50 shades of "vanilla"

So it first came to my attention a while ago when Holly Willoughby was talking about it on twitter, then more people started mentioning it. This moved to facebook and suddenly most of my friends were reading this mysterious book. The only thing I knew about it was that it had been dubbed as "mummy porn" and it had my full attention so I had to read it and see what all the fuss was about. I finished the first in the 50 shades trilogy last night and have quite a few irritations about it so the best way to vent is to blog! Here is my full and frank review. WARNING this blog does contain spoilers!

In my job one of the key roles I have is to edit written reports. My main annoyance is repetition and I believe if you are writing anything the thesaurus should become your best friend. Mix up the language to avoid predictability. This book is a master class in how NOT to do it. Words and even whole sentences are completely overused especially in the supposedly erotic parts. Surely if you are writing a sexually charged book you could at least come up with different phrases for describing an orgasm. He always "finds his release" and she always "explodes all around him". I ended up filling with rage everytime I read "holy crap" or "she bit her lip" to name just a few overuses.

Moving on to the sex... well as used in the book, in my opinion, it was "vanilla". When I realised it was about s&m and dom/sub relations I did worry that it would be a bit much for me as this really isn't my thing. I needn't have worried as other than different scenarios and positions on the whole the sex description was the same everytime. Chapter 8, where the sex begins, was fine but in all honestly I thought it was a tepid start to the sex scenes but they would get more intense and sexy but they platoed at the same level throughout and just became so predictable.

I think one of the things that demanded my interest was the dom/sub thing. It interested me only because it does nothing for me and I was fascinated in what actually goes on and why/how people get into this in the first place. This was not something that was explained in this book which was a bit of a let down. There are two other books which I have not read yet and I pray this is explained in the next. This has held my interest long enough that I am very eager to start on the next book.

With all the negatives above you will be surprised to know that I actually couldn't put the book down or stop thinking about it... but why?
Simply put it was Christian Grey that demanded my attention. He intrigued me from his first appearance and held up my interest and excitement to the end. I really fell for him!
I did question why I had fallen for this messed up fictional character and I realised it is because the way he fell for Ana and tried so hard to change for her was the kind of devotion most women can only dream of. He begins as this confident, unflinching man who gets everything he wants/ demands. His intimidating demeaner is overpowering and disarming and his control freak side is to the extreme. Later in the book he has fallen so hard for Ana that he really does soften and tries to give her "more". The fact that he would be willing to change/ compromise on the only lifestyle he has ever known and enjoyed is a fantasy it seems. Even with his cold and distant demeanour he is such a loveable character and although he never says it it is clear he falls in love with Ana. As I read I wished I was her.

I am desperate to know about his past as a child and also the Mrs Robinson years. How did this relationship begin? how was he trained? was she lenient on him?
I almost wish for a prequel to this book to be written. This is the stuff that I find fascinating and to be honest I don't really even care much for the Anastasia character or their relationship whatever that was.

I actually didn't even mind the storyline of the book but it is a shame it was so badly written. To sum up I think this book was completely over-hyped and is another social media led hype. This looks set to continue as a film studio has bought the film rights. I also read that Ian Somerhalder (Boon in Lost and Damon in the Vampire Diaries) is interested in playing the Grey role. As an actor I have admired for a while now (for his looks more than his capacity to act) I would definitely be heading to the cinema to see that!

I would be keen to hear your thoughts on the book as my facebook is filled with people that absolutely loved this first instalment. I just don't get it and rate it as "alright".

Maternity leave 3 months on

It has been a while since my last post so when I found myself with a (rare) childfree house My first priority was to update my blog.

Dexter is now 3 months old and I still cannot believe how quickly it has flown by (I know everyone says that but it's true).
Mothering a baby the second time around has been so easy. The first time I remember feeling quite lost and questioning everything I was doing, convinced it was all wrong. This time, however, my experience has given me the confidence that I so envied in other mums/ friends with children. Dexter has helped in his own way as he is such an easy baby. I know there may be some mums reading this thinking "thanks for rubbing it in" but believe me my first child was an easy baby but I paid for it in spades when she hit the terrible two's (which is a phase she is still in at almost 5). He started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and this is just getting better each week. We currently put him to bed at 10pm and he sleeps through until 5am, goes back to sleep, has a quick feed at 9am and then sleeps all the way through to mid day. He then stays away most of the afternoon and just laughs and smiles. He only cries when he is hungry but even then I am yet to see real tears and hear a proper cry.
Actually I heard him cry hard last week as we startled him with our loud yelling at each of the three goals England scored against Sweden in the Euros.
I put most of his great behaviour down to our laid back approach (apparently they pick up on the vibes you send out) and his size. He is huge!!! At eight weeks old I took him to get weighed and the health visitor looked at him and asked if he was 21 weeks old! This is a running theme and at 3 months old he is the same size as a six month old (We have actually compared). I have been told that he is going to be very tall and is following the outer percentile on the growth chart. At 5ft 2in and his father not much taller most people would wonder how on earth that happened but my brother is a good 6.5ft so there must be genes in the family somewhere.
Anyway, I was told that bigger babies are much more contented babies and I would definitely agree with this theory. So if you are pregnant and have been told that your baby is on the bigger side look at it as a positive thing.

I think the great sleeping pattern has occurred due to the fact that we put him in a cot and his own room at 2 months which I could not recommend more. That said I can understand how some parents are nervous to let a baby sleep out of their sight but believe me you both sleep so much better.

Maternity leave has felt pressurised. Stay with me on this. If I waste a day doing nothing but watching TV it puts me on a downer and I constantly have a sinking feeling that I have wasted a day. So I am constantly looking for things to do. At first this was fine as my house really could use an all over deep clean so I would take a room a day and get on with it. The only problem is that now I seem to have become a clean freak and get annoyed if people come in and make it a mess which is not good with a 5 year old. I am continuously cleaning which I then started to feel was wasting the day too so I started making plans for at least two outings a week. This was fine at first but now I am on maternity pay I can't afford to do the things I was doing and I am not a fan of walking for no reason so I struggle to find things to do. I probably spend more time trying to think up things to do than actually doing them.
I need a hobby...

I did take both kids swimming a few weeks ago which was great fun and Dexter absolutely loves the water so had a whale of a time and he even fell asleep in the pool. People kept telling me I was brave for bringing a baby so young swimming which made me wonder if I should not have taken him... I get paranoid sometimes.
As the school holiday approaches I am sure I will fill my days easily as my mum will be off work and hopefully some of my other mum friends will be taking time off so I will have plenty of people to see.

My health and fitness has now become a huge priority for me. I started back at bootcamp a couple of weeks ago which I absolutely love and to make it better, a year on, the people attending are the same as before. I currently do this once a week for now and plan to up it to three times a week when I go back to work and can afford it.
Due to the diabetes I had in pregnancy I lost a lot of weight at the end of my pregnancy. The picture below was taken two weeks after the birth and it is an unusually good picture of me. However, since then I started snacking and putting the weight back on again.

Over the last week I downloaded an app on my phone which takes into account your current weight, height, age etc and based on how much you want to weigh calculates your daily calorie allowance. You then enter all the food, drink and snacks you consume through the day which links to the nutritional contents of each and at the end of the day you get an analysis on your consumption that day (reduce trans fats to ... etc). Its great and takes into account any exercise you do and keeps track of the water you consume.
I don't think of it as counting calories as I don't agree with 'dieting' on the whole. It is simply helping me to understand the nutritional value of the things I am eating, keeping a check on my portion sizes and generally makes me think twice when I fancy a snack. It only works if you are honest but it is helping me rethink my diet.

My overall goal is to look and feel fantastic when I return to work in September but it will also form part of my permanent lifestyle change. One day I would like to think I will be in good enough shape to even complete a marathon. Its good to have goals and this one is quite long term but very achievable.

Hopefully my next post wont take as long to complete. I am taking Dexter on his first holiday next month so will be posting how that went.

See ya
xxxx

Dexter is now 3.5 weeks - where did the time go?

Dexter is now 3.5 weeks old and getting bigger by the day.
Today was a good day as Dexter had his scan this morning to see if the hole in his back goes through to his spine. The results were very good and it does not go through to his spine and everything looks normal. Apparently it may close up over time too. He will have another scan in about 3 months just to check there is no change.

I am spending most of my maternity leave feeling very guilty. As I am getting up every two hours in the night I know I should catch up on my sleep during the day when Dexter sleeps but when he does go for a long sleep in the day I end up using my time cleaning or cooking. This is mainly as I feel as I am at home and my husband is having to provide for me the least I could do is provide him with a spotless house and dinner on the table. In the process I am exhausted. Perhaps I should review this thought process and focus on myself instead.

Life with Dexter is amazing. He is such a timewaster and I could watch him all day. It is all so much easier than I remembered from the first time around. Perhaps it is just the fact that I have confidence in what I am doing this time around.

My weight is doing well. I was a size 16 before I fell pregnant and last week managed to fit into a size 14! so I am very pleased and making an effort to eat healthily. I still have to wait a few more weeks until I am allowed to do some exercises but I am walking a lot more in the meantime. With my weight loss and a new hair cut and colour I went out last weekend for a friends birthday. It was the first proper night out I have had and I really enjoyed myself. I was bombarded with compliments which didn't do any harm to my self esteem! It has certainly spurred me on to continue to lose weight and drop a couple more dress sizes so watch this space.

Going out for the first time was strange. Although I had an amazing time every now and again I would remember my kids and feel really guilty for leaving my 3 week old with someone. There was no need to feel guilty of course as they were safe and happy but it does make you think you shouldn't be out drinking!

I still have to pinch myself and don't quite feel like I am mature enough to have two kids but I do and I wouldn't change it for the world.

The next big decision to make it what contraception I am going onto as I no longer want any more children I need something a bit more secure than the pill. I have discussed with my husband about him having the snip but as we are both in out early 30's it doesn't feel quite right and a bit too final. So in the meantime I am toying with getting the injection. I need to go to the doctors and discuss all the options.

Anyway best go as mummy duties are calling and Dexter wants a feed.

Life after birth

I realise from my last blog I missed out a crucial piece of information - the baby's weight! He weighed in at a rather large 9lbs 6oz. Considering he was induced a week and a half early I dread to think what he would have weighed if he had reached his due date which is today as a matter of fact (6th April).

So I came home on the 27th March just after midday and things were pretty hectic from then until now. That evening we had most of our immediate family over to visit our new addition.
The following day I was visited by a community midwife who gave Dexter an all over check. In the hospital they had noticed what they called a dimple on his back just above his bottom but they had dismissed it as simply that. However the community midwife had a different view. The dimple is quite deep and she wanted to be absolutely sure it was a dimple and not a hole. If it were a hole that goes right through to his spine then it is a sign that he could have a form of spina bifida. So as a matter of precaution I was sent the following day back up the hospital to get it checked by a doctor.
The doctor didn't seem overly worried as Dexter was clearly moving his legs with no problem which is not the case with spina bifida sufferers. But they have ordered a scan to be absolutely sure. I just got the scan date through and have to wait another 2 weeks but I am not concerned.

We kept Summer off pre-school most of that week as she was just so excited and didn't want to be away from her brother. She has been overly helpful and can even change his nappy (with supervision of course). She wants to help out with everything and picks out his clothes most days. As Friday was the last day of school before the easter holidays we made her go in and Phil took Dexter in too so that Summer could show him off. The children sat around him asking lots of questions.

So this week Summer has been on school holidays which has been tough actually. I have felt forced to keep her busy instead of resting as I should have been. I just felt it was unfair for Summer to be plonked in front of the TV during school holidays so we have been out visiting people and went to Wisley gardens etc. Unfortunately the lack of rest has caught up with me. At the last midwife visit yesterday they were not impressed with my over excursion and said I absolutely must put my feet up this week.

Two days after having Dexter I popped into Guildford town centre to do a bit of shopping. I had so missed looking in normal clothes shops so thought I would give it a go and took Dexter out for his first outing. The epidural I had gave me excruciating back pain but other than that I had recovered really well and even forgot I had stitches.

Last week I also visited work which was nice. I am not usually one to show off but when you have achieved something as beautiful as Dexter it is pretty hard not to!

I have now been signed off from the community midwives and just await a call from the health visitor who will pay me a visit before I start visiting the baby clinic weekly.

My husband and I have got into a great routine and we are really organised. Dexter wakes for feeds 3 times in the night but goes straight back down so although I am sleep deprived it is not all that bad. I feel very lucky about this though as Summer was the same and even started sleeping right through the night from 6 weeks old. He is a really happy baby so far and sleeps all the time. We have special time in the evening where he stays awake for a bit staring at us (probably sussing us out). This is especially nice for Phil as he gets this special time when he gets in from work.

The other thing I am pleased about is that my weight is flying off. Quite the opposite to my last pregnancy where it stuck and I have spent the last 4 years trying to shift it. I am already in my old jeans which are a size 16 but my uterus is still shrinking (stomach still going down) so when that has stopped I will easily be in a size 14 which is fantastic. As soon as I am able I will be getting straight back into my exercise regime at bootcamp and keep up the momentum. Size 12 for the Summer I hope.

The main event

Firstly apologies for the delay in writing this, I have been somewhat pre-occupied but I will get to that.
So last Monday was induction day. I nervously approached Frimley hospital at 9am with my husband and sister. After being sent to three different wards we eventually found the right one only to be told that my sister could not come in as you are only allowed one person to accompany you (something they insist was in the leaflet they gave me but I really do not recall reading it). So I had to send my poor sister packing with the promise of a call to come up when they moved me to the deliver suit.

In the leaflet it said induction could take up to 48 hours so I was preparing myself for the worst. They inserted a propess (pessary) which is a bit like a mini tampon. It releases hormones toward the cervix to try to bring on labour. Within half an hour to my surprise the contractions began. I was told the baby was quite high so I was encouraged to walk about the hospital as much as I could. We walked to the cafe so phil could get some food. When we returned I was told Phil could not come back on the ward because between 1pm to 3pm is rest time and no one other than patients were allowed in. This was not welcome news considering I was getting contractions, it was nice to have the moral support of my husband.
So Phil went to work for a bit and came back at 3pm. I managed to get a bit of sleep to prepare for the long night ahead.

So eventually I thought I felt my waters break, we told the nurse who was pleased and checked how dilated I was. I was only at 3cm though so still a long way to go. The contractions were almost on top of each other and getting stronger each time. I had a bath to try to help ease the pain but eventually I begged them to let me go to the delivery room so that I could access some proper drugs and not just codeine. So at 9pm they examined me again and said that if I was at least 4cm they would take me through. I was 4cm so with a huge sigh of relief I was sent through to the delivery suit. We quickly called my sister to get up to the hospital as she was my back up birthing partner. I was even quicker to get the gas and air which was amazing.

It was at this point I made a strange decision that I was not going to have an epidural and see how far I could get with just gas and air. I genuinely thought I could do it.

I met my midwife and was told that they had to continuously monitor me because I was a high risk pregnancy which meant having the baby hooked up to a heart monitor and having the midwife by my side the whole time. Luckily she was lovely and throughout the night we had a good laugh together - yes really a good laugh. It got to the point were a midwife put her head around the door to find out what we were all laughing at. Phil was on top form with his comedy and it kept me going through some painful moments.

My fluids were too low and my temperature was up so I was hooked up to a drip for extra fluids. More wires to keep taking to the loo with me through the night!!!!
After a few very painful internal examinations they established that my waters had not actually broken! so they were broken for me. I felt like I had flooded the room!
From that moment the contractions became completely unbearable and is tarted to dilate very quickly. At this point I realised I had to have an epidural after all. After another examination I was 8cm so the midwife suggested we do it fast but I had to do another wee sample first. I went to the loo absent my gas and air when another contraction hit. Without the pain relief I became the shouty woman you see on the telly and had to be rescued from the loo. The midwife looked at me and suggested it was too late for the epidural. My response was quick and swift "I AM HAVING THAT EPIDURAL NO MATTER WHAT!" the anaesthetist didn't think it would kick in in time but I said I didn't care and to do it anyway. Luckily it kicked in quick. While they were putting it in the midwife asked if I was getting the urge to push to which I replied no - this was a bare faced lie as I was scared that if I said yes they would stop the epidural.

Oh the relief when the it kicked in was incredible. Unfortunately it slowed everything down for another 5 hours. This was sort of good for me though as it gave me time to have a power nap and prepare for the next important bit - pushing.
Unfortunately for my midwife her shift was over and a new midwife swooped in for the glory of actual delivery.
The new midwife Janine was completely different and really upbeat which is actually what we needed after being awake all night. We were also joined by a medical student who was expecting his first child too. So he had a vested interest in the whole thing.

So the time came to push. I pushed a couple of times and the midwife stopped me and said actually I want you to push until the biggest part of baby's head is out and then just stop and breathe through your contractions. I did this and to everyones surprise the baby started coming out by himself. The contractions just aided to push him out as I simply sat there breathing. The midwife didn't even touch him. To my bigger surprise both phil and my sister watched the whole thing from the business end and phil even cut the cord. 15 minutes of pushing is all it took to get him out. My perfect little boy was finally here! The midwife said she had not seen such a perfect birth for 20 years and that I should be very proud of myself.
I only needed a few minor stitches too.

I was then told that summer could come to the delivery suit to visit me and 4 hours after giving birth I was told if I really wanted to I could go home. I didn't even make it to the maternity ward which is such a bonus!

My experience at Frimley hospital was brilliant and I just felt really looked after. It helped that one of the midwives on night shift used to be my daughters childminder for 3 years and looked after us too.

I cannot thank all the staff especially my two midwives enough for a great and magical experience. Also a huge thankyou to my sister and husband who helped me through, especially those early hours when I felt like I couldn't go on. Amazing support and I am just so happy to have shared my experience with them.

So Dexter David Henden was born at 10.24 am on the 27th March after a 23 hour labour.

The last hurdle

Well it has been an eventful week.
On Monday I went to the hospital again for another scan. The baby has got bigger but the growth has slowed a bit so the diabetic diet is helping. The computer estimated that the baby is about 8lbs 6oz... and I still had 2.5 weeks to go.
Thankfully my prayers were answered when they said the magic words... "we will induce you early". In fact I am due to go in on Monday (in 4 days time).

Although it is only 1.5 weeks early it is such a relief. It is really nice to be able to tell Summer how many sleeps it is too. Also we can plan for childcare for my daughter. As I go in at 10am we will drop her at preschool as usual and her nanny will pick her up later and take care of her until my husband can get home.

So because of this new due date I left work unexpectedly on Tuesday. Thankfully I had prepared almost everything anyway so I just had a few loose ends to tie up. Actually leaving felt like a bit of an anti climax though. With the short notice I appreciate that I couldn't have the usual send off that my company usually puts together but it just felt really flat. I came in that morning and my boss said that she hadn't told anyone it was my last day as she thought I would want to do it myself. So...how exactly do you go about announcing your own last day....? I picked the easy option and bought chocolates accompanied by an email saying "chocolates in the kitchen as it is my last day, help yourself".
One nice touch was that the CEO was in our London office but still made the effort to call and wish me well which was a nice touch. I don't know, maybe I was expecting too much but I was struck with disappointment.

Anyway, today is day two of my maternity leave and I am going stir crazy already. Its not helped by the fact that my back and pelvic bones are in agony so any kind of walking is excruciatingly painful which rules out doing quite a bit. Other than watching TV. Virgin Media are coming shortly to install my new Tivo box which will keep me occupied.

Last week I visited an old school friend who has very kindly given me loads of baby boys clothes. I have just finished sorting them into ages and ironed them all so I am totally ready. Oh except for my birth plan which I have seemingly overlooked and have not filled in. For anyone that doesn't know a birth plan is just information you keep in your pregnancy book (which you must take to all appointments during your pregnancy). It outlines the way you would ideally like your labour & birth to go including the drugs you want, permission for the vitamin K injection, water or normal birth, etc. I must fill this in today for two reasons: Firstly, last time I was given pethidine which made me violently sick so I am planning to avoid it this time and secondly, I would like the baby cleaned before being passed to me. Yes, this is actually an option and one that I feel a bit guilty about but the babies do come out covered in blood and gunk which i would just rather not cuddle up to. So they quickly whisk them off and towel clean the gunk off first which is great.

At the beginning of my pregnancy we asked my big sister if she would like to be my birthing partner (alongside phil). She has been unable to give us an answer until yesterday as I think she was quite nervous about the thought of it. She has decided that she is going to be there which will be really nice and will give her a special bond with her nephew. It will also be nice for my husband to have some back up if he needs to take a break as it can go on for a very long time (36 hours with my daughter).

Today for the first time I have felt the fear. I am all of a sudden nervous about the birth but excited all at the same time.

So the next blog I write will be the big one!!!! Wish me luck and I will see you on the flip side with photos.