A Slight Change
Blogging is great - but sometimes without a focus subject it is hard to share our adventures. This has been bothering me for a while! With so much going on it is also hard to keep up with blogging everything we have been up to. Plus this blog isn't all about sharing with you guys, but also about keeping a record for our family to look back on in years to come.
With this in mind I thought I might change the blog slightly for our daily adventures! From March 2018 I am going to try and keep a daily log of our activities to include photos, links, tips and funny stories. Don't worry I don't intend to share a blog every day - that would drive everyone up the wall - but will do a weekly summary each Thursday!
To get us up to date I have summarised the first 14 days of March below! It has been crammed packed with fun!
1st March 2018
This was exactly how I felt at the start of the month! The snow was still piled up in the streets and we were house bound! It was too cold to take Jack outside. The buggy kept getting stuck in the snow and if I put him in the baby carrier there was a risk I would fall over! It left no other option but to hide away and keep warm in the house! It was an official snow day for us which meant only one thing! No adventures today! We were restricted to box set watching and sofa surfing! I decided to try watching ' Marcella' . This was right up my street! A crime detective series with a twist! Would certainly recommend giving it a watch if you have a chance! I managed to eat my way through series one in a day! I am not sure if it was very Jack friendly though! Thank goodness he doesn't quite understand yet! Need to get all these box sets in before we have to watch cartoons instead!
2nd March 2018
Snow... more snow and a little bit more snow! Thank goodness for friends that live close to us in Ipswich. With another day stuck in the house it was lovely to have some evening visitors! With it being a Friday as well - what better way to start the weekend than cracking open two bottles of fizz with Claire and Simon! Jack seemed to enjoy the party as well, but might take him a while to learn how to say Processco! The night had to be brought to a close though as the snow continued to get heavier - when will it ever end!!
3rd March 2018
The answer was today...today was the day the snow started to melt and freedom was re-established. To help restore my mental ability following several days stuck at home I ventured out for my very first swim since being 8 months pregnant! I was so excited to be a) back in a bikini and b) having an hour off! Love looking after Jack, but I have started to realise I am a better mum if I have some time out for myself.
There were a few new things about swimming today! Firstly - I felt so light in the pool! Without a baby bump pulling me down I could move freely and quicker! The only thing stopping me going faster were the other people in the pool.
Secondly - I braved wearing my Fenix 5s in the pool! Now I know this will sound silly to lots of people as the watch is waterproof, but this was the first time I was brave enough to dunk it under water! I am so glad I did as it was the first time I could record my swimming activity. With a starting statistic I could now track all my future swims and try and improve my times.
The afternoon was also spent escaping the house! With the snow melting it was a good excuse to get the car seat out and go out visiting friends (Charlotte and Jon) and family! I have always been a very social person and hope that Jack will learn to enjoy the company of others. We have tried to introduce him to lots of people over the last six weeks and he seems very content with everyone! Lets hope this continues as he grows!
Today also saw us leave Jack momentarily with the grandparents! This was a new thing for us and although we only ventured out to buy pizza from Asda it felt very strange not taking him with us! It is amazing how after only a few weeks it is normal to have Jack tagging along for the ride! Everyone survived the experience though and it can certainly be repeated in the future. We are working up to our first night out without Jack in April - so baby steps to get us there!
4th March 2018
Now today was a fun day! Abby was back from Newcastle to visit us for the weekend! Super excited to catch up and for her to meet Jack we headed out for a spot of brunch!
After aiming for Cafe Marina (but it being too full) we ended up at the Coffee Cat on the waterfront in Ipswich. This was a super decision! We had the most amazing all day breakfast for around £6.99! Brilliant value for money and the service was amazing! The best thing is we can easily fit the buggy into the cafe too! This makes it so much easier for us to venture out here with Jack!
With a whole day free and no other plans we took the opportunity to continue hanging out with Abby, Claire and Simon! With the time ticking across midday we ventured further down the waterfront to the Cult Cafe Bar.
The only downside of the whole day was the rain! It chucked it down in the afternoon and the walk home was super soggy! I think Jack was the only one dry with his super duper storm buggy over and snow suit on!
5th March 2018
The weather was still rather chilly, but safe to venture out again walking! I had missed my daily walks with Jack and the opportunity to get fresh air. Today we had a coffee date with Clare B. After the success at Coffee Cat the day before we ventured there for a coffee, catch up and a cuddle with Jack. After knowing Clare now for a couple of years she knows how impatient I can be when it comes to running. With this in mind she had some good advice for my impending first run back tonight! Although after buggy walking over five miles today any run maybe a struggle!
6th March 2018
Today was a busy one! First stop was our to Kirby-le-Soken. We had a date with Megan, toddler Tish and Dave the dog! Luckily Jack doesn't object to loud noises as Dave the dog was super excited to see him and being a Great Dane the bark was super loud! The photos really don't do Dave's size justice - he is basically bigger than me!
Tish was adorable - wanting to help me look after Jack! Rocking him in the bouncer, helping get the wipes out to change him and holding the bottle as he fed! If only I could have a little helper every day! Its amazing how such a small person can be so grown up already and understand the world!
Megan was a gem as well! Bacon sandwiches and cups of tea at the ready! What more could a girl want on a Tuesday!
The afternoon was then spent in Bradfield with Grandma! She took the reigns while I attempted to run! This as described in my previous blog was a total disaster! Even Jack was surprised when I returned so quickly! It meant we got to play lots more though! Not only a I learning to do more things again, but Jack is learning new things! This week is the start of increased tummy time! Jack isn't too sure about this skill yet, but hoping he will pick it up over next few weeks.
6th March 2018
Today we ventured into town via an alternative route through Holywells Park. We have four different routes to meander through the park to town. It gives us some great variation for when we walk to meet people for lunch. As much as we love the park I am conscious that spending too much time there could ruin it in the future.
We were visiting Emily today for a coffee during her lunch hour. As many of you know Emily is both my boss and a very good friend. After sitting next to her every day at work I have been missing her lots while on maternity leave. It is hard to not see everyone all the time, but I am grateful that people still want to catch up and have lots of lovely news to share! We ventured to a lovely little cafe known as Cool Beanz.
This place has loads of space (great for buggies) and does amazing food! We often ventured here during a work hour as it has a great friendly feel - much nicer than heading to starbucks! After having a good catch up with Emily we also got the pleasure of lunch with Garry and a short walk! Am super lucky to have our work place so close to our home. It means Garry gets to still see us at lunch times and to enjoy some more quality Jack time!
8th March 2018
I often find when I am not at work the days seem very long! Even with a scheduled coffee date today with Katie in Colchester I found I had several hours to kill in the morning. The sun was shining and I felt bad for staying in when the weather was so lovely. I quickly got myself and Jack ready for a quick walk to Alexandra Park. This will be the fourth park we have visited in Ipswich so far! It's great having them all in such close walking distance.
For some reason I have the inability to just go for a short stroll. Every time I head out for a walk I seem to walk several miles and end up having to tackle a big hill! We did a circular route after the park down to the Ipswich Waterfront and back up Cliff Hill home! This was a bad move as my back hurt so much afterwards! I think I forget how heavy the buggy and Jack already are to push anywhere - let alone up a hill! I am certainly going to need some weight training to survive the future months!
Visiting Katie in the afternoon was lots of fun too. With less than two weeks to her due date Jack got to snuggle up with her baby bump! Am really excited about his arrival and the thought that him and Jack could be play buddies in months to come! We just need him to turn up now.... come on bump! We have a super cute picture of Jack and Katie too, but wasn't sure if Katie wanted it published online! Thanks for the cuddles though!
9th March 2018
This week seems to have all been about making new friends for Jack and catching up with old friends for me! The best of both worlds! Today we ventured across to Kesgrave to see my friend Clare's new house and to catch up with toddler Oscar! Sadie and George also joined us for some tea, biscuits and gossip! Thank goodness I have started to exercise again as all these coffee dates could lead to disaster for getting in my jeans!
Oscar hadn't really seen many babies before so it was interesting to see how he interacted with Jack in the house. Oscar was teaching Jack how to be tickled and rocking him to sleep in his car seat! It's going to be awesome when they are all old enough to play together.
I love being able to catch up with these girls though while we are all not working! I used to see them all every day in the work place and I miss them greatly now we are all doing our own thing! Now when we meet up though there is so much to talk about! We could spend hours gossiping I swear! I can't wait for the weather to be great over the summer so we can all enjoy it together!
10th March 2018
Well I have longed for this day to come! I have not attended a body combat session since last May when I found out I was pregnant! It had been too high impact for me to continue! But today I was venturing back! I was nervous and I had no idea how it was going to go! Claire was coming with me though which was awesome! I had missed my running and gym buddy so to spend some time together would be brilliant!
The session itself went better than expected! I managed to do loads more than I thought my body would allow! But baffled me how I could do this and still find running so hard! Hopefully by going to the class once a week again I will build up my stamina quicker and everything else will fall into place! Buzzing for next weeks session already.... but feel I may not be able to walk tomorrow after using muscles that I had forgotten about for a while!
The balance of the weekend would be filled with family fun! As ' Mothers Day' was fast approaching we wanted to get the family together for a bite to eat! To keep things simple we opted for some fish and chips from Nacton Road fish bar! I swear these are the best fish and chips I have ever eaten! We are blessed with such a good local chippy!
There are many things I have loved since having Jack in our lives. One thing in particular is how much time we all now get to spend as a family. It has brought everyone closer together and has created an excuse to do lots more fun things! We are very lucky to have our parents around and that they want to be such a big part of Jacks life! Am certainly appreciating the help that this also brings to me and Garry.
11th March 2018
Mothers day continued for me on Sunday! My first ever Mothers day! This time last year we had no concept that Jack would be with us! In fact we had pretty much written off ever being able to have a family! To now be celebrating Mothers day with Garry and Jack was amazing!
I was spoilt rotten with gifts, an opportunity to run and a takeaway with Josh and Lisa in the evening! We are so lucky that our friends all love (or at least say they love) Jack as much as we do! It means that we still get the opportunity to hang out and see them even with Jack in our lives. We are already planning our first trip to a farm in the next few weeks! Days out are going to be awesome if we can share them with friends and family.
Garry has certainly set the bar at a high level though and Jack was going to have to get saving before Fathers Day!
** We also got to take Garry's Dad's 4x4 out today! We looked like little kids driving a grown up car! It was hilarious! We started out saying this car is way too big and by our return we were like ' buy us one now'. It would make travelling around with Jack for family holidays and adventures so much easier! Something to think about when we have to renew our cars later on in the year! We have grand plans of adventuring all over the UK once the weather improves so having the tools to do this with ease would be great! Now just to win the lottery so we can do all these amazing things and buy a crazy big car!
12th March 2018
Today we were going on an adventure to Colchester to meet up with Amanda (who works in our HR department) and baby George. He is a few days younger than Jack. We thought it would be fun to have a catch up and let the boys meet! Amanda also had another friend join us with her baby Flo who was a few days older than Jack! Thats right we decided to put three babies all together! At times it was loud, but also it was great seeing how they reacted to each other! I swear that Jack got bottle envy at one point and demanded to be fed just because someone else was!
Amanda had also arranged for a lady to come and take finger print moulds for each of the babies. The purpose to imprint them in silver onto necklaces or bracelets. It was quite chaotic with the three babies, but am very excited to be getting a necklace with Jacks fingerprint and his name on it to wear in a few weeks! In all the chaos I honestly can't remember the name of the lady or her company! I will track down the information though as she also had some beautiful jewels and scarves! Great for present ideas!
Today was also the first time I had really hung out with other mums who had just had a new borns. I had always been a bit sceptical about doing this, but it was surprisingly reassuring that Jack was doing all the things that their babies were doing. It was nice to hear other mums stories and tales - made me feel like we were doing ok and surviving this transition period just fine. Hopefully we will be able to meet up again soon for some more tea, cake and chats.
13th March 2018
Another day out and about meeting new friends! Today we ventured across to Kersey to meet with Rachel and toddler Toby! Every time I see anyone I am surprised by how grown up their children are at such a young age. Young Toby is only 2 and he is so grown up! It baffles me how Jack will be that big in less than two years! I can't quite get my head round the fact that he will be mobile by this time next year!
Toby was adorable with Jack and was teaching him how to play with things. I think he was a bit sad that Jack wasn't bigger and able to play more! All in good time hey!
It's great to be able to spend time with one of my oldest friends! I love how we have all stayed in touch from school! I feel very lucky! So many things to look back on and exciting things to plan! Can't wait to visit Hollow Tree Farm with these guys when the weather picks up over the summer!
Today was also super exciting! Following the completion of our February virtual challenge we received our medals in the post! Trish had kindly sent us medals for both of us! From the photos you will see that Jack was over the moon with his. He loved wearing it! I hope that this is something we will see lots more of in the future.
Some other major developments happened today! Jack rolled over! In fact he has done it three times now - although I am sure it could just be a fluke!
His also doing amazingly well with his tummy time and is holding his head up loads! So much so he has started to pose like a member of the olympic skeleton team! Maybe we have a rising star on our hands.... lol!
I also had success today after venturing out for a swim! My quickest 40 lengths in a long while! Having the watch now timing me is clearly having the desired result! Getting out for the evening was bliss! I am so lucky to have a supportive husband! His amazing!
All in all a great day!
14th March 2018
Today we finally got to catch up with my team at work! Today we were hitting Byron Burger for a lunch out! Slightly nervous about fitting the buggy into the establishment I got there a little early. By the time the team got there Jack was wide awake and ready to socialise! Now the biggest test to date was learning how to eat a burger while having a child on my lap! They certainly don't teach you these skills at school! Demolition was the way forward. I basically pulled the burger apart!
It was great to see the team and hear all their news! Although I don't miss the concept of work - I do still miss the people and using my brain. I think I will enjoy having a mixture of work and motherhood time later on in the year. The best of both worlds.
So in summary adventures have changed a little since we had Jack in the world! I might not be out running 35 miles and entering crazy races - but we are having our own little adventures! The first 14 days of March have been crammed packed with fun and learning! It might not be exciting for some, but we are proud that each day we manage to leave the house or achieve something. I mean I was over the moon that I worked out where the lift was in boots yesterday and managed to get to the second floor of the shop! It's all the small things you never thought would be a challenge that now seem like a greatest achievement!
I am sure however there will be a crazy 35 mile race thrown in at some point in the future if I can ever learn to run again!