life lately - fourteen loves of the last fortnight

Sometimes I just don't feel like writing and at other times I can't stop myself. I have all the time in the world at the moment, but having all that time with a baby can seem like no time at all! It's been an exhausting couple of weeks because Hugo is rolling and needs constant attention. He doesn't like being on his back, rolls to his front, doesn't like being on his front and so on. He loves to be stood or sat up, so it's a bit of an awkward transition stage while he builds his strength (and I build mine). I'm borrowing a jumperoo soon so that will hopefully be a breakthrough!

Because Adi is working quite a few weekend days and that's when most people spend time with their spouses, I've had a few days where I've felt a bit fed up. Most of the people I know up here are friends of Adi's, so it's odd trying to create a life when Adi's at work and I'm the one with the free time. I'm really trying to make more of an effort to get out of the house so that's my plan for the coming week.

Here are the best bits from the last fortnight:

1. Seeing Hugo roll over again and again and again and get very frustrated apart from the odd occasion when he rolls back
2. Watching the live screening of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'
3. A visit from my Auntie Christine who hadn't seen Hugo since he was a tiny newborn
4. Discovering the canal and it's lock in the next village to us on a walk with an NCT friend and her new baby
5. Hugo not crying during his second jabs! I had written off a good few days but he didn't react at all like he had for the first jabs
6. Surprising my mums year 10 class and walking in with a baby! (Don't blame me when there is an increase in teen pregnancies in the year group). It was good for my mum to be a proud Nanna at work and show him around
7. Seeing both my Nanna and Grandma on our trip to Nottingham
8. Taking Hugo swimming for the first time with my dad to the pool where I went growing up. He was unsure at first but loved being in his float. Then taking him swimming for the second time and daring to dunk him under! 
9. Saying a quick happy birthday to Adi's friend's daughter at her 1st birthday party. They live 10 minutes from us yet we've only seen them once since moving back up here, and we've only met Quinn twice in her first year! We must sort something out.
10. Meeting all of the babies at our NCT reunion and realising just how much Hugo has grown compared to the younger ones!
11. A walk around Nostell Priory on Adi's day off. We try to get out on his midweek days off and it was wonderful to have a national trust property all to ourselves without the weekend crowds!
12. A visit from Adi's friend Jen who I haven't seen in a good few years!
13. Putting Hugo in his bumbo seat at the dinner table with Auntie Layla and Uncle Rich and seeing him a little bemused
14. Going to the new cafe in Rothwell Park twice, just because it's in such a good location and somewhere I will frequent lots while walking with Hugo

what a difference a day makes

I started writing this last week but didn't get around to posting it. Lots has happened since then so it now seems insignificant, but it was the last day spent with mum before becoming a mum myself, and one I want to remember.

Wednesday should have been a shit day. It set itself up to be. I was awake from 4am, incredibly tired and frustrated with another dull, lonely day ahead of me. The night before Adi and I were sure labour was imminent. We'd been for a walk, played on the swings, had a curry and contractions were starting. I felt like my waters broke on the loo at 4am and timed contractions that were getting closer together through until the morning.

It turned out to be nothing.

I had to stay awake for a midwife appointment which was another frustration. The girl before me went into labour (my insides were crying why wasn't that me!!) which meant I didn't see my own midwife and had to wait a long time for another to arrive. It was a frantic appointment with four people in the room and I was given vague dates for sweeps and inductions which was making them seem more of a possibility. With the lack of sleep I was just frustrated and wanting the baby to come!

It's amazing how you can battle through tiredness and turn things around if you choose to. I'd chatted to my mum in the morning to keep her in the loop that I thought things may be starting, but at about that time things ground to a halt and I realised that it was fuss over nothing. Mum decided to come up to see me after work anyway and I'm so glad she did. She can always sense when I'm in need of perking up.

We went to the cafe in my village (which is entitled to it's own post soon as it's basically the reason why I'm living here) for a late lunch, cake and a chat before heading to a park in the next town to us. It was my first visit to Springfield Park in Rothwell and it will be a great place to go with bump. It has a massive play area, tennis courts, picnic benches, exotic birds, a stream that we can play Pooh Sticks in, a garden area and it's pretty expansive - we only covered a tiny bit of it. Although we're living in countryside, I love parks and it's one of the things I miss about London. My closest park was Brockwell and this one reminded me of it with the hill and gardens.

We had a walk and some time on the swings before picking up some essentials from the high street, a couple of books for bump from a charity shop and some daffodils. Although it wasn't the first day of Spring, it really felt like it with the scent of blossom, flowers in bloom, sunshine and a refreshing (okay pretty windy) breeze.

We finished our day with a nap before Adi came home. It felt so good to tuck up and nap because I'd actually warranted one, rather than just napping for napping's sake.

Adi and I headed over to friends for the evening, it's great to be able to pop over now we're only 20mins away and rounded off a perfect day.

Sometimes you have to force yourself out to enjoy some simple pleasures and get those endorphins flowing. Thanks mum x