Month 1

Ok, so I'm going to attempt to recall the last few months of our new life with Declan, hopefully I can remember it all!

I had an amazing experience giving birth to him, it really was incredible. and its so true when people tell you you'll fall even more in love with your partner when you see them hold your baby for the first time. I swear, I cried more about that then anything else! The labour and birth went so well, the best anyone could hope for really, and when it was over, I just could not believe he was finally here, real, and in my arms.

Our hospital and all the midwives were amazing, I couldnt have asked for anything better. I even managed to score a private room (I went in under public health rather than private), I guess being christmas, the only women in their having their babies were like me, surprises, rather than scheduled births.

After staying in hospital for 2 nights, we took our sweet new baby home to try and figure out our new life. and I'm happy to say, things started off quite smoothly, and have continued like that since. At first though, Dec had his days and nights around the wrong way! hello no sleep for mumma & daddy! but we managed quite well (I think). Dan managed to get 6 weeks off of work, so that worked out great for me! (and him too I guess).

With Declan being born on xmas day, all our plans, and our families plans got thrown out the window, but we did manage to eventually to a "Christmas" lunch with everyone (seperately) over the next week. My parents drove up from down south and stayed all day, it was awesome. just like real christmas (except i usually go home to them) but mum bought up all this amazing food and wouldnt let me do a thing! Dans parents helped immensly aswell. the first few weeks were just a blur of people coming over everyday, with the excuse of 'seeing if i needed any help' or 'catching up' but I know of course, they were all there to see Declan and steal as many cuddles as they could!

so yes, the first month was absolutely amazing. there were alot of ups, and naturally, there were a few downs. I managed to make it all through the pregnancy without getting overly emotional. I think I only cried for no reason maybe twice. So, I figured, after having Dec, I would probably make it through without much tears. Boy oh boy was I wrong! all the tears that didnt come out while pregnant, sure did show up afterwards! and mostly over breastfeeding. I always wanted to at least try to breastfeed, and I had always hoped it would work out for me and my baby, but at the same time, I was fully aware that it does not work for everyone, and for whatever reasons, some people just cant do it. and theres no shame in formula feeding, I mean, your baby's gotta eat right? but more on that another time, this post wasn't supposed to get super serious!

So all in all, the first month was incredible. we learnt so much about ourselves and what we are capable of. we are very lucky that there were no complications with the birth or afterwards. I recovered well, as did Declan, and its been smooth sailing ever since (in my opinion anyways!)

Now, no more boring stuff, photos!

so teeny in his rocker! he slept in this almost every night for the first month, since he simply hated sleeping on his back!

 



 

haha milk drunk

 



 

some tummy time with daddy. this is one of my favorite pics from the first month.

 

our sleeping angel. we ended up using this pic for our 'Thank You' cards

 

 

on the rare occassion that Declan would sleep on his back, this was the position. hahaha

 

 

first bath at home. he was sleepy

 

Declan with Poppy (my dad). It just melts my heart to see my dad cuddling his grandson

 

and of course, dad has already purchased Declan a fishing rod! when he was about 3 weeks old. silly dad. it is pretty cool though, theres LED lights in the reel that light up when you're winding!

 

Declan with Great Nanny (my Nanna). She is absolutely besotted with her first great grandson. Its beautiful the way they look at each other

 

our little baby zebra

 

 

first smile caught on camera! I refuse to believe it was just wind that created that grin!

 

a wonderful friend of my mums hand sewed this amazing blanket for Declan. It's incredible and I can't believe someone would go to that much trouble for me and my little boy. Can't wait for him to start using it!

 

doing some hand/feet discovering. wasnt too keen on the feet socks, and kicked furiously until they came off!

 

Declan absolutely HATED getting his nappy changed for the first two weeks. Everytime we layed him on the change table he would scream until we picked him back up. It was horrible. Enter the Winnie the Pooh Musical mobile! as soon as we hung that above him, he has been obsessed! and now he simply loves getting his nappy changed or even just being on his change table in general. it was amazing the change, best purchase ever!

 

Declans first family xmas party (a few weeks after xmas). And his very first pic with "Santa" (my 18 year old cousin Kodie). It was a great family day and he actually seemed to enjoy meeting all his 2nd cousins and great aunts & uncles. Well, he slept through most of it, even while being passed around to everyone for cuddles, so I count that as enjoying it!

 

 

So, month 1 recap down. Boy that turned into a long post. Month 2 will be up soon, and I'll try and keep it shorter!

BACK!!

Hello all!

I know I know, its been almost 3 months, I really have no excuse. well I kinda do, I HAD A BABY! Finally! The last time I posted, it was a day before my due date, but baby boy decided not to show up that day! or the next, or the next, or even the next!! He was a whole WEEK late, which for those of you who remember what my due date was (December 18th) means he was born...

ON CHRISTMAS DAY!

and what a Merry Christmas it was!

 

Our darling baby boy was born at 5.15am Christmas morning weighing 6pd 6oz and 47cm long.

 

 

After much discussion, and a big sleep for myself and dad, we finally named our beautiful boy (a whole 17 or so hours after he was born). I'm very excited to introduce to everyone,

 

Declan Taylor

 

His name doesnt specifically come from anywhere (we actually just spotted it in the end credits for a tv show we both liked) we just love the sound of it. And that its a little different without being too "weird". Taylor, however, is my brothers name. it's also my nan's maiden name. I've always had my heart set on getting a family name in my childrens name somewhere, and thankfully, D was quite happy to oblige.

 

So the last almost 3 months have been so amazing and incredible. Theyve been hard, fun, exhausting, emotional, and the greatest time of my life.

 

I cant wait to share more when I get the time! I will be doing more posts soon on what's been happening and how things have been going the last few months, and of course, I will attempt to write up the birth story very soon (that is, of course, unless no one wants to read about it!!)

 

Thanks for being patient, I'm hoping there's still some of you out there still reading!

 

:)

40 weeks!!

hi everyone!

well tomorrow is my due date! and still no baby! which, of course, is fine, since im not technically due, but i really did think we'd have this bub a little early. not sure why, but i 'had a feeling'. well obviously that feeling was wrong!

heres a quick catch up of whats been happening the last few weeks. (it is mostly baby stuff, so if thats boring, feel free to skip. and if you follow me on instagram @princesscaris, you may have already seen these pics)

nursery organising!

 

i assure you, the cot is now empty and theres plenty of space for baby in there!

 

 

drawers are full! hence the extra storage baskets.

 

 

 

so ive been spending my nesting days getting more and more organised for this baby. his nursery is all ready to go, but its looking quite sad all empty and no baby! wish he would hurry up! hehe. we're just getting very impatient. and boy have i been nesting. i even steam cleaned and scrubbed our microwave inside and out! so glad i did, that thing was gross. but ive found more and more little nitty gritty things to clean as time goes on.

 

i will admit that ive also tried some so called 'natural labour inducing' tips. but to no avail just yet. havent gone too crazy. just been walking alot every day, daily 'special time' with D, slightly spicy food (well spicy for me anyways) and a few exercises that are supposed to help move things along. im not willing or desperate enough to ftry castor oil or anything like that, but im open to suggestions from anyone who's heard other things to try. im a little wary of side effects (hence not wanting to try castor oil) but if i get more desperate, i will be going to get some raspberry leaf tea, and maybe even some evening primrose oil.

 

hospital bags, all packed and ready to go!

 

pram all ready to go!

 

we've also installed both car seats (we were lucky enough to score one for each car! yay for not having to swap them between cars all the time) i love them. and i love our pram (graciously bought for us by DMans parents, spoilt!) its the Steelcraft Strider Compact. I originally wanted the Strider Plus, but was disappointed when it wouldnt fit in my car! (I have a Holden Astra) it would fit if i took off the large wheels everytime i put it in the car, and i was not keen on having to do that, specially during winter. but the sales assistant let us know the Compact was on it its way in stock, so we waited, and yay this one fits perfectly in my tiny boot! we went with a bassinet for the first 6 mths or so, and have the regular seat for after that. cant wait to see little munchkin riding around in there!

 

 

 

some treats for baby

 

the onesie is from one of my cousins, and i love it so much (i actually used to play drums in a couple of bands, so it hits a very special spot in my heart. not that ive played for years, and i dont even own a kit anymore. makes me slightly sad) she actually got the idea for it from my pinterest! http://pinterest.com/princesscaris/ i really didnt think anyone actually paid attention to what i pin, so i was super suprised and impressed when she plucked this from my baby board and got it for us!

 

the book also holds a special spot in my heart too. it was my absolute favorite when i was a kid (god knows why) and when i saw it at Target for like $5, i couldnt resist buying it for bub. hope he loves it just as much as i do! i also hope that i can find the other one i used to own (My Hippopotamus is on Our Caravan Roof Getting Sunburnt)  coz i used to love that one too.

 

i also bought (online, hence no picture as i havent received it yet) "The night before Christmas" book. which was a christmas eve tradition at my parents place to read that before bed. and i cant wait to start doing that with Baby Edwards (if he ever arrives!). every christmas eve, we'd have a nive family dinner at the table, get in our pjs, wait for it to get dark enough and go for a family drive around our little town to look at all the christmas lights, then come home, brush teeth and read the story together. i loved it. still do. if im ever home on xmas eve, i still read the book to my little brother (even if he is 19 now! and doesnt really care for it!!) i just cant let go of that mushy gooey family love feeling it used to give me whenever christmas came around. so he can suck it up and hear the story dammit! haha fingers crossed the book arrives before next week, and so does the baby, so i cant start this tradition in our little family immediately!!

 

 

speaking of my home town, we had a flood! well a minor one, there was ALOT of rain, and alot of water everywhere, but no one got hurt, and no permanent damage has been done to any homes or shops. just minor stuff. i think the worst of it is in the above picture. Thats our Velodrome. FILLED WITH WATER! TO THE BRIM! thats insane! luckily its actually across the road from the river, so it wasnt hard and didnt take long to get it sorted out. im super glad that everyone was ok and my parents, and grand parents places were both untouched.

 

 

Merry Xmas to me!!

 

mum decided this year that since neither me or my sister were making it home to her and dad on xmas day this year (sadface) she would just give us money to buy our own christmas presents. so i splurged and bought my first ghd! ive always wanted one, and i got the gold max, which has the widest blade for thick long hair. i cannot wait to use it! hope its worth it, i figured that since i spend $100 or more on a straightenner almost every year (i use it every single day) that if the ghd lasts me at least 2 years, then its worth it. i also bought myself a nice cute new diary for next year and a glittery nail polish set too. thanks mum!!

 

 

 

40 week belly!

 

 

this pic was taken this morning! full on preggo now! cant wait to meet our little one! hoping we can decide on a name before he gets here though!! any suggestions!

 

 

i might not be on here for a while, im hoping ill have lots of cute baby pics to share once i get the time to blog again. but who knows?!? cross fingers for me!!





November

onto a quick catch up for November!

november so far has been super fun. ive had both my baby showers and got absolutely spoilt rotten and treated like a queen by my family and friends and ive finished work for maternity leave! yay for 4 weeks off to nest and prepare for baby. its been great, getting organised (well at least trying to) and kicking back and trying to relax.

table decor at my 1st baby shower in my home town with family

 

 

my mum threw me an amazing baby shower at home with all my family invited. the above pic does not do justice to the amount of work and effort she put into the deocrations, and of course the food is always amazing when mums catering! it was a wonderful afternoon and we all had a really great time.



bub got spoilt! we got some amazing presents and some really thoughtful handmade treats too.

including this box of treats! a close family friend put this together for us, its indivdually boxed "baby cupcakes" in each cupcake there were bibs, socks, singlets and a few muslin wraps. all neatly rolled up and pinned so carefully and beautiful displayed in a colorful box. i was really touched at the amount of time and effort that she put in to make this for our baby. its wonderful.

these are seen everywhere, i think even most florists sell them now. its a nappy cake! my "work mum" (haha close friend that ive worked with for several years) put this together herself though, buying all the supplies and making it for us. its incredible. the bottom layer is two layers of teeny tiny nappies, wrapped with 2 muslin wraps, then the next layer is more wraps, singlets, booties, mittens, socks and bibs. plus theres a few baby toiletries and of course a rubber duckie! i love it so much i havent been able to bring myself to pull it apart just yet!

 

pedicure time! for my birthday, Z bought me a voucher to get an "Ultimate Pedicure Package" at a local day spa. what a great gift! i very very rarely go and get my nails done, let alone my toes, and a whole package at a fancy day spa is just not something i even think of, so this was a real treat! Z thought itd be nice for me to have nice toesies for when i got to hospital for bub, and shes right, who wants to be looking at their manky toes while trying to give birth?!? shes also a nurse, so sees manky feet all the time, so maybe she was just making sure mine were nice for the nurses who will be looking after me. haha! whatever her reasons, it was absolute bliss. they really looked after me and my feet feel and look amazing. unfortunately, they didnt have any blues to paint my nails with, so ive got glittery pink. but its a beautiful colour by Butter London and i love it.

 

 

2nd baby shower! the food was incredible!

my hosts H and Z! my amazing friends put together an even more amazing baby shower then i thought possible! we had the best time, and the girls did a wonderful wonderful job. i really couldnt thank them enough! we had a fun afternoon of games and food and presents and love.



this is everyone! im so thankful for everyone that could make it and celebrate with me. it really was a great day and i felt very special and spoilt by everyone, even though theyre really there for baby!

 

we received some truly wonderful presents and the nursery is now choc full of stuff! i dont know where to fit everything! ill find a way im sure, but right now its rather daunting and im taking a few days off to recover before i tackle it.

 

latest bump pic! im 37 weeks as of today! big baby!

 

its DPants as a baby! naww look at that little face! i would not mind at all if bub turns out to look like him, hes absolutely adorable in this pic! so sweet and innocent hahaha!

 

course with our luck, bub will look more like this version of D rather then angelic one above! hahahaha. he actually looks alot like his still (cept for all the hair of course) especially when hes had too much to drink! hahahahaha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

so its been a while...

hello!

yes im still here, and im still pregnant! nothings gone wrong, i just took some time out to focus on everything thats been going on lately and prepare for our life change coming up. its been 2 months since i last blogged! shocking i know! so theres a bit to catch up on. ill try and keep it brief and try harder not to be too boring. i also have to apologise for my lack of pics too, i have a few to go through and post, but i havent been as vigilant as i should be with taking them, so theres big gaps between time and whats been going on.

ok so last time i blogged was september, just after a work friend had passed away. that was a pretty dismal note to leave off on, but thats how life goes. then october came and went, heres a little update on what went down :

 

30 weeks!

 

my bump finally popped out properly and i actually looked pregnant instead of just suspiciously overweight again! yay for making it to 30 weeks! at this stage, everything is going swimmingly as bub was just getting bigger and bigger. as was i! it got to a point where my doctor mentioned i had put on a bit more weight then maybe i should have and that i now needed to change the hospital i chose to birth at as they didnt deliver for anyone with my now high BMI. bit of a bummer, considering we were happy with where we chose and were all booked and ready to go. in the end, its worked out for the best. the hospital we got moved to is much much newer and nicer and we feel very happy there. we've been and had our ante-natal classes, had a tour, met the midwives and are now very confident and reassured about our situation. at a check up last week though, it turns out that my original GP had my height recorded incorrectly by 4 cm (making me shorter!) and my BMI isnt actually too high to birth at my original hospital!!! but like i said, we're much better off and happier with the second choice, so no more complaining! i have also curbed my eating better and managed to not put on anymore in the last 2 months, which im very happy about.

 

i knew when i got pregnant, that since i had been obese for most of my life, i was likely to put on more then the average woman is recommended to, and i was prepared for that, and somewhat ok with it, i just wanted to make sure my baby was ok. and since my doc wasnt giving me any indication previously that my weight gain had been a problem, i assumed everything was fine. i do wish that the doc had maybe given me more guidance, or more of a warning about gaining too much weight, but in the back of my head, i did know that youre not "supposed" to gain too much. anyway, baby is fine, ive stopped indulging and have been looking after myself alot better, and its full steam ahead!

 

ok where was i, oh yes, october. well, in even more sad news, my beloved grandfather passed away just before daniels birthday. he had been sick on and off for a few years now, heart problems and a cyst on his leg that would not heal. not to mention, with my grandma passing away almost 2 years ago, he had become a very sad and lonely old man very quickly. he wasnt alone, he had moved in my my aunty (his 2nd daughter) full time and always had loving family members around him to care for him, or even to just sit with him (he wasnt much of a talker, but he loved having people with him all the time) but he was still lonely. after spending over 60 years married to the love of his life, it was very hard for him to get used to not having her around, or to get used to sleeping alone. its quite sad, but he was ready and had been telling all of us that he just wanted to see his wife again. he had a fall which resulted in him coming up to perth to be in hospital with a fractured neck. they managed to fix that, mostly, and even installed a pacemaker for him in hopes that it would help his heart and maybe give him a few more better months or years with us. he then got transferred back to our home town hospital where family were with him every day, but in the end it was not enough and he passed away peacefully in his sleep late one night. like i said, very sad for all of us, but in a way, a bit of a relief for him. we miss him terribly, and my heart breaks for my own dear father who now has had to bid goodbye to both his parents. of course, my dad is always very much ok and a 'get on with it' kind of guy, but we could all tell losing his father hit him pretty hard. they were great friends and very much alike.

 

 

grandad with 3 of his 4 children. my dad, aunty christine and my aunty laurel. he looks happy :)

 

 

one of our best pics of grandad. at his happiest in the sunshine fishing on my dads boat. his favorite place to be. RIP grandad xx



 

 

 

 

oh, and i just wanted to share a couple of my most favorite pics. my grandad used to have his own dark room and take/develope his own black and white pictures. it was only a hobby, but he was amazing at it, and we have tonnes of pictures to treasure because of it. these baldy babies are me (on the left) and my cousin Courtney. we are only 5 weeks apart in age (which resulted in alot of people assuming we were twins rather then cousins!) and for a while there i think we were grandads fav subjects to photograph. theres tonnes of sets of pics of just me and her hanging out on a blankie in his backyard, happily playing while he clicked away.

 

 

ok, enough sadness, like i said, grandad died just before daniels birthday. his 30th birthday! which was a little bit of a bummer, since i had to miss most of his plans to head home and be with family, but he still managed to have a great birthday. he caught up with friends, we went to dinner with his family, played with his new bluray player/hd recorder and his new coffee machine (i bought him a nespresso!) and i suspect he actually enjoyed turning 30.

 

of course, i made him a cake! well kinda, its brownies (at his request) but i decorated it like a cake!



 

OMG! so cute! his youngest sister and her fiance went on a holiday to Hawaii and bought us back this amazing outfit for our bub! cant wait to se him in it!

 

 

ok, thats pretty much a summary of october, so much more happened, but i didnt take pics to keep track, and my memory isnt so great. you get the gist! now onto november!




weekend

happy monday everyone!

how was your weekend? mine was a little up and down, but overall, quite nice.

i say it was up and down since it started with a funeral on saturday morning. funerals are never fun or anything to look forward to, but as far as they do go, it was a lovely service full of love and respect. we all grouped together to mourn our friend and like i said, it wasnt fun, but it was nice and we all felt slightly better after paying our respects to our friend and his family.

anyway, the rest of saturday was a bit of a write off. we (work colleagues) did group together afterwards to have a quiet drink (pineapple juice for me!) in honour of our friend, our own private wake if you will. but after an hour or so, most of us were pretty drained and ready to go home and try to block out the mornings events, even if for a little while. when i got home, DMan had his parents over to our place. His dad was helping him put up our new storage shed (which didnt end up actually UP, since they realised they didnt have the right tools for the job half way through!) and his mums usual chatter about anything and everything was a nice distraction for me. i got to hear alot of stories about DPants as a baby, which i always love to hear, and since falling pregnant, ive been getting told ALOT of them lately. its lovely. we ended up in bed pretty early saturday night,  both drained from our days.

sunday was the day to turn things around! we woke up somewhat earlier then usual (well for me anyways, before 10! wow) and with the sun shining through the window, we decided not to waste the day in the house, but to spend it out in the great weather down in fremantle. we invited our friends to lunch, but they all had other arrangements, so it was just the two of us. which turned out just fine for me :) we had a great lunch at a local brewery, where D got a tasting plate of 8 beers! (happy D!) and we discovered that a massive Ferris Wheel had moved into town! shows how often we visit Fremantle, if we didnt even know about it! i made a deal with DMan that if he paid for lunch, id pay for our ferris wheel ride (i think he may have gotten ripped off! but shhh) and it was just lovely. i adore ferris wheels, but theyre very rarely in town, except for when the big Royal Show is on, and even then, the wheel thats there is small and old and rickety. this one was massive, and had air conditioned pods, so it was a MUST. so was the icecream we enjoyed (but didnt need) before returning home.

so yeah, all in all it wasnt a bad weekend. yesterday was just what i needed after saturdays events and i woke up this morning refreshed and ready to head back to work for another week of ugh. (despite not sleeping well)

hope everyone else had a good weekend too :) now for some random iphone pics

happy D with his tasting plate (one of the beers was a chocolate coconut flavour! crazy)

 

 

my delicious fish and chips!

 

 

Ferris Wheel! i think i turned back into a 5 yr old as we were walking towards this!

 

 

nawww <3

 

 

finally painted my nails with my birthday nail polish. thanks S!

 

 

yep, we really do only have 3 months to go! oh my! (oh and dont worry, Captain is only a nickname!)



 



shock

the phonecall i received on sunday was not expected, and most defiently not welcome.

hearing the voice telling me that you, someone i loved, cared about, respected, admired and worked with every day for 5 years, was gone...was unbelievable and extremely heart breaking. you were an amazing person and friend and it still hasnt completely sunk in.

going to work every day and still seeing your name, your handwriting, your desk, everything, is horrible. its gut wrenching to see everyone else that loved you suffering. you were an incredible part of our team, and i just dont know if we'll ever recover from losing you. i feel so much pain and sorrow for your beloved wife and of course your cherished family. i barely spoke to you last friday, we were both so busy and everyone was grumpy, but you still managed to make me smile and laugh, as you had done every day that ive seen your smiling face. i feel regret for not having time to talk to you, but privileged for the time we did have. you were taken suddenly, and i know everyone wishes they had more time with you.

im not looking forward to saturday, for when we're all expected to say goodbye for the last time.

we love you. we will always miss you. RIP.