Guess Who's back....

Yup, that's correct, it's me! The Life of Mrs O is BACK!

If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram then you will know that Baby O finally arrived - 6 months ago! 

I literally 'popped'! This is how big I got to...

Look at my massive feet!

I wont bore you all with loads of info or photos but....

He was born on 30th January at 7:13am by an emergency C Section and weighed 6lbs 4oz

It was a week of my nightmares finished off with a real bump into motherhood but it was all worth it. I just remember waking up and asking Mr O about 4 times 'What have we had?' and then when I finally came around (as I was given a general due to implications of my epidural that didn't work) I remember Mr O tried to be funny and told me that we had called Baby O: Rupert Digby Jonty. To which I nearly cried! I said we can't call him that! I want an Albert! He told me that he had told all our friends and family that we had called him that. With that I told him that he had to call them all and tell them that it was a mistake - he then reassured me that he hadn't told everyone that at all! Family knew that we had a baby boy before me! 

Anyway, Baby O and I enjoyed getting used to each other, our middle of the night cuddles and our time at home. However, Baby O was losing weight after re-gaining his post-weight birth loss. I could just tell that something was wrong as he looked so grey compared to other babies. He was alert and all his developmental signs were fine but he just kept on being sick and was therefore looking really ill and loosing weight.

So, at 5 weeks he got re-admitted back into hospital. This to me was worse than being in hospital for a week when having him. I actually cried one day. On the maternity ward I couldn't fault the staff at all. Every member of staff from the cleaners right through to the consultants (minus one) was lovely and supportive. However, on the childrens' ward this was a different case. I had nurses telling me that he was hungry and that he needed this and needed that. I even had one nurse take Baby O off me at one point as she said he was hungry (he had only recently been fed) and fed him! How happy was I though when the paediatrician and the dietician came in and told me that the shortest amount of time that I could feed him was 2 1/2 hrs - that nurse then looked in shame! I will say though that there was however one nurse that was agency and she was like my guardian angel - she was amazing. She's the one I broke down to after having that nurse the day before and a night nurse that wasn't interested in either of us at all. 

Baby O was given a change of milk (now a prescribed high calorie, soft tummy milk) and put on medication - which I took him off a few weeks later as it was making him more sick. And my word! It was like he was a new baby that next morning that he was put on the new milk. He continued to put weight on and grow - very happy Mr & Mrs O!

We now could continue to grow and learn about each other and enjoy our time together. We have already in these short 6 months had such great fun :)

Trips around London...

The Salvation Army's congress...

Holidays

       

   

A Wedding

Fun walks and trips around parks and shops of course!

      

      

    

    

Parties...

Meals out....

We got him dedicated back to God... (Christened) 

    

   

   

Trips to Ikea

And each month he becomes a new 'month age' I have done this....

A quick update about myself...

Firstly, as said above, I had a C Section, but I also had an epidural. I have already decided that if there is a next time, I WILL NOT have another epidural. It didn't work and not only that, it's left me with no feeling down the sides of my legs :(

Secondly I took a detour from the world of Weight Watchers and went on the journey of a Slimming World Member. I lost over a stone doing it but my word it was tough! It's a really easy plan to follow and it's all about eating healthy but I just could not digest the amount of carbs that I was consuming. Being a lady who has PCOS (Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome) one of the side effects is that your body can't break down carbohydrates in the same way as other people can. I think that is also a reason why I just couldn't get any more weight shifted off. 

The food however, was amazing.... Which for some reason I can't get the photos up :(

Then finally, the classes now fall in a time that just doesn't work with Baby O. I will really miss the classes as the friends there that I have made were brilliant and really supportive and the leader, Heidi, was fantastic. She was really supportive and really spurred me on. 

So, whilst on holiday the other week I decided that I wanted to go back to my beloved Weight Watchers and back to the Life Of Mrs O. I decided that I would enjoy my holiday but still eat sensibly as much as I could, but as soon as I got back, that Monday morning I would sign back up for WW. 

Now, I will not say that these 6 months have been easy and a walk in the past. They have been very testing and at times I just have had to cry! Mr O has been my rock and although he didn't take paternity leave, he has been there for me at the end of the phone for me whenever I have needed to talk. I have also made some amazing friends these last months that have added to my friends and family network and they have also helped me realise that I'm not the only one going through it all.

One thing that is for sure is that God has blessed me in many ways but more so than ever with giving me the gift of Baby O. My baby that is a constant smiler and has shown and taught me so many things including how love can be so unconditional.

  

As I have been, should I say, 'busy' these last few months, that's why The Life of Mrs O has had to be put on hold. I did have plans to have this with a week by week account of how motherhood has gone, but I just literally not had any time! Hats off to those who can do that, plus be a mother, run a household, get dinner on the table as well as looking stunning all at once. At first, it was amazing if I managed to walk out the door with both having had a shower and make up on my face!!

Just so you know, The Life of Mrs O will now also have a few additional features - later to be released. But, it will be like old times too - about my journey through life, getting back to being a healthier human, crafts and of course some fab recipes :) 

So, we should now be a little up to date with life and let the fun of 'The Life of Mrs O' resume!

Sorry for the lots of writing - just a few months to catch up on (!), but back to normal on my next post....

So as always, With Love, Mrs O xxx

Hello! Hello!

So since my last post, I haven't fallen into a deep hole and sunk in it at all - don't worry! But I've been trying to think and figure out where shall I take this blog now over these next ?? months whilst I can't do the lovely Weight Watchers?....

I don't really want to make it a blog full of stuff about Baby O, so I thought I would make this blog - for the time being - into one about life - all of my encounters, my trips, emotions, everything, you name it (and I can then also talk a little bit about Baby O and not feel guilty!)

So, like an old fashioned story tale book, let me take you back to where I left off - which feels like forever and a day ago!

As soon as we found out that Baby O was growing inside of me, Mr O decided that the first thing that needed to get sorted was to find THE pram! This was mainly because it would then lead to us sorting out my car and getting me a new car sorted. We knew that I would need a slightly bigger boot and 5 doors rather than 3. After trying out lots and lots of different cars and getting them to BlueWater to try the pram out in the boot, we have finally settled on.... Another Swift!! Hhahahaahaaa! My swift has been such a great and reliable car for me that we thought, what's the point changing something when it works. So we have now gone for a Limited Edition version with 5 doors and the best thing is is that the pram fits in the boot!!

Now, if any of you know Mr O, you will know that he is a massive car fan and that he can tell what type it is by just seeing a wheel or something stupid. He can now do this with prams!!!

We decided to go to John Lewis to find 'The Pram' and we can not fault their brilliance in how they helped us. The lady spent a good 2 hours with us, asked us all the things we would require with it and also took Mr O's height into consideration and she then said that X, Y & Z prams were the ones for us. We then chose this one... A beautiful Limited Edition Countryman Silver Cross ...

I did, of course, also fall in love with this beautiful Silver Cross, but unfortunately it was a little out of our budget!!

Oh, and Baby O is growing nicely... To get this picture was a task and a half! After trying to get Baby O to stay still in one position for 30 minutes, I was then sent off to go and walk around for another 30 minutes and to drink a drink!

But Baby O is growing so much that I've gone from this... 

  

(The pic in the gold dress, I must have been about 8 weeks)

To this.....

(17 weeks)

Now as for my Mum and Dad (who have just celebrated their Pearl wedding anniversary)

They are becoming more and more the excited grandparents to be.... Dad is adamant that Baby O is a girl (maybe he should put money on it?!) And Mum has dug out all our old baby stuff! She has even already given me the crib that myself, my sisters and two of my cousins slept in as babies... Making Baby O baby no 7 to sleep in it when they arrive....

As all new expecting mothers do, I have been doing some research and grabbing bargains when I can.

This was a great bargain and it just needs the stickers peeling off, some sanding down and then a lick of paint. I bought it for £3 off a local selling site on Facebook!

And one of the things that I have researched is this little sheep..... It is definitely on Baby O's wish list as it seems to solve many problems with sleeping....

Now whilst we have been visiting numerous amounts of baby shops, Mr O and I have had a few giggles along the way. This one picture sums up the other day after walking around Ikea and Mamas & Papas....

The caption that went with this photo was 'Off his rocker'!

Enough about Baby O! So what else have I been doing apart from all this Baby stuff?!!

Well, firstly I have been enjoying time out with Mr O. We have been going places, seeing things, eating things, all to help us enjoy the time we have with just the 2 of us until we become 3!

We are always going past this pub that has been done up and we never really thought much of it so we never ventured inside until one Friday evening and we decided to try it out...

We now can't wait to go back in there!! This was the starter and oh! my! it was massive!! Just look at all those olives!!

Then came along my main....

Now you all know me well and know how I love my desserts! But I didn't have any room for it :( So our next plan is to go there for just desserts!

I warn you now as you will see a trend in the food I must be craving but I've only just realised how many different forms it could come in until writing this!!

So what have I been craving? Orange juice with bits or smoothies!! AND Spag bol / maybe just the mince!!

Mr O and I have enjoyed afternoons and evenings walking around London and sitting in little parks like this one off the back of Regent Street.

We stopped off in Hawkesmore to have some refreshments and I had this lovely milkshake that is made from cornflakes...

Now what post would this be without a mention of Lidl?! They had a special week on the other week and one of the things they sold were these amazing coconut ice creams. They just reminded me of being on holiday!

Oh yes and Mr O bought an exercise bike... Need I say anymore?!

This last week I have celebrated 25 - or as my sister put it 'half way to 50!' 

You can tell how well my Dad knows me, Mum said that he picked this card out for me....

My lovely superintendent made these cakes for me at work....

And they gave me this lovely bunch of flowers...

So this last week again all I have done is eat out!!

Friday night started off with a lovely meal out with my bestie - Mr Ding Dong.... We went to an American style restaurant. Lovely food but as the night went on, it just got so noisy in the restaurant. You could tell that the waitresses were used to the noise as when she came to take our order at the beginning of the night the lady's voice pierced my ear!!

Then on Saturday night we went out with a load of my friends to No.22 Street in Clapham.

We went for the set menu, but as nearly all the things on the menu for the starters had things in them that I couldn't have I opted for a main and a dessert... 

I had a pulled pork burger for my main and then....

... for dessert I had banoffee Pie - which came with a song of Happy Birthday!

 Then on the Sunday Mr O treated me to Ikea's famous meatballs!!

On the Monday (my actual Birthday) Mr O and I went out for a lovely meal at a local restaurant called Apperfield Inn... I had a beautiful dessert which made me very happy :)

At Christmas we received a trip on a boat down the Thames and we finally got round to using it on Tuesday. It has to be one of the best days out that I have had in a long time. This week off was supposed to be a week away on holiday but we decided to put that on hold because of Baby O. So we made the most of the day by being tourists in London...

We saw the big hippo in the Thames... As well as many famous London landmarks. I even learnt a few things about London that I didn't know about!

We went on the trip on just the right day. Not just because we got to sit on the boat for nearly 4 hours in the lovely sun and get a good tan, but also because it was the final day of the boat festival in Greenwich. We arrived at the last stop just as all the boats went and did their parade down the Thames and past us. We got sights such as the sea Cadets saluting to us then doing a Mexican wave and then sounds of the cannons going off in what must have been in the Naval school in Greenwich.

On Wednesday Mum and I went on a shopping spree to get me a coat for my birthday.... We found this one and I fell in love with it but I needed a waterproof one with a hood! So I had to pose for a picture with the matching hat!!

Thursday I spent the day cleaning and nesting!! Then yesterday (Friday) I spent the morning at the doctors surgery then went shopping in Bromley.... People like my Grandad gave me vouchers for my birthday. He knew I wanted a new dressing gown from M&S but there was no way he would be able to have got that in the post to me!! So I went into Bromley to go and get these items.... I ended up getting big items in there like a dressing gown, new lamp shades, a full length body pillow (to help me sleep better) and a few other bits. 

Near the end of my shopping spree I decided I needed a drink and some lunch. However, as I sat down in Starbucks I felt very lonely. It made me miss my friends and family that lived near by. Normally if I was to go shopping on my own it would be for key things, not to just go shopping for the sake of it. It also made me want Baby O to hurry up and make an appearance as then at least i'll have some company. I hope and pray that I meet new friends to meet up with once I have Baby O so that I don't feel so on my own down here in Kent.

Anyway, if my hands didn't feel like they were going to fall off by the end, my feet certainly did!! I ended up with blisters on my feet as well as one that looks like a bruise too! 

I finished off the day curled up on the sofa with my new dressing gown on and a mug of Whittard's white hot chocolate. Oh and I will easily admit that I went round the whole of M&S testing the softness of all their dressing gowns!! And this one won!!!

So now as I go back to work this next week it feels like I'm going back after a summer holiday! But it's got me all excited about having my maternity time off to look after Baby O.

Hope you all have a lovely week 

Love, Mrs O x