Littlemummy.Com

How long were you in hospital?

Great Nan (mother of 3)

Well, I wasn’t in hospital but I had to stay in bed for nine days (with a natural birth) and I was allowed up on the tenth day.

Nan (mother of 4)

Seven days was standard practise in my day although by the time I had my last child I was allowed home much quicker.

Mum (mother of 2)

10 days after a caesarean was standard practise.

Me (mother of 1)

I had Erin by caesarean and left hospital after 36 hours. I can’t believe the difference between my time in hospital and Mum’s. Well seen we live at a faster pace these day – 10 days bed rest for Great Nan!

So you have your baby bible and know exactly what the script is….but what about your partner?

We all know that when it comes to this stuff most men don’t have a clue, most will try their best, but ultimately fail miserably to understand your cravings for coal or worse still those red bricks they build with (ask me about that story sometime!) your highs and lows or why you feel so tired even though you haven’t done anything.

Don’t Panic

I have the answer. I worked for me, it can work for you too!

It’s very simple.

You have your bible, he needs his.

My suggestion is not only very infornative but absolutely hysterical. I know because I read it – for research purposes only of course!

The Blokes Guide to Pregnancy by Jon Smith

Buy it now, you won’t regret it. Alex says “It was absolutely hysteical, it helped a lot. It’s like the author has been your mate for years”.

Baby Name Selector

Aditi (girl)

Indian name meaning ‘abundant creative power’

Andrew (boy)

Name of the patron saint of Scotland

Davina (girl)

From the Hebrew (beloved)

Garvey (boy)

Gaelic for ‘peace through victory’

Kiara (girl)

So you’ve bought the magazines but you really need something more official, something that will tell you all the technical bits. I bought only one baby ‘bible’ it was so good it was all I needed. I knew exactly what the doctors and midwives were talking about from the medical jargon, and even recognised the symptoms of pre-eclampsia. It was a constant source of information and reassurance just when I needed it.

“What’s it called?” I hear you shout

What to Expect When You’re Expecting
by Heidi E. Murkoff, Arlene Eisenburg & Sandee E. Hathaway

I bought mine from WHSmith for £12.99 but you can buy second-hand copies on eBay for about £5, alternatively try amazon. Either way it’s worth every penny and you can re-sell it afterwards.

Baby Name Selector

Briallen (girl)
A Welsh name meaning ‘Primrose’.

Hadrian (boy)

Jesse (boy)
From the Hebrew, ‘gift’.

Monica (girl)

Shannah (girl)

You can have the wedding of your dreams and it doesn’t have to cost anything like the exorbitant ‘average wedding’ figures you see in the magazines. Slash your bill to as little as two or three thousand pounds, or less depending on your contacts and where you live. I followed these basic steps and saved myself a fortune and still had the wedding of my dreams.

Write it down
Get yourself a ‘wedding notebook’. Write down your idea of a perfect (for you) wedding. Write which parts of the wedding are most important to you. For some it might be the food, some the dress. Then list those that are least important, like cars, decoration, DJ at the party. When you are following these steps keep this list in mind and spend money where it really matters to you and cut back (just a little bit) on the things that matter less. You should also write down your budget, and guestimate prices as you go along. Add 10% to all of your guestimates – just to be on the safe side

This article has gotten so large I have had to break it down into steps. I’ll publish one or two steps a day until we are finished. You should have a pretty comprehensive wedding plan in place by the end.

Here we go with Step 1…

Utilise Friends and Family

Get out that wedding notepad and write a list of family who can make or provide anything towards the wedding. For example, at my wedding my Dad provided the disco as he is a DJ. My Nan made my dress as she is a professional dress-maker.

Here’s a list in case you’re thinking no-one in your family could help. Also,don’t forget friends of friends, or your family’s contacts, it may not be free but you could get a good deal!

• Chaffeurs or people working in car hire
• Florists
• DJs and/or Sound Equipment Hire
• Hoteliers
• Jewellers
• Photographers
• Dress-makers
• Cake decoraters
• Kilt/Morning suit hire ie someone working in the business?
• Make-up artists, hairdressers, manicurists and beauty technicians
• Caterers
• Anyone who can provide champagne, gifts for attendants
• Other entertainment ie anyone who can pipe, plays in a band, a singer…or even kids entertainment, a clown, a magician.

This is a rough idea of what you are looking for. If you can’t think of any, write a list of your contacts and their professions. If nothing matches to what you need, ask them if they have any contacts who could help. I guarantee that eventually someone will know someone who could provide at least a couple of these services either for free if they are close family or at a discounted price.

To tell or not to tell? The big dilemna.

Do you tell people the happy news straight away or not?

Well, some say yes, some say no. I told those who loved me straight away and those who didn’t after the landmark twelve week point. Reason being, I figured that if they loved me (family and close friends) then they would only feel as upset and disappointed as I would have if anything went wrong, also I would have my support network ready to help.

People to tell after 12 weeks; work colleagues and boss (probably the other way around!), friends (not close), extended family (Aunty Ann in Australia!), women from your yoga group, postman, bank manager, the guy you sit next to on the train to work, your dad’s golf mates, your grannie’s bingo ladies etc etc etc you get the idea….

Baby Name Selector

Laila (girl)
From the Persion for ‘night’ or dark-haired.

Also… Laili, Laleh

Noah (boy)
From the Hebrew for ‘rest’.

Samuel (boy)
From the Hebrew ‘heard by God’.

Zoe (girl)
From the Greek, ‘Life’.

Acacia (girl)
Greek origin. Symbol of immortality.

Also…Cacia, Casey

Trying for a baby will either be great fun…….I mean……lots of sex and no worries like - ‘will I fall pregnant?’ or ‘who bought the condoms?’ (where’s the nearest 24hr garage?!!) ‘did I take my pill last Sunday when I was hungover all day?’………..Nope………It’s just a whole load of great sex and no worries…………….isn’t it?

Well maybe for you.

Or maybe (like me!) you’ve made the decision and you want to be pregnant now…..you don’t want to wait until when your period is due (or more sensibly a few days after) to do a pregnancy test. You want to do one now (just to make sure of course) even though you did one yesterday and the day before and your period isn’t even due until next week.

Yes I’ve been there, it was very frustrating and very expensive!

So here comes tip no.1. If you were nodding your head and smirking guiltily at the last paragraph then this applies to you.

Buy multipacks of ‘own brand’ pregnancy tests for testing when you are being ridiculous and testing way too soon…..(yes, I know you can’t help it), then, when your period is due have a couple of First Response (my chosen brand) to test with.

There is a difference between brands and how much HCG they can detect (how they tell if your pregnant). I did a First Response and had a positive….it took a further two days for an own brand test to show positive. So, if your desperate to know, it’s worth shelling out and buying the more expensive brand.

If you’re really obsessed you can search the internet, there are sites that will tell you which pregnancy tests detect the smallest amounts of HCG. The lower the better. Or save your time and effort - First Response was the most sensitive I found that was readily available on the high street.