I know this is predominantly a food blog but I’ve always enjoyed sharing the odd lifestyle post whether it’s been a holiday, our wedding or my pregnancy. I like to read a variety of blogs and it’s fun to see the different linkys that bloggers have created. One of my favourites is DearBeautiful’s Me and Mine. I always promised myself once we had a baby we would take part and I think it’s a great way to chart Ethan’s first year.

I did intend to take part last month but in our newborn haze I just didn’t have the time even though we did have a few photos taken of us as a 3. This month we have had a few opportunities for some photos to be taken and after a bit of debating I decided to share this one from our NCT reunion lunch last weekend.

It was quite a significant milestone for us – all the babies from our group had been born safely and healthy and this lunch was a chance for all the couples and babies to get together to celebrate the births and wet all the baby’s heads. From meeting for the first time back in January in the cold function room of the Ilkley Playhouse and spending the following three Sundays together, it was a start contrast last weekend with us all now parents, relaxed and happy out for Sunday lunch together with all our babies.

This photo is nothing amazing, it was taken by one of the Dads, we both look knackered and the light is casting a weird shadow on Mr T but I love it. I love what it represents – we made a beautiful and healthy little boy and even though that day was the end of the official NCT journey, really things are only just beginning.

Our little man is snoozing next to me and while the memories are still fairly clear I thought I would share his birth story. I know this is a food blog but you lot followed my pregnancy I wanted to remember Ethan's birth and this is a perfect place to record it. It's a long one so you might was to grab a cuppa and a slice of cake while you read it...

His due date was the 28^th February 2016 and even with Braxton Hicks coming and going in the week leading up to the 28^th, the date itself passed without so much as a twinge. The following week I willed myself to wake up in pain every morning but nope, this little man was not for moving. I had a midwife appointment on the Thursday but she couldn’t do a stretch and sweep as the cervix was too far back. An induction was booked in for the following Thursday (the 10^th) with my MW saying she didn’t hold out much hope that baby would arrive before then. The next day I was thoroughly fed up and Mr T suggested we go out for dinner as we knew it would be our last Friday night out for a long time. I’m so glad we did as it was nice to spend that time together as a couple yet knowing that within 7 days our lives were about to change dramatically…

The following morning I woke up pain free (again!) but when I went to the loo I thought things could maybe be about to happen (clearout ahem!) but still I wasn’t feeling anything so I put it down to baby pressing on everything. Around 9:30am I felt a twinge similar to the Braxton Hicks I had been getting and once again I ignored it. Over the course of the morning I made some Easter fudge and pottered about while noticing I was cramping every 45 minutes or so. We still needed to buy the baby monitor so I said to Mr T that we should take a walk down into the centre of Otley, go to Argos and see if the pains changed at all. In the past once I’ve left the house they have disappeared. By this point it was around lunchtime and during the walk there and back I seemed to get backache more than anything and we even had to stop to rest at a park bench on the way back yet still I thought it was only Braxton Hicks.

We got home, I baked a marble cake (that I never got to finish) and had a snooze on the sofa. When I woke the pains were now 20-30 minutes apart yet still I didn’t dare get my hopes up. I decided to cook us a carb heavy meal of spag bol and had a shower and straightened my hair. I figured if it was labour I would need the carbs for energy and I didn’t want crazy frizzy hair in my photos. I laugh as I look back on this but the things that go through your head at these times don’t always make sense.

We settled down to watch Saturday Night Takeaway and at this point I realised it was the real deal as contractions were now every 10 minutes apart. Oddly I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I ignored texts from friends and found myself getting into a “zone.” After a while I called the hospital and they said to call back if the pains got worse or if I had 3 in 10 minutes. I handed Mr T my phone and he timed them so I lost all concept of time. By midnight I was in agony and they were still 5 minutes apart so I called the hospital again to be told the same thing as before. By 3am things hadn’t got any worse or better although I had had a show but I was starting to fret as we live 20 minutes away from the hospital and I no longer felt safe at home. I wanted to be with the medical professionals where they could monitor me and baby.

I called the hospital again and they told me to come in. The car journey was awful as I continued to get contractions every 5 minutes and combining that with driving on country roads was not fun! We pulled into the carpark and as I walked to the entrance another contraction hit. I just held on to Mr T willing it to pass. When we got up to the labour ward I was examined and told I was 2cm dilated. Considering the Midwife on Thursday told me it was unlikely I would go before induction the following week I was really pleased.

Now for many women going into hospital can make labour slow down but for me the contractions ramped right up in intensity and were coming every 5 minutes or less. I was put in the active birth room and although it was too soon to use the pool they did have a great rope swing that I clung to as each contraction hit.

2 hours later they examined me again and I was still 2 cm and I felt like crying. I really thought we were going to have the baby by lunchtime but things were progressing so slowly. After a lot of deliberation Mr T persuaded me to accept the shot of diamorphine to give me some ease and hopefully some sleep but it didn’t really work. I was a bit groggy and spaced out but I still felt each contraction. It made me wobbly on my feet so I had to lie down but that made the pain of the contractions worse – a no win situation either way.

I was then moved onto a small ward as things were progressing too slowly and another lady needed the use of the pool. I found leaning over a chair helped as each contraction hit but at this point I had been up for over 24 hours and feeling shattered. I was desperate for more pain relief or to be examined but the midwives refused. They felt that too much interference would slow down the natural course of labour and looking back I can see why but at the time I just wanted the pain to go away.

Mr T ran me a bath around mid-morning but it really didn’t help. The hospital baths were tiny and the water wasn’t very hot either. I felt like I had gone back to primary school as an adult were everything was just too small – there’s me and my giant belly sat in the shallowest bath ever – not a good look haha!

Around midday the head midwife came to see me as she knew I was struggling and suggested I try out the birth pool as she could see I was exhausted. At that point I was debating what to do about pain relief as I had always wanted a natural birth but I was also worn out after being up for over 24 hours and the end was nowhere in sight.

I got in the pool and shortly after mum arrived to see how I was. Her and Dad had flown in that morning after I had text them last night to say I was in labour. The head midwife kindly agreed that mum could pop in for a little bit in the hope it would give me a boost. Mum stayed for an hour with me while I was in the pool while I deliberated on what to do about pain relief. I soon reached the point where the pool was doing nothing for me so the midwife agreed to examine me (it was around 3pm at this point) and we decided if I was less that 4cm I would have another shot of diamorphine but if I was past 4cm I would have an epidural. I could have kissed her when she said I was 4-5cm and at that point it was all systems go getting me ready to go into another room and organise the anesthetist. Around this point I lost my mucus plug and oh my, dealing with that took our relationship to a whole new level. I won’t go in to too much detail but I didn’t realise there was so much of it or how messy it was.

A little while later the midwife came back and told us a room was ready for me. I remember her laughing at how I said slippers (you English love to mock the Irish accent!) and I told her usually I yell at people who make fun of my accent but I would let her off as she was making the pain go away. I got in to the room I would give birth in and decided I needed to clean my teeth between contractions as I knew once I got the epidural I wouldn’t be able to leave the bed. It’s strange the things that go through your head but I felt the need to freshen up.

The anesthetist arrived and before she could administer the epidural she wanted me to read some legal jargon. I was in the throes of another contraction and told her just to give it to Mr T to read. She was insistent I read it but I was insistent he read it as I could barely function never mind process a page of information.

Eventually the epidural was administered and kicked in and I drifted off to sleep for a little while. The nap was much needed and I felt so much better when I woke up. I remember looking at the monitor and saying “I’m having contractions but I can’t feel a thing!” The midwife also commented on how chilled out baby was and that they wouldn’t have thought he was a baby in labour. I was examined again around 7pm and was delighted to hear I was at 7cm, suddenly things were progressing after such a long latent phase.

My waters still hadn’t gone at this point but the midwife kindly pointed them out to Mr T as they were bulging out (lovely eh?) and every time one of them walked past the bed they dashed past quite quickly incase my waters suddenly broke and went over them. They did break soon after and I felt like I had wet myself on the bed. They kept coming and coming, it felt like I had loads!

Time seemed to speed up and after a shift change before I knew it, it was 11:30pm and I was examined again to find out I was 10cm dilated woohoo! My memories are quite hazy around this point but suddenly the midwife told me it was time to start pushing. Most of this is a total blur but I remember listening to her and Mr T when I had to push. With the epidural I didn’t get that urge but it had worn off on my left hip which caused excruciating pain. I remember yelling that someone needed to chop my hip off. After an hour of pushing (it felt like a lot less time than that) the midwife said baby would be born within the next hour but in fact he was actually born 10 minutes later. That ring of fire as the head crowned was horrendous but next thing I knew baby was delivered onto my chest, the cord was left to stop pulsing then the placenta was delivered and Mr T cut the cord. The midwife commented on the health of the cord which we found baffling but supposedly it was perfect and they love to see cords like that.

Bubs latched on like a champ and fed for 15mins while the midwife checked me out. I had torn in two places so I needed to be stitched up but shortly after that it was discovered my uterus wasn’t contracting properly so the doctor had to come back and massage my belly while manually removing the clots. I was off my face on gas and air and don’t remember most of it so Mr T had to tell me about it after.

I was then hooked up to a drip for a few hours, left to snooze and Mr T was sent home for a few hours to get some sleep before I was transferred to the post-natal ward. The following day I was discharged and we headed home to begin our life as a family of 3.

It was such a long labour but it’s true what they say, you forget the pain (apart from the stitches!) once you have your baby in your arms. We are both in amazement that we created something so perfect and my body grew him for 9 months.

It’s been a hard few weeks so far but now he’s here we can’t imagine life without him.

I hope you all don't mind me sharing my birth story on here. Normal cake service shall resume shortly!

Monday, we are halfway through February and maternity leave has officially started – errr how did that happen??

At the moment I feel like I’ve got the treat of a Monday off work, it doesn’t feel like I won’t be going back for 10 months. I’ve had a productive morning so far as Mother Nature has decided that sleeping past 6am is for losers and it’s the best time to get up (please note the sarcasm). I stayed in bed until 7am but gave in, got up and since then I’ve vacuumed, mopped the kitchen floor, made a bit pot of Bolognese for the freezer, tidied up a bit, looked into what phone upgrade I can get, phoned the dentist and now I’ve sat down to type up this post and it’s not even 10am yet.

Doing this week’s meal plan was fun as for once I didn’t have to think about what was quick and easy to have after work or what would provide leftovers for lunch the following day. I can actually have a proper oven baked jacket potato for lunch or make a casserole that doesn’t involve advanced planning. Saying that I found it really hard to come up with meals as I’m so used to planning for a working week.

I’ll be very surprised if bubs arrives this week but I’ve decided as off next week I won’t do a big shop or a meal plan, I’ll take each day as it comes as I don’t want to fill the fridge and be left with a load of food waste.

This week…

Monday – Lasagne

Tuesday – Pork Chop Arrabiata (Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect…)

Wednesday – Squash and Spinach Pasta (Save With Jamie)

Thursday – Beef Stew

Friday – Burgers

Saturday – Chilli (Nigella’s Kitchen)

Sunday – no idea, winging it haha!

So that’s this week, maybe bubs will arrive early and I won’t write another one of these for weeks but knowing my luck I’ll still be here next Monday!

Have a great week everyone!

37 weeks – how on earth did that happen?

As I type this I’ve a few days left at work and I really cannot believe the end is in sight. In many ways this pregnancy has flown by but at the same time it has dragged too.

Up until last Friday we were both under the impression that bubs was breech but at my 36w midwife check on that day we discovered he is finally head down. It was a relief to hear as for this whole pregnancy he has been transverse then breech so we were losing hope that he would turn.

It’s great to know I can now experience labour and a natural delivery but in a way I feel quite odd about it too. For the past few weeks both of us have mentally been preparing ourselves for the more than likely event of a c-section and now we are having to get used to the fact that we will get that natural delivery. It’s not even that I wanted a section, the thought of surgery freaked me out but I had made peace with myself that there was such a high chance of it taking place and the end goal was him being born safely.

Now everything has quite literally been turned on its head (excuse the pun) and I’m having to prepare myself for labour and what I want from the birth. Do I go for water? What pain relief will I have? Do I try an active birth? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options. The big bonus is knowing I can have skin to skin straight away which I’m hoping will make establishing breastfeeding a lot easier. I know recovery will be quicker too.

I guess my main issue is getting myself in the right headspace for it and trusting my body to do what nature intended instead of relying on surgeons. 

I'm definitely done with pregnancy now. I feel so lucky and so fortunate to have had a fairly easy time of it (bar the tiredness and backache) and I know so many women would swap with me in a heartbeat but part of me feels like I've been pregnant forever (we found out on the 23rd June). I just want to finish work and meet this little man we have been growing and preparing for over the past 9 months.

Pregnancy is a strange thing, it messes with your emotions in so many ways. I'm trying to savour these last days and weeks as this could be my one and only pregnancy. Ideally I would like 2 or 3 children but we just don't know what the future holds. I want to enjoy it yet I'm fed up with it too and can't wait to start our new life as a family of 3.

I've been getting Braxton Hicks these past few days and I keep wondering is it time although I really don't want my waters to break at work - could you imagine??

One thing I have loved and I'm so glad I made the effort to do was to take bump shots most weekends. It's amazing to see how my body has grown from a little podge to a huge bump!

Sorry for such a rambling post but this is inside my head these days - a crazy jumble of thoughts and emotions. How did you feel in your final few weeks of pregnancy?

Amazing to see how my body has changed over these 9 months!

I adore going for afternoon tea, it’s one of my most favourite hobbies (eating tea and cake is a hobby – yes?) and I especially love finding new places to try out.

Last week I turned 30 and surprisingly I wasn’t fazed by it at all. I always said I wanted to be married, in a good job, driving, pregnant and own our own house by that time and so far we achieved almost everything on that list apart from owning our own house. The deposit is there, we just haven’t found the right house yet.

When I was asked how I wanted to celebrate my 30^th all I wanted to do was go for a nice afternoon tea with my friends and a yummy meal out with Mr T (he’s not a fan of the sweet stuff – weirdo!) as anything more hard-core is out of the question with me ready to pop in the next few weeks.

We booked for the Blackhouse 50% off January sale and it did not disappoint and I wanted to do something as equally yummy with my friends but much more cake orientated. I had seen a few posts on Facebook about MamaDoreen’s and after a bit of googling I found there to be one in Leeds and one in Harrogate.

We opted to go to the one in Harrogate as it’s only 20mins away from me, one of my friends who was coming lives there and it’s on the train line for my other friend who was coming too.

It’s just up the hill from Bettys this quaint little tea shop is all kinds of amazing! The shop area is bursting with delicious baked goodies that we all somehow managed to resist buying. Beyond the shop area is the tea room and oh my, it’s so glam and girly without being tacky – we all loved it!

We were seated in the window and even though it was grey and raining outside (good old January weather!) it was lovely to watch the world go by. Initially we planned to order 2 afternoon teas between 3 and a cake platter but they got the order wrong and brought out 3 afternoon teas. We forgave them though as honestly, I have never ever seen such an amazing arrange of cakes and sandwiches. It was utterly stunning – truly scrumptious.

I snapped a few photos on my phone but we were too busy enjoying ourselves to take any more.

Not only did we have sandwiches but there were also a few slices of quiche. The scones were delicious and I lost track of how many cakes there were. They even brought out a side plate of 3 slices of Victoria sponge and a birthday cupcake for me! None of us could finish it and we all ended up bringing a box of goodies home with us.

The service was truly impeccable too, I could not fault it at all. At the last afternoon tea we went to they wanted to charge us for more tea (!) while at Mama Doreen’s the pots were kept well topped up.

I was asked when baby was due and one of the waitresses told us that there has been a spate of pregnant women going in to labour after visiting there, thankfully that hasn’t happened to me!

I really could go on and on about how good Mama Doreen’s is and for the bargain price of £15, you can’t go wrong. It’s definitely up there with the best afternoon tea I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot!

Thank-you Mama Doreen’s for a lovely afternoon, we will definitely be back!

I was not asked to write this review. We paid for our visit in full, I just wanted to tell you all how good it was.