My little wriggler

Baby Jake arrived on Wednesday 23rd July at 8:45am. He was born at home, weighing in at 8.5lbs, and only a day late!

The labour went well, an intense and quick 7 hours and was all natural except for a couple of hours while I was sucking on the Entonox resisting the urge to push till I was fully dilated. That Entonox is GOOD STUFF!!

Baby Jake is very healthy, a real wriggler! And he's definitely got his Daddy's long legs and feet.

He's crying a lot at the moment though, we think he's finding the heat a bit much, poor little fella.

Despite the lack of sleep and the heat, Paul and I are doing well too and are very happy and busy falling in love with our little boy.

Love to you all.

How to wait for your baby to arrive...

1. Go for walks (waddles) round the neighbourhood.

2. Try to remember that for every person who ogles your belly in disbelief, there is another who looks at you and smiles.

3. Enjoy everything you are still eating.

4. Watch all those films you've been saving for a rainy day.

5. Start reading a 637 paged novel.

6. Listen to Louis Armstrong.

7. Enjoy watching the new Mom across the street when she feeds her baby by the window.

8. Tell yourself it's perfectly normal to feel the need to pee every time you sit down.

9. Steep yourself in the joy and mystery of the sound of Buddhist monks chanting (and even join in).

10. Listen to Cat Stevens' Ruby My Love as many times as you want because it makes you want to cry with joy.

11. Moan as much as you want, but then be positive.

12. Seek out pleasures like peach icecream and the best jello ever to be made.

13. Write to that juice company to ask them why they put sweetened condensed milk in their fruit juice instead of just complaining about it.

14. Hug your partner, lots.

15. Enjoy the silence.

16. Remember that every mother on earth has gone through this.

17. Remind yourself that it is impossible to stay pregnant forever.

18. Belly dance to The Mercy Seat and Skokian, remembering what the true origins of belly dancing were.

19. Relax, breathe and do nothing else.

20. Remember this:

Blooming and growing...

...with three weeks to go, though now that I am at 37 weeks, I'm considered to be full term and he could arrive at any moment!

I'm finally on maternity leave, it was just the right time to finish work. I had a lovely send off, including this gorgeous bunch of flowers. The peonies are opening and blooming beautifully, giving me a wonderful image to focus on for the birth.

Hope you are having a fantastic summer, whatever you're up to.