absolutely gutted about as I was doing all I could to get the business in, I just didn’t get to see enough people. I’m going to work my socks off in 2008 though and try to build myself a good structure and really try to fit in well at the branch and hopefully it will all work out. Deano was finding work quite stressful and has been putting in a fair amount of extra hours so it was great that he had time off over the holidays, so we were able to regroup and enjoy our little family unit.
The 3 of us had a lovely time together over the holidays and Ilyssa has been a bit of a ‘mummy’s girl’ wanting lots of hugs, kisses and attention from me which I’ve been more than willing to give to her. I really felt like we re-bonded so I don’t feel so much like a bad mother as I’ve been able to spend quality time with her. I normally feel really guilty about being a working mum who only usually gets to see her girl first thing in the morning and last thing before she goes to bed. Ilyssa was spoiled like you would not believe on Christmas Day – sooooo many presents! She didn’t really know what to make of it all and I have no idea where it’s all gonna go! She wasn’t really herself though on Christmas Day as she was teething so she was a bit grouchy but still quite a smiley little thing. My favourite Christmas pressie was a black and white photograph in a lovely dark wooden frame that Deano took a while ago of Ilyssa’s shoes all lined up against her dresser and the lighting is absolutely perfect in the shot. It was a really personal present and it brought a tear to my eyes – how lame am I?! That said, for me, spending time with Deano & Ilyssa was what made Christmas for me. New Year’s Eve saw a nice little gathering at ours of JC, Vix, Susie,
Prosser, Mark, Jen and a sleeping baby Emma. We ate, drank and were merry
and had great fun playing ‘Rapidough’ which is like Pictionary done with
play-dough. Unfortunately, the boys won so the girls need to raise their
game next time round. Will have to hope that Ilyssa will be artistic and
creative so that the girls of the future will win out! My New Year’s Resolutions are (in no particular order!):
In other words in 2008 I am going to become SUPERWOMAN!! Think I can’t do it? - well I’m going to do my very best! By the way - happy new year!
Tuesday 15th January 2008 Well I’ve made a start on my New Year’s resolutions in that I joined Weightwatchers this evening and I’m going to classes with Jon & Vicky so that covers resolutions 1 & 4. I’m also blogging 13 days after I last did which isn’t too bad! Resolution 6 is something I like to think I’m always doing but number 3 definitely needs work! As for hitting target at work I’m doing the best I can there at the moment. I’m missing my girl today as I’ve not seen her since getting her ready before leaving for work this morning. I guess Tuesdays might often be like this now that I’m off to Weightwatchers. I’m 10st 11lbs and my goal weight is 9st 6lbs so fingers crossed that I get there soon – my hope is to get to 10st by Ilyssa’s 1st birthday in May. Ilyssa now has 4 teeth (top 2 have a gap between them just like me - poor thing) and I think I can see another incisor coming through. She is pulling herself up to standing now and nothing is safe! There’s a trailer on Paramount at the moment for a stand up show by the comedian, Lee Evans, and every time it comes on Ilyssa giggles! I have no idea why but it’s in exactly the same place each time – the little weirdo! She pulls her hands up to cover her eyes to play ‘peepo’ with us which is dead cute. Last night the little minx didn’t go to sleep until 10:30!! I’m not sure if it was anything to do with her teething but she was a fizzy as a bottle of pop all night! Cow & Gate Frutapura desserts are an absolute winner with Ilyssa so it’s nice to know she loves fruit. She’s been having more finger food and is getting used to feeding herself which is great to see. Deano has been working hard covering his boss recently so he’s been getting in late quite often and having to take calls from work over the weekend. I know we’ve only just had Christmas but I think a break away would do him the world of good. I may need to organise something even if it’s just for a weekend. My dad is still off work due to his blood pressure – the improved reading today was 151 over 100 which sounds a bit steep to me! It may well end up being that he doesn’t get to go back to work at all considering he’s retiring in April. Speaking of retirement, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before that Ilyssa already has a pension! I’m only putting in £20 pm into it at the moment but it’s there working for her. I’m proud that as a parent I can ensure she’s always got money for now, money that she can spend soon, money for a few years down the line and money in her retirement. I’m not saying that it’s vast sums but it’s a great structure for her to have in place and when she’s older she can take things over. Ilyssa’s favourite things now are Tigger toy or one of her high top boots to distract her whilst she’s on her changing mat, her Fisher Price pull along telephone, stacking cups for the bath and her dry set of stacking cups for the lounge, her maracas, shiny stuff and wires for some bizarre reason!
WARNING! DEANO BLOG ENTRY – Tuesday 29th January 2008 Since Caroline has failed to blog for a fortnight I thought I’d make a quick entry myself. So here goes… It has become apparent to me that girls are genetically programmed to be the way they are. Understand that I’m not being mean or at least not intentionally. Ilyssa is exhibiting all the non-physical signs of being a girl. She has a very strange obsession with shoes, so strange in fact that at times they are the only things that will keep her still we’re when trying to change her. She loves anything shiny and will try to get her hands on whatever it is as quickly as possible! She is also completely nuts and beyond any logic that I can grasp, but maybe that’s just a baby thing…maybe. Still, she’s as cute as hell and I can see that she’s gonna cost me a fortune! (Yet another girly trait!!!!!) Couple of other milestones:
Wednesday 6th February 2008 Back to normality again rather than guest entries by the Deano! Not a huge amount to report really – Ilyssa is doing well, she weighed in at 16lb 9ozs at clinic on Thursday. The Health Visitor, Debbie, was really pleased with her progress and says she’s quite forward so of course we’re proud parents! I’ve joined Weightwatchers and so far I’ve lost 4lbs – only 14 more lbs to go to get to goal! Ilyssa has said “Tigger” a couple of times now which we thought was pretty cool! Some scary news this week in that Deano’s father managed to have an accident on the M4 and has written of his and another person’s car – thank god, Hayden managed to get away near enough unscathed. Just a bit of bruising to his ribs from the airbags and of course a bit shaken up – he’s very, very lucky indeed. I’ve signed up to do the Race for Life in June and I think I’ll run it. Best get started on some training then hadn’t I?! More teeth for Ilyssa seem to be coming and the poor dab has a cold at the moment. She was a complete ball of snot a couple of days ago, but now it just seems to be a bit of a cough remaining.
Monday 17th March 2008 Today is Ilyssa’s 10 month birthday! I’ve had the day off with her and we’ve had a lovely time together. She’s gone to bed now, pretty as a picture bless her heart. Even though she is 10 months now she is only just moving into 6-9 month size clothes! That means slightly bigger clothes to wash! Speaking of that Deano & I are checking out getting a cleaner as something’s gotta give! Working full time, looking after the little one and trying to keep on top of the housework just isn’t working out too well at the moment. Saying that work for me is not going particularly well, but I’m doing my best to turn that around. I guess it just won’t come naturally to me. I’ve moved branches and hopefully things will work out better there. Ilyssa had Sunday lunch with us yesterday that her daddy had made. She absolutely yummed it up – she couldn’t get it to her mouth quick enough! She’s standing on her own well now so it won’t be too long before she starts walking. She’s such a little terror but an absolute pleasure all rolled into one. I’ve managed to lose the sky card because of her! She loves pretending to be on the phone and often likes to speak to her Daddy and Nana. It’s Easter this weekend and Deano has bought her something and I’ve bought her a couple of cute outfits. I don’t know what else we’re up to as yet. Deano is nearly recovered after having the flu so it will be great to spend the long weekend together and able to go out and about and get things done. Ilyssa is cruising around the furniture now and can even climb the stairs. Uh-oh! She is also giving us kisses – mainly on weekends which is a bit random!!
Tuesday 15th April 2008 Yeah, yeah I know – it’s been nearly a month since I last blogged. I am the rubbish one!! All I can say is that work takes a lot out of me and the last thing I want to do when I come home is sit in front of a PC. I can’t believe that we’ve had to take on a cleaner!! Now that confession is out of the way I can get on with it! Baby Ilyssa is getting much less of a baby and is becoming more of a toddler every day. This has its good and bad points, but in her daddy’s words, “She’s more of a person now”. Some of the bad points are screeching when she doesn’t get her own way, not going to bed as easily as she used to as she may be missing something and being very sparing with her kisses! On the plus side she’s now able to clap hands, play hide and seek and she absolutely loves walking up and down the lounge holding onto her dad’s hands. Her fine, blonde hair is getting longer and we have to put a couple of clips in it to ‘train’ it. She looks dead cute, bless her. Now she’s walking a lot more, Deano & I thought it best to get her feet measured so we could get her shoes designed for walking in so that her feet are properly supported. Ilyssa is a size 2.5F and she had the choice of only 2 pairs of shoes. We only bought the one set but I may need to get her the other – it would be rude to leave them there! The people at Clarks took her photo of her trying out her shoes in the shop, and I was the proudest mum ever when she walked out of the shop, holding onto one hand of Deano’s and one of my hands, wearing her new shoes. Quite a bit has happened this last month – we had Easter and Ilyssa absolutely loves Milkybar buttons. She’s only allowed a couple a day. How mean are we?! Deano’s dad has moved back home after his stint at Heathrow T5, which he took us all to see a couple of weeks back when we were up in London for the family rugby game. Of course our side won!! Our trip to London was the first time the 3 of us have gone away together. It was definitely a learning curve as to how much we need to take away with us for the little one! We stayed with her Uncle Ricky & Auntie Kate and Ilyssa terrorised their poor cat, Star. We’re back there again next weekend, all I can hope is that Star is prepared! Ilyssa keeps saying ‘Alma’ instead of Grandma but I’m sure she’ll grow out of it – she just hears the other kids that Alma looks after call her that and has obviously picked it up from them. Deano is very busy with work at the moment and is off to Amsterdam next week – I have the joy of Cwmbran. Lucky me! Thankfully, work for me is beginning to pick up and April has been my best month for sales and today was my best sales day. Just gotta keep building on that every day. It was Dad’s 65th birthday on the weekend so all the family was there which was lush. Ilyssa had loads of fun playing with her cousins and I really hope they become firm friends. Being his 65th last Friday was the day that Dad officially retired – I expect to ‘lose’ him to the lawn bowls club from here on in! Speaking of birthdays, Ilyssa will be a year old in a month and 2 days time – I can hardly believe it! Anyway, we’re planning a special day for our special girl to include a barbie, fairy cakes and jelly & blancmange. There will be balloons and pinkness! We have no idea though what to get her for a pressie as yet so that’s still a work in progress and I guess we’d better work on her gift list! No doubt she’ll get spoiled silly.
Wednesday 14th May 2008 Deano & I had an amazing time up in Stratford for our anniversary. We missed Ilyssa loads but it was so good being able to drink wine in the afternoon, read the papers and go out for a meal in a ‘grown up’ restaurant! It was so lovely seeing her when we got back. Ilyssa is getting really good at walking on her own now and showed some impressive pace following Deano out to the kitchen last Sunday. Reason behind this was that he was taking a plate out which had the remains of a chicken bhuna and tikka massala. Ilyssa had had a few mouthfuls and loved it! I can’t believe she ate proper curry and the spiciness didn’t phase her at all! Just have to mention here that we managed to lose one of Ilyssa’s first shoes – god knows where it is but there’s no sign of it anywhere! We’re a bit worried that she may have developed eczema on her face, and I have my suspicions that it may have been triggered by cow’s milk. I’m taking her to the doctors tomorrow for some booster injections so I’ll get some guidance. She’s possibly got hayfever too so I need to check on that also. Miss Magill is now giving kisses on request which is really cute. She’s really funny to take around Asda as she keeps talking and laughing at the people who work behind the pizza counter! Deano and I are getting food, etc., ready for Ilyssa’s birthday party on Saturday. We really can’t believe our girl will be 1! We’ve just ready over my entries this time last year which made us laugh and also made me quite sentimental. Deano has pointed out that there were a few things that were missed from my first entry after Ilyssa was born so over to him now to update… Somehow during the course of things, we’ve managed to miss out on a couple of somewhat amusing little details about the night of Caroline’s labour… When her waters broke in the middle of the night I received a swift elbow in the ribs to wake me as she shot out of bed whilst simply announcing “My waters have broken”. Now I was confronted by a mixture of feelings at this point. Excitement and revulsion. Excitement in that our baby was on the way. Revulsion because of the wet mess next to me in bed. So I checked that Caroline was alright and then proceeded to strip the bed and clean up. I then rang my parents to let them know what was going on. When my mum asked me what I was going to do next I answered “Well I’m gonna get some vanish on the mattress to try and sort out the mess”, this as you can imagine this resulted in an ear bashing. A little while later Caroline and I end up getting into a slightly heated debate about whether she was in labour or not. I think this was after the first phone call to the hospital to inform them that her water had broken. I was certain that Caroline was in labour and she though otherwise. So I decided to get the little checklist card that we were given. I went through each point and as I suspected she was indeed in labour. For some reason this still wasn’t enough for Caroline, so having had enough, I went to sleep on the sofa… Finally got to the hospital and we had a very long walk to the concourse. Not in terms of distance, but in terms of how long it took Caroline to get there. Bless her every couple of steps she stops because of the pain. I suggest to her that I should go and get a wheelchair. “No, I’ll be alright” is the answer I get back. So after the harrowing trip to the concourse she decides that maybe a wheelchair would be a good idea!!! Clearly as a bloke I have zero clue as to what is right or wrong and I certainly have no good ideas. That’s my experience and sadly some of it is true! I have no idea where the time as gone in this last year. It seems like only yesterday that Ilyssa was a bump in Caroline’s tummy and now she’s walking around the place like she owns it.
Monday 7th July 2008 Ilyssa’s first birthday whilst successful in many ways was not good for the birthday girl herself as she was very poorly following her booster jab. She spent the morning being super sick but kept a smile on her face for the day at her various parties. Her birthday presents were fab! From us she had a dolls house, Birthday Girl ornament and 1st birthday photo album. To go with her dolls house she had a matching farm, grocer and florist. Other presents included a swing from Grandma & Papa, a slide from Nan and Gramp, a diamond necklace from Uncle Rick and Auntie Kate, a pair of Converse trainers from Auntie Holly and Dan, a musical tortoise(!), clothes and lots of money! She was of course the most spoiled girl in the world that day. We’ve put the slide together now and she really squeals with joy going down it and even loves sending her dolly down there. Speaking of Ilyssa being poorly she’s just got over a bout of sickness and diarrhoea that lasted nearly a week. We were all really worried about her as it’s really the first time she’s been proper ill. The poor dab could only manage sitting on my lap for at least 4 days as she was too weak to do much else. She went to the doctors who prescribed her liquid paracetamol and within a few days she was back to her usual self. Or was she…? She’s started screeching when she’s not happy about something and has proper tantrums (highly annoying!). Yesterday, in Mothercare, she had an absolute fit and sounded like she was being murdered! I had to march her out of the shop whilst she was creating the racket with a Deano just as embarrassed bringing up the rear! I was really annoyed with her and it’s really the first time that she’s actually embarrassed me. Oh my god the whole shop was looking at us like we were terrible parents. The shame! Ilyssa is a lot more loving now though and she registers this in a much more tactile way with us – be it a kiss, a hug or she’ll come and rest her head on your lap and say, “Aaaah”. Cuteness. She does have some more words, if you can call them that, to add to her repertoire like, “Ilyssa” and a particular favourite of mine, “Moo”, when you ask her what sound a cow makes. Her favourite song at the moment is “Incey Wincey” and she’s so cool doing the action for the spider.
She enjoys going around the block on her quad bike that she had for Christmas from Auntie Holly. She can put Lego bricks together now too. Ilyssa really likes Deano’s scones and is mad for curry! I bought her a new cereal yesterday and it is definitely a hit. One thing that she is completely addicted to is dried fruit – she has a little box each day and she’s always so sad when she’s had the last one that she has to demolish the box afterwards to check she’s not missed any! Deano is doing well at work and is waiting for his company car to arrive. He’s ordered an Audi A4 and he’s always wanted one so I’m dead chuffed for him that he’s finally going to have one. As for me and work I’m having an awful time but I don’t want to think about it as I’m on leave this week. Deano’s mum and dad have gone off to Florida for a couple of weeks so it’s been great spending time with the little one. This week from Wednesday Deano will be off with me so that will be nice. We haven’t any plans as such, I think we’re going to go and visit his sister, Holly as she moved in with her boyfriend on the weekend. Apart from that we’re free and easy so will just have to make sure we make the most of it.
Tuesday 29th July 2008 Time off is officially over for both of us now – boo! Feels like I’ve never been away although I’ve been sicky-bad the last couple of days but feel I’ll be fine to go back to work tomorrow. Ilyssa is teething again and I think she’s got a few coming through at the same time, poor little lamb. Deano put up the swing she had from her Grandma and Papa for her birthday on the weekend and she loves it! It’s got a canopy to shield her a bit from the sun and it took Deano ages to put it together. Totally worth it though. She also loves playing on her slide from Nan and Gramp though it’s a 2 person job to play as one of us needs to go at the top and the other needs to catch her at the bottom of the slide. Thankfully Ilyssa seems to be out of the screeching phase – you just need to make sure you distract her with something else! She’s really funny now if you do something she doesn’t approve of as she will point her finger at you and shake her head to say, “No”! She also says “Yes” and “No” and she will nod her head or shake her head to answer questions put to her. A favourite question of ours to ask is “Do you love …?”. She is quite mischievous though and will sometimes answer the question with a “no” and a big smirk on her face, which of course Deano reacts to and ends up with a string of laughter. She is role-playing a lot for a 14 month old as she likes to feed and change her dolls. She is a caring little thing and I know I’ve said it before, but she’s really loving even though kisses from her are few and far between. Ilyssa is also showing a keen interest in dancing at any opportunity so I’m sure we’ll soon be signing her up for dance classes with Auntie Holly – I can see her in a little pink leotard now! Deano had a little surprise for Ilyssa last week – he had a chair made for her (in her size) to match our leather suite. I thought that was just so thoughtful and our girl loves climbing on and off her new chair. She looks really funny watching TV in her seat.
Monday 15th September 2008 Wow – a year exactly since JC and Vicky’s wedding and well over a month since my last update! Gorgeous Ilyssa May is getting bigger and we’ve finally moved her up into 9-12 month size clothes! She’s still a dwt considering she’s 16 months old in a couple of days. She may be small but she’s got a big personality. She went to Eiriana’s 5th birthday party on Saturday and she was joining the fun and dancing at any given opportunity bless her! She’s started saying, “What’s this”, “Shoes”, “Toast”, “Horses”, “Fish” and she’s saying her name a lot more now too. I haven’t heard it myself but Grandma tells me she said “Papa” the other day. She’s such an affectionate little thing and she waves, blows kisses, gives hugs and she’s always got a kiss for her daddy. ‘Periscope waving’ is Deano and my favourite of all her waves! I mentioned her dancing in my last entry and just to mention to that she’s added in dancing feet – comedy. Deano is beavering away in work and lift-shares with Deb so that should save him some dollar. He’s had his new car now too, it’s lovely. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be allowed to drive it though! He’s going to call the Audi “MK” short for “My Kit” as it’s like Kit the car from Knightrider! My work is sapping the life out of me and all I’ll say is I need out – quick! We’re all off to Center Parcs next Friday for our first family holiday and though I’m looking forward to it I hope I’ll be able to switch off from work and the feeling of impending doom! Deano and Ilyssa went out last Saturday for a walk around Roath Park and she was holding on to Dude the dog’s lead which looked quite amusing apparently! She is loving books and she has a habit of reversing on to your lap for you to read with her. Climbing is also a hobby and she can get on the sofas now – uh-oh! She gave her Grandma heart failure the other day by climbing on to the top of the arm of the sofa in the play room when she wasn’t looking for a second and Ilyssa was dancing on it!
Friday 28th November 2008 Yes, I am rubbish for no updates for ages but here’s a quick rundown of what’s been happening: - Went to Center Parcs – had a fantastic time. Going again next year but have booked into fancier accommodation. Ilyssa looked super-cute in her bathers and was really confident in the water. - Ilyssa was very poorly for a while after our holiday and we had to get her seen at Bupa by a specialist. Super-scary but thankfully the growth is nothing for us to worry about. Just got to keep an eye on it in case it flares up again. - New but old job at Clerical Medical starts on Monday for me. Feeling quite nervous but glad to be out of Halifax. Glad that nightmare is over. - Deano is working all hours under the sun and is not getting chance to do his dissertation. Uh-oh. - JC & Vix are expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Sach and Himali have had their baby daughter, Tenisha. - I’ve done my Christmas shopping! Onto stuff about my gorgeous-but-bonkers girl, Ilyssa now! She is saying so much now, including some things I’d rather she couldn’t say! Mainly though she’s saying, “What’s that?”, “Oh no”, and “Oh no waayyy”. “Shoes” is very much a favourite and just demonstrates how much of a girly girl she is! The latest thing she’s been doing though is saying, “Shhh!” when one of her toys is lying down as if sleeping. That’s a particular favourite of mine. Ilyssa points to her cheek now to ask for a kiss and loves giving her dad multiple kisses. They do say a girl’s first love is her father! She plays up quite a bit now – only natural seeing as she’s a toddler. Unfortunately, some of that involves hair pulling and hitting. Not big, not clever, not attractive. It’s quite hard to deal with actually but thankfully she hasn’t done it for the last couple of days. Ilyssa’s getting a lot easier for us to understand whatever it is she wants, as now she will take us by the hand and drag us to the sink or fridge if she wants a drink, or point to the cupboard in the utility room for a snack, or whatever toy she wants to play with. Our girl is fiercely independent and has become pretty good at feeding herself with a spoon. Today she ate alphabetti-spaghetti by herself with minimal mess. Deano and I are such very proud parents and her smile always lights up the room for us. Awww!
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Monday
23rd October 2006 (Week 12)
My blood pressure was fine today but I’ve obviously got to wait for the
results of my blood tests and urine sample. Hopefully, all will be okay with
those.
Am definitely getting bigger now with a more noticeable bump! Got several
black tie do’s this week and when I tried my dress on realised there’s no
turning back time for my waistline! 
Monday
18th December 2006 
Results
of the exam I sat in October have come through and I’m really chuffed that I
managed to pass – god knows how I managed it. This exam was important to me
as it opens more doors to me for when I try to relocate my career nearer to
home. I’m a realist so I know I’m going to find it difficult to leave the
baby for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week so the solution is to find a job
nearer to home. 
Christmas
and New Year have come and gone (far too quickly) and I’m back in work –
rubbish. 
Sunday
8th April 2007 (Easter Day) 
Still no sign of the arrival of Quinnie! Deano is getting very impatient
now bless him and keeps holding my belly saying, “COME OUT!!” I think baby
will be a little while yet. 
We now have a fun place to take her called Jump which is a big soft play
arena – she really loves the ball pits. Whenever she goes though she manages
to find some other unsuspecting baby or toddler to go and hug. Much to her
father’s disgust they are usually boys!