Emilia Rey Adams | Labour and delivery story

On July 24th 2017 at 5.53am we welcomed our daughter Emilia Rey Adams into the world. After exactly 40 weeks of pregnancy, various scans, antenatal classes, morning sickness, uncomfortable nights with my pregnancy pillow and having swollen body parts I didn't even know had the capacity to swell, we finally met our Emilia. Here is her birth story.

Emilia Rey Adams first moments

When I was pregnant I must have read hundreds of these types of posts. It seemed I had developed a morbid curiosity over what to expect from giving birth and the labour experience and I made it my mission to collect ever morsel of information I could find in writing up my birth plan (which you can read a little bit about right here) And did it go to plan you ask? Absolutely not! 

Everything kicked off at around 5.45am on Sunday the 23rd of July, one day before my official due date. My waters had gone pretty spectacularly when I woke to go for what must have been my 10th pee of the night. I woke Nick to let him know 'it's happening' only to be met with a very sleepy 'what's happening?' Though while my waters had gone that was where it pretty much halted, contractions didn't come on right away as I had expected them to and we were sort of at a loss of what to do. We had been told by our midwife at the antenatal classes we attended to wait for contractions to begin before calling the hospital so we went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours, woke had breakfast,  pottered about the house for a while. Still nothing happened, though my waters had continued to come.

At around 2.30pm we decided we couldn't just sit around waiting anymore and decided to give the hospital a call. We were given a 4pm appointment and pointed in the direction of the Westburn Ward of Aberdeen Maternity Hospital where I was hooked up to a machine to help monitor baby's heartbeat and movement patterns. As my contractions hadn't started, and there was some meconium detected in my waters, it was explained to us that as I was considered to be having a 'higher risk or red pathway' birth I wouldn't be able to give birth in the midwife led unit and would be taken through to the labour ward when there were more staff members available. Of course we were fairly disappointed as it meant we wouldn't be getting the birth experience we had expected initially however in the moment we were really just more concerned with making sure baby was delivered safely.

We were monitored consistently by our midwife, Hannah, over the next few hours and sat in our little room (on what can only be described as the worlds most uncomfortable bed and chair) watching Netflix on my phone until 12.30am on the 24th of July - which was when both a spot became available on the labour ward AND when they had the staff (thank goodness for cereal bars and still Lucozade!) Things finally seemed to be on the move and I was set to 'be induced'

Hannah explained that as my contractions still hadn't started on their own that I was to be monitored for baby heart rate and that I would be placed on a hormone drip that would be increased every half hour that would begin my contractions for me. Did all of this go to plan? Nope. As baby kept moving and squirming it was nigh impossible to get a good trace of her heart rate so she had to be monitored by placing a clip on her head, further reducing my plans for an 'active' labour.

It finally reached 2.30am after more monitoring and having my hormone drip placed things began to kick off. I was dilated 2cm and was told due to having the artificial hormone that I would next be checked over in 6 hours time as things don't tend to progress as quickly and that this time period is standard procedure. The contractions began to build steadily over the next hour and a bit, I would say they were a very manageable pain for the first hour and a bit until I finally caved and asked for gas and air. The gas and air was not pleasant and made me sick almost immediately, it of course helped in taking the edge off of the pain and made me feel a 'drunk dizzy' which helped distract from the pain but it very quickly became apparent that this would not be enough.

Though my contractions had began to build relatively slowly things really ramped up at around 4.00am when I was having back to back contractions with very little break in between, we're talking mere seconds to recover. As the pain had reached quite an intense level I really could only communicate in grunts, nods and shakes so when Nick suggested (begged) I try a higher form of pain relief I nodded and one shot of morphine was administered. I'm not sure as to whether or not the morphine really did help in terms of relieving the pain, though from then on it didn't get much more painful so perhaps that's how it's really meant to work. The hormone drip I had been on was reduced as the midwives were worried that baby was coming too fast, but by then it was too late, she was ready and I was ready to push, in fact I was REALLY ready to push (they aren't kidding when they tell you that your body just knows and tells you when you're ready and when to push, trust your bodies ladies!)

In my opinion the pushing stage hurt far less than the contractions and I didn't feel as though I was pushing for very long at all (though Nick says it felt like forever - but perhaps my memory is already getting hazy) I was pretty determined I wasn't going to have any intervention or assistance in my delivery, and as my birth experience hadn't quite gone to plan thus far I was giving the pushing stage my all.

And in just over 24 hours after my front waters broke (did you know you have front and back waters by the way?) and only 3 and a half hours in labour Emilia Rey Adams finally arrived at 5.53am on July 24th 2017 weighing a lovely 7lbs 8.5oz, stealing our hearts and turning us into a family of three.

Thank you for reading my labour and delivery story, while my birth didn't 100% 'to plan' I still consider it to have been a positive experience and would do it all again (no time soon of course!)

H.Elizabeth x

Pregnancy Update | The Third Trimester

Here we are at the home stretch. This has to have been the quickest pregnancy in the history of pregnancies! The third trimester begins at the 29th week of pregnancy and goes on until your due date (and after) at 40 - 42 weeks.

This trimester has been characterised by at times colossal feeling weight gain, trouble sleeping and swollen hands and feet (primarily due to the heatwave we have experienced here in sunny Scotland this summer!) 

The third trimester began very smoothly, baby continued to grow at the optimum pace and didn't give me too much of a hard time, she kicked and wiggled regularly and at times it really did feel like I was growing a parkour enthusiast or incubating the next Bruce Lee,  but it really felt amazing... though jarring at times. We attended antenatal classes at our local GP with our community midwife in order to get a better idea of what to include in our birth plan - which you can read a bit more on here.

Over the course of the third trimester my weight increased at a rate I wasn't expecting - it was as if I woke one morning and had this massive baby bump. Nothing fit me anymore, walking to and from anywhere felt like a struggle and towards the very end it really did feel as though the baby could just drop out at any moment.

My maternity leave officially began 2 weeks prior to my due date, for which I had plans of organising the house, washing all of the baby clothes and clearing out my cupboards and perhaps even receiving a bit of pampering and seeing a few movies at the cinema before baby decided to make her entrance. I was lucky enough to have help throughout the first week of my maternity leave as Nick took a holiday so we could have a mini 'baby moon' before madam arrived. We took it easy, went to the cinema, out for some meals and got a few last minute bits and pieces organised to make life with a newborn that little bit easier. As we had been told our baby was measuring on the larger side and that her head was already engaged we were waiting on tender hooks for her arrival... of course that didn't happen!

As time moved on - keeping in mind I still hadn't reached my due date I grew impatient and really quite miserable. All I wanted to do was shut myself away and not communicate with anyone bar Nick until my baby arrived. I was SO uncomfortable. Due to my weight gain walking was a struggle. particularly in the heat we had been enduring in Aberdeen, my back was in agony (thanks to a pregnancy massage from Pure Spa that only seemed to make things worse!) and my hands and feet were swollen beyond recognition, as in my wedding and engagement rings came off and I had ONE pair of shoes that could just go on my feet anymore!

But it was all soon to be over as my waters broke on the 23rd of July (one day before my due date) and as you all know our beautiful Emilia Rey Adams was born exactly on her due date of July 24th 2017.

Stick around in the coming weeks to read all about my labour and delivery story, what went to plan, what didn't go to plan and hopefully I'll have a chance to sit down with a warm(ish) coffee and write all about our first few weeks with a newborn. Keep updated via my social channels of Bloglovin, Twitter and Instagram.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Pregnancy Update | The Second Trimester

The second trimester. I can't belieive we have arrived here already - it really does feel like only yesterday I was sitting down bleary eyed and in the throws of morning sickness to write my first trimester update - but here we are a whole 16 weeks later and already into the third trimester! For those of you unfamiliar the second trimester of pregnancy runs from the 13th week of pregnancy until the 28th week of pregnancy.

What can I really say about the second trimester? We've hit a tonne of new milestones, from finding out our baby's gender to seeing her in many and varying scans both NHS and private, kitting out her bedroom and wardrobe with some new furniture and amazing clothes (courtesy of the Next sale which has Changed. My. Life!), attending new pregnancy fitness classes (which I may write a separate post on entirely) and finally feeling her kick, move and roll for the first time, it has been a whirlwind, exciting few months I'll say that!

Symptom wise my morning sickness has totally subsided though a few food aversions have snuck up on me such as my favourite curry from our local takeaway, ASDA's own oven pizzas and toast (which I put down to the morning sickness from the first trimester!) Stretch marks have also began to make their unfortunate and unwelcome appearance but so too has the appearance of my long awaited bump, which is now filling out all of my lovely new maternity clothes quite nicely. I need to pee pretty much all of the time, and when I'm not peeing I'm eating, and when I'm not eating I'm downing a family sized carton of orange juice which I think may actually be a pregnancy craving and of course the cycle begins all over again. Top tip for fellow pregnant ladies out there, when you need to sneeze, learn to clench and sneeze - bladder control during pregnancy is no joke! So far I haven't had any aches, pains or hospital related emergencies (touch wood) and I can safely say the second trimester has been plain sailing thus far.

There have been a few positives these last few months which I'm secretly hoping aren't entirely down to pregnancy hormones but I suppose only time will tell. My hair, nails and skin have never been better - in fact I treated myself to a gel manicure a few weeks back and the extensions grew off within a week (that's how fast they grow!) and I've thankfully got my energy back so I have been able to walk around a lot more during my lunch breaks at work and do more around the house which has been a blessing. 

A few fun facts about baby this trimester, she now has a regular heartbeat as well as the ability to yawn and hiccup in there, she also has her own set of fingerprints, is growing her hair, lashes and eyebrows and can even now taste foods that I eat via her amniotic fluid (how cool is that - plenty of fine foods and ice cream for me I think!)

So far so good - now we've got another 12 or so weeks until my due date and hopefully not too long after (or soon before!) to meet this little person and get acquainted with the individual assaulting me from the inside out! This has and I think will continue to be my favourite trimester particularly as during these last 12 or so weeks the bump is due to get quite heavy, I'm expecting cankles, swelling and general exhaustion as well as boredom in anticipation of her arrival (it's gonna be a long 12 weeks!)

Thank you for taking the time to read my pregnancy update - I'm glad I decided to document my pregnancy in this way as I think it will be fun to look back on in the future, so really I'm being kind of selfish in that sense! As usual though I do love to hear from you so be sure to leave your (helpful) thoughts and comments below, come share them with me on Twitter, Instagram and if you'd like to see more of me, bump (and eventually baby) be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Pregnancy | Things that I have not enjoyed about being pregnant

While yes - this post may seem a little contradictory from my 'things I have enjoyed about pregnancy' where I preached about how pregnancy doesn't have to be 'that bad' it's not all doom and gloom and f course don't get me wrong I do still feel this way. That being said it ain't all sunshine and rainbows either - pregnancy can have it's tough moments - not necessarily in terms of symptoms and ailments but even psychologically, mentally an shockingly socially (you mean people DON'T love hanging out with the preggo who can't drink?! Shocking!)

Rude comments from everybody!
These unfortunately are not few and far between. In fact as soon as you mention the P word to pretty much anyone, suddenly EVERYONE has an opinion. Ranging from 'you should breastfeed' to 'are you sure there's a baby in there?' and my personal favourite 'you shouldn't be going back to work!' the world knows no bounds when it comes to weighing in on a pregnant persons choices. Feel free to have a read of my previous post 'S**t people say to pregnant women,' to continue the hilarity.

Feeling isolated from your friend group
It's difficult enough when your friends live in many and varying places in the UK but add pregnancy into the mix and it's a recipe for isolation. Being one of the first of my friend group to have a baby is very exciting and when we do get together for our chats it's lovely and supportive but it can feel like being stuck in limbo much of the time when you're the first and only pregnant friend - a bit like all of your friends going to the same school and you living outside of the catchment area and having to start a fresh.

The stretch marks

With my weight fluctuating throughout the years I'm no stranger to some stretch marks here and there, mainly confined to my thighs - but for me pregnancy has meant these unsightly purple looking tears are everywhere! I'm not one of the ladies who will be calling their stretch marks 'tiger stripes' because if it were a choice to have them there I certainly wouldn't. Of course I'm kitted out with all of the lotions, oils and bump butters you could imagine - do they work? I'm skeptical but only time I suppose will tell.

The wardrobe clear out

This certainly was a dark day in my house indeed, only worsened by the fact I found a pair of my favourite Topshop jeans, never before worn with the tags still on in a size 12. Regardless of pregnancy I was due a wardrobe clear out and tidy - but when you're packing away pairs of your favourite jeans, skirts that you'll miss and dresses you hadn't even had an opportunity to wear - I'm not going to lie it stings a bit. 

Feeling super unfit
Don't get me wrong before this pregnancy I was by no means at the peak of my physical fitness - but I'm not saying I miss high intensity spin classes by any means - what I really miss though is being able to go for a lunchtime walk and not have a stitch in my side, or being able to walk along the beach on a hot day and not have cankles weighing me down. I'm looking forward to getting back into doing a bit more exercise once the baby is born and get my body back to feeling more 'myself' again.

Sorry if this post seemed like a rant, but I'm generally quite a ranty person so what else did you really expect from me with a post of this title? Hopefully you have enjoyed having a bit more of an insight into my pregnancy in general - as I said previously I am aware many people have gone through far worse during their pregnancy and being pregnant in itself is a blessing this is just my experience because really who elses experience would I be writing about?!

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Pregnancy | Things I have enjoyed about being pregnant

Pregnancy is not all doom and gloom - to be quite honest I feel as though I may have got off pretty lightly when it comes to symptoms. There have so far been no major aches, pains, trips to the hospital and no odd cravings at 2am which has really been a blessing, though my affinity for ice cream recently could be put down to pregnancy, or the nicer weather, who knows?

Today in light of my relatively good fortune I wanted to share some of the little things I have  really enjoyed about being pregnant because some of these things I don't feel are spoken about enough. When we were trying for a baby I read a tonne of pregnancy blogs and watched hundreds of You Tube videos revolving around the pregnancy experience, signs and symptoms and essentially what I could be in for and I'll be honest, most of those posts were damn scary! But it doesn't have to be, at least it doesn't have to be all of the time, so here are my top 5 things I have so far enjoyed about being pregnant.

That glow though 

I never in a million years expected that the 'pregnancy glow' would be real. I had images of nine months of having, dull, dry skin and feeling quite miserable with my appearance simply because of morning sickness (which I had convinced myself I'd have forever - I didn't by the way!) After my first trimester I had a surge in hormones that helped clear up my skin and give me a nice, healthy glow which I have never had before. My skin has quite literally never been better, it feels more plump, hydrated and glowy - long may it continue!

Hair envy
Not only has my skin taken a turn for the better but my hair has too. Gone are the days of rubbing oils, lotions and potions on to my scalp to encourage hair growth, I can't seem to get it to stop! While Nick now says living with me is much akin to living with a werewolf I'm just so happy that it's growing that I don't mind a bit of shedding...or, more accurately plunging the shower drain on a weekly basis - grim, but worth it.

Comfy clothes all day everydayMaternity clothes really aren't that bad. With stores like Topshop, New Look, ASOS and Boohoo killing it with their range of flattering maternity clothes I haven't found getting clothes I like to be a struggle and seriously though - where have maternity jeans been all of my life?! I don't think I'll ever give up my comfy stretchy paneled clothes now - pregnancy or no pregnancy it's comfy clothes all the way.

Kicks and fluttersThough I didn't start feeling my baby until much later than others due to my anterior placenta cushioning her every move, when I did it was pretty special. It's an odd and surreal feeling of course considering the only movement I'd been used to in there previously would be a dodgy burger, but it's nice to know she's in there communicating thorough her movements to let me know she's doing just fine.

Closer as a couple
Most women say they feel quite isolated from their partners during pregnancy, I understand why, it is of course the woman who goes through the carrying of the baby, the lifestyle changes and of course the physical changes and it can be tough. But I feel as though since being pregnant Nick and I are closer than ever, from spending time talking about important future decisions to the more fun aspects like baby clothes and nursery shopping I feel as though we're more in sync than ever as a result.

So you see ladies and gents? It's not all doom and gloom. Of course I'm not by any means saying pregnancy is a breeze and it can definitely be difficult at times (when you have to say goodbye to your fave outfit for example!) but it doesn't have to be scary.

Thank you so much for having a read of yet another pregnancy post I'll be back with my second trimester update pretty soon and I may share some of the things I haven't enjoyed quite so much about pregnancy if you're interested in reading that too. Until then though you can catch me on the usual channels, Twitter, Instagram and Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Giving birth | My biggest fears

Since having a sit down and thinking a bit more in depth about my hopes and expectations when it comes to labour and giving birth naturally a couple of concerns and fears have popped up that I think (I'm hoping) may be therapeutic to write about in a bit more depth and get it out of my head, off of my chest...and maybe even ask some of you lovely mummy's out there to ease my mind?

Not getting to the hospital on time

Given I don't live out in the sticks this might be an unrealistic, reasonably far fetched fear of mine - however as a first timer and newbie to pregnancy, labour, birth and everything in between I'm a little worried I won't exactly know when to leave my house to get to the hospital to give birth and recognise the signs on time. Plus I've now seen that video of that very brave lady giving birth in her car and quite Wonder Womanly pulling a baby from her person and I don't want to be that person!

Tearing, having an episiotomy and...extensive damage

Shamefully the above are my main reasons for wanting as little intervention, drugs and as a natural a labour and birth as possible. I am aware having an episiotomy is quite common and tearing happens more so than we at first realise and the pain at the time isn't something I'm too worried about, it's the after pain and living with the damage left behind from this sort of intervention.

Breech baby

The thought of someone going in and having to physically turn her around turns my stomach, plus I would hate to think this could lead to....

An emergency c section

I've heard many women felt they were a 'failure' because of having a c section - this is definitely not something I would feel, however I would hate to first of all have my partner worry about me consistently and of course face giving up my independence (though temporarily) during the healing process. Of course if anything were to go wrong in my labour I certainly would not protest having a surgery but it's of course not something you want if it's not 'in the plan'

Distressed baby

There aren't many things that would scare a parent more than hearing their baby is in distress. Currently whenever I go for a routine check up with my midwife or have a scan booked I get this horrible, horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and a niggling thought in the back of my mind saying, 'what if something is wrong?' I will happily go through ALL of the above to avoid having a baby in distress!

Hopefully in a few months time all of these fears will be nothing but distant memories...fingers crossed not distant experiences! Be sure to leave your thoughts, comments and birth experiences in the comments below, I always find reading other peoples experiences and perspectives to be really, genuinely helpful in situations like this so be sure to leave links to your posts below too. Otherwise you can catch me on the usual channels....freaking out... you know like Twitter, Instagram and Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Giving birth | My hopes & expectations

Now that I'm over halfway through my pregnancy I've been turning my attention to giving birth. Don't get me wrong, obviously I knew what I was getting myself in for when we decided to have a baby, I knew of course I would have to squeeze a human out of my person and I of course expect it to hurt.... a lot. However before the day arrives I thought it might be some torturous form of fun to write down what my hopes and expectations for the birth currently are and see how it actually compares to the birth when it does come.

To get through the experience with minimal pain relief

Many of these area actually linked, for example as I hope to stay on my feet for most of my labour that means I'm hoping not to have things like an epidural or drugs that'll keep me confined to a bed and a catheter. In an ideal world I'm hoping to get through the 'labour' stage using just gas and air.

For it to be over quickly

I've read all of the stories, labours that have gone on for days and labours that have gone on for just a couple of hours. Though I of course hope not to be giving birth on my living room floor, in my car or on the street outside the hospital I'm hoping the labour is quite quick (as I'm sure EVERYONE does) and to be in and out of hospital as quickly as I can be.

To have as little intervention as possible

Nobody wants to have intervention methods used in birth, forceps, emergency c sections, episiotomy (this is, has and remains to be one of my biggest fears about giving birth) and I'm hoping to do all that I physically can to avoid doctors having to intervene during my delivery.

To give birth in water

I feel given my maternity hospital has only one birthing pool that I may be reaching for the stars however I'd love to give birth using the birth pool alongside my gas and air (that's the plan at least!) I feel most relaxed in water and I've read and heard that the warmth of the water can help relax the muscles and assist in your delivery; ANYTHING for an easy time guys, anything. All I really know at this stage is that I do not intend on giving birth lying down in a bed.

To be as active as possible during labour

Being active, walking around, bouncing on my birth ball and making sure I'm as active as I possibly can be during labour is one of my goals - apparently this is something else that can help speed the labour process along (prior to the pushing stage just in case anyone was wondering)

Some day we undoubtedly will look back on this and laugh - a very big, very hearty laugh I'll bet but for now these are my hopes and dreams for pushing a 'tiny' person from my tiny person in a few months time. 

If you have pushed a person from your person I'd love to hear from you - my new obsession has been reading everyone else labour and birth blogs and experiences and if you've given birth in Aberdeen...even better. Be sure to leave me your experiences, comments, your hilarity at my hopes and dreams in the comments below, alongside any links to your own birth experiences. You can as always catch me on the basic channels, Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin etc, and as always thank you for the read!

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

First time parents | Things we are not looking forward to about parenthood

A few days ago you may have seen I shared a post written by myself and my husband, Nick, on becoming parents for the first time and the things we are most looking forward to as we embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Today we've decided to share a few things we are not looking forward to quite as much about becoming parents, because let's face it much of parenthood looks terrifying (again all I really need to do is watch Supernanny and I can feel my uterus tensing up!)

Poo explosions and sleepless nights;

Sick, snot, pee, poo explosions, it seems the parenthood package comes alongside all manner of bodily fluids that you really don't think you're going to have to clean up on another person - but as soon as those little lines appear on a pregnancy test it seems these sort of future encounters are just waiting in the shadows ready for you. Of course sleepless nights are already pretty much a reality of being pregnant, particularly when baby decides that nighttime for you is morning for them and decides to have what feels like a rave in your uterus!

The teenage years;

As a once great band said, 'teenagers scare the living..' well you guys know the rest. Now I'm older (and of course wiser) I can personally admit that I was not the easiest teenager and I can't for the life of me work out just why I was so stressed and angry.... because I face WAY more stress on a daily basis today than I ever did during my teen years. Of course the teen years are a long, long way off but I already feel sad at the thought of our little girl distancing herself from us because of such a silly thing like teen angst!

Dealing with bullies;

Bullies, of course there isn't very much you can do now we live in the wonderful world that is of course dominated by social media where you can't say boo without someone accusing you of something scandalous - and I feel often for girls in particular bullying can psychologically be much worse than what boys generally face. To us of course, she is already perfect and we can't imagine anyone wishing to cause her any physical or emotional pain and if this does come whether that be at nursery, at school, secondary, college, university or even later in the workplace I just don't know how I'll cope short of going all Kill Bill on their asses!

Parenting, it ain't no picnic, not all of the time anyway. If you want to read my previous post on what we're looking forward to about becoming parents you can find that here. We'd be interested to know from parents, parents to be or even grandparents and siblings even, what are the pitfalls of parenting in your opinions? Be sure to leave your comments, thoughts and musings below, come share them with me on Twitter, Instagram and you can keep up with the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Adams & N.Adams x

First time parents | Things we are looking forward to about parenthood

Parenting, while yes it may be one of the toughest jobs in the world and I won't deny, it certainly looks it, (I've seen more than enough episodes of Supernanny in my time that really I'm shocked I haven't burst a blood vessel, broke a few TVs or at the very least taken a vow of abstinence!) there are a few things myself and Nick are really looking forward to when it comes to becoming parents, and today I thought I would share just some of those things;

Seeing her face for the first time;

Despite only being just over halfway through this pregnancy it already feels like a lifetime when thinking about the end goal. And of course while it of course doesn't matter we're interested to see just whose features she has inherited, eyes, nose, mouth etc - we already know from early scans she has her dad's feet, but everything else is such a mystery and we just can't wait to see this new little person!

Watching her personality develop;

Will she love movies as much as we do? Will she inherit her dad's enjoyment of gaming? Will she be a writer? We simply don't know! But that's all part of the excitement we're feeling for this new personality that already has changed our lives so much and will continue shape our world for years to come. All we can hope is that she'll inherit her dads sense of humour and maybe miss out some of mums sass!

Teaching her the basics;

Walking, talking, learning how to ride a bike, swimming, helping with homework (as long as it ain't maths or science for me!) and coaching her through life - parenthood sure sounds like an adventure and it's an adventure we can't wait to begin!

Of course we understand parenthood will undoubtedly come with it's downsides and don't you think I've forgotten about that (I mean poo explosions come on my house is all white and grey I don't want to have to poo proof!) So coming soon will be another post on the things we're not looking forward to quite as much - but for now let's just bask in the sunshine that is the bright side of parenthood. 

If you're a new mum or dad do feel free to share your favourite bits of parenting in the comments below, or if you're a preggosaurus, like me, what are you most looking forward to about having your baby? I'd love to hear from you all regardless, catch me here, on Twitter, Instagram and Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Adams & N.Adams

Pregnancy Probs | S**t People say to Pregnant Women

'You shouldn't be going back to work that soon, or ever'

Genuinely something that was said with regards to my going back to work after my baby is born. As a woman I apparently ought to pack in any and all activities that don't revolve around the development of my newborn human...forget about you know, money, bills, keeping a roof over my baby's head or acting as a role model, no no, that all has to go now I've brought life into the world. 

'Well that'll have to stop'

Getting my hair cut? Eyebrows shaped? Oh no that'll have to stop...for some reason. I'm of course quite aware of the work it's going to take in caring for and raising a tiny human, I am also of course quite aware of how exhausting the process will be, however I ALSO know it has taken two to create this human and I have the utmost confidence that I won't be alone and not everything in life has to halt.

'You're going to breastfeed right?'

Sort of leading with your own opinions there I see. Maybe? Who knows what's going to be best for my baby, if she is anything like her mother she'll be raised solely on a diet of doughnuts and melted cheese and if anything like her dad then pizza and McDonalds it shall be. But if I'm honest what I'm really trying to say is... it's nunyabusiness.

'You've not got much of a bump' / 'Wow your bump is HUGE'

Ah yes I forgot, as soon as I peed on that pregnancy test all of those months ago I SUDDENLY thought it was okay for strangers to comment on my size - way to go personality transplant - you cretin!

'Why are you so tired / sick'

You know...if you've never been through it, just please don't ask a pregnant woman this.

'Oh well...you can always try for the next one'

Said after we told some folks that our baby was a girl (insert middle finger emoji right here)

*Bump touching of any kind without permission*

Fancy keeping those grabby, grabby hands of yours? Then off off off! I never have and never will be a touchy touchy person, even squeezing past people in the streets is enough to eek me out and send me into a spiralling rage so if you value those chubby digits I suggest you keep them to yourself.

Pregnant women go through a lot, pelvic exams, several blood tests and vaccinations that will leave you feeling like an overused pin cushion and let's not forget the squeezing of a rugby ball through a keyhole...but I'm betting the most irritating and painful part of pregnancy in particular is dealing with small minded individuals that only have enough of an IQ to let their mouths open and idiocies such as the above to fall right out. 

Feel free to leave all of the idiocies you've been asked / heard through the grapevine in the comments below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd just like to hear my musings, rants and more visit me on Instagram and Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

What bits does our growing human have? | We're having a....

I thought long and hard about how I ought to write this post. In a world where social media reigns supreme and the way in which you announce that you're having a baby, or their gender or indeed what your cat ate that day has never been more important, announcing which bits your growing human has currently stands as one of the biggest things you COULD share online. Needless to say I felt the pressure.

But to hell with pressure. Growing a human is such a special enough experience, and I don't need bells and whistles. Who needs a fancy pants way of announcing it to a bunch of strangers you've never really met or gotten to know? (sorry guys but it's true) So today we're not slicing open a cake which has taken hours, a witches curse and the blood of a lamb to make, we're not bursting confetti filled balloons (and making an almighty mess I may add) and we're certainly not doing a cutesy video (because growing a person is an effort enough without all of the editing!) instead we're simply going to say....

We're having a GIRL!

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Pregnany Update | The First Trimester

I'm going to write this while the hell that is the first trimester is still very fresh in my mind. As you can tell this has so far been my least favourite trimester - and I'll be honest in comparison to some of the stories mine doesn't even seem that bad but hey, this is my experience of those first few blessed weeks of pregnancy.

For those of you who don't know the first trimester generally begins from week 1 of pregnancy and lasts until week 12 so approximately the first 3 months of your pregnancy and is generally considered to be your pregnancy 'danger zone' and funnily enough is also considered to be the most difficult of your entire pregnancy (other than the obvious pushing the baby out!) which, even though as I write this I'm only 19 weeks along myself, I wholeheartedly agree with thus far.

My first trimester symptoms

Following the initial first 5 weeks or so pretty much symptom free it was around week 6 and 7 where things really started to ramp up for me - marked first by me eating an amazing Aberdeen roll, slathered with butter and my fave jam I proceeded to projectile vomit in my kitchen  (sorry guys but pregnancy ain't pretty!) The thing about 'morning sickness' is that it'll pretty much just suddenly hit you without warning or very much of that 'sickly feeling' you normally get (usually accompanied by a hangover or otherwise food poisoning) I must say I didn't have morning sickness all through the first trimester I was only really quite sick about 5 or 6 times and this wasn't even my worst symptom.

My worst symptom came in the form of something SUPER unexpected and something I personally had never heard of as being a symptom of specifically pregnancy before experiencing them myself and those are headaches. Headaches so bad I found it really difficult to function and at times I thought I was maybe being sick as a result of just how painful they were getting as opposed to morning sickness. Working solely with screens at work of course didn't help and most days I just felt as if I wanted to crawl into a pit. I'd come home, grab something quick to eat and go to bed - water and lying in a dark room seemed to be the only things that helped me. Since my midwife had warned me off of having any pills or pain relief I unfortunately just had to suck it up - and the fact I was cutting down on the amount of caffeine I have on a daily basis the effects were not pretty.

Overall, headaches aside I guess compared to some I have been pretty lucky during the first trimester, other than one other tiny scare during my 5th/6th week (which I may do another dedicated post for since the midwives I dealt with during that time were so great at their jobs and just so lovely)  I've escaped with pretty minor symptoms REALLY, though at the time in the throws of sickness, headaches and fatigue it certainly didn't feel like it. 

Hopefully this has given some of you who are still in the throws of morning sickness, fatigue and all of those lovely symptoms that come alongside the 'joys' of pregnancy a little bit of hope -my specific first trimester symptoms went away around the 13th week, so I promise it does get better and far more bearable!

As always I'd love to hear from you all, pregnant, not pregnant, mums, dads, brothers, sisters anyone at all be sure to leave your comments re pregnancy, coping and first trimester woes in the comments below I'd love to hear all of your experiences (and I'm sure my husband would too since he had to cope with my whinging!) Otherwise you can catch me on Twitter, Instagram and more from the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks,

H.Elizabeth