sep, 29th - the birth of Clémence Ever....

day 959 / 58: 

Claya is two months old today and before i blink and she's suddenly two, talking up a storm and telling me that next time she'd prefer that i left the carrots as carrots rather than turned them into soup (Limi's statement to me over dinner today)...i wanted to write about the day that she was born.

i was convinced that she would also be late like her sister (who had to be encouraged with some acupuncture at forty-two weeks....see day 0)....i was so convinced, that i had bought olympic games tickets to watch the football on what turned out to be her birth day.....so convinced, that when my friends organised my baby-shower for three days before due date {see day 903 / 2} it didn't even cross my mind that i may be cutting it a bit fine........

so after a fantastic day in the park, with my girlfriends at my shower, we walked into the Shoebox and i was really looking forward to a relaxing night in (a nine month bump was taking its toll by now). as i sat down, i felt a sharp and painful pop.....an actual pop. i wandered over to A. in the kitchen and mentioned it....only for the pop to be followed by my waters breaking impressively all over the floor.....which caught us both by surprise (although we covered it well in front of Limi).

there were no contractions, so i was still convinced that i could have my night in and wake up in the morning without any new baby in sight

and then they started........

and i started cleaning........

and then i decided to do a whole online grocery shop (which has to be the equivalent of stocking the freezer with homemade dinners these days)

and they kept getting stronger.....and i was still in denial but i downloaded the iPhone labour app and started tracking them anyway.....

we bathed Limi and put her to bed.......

and then tried to find the pump to blow up the swiss ball, i completely repacked my hospital bag, had a shower and eventually at about midnight, there was no denying that i was in labour (the contractions were only five minutes apart and lasting about a minute).......

so after chatting to the midwives, Kelly was summoned from her warm bed and we headed off to the hospital.

even though i ended up having an emergency c-section with Limi, i was keen to give natural another try this time around with my biggest concerns being a similarly long and drawn out labour that never progresses (and having to have an epidural which i hated) or going down the natural route and ending up having an assisted delivery (forceps, vacuum etc.).....

we arrived at the hospital and were directed to the pre-active-labour ward (not sure what it's real name is but that's what its purpose was).....there were three of us in there with a curtain dividing us from each other's body-splitting contractions and one midwife to monitorwhether we were ready to be moved into a birthing suite.....

by three am, i had a clear idea of what the girl next to me was going through.....she had a fairly large entourage and fairly graphic language to explain exactly what she was feeling 

by four am, i was still not showing any progression despite the agonising and regular contractions and the midwives were insisting that i lie on the bed so that the baby i could be monitored. there was just no way that i could lie on my back given that the only way i was making it through the contractions was to hunch over the bed/ ball/ A. and breathe....

the contractions were also being chased by a severe burning along my cut which was giving them some concern.

they starting talking about epidurals.

after a night of no sleep, chronic pain and no real progression, the suggestion of an epidural and having to lie on my back, with the potential for another long and drawn out labour with plenty of intervention, was pretty much my breaking point...

i starting talking about c-sections.

by five am they had agreed that a c-section would be the safest option. so having experience in this, A. carted our music into the theatre and at six am with a drop of the curtain, our baby girl was born

Clémence Ever

born on 29th July 2012

3.4 kgs

52 cms long

and of course......she had all three of us at hello :-)

and on day 904 / 3 we got to take our thunderhooves home.

p.s. i ended up in the same ward and the cubicle opposite to the one that i was in with Limi.....love those window cubicles

sep, 28th - passport....

day 958 / 57:

this was my first choice for Claya's passport pic but sadly it got declined.....which is unfortunate, as Limi's passport pic (see below) currently makes every immigration officer laugh (which is surely a very good thing....). 

anyway, i'm using the same fantastic company that I used for Limi's passport {see day 47}. now back to trying to get a pic without an expression......

sep, 26th - night night....

day 956 / 55:

okay.....i'm shattered.....utterly and completely.....when Limi was born, i said that it's not the initial lack of sleep that everyone expects that's difficult, it's the accumulated lack of sleep that gets you in the end......

we are now playing sleep relay in our household......Claya puts herself to sleep in her crib first (still impresses me), closely followed by Limi....a couple of precious, kid-free hours later, I follow and A. (who is crazily busy at work) is often last.

then Claya wakes up at around one am.....Limi often follows at around two am (this is a new thing), then just when everyone is settled again, Claya wakes up at four and this seems to wake up Limi again. she generally wanders through to climb into our bed (it just doesn't seem right to force her to stay in her own room when the rest of us are all in one together) and snuggles down between us. if i do manage to get Claya back to sleep in her crib, i then have to contend with a two year-old who wants to sleep on top of me (very sweet but not sleep-helpful).....so mostly, my days are starting at four am......

i have asked friends to excuse all strange behaviour (i sat through part of a lunch the other day wondering why it was so dark inside only to realise, that i still had my sunglasses on)........

i definitely have Sleep on the top of my ever expanding to do list.

sep, 24th - conversations with a two year old....

day 954 / 53:

this beautiful, vintage toy was given to me by a good friend at my baby-shower. 

he's the original thunderhooves.

Limi: mama, where was i before i was in your tummy?

[yikes, tough question]

me: you hadn't been born yet

Limi: but where was i?

me: you were up in the air

[don't ask....but it's the only thing that came to me]

Limi: up in the air where?

me: well, it's like Claya....before she was in my tummy she wasn't here and now, here she is.....

Limi: she wasn't here, then she was in your tummy and then pop, out she popped....straight out of your tummy

so, my first lecture on the birds and bees went very well then........

sep, 22nd - stiffkey stores....

day 952 / 51:

Stiffkey Stores, The Old Coach House, Wells Road, Stiffkey (01328 830489)

on our way to the Long House {see day 949/ 48} we passed a building with a courtyard outside, strewn in bunting flapping in the breeze over tables and chairs and a sign that said - Stiffkey Stores. it certainly captured our attention so on the first morning, we went to take a look.

Stiffkey Stores is a cafe, plus delicatessan, plus quirky gift store, plus interiors store {see day 948 / 47}, plus local groceries store and surprisingly, it's even the local post office. it's the creation of a young couple who moved cross-country to set up this charming shop. it certainly has the feeling of something that has been lavished with attention and dedication. outside, they have even installed two beach huts with tables inside (i guess for those less sunny days). as I said on day 931 / 30, when we're on holiday, we always feel a little happier when we find a place that does great coffee....and their candy-striped cups and delicious pastries were an added bonus.  

we loved it so much that we visited it four times in two days.......i really wish that all villages had a Stiffkey Store....it would make travelling so much more enjoyable.

sep, 21st - two loves....

day 951 / 50:

Limi loves toast.....

i think that she's inherited that from me...i remember once having a toast marathon with my sister.

and i love this vintage top that a good friend's aunt found for me. she sends these amazing packages down from North England full of intricate lace/ vintage/ crochet details (collars, trim) and pieces of clothing (including these incredible lace bonnets) .....i always get butterflies when i hear that another package has arrived.

on that note.....a few of you have asked where i find Limi's clothes.....i'll do a post of this soon as the majority of her outfits are linked to an exciting project that i'm currently working on. 

sep, 20th - norfolk shores....

day 950 / 49:

while we were in Norfolk last weekend, we made it down to another sandy beach (which is worth mentioning as there are plenty of pebble and shingle beaches in England). as you can see, it wasn't the warmest of days for the beach but the light was just magical and the vast space......further tonic for our 

Shoebox living.

what impresses me about the last photo is that between us, we have four babes under three and yet you can't see one of them in this pic.....

note to self: must remember snacks/ drinks when trekking miles to the beach and not forget bucket and spade at the front door.

sep, 19th - where we stayed....

day 949 / 48:

we stayed in The Long House over the weekend. it's another house from the Living Architecture group. to be honest it didn't bowl me over as much as The Shingle House {see day 808}. i loved the setting in the countryside and could really appreciate the design elements of the house but in terms of atmosphere, the bleakness of Dungeness and the dark wood clad exterior of The Shingle House, definitely captivated me more.

for the six adults, two toddlers and two babes, The Long House did offer plenty of space....and that backyard {see day 948 / 47} was just sublime. next stop on the portfolio is hopefully The Dune House. although, given that it's already booked up for twenty twelve and twenty thirteen, we may have to try one of the others. it just shows how in demand good design is.

did i mention the space?

sep, 18th - paper poms....

day 948 / 47:

i love this take on the ever popular, paper pom poms.......spotted in the fantastic Stiffkey Stores (more on this later), they are made from different coloured, crumpled newspapers (aah, a use for the Financial Times at last!). i may have to give a version of these a try.........

sep, 17th - our backyard....

day 947 / 46:

A. and i crave space at the moment....the Shoebox is getting a bit crowded these days and although we love this space, our very first home, not having enough space to swing a cat child in becoming an issue. while we're figuring the solution out, it's great to have weekends away with space to roam. the vast backyard in Norfolk with horses, sheep and space to fly a kite for the weekend was our kind of heaven.

p.s. thanks to Sal who took a number of these pics while I had my arms full with Claya.