Junes Crush

My girl crush this month is Yummy Mummy Elle Mcpherson. I think she is very down to earth and a great mum. I love her beachy hair, tanned body and her free spirit attitude. I am going to put her on my fridge to inspire me to get down to the gym.

Believing

I was 18 when I first heard the words " You cant have children"
I was living in Hong Kong and had been having abdominal pains for weeks. I was in agony and wasn't sure what it was. I had test for Irritable bowl, for food intolerance's you name it I had it checked. I was diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries at 19. The thought of not being able to have children really upset me, and took over most of my thoughts in my early 20's. At 26 the pains got worse, the Dr said to me would I consider taking out some eggs and have them frozen and have a hysterectomy. My family advised me against this and said that they are coming up with new cures every day. As time went on I started to get more and more upset. The thought of living my life with out children just broke me heart. Every time someone announced they were pregnant my tummy ached. When I met my man it was almost one of the deal breakers in our relationship. I had to be honest with him and tell him I may not be able to have children.I didnt want for us to get to 40 and for him to recent me for not having children. He is a wonderful man and being a father was high up on his priority list, so could he be with the woman of his dreams but have none of his own children?
We spoke about it and he said we would do what ever we could to have our own children. I came off all the the medication I had been on and I just went about my every day life and put babies to the back of my mind.
2 months later I was pregnant!!! It was a complete shock and throughout my whole pregnancy I didn't allow myself to truly believe that I was expecting a baby. He is a true blessing I know this. He is my miracle baby.
The reason I am blogging about this is because so many women around the world have been told they wont be able to have children, or are finding it hard to conceive. We all put so much trust in to Doctors. They are not always right. They PRACTICE medicine they dont know for sure. There has been 2 cases that have come to light in Ireland recently about a woman who was told she needed a hysterectomy, went in for the operation and they found out she was 8 weeks pregnant, but unfortunately too late.
It makes me so mad to think that, that could have been me! I look at my son sleeping peacefully beside me, and a lump forms in my throat. He was the baby I was supposed to never have had.
If you are having problems please get 2nd 3rd 4th opinions.. sit back relax, dont think about it, take a little bit of faith, a sprinkling of luck, and a lot of love then maybe you might just fall pregnant!
Thanks for listening.

Next Chapter

I am finally in my new house, and I love it. I have unpacked all the boxes and I am settling in. DJ loves his new room. That was the first room I had to get sorted. I wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for him. He seems to be sleeping really well in his new room too. I have taken all the comments and advice I received after my last blog, and it SEEMS to be working. He still wakes up at 1.30 and 4.30am but he goes back to sleep fairly quickly with a soother. When putting him down he only cries now for about 15-20 mins, which is a huge improvement from the hour to an hour and half crying we had before.
Somewhere in the move my other half managed to throw out a bag of all my most expensive shoes. I actually want to cry! My good old faithful shoes, that make me feel good even on fat day have gone! I have a pair of flip flops, one boot and one shoe (the other shoe and boot are in the bag that has gone missing!) I actually got heart palpitations and hot flushes when the realization hit in that my shoes were no where to be found! I drove my man down to the skip to look for them. He even got in to the bin. No luck they were gone! All of them.. deep breath!
I've been thinking a lot about my career recently. I am starting to get itchy feet. After 12 months of growing a baby and nesting, I am dying to use my creative side. Don't get me wrong I love my baby, and I really enjoyed taking that time off to look after my self buying things for the baby and nesting in general, but now I have settled in to being a new mummy I also want to get some sort of my 'Old' life back.
Being an actress is hard though. You have to hustle, and I really don't have the energy to hustle anymore. I cant just jet off at the drop of the hat, or fly to LA for an audition. I need to be able to juggle motherhood and a career. Argh...
I went for my first audition the other day, it was a disaster! I had no one to look after DJ so he had to come with me. I had nothing to wear that wasn't leggings or baby doll dresses. You have to look the part when you go in, and I felt like a frumpy mummy, not a yummy mummy.
I was running late for the audition because DJ decided to do a huge poo as soon as we were leaving. Then he spit up on me as I was about to walk in to the audition.
So I pushed him in to the room and throughout my audition all I could hear was " coo coo gurgle coo gurgle" Just slightly distracting. The up side is that DJ was a hit. I think they actually want to cast him in the movie.
I wasn't ready to start auditioning again. I felt totally out of my comfort zone. I think I may wait another couple of months before I audition again. Going to LA later in the year to meet up with all my old contacts again So I think I ll wait till then.
I need an image over haul though. The new chapter, a new me. I realized in that audition that I am never going to go back to the old me again. I need to reinvent myself. Madonna has done it countless amount of times, so can I.
I have a few months before I go to LA. So I am just going to go underground for a few months and re emerge a butterfly ;-)
I have always loved anything French. I have so many stripy jumpers and tops in my wardrobe its not funny. I think the french way of life is lovely. THey are very family oriented, they always have dinner together at night. They like nice things and do not deprive them selves of anything. They have it sussed when it comes to food. Very rarely do you see a fat french woman. They have a little of what ever they fancy. They choose the best cheese, wine, bread and meat but they only have a little of it. A little of everything. THey also take the same approach to clothes. Instead of buying lots of cheapy items they will save their money and buy an amazing classic piece that will last.
I am going to go through my wardrobe this weekend and anything that is old, torn, stained is getting chucked out or going to charity.
The next thing is the hair. I have had the same style for years. Long, blonde and tousled and I love that look, but since I ve stopped breast-feeding my hair has been falling out by the handfuls. So I think i need to go for the chop. IS this wise? Has anyone chopped off their hair after having a baby and regretted it? Thinking of going darker too? I ll post a picture of my hair and please let me know if you think it should stay or go?
Thanks ladies
xoxo
p.s In the picture above I am the one on the left. My sister is the one with the fringe

Moving House

Remind me never to move house again!
We are on the move. Our lovely 2 bedroom stylish, modern apartment by the sea is being traded in for a 3 bed house in a quaint neighborhood. I love our apartment, its so close to everything, and it has been perfect for us, But since Dj has come along the place has become cluttered with toys, baby bouncers and bottles.I have spent hours scrubbing and cleaning our cream carpets, trying to get out vomit and poo stains. ( We have all taken the nappy off at the wrong time)
So I found a nice house with wooden floors and plenty of space, it even has a garden!.
Its going to be great for our growing family. However, we have to actually move in to it first.!
I wish I could close my eyes, click my heals together three times and be in the house with all our belongings in their right places.
I am currently sitting on a box surrounded by 'stuff'. Dj is going through his clingy phase and doesn't want to be put down. I think he is also sensing a move is on the horizon and everything is all disrupted, so he is all unsettled. I didn't realize we had so much stuff! I seem to have collected ridiculous things that I have never used and probably never will. Every-time I go to chuck something out, my man goes to take it back out again, saying "hey I like that"
Talking of my other half, is it just me, or do men just seem to be really busy or away when it comes to moving? He is so busy today, really important meetings, on the golf course!!!!!!!!!!
So its me and the little dude. Strapped to my chest as I am attempting to put all of my clothes in to boxes. I can never bring my self to chuck out clothes either. Despite the fact I will probably never fit in to my skinny jeans or belly bearing tops again, I just cant face parting with them.
So far I have just taken everything out of cupboards, and haven't put anything actually in the boxes.
I get heart palpitations seeing all this mess. To say I am like Monika from friends, is putting it lightly. I have a bit of OCD when it comes to cleanliness and tidiness. So this is my idea of hell!
The moving men arrive tomorrow morning, and I am not even half way packed.Oh dear..
I always say this, but I really do never want to move EVER again. I don't know what possessed me to even think about moving with a 4 month old!
Well Got to get on with it.
Until next time
xoxox

When I am good, I'm very good, But when I am bad I am horrid!

From the day DJ was born he has always been a happy child. Dare I say a perfect baby... He was always smiling, He ate well, he slept well, when he was tired he would drift off in my arms, and I would gaze lovingly at my peacefully sleeping baby and place him in his cot in his own room. Then one day.. my darling boy got clever!!!!!
Firstly He has now discovered his voice, so he shouts at everything. Even when he is trying to talk to you, he shouts. He refuses to even lie in my arms, he wants to be up looking around. Even when he is so tired and the eyes are rolling in the back of his head, he wants to be up, not missing a thing. I have always fed him at bed time in his room, to get. A place I spent months and months on creating the perfect ambiance for him. Soothing music, lavender oil, you name it I've got it. Now as soon as I bring him in to his room he cries. Not whimpers either, full on screaming match. Even when I take him in to change his nappy he gets upset thinking I am going to put him to sleep. I've read countless books on routine and trying to get your baby used to falling asleep on his own. It seems the day I decided he should fall asleep in his cot was the day he decided he was having none of this sleep milarky!
I think he could be teething, so I have been using a homeopathic remedy called Teetha, which seems to help his gums, but this child needs a few shots of whiskey to get him to sleep!( I joke I joke)
I have spent the past few nights and days sitting by his bed as he screams and screams. I try to soothe him. and I never leave him. I sing to him and I read to him. As soon as I pick him up he stops crying, so there is nothing wrong with him.
I wish I could tell you I have found the trick on getting him to sleep but I'm stuck.. If anyone has any ideas please leave a comment below with some advice for us mummies who are suffering with a difficult baby who will not go to sleep.
I have given in after 4 hours and he is now in the bed with me, snoring softly as I type. He is totally exhausted!

Till next time....
xoxo

Baby Yoga

We recently started baby yoga.It was actually pretty fun. We started by singing a welcome song, clapping our hands and smiling like lunatics. Then we sit the baby up and just hold their hands and pull them gently forward towards their little toes. DJ thinks I am trying to pull him up when we do this one, so he tried to pull himself up to stand! Then the babies go on their tummies, while the mummies again sing silly songs and pull ridiculous faces. I think its actually just to make mummies look really silly.
The mummies then get a tummy work out while our babies fly on our legs. Let me explain this one. We all lie on our backs with our legs up but bent at the knees. Then we lie the babies on their tummy on our shines with their face peering over our knees. Like Super man. Its really good for the babies necks and as we rock out legs from side to side front to back it works your lower abs bonus! In the first class this one was a bit tricky for the mums, as most of us were making use of the good weather and we all turned up in dresses.. We some how thought this was BABY YOGA not mummy and baby yoga..
Towards the end of the class after we have pulled and pushed our babies gently its time for the "Quite time song and relaxation" Now they say to you " Its fine if your baby cries.. we welcome the cries" Well I am not sure they really do embrace the cries, especially if your baby is the only one making a fuss. I was getting some pretty evil looks from the 5ft2 holier than tho, zenned out, tree hugging instructor. I did get FEW sympathy looks from the other mums. I mean really have you ever seen a 3 month old baby meditating? No neither have I. So while everyone else was meditating with their little buddhas, my little buddha was trying to eat my fingers, bounce on my leg and pull my hair. Having said all that I did really enjoy the class. It was fun to see Djs face as i pushed his knees up to his tummy while singing the wheels on the bus, and lying next to him while we both did tummy time. It felt like we were the two naughty students, sharing a joke that no one else got. Great bonding time.
Ok so we may not be the meditating type but Ill definitely be going back next week.
xoxo

Summer Holidays

Summer Holidays used to be so easy. Fly some where exotic and explore, sun tan, drink cocktails and enjoy late dinners. Now I am not sure what to do or where to go with a 4 month old baby!?!
I am heading to the Hamptons at some point during the summer to see a lovely friend of mine who I havent seen for ages. I am so excited to go. It will be really relaxed as it will be in her house. I am not sure how DJ will be in the heat, as he is a true Irish boy with white white skin.
Where we are going on our family holiday? I have no idea. It will be our first family holiday away, so of course I want it to be memorable. Maybe holiday apartments is the way to go? I don't know any hotel rooms that have mircowaves in them,and I'm not going to keep phoning up housekeeping to come and get my bottles to sterilize them for me! Thats a bit wacko Jacko. I need to sterilize his bottles somehow. Mother care do great sterilizing bags that you just put with a little water and you pop them in the mircowave for a few min, and hey bingo you have sterilized bottles.
So where do we go. Greece? Ibiza? even that a little too hot for me mid July/Aug Spain France? I But I could try smuggle him in?
All I know is that where ever we go we are going to have a lot of luggage! Myself alone take 2 bags. Hope our luggage allowance is good. Otherwise I'm using fed ex and post it over! Do you know that to fed ex your luggage over can sometimes cost the same to check your luggage on the plane! and your guaranteed for it not to get lost.
Ok so I'm off to browse exotic locations that are baby friendly..
If you guys have any ideas please post below
oxox