Another week slides past and I have to wonder where time is going. It’s almost April. I have 4 more shifts at work then I’m on maternity leave. The baby is due in 5 weeks. People are asking what to get for Polly’s second birthday. Ahhhhh! Time please stop for just 5 minutes so I can catch up.

On the plus side it’s Easter this weekend which means pregnant me has been loving the shops for the last few weeks in my need (it really is a need!) for chocolate and lots of it. I love Easter egg chocolate and will quite often sneak a cheap £1 egg into the basket at Tesco just to snack on once Polly is in bed. They taste so good why would I pass up the opportunity to eat them when they are right there, it’s like people who say they love pancakes yet only eat them one day a year, if you like something and it’s there then hell just go for it! That’s my justification for tallying up about 30 Easter eggs already.

We have visitors back with us now, fresh from their Asia travels Auntie Georgia and Uncle Gyan are staying with us while they house hunt nearby. I realise now they are back how much we all missed having them about, Polly especially. It’ll be nice to see them settled in their own place soon as I know how similar my sister and I are in that we like to have our little place to call home.

Henry is now moving on well with his course and is booking in days to do assessments. Not that he needs to go anywhere further than the dining room table but it’s more that he’s letting me know to disappear with a certain little person so he can concentrate. Luckily the toddler groups work beautifully for this, not sure what we’ll do once the Easter holidays start at the end of this week, pray for the sunshine and head to the park maybe. I’m just not keen to stray too far as the pregnancy weeks slip by and I have wild images of my waters breaking while I’m 30 miles from home without my hospital bags and a wild toddler in tow. I’ve also got a little issue with driving. It’s weird as I passed my test before Henry so for a good couple of years I did all the driving and I loved it, our first car was an estate christened Precious and I was happy to trek out for adventure days right down to Land’s End- literally. But, since having Polly my driving confidence has gone through the floor. I will make any excuse to not be behind the wheel of the car, even going as far as leaving my glasses behind and ‘forgetting’ to put contacts in. I just feel like I can’t do it anymore, which I know is stupid as I obviously have had to drive but I’ll literally only do it when there is no other option. I have spoken to another couple of mums who have had the same drastic change but as of yet haven’t attempted to solve the issue. I mean 8 months pregnant means I’m not the most comfortable so trying to get comfy in the drivers seat can probably wait a couple of months but still I know it’s something I need to address sooner rather than later.

Finishing on a positive it has been a nice week or so. We finally got our arses over to meet Henry’s cousin’s newest little one who has stolen everyone’s hearts. We also met up with Henry’s brother and his girlfriend to celebrate his birthday which was a really nice evening. And Bader herself has been on top form on the cuteness front like usual, truly outdoing herself last Wednesday when she imitated the hamster running in their wheels at Pets at home. I’m seriously considering sending the video in to ‘You’ve been framed’!

So, I’ve finally gone with it and packed a hospital bag (well 2) ready for that big event that seems to be creeping up even quicker than before. I hit week 33 this week so it seemed like a good time to do it, also a couple of babies have arrived in the May Facebook page I’m on so I’m very aware that that big mound under my top is actually a fully functioning human being and not just a ramp for Polly’s cars. I figured I’d dedicate an actual post to the old hospital bag as a potential reference that others could use, and I might in years to come when we hope to expand our clan even more.
So, what’s made the list and why? Well, bag number one is mine and contains:

• Clothes for me- 3x loose tops, 2x loose trousers, 2x PJ bottoms, 1x PJ top, nightie, slippers, dressing gown, 5x basic knickers, 2x nursing bras, bed socks, zip-up hoody. These are all to wear after the main event, you’ll notice the word ‘loose’, very important to remember that it’s only A-listers who vacuum that baby bump away before they grace OK magazine, the rest of us mere mortals are left with a deflated balloon and the chance to see how many stretch marks were hidden under the bump. I’ve pretty much packed the same stuff I used last time, most of it picked up at Primark as I wouldn’t advise taking your favourite comfy slippers anywhere near a maternity ward.
• Toiletries- hair ties, head band, brush, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, lip balm, contact lens solution & spare pot, towel (not white!), flannel (not white!), flip flops. The shampoo etc are the mini ones you get in Boots for going on holiday with. You’ll also notice the ‘not white’ instruction- very important as you really don’t wanna be looking at a towel that looks like it was hanging over the rail in that horror film scene where she has a sad end to her shower. The head band I found great during the main event as it might come as a surprise that during labour you can get a bit hot and bothered so the last thing you want is your hair stuck to the side of your face when you’re trying to concentrate on your breathing.
• Items for the main event- bikini and loose-fitting t-shirt (actually a men’s t-shirt). Fairly self-explanatory really, I’m hoping for a water birth again and am literally packing what I wore for it last time. I mean I don’t recall actually putting the bikini bottoms on and the t-shirt came off at some point while in the pool, actually the bikini top came off too once I was on the bed doing the old skin to skin. So basically, by the end of my labour I was naked- this actually just occurred to me! In the photos though, someone has at least covered some of my modesty with a sheet, I mean the fact it’s taken me nearly 2 years to realise I was starkers (and for goodness knows how long after) just shows I wasn’t too concerned about that shred of dignity that I might have been retaining.
• Essentials for afterwards- soft bum wipes (honestly the only thing that might actually be as scary as childbirth is that first poo after delivery, take every little comfort you can get, I’ve actually treated myself to Andrex ones instead of the basic Aldi ones you can usually find in our bathroom). Maternity pads and breast pads- I mean it’s amazing how many different things come out of you after childbirth, so these are 2 packs of items you don’t want to forget. Carrier bag- to shove all the ‘used’ clothes items afterwards so they don’t need to make contact with the inside of your bag and can be easily transferred to a washing machine (or incinerator) whenever you’re up to the challenge.
• Extras- empty jewellery box (just somewhere safe to stick my rings & necklace should they need to go somewhere safe in a hurry). Phone charger. Snacks. Sign for the car saying ‘Wife in labour, will move A.S.A.P’- just in case. Maternity notes. Change for parking.
  Surprisingly this time I’ve actually not only packed considerably lighter than last time I’ve also had the sense to pack the things in the bag in the order that they’ll be needed- screw you baby brain you haven’t taken my mind completely just yet.

The bag for Bear-bear is even smaller:

• Selection of baby clothes- 4x long onesies, 4x short onesies, 2x hats, 2x cardi’s, 2x socks, 2x booties and a specially bought coming home outfit that will probably get forgotten about. All these are in neutral colours as we are going ‘team green’ and were of course all worn by Polly at some point.
• Pack of newborn nappies- I took one out just to look at again and actually used the phrase ‘shut up’ as I’d forgotten how small they actually are. And yes, a whole pack as those little monsters literally shit for England in those first few months.
• Changing essentials- pack of nappy bags, wipes and a pack of cotton wool.
• Blanket- It’s the same cute elephant one my parents bought for when Polly was born so it seemed a fitting one to pack.
• 4x muslins- these should be top of the ‘need to buy’ list for any expectant parent and I had one over my shoulder for the first 6 months of Polly’s life.

All I need to do now is dust off the car seat and stick the newborn inserts back in and we will officially be ready to have a baby. Well apart from setting up the Moses basket so baby has somewhere to sleep when they actually come home. Now it’s getting more real. Now these 2 bags have taken up residence in the hallway it’s become a lot more real.

So it’s been a busy week or so- this is my excuse for slacking on the blog front. We’ve been up to visit family and friends in Suffolk and although I took my laptop with every intention of posting an update I just never seemed to get round to it. Before we went we had a fairly typical few days apart from the snow storm that rocked up at the end of the week. Fairly ironic that we had actual proper snow just a couple of weeks after we went on a snow hunt. When we moved down to Devon over 7 years ago we were told that snow was a very rare occurrence in the West Country, so of course that first winter was the worst winter in years. So I guess if it’s only going to do that sort of weather every 7 years then I think that’s a fairly accurate summary, let’s hope it stays a rare occurrence. The snow came with it’s usual emotions, first off the excitement- ‘oh doesn’t it look pretty’ ‘let’s go for a little walk in it’ ‘do you wanna build a snowman’ (I really hope you sang that last one like I did as I typed it). This however moves very quickly to, ‘please piss off now’ after being snowed in with a toddler. Even the cat tried to escape the house at one point! The snow did create one particular amusement though- Polly couldn’t say ‘snow’ properly and just kept running around shouting ‘nooooo’. See even she knows it’s bad news really.

The snow also meant we very nearly didn’t make the trip across the country and was the reason I was sat on the highways agency website at 2AM on Saturday morning. The journey wasn’t actually too bad and the worst bit was the M5 where the snow on either side meant the rain had nowhere to go but once we were past that it was a fairly typical journey up with a couple of stops to break the journey up. The last stop actually being in Suffolk when we let Polly loose in a soon to be closing toys r us. Oh and it was actually Henry’s birthday- which bad wife forgot about until we were 2 hours into our journey! Oops!

The week itself was a well needed break and a chance for us to do some things together before 3 becomes 4. Henry bagged 2 birthday meals out of it and we had a couple of trips to soft play centres. At the boys request we also visited a couple of farms that sold raw milk where Polly had great fun meeting some cows, very politely saying ‘hiya’ to each of them in turn. It was nice to catch up with friends and family but by the end of the week I was ready for own bed again as sleep doesn’t seem to be coming easy anymore now I’ve reached the size of a small whale. Polly was also ready to get back into some sort of routine where she woke up and went to bed again in the same house. She definitely had a fun trip though but by the end of the week was certainly pushing her boundaries after getting away with murder for a few days. We’ve had a fun couple of days since being back as we try and re-establish some sort of order.

I can’t complain too much though as she did treat me yesterday to a bacon sandwich and a nice candle.  The bacon sandwich was very much needed before returning back to work on mother’s day and the busy shift almost broke me after nearly 2 weeks off (stupid snow causing chaos before we went).

I feel like I’ve really skimmed over a lot, I am struggling to write this post a bit as someone already mentioned is being a bit of a diva. She was sat next to me happily reading a book but then randomly started ripping the pages, see just little things like that where she’s pushing the limits- really need to nip this in the bud before bear-bear arrives though. On a cute note to finish though she is now attempting to say her own name, only problem is she thinks it’s pronounced ‘bader’, no idea where this has come from but it is pretty amusing.