Bump #2

Week 29
Originally uploaded by JaneHostler

Bump #2

It's been so long since I last posted anything on my blog that I was starting to think I should just quit it. But it's just not that easy! SO, I decided to do a very quick update instead. So here's a pic of bump number 2! Due at the end of the month. Oh and a very Happy New Year!!!

Oli's best quotes

Oliver is due to turn three in July and has been talking really well for months and months. At a wedding we went to last September I met a speech therapist who asked how old he was and was very impressed with his skills. I have to say that I'm going to take full credit for this. There aren't many opportunities for me to be smug about being an incessant chatterbox. Some even find it annoying!

It does have it's downsides aswell though, like when he just doesn't. stop. talking. ever. at. all. And especially since he entered the 'Why?' phase. Anyway, here are some of his gems.

Pretending to eat a wooden orange:
"That's the sound of me eating orange"

Looking in to his potty:
"It's not a big poo, it's just an advert"

Coming through the front door:
Oli: "Do you know what colour our door is?"
Ben: "Is it purple?"
Oli: "No. The colour of our door is made of wood. And that is how the story began."

The random flavour of that last one though could be down to excessive exposure to Dr.Seuss

Charley Harper

I'm not sure if I've written about Charley Harper before on here but I love his grahical illustrations and have been using a calendar full of them this year and have bought another for next year. I hope to frame the best ones from both eventually.

But anyway, there are Charley Harper childrens books and games and all sorts too but best of all, I've just come across a colouring book!
I don't think Oli's going to get much of a look in on this one.




Buy from Amazon.co.uk >

Dooce on becoming a mother of 2

"I think the best way to describe what it's been like to bring a second child into the family is to imagine having a jazz band blasting an improvisational set in your left ear while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Christmas carols in your right ear, and there you are, a drummer in a rock band, and you're on stage in front of 30,000 people trying to keep the beat to an acoustic version of "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols."

Muslin

Oliver was born with blocked tear ducts, which he will be having a small operation to fix a week after his first birthday in July. Because his eyes are unable to clear themselves of tears and dirt, it means they weep and tend to get gooped up and make him look like he has conjunctivitis.
To stop his eyes from getting sore (and looking bad) it means I'm constantly wiping away any fluid, and as a matter of course, have to clean them thoroughly twice a day (sometimes more if it's particulary bad) with cooled boiled water.
It means that even though he's now ten and a half months old, I'm still carrying around muslin everywhere I go so I have something on hand to use. And because they've constantly been around him, Oli is now using them as a comforter.

Because I think of muslin tending to be a younger baby accessory, and because it's acting a lot like a blanket aswell, I thought it would be nice to get a more attractive blue striped piece of muslin and make it look a bit more grown up.
I spent ages on the internet and at first thought it was an impossibe task, but once I included the magic word 'BABY' in my search terms I actually came across a few nice ones including these particularly stylish designer muslins.
They're Swaddling Blanket /Muslin Squares from a company called Aden & Anais - buy them in the UK from here.

If only I'd known about these sooner!
To be honest, they are actually hideously expesive so I don't think I will be purchasing any, plus the only nice striped one comes in a pack and I don't like the other ones in the pack. But these camo ones are pretty cool though.

When I was pregnant I found a multi pack of plain white muslins that I bought from The Nappy Lady as a very sensible, and very cheap option considering it was a pack of 10 - £11.99! They were also huge and have been extremely useful. I've since cut one of them up into four smaller ones and hand sewn some coloured stiching around the edges to stop them fraying.

I can't believe I never came across anything other than plain white ones before.
These are lovely too, and a lot more affordable. I might have to make a trip to Ikea tomorrow.

The next phase

Life has now officially moved on to the next phase.
I started this blog a year ago knowing that the imminant arrival of our baby meant life as I knew it was coming to a close. I made the decision to make a real effort towards my silversmithing, knowing that if it was more established, I was more likely to pick it back up when I had the time in the future.
I created my Etsy shop, started this blog and emersed myself in the highly inspirational world of online designers, crafters & makers. I definately saw the benefits of the extra time I put in too and sold a number of items purely becuase of it. I even got some stock into a lovely shop which was something I'd been just talking about for years.

Once Oliver arrived the whirlwind hasn't stopped and I'm pretty sure that's just what life is going to be like now. The whirl wind has MOST DEFINATELY been turned down from the initial category 6 storm to a more moderate 1 (or 2 on occasions), but I guess that's just what life is going to be like with another person to think about and care for. Does your mind ever stop?

Consequently, I've found it hard to find even the thinking time for my silversmithing, let alone the practical side. In the last 10 months I think I've only made this one item for a friend.
I really really am hoping to have the head space again soon to be able to pick my tools back up and get creating.

In the mean time though, I'm enjoying watching my gorgeous boy grow and am enjoying being back at work 3 days a week.
I've tried to keep this from being a mommy blog so haven't really waxed lyrical about Oli too much, but here's just one picture of our amazing chap...

Childhood vaccinations

There's an interesting and articulate post on Dooce.com about childhood vaccinations.
This might be US based blog but we have the same issue over here in the UK too...

A word or two about vaccinations

'geek mums'

There's an interesting article on the BBC site about some of the discussions at this years SXSW...

A growing number of mothers are forming social communities online. What is behind their drive to the internet?
At the recent SXSW Festival in the American city of Austin, Texas, one of the discussions centred on the surge in growth in "geek moms" - mothers who spend a large amount of time online.

The one thing that sticks out about this to me is the word 'geek'! I'm finding it a bit misplaced. I can imagine that a few years ago it might have been considered geeky to be using computers - having completed a computer arts degree 10 years ago I can tell you there were very few of us ladies doing it then - but surely these days it's just common place?

I used to build websites which I guess could be considered very slightly geeky, but coding and programming? now THAT would be geeky. These days I just design for the web. And blog. And have a flickr account. And an Etsy account. And have a static website. Surely that's not geeky is it?

Whilst I'm on the matter, my maternity leave actually comes to a close in 4 weeks and I'll be back at my web design job. I can't believe life is actually moving on! I'm so enjoying hanging out with our little guy who is now 8 months old. I'm lucky to be able to say that I'm also looking forward to going back to work though. A 3 day working week should hopefully make us all happy and if I ever get a free slither of time I WILL DO SOME SILVERSMITHING and post the pictures here.

Google's logo

Check out Google's logo today...



Very clever. And very topical for us these days too, what with revisiting The Very Hungry Caterpillar with Oli. It's also the books 40th anniversary this year. Last week I bought Oli this great little library collection...

What I was trying to avoid

I was trying to avoid turning this into a mommy blog but this nursing bra is definately worth mentioning.

To cut a long story short (my breasts resemble a 'before & after') my bra's have not been the most comfortable things to wear. And they are quite an important item at the moment whilst I'm breast feeding.
Not only am I already sporting one breast larger than the other, but they fluctuate in size throughout the day as they fill and empty of milk.
How on earth are you meant to design a piece of clothing around measurements like that?

Like this!
I'll refrain from posting a picture, but I think I've found the most comfortable nursing bra in the world. It's called the Drop-Cup Nursing Bra by Carriwell and you can order it from Bump to 3.

Now go buy 10 of them.

What to do

This morning I went to look at a possible nursery for Oli to join when I go back to work.

I can't actually believe how quickly that's come around.
When I was pregnant and looking towards my maternity leave, it felt like I was going to be away from work for ever. But now the months are starting to speed by and I need to make some decisions.

I'd initially planned to be away from work until Oli was at least 6 months old and then it would be down to how poor we were as to when I would return. Now the little chap is here though, I understand why people find it so hard to leave such a small person in the care of strangers (essentially).
I'll only really be happy leaving Oli when he's more of his own person and not so dependent. I hate picturing him just lying there with no stimulation or being ignored. I know that that's a worse case scenario and not likely to happen but still.

There are so many things to consider right now. Like whether to even return to my job or to take the opportunity to build up my personal creative empire. To be honest though, a potential £600 monthly childcare bill kind of dictates that I go back to a paying job!

I do still enjoy my job. And love that the first thing I do in the morning is open Photoshop. And I get paid for being creative.
And as much as I love to romatically picture myself in a studio space (oh to live like Camilla Engman), and spending my days with similar beings, I just don't think it's feasible. I'm not convinced it's the best time to become a starving artist. Then again you only live once! Oh I don't know.

hmmm.

Another lurgy

Since the last month of my pregnacy, my body has been through the mill but has still yet to come out the other side. Just when I think I'm back up to par another ailment rudely slaps me round the face. I completely expected to be knocked about whilst I was pregnant and expected a recovery period but it feels like I'm the sticky fly paper to all the bugs that are within a square metre of me.

I felt like logging these ailments as I'm starting to loose track so consider this my illness diary (I'll understand if you don't want to read it).

When i was about 6 weeks off my due date I noticed a lump in one of my breasts which grew and became red over a couple of weeks. It all pointed to being milk related, being that I was pregnant and so close to the due date, so the doctor put me on antibiotics thinking it could be Mastitis (something you only normally get once you start breast feeding).
The main priority was to have a working breast so I could feed the baby, so after the pills didn't work the doctor wanted me to see a breast specialist before the baby arrived. However the NHS being what it is meant that the soonest (even after the doctor put in an urgent referal) I could get an appointment was for two weeks time which actually took me three days PAST my due date. Monday 14th July. However that turned out to be the day that my midwife sent me to the hospital with preeclampsia so I missed the appointment.

The preeclampsia then became the big issue. Because of this, the birth became a worry for the hospital and once they got my blood tests back and saw I had 'abnormal' readings they were more worried. The put me in a high dependency room where I had fantastic care from some wonderful women. They induced me as quickly as they could and checked my blood pressure every hour (even through the night) and had me on all sorts of drips as well as a catheter. I was on pills to keep the blood pressure down, I was on a drip to stop those pills from making me fit, I was on an inducement drip and had two monitors on the baby. I couldn't get off the bed basically. I then I started getting contractions.

In brief, they hurt. A lot. The Tens machine was crap. The gas and air was good but then became less so!

After the inducement stopped progressing (even through all that pain? go figure) they wanted to whack the drip right up (essentially turning it to 11) so gave me an epidural. This then started making the baby unhappy so they decided a cesarean would be the best option being that we needed to get the baby out as quickly as possible whilst keeping my blood pressure down.

So that's how Oli made his way in to the world. Luckily a very healthy boy.

The problem with the breast lump then raised it's head again because it's location meant that Oli was physically unable to feed from that breast. So I decided to express the milk which then made the lump angry and created a very nasty absess which then needed urgent minor surgery. All of this happened before my rearranged appointment, but lets not discuss the NHS right now!
So to cut an already long story short I have only been feeding Oli from one breast so you can imagine how my breasts look - like a before and after!

ANYWAY since then the smallest of ailments seem to have hit me really hard. From ongoing embarrassing things that I won't mention, to things like a ripped nail that became infected and started tracking up my arm, to a sore throat that got so bad I couldn't swallow. Every other week it's been something else. I'm not sure if it's because of general rundown-ness and then lack of sleep for my body to recouperate, or whether the amount of pills I've been on has made my body even weaker.
For somebody that's never normally ill though it's a horrible shock. Especially when you need all the energy you can get to look after your new baby.

Hopefully, my current lurgy is on it's way out in time for a nice weekend with my new family.

UPDATE: Turns out I had Mastitis.

Vanity

I'm wearing my old jeans! 7 and a half weeks after Oli was born and I'm wearing my pre pregnancy jeans! As Jimmy Savile would say... "How's about that then?"

After being the same size since the age of about 12 (I still wear the belt from my Brownies uniform for crying out load), it's was a very strange experience during pregnancy to watch my face getting fat and my clothes gradually getting smaller and smaller. Even the sleeves! And my shoes.

I can't believe it. That means that my thighs (that had grown to rub together) and ass have now returned to their former state.

It is a slightly early celebration though as the jeans are actually hipsters and sit below the tummy bulge that is still there :)

Little girls clothes - Etsy shops

Ben has always complained about how much choice woman have compared to men when it comes to shopping for clothes, and since I've been keeping an eye on all the children's clothes on Etsy I would have to agree.

Look at all these gorgeous dresses...


Clockwise from top left:

'Reversible Joon Toons Flower Dress' by Joon Toons
'Follow your heart - linen dress' by syko
'tulip' by mette
'Linen Pinafore' by PAMELATANG
'Rainbow Windowpanes Infant Dress' by April Scott
'baby smock' by belkemp

4 generations

Four generations of my family: me, my nan, my mom and my son.

We went back home for a friends wedding this bank holiday weekend (congratulations Maria & Alan!) where Oli met the most amount of people yet in his short 6 weeks, including some of my oldest and best friends.

It ended up being a bit of a full-on weekend for our first time away with Oli but he was so well behaved and met lots of important people in our lives, one of which was my 95 year old nan.

Style for Oli's walls

I love the fact that we've been able to put some great pictures up on Oli's walls. Illustrations by Camilla Engman that I've admired for ages as well as designs by Pushmepullyou.




And we were given this little gem as a wedding gift 4 years ago by friends. It's a doodle by an illustrator friend of theirs called Jonny Voss.


I've also got my eye on some others such as these Etsy sellers:

ABC animal set by JennSki


Animal Alphabet Silkscreen Poster by petitcollage


The Sensible Owl by John W. Golden


X is for X-ray by strawberryluna

Handcrafted goodness for Oli

This cool blanket was knitted by my mom. I chose the colours and created the basic stripe pattern for her to follow but it was all my mom's time and love that went it to it. Not sure it was actually to her taste but I love it!


This gorgeous quilt was made for Oli by two of Ben's talented band mates from The Cedar.


And here's a selection of knitted goods from my talented aunt and family friends!

I'm still alive!

Well hellooooo.
I know it's been a while since I last visited blog land but there's obviously been a lot going on around here!
Hopefully I'll be back to fill you in fully very soon. The headlines are that I actually ended up getting preeclampsia which made the birth a bit more medicalised and panicked than expected and I've had a run of bad health ever since but HEY! my boy is gorgeous and he's thankfully been feeding and growing VERY well so i'm more than happy.
I always said Ben would give me big boy babies and I wasn't wrong.
Best go - baby calls.
Back asap.
jx

Meet my son Oliver

He was born on 15th July at 11.15pm weighing in at 8lb 11oz

Isn't he gorgeous :)

Baby links

Here's a random list of links that has created itself in my bookmarks over the the last few months regarding all aspects of pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
I haven't even had a proper look through many of them yet but hopefully someone else might find them of use too.

I'll try and add to them as I come across more...

Information:

gurgle.com - General baby info
BabyCentre - General baby info
The Nest Baby - General baby info
Relaxed Birth & Parenting - Holistic training for birth
Parent Hacks - Parenting tips from parents

Shopping:

JoJo Maman Bébé - General baby stuff
Lullabys - General baby stuff
Bump to 3 - General baby stuff
Notonthehighstreet.com - General baby stuff
Urchin - General baby stuff
Mighty Junior - Shopping Blog
Holz Toys - Wooden toys
The Nappy Lady - Cloth nappy advice and shop
The Used Nappy Company - Buy and sell used cloth nappies
50 Best Stylish Baby Buys - Taken from iwantmymum.com
olli and lime - Contemporary eco design interiors for kids
Fleurville - Designer changing bags
Petunia Pickle Bottom - Stylish baby stuff
Tiny Dodo - Designer stuff for babies and kids
Nordic Kids - 'Scandinavian cool' baby stuff
Crib Designs - 'online boutique'
Baby Curls
Revilo Toys - Top quality baby toys