In the blink of an eye....

Once again another six months have whizzed by in the blink of an eye! I'm sure time goes faster the older you get! Life is pretty full-on in the Elceybob house at the moment, with work, college, new projects, assignments etc, it sometimes feels like there's barely any time to breathe. 

      The older the girls get, the more i realise that it's important to take time out to notice how fast they are changing. Sometimes you just need to put life on pause, take a step back and look at your life as it is right now, because certain aspects of it won't ever be the same again. 
A funny little example of this... Since Izzy began to talk, she's always said "Chitchen" for 'kitchen', something we've always found super adorable. The other day she said Kitchen, in this big grown up voice that i barely recognised, and i couldn't help but feel my heart sink a little. It's a tad heartbreaking to think that these little things that you love about them, aspects of their character, are often things that they are going to grow out of, and you never know its the last time until its gone. 

Izzy's been a little more difficult at bedtime lately, we've not had problems in this area for a long time, but i think changing the clocks really confused her. Every time we tell her it's bedtime now, she looks out of the window and explains to us that its still light outside. 
I have to admit, it was getting a little frustrating, at the end of what is often a very long, tiring day when I'm just so ready to put my feet up for half an hour before the pile of assignment work has to start, to be constantly running up and downstairs trying to settle her was exhausting. I just kept hearing "Mummy, i want you", yet even then, i would continue to return her to her bed, kiss her good night and leave, remembering the 'rapid return' technique. 
Then it hit me. One day i wont hear the words "Mummy i want you" at bedtime anymore, and that day will probably come sooner than i can bare. One day she won't want me to read her a million bedtime stories before she settles for the night, she'll sit and read to herself. One day she won't insist that i kiss each of her toes goodnight before i leave the room.  Is there really any harm in her just wanting her mummy?  This made me realise, even after the most stressful of days, bedtime should never be a chore, it's a pleasure. If that tiny little girl, wants me to curl up in her bed with her, and hold her, just for five minutes, then that is what i will do. One day i won't get to do that any more and that last time will just pass by without me even realising.  

x x x x x x x x x x x x x

I'm going to make sure i write their 'Dear Girls' over the next few days too,a lot has changed in six months. Too much!! xxxx

xxx Mummy Elce xxx

Dear Girls.... 3 years 2 months and 16 months.

So, Once again i have failed miserably as a blogger. Another 8 months have gone by, and so much has changed in that time. Once again I am back to being a student. I decided to finally follow my heart and train to teach, so I'm on the long and exhausting road to following my childhood ambition. Since starting the course in September, I've had assignments coming out of my ears, and I am now working in a Primary School on Mondays and Fridays, as well as one evening a week at college, keeping my usual job, and fitting in 15-20 hours a week of assignment. With all of the above happening, its hard to find time for a toilet break, never mind housework, cooking etc. but I am determined to not let anything come before my main priority, my beautiful girls. While they don't have as much time with me now, as they used to, i make sure the time that we do have is spent doing something brilliant together.

I cant believe how quickly the girls are growing up. When I think back to my very first blog post, it doesn't seem like two minutes ago we we're desperately wanting a baby, and now, she's about to start Nursery! People always say 'they're not babies for long' but you never really grasp how true that is until you become a parent yourself.


Dear Isabelle, tomorrow is your very first trial session at your big girl nursery. I am so sorry that i cant be there with you, but Daddy is really looking forward to taking you, and sharing this special day with you. It feels like a matter of days since you were placed into my arms for the very first time, and i fell head over heels for you. I blinked, and here we are, your first trial day at nursery. It breaks my heart a bit to think of you starting Nursery properly in January. That will officially bring an end to you being my baby, and having full days at home with me on my days off. However, i know you'll absolutely love it and i cant wait to see all the brilliant things you get up to while you're there.
I've got a feeling you'll be straight in tomorrow, and will barely look back, but it doesn't stop me feeling nervous. You have grown up so much over the past few months. You don't stop talking now, you're fully toilet trained, and got your first big girl bike for your third birthday! I still can't believe you're three! You make us laugh so much with some of the things you come out with, and you have a beautiful singing voice. I have a feeling both you and Chloe may follow in mummy's footsteps and take to the stage, as you both love to sing, and can hold a tune surprisingly well for your age!

You had your operation four days before your birthday, to remove the lump on your face. It was a very difficult day, but you were so so brave, and you really made us proud.
You had a fantastic Birthday, we met Auntie Abi, Uncle Paul, Mama, Papa, Grandad and Nanny Sue at Toby Carvery and had a lovely breakfast. We then went back to Mama's house for you to open all of your presents, before going to your very special party, with all of your family and friends (and a special visit from Peppa Pig). Finally, we went back to Grandma's for you to finish opening all of your lovely presents.

You are lovely with Chloe (most of the time) and put great effort into teaching her things. You're currently very proud as you've taught her to walk, and love to walk round the house holding hands with her. You're speech is incredible now, and you often surprise us with some of the big words you come out with, such as 'especially, tremendous, organisation, ridiculous' etc

Some of our favourite Izzy quotes from over the past few months are ...

* "I love my new knickers, Mummy. They make my bottom happy"

*"I think i should get a sticker for that sneeze, mummy. That was the brilliantest sneeze I've ever sneezed"

* Me: Izzy, please don't drop everything all over the floor!
Izzy: I'm not dropping it all over the floor mummy.... I'm PLACING it all over the floor.

So as you can see, you are such a funny little character and never fail to make us......

**Once again I had to stop mid blog and have taken weeks to get back into it, all if the above was written a good 6 weeks ago, and I'm hearing the occasional little Chloe squeak from her bedroom now, but I'm determined to finish and publish this post tonight!!**

So it is now New Years Day!! We've had a magical family Christmas and made some beautiful memories. I booked a last minute trip to 'Just for Tots, Christmas' at Butlins, so we'll have had a grand total of 3 whole weeks off family time, and it has been the best three weeks ever!
Butlins was fantastic, both girls are at such a brilliant age now, with Chloe having truly found her feet, and Isabelle really understanding and being excited about the magic of Christmas. We managed to cram so much into that little holiday, with plenty of rides, soft play, ice skating, Christmas shows, Snow experiences, Santa, swimming, boat rides etc it really was a holiday we'll never forget. We had a wonderful Christmas, spent at my sisters house, there were the four of us, my sister and her husband, and my mum and stepdad. It was brilliant seeing Izzy so excited, and Chloe ripping into her own presents for the first time. It really brought the magic of Christmas to life again, putting out Santa's mince pie and milk, and a carrot for Rudolph, and seeing them excitedly laying out their stockings before they went to sleep on Christmas eve!
As usual, Adam and I were awake before the girls on Christmas day, we laid there waiting to hear footsteps on the landing. The first thing we heard was an excited shriek of "It's full!!" when Isabelle found her stocking.
With Boxing Day came my 25th Birthday, which was exactly 4 years since we took that very special test and found out we were expecting our little 'button', which of course brought the start of this blog! Boxing day was spent at the village hall, with Adams side of the family, a lovely buffet and a great deal more presents! I literally feel like we need an extension to fit all these lovely new things in!

We have made a few new years resolutions, we both want to work hard to shift the extra weight that we've gained over the past few years. I'm determined that this is the year I will take (and pass) my driving test, we plan to declutter a lot at home, and complete the building work we started last year.

Dear Chloe, Well, you have certainly found your feet over the past couple of months. You didn't really start walking properly until you were about 16 months, which surprised us as you really seemed like you were going to go much earlier than that. You've mastered it completely now though, and you're even attempting to run and jump up and down, copying your sister! You've always been a little character, right from the moment you waved during our first scan, but that cheeky, funny little character is really shining through now. You have the worlds most infectious giggle, and you're certainly a little lady who knows what she wants. You're brilliant at signing and can communicate with us really effectively this way. You can say 'Mama' and 'Dada' really clearly now and you say 'Ish' for Izzy and 'meemee' for Minnie/Mickey Mouse (which is definitely one of your favourite things). You know many animal noises and really make us laugh with your pig impression.
You are surprisingly brilliant at following instructions considering your age. You'll happily take washing to the wash basket, tidy toys away, fetch your shoes etc when you're asked to and you've even recently started trying to take your pots to the kitchen when you've finished a meal or a drink.
We'll both really miss Isabelle when she starts nursery on Thursday, but at the same time it'll be nice to have some one to one time with you, as you've never really had that.
Your love for books has just suddenly grown a great deal, you're always going to the bookshelf, choosing story and climbing onto my lap with it.
Your favourite song at the moment is "Miss Polly had a Dolly" and you know all of the signs!
It really feels like you've just suddenly started to develop at such a fast pace, you're changing all the time! It's exciting to see, but scary at the same time! You're around 17 1/2 months old now, I cant believe how fast that time has gone!

Another of my New Years Resolutions is going to be to try and do more blogging, as I really do enjoy it, and love to read back on old posts. It's just so hard to find time amongst work, parenting, housework, college, placement and stacks of assignments, but I guess I just need to make time.

Happy New Year to all my readers! Enjoy your new chapter, and squeeze everything you can out of it, I certainly intend to.

Love love love,

Mummy Elce xxx

Dear Girls... 2 1/2 years and almost 8 months!!

Girls!! You're both growing so fast I feel like I cant keep up!! Part of me is loving every single second of watching all of your 'firsts' and seeing you grow, develop and learn. The other part just wants to cry, pause time, and keep you as my baby and my cheeky toddler forever!

Dear Izzy,

You are now officially Two and a half! I literally have no idea where that time has gone, but what fun we have had! You're speech is incredible and you amaze me every day with the new, funny little things you come out with!! Some of your favourite things to call me at the moment are..."Mummykins/ Mummychops / Mummypud  which is just hilarious as you just throw it in to general conversation!

You have now started nursery!! Daddy and I decided to send you, just for four hours a week, 9-11 on a Monday and a Friday, because we knew how much you would love it! You're confidence is really blooming at the moment and you love any opportunity to make new friends!
You weren't phased by being left in a new place at all. On your first induction day, mummy stayed in the room, but was busy filling in paperwork, off you went, and you didn't once look back! You headed straight over to get an apron and play in the water. I couldn't take my eyes off of you as you then proceeded to go round each child and ask their name, saying "I'm Isabelle Verona Elce, it's nice to see you!" I almost cried with pride!
You came home with your first ever piece of homework the other day which daddy and I really enjoyed helping you with! It's so hard to believe that this time last year you were unable to walk, and were really still my little baby. Now, we can have full conversations with you, and we do (constantly!!) You're a real chatterbox, so once you and I get chatting, daddy can barely get a word in edge ways!
You're starting to get a bit of a temper, which shows itself every now and then, but that's just your age and we're working through it. Its a tricky age, having to learn to share, and that you don't always get your own way is a tough lesson to learn! The majority of the time though, you are the happiest, smiliest, most amazing little thing in the world and we are so so proud of you!

We've been doing a lot of work with letters, and learning their sounds lately. One night, you and I had a bath together, and mummy spelt out several words on the wall with your bath letters. We sounded out each letter and spent a while learning and practicing them. The next day, I wrote all of the words out, not expecting you to remember them, you sat and read every one of them to me! Absolutely amazing!
You can now pretty much count to twenty, with a little prompting sometimes. 9 out of 10 times you'll correctly be able to tell us which is your left and your right, you know pretty much all of the shapes and colours and you can now sing many songs all the way through (including several Liverpool songs thanks to daddy!)

Your gross motor skills are coming on a treat! Your confidence with climbing has suddenly cone from nowhere and you're straight up the steps on the BIG slide on the park now! Yesterday, you learnt to jump properly, taking both feet off of the floor, before you just sort of bent your knees then sprung a little which was always funny to watch!

I couldn't possibly write about all of the times that you've made us laugh, but I have to mention this particular time earlier tonight...I was busy cooking in the kitchen, you were standing behind me chattering away. All of a sudden it went quiet for a minute, then you said "Look mummy, I look like a penguin!" ... I turned around and you were standing there with your feet in my oven gloves!! This is a typical example of what a funny little character you are! You have the ability to brighten even the darkest of days <3

Dear Chloe,

At almost 8 months old you now weigh 21lb 2oz!!! So you didn't stay my little baby for long, but every little ounce of you is completely cheeky, and utterly beautiful. Before you were born I'd almost convinced myself that you'd be a grumpy baby, as I was sure we wouldn't be lucky enough to have two such smiley little beauties, yet here you are, constantly beaming and giggling at anything and everything!

You're sitting up completely on your own now, and you're really wanting to be on the move! You get frustrated if anything is out of your reach that you want to play with, and put such determination into trying to get to it!
Your giggle is completely infectious, and we hear a lot of that! You love 'kiss attacks' and pretty much anything Isabelle does makes you giggle!
We've been signing to you since you were born, and to my delight you signed 'more' to me while you were eating your toast the other day which was just incredible!
We now have two teeth called Eric and Stanley (silly mummy) which are going to transform you from my little gummy bear to my cheeky monkey!
You've tried a fair few finger foods now, which had mummy on the edge of her seat with nerves to begin with, but now I've seen what a pro you are at chewing I've relaxed a lot more! Your favourite is definitely toast!
We're still not quite sleeping through the night yet, but that's ok, I need to make the most of these midnight smiles while they last. Unfortunately we don't have midnight cuddles anymore, I just feed you while you're still laid in bed, as you then go back to sleep whilst feeding. We find that if we lift you out you wake up a lot more, and there isn't anywhere for us to sit in your room anyway.
The health visitor has just paid her last visit to us at home, and taken away your breathing monitor which feels a little weird, as she's been coming every couple of weeks since you were born. It feels almost as if your not  a baby anymore, but you'll always be my baby!
We've recently got the "Jumperoo" out for you, so we officially need an extension, but its worth it because you love it, and really burn some energy off in there!

You are a very difficult little thing when it comes to nappy changing, as you just don't lie still!! The minute we put you down you're trying to roll on to your tummy so its fun and games, and often a very messy job getting you changed!

Just like your sister, you have to have something to cuddle to get you to sleep, either a really soft teddy or a blanket. You have a lovely soft dressing gown which you are favouring at the moment. You've also started to do the funny little tired noise that Isabelle's done since she was your age! This can be hilarious when we're all in the car together as the pair of you take it in turns!

We took you for you're first ever swim last week which you absolutely loved!! That was one of the only nights you've ever slept through to!! You're definitely another little water baby!!

xxxxxxxxx

So to sum up, every single day with you both is just everything I've ever dreamed of. Daddy's given up refereeing at weekends so we're having some perfect family time together which is just what I've always wanted! You both make us so proud and it melts us how much you love each other!
Keep smiling girls, those smiles melt so many hearts <3

Love always,

Mummy x x x

The best of friends. 28 months and 6 months.

I feel so awful that i haven't even blogged since Chloe's birth. There isn't even one photo of her on here yet, and that makes me feel so guilty. Life as a mum of two doesn't leave me with a great deal of spare time, but now we've got a fantastic routine, both girls are usually fast asleep in bed by 7pm,  hopefully I'll be able to get back on track with the more regular posts.

Dear Chloe,
What a fantastic first 6 months we have had with you! You are such a little smiler, just like your sister. You've had struggles, just like Izzy, as we spent a week in hospital when you were about 3 months old and we discovered that you are also Dairy Protein Intolerant. You adore your big sister, and always have the biggest smiles for her. You first rolled when you were 16 weeks and 4 days old, in front of mummy and Nanna. We were so proud of you. You're getting stronger by the day, you love to be upright, and have recently started to enjoy spending time in your activity centre. One of your favourite things to do, is to sit on the settee next to Isabelle, with some musical instruments, and to sing songs with mummy sitting on the floor doing all the silly actions. Your favorite is currently "5 little men in a flying saucer" which was also Isabelle's favourite at this age! 
You had your first try of baby rice on mummy's birthday (Boxing day) and loved it! You have since tried a bit of sweet potato, banana and apple. Apple is by far your favourite at the moment, but we're going to try parsnips and pears this week too. 

You're a chunky little monkey and will now be weighing around 18lb! However, you have only recently gone into your cot, as mummy couldn't bare for you to move into your own room! You're loving having all that extra space though, and are often stretched out as far as you can reach!

I'm pretty sure we might have some teeth making an appearance soon, as you've had very rosy cheeks lately, you're biting anything you get your hands on, and dribbling everywhere! I really hope you don't suffer with them!
You had a fantastic first Christmas, and were utterly spoilt!  You loved all the pretty lights, and Isabelle was very proud to introduce you to Santa! 

To sum things up, i am absolutely loving watching you grow and discover your world. You truly have made our little family complete and we all love you to the moon and back! (Isabelle tells you this approximately 431286782376491 times a day!).

Here are a few photo's of how you have grown during your first 6 months! 

 

 
 

Dear Isabelle,

You have been such a superstar over the past 6 months and i cant even begin to explain how proud we are of you. You absolutely adored your baby sister, from the moment you set eyes on her, and have looked after her ever since. You're always holding her hands, and cuddling her, and are super proud introducing her to all of your friends! 

Your speech has come on amazingly over the past few weeks, and you're coming out with funny new phrases every day at the moment. You say hello to absolutely anything, and "Nice to see you" .. You said this to a banana skin today! You never fail to make me laugh! 

You're doing really well with your diet now, too. We started reintroducing fruit in April last year, and then very gradually added dairy when you turned two, and you seem to be fine with most things now. 

You absolutely loved  Christmas this year. You put a mince pie, and a glass of milk out for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph, then excitedly put your stocking at the end of your bed, and really seemed to understand what was going on.

You still love to read. You used to always ask mummy to read stories to you, but now you like to look at the pictures, and tell the stories to mummy and Chloe. 

You can count up to ten, backwards and forwards, you know when your Birthday is, what number your house is, the colour of our door, and Grandma's, You can say "Hello" in French, and "Good Morning" in German. You know almost all the colours, and lots of shapes, including Rhombus! 

You know all of your body parts including things like Sternum and Clavicle! You are currently learning your phone number.

You can sing many songs, word for word.  Your favourites are Twinkle Twinkle, Lullaby and Jingle Bells. You love to sing to Chloe, and insist that she claps whenever you've finished.

We've been introducing you to your potty over the past week, and you have done three wee's on it so far, which is fantastic. Daddy's got a three day holiday next week, plus the weekend, so we're planning to really work hard at getting you toilet trained.

We've started going to a playgroup on a Tuesday, so that you get some time playing with other Children. We're trying to teach you to share at the moment. Sometimes you're brilliant at it, sometimes it still needs a lot of work ;) You don't seem to be as good at sharing with children who are slightly younger than you. You are brilliant with babies, but not so much little children, but we're working on that.

We've got a little holiday booked, in April, just a few weeks after mummy goes back to work. It's five days in Butlins, and i cant wait! There'll be swimming, rides, and some of your favourite Characters, and i just know you're going to love it.

So, carry on being the beautiful, happy, funny little character you are. You make me smile every single day of your life and i am so, so proud of you.

x x x x Mummy x x x x 

I have to admit, there have been times over the past 6 months that its been a struggle, when both girls are crying at once, and I've had very little sleep etc, or when they've been poorly at the same time. These, however, are massively outweighed by the most amazing times! I spent the whole 9 months of pregnancy constantly hearing comments like "You're going to have your hands full", but to be honest, i wouldn't have it any other way.
The best gift we could ever have given Isabelle, was her sister. The love on both of their faces each time they see each other just melts my heart completely. To see them in a morning, after being apart through the night, would be to think they've been apart for weeks. 
I thought Izzy would enjoy Chloe's nap times, as it gives her and i some one to one time, but i just get "Mummy, fetch Chloe please, i miss her".
There has barely been a moment that they aren't holding hands, and once one of them starts giggling, they are both normally at it for ages!
Watching their relationship develop and blossom has been one of the greatest journeys of my life. And this is only the beginning.

                                  

 

Squishy: The Birth Story: Part Three.

Soon after my mum arrived, a tea lady popped her head around the curtain to ask if we wanted anything to eat or drink. I literally said "Please may I.." and then got a huge contraction and had to suck hard on the gas and air, it made me really woozy, my eyes were rolling and my neck went all wobbly, I think I was saying "Owww" to myself through that one too. The tea lady suddenly looked a bit peaky, as if she couldn’t wait to get out of there. I think I frightened her. Although you would imagine she's used to it, with that job!

Approximately 8 contractions later she was back, with two slices of toast for me, however I think I managed about 3/4 of a slice between contractions before we were told there was a room ready for me. It just so happened it was the room with a birthing pool. Result!

I think I slipped into a nighty at this point, and then waddled down the corridor as fast as I could to get to my room.

As soon as I got there I practically pounced on the gas and air, with another humongous contraction. I can’t believe how quickly they came on strong this time. Will Isabelle’s birth it was quite a gradual build up, but Squishys just went from nothing to agony so fast!

 

I managed to find a position which eased the agony slightly, and that was to stand up, and arch my back, so I was almost leaning backwards. I had to have either Adam or my mum supporting me while I did it, but stretching my tummy out like that really helped to take the edge off. We later found out this was because of the baby being ‘back to back’.

 

A midwife then came in and introduced herself. Her name was Andrêa, she was lovely. She told me she would be looking after me until 5pm, and was confident she would be the one to deliver our little bundle.

She asked me whether I would mind a student just observing my labour.  All of the staff were aware of the problems I ‘d had with students during Isabelle’s birth, as the consultant had written about it in my notes, but she assured me that this one would simply be there to observe and take notes. So I agreed. However, my mum then told me that she thought it was a male student, she said that I shouldn’t feel bad about changing my mind if I wasn’t comfortable with it. By now, I was past the point of caring though so I still went ahead and let him come in.

As I hadn’t brought any swimwear, I decided to keep my nighty on in the water, as id got spares in my bag and would like to attempt to keep any dignity I could, intact. However, I ended up in just my bra and the student, who I believe was called Daniel, must literally have seen everything else, the poor kids probably scarred for life.

 

There was a little floating duck thermometer in the water, which whilst high on gas and air, I named Edmund!

 The birthing pool was lovely, it was so nice and warm and really eased the pain to begin with. We dimmed the lights, and played relaxing music, and i was really able to relax between contractions.

 

I suddenly began to feel a tremendous amount of pressure and the contractions got pretty unbearable. The midwife went and got a mirror to check what was happening under the water as she thought I was getting to the transition stage. I tried a few different positions in the water, but was really struggling by this point. I was really high on gas and air, and started crying talking about Miss Cook. I couldn’t stop checking the time, knowing that everyone would soon be arriving at her funeral.

I asked Adam to set a status around the time of the funeral, to let all of the Cantamus girls know I was thinking of them.


After a few hours in the water, I was absolutely exhausted, and really struggling with the pain, so I decided to get out and be examined. This would help me to decide what I wanted to happen next. If I was 9cm – 10cm then obviously id be close to delivery and would have managed to get through the remainder of the labour, but I was worried that I couldn’t carry on if I hadn’t progressed much, and would need to consider other forms of pain relief.

 

At 12:30pm, 11 hours after my waters had broken, I was 5cm dilated. This felt like a punch in the stomach as I’d been convinced there wouldn’t be much longer to go. Contractions had only been a couple of minutes apart for a couple of hours at this point and were agony. I tried walking to and from the bathroom, standing up, sitting down, kneeling and holding onto the back of the bed, nothing was working. At this point I decided I wanted an epidural, as I knew I could have several hours to go.

 

Andrêa went to arrange an anesthetist, and came back with bad news. The only anesthetist was in theatre with a very poorly lady. They couldn’t tell me how long he was going to be. So I just had to accept that I’d got to grit my teeth and get on with it.

Shortly after being told this, I was told I’d now got to move rooms. I couldn’t bare the thought of being away from the gas and air during the walk, as contractions now only seemed to be a matter of seconds apart.

We managed to get me across the corridor, wrapped in a sheet, and straight back on the gas and air as soon as I was in my new room. Every contraction was now absolutely unbearable, so much worse than it ever had been with Isabelle.


During my labour with Izzy, I barely said a word. I stayed so calm and quiet throughout the whole thing. This time around, I was far from being a ‘screamer’ but I was a lot more vocal. I just remember repeatedly saying “I’ve had enough now, I’m tired”. It was going on for so much longer than I’d expected, and I just didn’t seem to be making much progress.

 
At 3:30 I was examined again, and was only 6cm! So in three agonizing hours id progressed only 1cm.  However, at around 4:15pm I received the amazing news that I was now able to have that long-awaited epidural!

This would be the third epidural I’d had, so I knew exactly what to expect, but there was even more pressure on me the stay incredibly still this time, as it was the movement id made with the first one (because they went into a nerve) that caused me to be so ill afterwards, and I still have problems because of that, now. It was also added pressure because I was struggling so much more with the pain this time. It ended up being a female anesthetist, and she was lovely. I remember babbling something about Miss Cook, through a face full of tears while they were doing it, and mum had to tell me to be quiet, and to concentrate on being still.  


By around 4:30pm the epidural was in, and I was in heaven. I just kept thanking that amazing lady over and over again for taking my pain away. I asked if I could give her a cuddle before she went, and she willingly came over and gave me a big squeeze.

 

To begin with, the epidural worked wonders. They had to tell me when I was having contractions, as I couldn’t feel a thing. I even managed a little sleep. But before long, the pain was back, and it was a struggle once again. They kept coming to top it up, but it just didn’t work, so once again the gas and air was getting a battering.

Andrêa left, at the end of her shift at 5pm, which I was completely devastated about. She had been amazing, and there was no way we’d expected me to have still not delivered by the time she left.  We had a cuddle, and she wished me luck, she was also disappointed about not being able to meet our little lady.


At 7pm I was examined again, and told that I was finally fully dilated! However, with the good news also came a disappointment. I was so excited to be told I was almost there, but they then told me that even though I was 10cm the baby was still a long way back. They said I needed to sit upright, to allow her to drop, before I could start pushing. They wanted to leave me like that for an hour. They told me I needed to try not to use the gas and air for a while as I was getting too ‘out of it’ and I needed to start being aware of what was happening.

I ended up in tears, trying hard to not use the gas and air, but struggling so much, in complete agony. An hour felt like such a long time and I remember crying to my mum saying “I can’t cope with another two and half hours of pushing” (as that how long it had taken me with Izzy).


At around 7:30pm there was yet another change over of staff. ‘My’ midwife had gone from being Andrêa, to Sarah, to Kate. They were just handing over, and explaining my details to the new staff, when I started to be aware that I was pushing. It’s the weirdest feeling, the only thing I can even slightly compare it to, is being sick. That weird surge of involuntary muscle spasms. It’s something you have absolutely no control over.  I suddenly said to my mum “I think there’s something there”, but nobody really rushed to check, as I had said it once before during labour, and had been told the pressure was just due to baby being back to back. But my mum wandered over and had a peek under the sheet, and it’s a good job she did! “Oh my gosh, there’s a head”. Her words kind of echoed in my head, I couldn’t believe after such a long wait, this was finally it.

 
It was then a mad panic, as the midwife hadn’t even got her gloves on, and all of a sudden, this little girl had decided she wasn’t waiting for anyone. In a blur of adrenaline I remember hearing my mum warning Adam that the baby might be a funny colour. As he’d been really upset when Izzy was born, she was blue and there were a few moments where we were convinced she wasn’t alive.


After around four pushes, this bright pink, fluffy headed little person appeared, and once again I was overwhelmed with that familiar feeling of complete and utter love and pride.  My mum was supposed to be cutting the cord, but the midwives had to do it quickly and whisk baby Elce away. She was completely silent. I could see her being rubbed like crazy with a towel, over at the table, while I pushed again and delivered the placenta. It felt like the whole room was echoing, people were moving quickly all around me and all I could focus on was whether that little girl was ok. Those few moments felt like a lifetime. They gave her the vitamin K injection, expecting this to make her cry, but it didn’t. Eventually, we heard that little cry and my heart felt like it suddenly started beating again.


Chloe Olivia Elce was finally placed into my arms. She was simply amazing. All the fear I’d had about having enough love for a second child just melted away, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. After a few minutes, I tried breastfeeding her, which she took to like a pro J

Our little sweetie was finally born at 7:44pm; 18.5 hours after my waters had broken.  She weighed 8lb 13oz. Prince George was also born that day.
 

Chloe and I were in the local newspaper, along with all the other babies who were born at Kings Mill that day. And I did a little interview with the local radio. 

 
Isabelle’s reaction to her new baby sister, the following day, was one of the most amazing moments of my life. She loved her instantly, and has been incredible with her ever since. I’ll go into more detail of their relationship, and life over the past 11 weeks, in my next post.

 
So, to sum it all up, we are now the perfect family of four. All completely besotted with each other. That labour was by far the hardest thing I have ever done, but I would do it a million times over for this amazing little girl. I literally can’t believe how lucky I am.

 
Unfortunately, my computer is now not allowing me to upload any more photos, so i'm afraid you may have to wait until the next post for pictures. But this will include images from the first few moments of her life, introducing her to Izzy, and how she has grown over the past 11 weeks. (Maybe a couple more labour pics too, if i get brave).

Lots of Love,

X x Loved up mummy of two!!  X x