I've had another busy week decorating the house- it's become my favourite thing to do recently; so therapeutic and rewarding. Our original plan was to just decorate Corey's room and the nursery but we have ended up doing most of the house, but it should be all done by the end of July and then I have 2 months to sit back, relax and enjoy our home before life becomes busy again.
I've mentioned before how it's a big old baby boom in my circle of family and friends at the moment, well, we have another new addition!
My friend Louise gave birth to a healthy baby boy last week. It sounded like she had quite a difficult labour but thankfully both mum and baby are well and happy now. And talking of labour, I've made my decision on my birth plan... I'm going to have a home birth!
I met Virginia Howes, an independent midwife last week (her book is a must read, 'The Baby's Coming') and I've decided that having the same midwife, which will be Virginia, who will be with me from start to finish, together with giving birth at home is exactly what I want. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the NHS, I'm a huge supporter and believe we are lucky as a country to have our healthcare system, I just don't want the experience I had the first time round.
It was a very long labour and because of that, I felt I lost control over how I wanted it to go. Plus, with it being over 24 hours, I had God knows how many midwives and doctors examine me! It's something making sure everything is on track but let's at least have a little small talk before you poke around down there!
Because of this, building up a one-to-one relationship with my midwife is really important to me. Most women either go private or go with the NHS, but having an independent midwife isn't the huge cost of private, and more personal than the NHS, but there's not a lot of information out there giving the mothers the advice on independent midwifery.
I've really started to feel myself getting much bigger over this last week. Moving around easily is becoming harder by the day. I've said to Sam it's probably easier he just rolls me everywhere!
As for the heat...it's certainly not helping the swelling of my hands and feet; the rings have had to come off. I think us pregnant ladies of the country must be the only people complaining about this long-awaited glorious weather.
On Monday, I hosted the 'Pride of Buckinghamshire Awards' at the amazing Stoke Park. I've been involved since it started 3 years ago and extremely proud to still be a part of such an amazing event. I've lived in Buckinghamshire for almost 9 years now, and apart from when I was in Emmerdale relocated for a year, Corey has been schooled and brought up in Bucks and it's where we plan to stay for the foreseeable future, so to recognise the unsung heroes of my community is so important.
Every winner was so deserving and, as if on cue, I couldn't hold it together for the child of courage award. It was such a brilliant and honourable day and like every year when it ends I'm looking forward to next year.
I'm now off to sand down some furniture. It's all about the DIY right now.
Have a good week!