Time.

Wow, time flies when you're having fun! Or when you have three kids under four years old to run a round after and focus all your energy on!

It's been a while since blogging our adventures, by the end of most days it's all I can do to muster the energy to get a shower! Life is hectic but not in a bad way (most of the time!) so I thought I'd kick start my blog with a little update of my three and take it from there...

                                           

Connor:
Approaching 4 and turning into a polite and happy little social butterfly right before my eyes. Since starting nursery in January he has blossomed! His imagination is amazing to me, he is completely eccentric and takes interest in and questions everything he sees. He still loves hoovers, and at the moment anything outdoors is right up his street. Creepy crawlys, gardening and just generally being outside. Connor is kind and inquisitive and now that his conversation skills rival my own he truly is my little best mate. I couldn't be prouder of him if I tried.... That's not to say I'm not looking forward to nursery restarting in September!

Logan:

At 2 and a half Logan sways in the air of mysteriousness. He is quiet and logical and seems always to be working things out. This attitude tends to make for a more reserved and sensitive little man cub. At the moment things can be tricky with Logan, he is hard to read at the best of times but it seems, coupling that with his frustration that he can't quite voice his feelings properly yet makes for hard work. We are trying to encourage his words, rather than the upset moans that can soon become hysterics, that are hard to deal with as a parent, I won't lie and pretend that I don't feel guilty that I don't completely understand who he is yet, but to be fair to myself I think he is still working that out too. Must be a middle child thing, trying to find his place in such a busy home. Logan loves his alone time with either mum or dad, he appreciates the attention all to himself. He would sit all day and watch films and is happiest when being cuddled at the same time! Oh and he has had two wees on his potty this week... He's challenging but he's getting there!

Amélie:
Amazing. She pushes the boundaries everyday and is completely fearless! A climber, a walker and a total character. She took her first steps at 10 months exactly and hasn't stopped. Her favourite game is playing chase with the boys, it sends the three of them into fits of infectious giggles that light up my world! She still doesn't have much hair and her eyes have now settled on a beautiful hazel brown. She loves sloppy kisses, although she avoids Daddy's stubble! And has just started with a few little words, mama, ta and nanaa (night night). She turns one in just a couple of weeks and I can't believe how the time has flown!

Profiles.

Connor Joseph Roberts
Age: 3
Blonde hair, blue eyes.
Turning into such a smart, funny little boy! He is so outgoing and sociable it surprises even me. He relishes being the oldest sibling, loving, protecting and bossing about! He has a major mischievous streak in him, this can come out naughtily at times. He is very precise about the way he does things, this can cause ruptions between him and Logan. He knows what he wants and is learning more every day.

Logan Michael Roberts
Age: 1
Blonde hair, brown eyes.
Logan is a thinker. A lot more serious than Connor, making his giggles and comical moments more special. He ways up every situation and really thinks and try's to understand all that's being said to him. Logan has a tendency to be bit of a trouble causer and a winger, a proper middle child! He is more than likely the first to hit out and the first to come crying as well! Not speaking too much at the moment he is trying to get some communication across, mostly in the way of screaming! He understands a lot of what he is being asked and is pretty to eager to please, for now.

Amélie Margaret Roberts
Age: 10 weeks
(Not much) fair hair, dark blue eyes (still waiting to see).
Amélie is thriving! Hitting eleven pounds at her last weigh in (3 weeks ago!) she is beautiful, smiling and happy. Her little personality is starting to show now and her whole face lights up when she smiles! She is good as gold, sleeping six plus hours each night. She loves being cuddled, sitting up, she hates lying down, and of course she loves her boobie feeds! I really feel like we have an amazing bond already! I can't wait to watch her grow and learn!

Exciting times ahead for all! 

New Normal.

It has taken us a good few weeks to adjust to being a family of five. Amélie is ten weeks old already, I can't believe how quick the time has gone, and even though she still seems brand new I feel like I've never been without her.

Life is a bit hectic at the minute having two toddlers and a newbie is quite an experience. Just getting us all up and dressed in a morning resembles a military operation. But we get there...eventually!

The boys love their baby sister... Can't get enough of holding her cuddling her and I think as she is getting that bit bigger now they love that she reciprocates with smiles and gurgles. How they get on with each other has been another matter entirely. It must just be the age they are at, at least I hope so, but they can go from playing and laughing together to screaming bloody murder in the blink of an eye. And when they fight, they fight! Push, pull, kick, anyway they can get their hands on each other... It can get to the point that it's unbearable! Maybe it's an attention thing at times, obviously with Daddy at work at a lot of my time taken up, especially with breastfeeding, I do feel they are missing out on some of the attention they are used to. This makes me feel super guilty so I do try my best to involve myself with what they are doing when I can. I have considered stopping the breastfeeding and putting Amélie on the bottle but that makes me feel guilty too so I can't win. I'm trying my best, really trying, but some days it is so hard, I feel like all I do at times is tell them not to be doing something.

The difficult thing is that they can be the two sweetest little boys, and when we are out, most of the time, they are so good! I think it's a mixture of things, their ages, the weather, attention and boredom. I am hoping that as Logan's communication skills get better there will be a better understanding between the two of them and why they expect and want from each other. Connor starts nursery in January too, I think this will help as it will offer him sociality with different people, that he will relish as he is so outgoing, and it will also give Logan the chance to be the eldest and only boy in the house for a hours each day.

All I can do until then is keep trying, plodding on trying to teach them to respect each others feelings and space. We will get there, we are all still growing as a family unit and learning where and how we all fit into our new dynamic. At times it's hard and can get us all down but at times it's amazing, and I wouldn't change is for a second!

Amélie Margaret Roberts.

She finally arrived! A week later than expected but she's here now. My third little piece of perfect.

Born September 1st 2014, at 6:12pm weighing 8lbs and 13oz.

The Homebirth...

I started the weekend with a sweep, that was Saturday morning and by the Sunday evening I'd started having mild pains. We thought it had started so, excitedly we waited. We waited until at around 11pm they stopped...just stopped. I had a few twinges through the night, just enough to keep me up in a nervous excitement.

Monday came, another sweep that resulted in us knowing that not much had changed down there. It was dinner time and we were told that it probably wouldn't be today, that was disheartening. We thought we were so close, that those pains had to have done even a little something! As we got into the afternoon I started having moderate pains and tightenings again, after hearing the previous I think I subconsciously told myself they couldn't be as bad as I thought.

Mid afternoon and they were definitely getting stronger and closer together... I ran a bath. The water helped, it gave me something to concentrate on. The contractions had gotten to the point were they had started to take my breath away, we called my mum, not that I could talk much. She came around with my little sister, she was there to amuse the boys whilst it was all going on. I stayed in the bath, not sure how long I was in there for but we made the decision to phone the midwife...she was an hour away, she was on her way.

I got out of the water and changed into a loose nighty to be comfy. Sitting on my birthing ball the pains were getting stronger, I thought I might frighten the boys but they just carried on playing around the place whilst I faced each contraction head on. At this point I was worrying that I had called the midwife out for nothing, I didn't want her to have had a wasted journey.

She arrived, and with one hand on my bump as I had a contraction she told me what I wanted to hear, she was going to stay with me. After a quick internal I was pretty impressed with myself that I was 6cm dilated. She did the best thing she could have done for me at this point and ran out to her car and brought me the gas and air....lovely! After I was set up with the gas Dane helped her bring in all the other equipment and she called for a second midwife to make her way to us.

At this point I just remember a lot of pressure, I was told that that was my waters as they still hadn't ruptured. I was also told that once they went the baby would probably follow quickly! After a short trip to the loo that involved my husband, a gas canister and approximately three contractions, I was getting the urge to push. Absorbent pads were lay underneath me as I climbed onto my bed, I asked the midwife if I could push. By telling me to do what I felt gave me the control, I appreciated that more than anything. Being in my home with my things and my family, the midwife someone I knew and who knew me, I felt completely in control and sort of empowered.

The boys in their bedroom just next door had no idea that their little sister was almost here... One push sent my waters going with a massive gush, I caught the end of the contraction and pushed again, she was here! My second stage of labour (the pushing bit) was a whole two minutes. It was the most amazing feeling, she was placed on me and I fell in love. Dane cut the cord as the midwives cleaned around us.

Dane brought the boys in one at a time to meet their new baby sister, they fell in love too. Then they went for a bath and off to bed. Both mine and Dane's mums were at the birth and it was such an amazing experience. The second midwife left to file our paperwork at the hospital and my midwife stayed for a couple of hours just to observe that everything was ok. Amélie latched on almost straight away and took a really good feed, this upped my confidence in breastfeeding again. After helping me get washed and changed our mums left us too. This was another aspect of a home birth that I liked, I wasn't rushed, everything was at my pace, not before I was ready.

After it was done it felt amazing to get into my own bed, my beautiful sons asleep next door, with my husband and brand new baby girl. Everyone left us, and they left us in absolute bliss.

 

 

Due.

So my due date has now been and gone, needless to say I'm starting to get a little frustrated. More at the fact I'm starting to struggle doing "normal" things now. I feel unfair on the boys that they don't have all of me either. This is where I have been grateful for Dane.he has definitely picked up the slack... Playing entertaining and looking after the boys, as well as working a whole lot, to give me a break from time to time.

Although I know the end is in sight, she can only go so far overdue, I wish she was here. I can't wait to meet my baby girl... And neither can her big brothers or daddy (who is having to take his paternity leave from her due dat!) Hurry up little one, the world wants to say Hello!