Rough First Trimester! (Second Pregnancy)

Happy New Year Everyone.. 

New Years Day 2019

We are in 2019! Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and New Year or even if you didn't that does not mean you cannot have an amazing 2019, I wish all good things for you guys, my lovely readers. 
Reece and I have been so fortunate to of had an amazing 2017 and 2018 with so much amazing things that have happened from Ella-Grace being born and growing into such an amazing toddler to us getting married, moving and more- as you will all know from previous posts. This year, 2019, we will be completing our family with baby 2 which brings me into today's post.  

Another pregnancy post...

Back with another pregnancy post! Most of my readers I know love these and are excited I am writing them again but I am also aware they are not for everyone. So, to those of you who prefer non-pregnancy related blog posts, do not worry! The next post will not be about pregnancy! But this one is so if you are not into pregnancy stories then click away and come back another time...if you are still here I assume you are here for the pregnant content so HI! Thank you for being here to follow me on my pregnancy journey with baby number two (still cannot believe I am saying that) I am so happy to share my experience with all of you. This post will be all about the first trimester (week 1 - week 13 of pregnancy)

- can I just add how weird it is writing about my first trimester now we are in 2019 as it was back in 2018, while writing this I am 19 weeks pregnant so just feels strange backtracking.. know what I mean? Sorry pointless side note back to regular programming- 

and I think it is fair to say that this time around has been tough for many reasons as you will read but once again I do want to stress that I know this is NOTHING compared to what some women have to go through and no matter what I am very grateful for carrying a new life, all obstacles and hardships are worth it. This is just my experience that I want to share with you guys, please know I am grateful and I am very aware that things could be worse. That however does not make it easy. 

So, without keeping you waiting on the edge of your seat any longer here is all the information on my first trimester...

Side note again: Just had a realisation that baby 2 could be reading this in the future! I just want to say I love you and I forgive you for making me so sore and sick hahaha! Just kidding, it's not your fault you were just a tiny fetus. I would go through it all again for you and I love you so much all ready.

4 - 6 weeks pregnant....

Positive test and 5 weeks pregnant on Honeymoon 

The last pregnancy related post that was up on my blog was all about how Reece and I conceived baby number 2 - link here : TTC Journey/LauraJane:Life

I left you all at me taking the pregnancy test (on the 27th September 2018: 4 weeks 3 days pregnant), it being positive and me telling Reece he was going to be a Daddy to two babies! Very exciting times. After this I told my family and close friends and then... oh yeah we were going away on our honeymoon DAYS after we found out (30th September 2018: 4 weeks 6 days pregnant). Felt like such a crazy thing to do when you have just found out your pregnant but hey ho, that is what we did and I know there is nothing dangerous about flying in early pregnancy (that I have been told anyway).

So, 30th September 2018 we set off on our honeymoon to Marmaris, Turkey. 1st October 2018, our first day on our honeymoon, I was 5 weeks pregnant. 

(I am still to share our honeymoon experience and all we did, how I coped with separation anxiety etc so I am not going to go into that in too much detail on here as that is a separate post but just to let you guys know that it is coming. Sorry it is so late.) 

We had an amazing first few days, I missed Ella-Grace beyond belief- again I will be going through that in a separate post- but we did enjoy our first few days on our honeymoon. Eating lots of food, enjoying the sunshine, taking part in loads of excursions (pregnancy safe ones), it was amazing. Then it got to day 4 and the sickness and anxiety set in. We still had 3 days left!  

Reece, bless him he really is the best husband ever. He has been talking about going away with me since we met pretty much, he has been abroad before and loves hot, sunny weather. Knowing I had never been to any other country bar the UK he has always been keen to take me away. It had never worked out for us really and now finally after 6 years together we had the chance to go away not only on holiday but on our honeymoon. Probably the only time we are ever going to go away just the two of us and of course I have terrible morning sickness from pregnancy and anxiety just over half way through our week away. I felt guilty but also knew another baby is what he wanted to so supporting me during the sickness was just something he had to deal with as a part of that. He was an angel and as I was sick in bed in our hotel room, air con blasting to cool me down, he ran to the closest shop to get me some crackers (that being the only thing I could stomach, literally even now just thinking about this time makes me feel sick). 
Now being about 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant I had come to realise that this morning sickness was way worse than last time, foreshadowing the rest of the first trimester. As for anxiety it was a combination of being away from home while feeling very sick and missing Ella-Grace more than words can even describe, making me even look into changing our flights home but it just was not feasible. Tears and sickness aside however we did push through and enjoyed the rest of the honeymoon, mostly by the pool in the hotel so I could still go back to our hotel room if I needed to but it was still so wonderful and we made so many good memories. 

8th October 2018 I was 6 weeks pregnant and we were on our way home from our honeymoon. I do not recommend travelling long distance when experiencing extreme morning sickness it was pretty tough. 9th October 2018 we were back home and reunited with Ella-Grace which made me so happy and cured my separation anxiety but obviously not my pregnancy sickness which kick starts the next set of weeks in the first trimester. 

6 - 9 weeks pregnant...

First sign of little bump and 9 weeks pregnant on Halloween

So as I said 6 weeks pregnant, back from Honeymoon, Reece back to work and me reunited with Ella-Grace which I was extremely happy about but felt horrendously sick and still very on edge and anxious. Mixed emotions. 

Looking back now I think it was a mixture of pregnancy hormones, my forever looming anxiety and all the change in routine (which I DO NOT do well with at all, my anxiety and panic attacks are kept at bay because of routine and planning) that made me feel quite down, not to mention the sickness. On top of that as well because I had just come back I wanted to do so much with Ella-Grace but because of the extent to which I felt sick I felt like I could not do anything and did not want to leave the sofa never mind the house, I did now and again and tried my best to go to the park or on walks but to be 100% honest the TV was my best friend and a lot of those early weeks were spent in our pyjamas on the sofa, So the Mum guilt of course set in as I hate not being active with Ella-Grace and too much TV is a personal pet hate so yeah; sickness, anxiety now add a dash of guilt. That was week 6 and 7 of my second pregnancy in a nutshell and week 8 started out the same except now Ella-Grace was ill too.. nightmare! Struggling with a chest infection and her asthma, our poor baby was having a tough time too. Meaning more time inside, more TV and a very stressed out Mama! I was seeing the TV time affect her behaviour and it was breaking me. These weeks were most definitely tough! Thankfully Halloween gave us a bit of a boost! As I turned 9 weeks pregnant Halloween came around and our little angel had a blast dressed as a bat and I shaved my head once again for charity. The sickness had not gone away but at least these events put my spirits up. Routine was coming back, anxiety was going down slightly and I tried to ignore the sickness and return to normality which was less TV (2 hours a day max), attending groups and sticking to a routine. I may have went a bit over board with this as you will see. 

10 - 13 weeks pregnant 

Ella-Grace seeing scan picture for the first time 

10 weeks pregnant now, into double digits (the date now being 5th November 2018). The exact day I turned 10 weeks pregnant I remember clearly because it was the day I had my booking appointment with the midwife, spent the day with my parents and enjoyed sparklers with Ella-Grace that night for the first time- it was adorable inserting pic below! 

Bonfire Night 2018

All fun and games. The booking appointment went well the only downfall was that it was quite late for a booking appointment. I had phoned just before we left on honeymoon to make the appointment for when we came back and they said that booking appointments were usually between 8 and 10 weeks and my practice obviously only had availability around when I was 10 weeks (With Ella-Grace I think my booking appointment was made for 8 weeks). Fun fact- they actually booked my first appointment for 12 weeks by mistake and I had to phone back to change it because obviously by that point I should be having a scan not a booking appointment but anyways, my booking appointment was later than most which meant my scan would be later. My first scan was booked for after I would turn 13 weeks pregnant. Not a big deal at all but one thing that was really hard for me was keeping the secret that I was pregnant. Most of my close family and friends knew but it was still a secret and a 'taboo' in a way if anyone knew before the first scan. I spoke in my previous pregnancy about how much this stressed me out and how I think no one should be made to feel bad for talking about their pregnancy before they reach 12 weeks or have their first scan. Pregnancy is amazing whether it be 9 days, 9 weeks or 9 months and it should be allowed and socially acceptable to be spoke about at any stage. This being the reason that instead of keeping it a secret from everyone this time round I did almost the opposite and told many close friends and family members pretty much as soon as I knew I was pregnant. Social media is a totally different thing for me personally I just had no interest in announcing it until I knew everything was okay with baby especially after our chemical pregnancy scare when trying but that is just me, I think anyone can announce it whenever they want that was just what we decided.  However if people asked or mentioned anything about pregnancy/ the fact that Reece and I were trying in person I did share the news, I was a lot more open this time and it helped but it still felt taboo to tell people and certain people acted like my pregnancy was a big secret no one could possibly know but that's not what I wanted so it was still a slight stressor. Which is when I learnt that my scan date was a week later than expected it made me kind of sad because I wanted this 'hush, hush' time to be over. I am a talker, I talk about what I am going through and what is happening in my life. Literally it is what I am doing right now by writing my thoughts, feelings and experiences on the internet so yeah I wanted everything to be open and the later scan put a damper on that for me. Sorry that was a large tangent I just wanted to explain, leave a comment if you can relate to what I mean or maybe you kept your pregnancy a secret for much longer? I would love to know either way. 

Anyway, so between 10 and 11 weeks pregnant I was still feeling horrendously sick but powering through with my strict routine in an attempt to control my anxiety and do more with Ella-Grace. This meant lots of groups. Gymnastics, football, dancing, swimming and the occasional drop in toddler group. Ella-Grace loved every one of these classes, especially gymnastics but as week 10 of my pregnancy past and almost to the end of week 11 I started getting severe lower back ache and tummy cramps. Started off minimal but on 17th November 2018 it got really painful and worrying, I phoned the midwife and was told to go straight to the hospital. My heart sank. I phoned Reece and told him he needed to come home from work to be with Ella-Grace while I went to the hospital, I phoned family to tell them the situation and off I went. One of the scariest moments of my life. 

I got to the hospital around 5pm and by this point I was in a lot of pain and feeling very very sick (the sickness was normal by now but the pain was not). Hours later, checked over by a midwife and then a doctor I was admitted to hospital on strong pain killers and anti-sickness tablets. They wanted me to have an early scan the next morning meaning I was being admitted for the night which I was not prepared for. My lovely friend who is also pregnant due very soon, drove to my house to pick up a bag Reece packed for me, went to the shop for some snacks and dropped them off at my hospital room, keeping me company for a little while. It was very sweet of her and I am so thankful. Her company calmed me when I was so worried. 

Keeping everyone updated but now at this point my friend had left and I was very tired I was just going to close my eyes and try to get some rest through my worry then in came a scan technician and told me they could scan me right then and there. 

18th November 2018 at 10pm I saw my second child for the first time via an emergency scan. 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant, almost 2 weeks before my confirmation scan was scheduled, there on the screen was the little life growing inside me and he/she was perfectly happy and healthy (thank goodness!). I was so relived! After checking my wriggly baby they also scanned to check my ovaries (the original fear was that I was experiencing an eptopic pregnancy where the baby attaches in the Fallopian tube but luckily that was not the case) they looked fine too. Baby looked good so at that point I could technically have gone home but with it being so late and being quite sick and sore they told me to stay over night and I would be checked and spoken to in the morning. I sent Reece the picture of the scan, writing, 'Baby 2 is looking great!' at 10.05pm. Needless to say he was also very happy and releaved. . 

After a bad nights sleep due to sickness and pain it was morning and they brought me some breakfast (surprisingly a lot of vegan options which I was happy about) I managed to stomach that thanks to the anti-sickness medication, the first thing I had ate in probably 12 hours. It was after this that I spoke to the doctor and after our chat (about symptoms, my daily life, diet etc) she came to the conclusion that I needed rest. I had been pushing myself too hard especially when I had not really been eating much due to sickness so I really needed to get my energy levels back. I had lost weight (now being under 9 stone due to not being able to eat because of pregnancy sickness) and she said to basically cool it for a while on Ella-Grace's activities, take anti-sickness tablets every day so I could start eating again and be on bed rest for a week. It was good advice and definitely what I needed to get better but the struggles did not stop there and being realistic, when your husband works a lot and you are alone at home with a toddler you cannot really be on bed rest. But I did give myself a break. Anyways so Ella-Grace and Reece came to meet me at the hospital and it was then that Ella-Grace laid eyes on her sibling for the first time (19th Novemebr 2018).

To cheer us up after the big scare, now we knew everything was okay with baby and I was home safe and sound, getting some rest, we announced our second pregnancy on Facebook. Everyone was delighted for us and wished me well. Luckily Reece was off the remainder of that day and managed to get the following day off also to help with Ella-Grace (taking her to her football class) and allow me to at least have two full days of bed rest before he had to return to work. 

The bed rest helped my back ache a lot and it was no longer scarily sore. The anti-sickness tablets were really helping me get my appetite back which was amazing too but the big downfall was they made me extremely drowsy which is not great when you are looking after a toddler by yourself so I had to be careful when I took them. I could take up to 3 doses which I definitely needed so I went for first thing in the morning while Reece was home to help, when Ella-Grace had her nap and just before bed so I could sleep through the drowsiness. They really did help the sickness and helped me and baby as far as nutrients go because I could then eat but the drowsiness was dreadful. I felt so dizzy and faint, I would snap at Reece if he tried to talk to me and I could not get up to play with Ella-Grace while I felt so out of it. I could see Reece getting fed up with me moaning about how the tablets made me feel but I did not care, it was horrible I felt all drugged up 3 separate times in the day and I hated it. Apart from being admitted to hospital this may well have been the absolute worst part of the first trimester, I was at my lowest point. No longer sick but once again I was anxious, tired, emotional, out of routine and FULL of Mum guilt. I was not being the Mum I wanted to be for Ella-Grace and felt she was missing out which was so hard. I knew I was growing her a sibling and I knew I had to get myself back to normal in order to look after her but damn I felt bad. I am usually the hands on Mum, up for playing and thinking of activities and groups to go to. I love learning with her and teaching her things. I had turned into a couch potato who used the TV as a baby sitter (especially in the drowsy times) I felt like I was the worst Mum in the world. Very dramatic and clearly not true but you fellow Mums out there will know, Mum guilt is real and convinces you of crazy things. 

Fast forward to week 13 and it was time for my scheduled scan (which would of been the first scan if we had not needed the emergency scan). Once again everything looked fine and by now I was on the mend. Off bed rest, down to one or no sickness tablets a day and gaining weight like I should be. Heading for the second trimester and SO ready to leave weeks 1-13 of my second pregnancy behind. And that was that, the first trimester.

Thank You For Reading...

And that is the first trimester done and dusted. It was a lot more challenging than my first pregnancy and I had some down times during it as you have read but looking back now I cannot believe how fast it went. I am now, as you are reading this, almost half way through my pregnancy! I cannot wait to meet our second bundle of joy and for Ella-Grace to meet her sibling. I am so lucky to be carrying this little life and although I felt like crap most of the first trimester I would go through it all again for this little life. So excited about this last edition to our family. 

Thank you for reading everyone, it was a long post so well done if you managed to stick around until the end. Comment below how you have found/are finding the first trimester? Or if you are in a totally different boat- for example still trying to conceive, finished having kids, going down a different path such as adoption or not having kids at all/any time soon- comment down below too and lets all have a conversation. I can't wait to hear all your stories just as I hope you have enjoyed reading mine. 

I will have more posts for you soon that I am sure you will not want to miss so keep an eye out for my next post! Follow me on my social media handles (@laurajanelifex on Instagram and LauraJane Life on Facebook). Till next time...

Stay Happy Everyone :)!

The year of helping others continues: Achievements in February- April

Where have the months gone....

Honestly I feel like 2018 is going in a flash! Hey there readers I hope you are all doing well today! I said at the start of the year that I was going to do one of these achievement blog posts every month... the last one I did was January... I really need to catch up!! So here is months February to April and what my goals are for May and June also. I think I have achieved/organised quite a lot, helping others and facing fears a long the way. Which is what I really want this year to be about really, new experiences, helping others and setting a good example for Ella-Grace. Let me know in the comments what you have achieved these past few months or what you want to achieve later on this year. Happy Reading!! 

Did I meet the goals I set for February? 

(In case you did not read my February goals that I set myself back in January they were as follows:

• Finish planning Ella-Grace's party
• Give blood
• Plan more of the wedding
• Donate food again
• Create a writing schedule
• Go to trampoline park for the first time
• Book Swimming Lessons For Ella-Grace )

I am happy to say I met all of those except 3.

Finish planning Ella-Grace's party: ACHIEVED 

Of course I wasn't going to miss this goal because of course it was my main goal for February! Yes some of the party planning went into the start of March and there was some of the party jobs that could not be done till nearer the party (Food, balloons ect) but the majority of the planning I finished in February and as you all already know Ella-Grace has an amazing party when it finally came around in March- I couldn't of asked for a better 1st birthday party for our little babe. 

Giving Blood: NOT ACHIEVED 

This was one of my main goals for this year for many reasons. I said at New Year that I really wanted to help people/ do more good things this year because last year I was very focused on being a new mum (naturally) but this year I wanted to start setting a good example for Ella-Grace when it comes to helping others and doing good in the world. I also wanted to give blood because when I was in labor with Ella-Grace there was a possibility that I would of needed a blood transfusion, I wanted to give my blood so if anyone else was in this situation I could help (my blood is O negative and that can be used for any blood type and also is rare!). So as scared as I was to face my fear of needles and give blood I was determined to do this at the end of February and the only reason I did not was because unfortunately Reece was working and my parents ended up not being able to watch Ella-Grace last minute so I had to change my appointment. I did however reschedule it to March which I will go on to talk about in a minute.

Plan more wedding: ACHIEVED

This is going to be a goal every month until the wedding so sorry if you get bored of seeing this one over and over again but there is A LOT of planning and organisation when it comes to weddings. Not much more to say about this one other than some more planning was done meaning I achieved this goal. I don't want to say too much because I am planning on writing a blog post on my wedding and the planning of it after the wedding is over, so look out for that in July!

Donate food again: ACHIEVED

Again not too much to say in this one as this is one I am happy to say has become quite regular for me. Whenever I go and do my food shopping I pick up whatever I can afford (that fits the guidelines) and donate it. It is such a good idea to have a food donation box in the middle of a supermarket I think it encourages people to donate and makes it easy, you don't have to try to remember to go out of your way to do it you just do it there and then! So yes that is another goal ticked off the list and I am very happy Ella-Grace will grow up to see me doing this, it is so important to be taught to be kind and helpful.

Create a writing schedule: ACHIEVED 

This I have achieved but obviously I have a toddler who runs my life haha she is definitely the boss so the writing schedule is not set in stone but when I can I try to stick to it. \I find I do a lot more work in the mornings when I have just woken up so Reece and I have made a system where he gets Ella-Grace up for breakfast, getting dressed etc and they have some Daddy daughter time for an hour or two and then when he has to get ready for work we swap. This leaving my evening free from work and Reece and I can spend some couple time together. But yes this can vary depending on what we are doing that day, what time Reece starts work etc but it is still in place. #

Go to Trampoline Park for the first time: NOT ACHIEVED 

This I have not done yet unfortunately and for the simple reason being we have not found the time or money yet. I promised my niece and nephew we would take them to the trampoline park and we 100% will but we have just decided to leave it till after the wedding when our time frees up and we have more money. Also Reece will be off work for 2 weeks after the wedding so that works out perfectly.

Book swimming lessons for Ella-Grace: NOT ACHIEVED

I wouldn't say this wasn't achieved but we decided not to book swimming lessons and instead start taking her swimming regularly ourselves. Some babies get a lot of use out of swimming lessons but Reece and I have decided we are happy at the moment just taking her ourselves until she is a bit older. It is a great family day out for us and Ella-Grace loves it, our little water baby. More on this in the March section coming up next!

What did I achieve in March? ALOT

March ended up being a very productive month which is surprising considering Ella-Grace's birthday was that month but maybe that just made me more motivated I don't know but yeah very proud of what I managed to get done in March. 

Gave blood 

FINALLY! After rescheduling the appointment I met one of my biggest goals for this year and faced one of my biggest fears which was giving blood. Let me tell you I was so nervous and was so sure I was going to faint but surprisingly I did not faint and it only took 5 minutes for me to donate blood. I was very proud of myself and even made an appointment to go back in July and donate blood again. I in no way enjoyed the experience and I still hate needles but I am so very glad I have done it. One of the stats that really stuck out to me was that ' 3 teaspoons of blood can save a premature baby's life' now if that isn't a reason to donate blood I don't know what is. 

Started taking Ella-Grace swimming regularly 

Like I said I did not book Ella-Grace swimming lessons but Reece and I have been taking her swimming and we have gone with a few friends as well which is really nice. I am not a big fan of swimming personally (probably because I am not very good at it) but I want Ella-Grace to be confident in the water and I know she loves it so of course I want to take her on a regular basis. We have even found a pool that we like to go to regularly which is not too far from where we live so it is going really well. I am not saying we take her every single week but regularly enough for her to build up her confidence.

Done more wedding planning

Sorry I know it's back again but as I said this is going to be a goal for every month. So yes more wedding planning was done. I actually had my hair and make up trial for the wedding and all the bridesmaids tried on their dresses, it is getting very close now!

Ella-Grace's party was a success 

You already know about this so I am just going to add some more pictures here because they say it all. Ella-Grace's First Birthday Party was a success!!!(If you would like to read more I wrote a post all about her birthday here : Ella-Grace turns 1 )

Gone full vegan and started doing more for the environment 

Bonobo Vegan Cafe. YUM!

YES! I did it! After a year of progressing from non-vegan to vegan I finally did it. For a long time I had been majority vegan but if I ever went out I would maybe dip into some dairy or go to my parents and have eggs for breakfast but not anymore. I know where to go to get vegan options, I have scrambled tofu to satisfy my egg craving and I can not 100% say that my diet is 100% plant based. I am so proud and would recommend choosing vegan to everyone. For your health, for the animals and for the environment.

Speaking of the environment, as a family we have all been doing more for the environment. Excuse the capital letters but I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LOOK AFTER OUR ENVIRONMENT!! Obviously being vegan helps a MASSIVE amount as well as this we obviously recycle everything we can, try to buy the loose fruit and veg in supermarkets to reduce the plastic packaging we are buying, walk as much as possible instead of using transport, we no longer use plastic straws, pick up litter that we see just thrown on the ground and get rid of it properly. We as a family have become very environmentally conscious and that is one thing I will push because I think everyone should care about the planet. There is no planet B, as I like to say.

Donated Clothing 

I have lost a lot of weight since having Ella-Grace which I am very proud of and also I have turned my wardrobe into the wedding cupboard so I have had to get rid of a lot of clothes. Which was fine by me because donating clothes was the next goal on my list. I am such a hoarder so I get piles of clothes that either didn't fit me or I didn't even like.So finally after years of building on a pile of clothes that were never to be worn I donated them and hopefully someone else will get use out of them.

Decided to donate wedding dress

This is one some may think is crazy but I think is a lovely idea. I am going to be donating my wedding dress and I think some of the bridesmaids are donating their dresses also. After looking around online I found a charity called 'Heavenly Gowns UK', they create clothes for angel babies from donated wedding dresses. Need I say more. Yes it is a lovely idea to keep my own wedding dress but why when it could be helping someone deal with the loss of their child. Something as simple as a nice outfit for their angel baby could really make a difference. I will be keeping my veil in case Ella-Grace may want it some day but as for my dress I think donating it is an amazing thing to do. 

What did I achieve in April? 

Donated food and clothes again

Like I said donating food has become a regular thing for me to do and as for clothes I went through them a second time and found more clothes I did not want or need so I donated them too.

More Wedding planning 

Standard haha. A big chunk of my life at the moment is wedding planning.

Took Ella-Grace to a new group. (Dance class) 

This I was very excited about! I had been wanting to take Ella-Grace to this dance class for AGES. I had always not had the time because her baby group started pretty much when the dance class finished and I would not of been able to make it to both but now she is older we have moved onto a toddler group on a Tuesday (which she loves) and now that has free'd up my Thursday to take her to dance class. YAY! And she loves it! My favourite group I take her too as it is so different from the rest and I love how it is actually teaching them the basics of dancing very young in full ways and hese classes can turn into proper dance classes as they get older. Highly recommend for anyone who is in the Aberdeen Area
(Monster Bunch- Citymoves Dance Studio- 11am-12pm-Thursday-£4 per class- 0-18 months)  

Gave food to a homeless person

This I have done twice now and it is something I always want to do but can never find the money to spare unfortunately. It is always going on the wedding or Ella-Grace, there is no wiggle room sometimes. But this month twice I managed to give food and the other time a hot drink to someone in need of it. Some people live with the attitude 'It's their own fault their homeless' or 'How do you know they are really homeless?' and to that I say 1. I don't care how they got onto the street with no home, what I care about is that if I were in that situation I would want someone to help me and 2. I would much rather give someone on the street a little bit of food or some money to then find out they aren't homeless than not give someone food or money on the street in case they are faking and then them end up being genuinely homeless and in need of help. There is enough bad in this world and if I can show some good to my little girl and help someone out with just a little gesture then why wouldn't I.

Walked ALOT

With the weather in Aberdeen being so nice at the moment instead of using public transport to get to places I have just been walking everywhere. Town is about an hour and 15 minute walk away and I have done that several times now. Once you get into the rhythm of it it honestly does not feel that long and Ella-Grace loves it. 

Goals for May and June 

-More Wedding Plan
-Continue donating food
-Start writing my first children's book
- Continue with my walking
-Get Married
- Take Ella-Grace outside more

Thanks for reading...

As usual thank you so much for reading! I really hope this post doesn't come off as showy. I am writing it as more of a personal log of things I have done so I can look back and be proud of what I have achieved and things I have done. I also would hope that it would encourage others to do some more good things and remember to look back and be proud of what you have achieved too. 

A lot of the time I feel like I haven't done enough. I didn't play with Ella-Grace enough, I didn't take her out enough, I don't cook enough healthy meals, I don't write enough, I put myself down and always think I haven't done enough or haven't done what I should do but looking back on this I can say oh wait I have done a lot and I should be happy. 

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( Facebook- LauraJane Life , Instagram - @laurajanelifex ) I have started doing little chatty videos on my instagram stories so if that is something you are interested in definitely check it out! Until next time.....

Stay Happy Everyone :)!

Ella-Grace's 6 Month Update!

Sorry its late...

Hi there readers! I hope everyone is doing well and welcome back to LauraJane Life! Today I will be writing my baby girl, Ella-Grace's 6 month update! She actually turned 6 months last week and I had said I was going to have the update up then but life happens, I was very busy and to be honest it is hard to find time to write now with Ella-Grace being awake a lot now (will tell more about this below) and when it gets to the evening I am shattered, I can barely get in time with Reece never mind writing. But not to worry her 6 month update is finally here and I am hoping to get back on track, hopefully scheduling time so I can write a post once a week. We will see how that goes haha. Happy Reading!

Ella-Grace's bit...

"Hi everyone! It's Ella-Grace again. The past 3 months since my Mummy wrote my last update have been so much fun! I have learnt so much and tried new things like food.. proper food not just my milk! Mummy has helped me get into a good routine and we have lots of fun everyday, at home and at our groups where I get to see all my friends and sing lots of songs! Daddy still works lots but he is always home to give me a bath and do my bed time routine, his days off are the best ever! Daddy is so funny! I love having Mummy and Daddy home with me, they are great and the three of us have so much fun! I love being tickled, swimming, bath time, music, playing with my toys, watching Moana, Paw patrol or Thomas the Tank Engine, bouncing in my bouncer, rolling around and eating yummy food! I don't like afternoon naps (they are boring) and I don't like banana, it is yuck! I will let my Mummy tell you the rest!"

How has it been 6 months?!...

Our baby girl, our precious Ella-Grace is 6 months old! That's half way to 1 YEAR old! I just can't believe it. Becoming a mum is the best thing to ever happen to me and I am so proud to be the Mama to such a wonderful little girl. She has made mine and Reece's life so bright and happy, there isn't a day when she doesn't make us laugh and we are constantly mesmerized by her massive eyes! Although I am scared for the future -the world isn't always a kind place and I think for every parent that is a scary thing when bringing up children- I like to think if I do the best by my little darling, teach her right and always show her how loved and important she is, she will always see the good through the bad. As her first Halloween, first Christmas and first birthday are now in the near future I am looking forward to cherishing every moment. The past 6 months have been magical (and of course difficult but she is so worth it).

Feeding...

I am not going to go into too much detail for this one as my last blog post was all about weaning and her feeding routine so that pretty much covers it (find it on my homepage if you would like the full weaning story so far) but I am going to write a small summary and things we have tried since I wrote that post. Well we decided to start slowly weaning at 4 months (which I know isn't for everyone but it has worked wonders for our little girl so please respect our decision) and now being 6 months she has 3 small meals a day as well as her lacto-free formula. We have decided not to give Ella-Grace meat as we do not eat it and we buy plant-based milk which she will eventually be given instead of formula, which we would of been doing anyway even if we weren't a plant-based milk family as she is lactose-intolerant. Again not for everyone but we are happy with our decision and she is thriving on it. 

I make all her food at home apart from her fruit pots (Organix) and she is also enjoying her wafers (Kiddilycious). This week Ella-Grace has tried a few new things that I never got to mention in the weaning blog post, this is including strawberries, tomato, toast, peanut butter, banana (which she hated) and hummus (her favourite, which is great as it is a great form of protein!). I am so happy with the way her weaning is going she is always willing to try new things and most of the time will eat it- apart from banana, like her Daddy she does not like it haha. For her full meal plan please see my last blog post, it has changed a bit since adding hummus and toast to some of her meals but it will give you the main idea.
-Just to add she literally just tried Mushroom Soup and loved it!- 

Sleeping...

Oh how lucky we are! Ella-Grace sleeps all night! From 8pm to 6 or 7am. I am so sorry if you are a mum or dad reading this dealing with a baby who cries all night (I take my hat off to you) but I am being honest, she sleeps all night. She has been doing this for a while now, ever since we moved her into her own room at 5 months old. We wanted to wait till she was 6 months but she has grown out of her small cot in our bedroom and it was like she was telling us she wanted to be in her big crib as she started to wake up more often in our bedroom. So we tried her one night when she turned 5 months and since then she has been out the whole night (with a little help from her favourite Moana, we always play the songs to help her sleep). 

Napping during the day however is a different story. She was in a great routine with her feeding and her naps and she still is but when it gets to about 3pm, after her second solid food meal of the day. She refuses to nap! It has only been like this for a few days so I am hoping she will go back to her normal sleeping routine soon but yeah she has been refusing to nap and it will take me at least 2 hours to get her down, usually after moving her from her bed to the sofa to mine and Reece's bed and blaring Moana as loud as I can. If we are out and she is in the pram she could probably nap but this is usaully the time of day we are back home after our groups in the morning so I just have to keep going until she falls asleep- most likely in my arms. This can be hard but at least she sleeps at night that's the main thing for me and I am hoping this afternoon moodiness will blow over. 

Teething...

She has no teeth yet but oh yes teething has definitely started! We have a few things we use to help her teething (let me know if you would like a blog post on this) and they seem to work quite well but we are just waiting for the teeth to actually come through as I can see when I look at her gums that there are definitely a few teeth just waiting to pop out. Not much to say about that at the moment. 

Development...

3 months might not seem like a lot of time Adult wise but oh my goodness a lot can happen developmentally for a baby in three months! Ella-Grace can now roll over, sit up unaided, pass toys from one hand to another, bounce very actively in her bouncer, feed herself to a certain extent and the best thing of all... she says Mama! At first I think she just said it as a noise but then I noticed she started to say it when I put her down or when we were doing something she didn't want to do- getting dressed for example- so I do think she knows that I respond to Mama but not necessarily that its me. Either way it is very cute and Reece is very jealous she hasn't said 'Dada' yet. 

We are still working on the crawling, she doesn't seem to have much interest in it. Everytime I put her on her belly she just rolls over. We will keep trying though. She does seem a lot more interesting in walking however, she always wants to stand up and seems to try and walk when I am holding her up. So that one is a wait and see. She is doing so well for 6 months anyways and the health visitor and doctor is happy with how she is doing. We also took Ella-Grace swimming for the first time when we went down to Newcastle which is her new favourite thing to do! Our little water baby!

Bonding...

Amazing! Not much more to be said, the bond I have with Ella-Grace is amazing! She literally is my best friend, there is no one I would rather spend my time with and she literally makes me less anxious even if parenting is one thing I get anxious her smile makes it better. The way she says Mama and kisses me in the morning, I can really see now how much she loves me. It is just the most magical feeling when your baby shows affection to you. 

Reece's bond is just as strong. As I said in the last update it is a different bond as she gets to miss him when he goes to work and you can really see how happy she is when he walks in the door. When he is home it is like she is aware that he could go to work any minute so she really wants her Daddy and loves to play with him. Both our bonds with our daughter are great which I think shows what a great bond me and Reece have as well, the three of us are a really good unit. Love my little family.

Allergies and Illnesses...

So if you have read previous blog posts you will know Ella-Grace is lactose-intolerant and struggles with eczema. Both of which are managed and she is doing fine. The past week we have also realised, like her dad, she has an allergy to dogs. The doctor said it can't be confirmed as they would not put a baby through a blood test for that reason but judging by her reaction around my mums dogs it is likely she has an allergy to that type of dog at least. Time will tell whether it is an allergy to all animal hair or just dogs. Ella-Grace also suffers with hay-fever, which again is managed. All these things could potentially mean she has asthma as well according to the doctor especially as Reece has asthma too but again only time will tell, she currently has no symptoms of being asthmatic. 

My poor baba lots of allergies unfortunately but still a very happy and content baby. 

As for illnesses, we are lucky and Ella-Grace has not been ill apart from for about two weeks now she had a cough but we took her to the doctor and they said she was healthy just had a tickly throat and to give her cough medicine. We have been giving her that and her cough has seemed to settle. 

Hopes and Fears for the next 3 months...

For the next three months I hope that Ella-Grace will learn how to move around, what ever way that may be. Crawling, shuffling, whatever I just can see she wants to move about and I would love that for her but we will just have to wait and see. I hope weaning continues to go well and our little darling stays happy, healthy and content. I guess I am hoping for a little tooth to pop through soon, will be so cute to see her with a little tooth haha. 

I don't have much fears for the next few months apart from the constant fear I am not doing this parenting thing right but as long as she is growing and staying healthy, I know I am doing a good job! 

Till next time...

Thank you so much for reading! I will try get the next blog post up soon, not sure what that will be. I would just like to add that this is my 30th blog post (I can't believe I have wrote 30 already!) and I want to thank everyone for the amazing support! See you soon everyone, don't forget to follow my social media pages for daily baby pics, inspirational messages and blog updates. To finish off here are some of my favourite pics of the pregnancy, birth and life of our amazing Ella-Grace so far....

Be kind to each other and as always....

Stay Happy Everyone :)! 

Easy DIY Harry Potter Costume For Baby

Something Different...
Hi there readers! I hope you are all doing well. Today's blog post is something a bit different to what I usually write about, its a DIY (do it yourself) project. I'm in no way amazing at DIY but I do dabble in it now and again, its something I really enjoy doing and I know a lot of people would like to read. So here it is.

Why Harry Potter?...
Why Harry Potter? Well for 1. Why not? haha and 2. My niece turned 7 years old on Sunday and the day before (so the Saturday) she was having a harry potter themed birthday party. I had known about it for a while but couldn't decide what to dress Ella-Grace up as, all the costumes I had seen on the internet were either really expensive or not a character, just a quote on clothing such as 'snuggle this muggle' or 'she/he has just been born'. These although cute not what I wanted. So I decided last minute that I would make her outfit for her (I had never felt like more of a mum in my life haha). Toying between making her a Dobby costume or Harry Potter, I decided that Dobby's ears would be too difficult and Harry Potter would look so cute.
Off to the nearest/biggest craft store in town (Hobby-craft) I went hunting for the things I needed. Unfortunately I didn't have time to get some minor details I would of wanted such as the glasses which I couldn't find anywhere in baby size, a small owl toy or baby safe facepaint for the scar (I did draw it on with some brown eyeshadow and a brush but I was scared it was bad for her skin so I wiped it off)) so yeah she might just look like a school kid with a cape but oh well I thought it was cute and everyone at the party knew what I was going for.

What you need...

All this cost less than £10 (Probably around £6/7)
All you need is...
-Black felt (I used a sparkly one to add more magic)
-Red Felt
-Dark Yellow Felt
-Glue Gun and Some Glue to go in it (the one I bought came with glue)
-Safety Pins (which I never actually ended up using but you might)
-Scissors
-Plain White Vest
-Pencil

Steps...

Step 1: Draw a tie shape in the Yellow or Red Fabric

I personally chose to use the yellow fabric to draw out my tie on as it is a lighter color therefore easier to see the pencil lines on. I would advise using pencil not pen and starting to draw it nearer a corner for easier cutting and if you make a mistake then have to re-do it you will still have plenty space. So yes I googled 'Griffindor tie' and copied the shape the best I could. Remember this tie is for a baby (mine being almost 5 months old) so it doesn't have to be massive. After this move on to the next step: Cutting.

Step 2: Cut out the tie 

Not much to say for this one it is quite a simple task, just cut out the tie and check you are hapy with it. If not re-do it. I was happy with mine so I continued on,

Step 3: Cut out strips from the Red fabric

Again quite straigh forward, just cut out a few straight strips of the red fabric. I cut out 3 and that was enough but it depends on the length of your tie/width of strips.

Step 4: Place on tie and pencil on where needs cut

Obviously the strips will only cover part of the tie so once you have drawn and cut these out you will have to repeat this process for the end of the tie with the left over parts of the strips. But yes place on top of tie to see what angle the strips need to be and how they need to be cut then pencil marks on.

Step 5: Cut out strips and repeat step 4

You should end up with perfectly fitting strips (it was hard to get them at the right angle but possible) and then as I previously said repeat step 4 with the end of the tie and left over strips until you have a pile of stripes for your tie.

Step 6: Let the hot glue heat

Insert the stick of glue into the glue gun and let it heat for about 5 mins until ready to use.
SAFETY WARNING HOT GLUE CAN BE VERY HOT AND DANGEROUS PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN USING IT.

Step 7: Glue stripes on tie and cut away excess glue

Carefully glue the stripes onto the tie (remember to cover your surface incase you spill some hot glue, I just used a bit of kitchen roll). Once they are all glued on and your happy with it let it dry for a minute or two and then cut away the excess glue around the edges of the tie.

Step 8: Decide where you want it on the vest and protect inside. 

Fold up a bit of kitchen roll or anything that could protect the inside of the vest and place it inside it making sure to be behindthe area you will be gluing the tie on. Position the tie where you want it and then move on to step 9.

Step 9: Glue the tie onto the vest

Start with the top edge place that on then glue an edge at a time. Be very careful not to use too much glue and keep checking the vest isn't gluing to the protector on the inside (mine never did so it should be fine).

Step 10: Press down the tie, glue any bits that aren't stuck down properly 

After you do this leave to dry for a minute checking that it is securely down then remove protector from the inside.

Step 11: The 'cloak'
'

Mine ended up looking like more of a cape but it did the job. Take the black fabric and place the vest on top of it (sparkly side out) position it the way you want it and glue top corners onto the vest making sure not to bend vest fabric or the fit on your baby wont be good and potentially uncomfortable.
Alternatively wait till the vest is on your baby and you could safety pin the cape/cloak over it but I think this is the comfier and more practical way to do it.

Step 12: Pair the costume with a pair of black trousers or jeans and add finishing touches. 


I chose to pair the costume with some confy black jeggings for Ella-Grace. You could also add harry potter glasses, a baby safe wand, the scar (with baby safe face paint) or a toy owl. None of which I had last minute unfortunately but if you had more time you could really make this costume the best at any Harry Potter party.


Cuteness Overload...





Happy costume making....
I hope you enjoyed this DIY. Its hardly a master piece but a fun little project for you to do for your baby and if you manage to add those little extra's it could look perfect. If you do decide to try this DIY or have done a different DIY costume for your baby please comment a picture below. Thabks as always for reading. This is my second blog post in two days so might take a bit of a break before the next but until then check out my articles on Babygaga.com and follow my social media (link on blog homepage/menu) I'M ON TWITTER NOW! Till next time readers.

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Stay Happy Everyone :)!