Woolly hat and a funnel neck

Today is Saturday..hooray! I’ve managed a whole week without Dan since the baby came. I was only actually alone for one of those days though..My mum, brother, sister in law and niece came by on Monday, bringing me lunch and doing some light house work for me. I spent Tuesday alone though and I actually managed to have a shower! Then my mum came to stay for the rest of the week..she looked after the baby loads so I could get naps and keep the house tidy.

And now it’s the weekend so Dan is here..I repeat..hooray!

I celebrated by wearing makeup..foundation, eyeliner and tinted lip balm!

We went for a little trip in the car so I also got to wear my new coat, hat and mittens.

I got this coat because none of my coats do up on account of my enormous boobs. It’s from Zara and I got it in the sale..I love it! It’s got deep pockets and a funnel neck to keep me cosy in this really cold weather. The hat and mittens are from Monki..the mittens are fleece lined inside, I love them.

Underneath I’m wearing one of my new Topshop checked shirts and my Topshop super thick leggings and converse.

By the way, buying millions of long checked shirts was the best thing I ever did. They’re so great for breast feeding and cover my bumps..basically the reason I bought them. I had the right idea, well done me.

And there you have it!
Here’s a photo of Freddie too…

New Mum Style and Beauty (cos I’m keepin it real)

Gosh the ambassador really is spoiling you with another blog post after a mere two days!

Yesterday I ventured out to the local Tesco…I know! Call the society pages and update them!

It was a big deal for me though..I can actually walk about at a normal speed now that my stitches are on the mend.

I also wanted to show you some clothes from my Topshop haul that I got over Christmas when I was waiting to give birth.

I got these amazing new leggings which are basically stretchy skinny trousers..so comfy and totally thick enough so you can’t see my knickers…I have a rule which is “leggings are not trousers” but these really are like trousers so I’m breaking it. They also are quite high waisted so good for my fat jelly belly. It actually isn’t that fat to be honest. I was really wondering what my tummy would be like after the baby came out…the first few days it was massive and really squishy, but it’s gone down loads since and isn’t too bad.

Anyways..I also got this lovely checked shirt..it’s my fourth new checked shirt in 2 months! I’m obsessed with them. It’s cos you can open them really easily for breast feeding and they’re long and skim my bumps! I don’t really like purpose breast feeding tops v much so I’m living in these shirts.

I also got this lovely cardi which is really snuggly and has pockets.

And there you have it! I’m not really wearing makeup, just some Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser and mascara.

Added some brown Topshop Chelsea boots and Zara parka, a baby and a pram!

I was out of the house for no more than 30 minutes but there you go, worth a blog I think.
Catch you later!

Oh and here’s one of Freddie…he’s wearing a Mothercare baby grow!

He’s been! (My labour, as it happened)

Well I’ve had my baby! His name is Fredrik Moss Hogan and he was born on 30th December 2014.

I thought I’d carry on my pregnancy style blog though we just all need to forget it’s meant to be about pregnancy style. Let’s just keep with it and see where it goes.

For today’s post I’m giving you a blow by blow account of my labour. I’ll start by saying I had a few complications but everything turned out ok and it was all worth it and manageable. I’ve said that because when I was still preggo, lots of people thought they would tell me labour horror stories and it scared the bejesus out of me. I also read an article about miscarriages late in pregnancy and I FREAKED OUT.

If you’re pregnant and would rather just not know details and wait until you go through out, just don’t carry on reading this.

Ok so here we go:

28/12/14
3.30am

Wake up to go to the loo and feel a bit of a leak in my knickers. Is it my waters breaking? I’ve got bad period pain too..is that a contraction? Can’t sleep so I go downstairs and drink tea and watch House.

9am

Call the maternity help line to say my waters may have broken and am I having contractions? They say probably not because when you’re having contractions, you know! They say to come in so my waters can be checked. Turns out they were contractions by the way, I must just be used to terrible period pains!

12pm

Go into hospital and have a lady put her hand up my vagina for the first of many such events in a 48 hour period. Doesn’t hurt though just weird.
They can’t tell if my waters have broken and they tell me to go home and come back when my contractions are 4 mins apart and 1 minute in length. We’ve established that I am actually having contractions which to me feel like the worst period pains of your life, in waves.

9pm

Contractions are worse than I could have imagined…I’m letting out sort of mooing sounds..they’re about 6 mins apart and I’m using my TENS machine to help.

29/12/14
2am

Have tried having a bath, getting on all fours, mooing, TENS machine, tried sleeping…it’s all getting a bit unbearable and contractions are varying between 2 mins and 8 mins..I call the maternity unit and they say to come in.
We get a cab over there and they tell me I’m only 1cm dilated (active labour starts at 4cm) and should go home. Then they check my pulse and it’s through the roof so they admit me..the pain is really bad now.

9.30am

It’s been a rough night but the contractions have slowed down..still getting more painful though. We decide to go for a pethidin injection..a synthetic opiate which helps you cope with the pain and also lets you sleep. This really helps.

9.30pm

I’ve somehow got through the day although it’s all a bit of a blur. By now I’m absolutely desperate again so have another injection as I’m still no closer to being 4cm dilated. They also give me gas and air now..hooray! I’m breathing it as if it’s actually my air supply. It really helps you focus and distract from the pain.

30/12/14
1am

One of the midwives comes in and says she has a feeling I’ll be ready for labour now..she has a feel inside and she’s right! Thank fuck for that. I’m sorry for my language but that’s how it felt. I was ready for my bloody epidural.

4am

Have finally got my own room and epidural has been administered. Sweet relief! Dan and I both get some sleep..him on a sort of dog bed on the floor.

Dog bed

Some time in the morning
I’m still not really dilating much so they give me this special drug which makes the contractions come super hard and super fast. I can even feel them through the epidural!
I’m just sort of sliding in and out of consciousness now really.

Some time later

The drug that makes the contractions come fast is making the baby’s heart rate go up so they take me off that and do a test to see if he’s ok..the test involves reaching up inside me and scratching his head, then testing the blood. They say if he’s distressed they’ll do a cesarean. Despite this, I’m not scared or worried.
The test shows he’s ok though!
We carry on waiting.

2pm

All of a sudden, I’m fully dilated! Again, someone just had a feeling I would be.
But the baby is facing the wrong way which explains my terrible back pain every time I had a contraction. So they rush me to theatre for a forceps delivery. They also prep me for a cesarean so that if the baby gets distressed they’ll just cut me open. Sounds scary but I think they just do that to be safe and save time rather than it being a strong possibility.
They give me a blocker so I can’t feel below the waist AT ALL…I didn’t even know I had my feet in stirrups until I looked up and saw.
The anesthetists were great and kept updating me on what was going on and Dan wore scrubs! Which was nice.
2 pushes and the baby is out. They put him on me, all bloody and wiggling and it’s amazing. Then they have to take him away which is awful, while the baby doctor checks him out. He hasn’t cried yet and I get all worried but then there it is!
They bring him back to me and I hold him but it’s very awkward as I’m lying down and my arms are super weak.

They sew me up coz they had to do an episiotomy and wheel me to recovery. I also get the first of many compliments on my pedicure.

The baby is perfect but turns out my blood pressure is very low, my heart rate very high and I’ve lost blood so need a transfusion. But I feel fine and super happy.

They keep me in for another 48 hours until I’m stable which means I get loads of one on one midwife time, which to be honest was great!

And that’s it!

My personal recommendation is to take the drugs on offer, but everyone’s different. Whatever you do, just keep an open mind and do what you need to get through.
Also, don’t be scared of getting cut and needing stitches. It actually is fine and this was one of my greatest fears.
Ok bye! Here are some photos.

Hospital roast dinner

Hospital socks and pedicure

Just had my first shower in days, can now have clean cuddle!

Bent over double with gas and air to hand!

In pain and not amused Dan is taking photos

Family hospital Selfie