What The Boys Wore - Pikku Online

Archie is my wild one, he craves freedom in every sense and that includes what he wears.  Whilst he owns jeans, he will always pick something more flexible, leggings, joggers or shorts are all favourites as they allow him to move and stretch constantly and comfortably.   His new found love of Scooting is emphasising this as he wants the comfort.

Pikku Online is a clothing boutique selling lots of brands we already know and love and a few that I hadn't heard of before. They sent Archie the most amazing combo, something I would never have chosen myself but am absolutely in love with and I am now researching their summer collection. Archie's 'dragon' joggers are lined in orange and are thick,warm and practical. I love the detailing on the bottom and it matches perfectly with the fun hood on the matching jumper.  Both items look great on their own but together they really stand out and we have so many compliments every time he wears it. We were also sent a simple light green long sleeved top bu GugGuu which is perfect for underneath, although the sizing isn't quite as generous.

Archie isn't one for posing but if you take enough photos you eventually get one that isn't blurry and I just love this outfit on him.

Finn was also sent something to wear from one of our trusted favourites,  Pigeon  Organics.  He may be 12 months now but comfort is still the most important thing with his clothing and I love this nautical romper for both day and nights. This is a 12-18 month size and it has a lot of growing space so I imagine it will last all summer. It looks perfect for days at the beach, something comfy for him to wear on the way home and I love that even on this bigger size there is an option for fold over feet so it can be a romper with shoes in the daytime and a sleep suit at night.  

The quality is fantastic, organic and the colours are beautiful. I love the simple style and the fact the traditional colours are mixed with a mustard yellow giving it a pop of colour that I love. 

Finn was gifted a beautiful airplane rattle too, but the novelty had worn off before the camera came out so my phone was the only thing that would keep him still! (babies are much easier to photograph when they can't crawl yet). We love knitted toys and I will definitely be keeping the rattle for bump as it is a perfect first toy. I can already picture the boys showing it to her.

Pikku online do a great collection of kids wear with a Scandinavian feel and a choice of organic brands too. I would recommend checking them out as their clothing starts with newborns and goes up to 6 years.

Thank you to Pikku for the boys' wonderful clothes, we are looking forward to plenty more adventures in them.

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Planning a Homebirth

I know that you can't plan your birth.  I know that my body will go into labour spontaneously whenever it is ready and this labour may last 20 minutes or 20 hours.  I have come up with my ideal situation though and I am choosing to be positive,  but with a back up plan. 

One of my babies was born in the hospital, two in the midwife led unit and at the moment I am planning a homebirth for baby number four.  If you had asked me in any of my other pregnancies I would have told you that I would absolutely not have a baby at home.  I really didn't want a homebirth, I didn't think it was right for me or for us and it was never an option.  With this baby though, I can't help feeling that it is the right place.

My three labours so far all started just before midnight with the active stage getting shorter with each subsequent birth.  I am hoping that this baby follows the pattern and that everything happens at night whilst the boys are asleep.  My best case scenario plan means the boys go to bed with a calm mama and wake up to find a little baby asleep in the bed beside me, the midwives gone, the house cleaned up.  I know that should this not happen I have family and friends who can help out with the childcare though, just as they would if we were in a hospital.

I love the idea of sitting in my own bed after the ordeal of birth, with a cup of tea.  Curling up in my own bed with my brand new little person.  My shower is hands down better than any hospital one, my snacks are right there. I don't have to worry about moving again a few hours later when we get sent home, about getting dressed when I have only just given birth and about not remembering enough vests/nappies/muslins.

With all the time we have spent in hospital over the past year, I think part of my decision is the fact I have had enough of the place! I no longer feel as relaxed there as I used to as my memories have changed from wonderful births to weeks in scbu, uncertainty and fear.  I have so much trust in my body after it has birthed three babies already and I am confident and hopeful that it will know what to do a fourth time without needing to be in the hospital.

My labours have been quite quick and I know that at home I can just let it progress without having to go to the car, talk through any notes or see anybody.  I will have midwives here that will stay with me, dedicated care - something that isn't possible in a busy ward or midwife unit.  I would love to use a birthing pool at home, to have another water birth like I did with Archie.

I know that things don't always go to plan so I will have a hospital bag packed incase we need it.  I am planning to follow the same hypnobirthing course I used with Finn and I know what I want with this pregnancy and birth so even if we do get transfered to the hospital I will be planning as natural a birth as I can.  I am going to try and use cord ties again and will be asking for delayed cord clamping and a natural third stage as I did with the others as well as immediate skin to skin.

Birth is such a personal thing, no two are the same and we all have a different idea of our perfect scenario.  Despite everything I thought in my last three pregnancies I think this is the right path for me.  I am seeing a consultant this pregnancy (something new), but at the moment everything is still low risk and the birth I want is looking possible.

Have you had a homebirth before or would you consider one in the future?  I love hearing positive stories

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What the Boys Wore - Maxomorra Spring'16

Back when Archie was a new baby, over three years ago I discovered Maxomorra and I have never looked back.  Their designs are bright, fun and childish, their clothing organic and soft and pretty importantly, they make clothes my children want to wear.

The Swedish brand release several drops per year, each with six brightly coloured prints and we were sent a couple of pieces from each of the spring drops.  I have lots of matchy bits for the boys, but nothing at all for Finn and Dylan and Dylan loved co-ordinating with his baby brother.  

From the first drop we were sent these vikings - a huge hit with my big boy whose favourite film at the moment is  'How to train your dragon'.  He loved the print and the hoodie is super soft and comfy.  I can't resist stretchy dungarees so Finn's pair were love at first sight.  The colours really suit him and the fabric and cut make these really practical for my crawling, cruising, sleeping little guy.  

From the second drop we were sent this Spaceman print which is possibly my favourite.  The blue is really fresh and bright and the characters are cute, yet still cool enough for a bigger child.  Dylan has lots of raglan sleeved tops as I think they really suit him and Finn's trousers are super stretchy, cloth bum friendly and have turn down cuffs making them last a bit longer.  Dylan climbed into Finn's cot after his morning nap to read books with him and they looked so sweet in their matching print.  I love how this spans the ages - something we struggle to find on the highstreet - and it looks perfect for a baby and a bigger boy.

I find the quality of Maxomorra is great, we have quite a collection and the colours are remaining vibrant and the clothing keeping its shape really well.   I have bought several other items from both these drops (Finn NEEDED more dungarees!) and I can't wait to see what they bring out for summer.

 Maxomorra are sold through several independent retailers, here are some of our favourites that we regularly buy from:

Kyna Boutique

Juicy Tots

Dapperbaby

Uni & Jack

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5 Months Pregnant

22 weeks pregnant, five months pregnant, second trimester, baby girl pregnancy
With 4 months left to go, I am finding that this middle section of pregnancy is going pretty fast.  The third trimester is still quite a way off, I don't feel that heaviness yet but I have enough of a bump that you can't put it down to too much cake anymore.  I feel far from glowing, but I don't feel nearly as bad as I did only a few weeks ago either.

My energy levels are balancing out and when I am sensible, I don't need a nap in the day.  By sensible, I mean not getting addicted to a new series on Netflix and staying up past when is sensible so that I am still tired in the morning.  Finn is really teething at the moment though, so sleep is really not something I am getting enough of and never in a long stretch like I am craving.  He turned one last week which I was hoping may be a magic cure but it is looking more likely that I have two babies up in the night come July.

My bump is growing much slower now, as the bloating decreases and the baby grows.  I had my 20 week scan on Valentines day and our little lady had a rather large tummy, a bit too large really.  I was sent for a GTT (gestational diabetes) test which thankfully came back negative, so I am seeing a consultant to discuss what this means and what happens now.  Other than that she seemed healthy and still no signs of anything between her legs.  I would be very shocked if I was to have a small baby anyway, but hopefully she evens out a bit more as it was just her tummy that was measuring ahead.

This month I have noticed that my boobs have grown, something that happened not until the final weeks in my other pregnancies.  I am also always cold which is a bit of a shock after spending the past few winters with no coat as I was always warm.  I can't get enough layers and blankets on me now and I am starting to regret not buying a maternity coat at the beginning of winter.  I am considering investing in a maternity / babywearing one as it is so close to Spring now.

I used the Babycentre app with my last three bumps but I was getting dejavu every morning so now I am loving the Ovia app for its brilliant comparisons ( Britney is currently the size of a water bottle) and the Tesco weekly maternity calender as weekly is enough now really.  I am counting down to the 24 week viability point as that seems like the next milestone, although I don't want her making an appearance until at least the middle of June.

This month I finally started to feel some movement and I seem to have skipped the flutters and gone straight for little kicks.  I only really feel them when I am lying on my left eating chocolate in the evenings, but hopefully it will all become more regular now.  

My belly button has popped out now so that belly ring is tucked away for post-birth.  With every pregnancy it has been a few weeks earlier as my body remembers what to do! I am in nearly all maternity clothes with the exception of a few oversized jumpers and the long vests.  I always stock up on the Primark 'cami dresses' as they stretch so well they can accomodate even a full term bump and the length means even with a bump they can be worn as a top,  I have bought a few new maternity items and am using some from my previous pregnancies.  

It feels strange that I am already over the halfway mark and I am trying to enjoy pregnancy as much as I can, despite not always feeling great.

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Me and Mine February

It was 5pm yesterday when I realised that we hadn't taken our monthly photo yet.  The sun was disappearing, the sky darkening, the children tired and there was no time to go anywhere.  I take plenty of pictures outside our house, but I must have looked stranger than usual setting up the tripod right outside our gate and grabbing the children for a quick photo.  They weren't in the mood (especially Archie who had just woken up) and we only managed two shots before they ran back inside so there wasn't much to choose from!

I blame February for being shorter than the other months, but really this photo sums up our month.  Everything was a little last minute, from planning Archie's birthday adventure once we were already in the car to icing Finn's birthday cake as the guests were arriving at his party.  Sometimes life with three is hectic, well most of the time really but we always get there in the end.

February means birthdays for the youngest two, Archie celebrated reaching three and a week later Finn turned one with a big party for them both in the middle.  We had our twenty week scan, a gestational diabetes test and a referral to a consultant because of baby's large size and we also had half term, the busyness of day to day life and everything in between.  Here is our family as February comes to an end 

Mummy is loving seeing her baby girl on the sonographer's screen again, watching Finn learn so many new things all of a sudden, looking at Timehop every morning and getting caught up in the memories of life with a newborn and the rather large baby related spending spree she has been on.

Daddy is loving having a new car on loan for a week, a birthday day out for Archie's big day, playing roaring games with Finn and having naps whilst he is working from home.

Dylan is loving learning about Dinosaurs this half term at school, sharing grapes with Finn (eating half of each one and then passing it to his brother to finish), going to the cinema and birthday cake.

Archie loved having his birthday and opening each present to tell us what he had 'won'.  He is loving zooming everywhere on his scooter, playing with his new Blaze monster truck toys and having Dylan at home over half term.

Finn is loving roaring like a dinosaur, turning the xbox on and off (mostly whilst it is in use), waving at everyone and eating his dairy and egg free robot cake.

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Our Family Ski holiday with Snowbizz

I have written about the boys learning to ski and I have written about not being able to ski due to pregnancy, but I haven't written about our week away with Snowbizz properly yet.  It was our second time travelling to the alps with them and it was every bit as fantastic as before.  Please excuse the photo overdose, there are too many that I still want to share.

The little details have the biggest impact as a parent and being met at the airport by the smiling ladies in pink made any flight-stress disappear.  They went above and beyond during every part of our stay and the boys seemed to prefer their company to ours!

It was the first time I have really left Finn and he just loved the creche.  As well as having the nannies cooing over him, he managed to find a couple of girls who loved babies and were happy to read him stories and show him toys all day long.  It was definitely a case of clingy parent rather than clingy child as I felt so strange walking away, but he barely turned his head as I left!  He was always smiling or sleeping when I came to collect him and he won an award on the final day for being such a smiley baby.

Dylan and Archie were given the choice somedays whether they wanted to spend the afternoon with the bloke and I or in the creche and they would mostly choose staying in the creche.  As well as going sledging and for walks in the snow, they dressed up, coloured in, baked cakes and played with the great variety of toys.   They made friends easily and they enjoyed every moment.  Dylan loved the kids club in the evening which had a different theme each night from pizza party to disco and he felt very grown up being able to go to something his brothers were too little for.  

As for the bloke, he picked up where he left off with his ski lessons and loved getting back on the slopes.  His class for ski school was small with only three other students and he felt happy being able to find where he fit best between the classes.

I loved the freedom that comes with childcare, reading my book, going for a swim, wasting time on facebook and of course all the French food.  Everything is right on your doorstep which makes life so much easier with a young family and it took me about two minutes to get from our apartment to the creche or cafe.  

Our apartment had everything we needed, with two bedrooms (bunk beds for the big two) and a great living area.  The balcony was perfect for watching the early risers on the slopes and the kitchen had a hob and microwave so we could cook for ourselves when we wanted too (pretty necessary when you have a child with allergies).  

Our week with Snowbizz gave us a great balance between time together and time apart.  We all loved doing our own thing for the morning and then enjoying family time in the afternoon.  We took the bigger two boys up on the chairlift as walkers to enjoy the views from up high and a different place to eat.  It was easy to have one on one time with them each, or to do things only suitable for the older boys and know that Finn was well looked after and happy.  

We loved that right outside our front door there was a little area for sledging and we even managed to borrow a baby sledge for Finn, although as they don't do helmets that little he had to stay on the flat ground - Archie was more than happy to brum him along!

My little sister is working at the resort as the head nanny, so not only did the boys get to see their much loved Aunty NatNat, I also knew how great the creche staff were and felt happy handing my babies over.  I was so impressed with the quality of the childcare on our last visit that we were already confident that the boys would love it.

Don't forget to check out my post on 5 things not to miss on a Snowbizz holiday.

We had an amazing family holiday with Snowbizz and can't wait to return.  Everything about it went smoothly, the boys learned so much, I got to rest and Finn smiled all week,  Thank you to Snowbizz for inviting us back.

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Tomorrow You are One

I always knew this was going to be an emotional post to write, and as I sat in tears shortly after you were born not knowing whether we would see this day and whether everything I hoped for you would come true, this day was just a distant wish.  Your birth was speedy and empowering, you were so tiny and so perfect and I felt complete as I held you in my arms as the sun rose on your first day.  I never expected our world to come crumbling down so soon after and as they wheeled you away from me a few hours later, I felt lost, helpless and terrified.

We were told you were born with a virus that would affect you for the rest of your life.  We were warned you would not grow up like your brothers, that the possibilities of your outcome were so wide that it was hard to speculate, but that there were things you may never do and milestones you may never reach.  We left hospital when you were three weeks old with a tiny baby who had his whole life ahead of him, whatever that may mean.

You didn't grow, you didn't try and when we got readmitted to hospital you were still as tiny and weak as a newborn.  Everything was going wrong, every certainty I had about the way I would parent you was being cruelly taken away from us and I struggled to remain positive when we had no idea what was going on.  

We reached a turning point though, about 4 months in when you rolled for the very first time.  I wasn't expecting it, I had learnt by then not to expect anything, but to take each day for what it was, to enjoy you exactly as you are and to find any progress so much more amazing than with the others.  Suddenly you were growing and developing and thriving in ways we hadn't even hoped for and you were smiley and sweet and still perfect.

This time last year I had no idea you would be making an appearance in just a few short hours and today I feel like a different person and a different parent to the one I was then.  Tomorrow you will wake up as a one year old, a beautiful, chunky, happy one year old.  You are exceeding every expectation we ever had and whilst we know things could change, I am continuing to appreciate every day and every milestone for what it is - a wonder.

Today you are crawling, pulling yourself up to standing and even taking a few tentative steps as you grip on tight to furniture or fingers.  You are babbling away, telling us all about your day, even if we don't understand quite what you have to say yet.  Once you finally got the hang of food, you started eating well and now you love feeding yourself, especially if you can find food on the floor.  You can clap and give us a hi 5, you can play and smile and laugh, you can blow kisses and you can entertain us all.  Your brothers adore you and Dylan proclaims you his best friend every day.  You love them right back, suddenly desperate to join in their games, to sit with them to watch tv, to share their snacks.  

We had a big party at the weekend for you and Archie and tomorrow we are not up to much.  Both the bloke and I have to work and Dylan is at school but it will be a special day regardless as it marks a year since you entered our world. 

This year has taught me patience, how to accept that some things are beyond my control, how to make a bottle, that sometimes we have to practice baby led parenting, even if it goes against what we know.  I have learned to juggle three under fours who all have such different and complex needs, I have met pretty much every pediatric member of staff at our local hospital and I have become an expert in a virus I had never heard of this time last year.  I have learned that no matter how many babies you have, every moment is precious, every milestone is an amazing achievement and that with the right friends and family around you, nothing is too big to get through. 

Tomorrow you are one and I owe most of this to you.  Your beautiful smile with those two little bottom teeth will be what wakes me up in the morning and your cuddles will inevitably be the start of my day.  You are perfect to us, you are thriving and you are a ray of sunshine in our everyday.

This has been a tough year and you are our miracle.  Happy Birthday baby boy, Happy Birthday Finn.  You are loved more than I ever knew you could be

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