So 232 days ago we headed into isolation due to COVID symptoms (now fairly sure it was the dreaded ‘rona’) and then a week later the whole country headed into lockdown, so this time feels a bit different for us. For one I’m not pregnant! That does mean we have 3 children to occupy instead of 2 but one of those should hopefully be staying in school. It also means that this time we can head to 4 different shops and panic buy enough toilet paper and pasta to build a mountain with- jokes! The only panic buying we’ve done is advent calendars, a stocking for Clara and the big Christmas present haul. Although if it’s a shop you’d already booked in to do- is it really panic buying? Although it did feel very strange wandering round Tesco picking out stocking fillers while others are loading up with that magical COVID curing toilet paper and 12 loaves of bread.

We did also sneak in a visit to see Nanny & Pops this afternoon after picking up Polly from school. Last lockdown taught us a lot about what’s important and seeing the ones we love is definitely top of the priority list so that was another difference this time- we could actually say ‘goodbye for now’, with plenty of cake and a few episodes of postman pat of course!

It’s now November which means it’s completely acceptable to be actively talking about Christmas and I can definitely see the tree going up a bit earlier than normal! I mean we’ve been watching Christmas films for weeks already! I do love the cheesy ones on the Christmas 24 channel.

We did have a nice half term last week with Polly off and made a trip to the fabulous Otter nurseries garden centre- a favourite Christmas haunt of ours. We also snuck in a McDonald’s drive thru after the food shopping that then provided a tricky situation when Clara did not one but two poos so I had to test my nappy changing skills as it was raining outside!

Seb also displayed his cheeky side this afternoon when he wangled 2 lunches out of us! I’d given him a plate of goodies and was then distracted by Clara, Henry then entered the kitchen and Seb followed him and encouraged Henry into another plate of food as he didn’t realise I’d already given him one!

I do sometimes worry how much our little people are being exposed to all this scary COVID stuff- Polly broke my heart on Monday’s walk to school when she asked me “will I be safe at school?” It’s so hard to get the right balance with each child on how much they need to know versus shielding them from this scary world and just letting them be kids which is why I’m quite keen for her to stay going to school as it gives her that dose of normal that she struggled without during lockdown number 1. I’m trying to plan how to keep Seb occupied in the next few weeks now that the weather is heading towards winter and I know we’ll be in the house a lot more. At least we have Disney to keep us going!

I’ve also made a new to-do list to work through and with Henry home again I’m hoping to get bedtimes back on track and also see whether Clara will nap in her cot instead of stuck to me or in the bouncer as I think she’ll get more sleep away from her very noisy siblings! I’m also planning on some more kitchen experiments as recently I’ve been doing a lot more baking and home cooked meals (only taken me 3 maternity leaves to find the kitchen!). In the last week or so I’ve made meatloaf, cheesecake and lots of biscuits which has been fun particularly with my little Polly pocket helper.

Well, I think I’m caught up for now, plus I’d like to finish watching bake off so I’ll sign off for now. I’ll try and be a bit better at writing this time!

So, I realise that it’s been a little while since I last did a normal regular post on what’s actually been going on in our lives, so with Clara turning 4 months old this week I thought I do a little catch up blog.

I can’t believe it’s October already! I mean I know this year has seemed like a whole decade rolled into one year but it also feels strange that it’s also almost over. We’ve now had a few weeks of the school routine and I think (touch wood!) it’s going ok. Polly really enjoys going which is the most important bit and I’m learning very quickly that all those things I read about are completely true- they come out of school like starved vultures and however much uniform you thought you needed- double it! The only thing Polly does different to the other kids is that school doesn’t seem to sap her energy and instead of crashing before teatime she’s still bouncing off the walls till bedtime.

Bedtime has become an interesting affair though- (touch wood again!) the only downfall in the new routine. A week or so before starting school Polly hit some sort of secret unheard of sleep regression (I was getting psyched for the 4 month sleep regression and the 4 year one smacked me in the face with the force of a train). Basically she decided one night that she didn’t want to go to sleep. I know a lot of people will just say “she’s 4, just make her”. Well this is easier said then done when most of the bedtimes are me by myself with 2 other children to think of and new neighbours and the 4 year old happens to be the noisiest child in Britain. We do seem to be on the tail end of this nightmarish situation now, bedtime is far from perfect but at least our neighbours aren’t concerned they’ve moved next to the site of a daily exorcism.

Seb is really finding his voice now Polly is at school and although he’s also throwing some fairly dramatic tantrums he does sort himself out pretty quickly and most of them are resolved with a cuddle- even if it is a snotty cuddle. He’s developed huge love for the YouTube star Blippi and is picking up all sorts including a love of naming colours, he does it in such a cute way by announcing “colour red”, “colour yellow”, “colour black” to everything!

He did have a slightly hilarious meltdown a couple of days ago though when I refused to let him pull Clara’s nappy out the bin as he wanted to be the one to throw it away. Looking forward to reminding him of that one when he’s a teenager.

Little Clara bear or koala bear as she’s becoming known as, has also found her voice this week. She’s starting to make excited squealing sounds and is also blowing raspberries- much to her siblings delight! I’m not really sure how she’s 4 months already but at the same time she’s definitely not a little baby anymore. She’s trying to sit up and does a hilarious little stomach crunch trying to pull herself up from laying down, considering she’s not actually rolled over from belly to back yet I think she needs to get her priorities sorted out and focus on the baby stuff before the big girl stuff! I’m also sticking by my assessment that she’s going to be the cheeky one as her personality is starting to ooze out, I mean when you pull faces like this after doing a poo when daddy has just pulled the car round for us to head out, you really are making it clear that cheekiness is your middle name!

As for us, Henry and I are just muddling through this funny new world trying to keep it together, raise the kids without freaking them out, keep the bills paid and sometimes find time for cup of tea together on the sofa.

Anyway, that’s about it really. All caught up. Now I can finally hit post on a post that’s taken 4 days to write and ignore the to do list that has doubled in size over that time instead of shrinking!

Seb, my little man, where would I be without you? I love how much you love. Your smile. Your laugh. The love you have for your sisters melts my heart. Like when we bought Clara home from hospital in the middle of the night and you wound up in our bed at 4am and you reached out and held her hand while you were asleep and that was the first time you met her.

I love the way you say ‘oh car’ 468 times a day as you always have one or two or three in your hands. And the way you say ‘hiroooo’. The fact you love shouting our names out at random times, announcing our arrival in the room.

You crack me up with the fact that you love the idea of ice cream yet cry about the coldness.

The thoughtful pose you pulled for an amazing photo just minutes after being born still makes me smile. So does the thought of the little pink dummy you sported for the first year of your life.

That laugh when I tickle your belly.

I love how much you love a cuddle.

Your sleeping face is the picture of cuteness.

I love how much you love Raa Raa the lion and that roar you do when it comes on.

It amazes me how filthy you can get in such a short space of time! You are not afraid of the dirt! And at the same time you’re quite happy for your big sister to shove a princess dress on you and will rock a tiara for hours.

Your love of cars is something to behold.

Your insistence of giving the cat 300 cuddles a day whether he wants them or not (the fact he comes back in the house tells me he secretly loves them!) all while shouting “kitty-caaaat.”

I love how much you love water, I mean you would literally live in the paddling pool given half a chance.

Your new thing of pointing to your ears and shouting “noise” every time something loud happens (which is a lot in our house!).

I can totally relate on your love of food- you are the biscuit monster and I think you have secret hiding spots for them.

I love that your favourite colour is purple to the point that you pick out the purple cup, the purple bowl and you shout your excitement.

It amazes me how different you are to Polly and I can’t wait to see the boy and man you grow to be as every day with you is an adventure.

This week I’ve been labelling and ironing Polly’s school uniform ready for the next big adventure in our family life, obviously it’s got me looking back on 4 years of life with her and her siblings and one of the things I realised was how different expectations are from the reality of parenting- I know I’ve done at least one post on this before but I thought this would be a good time to add to the mix with the new experiences we’ve picked up.

While I was thinking all these thoughts (and messaging Auntie Jen the possibly stupid question of ‘what do I do about the socks?!’) Polly was trying various things on and she got a bit stuck on the buttons and I was reminded that these are the things they don’t tell you that you need to teach them. You think you’ll spend hours practicing ABC’s and that, but in reality you might spend 10 minutes of your day trying to get them to recognise their own name and then an hour practicing buttons, zips, putting socks on. Call me stupid but before becoming a mum I did not think I’d be spending 5 minutes each morning teaching someone the easiest way to put their socks on . Maybe I’m just buying the wrong design of socks!

Sticking with the clothing theme there’s the time where it switches to you encouraging them to pick their own clothes out and even dress themselves- this stage proves equally stressful as it does hilarious. However, I didn’t anticipate having arguments with a 4 year old that go along these lines-

Me: “You need to put trousers on too.”

Polly: “No I don’t, I’ve got my long socks on today.”

Me: “Yes but they are exactly that- socks, so you need something else on if you want to leave this house.”

It went on for a full 10 minutes before she finally gave up and put some shorts on.

Now we haven’t reached the joy of teaching her how to tie shoe laces yet, (I’m happy for her to stay in Velcro shoes till she moves out) but it turns out that’s jumping the gun way too early anyway. First of all you must go through the stage of teaching them which shoe goes on which foot- for weeks and weeks.

Pre children you might envisage joyfully spent time with your inquisitive child pondering great questions like ‘Mummy, why is the sky blue?”- the reality goes more like this, “Mummy, why is that man bald?” And in case you’re wondering, yes, yes they will ask these questions loud enough for the whole street to hear.

Another thing you might dream up is mornings spent with blocks teaching your child to count. This might have happened with Polly and I was all ready to start with Seb when he decided to jump the gun massively. We were playing hide & seek the other day when he stood up and proceeded to count to 10 with no warning. I mean I didn’t know he could count to 3 let alone 10! I know I shouldn’t brag but it’s nice to be able to have a little brag when a lot of my stories involve something disgusting or embarrassing!

Obviously the toilet teaching area of parenthood comes with its ups and downs, I didn’t think it would take almost 6 months of persuading to get a 4 year old to realise their arms are ‘strong enough’ to flush the toilet. She now thinks it’s hilarious and proudly declares that she’s flushed everything away.

In pre children times I also liked to think of afternoons filled with arts and crafts- with laughing and I’m guessing minimal mess as how hard is it to keep things tidy during arts and crafts sessions. Turns out they only need precisely 30 seconds of alone time to wipe that smug fantasy firmly out of your brain. 30 seconds is enough time to draw a masterpiece on the wall. 30 seconds is enough time to glue the table then pour a whole pot of glitter onto that sticky patch. Imagine what they can do when you get distracted for 5 whole minutes- the light blue laptop definitely needed some orange steaks to improve its look.

So you also think you’ll be watching lots of wholesome kids tv provided by the likes of CBeebies. In reality while your child is sat absorbed in the twirly woos you’ll find yourself opening the can of worms that is questioning kids tv- just don’t do it or you’ll find yourself googling things like “how does Peso operate a stethoscope with flippers? Where are Bing’s parents? What the actual frick is In the Night Garden about?” Because you’ll soon find yourself reading disturbing threads on mumsnet about Iggle Piggle and co that might just scar you forever.

Of course one of the great things about having kids is that you have the perfect excuse to watch all those Disney classics again. Although I didn’t expect to have a heated discussion with a strong willed 4 year old who thinks ‘Butch’ from the Lady in the Tramp is pronounced slightly different (God knows what the neighbours thought that afternoon when Polly spent 10 minutes shouting “it’s Bitch bitch bitch”).

Covering the topic of going out with kids could have it’s own blog filled with hilarious anecdotes of the realities but I’m not setting another one up so instead here’s a picture of what happened when we went for a catch up with friends this week…

Then we have the hot topic of food. The expectation when you’re weaning them is one of smug satisfaction when they are smiling away eating anything you put on the high chair tray. The reality is that no matter how you go about weaning them they will hit a certain point where everything is yucky instead- or ‘dusty’ (covered in sauce or even just sitting too close to some sort of sauce) if you’re Polly. And it can escalate rapidly from just turning down broccoli to turning down whole meals. “What do you mean you don’t like lasagne anymore? I have photos of you literally wearing it from 6 months ago?!”

And then we have bedtime. I could write a whole post on bedtime alone but I think a lot of it has probably been discussed a lot so I’ll just pop in one last little anecdote to sum up what it’s really like. You might have conjured up scenes of being all cosied up together creating magical stories about dragons and mermaids. In reality you might just find yourself pretending to phone up Jake Peralta to come and round up all the bad dreams and take them to jail.

For the third year I thought I’d knock up a ‘day in the life’ blog post, a bit later this time as I- 1. Forgot and 2. Did a special one not too long ago. So here it is, Friday 7th August, after a nightmare bedtime on the Thursday and waking up to realise our baby girl is now 2 whole months old!

4:25AM- Clara stirs ready for a feed.

6:00AM- Henry’s alarm goes off and he disappears downstairs.

7:15AM- Bed invasion takes place. Polly appears declaring “it’s morning” then she heads to the bathroom for a wee.

7:21AM- I’m enjoying some cuddles with the babies, Polly then reappears asking you get dressed- she heads into their room again, let’s see what she puts on today!

7:28AM- Time to drag ourselves out of bed. Quick nappy changes for the little ones.

7:35AM- Arrive downstairs you’re find Henry and Polly watching CBeebies together. Shove some washing in the machine ready to go. Have a little catch up with Henry as I’ve not seen him since yesterday late morning.

7:45AM- Time to get some breakfast going.

7:55AM- Breakfast time all around, including the cat, who these days shows up just for food.

8:00AM- Clara-bear decides it’s actually nap time and falls asleep in the bouncer.

8:17AM- Henry’s leaves for work. Polly is still eating breakfast- one coco pop at a time while Seb and I have been having a cuddle then he decides to go back and finish his last dregs.

8:25AM- The kids finally leave the table. I fold up some washing and they start playing while Clara stirs. I will get in the shower eventually!

8:32AM- Clara wakes up properly and is after a feed after that little mini nap.

8:40AM- The big kids have a fight over something silly that I can’t remember (in my little notes I literally wrote ‘fight’ so your guess is as good as mine!).

8:44AM- All head upstairs and I finally get that shower.

8:52AM- I get the little ones and myself dressed while Polly reads stories.

9:00AM- Back downstairs. I finally put that washing on, stick my lenses in and hoover downstairs.

9:15AM- Debate with Polly about going for a walk as it looks like it might rain.

9:24AM- Polly wins. We dig out the raincoats and head out the door in the direction of the byes (a river/wooded walking area behind our house). We have a play in the orchard, a walk along the river and a search for any blackberries- we find 2!

10:10AM- We arrive back home- it’s really hot and the heat is no friend to little ones! The kids have a snack and I have a cup of tea.

10:27AM- Polly is doing some letter playing, Seb is rolling around on the floor and Clara is having a feed.

10:45AM- The kids play with some chalk while I sort out the washing.

11:00AM- They’re still playing chalk so I play some peek a boo with Clara.

11:05AM- They decide it’s too hot outside so come inside to colour with regular pens on some paper instead. I encourage Clara to have a nap.

11:15AM- Clara eventually gives up and falls asleep, while I try and break up a pen fight quietly from the other side of the room. I then get headbutted in the lip during a Seb cuddle- will definitely result in a fat lip as I can taste blood. They are now colouring in the leaves they collected on the walk.

11:30AM- Some more letter playing.

11:40AM- Clara stirs and is after a feed. I realise Seb is shredding a leaf right under my nose- not sure how long he’s been doing this or where else!

11:47AM- I get summoned upstairs to wipe a bum while Clara is half asleep in my arms- great!

11:55AM- Back downstairs after persuading Polly to change into a dress as she’s soaked her trousers while washing her hands. Get downstairs to discover Seb has used this little quiet time to do a poo.

12:00PM- Start sorting lunch.

12:20AM- Actually sit down for lunch- eggy bread and an apple each.

12:35PM- Decide to pull all the washing in as it looks like it might rain. Big kids are playing. Cuddles with Clara.

12:50PM- Seb goes up for a nap, Clara gets a fresh nappy, I sneak some chocolate in the kitchen and Polly pulls out the box of barbies.

12:54PM- Clara feed. Polly and I and gonna play barbie & watch some Brooklyn 99. Clara falls asleep on me and we all have cuddles on the sofa- think last night has caught up with Polly as she almost falls asleep too!

14:00PM- I wake Seb up from his nap, it’s movie time, the kids pick the Aristocats- also time for a milk & biscuit for them and a cup of tea & the rest of that chocolate bar for me (sneak it in the kitchen). Clara transfers into the bouncer to finish her nap.

14:30PM- Smiler wakes up from her nap.

14:35PM- I have a little tidy up (find another bundle of shredded leaves!) and chuck the washing back outside, it’s still overcast but it’s warm so I’m hoping it dries quickly and doesn’t tip it down.

14:40PM- Tummy time with Clara as the big kids are watching film. 30 seconds after me laying down next to her I get bundled by the big kids! Cuddles all round and lots of tickling!

14:55PM- Clara is something else! She falls asleep on the mat as I change her nappy! Back in the bouncer. Polly is under a blanket pretending to be Marie and Seb is doing laps with a shopping trolley throwing various fruits out as he crashes into everything. I’ve just been honoured with a blanket too as I’m Duchess!

15:05PM- Polly is now ‘playing the piano’ and Seb found a deflated balloon.

15:20PM- Henry home, he heads straight upstairs for a wash before seeing the kids.

15:30PM- The film has finished so I put some music on, Polly has a slight screaming fit about this- it’s hard being 4!

15:45PM- The washing game continues and it’s back inside! Another quick tidy up and another round of milk for Seb. Clara stirs. Polly is distracted by afternoon tea.

15:50PM- Henry appears again but is straight out the door with a list for Lidl.

15:55PM- Clara bear awake and after a feed. Polly is dancing round to Taylor Swift and Seb has found a shaker that’s keeping him quiet/not quiet.

16:15PM- A rare sight- they are building a tower together instead of killing each other- what usually happens when they ‘play’ together. Oh and Clara is milk drunk!

16:24PM- Henry is back.

16:30PM- I have a small window to put washing away and set up the stuff for bath time later. Clara is having a roll about on the mat. Big kids are playing.

16:40PM- Polly shows daddy what she’s learnt- to spell her name with magnetic letters. I tell him off for forgetting wash up gloves (I found out in Lidl this morning that there’s a national shortage of them so he couldn’t have found them!).

16:45PM- I begrudgingly wash up gloveless and put the recycling out.

17:05PM- Henry starts cooking tea, it’s tacos tonight. Clara has a feed. Big kids are playing spin each other round in the bubble chair while raiding cheese from a weak daddy who tells them “this is the last piece” every time!

17:20PM- Clara asleep in bouncer. It’s time to eat some tea together while watching farmer Tom’s latest video on YouTube (he’s become quite the hit in our house).

17:35PM- Polly asks for watermelon for dessert- I nearly loose a finger cutting some for us all!

17:40PM- The kids ask for blippi on YouTube, I find the biggest cup I can for a tea and Clara is chilling in the bouncer.

17:48PM- Henry heads back to work as Clara fills her nappy. Another quick tidy up. Seb is playing cars and Elsa is chilling after a bowl of watermelon.

18:05PM- Clara has some tummy time on the mat and Seb is doing an animal puzzle.

18:35PM- Time for ‘In the night garden’ (I record it so we can start it when we’re ready) while Clara naps. The big 2 are almost naked- hot day + small children = naked children by the end of the day!

18:50PM- It’s still on. Clara fills her nappy again and has another feed. Seb is shouting ‘oh no makka pakka’ on repeat.

19:05PM- We head upstairs. Bath time for the kids- a bit of a juggle with 3! We then get all cosy together for a story.

19:50PM- I kiss the big ones good night and cross my fingers! Clara and I chill on the sofa on the landing waiting to hear quiet from their room.

19:53PM- I pop in to give warning number 1- Polly is chatting and winding Seb up.

20:05PM- Clara and I retreat downstairs, lenses out, cup of tea and a Facebook catch up. Monitor is on- they are not asleep as I can hear fidgeting- praying we don’t have a repeat of last night!

20:20PM- Polly is chatting again- turns out she’s found ‘baby sheep’ so needs ‘Mary lamb’ too- run down to get her and tell them both to go to blooming sleep!

20:28PM- Clara has a feed and we chill out together to watch some ‘New girl’.

21:35PM- Seb stirs so I take him a little milk up- he’s a bit hot and bothered bless himself. I sneakily swap the duvet for the blanket on Polly- she insisted on the duvet!

21:55PM- Head upstairs with Clara bear for bedtime.

4:15AM- I get up for a wee, Clara then stirs so I change her nappy and give her a feed- let the next day begin.

Our little Clara-bear is one month old today- a whole month! I have no idea where that month went but it’s given us some idea of what to expect when the kids outnumber the adults, here’s a few thoughts and anecdotes from the last few weeks.

There are some really heartwarming moments. Polly loves holding her baby sister and one of those recent cuddles came to an end when Clara started crying, except it didn’t come to an end- Polly instinctively pulled up her top and tried to feed the baby.

Then there are plenty of disgusting moments. Henry went back to work last week so I’m learning to juggle the kids and the housework, on Sunday I learnt the hard way that the big 2 cannot be left alone to clean their teeth even if that did seem like a good opportunity to put some washing away. Seb thought this the perfect chance to dunk his toothbrush down the toilet and I could only look on in horror from the landing as said toothbrush then went straight back into my feral child’s mouth!

Talking about Henry going back to work, the kids gave me a glorious start to solo parenting. In the first half an hour Clara did a full scale puke takeout while in the carrier resulting in a full outfit change for her and myself, while this was going on Seb was following me around crying as he was doing the biggest poo of his life. Polly could be found sat on the sofa singing to nursery rhymes. A good start.

Of course the world is still pretty topsy turvy so normal things like us going food shopping as a family have been on hold. Thankfully last week Henry did take Polly along for the adventure though as Seb went down with a 24 hour sickness thing so I got to spend 4 hours swapping between feeding a baby and holding a toddler over a bowl to stop him taking out more cushions. The pretty side of parenting that Instagram doesn’t show you.

The pandemic also means lots of appointments have become telephone ones, including our first one with the health visitor the other day. Yes it is easier not having to venture out to these appointments but the kids sense these important conversations and go into their ‘cause mayhem’ setting- on this occasion they emptied the ball pit everywhere while I juggled a baby in one hand and a very baffled caller in the other.

I’ve found It’s impossible to take a photo where everyone is- awake, looking at the camera, smiling, clean & photo safe. So you get gems like this, captured earlier this morning, but I do quite like the ‘real photos.’

Also, there is always a load of washing either in the machine, on the airer or waiting to be put away- and the next load is sitting by the machine mocking you for thinking you’d got on top of it all.

The kettle needs to be boiling every hour to make cups of teas with the intention of getting some caffeine, but half of them will sit undrunk where you forgot you left them.

Being awake at all different hours again means that while reading online posts from sleep deprived mums you get a good giggle reading responses from first time mums bragging about their sleep trained 3 week olds knowing that one of the many sleep regressions/teething stints/separation anxiety sessions will bite these smug individuals in the arse at some point in the next year or so.

Going out solo with 3 makes you wish you had 6 pairs of eyes and 4 pairs of hands! You also feel this way about giving 3 of them a bath by yourself- and give up trying to keep yourself and the floor and the curtains and the ceiling dry.

Then there’s bedtime, oh the fun of bedtime. For starters Clara was not impressed with the Moses basket so Seb was evicted from the cot and given Polly’s car bed so she then got a new frozen one. This then led to 2 weeks of bed swapping and sharing from the bigger monsters.

‘In the night garden’ has been employed as a ‘calm the feral big ones down before bedtime’ tactic. If you’ve never watched it then be warned it is fairly mental which I’m guessing is why they are transfixed by it, trying to work out what is going on. Personally it resembles a fairly accurate picture of the scene in my brain at the moment.

Then there will always be bad nights, like last night. Henry was at work and Seb decided he didn’t want to go to bed. Every 20 minutes he just threw his pillow on the floor and then cried about it. This meant several trips in and out their room which in turn upset Clara. Finally at 10pm he gave up and went to sleep on the pillow instead of starting a fight with it and Clara conked out after I frantically downloaded the sleep sounds app- the same one that saved our sanity with the first baby and filled the house with the sounds of the womb.

It’s been a whirlwind month that has given me several more grey hairs but that’s also filled my heart with even more love so here’s to more crazy moments with our crazy little rascals.

Well if you’d like to know how it’s different having 3 children instead of 2 the very fact it’s taken me 3 weeks to find some writing time (and by ‘find time’ I mean I’m sat between car seats chatting to a 2 year old and comforting an over tired newborn while the 4 year old shouts what different vehicles she can see). Anyway I realise I need to actually record the latest and last birth story before I start forgetting details or as Henry puts it- start exaggerating details!

Clara was born on the Sunday evening, 5 days before her due date (same as her big sister) however after 2 ‘false labours’ I was very much ready to get things going, I’d also lost faith in my body knowing what it was doing and came close to disregarding the actual labour when it first started! The Saturday evening before we were absolutely convinced it was ‘go time’. I was having regular contractions so we contacted baby sitters and the maternity unit. However, after 5 hours they were the same as when they’d started and they hadn’t become ‘take your breath away’ painful so we went to bed.

The next morning resulted in no baby, no contractions and a very grumpy very much still pregnant woman. So we had a normal Sunday. Of course the moment Henry left the house in the afternoon things changed. The contractions came back and as I described to babysitter on standby Pati- “they hurt, like they hurt”. Looking back at the messages Henry received also tells a story!

While waiting for Henry and Pati & George to arrive I employed Netflix as a babysitter for the kids and tried not to panic too much in case baby decided to make a quick appearance. Thankfully baby stayed put and with the kids in safe hands Henry and I made our way to the hospital, arriving at about 6:30. Having a baby during a pandemic is slightly different than having one during normal circumstances. For a start we found a parking space at the hospital near the door without 6 drives round the car park cursing.

Once inside Henry had to stay in the waiting room while the midwife checked whether I was the magical 4cm and therefore in active labour which would allow Henry entry into the birthing chamber- thankfully I was 5 (never thought I’d brag about how dilated my vagina was!). Next came the dreaded COVID test- I didn’t realise till afterwards that they poke that swab 7cm up each nostril! This was great fun in between contractions and after feeling like my brain had been poked I actually declared the midwife poking downstairs was more bearable!

I then settled into the pool, ate an apple as I’d missed dinner and got reacquainted with the trusty gas & air. I hadn’t been in the pool long when I realised things were getting intense a lot quicker than the previous times. My waters then went- always a strange experience in the water! And at 9:14 Clara made her appearance.

We had some cuddles, took some pictures, I had a shower then we got packed up and were out the door at 12:30- just 6 hours after arriving which was a very surreal experience. We relieved our fabulous babysitters and staggered into bed for a few hours.

The next morning we had that amazing moment where the big kids got to meet their new baby sister who had appeared in the night. Polly declared that she loved her and Seb kept declaring ‘baby’ every few moments.

By Tuesday it was just starting to sink in that we were now a family of 5 and I was starting to potter about to do washing and that- then things went a bit backwards. I should warn if you’re a bit squeamish then maybe finish reading the post here. At about 8pm Henry was finishing putting the bigs ones to bed and I was just settling down on the sofa with a cup of tea when I felt something funny down there. I hurried upstairs to find I’d passed a couple of sizeable chunks that didn’t look like clots. Then came the ‘oh shit’ moment as something quite big was half out, about the size of an orange. I called for Henry who came running. Neither of us were sure whether this was something that needed to come out or whether this was a prolapse so I popped a pad on and waddled down to the sofa holding on to my lady bits in a bit of a panic. A bit of a panic is a slight understatement- I went into full panic/cry mode. After a couple of phone calls Pati was back to watch the kids and we were on the way back to the hospital.

After being examined the doctor determined this was definitely something that needed to come out, so thankfully not a prolapse. They briefly explained that they would need to extract whatever ‘retained products’ were still in there. I asked if it would hurt and they offered me gas & air which from experience if they are offering it then take it as it the next few moments are probably going to be uncomfortable. I sucked on that gas like my life depended on it and went into a bit of haze, coming out of the haze to the sound of laughter- apparently I was a bit reluctant to give it up as the lovely picture Henry took shows!

The team at Exeter were amazing again though, they took some bloods, gave me some antibiotics and importantly calmed me down and explained everything as they went. We left in the early hours and were very pleased to get home again.

I’m pleased to say that now we seem to be finding our groove although from next week things are going to be very different with Henry returning to work- I’ve enjoyed breakfast in bed and being able to have a shower knowing the kids are all ok.

I’m finishing up here as we are now home and settling down to watch Tangled and to enjoy one of these last afternoons together before a new normal comes in a few days.

Once a year it seems, in August, I document a full day in my life to see what I actually do in 24 hours, so given this strange new normal I thought I’d break tradition and squeeze another one in now just as a way of recording what this new normal actually looks like for us. This is yesterday, Tuesday 12th May 2020.

1:18- A good start! The cat has escaped out the bathroom window (he’s a house cat who isn’t enjoying the house being full all the time so acting up a bit at the moment), he’s sitting on the roof miowing but not coming back in. Seb wakes up and winds up in our bed.

1:20- Polly, who usually sleeps through most things finds her way in our bed too after all the commotion.

2:18- The cat jumps onto a different part of the roof (our house is weird!) which means Henry is able to reach out our bedroom window and drag him back in the house. Let’s hope for some sleep now!

5:25- Seb awake. Henry has been getting up really early like he normally does so he stays in some sort of routine (the rest of us have not!). He brings up some milk for Seb which sends him back to sleep. Henry heads downstairs to do some exercise and catch up on some fitness videos.

7:15- Nope!- after the cat drama! I check the time, the kids are still asleep so I roll back over.

7:50- Ahhhhh lay in! This does not happen every morning so I’m enjoying this moment a lot! Catch up with a couple of messages while waiting for sleeping beauty Polly, Seb enjoys some cuddles.

8:14- Morning bathroom trip with a 3 year old, always an experience as she usually discusses hilarious things like what her imaginary bunnies are up to or just declaring loudly whether she’s having a poo or not.

8:22- Find Henry downstairs watching GMB on plus one and catch Piers mid rant. Family cup of tea while Polly dances round the living room.

8:39- Breakfast time. Polly asks for peanut butter on toast and Seb has some rice crispies.

8:57- Sort some washing out and do the washing up that I couldn’t be bothered to do last night- regretting that a bit! How do we go through so many cups? The kids play a ‘quiet’ game of cars.

9:25- First tantrum. Polly suddenly decides she wants her finished breakfast back 🙈

9:31- Cup of tea again, maybe this explains the cup question 🤦‍♀️

9:31- Second tantrum. Seb wants to jump on the sofa behind us and is unhappy about using the sofa to sit.

9:40- Actually get dressed and ‘ready for the day’! Discover more washing to do 🙈

9:55- Time for a bit of CBeebies while I sneak in a second breakfast 🙈 Seb loves watching Mr Tumble in particular and tries copying him.

10:15- The kids decide they actually just want to play in the garden, Henry is doing weights outside which usually means they want to be outside too 🙈 I settle myself outside too with shock horror- a puzzle book!

10:25- Seb smashes one of the glass ‘potion making bottles’ and helper Polly comes to daddy’s aid.

10:30- I come inside and leave them all to it as I’m expecting a phone call from my midwife as part of my routine appointments. I think we’re discussing birth plan options today. She’s been amazing throughout this whole pandemic and has been really reassuring.

At some point the kids followed me back in the house, Daddy has provided counting videos & a snack to keep them quiet.

10:55- Phone call finished, we went through the birth chat discussing the things that are different this time round, but I feel reassured and all questions answered- now I’ve just got to push a baby out at some point again.

11:15- Sort out that load of washing so it can get outside and dry while Henry gets the kids ready to go for our walk. This includes waiting for Polly to decide that she does need a wee after assuring us she didn’t.

11:31- Actually leave the house!

12:20- Home. We (socially distanced) bumped into a couple of guys from work so had a catch up chat with them after the kids had done some rock throwing in a little secluded spot just 5 minutes from our house.

12:30- Lunchtime! Dippy eggs for the kids and poached eggs on toast for me. Henry eats separate to us at lunch as he us usually has something completely different and sometimes weird although today he did mention steak 🤦‍♀️.

12:54- Elsa has made an appearance with her flowery bouquet she’s just picked.

13:00- Seb is off for a nap while Polly instigates a dance party.

13:04- Netflix and chocolate with Polly- might have introduced her to Brooklyn 99 which she calls ‘the police’ and I think she’s got her first crush- Jake 🙈

13:55- Seb wakes up. Polly asks to play a game, this is one from the 5 minute mum book that has proved a fab lockdown purchase, literally sorting the colours out!

14:03- The afternoon film is decided- Moana. Yup we might have watched it 687 times but it’s a great film that is now in my top 3 🙈 you simply can’t beat the songs! Polly is still playing her colour game, making castles out of each coloured selection.

15:15- Pirate Laura and Mum Liz drop off Seb’s birthday present at the door, we manage a socially distanced chat across the street with the kids squealing with delight at seeing her!

16:00- Moana finishes and the 2 of them are desperate to crack open Seb’s new toy! I do some paperwork after setting up this in the conservatory.

17:03- Teatime! Henry has cooked up a feast so I drag the soaking wet almost naked children away from the flooded mess in the conservatory to eat our weekly roast. Polly refuses point blank to eat anything and takes up residence on the sofa with a stack of books instead.

We watch the news briefing from the table.

17:25- A bit of colouring for Seb and Polly has turned these post it notes into a group of best friends who are on a camping trip. Also time for some angel delight 😁

At the site of her brother eating angel delight Polly suddenly wants to eat her tea too! She then has some of my pudding afterwards.

17:40- Time to clean up the great flood and tackle the kitchen mess too while the children ‘play nicely’.

18:10- I come back in the living room to find Henry watching a YouTube video on the TV while the kids (now naked of course as it’s the end of the day) play in an empty ball pit- I don’t want to ask where all the balls have gone.

18:20- The nail salon opens and Polly requests orange toes this week!

18:30- Back to the ball pit games, Daddy turns it into a flying saucer and there is plenty of squealing! It turns out the balls are in the pop up tent.

19:00- Henry has 10 minutes on his exercise bike while the kids & I do a toy round up and I drag the cat back in the house.

19:15- All head upstairs, bath night tonight.

19:45- where did half an hour go?! Hair drying then time for a story before bed, bit later than planned tonight 🙈 Mr Nosey is selected tonight with Daddy being the chosen reader.

20:04- Kids settled in their beds with lots of kisses and cuddles. This has been one of the perks of us both being off- we do bedtime together and just get a moment at the end of the day which has been really special.

With Henry having a shower I settle in our room with my feet up for the ‘hang around and make sure they’re actually asleep’ wait. I don’t mind this bit either (as long as they are actually going straight to sleep!) as I can do some guilt free Facebook reading and maybe play a game on my phone for a bit. The baby also gets a bit excited listening to the lullaby machine and usually has a party in my belly! Seb used to do the same thing when he was in there!

20:35- I head downstairs and get comfy on the sofa with some chocolate and a heat up bear on my back, Henry is watching a YouTube video on the tv so I do a bit of baby name searching- we still can’t decide on a boys name, not like we’ve had months to pick!

20:50- No new names to add to the shortlist so I put on the new birth programme on bbc1 instead that I’d put on record. Oh and Henry re-opens the nail salon!

21:55- After a bad nights sleep last night and the fact that Seb is making the odd stir noise over the monitor we both decide to call it a day.

So, there it is- let’s see how different the next instalment is!

I’m not really sure how to introduce this blog post, I wrote it out last night and I don’t like what I penned but now can’t think of another way of starting it, so I wrote that little ramble instead! Basically, last night after putting the kids to bed, they were little monkeys going to sleep last night by the way- giggling away at some little joke that only they know about, rambling again! Anyway, I had a few thoughts on this new way of life we’ve all been thrown into together, but apart. So, either I’ve actually lost the plot after 30 days of isolation- which is very likely, or this might just give a different perspective- the normal family life in lockdown. Not the celebrities in their mansions, not pillock’s who aren’t taking it seriously, just us- a normal family of 4 (almost 5) living in a normal house in a Devon town winging each day as it comes.

Some days are hard.
Some days are easier.
Most days go by in a blur.
Some days are full of laughter.
Some days are marred with shouting.
Most days we crave something from the outside- a hug from someone we miss, the feel of sand between our toes on the beach, a sausage and egg McMuffin from McDonalds.
Some days we just sit and cuddle for hours.
Some days we shed a tear for those worse off in this shitty situation.
Some days we sing along to Frozen for the 687th time.
Some days we wonder if ‘normal’ will ever come back.
Some days we forget what ‘normal’ was.
Some days we just want to go out for an aimless drive.
Some days we want to murder our other half.
Most days we want to just hold each other and never let go.
Some days we eat chocolate every hour.
Some days we clean things for hours.
Most days we dance.
Some days we let the fear creep in.
Some days we wonder about the future.
Some days we ponder over the past.
Some days we binge watch TV.
Some days we colour and create things.
Some days we have to clean crayon off the walls.
Some days we bake.
Some days we go for our walk.
Some days we don’t want to leave the sanctuary of our home.
Some days we watch too much news.
Some days we watch too much Attenborough (not sure there is such a thing!).
Most days we make huge train tracks that cover the floor.
Some days we re-organise the fridge.
Some days we share a packet of biscuits before breakfast.
Some days we have the best FaceTime’s.
Some days we read too much scary shit on Google.
Most days we play cars for hours.
Some days we play dress up.
Most days there is a naked child running around- or 2.
Some days we sort through baby clothes.

Some days we re-arrange the furniture. Some days we do puzzles.
Most days we forget what day it is. Some days we forget what month it is. Some days we cut each other’s hair. Some days we learn something new. Some days we draw rainbows.
One day we put rainbows in the window.
Some days we drink too much tea.
Some days we take it in turns to wear Princess tiaras.
One day we were all downstairs watching Fireman Sam together at 7AM.
Some days we take silly selfies.
Some days we get grumpy at each other.
Some days we create a bedtime story together.
Some days we stand outside and clap with everyone else to thank all the heroes out there. Some days we watch farming videos on YouTube.
Some days we look at the baby photos together.
Some days we paint our nails.
Lots of days we’ve played with water in the garden.
Some days we all feel the baby kicking.
Some days we cheer along to a Piers Morgan rant.
Some days we have a full roast dinner.
Some days we have fish fingers and chips.
One day we folded up carrier bags.
Most days we swear too much.
Some days we look after Polly’s imaginary pet bunnies.
Some days we all take a nap.
Some days we have picnics in the garden.
Some days we play doctors.
Some days we chat about the future.
Some days we build farms.
Most days we have tickle fights.
Some days we hear Seb say a new word (‘horshee’ being the best one so far!).
Some days we wake up all of us cuddled in the big bed together.
Most days we message 5 different people.
Some days we don’t message anyone.
Every day we are thankful for what we have- especially each other- together- safe.
One day this will all be memories.

Well look how quickly things change. The whole world seems to have been turned upside down since my last post and honestly I’ve really debated with posting anything at all as everyone has so much going on do they really need to hear another voice in the mix? But then I realise how much writing helps me and I’m not forcing anyone to read it so here goes!

This time last week we were plodding along with everyone else, slightly uneasy but still feeling in control of the situation. On Monday afternoon after doing our usual work swap over, the control was taken completely out of our grasp. Polly had stayed off nursery as she’d woken up with a new cough and come the afternoon she was saying she felt “really very poorly”. I was actually checking her temperature (which was 38.5) as Boris was making his big speech that was about to change our situation completely. Within an hour or so Henry was back home and the 4 of us were facing 14 days in isolation together. This might sound a bit shit as none of us are good with being stuck inside unable to live our normal lives but we realised very quickly that we had to look at it from the other perspective. We have now all got a cough of some sorts, each of us feel fine one minute and a bit shit another minute (we don’t know if we have it as they aren’t testing unless they have too- rightly so at this point as there are others who are way ahead in the priority list) but here’s the thing- we could have it! And in a normal climate we would be out there carrying on as normal, potentially passing on something that we might deem a cough and a fever and someone else deems something they don’t recover from (sorry to be dramatic but that’s the reality). So with this in mind I’ve stolen someone else’s outlook on it, we are not in ‘self-isolation’, we have been ‘exiled for the good of the realm.’

I do just want to give a massive shout out to all our wonderful friends and family who have sent messages of love and support and thank you to the wonderful Hazel who dropped off some supplies last night like some strange new version of knock & run! The fact I was about the run out of white chocolate spread was starting to make me feel anxious! Hopefully once our exile is over then we too can help support all of you.

Although that does bring me into the next part of that Monday moment of madness. 12 weeks. 12 weeks of some form of isolation. I know I won’t be the only one currently screaming a bit on the inside at the thought of 3 months not being able to see family/friends, pop into the shop to buy milk (the dickheads might have stopped buying all the toilet roll paper by then though!), go to a toddler group and eat cake with friends or get that bloody Eggs Royale I’ve been craving for 3 weeks! The smack in the face also being it’ll come to an en end the week I’m due so I do literally feel like the women of the dark ages who were put in confinement for the end of pregnancy! Obviously it’s also making me a bit anxious about what happens when baby decides to actually make an appearance into this strange world we’re currently living in. But that’s the only thing that’s a given- it’s got to come out at some point! So I’ve decided that lots of other people in this ‘at risk’ category have much more pressing worries so I just need to put my big girl pants on and realise that this too is for the good of the realm in the long run.

So, what does ‘exile’ actually look and feel like? Well, we’ve lost track of what day it actually is (not that it matters to us anyway!) but we are ok. Yes there has been a bit of shouting, some tears and the cat is fed up of seeing our faces all day but, there has also been laughter, lots of cuddles and lots of decluttering! Henry has also finally got his wish and turned the conservatory into a gym/office! I’ve got a whole list of activities to fall back on for the kids- from nature collecting in the garden to paper boat races in the bath. At the moment Polly is having hours of fun with a water pen book and Seb has turned my bump into a race track. We are mixing it up with a bit of CBeebies, the greatest showman soundtrack and an occasional dose of the news as we try not to rely on the tv too much- Polly has booked in Moana for this afternoon though (good job it’s a good film!). So my point here is that ‘exile’ in these times is not nearly as daunting as having to battle a dragon or defeat an evil lord.

Finally I just want to give a shout out to another little family of ours. Our Duke’s family. The meme going around about feeling like we were the band on Titanic was so accurate. At the weekend we battled crowds of people together, people who wanted one last weekend of normality and we got through it with our usual dose of support and sarcasm. Then together we’ve faced the next phase as the whole hospitality industry plunged into the Atlantic together. This is the bit that actually makes me a bit sad- that our little work family has been put in such a shit situation and all I want to do is see our team together doing what we do with more sarcasm and plenty of hugs! So I’m sending virtual hugs to all our crew, we love you all and we’ll see you on the other side- you’ll hear us coming, “flake flake” will be the rallying cry from the kids!