Creating a space for baby

We currently rent a two-bedroom third floor flat - it's not the most baby-friendly space. But we've managed to carve out some room in the spare bedroom to create a little person oasis. There is still a double bed and giant wardrobe in there, but now also a cot and changing table.

 We went crazy for the Little Circus range from Mothercare, mixed in with some rainforest bits from Fisher Price - we decided we wanted lots of cute animals in the nursery! The furniture is the Fern range from Mamas and Papas.

Now all we need is a baby to put in there!

*disclaimer - we paid for all products and are not being rewarded for mentioning them here - these are my personal views*

Baby books - love them or loathe them?

I am a compulsive planner who loves routine. My father's in the Army and our whole family is used to being very regimented! So when it came to my pregnancy, I thought I better get reading and planning...after all failing to plan,is planning to fail.

Or is it? Can we really put schedules around tiny babies and keep our sanity? Is it fair to our children to impose rigid timetables on them?

I've had a mixed response from the parents I've asked. Gina Ford seems to be one of the most divisive childcare gurus out there. For every person who told me her Contented Little Baby book was a lifesaver, another has told me the plan is 'evil'. I read an updated version of her notorious book and to me it seemed fine actually - there was no mention of refusing to feed your baby if it's not at the right time and she suggests only letting them cry for 10 minutes or so as a last resort. But the very packed schedule has frightened even me, and I love timetables!

The Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg came in for some praise from my friends - it seems to offer a middle way, between rigid structure and being completely led by baby. The tone of the book can be a bit patronising at times but I'm enjoying reading it and like the tips to remember your baby is a human being...not a naughty pet to be trained from day 1!

The third and final (for now!) book that I'm working my way through is What To Expect in the First Year by Heidi Murkoff. This promises a month by month guide to the milestones your baby is likely to be reaching. My concern with this is that I'll spend my whole time thinking 'why isn't my baby doing that yet?' and drilling the poor thing in daft exercises to get him walking/talking/sleeping at the 'right' times.

What's your experience of baby books, help or hindrance? Any you would recommend for us first timers? Or can I really trust that my maternal instinct will kick in and all will be fine? Let me know what you think below.

Confident Childbirth

I'm off to my first session of Confident Childbirth today. It's run by Anita Mitchell, a cognitive hypnotherapist.
Over four sessions, I'll be taught self-hypnosis to hopefully lessen the pain and panic normally experienced during labour.
Here are some more benefits according to Anita's website:

*More easily able to remain calm and in control of what is happening to your body
*Fewer or no chemicals tranferred to your baby during birth
*Learn to allow your mind and body to work in harmony to do what it was designed for
*Possibility of shortened time in labour
*Possibility of less medication and medical intervention
*Possibility of higher APGAR score for your baby
*Potentially quicker recovery time for you.

If it does all that, I'll be a very happy new mum! I'll pop back later to let you know what I thought of my first session but in the meantime please let me now if you've tried hypno birthing - did it work for you? Are you keen to try it in the future?

UPDATE
Well I've just got back from my first session and I would say it definitely works on the relaxation front as a few snores did sneak out! Anita is lovely and put me at ease straight away. She's keen to make it clear this is not a magic wand that will remove all pain and make labour an easy process - but that the techniques can be excellent for improving confidence and bringing some calm to what can be a stressful time.

We started by creating some 'anchors'. This involves remembering times when I felt confident, calm and patient - all things I want to feel during labour - and then creating an easy trigger so I can bring back those feelings when I need them. In my case, I will squeeze a knuckle.

Anita then moved onto the hypnosis side - and that's where my mind checked out! I remember getting to my 'happy place' and then just snippets here and there, so I think we can say I'm a good candidate for hypnosis! Anita is going to send me a recording of the process so I can listen daily at home and will soon be able to hypnotise myself - vital as Anita won't be at the birth to do it for me.

Now this little boy I'm carrying only gets active when I'm relaxed. If I'm stressed or busy, I won't feel any movements. During my session, he was going crazy! I could see and feel my stomach leaping sbout, a sure sign that I was very chilled out. I've got my next session a week on Thursday and I can't wait.

*disclaimer, Anita Mitchell was trained by the Quest Institute, which is run by my father-in-law, but we are paying for this service and all views are my own*

Birthday Buns and Bumps

I reached the big 3-0 at the end of July and being heavily pregnant meant no cocktails or dancing all night sadly. However, I did get to eat an awful lot of cake! My husband took me to The Berkeley to indulge in their amazing afternoon tea, Pret A Portea. If you've never heard of it, the concept is all the cakes and biscuits are inspired by current fashion trends and designers, and the selection changes every season.

I was tempted to sneak the crockery into my handbag!

As well as doing me a lovely birthday plate, when our waiter realised I was pregnant, the kitchen made me a special lot of cakes as there were some on the menu that I couldn't eat - fantastic service.

And you get a very stylish doggy bag to take any leftovers home

And here's the bump, full of cake, and adorned with as many badges as I could fit on there!

Can I go again next year please?!

*disclaimer - we paid for this service and are not receiving anything for mentioning it here - these are my personal views*

Cute or creepy? 3D scan photos

What do you make of the 3d scan photos? I wasn't going to bother having one done but my father-in-law was so keen, he offered to pay, then of course I agreed!

It's a brilliant set up at Baby Debut in Taplow - the parents-to-be go into one room while all the spectators head into the screening room where they can see and hear all that's going on next door. All my in-laws came along for the view...whereas my mum almost spat her wine out upon hearing about the screening room - much more of a hands-off grandmother that one ;-)

We had about an hour of scan time. This little one wasn't playing along and needed lots of poking to try and get a good look at him. I was around 29 weeks at the time and baby was breech, completely folded in half - his big toe was up his nose at one point! So it was very hard to get a clear look at his face as you can see below:

The sonographer was very persistent though and wouldn't give up until we got a better shot.

Look at that chubby face! Although with those long bony hands and feet, he does look half dinosaur!

Then he got pretty fed up of all the attention and just wanted a cuddle

So all in all, I would really recommend going for a 3d scan - it's an indulgence but a lovely one, especially if you're willing to share it with other family members. I could hear the in-laws cooing and cheering next door throughout and they loved being a part of it.

Now there was one photo I didn't bother buying, much to my husband's disappointment...the shot of my unborn son's penis! Apparently, anything above a length of 0.9mm at this stage is considered very impressive...when it was revealed that our boy was coming in at a length of 1.1mm, my husband couldn't hide his delight. He's still looking smug now!

*disclaimer - we paid for the 3d scan and are not receiving anything for mentioning it here - these are my personal views*

Ugly Duckling

I have a strange worry about my unborn son - that he will be unfortunate enough to look like I did as a baby! Despite being a girl, I was bald until the age of 2 and looked very much like a boy. I couldn't find my favourite baby photo, which is me looking like Les Dawson in a bonnet, so feast your eyes on this one instead.

Yes I do look familiar - I look like Vigo in Ghostbusters 2! My charming husband made that observation but sadly I had to agree with him.
Things did look up slightly as I got a bit older though.

I'm a little bit cuter here with my gorgeous little brother, but sadly, it all went downhill again once I entered my early teens.

Look how happy I am with that bowl haircut and Dame Edna glasses! This photo gets the best reaction from people who have only known me as an adult, they cannot believe I used to look like this - my mum insists I chose both the haircut and the glasses, but I say children should not be allowed to make those decisions.

Fortunately for my son, his father was absolutly beautiful as a baby - I'll share his photos soon. Keep your fingers crossed for the little one!

Hard habit to break

What are the bad habits you are/were determined not to pass on to your children? As this is my first, I obviously have a long list of things I'm going to do perfectly...but there are some areas I'm very worried about.

1. I turn 30 in just over a month but I still suck my thumb. Yep, you read that right. Whenever I'm tired, am watching tv or generally want some comfort, my poor abused thumb sneaks straight into my mouth - I can't control it! Now I feel like I'm on a deadline to kick this embarrassing addiction before my baby arrives and starts copying me. My mum blames herself as she uses to guide my thumb into my mouth every time I cried! Of course, now our son won't be allowed a dummy or any finger sucking...want to take bets on how long that will last once he's here?!

2. My competitive streak isn't really a streak, rather my entire personality. I turn everything into a competition and then boast, brag and generally make myself very unpopular if I win. I'm having nightmares of an uber competitive baby perfecting his smug face before he can even walk. I'm now training myself to stop shouting things like "in your face" and "you suck!" Not the first words I want for my child.

3. The road rage has died down since becoming pregnant, suddenly getting there safely is much more important than getting there fast. However, my father-in-law tells a story of my husband proclaiming "prat" every time he heard a car horn as a child after picking it up from him. So as our son is also predisposed to road-related ranting, better not give him any encouragement.

Have you noticed your kids picking up any of your bad habits?