• update 12 WEEKS PREGNANT

Hey guys,

So I had my 12 week scan today! Baby A is perfectly healthy and was posing for the photos 😅 little heart was beating away too... but my due date has changed! I am now due April 29th 2017 and I am 12 weeks and 3 days. 

 

It was so lovely to see our baby actually looking like a baby. As you all know from my last post we are keeping the gender a surprise. But after getting such a clear nub shot today I posted the scan photo in strictly nub theory and I got over 40 comments with every single one predicting that I am having another little girl. So after that, I posted the scan photo in two more nub groups and again everyone guessed girl. So I am now pretty much convinced that I am going to have another little princess. Although, I do still have some people thinking I'll be having a baby boy.

As I said in my last post I kept switching back and forth from what I wanted the gender to be but now that everyone has predicted it's a girl a tiny piece of me feels for Liam as I know how much he wants a boy. But either way we will just be grateful at the end that we have another healthy litte baby regardless to the gender. 

 

Cravings: water

Symptoms: severe fatigue and sickness

My morning sickness has started back up again so I'm back on my tablets but the only downside to the tablets is they cause drowsiness. So literally about 15 minutes after taking one I'm almost falling asleep which isn't ideal. 

• Baby A is starting to develop reflexes as his brain continues to grow and become more complex, and he is using the greater command he has over his body to curl his fingers and toes. His nerve endings are developing right along with his reflexes, and at this point if you poke your belly, baby A will respond by wriggling. (Though you almost certainly won't feel it) 

Pretty soon her intestines are going to recede down the umbilical cord, but only temporarily, because they've run out of room. They'll move back into the abdomen and eventually reach their final location in her stomach. Baby A is also practicing breathing by inhaling and exhaling the amniotic fluid surrounding her. 

Her kidneys are beginning to function, and she also has started building up the waste she will store until her first poop. Baby A's neck which she only just started to form in the last few weeks or so, has already begun to straighten as her chin lifts off her chest, and she is growing rapidly. 

Next week: second trimester!

Nicole x

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Hello everyone! 

So, I have my 12 week scan on Tuesday which I am so excited about. Although it's at 8.20am so I'm going to turn up looking like a zombie. Me and Liam have been excitedly planning when to call up and book our private 4D gender scan at or around 16 weeks. Until....

Liam decided one night he didn't want to know the sex of the baby and he wanted it to be kept a surprise until our birth. Anyone that knows me knows that I hateeeee surprises. I can't stand knowing I've got a surprise and not knowing what it is. It literally itches away at me. So I was going to go to the gender scan and find out then keep it a secret from Liam. I was planning to decorate the babies room and just make sure the door was always shut and Liam never went in there, I was planning to buy coloured clothes, bottles and what not then just keep them in black boxes in our storage cupboard. But then I spoke to my mum about it and she said she didn't want to know the sex either!!

So, in the end I decided I'm not going to find out the sex of our baby either. After a long think I've realised how special and magical it will be when I give birth and I then find out if our beautiful baby is a boy or a girl. So here's to hoping that sonographers don't slip up at scans.. I have a higher chance of this happening as I've been put on high risk due to doctors worrying about my pregnancy with Aiyanna and that she was measuring too small... (even though she actually came out a good weight 🤔.) so I have to have growth scans every two weeks. But before every scan I'm going to give a big announcement about how we DO NOT want to know the sex of the baby. 

A few friends think that I won't be able to do it so that's making me even more determined to do it too! Which will help me more as when I'm determined to do something. I WILL do it 💪🏼

See you on Tuesday baby A!

Nicole x

Recent events and 10 & 11 WEEK PREGNANCY UPDATE

Sorry, I once again am late on my blog! But I've been so exhausted lately it is unbelievable. This baby really is sucking the life out of me. I try and nap anytime I possibly can so of course along with housework and my crazy toddler it's not leaving much time left to write a post. 

Aiyanna has started realising that daddy sometimes works at her bedtimes so she has been refusing to go to bed and just the usual playing up. If Liam works a late he gets home at 11pm and the other night Aiyanna literally did not go to sleep until Liam got home and she had said hello and goodnight to him. She really does know how to work around me so I am in the process of getting that into line at the moment.

 

 I am so excited that it's Autumn! Summer is finally over 😃 if you follow me on Instagram you will of noticed how excited I actually am from all the autumn and October quotes I've been posting. I just love it! It's time to bring out all the winter spice candles and smells. I do love a good Christmassy smell and my home being warm and cosy. 

 

I recently discovered that Sainsbury's sell limited edition winter spice bleach. I almost had an excitement overload when I found that out. So I have now filled my cleaning cupboard with the stuff and I love it! You all know I'm a big zoflora fan well they sell winter spice zoflora!! So I'm buying a big batch of that off Amazon next week. 

My mum is also a big fan of fleecy and cotton brushed bed sets and I've always been insanely jealous because whenever I try to get one they've sold out. Well she sent me the link to a super soft fleece bedset that she's just ordered from next for £45 and when I saw it I just knew I haddddd to get it regardless to the price 😖 well I ordered it and mine was £35 because I have a double bed and she has a king. It is the most beautiful and comfiest looking bed set I have ever seen in my life and I am so excited for it to be delivered today so I can sleep in it tonight or even just sit in it. 

This is truly the life of a mother. Before kids we got excited to go out on a bender all weekend and to just get black out drunk and off our faces. After kids we get excited over new washing up sponges, a new fragrance of washing conditioner, cleaning products and fleecey bed sets. 

Anyway, moving onto more important things my cousin Natalia moved to Brazil 2 years ago and we didn't know when or if she was going to be coming back. Well, she just moved back last week and I am so so happy! We all had a family party to celebrate her coming home and it was lovely! We are all so so glad that she's finally home again. 💕

•••

10 weeks pregnant!

 Cravings: water 

Symptoms: gagging at everything and fatigue

• Baby A is the size of a prune, at about 1 1/4 inches long, and is beginning to develop tiny human like features, like peach fuzz, the buds of baby teeth, and elbows and other joints that bend. Baby A's heart isn't the only thing moving - she is starting to move around enough that it can be visible on an ultrasound. Her digestive system is also functional by this point!

11 weeks pregnant!

 

Cravings: water 

Symptoms: gagging still and the start of acid reflux (this was my only weakness with Aiyanna)

• Baby A is looking more and more like a real person everyday! This week, he is growing hair follicles and fingernails. If it's a girl her ovaries are beginning to develop. Baby A's formerly connected fingers and toes are losing their webbing, and he is using his little hands to explore his face and mouth, which helps him develop the physical coordination he will need once he is born. The movement is too small for you to be able to feel yet, as is the hiccuping, and moving around he may be doing. Baby A's placenta is becoming increasingly functional, allowing him to take more control of his own hormone production. This will take some of the strain off of your system. 

Hope you've all had a lovely week!

Nicole x

• update 9 WEEKS PREGNANT & some amazing news!

Hey guys,

So I am 9 weeks pregnant! It has come round so quick. I honestly can't believe in 3 weeks I'll be heading off to my 12 week scan to see my baby for the second time 🙈 

Cravings: water and salt and vinegar crisps

Symptoms: sore scalp, chapped lips and spots

*hopefully the bloat has gone down for good now and the bump can start growing and showing*

• it's a fetus! That dreaded first trimester is almost over, and baby A has now officially developed past the stage of being an embryo, and is now officially called a fetus. All of baby A's body parts are intact, and now it's simply time for them to grow. Though he is not fully formed all of his essential muscles and body parts are present. His kidneys, liver, brain and lungs are all starting to function on their own too - he is even starting to develop taste buds! Although baby A's eyes are nearly developed enough to see, his eyelids will shortly fuse shut for another 4 or so months. His inner ears are also beginning to form the fluid that allows baby A to begin developing a sense of balance. He also has toes, bones in his arms and joints that bend in his elbows. 

It was Liam's 22nd birthday yesterday. Saturday night he went out with his mates and Sunday we spent the day relaxing and had a take away for dinner although my pregnancy hormones made me gag with every bite I took 😩

 

The good news that I was talking about in my previous post is finally out in the open so I can now post about it here. Liam's older sister Alannah is pregnant! 

 

She is 5 weeks and 3 days, so we are going to have our babies a few weeks apart which we are both so excited about! Aiyanna-Rose is going to have a little brother or sister AND a little cousin too.

I can't wait to post more about our pregnancies

Nicole x

All about Aiyanna-Rose

 

Full name: Aiyanna-Rose Samantha Bouzan

Meaning behind name: We found Aiyanna in an old baby book, Rose is my sister who passed away's middle name, Samantha is Liam's aunt and Bouzan is Liam's last name.

Age: 21 months (1 year and 8 months) 

DOB: 06/12/14

Time born: 2.59am

Weight at birth: 6lb 12oz

Eye colour: blue

Hair colour: mousy brown

How many teeth: 16

First tooth: 6 months

Sat up unaided: 4 and a half months

Crawled: 7 months

Walked: 11 months

Words: over 100

Favourite colour: blue

Favourite food: beans, peas, spaghetti hoops and chocolate

Favourite animal: cats and dogs

Favourite toy: 123 blocks and dinosaurs

Favourite family member: uncle Logan

Favourite family pet: Harlem our pet cat

Favourite tv show: peppa pig, ben and holly, paw patrol and max and ruby

Favourite film: the hungry caterpillar

Favourite book: The gruffalo

Favourite nursery rhyme: row row your boat

Favourite song: work by Rihanna

Favourite place: the park or treasure chest

Favourite friend: Albie

Dislikes: having her teeth brushed, meatballs, leaving her mummy.

First scan and 7 & 8 week pregnancy update

I have been so busy this week that I have forgotten to do my 7 week pregnancy update but I will do both my 7 week and my 8 week in this post. I do apologise!

Anyway, I had my first scan this week. When I was pregnant with Aiyanna and I went to my first scan I got really bad anxiety and even cried. I was so scared that they were going to tell me my baby wasn't alive or that I'd made a mistake and the pregnancy tests were wrong and that I'd be so embarrassed. Well the same feelings happened on my way to this scan but thankfully I didn't cry this time. As soon as the sonographer put the ultrasound scanner on my tummy and I saw the sac and then my little blob and then my babies strong beating heart I once again felt that overwhelming feeling of instant love and happiness. 

 

I've had some funny comments on what everyone sees when they look at my little blobs ultrasound. I think it looks like Dumbo the elephant flying with his big ears, my uncle thinks it looks like a hamster and my neighbour said if you turn it upside down it looks like a cartoon dog carrying a bag on a stick 😅. 

I then had my midwife appointment the next day and got my pink notes. My 12 week scan is on the 18th of October at 8.20am 🙈

 

Cravings: Ribena, Tesco/Co-Op meal deal sandwiches, sweets like Randoms or Haribos

Symptoms: sore breasts and bloat

Baby A is still growing like mad! He is over half an inch long. Other parts of his body are getting more complex and human like as well, including developing heart and kidneys, the beginnings of teeth, and little paddles on the end of those arm buds that are destined to become baby A's hands. Baby A's lower body is also starting to develop, and the presence of pre legs and toes are starting to dominate his tail. Baby A's tiny little bones are also starting to harden. 

 

Cravings: Tubs of Roses chocolates, water and a Toby Carvery roast dinner

Symptoms: twinges, morning sickness, sore scalp and bloat

• Baby A is moving around like a little dancer, even though I can't feel it. My baby bulge may start protruding at this time as my appetite increases to match A's. Baby A is in the last few days of embryo-hood, which mostly means that the brand new teeny tiny internal organs developing under her see-through skin are almost ready to start functioning on their own. That pesky tail is finally celebrating its last hurrah, and pretty soon it will disappear completely. Baby A's webbed fingers and toes are poking out from little limbs that are growing longer every day, and facial features are becoming more prominent, as her lips, nose and eyelids look increasingly human-like around now.

I got my Toby Carvery roast dinner tonight too so I'm happy ☺️ also here are some recent photos of Aiyanna this week.

 

 

I have some amazing news that I'm so excited to write about when I can too! So be sure to look out for that 🙈

Nicole x

Pink peppa wellies, blocks and midwife appointment

The other day I had to go to a meeting for my family nurse (health visitor) and because I went when I didn't have to she gave me a mothercare gift card for Aiyanna. So yesterday we had nothing to do and popped into town. For ages now I have been looking for some wellies for Aiyanna but obviously because of the summer there has been none in the shops. I originally wanted to buy her some pink hunters but thought there was no point as her feet grow so fast at the moment and she's always needing new shoes. (In other words I wasn't going to buy some expensive wellie boots for her to grow straight out of them and then I'd be pissed off that she'd only wore them twice). But mothercare had some cute pink peppa pig wellies for £12.99 which I still think is ridiculous for wellie boots. They should be about 3-5 quid. Buuuut I brought them anyway, then we thought we'd treat her to a toy. I was looking at the pink cars and fun cool kid shit and Liam's looking at the abc and 123 bricks. We then had a small debate over how he thought she should be having educational toys now and I thought she has enough stinking educational toys at home let's let her have a toy she actually wants this time. But no, educational daddy insisted on these bricks.

To my surprise I was soon eating my words, Aiyanna has never loved a toy as much as she loves these abc and 123 bricks. She puts them in a box and tips them out over and over again, she makes a tall tower with them, she counts them, she plays with them all day and takes at least one with her everywhere. She's also loving stylin' out in her wellies. Their never off her feet, she would sleep in them if I let her. 

 

Wellies and no trousers, awesome 👍🏼

Today, I had my first midwife appointment. It was at 9.30am and was a nightmare to get to. I booked a taxi and he took me to 2 different doctors before he finally listened to where I was actually telling him to go. (Probably because he was too busy humming and singing along to the radio) so I was late, great! I finally got in and was called in by the midwife, I sat down and sat Aiyanna on the chair next to me and got on with my appointment. I shit you not, this is when Aiyanna seemed to have a question for everything and need my attention most. Mummy, mummy, mummy, mum, mum, mum, mummy. I think the poor midwife was glad to get me out of there. I then lugged Aiyanna up to the hospital (because I once again went out without her buggy when will I learn?)  to book my scan. My scan is next Saturday on the 17th and even though all I'll be able to see is a little ball with a heartbeat I am still quite excited, because that little ball with a heartbeat is my new son or daughter.

Nicole x

'The Unmumsy Mum' book review & update 6 WEEKS PREGNANT

Hey guys,

I hope you have all been well. So if you read my blog post from when I first started up this new blog I was saying how I was reading an awesome book called 'The Unmumsy Mum'. I have now finished that book and it is absolutely brilliant! So here is my review...

I feel as though this book is 100% more for mums with existing children rather than an expecting mother because before you have children you honestly have no idea, so this book could put you off or make you think negatively. You really do just have to be a mum to understand this book and relate to it. I think it is absolutely hilairious! The lady who writes this book has a great sense of humour and really does make you laugh, she isn't afraid to say what most mums are. It makes you realise that you aren't alone and we all struggle with our whingy toddlers and suffer from difficult days with a screaming newborn. 5/5 from me!

Update - I am 6 weeks pregnant!!

 

The '6 week update' picture was taken very late so I've noticed the bloating has finally gone down since previous pictures.

Baby A is now the size of a sweet pea, measuring approximately 1/4 of an inch long. This may not seem huge, but just think about how much he has grown in the last month, from a tiny collection of cells to the increasingly complex human being-to-be who is currently in the process of sprouting all of his facial features. Baby A has tiny little buds that are just waiting to bloom into arms, his cute little nose and curious eyes are beginning to form, although they still merely look like dark little spots on an oversized head. Passages and arches that will grow and develop into parts of Baby A's ears and jaw are forming. Development of Baby A's lower body lags behind that of the upper, making him look slightly like a mermaid, and he may already be wiggling his flipper like arms! Baby A is also starting to straighten out from his formerly curled position, and that pesky tail is making its way to its final destination in his back.

This week I have started experiencing morning sickness, I haven't actually been sick yet but I have felt very nauseous and struggled to eat. The mere sight of food makes me feel gross, the only thing I can stomach right now are ham and cheese sandwiches (brown bread only) from the meal deal section in co-op. Two girls I know said that was their craving and they both had boys, so I'm starting to feel hopeful that Ill have a boy now as I would love a boy. 

We are currently staying at my nan and granddad's house as my nan is away visiting her family in Scotland for two weeks and my granddad literally couldn't look after himself. We still have 9 more days here but it is lovely spending time with my gramps. Even though he does keep getting very emotional and tearful because he misses nan so much.

Aiyanna-Rose is 21 months! I can't believe how close we are to her turning 2, It's crazy. What's even crazier is that I'm going to have two children soon, and I am so nervous but excited at the same time.

I Hope you have all enjoyed the holidays and don't miss your kids too much as they all go back to school ;)

Nicole x

• update 5 WEEKS PREGNANT

So I am 5 weeks pregnant today! Yay, but I am still thinking about how long the next 245 days are going to be. Although, I know it feels long now but it did fly by when I was pregnant with Aiyanna-Rose. I have been so tired this last week but yet struggling to sleep at night because of the humidity. 

Liam keeps making jokes about how he thinks I could be having twins due to how big my baby bloat is. I would be happy but I think I'd prefer just the one 😩😅. We have already spoke about what gender we would prefer and we both want a boy this time but wouldn't mind if we got another little girl as two little sisters would be so cute. Plus the fact the name we have for our lil girl flows so well with Aiyanna's name. But most of all, all we want is a healthy baby regardless to the gender.

 

As a zygote baby A is more developed than before and looks like a tiny little tadpole. Nausea usually starts kicking in this week. Baby A's heart is already starting to form it's different chambers. In fact a heartbeat may even show up on an ultrasound now. Major organs, including the stomach and liver, and bodily systems like the digestive and nervous, are beginning to develop, too. Baby A is still growing like crazy, nearly doubling in size each week. 

I had been craving an ice cold drink of something this week but I just didn't know what and then I realised what it was.. Lemonade 😋. I have also been craving doughnuts - I'm terrible!

 

THIS! who lurrrrves the pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks? Well I do! I'm obsessed and we all know how much I love autumn and winter too. I don't care if it's August still, pumpkin spice all the way!! 

Ps. Starbucks, you need to sell these all year round not just in October. 

Back to my pregnancy! My symptoms this week are extreme sensitive and tender breasts and nipples 😭😭

Nicole x

Parenting mistakes I've made

Everyone makes mistakes right? Of course they do! This blog post is all about parenting mistakes that I personally feel that I've made. (Some people may have done the same as me but may not see it as a mistake for them. That's fine, please remember these are my personal thoughts) The idea of this post is to help mothers and mother to be's worries and anxiety about making a parenting mistake. We all make mistakes, people that say they haven't are lying. I hope this helps!

1. Being pregnant for the first time with Aiyanna especially being only 15, I was clueless to the world of motherhood, the do's and don'ts. I had gotten to the end of my pregnancy and I had become very impaitent... although I didn't actually go ahead and make this mistake, I was very close to it! The dreaded castor oil. Every experienced and clued up mum will cringe if you dare mention castor oil. If your on any baby groups or apps and you post about castor oil expect to be put under attack by mums who genuinely do just care about your unborn babies safety. I was looking at different ways to try and help induce I came across and tried many of the classic safe ways like eating spicy food, eating pineapple, bouncing on a birthing ball, taking long walks, yes.. sex. But nothing seemed to be working, that's when I came across the castor oil idea. Basically castor oil is a type of oil used as a lubricant and in manufacturing oil based products. It has succeeded in inducing a lot of women in the past until it was found to be causing a lot of problems and even death of the infant. It's like a laxative and it does sometimes induce but it causes a pregnant woman to be sick, have diarrhea and causes the baby to release Meconium in the womb (a babies first poo, which is of a tar consistency) which is very dangerous as baby can inhale this causing partially or completely blocked airways. As I said I was very close to taking this but I was struggling to buy it as no one would sell it to me because I was pregnant and it was kept behind the counter, I didn't understand why and that is when I made a post about it in a baby group and I got shot down with comments. STAY AWAY FROM CASTOR OIL! 🙈

2. I chose not to breastfeed because I was embarrassed, I didn't want to 'ruin' my boobs and I didn't feel comfortable doing it. It is everyone's personal choice whether they want to breastfeed or not, there is no right or wrong answer. As long as your baby is being fed that's all that matters. The reason why I feel like this was a mistake for me personally, was because I feel selfish for my reasons behind not breastfeeding and I regret not even giving it a chance. I understand my reasons but I just wish I could of tried as now I know all the amazing advantages a baby gets from being breastfed. ( I will be breastfeeding my next child ) 

3. I feel another mistake I made was letting people tell me what to do constantly and criticise things I did. Not in a helpful or friendly advice type of way, it was in a way that people thought because they had 'successfully' raised however many kids they seemed to think they could boss me about with my own child. A couple of times I was even told what to dress my child in... 😑. I was only 15 and very naive so I don't blame myself for letting people treat me that way but I am glad that I acknowlodged it as I would definitely put my foot down if someone tried to do that to me now. 

4. I underestimated Aiyanna's capability. I was in a rush one day and I needed to make her a bottle for when we was going out. I placed Aiyanna on my bed 'knowing' she couldn't roll yet. Only for her to suddenly roll and fall off the bed. This is something that affected me greatly. I felt awful that I had allowed my child to fall and I felt like I wasn't good enough. A support worker I had at the time told me every parent drops or has an accident with their child at some point in their life and I shouldn't beat myself up about it. She told me when her newborn was 2 weeks old she carried him down the stairs in a carrycot and he fell out and rolled down the stairs. It happens a lot and doesn't mean anyone is a bad parent. Now all I ever see is parents in baby groups and apps posting about their child falling off things or them dropping them and completely freaking out and feeling just how I did. It's okay, don't panic! 9 times out of 10 baby is absolutely fine.

5. I saw another girl on my Facebook feeding her baby who is the same age as my daughter blended food. ( 3 months) So I thought that meant that I was supposed to too. So one morning I gave Aiyanna some baby porridge and she really wasn't interested, she was pushing it out of her mouth. I thought I would ask my health visitor and that is when she informed me that the guideline to wean babies is 6 months as it can cause major stomach and internal problems later on in life if you wean before then. Now after doing a lot of research I am so strong hearted about that guideline! 

There has been loads of mistakes I've made from all I've listed above, to leaving a cot bumper in Aiyanna's cot before I knew it was dangerous, to silly things like forgetting her nappy cream on a day out... but over the past almost 2 years of Aiyanna's life I have learnt A LOT. Being a first time mum can be emotional and difficult. Now that I am pregnant with my second and I have educated myself that little bit more and listened to people's advice I feel a lot more prepared for this baby already than I did when I was pregnant with Aiyanna. I'm still going to make mistakes, I'm still going to need to ask for help or advice sometimes and there is nothing wrong with doing that. I'm no expert, no one is. Mistakes happen and all we can do is learn from them. 

Another thing I learnt is no, mummy doesn't always know best. I hope you enjoyed this post! 

Nicole x

• update 4 WEEKS PREGNANT

Hey guys,

I am currently 4 weeks pregnant. It's daunting but also exciting thinking how long I have to go yet. As I said in my last post I've only ever wanted two children so as this will be my last pregnancy I am going to try my hardest to enjoy it! Although, one of my best friends Megan is currently pregnant and she said the same thing when she found out and now she's near the end she just wants the baby out😅

I have registered at my new doctors but I have to wait until Wednesday to see the midwife as it takes two days for me to register onto the system. But I was given my early pregnancy pack which I remember from when I was pregnant with Aiyanna which is basically where I choose what hospital I want to give birth at and decide if I will have all the screening tests.

When I was pregnant with Aiyanna I didn't really have a nickname for my bump but this 4 week bloat has already got a name. We call it 'Baby A' ☺️ as we have a name for either gender and both begin with A's. I guess I have a thing with the letter A...

 

Baby A is now no longer a ball of cells and is an embryo, about the size of a poppy seed. (So tiny!) Baby A's yolk sac which feeds him until the placenta properly forms is now developing. The umbilical cord and basic placenta are already working. The next five weeks are especially important to Baby A's growth. 

My symptoms are still extremely tender breasts, a stuffy nose and sneezing, fatigue and I am very hormonal! I will continue to update you all on my pregnancy each week. 

Nicole x

I'm pregnant... Again

So, all last week I have been having the most tender and sore breasts imaginable and strangely sneezing loads. 2 days ago I brought a pregnancy test and tried to pee on it all morning, but I just couldn't pee. I was already running late for the new baby group I was going to with one of my best friends Joanna and her baby Kyla so I shoved the test in my bag and headed straight out the door.

We spent the whole morning at baby group which was lovely although this one is so small and cramped compared to our usual one. But on a plus side you get tea or coffee at this one!! Then we decided to go to town, so after a couple of hours in town I wanted to change into one of my tops that I had brought so we went to the toilets. As I was changing into this top I quickly remembered the test in my bag and I felt the need to pee! So I did the test and laid it on the side expecting a negative, I wasn't exactly paying much attention to it.

As I was putting all my stuff back in my bag I glanced slightly at the test and saw that it said 'pregnant' and I instantly dropped all my bags and grabbed the test and then it popped up saying 1-2 meaning (1-2 weeks). I don't know why because I've been through this before but I was shaking with nerves. I called Liam and went straight home. Liam was so happy and brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. After I had let it sink in for a couple of hours the nerves stopped and I felt nothing but happiness too. I took two more tests just to be sure and they all came up positive.

I probably wouldn't of been so nervous and felt the happiness instantly if it wasn't for my age and thinking 'oh, but what are people going to say about me' but then I thought I'll be 18 when this baby is born and even if I was going to still be 17 why should I care what other people think about me. I look after my daughter amazingly she is always clean, fed and happy as ever. I believe as long as you look after your children then who's to tell you what is right and what is wrong. 

 

Everyone has this idea in their heads that the right way to do it is to party in their youth, find a career, get married and then have a baby. Okay that might be your ideal way and good for you! But clearly that wasn't the way I did it. Both ways have pro's and con's but since all we ever hear about young parents is the con's, why don't we hear some pro's and also hear some cons for the 'ideal' way too.

My pro's of having a baby/babies young and cons of having a baby at the 'ideal' age. (This does depend on everyone's personal situation, but this is mine)

1. Con: "Oh you've had your children far too young you won't ever be able to pursue a career now. You really have ruined your life."

Pro: ( I've only ever wanted two kids and that's it so now I've had them young I'm done. - this might not be the same for someone who say wants 4 kids and has big age gaps between each one) When I'm in my late 20's and very early 30's my kids will be teenagers so they won't be babies and I will have years upon years to pursue my career. They will be old enough to be left home alone, old enough to walk there and back from school on their own, they won't be so dependant on me. Late 20's and early 30's is supposedly the ideal age to have children. But what about your career? You will have to put that career on hold to raise babies, toddlers and young children for a long time. Fair enough, some people choose to put their children into nurseries or get a childminder so they can go back to work... But then they miss out on seeing their children's milestones, watching them grow up and spending quality time day in and day out with their young kids. COPIED FROM AN ONLINE WEBSITE - THERES LESS CHANCE THE STRESSFUL BABY YEARS WILL AFFECT YOUR OPPURTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT WHEN THEY COME EARLY IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE, BEFORE YOUR CAREER REALLY GETS GOING. 

2. Con: You miss out on your youth, you can't party or travel the world now.

Pro: Fair enough, I can't go out to the clubs every single weekend and party all night long until the early hours of the next day, I can't go on holiday to Magaluf or Ibiza with all my friends and do crazy shit and have mad expierences. But that's what I sacrificed by choosing to keep my children and I honestly couldn't give less of a shit. I still have the odd night out once in a while which is nice but everytime I've done that all I've thought about is wanting to go home to my daughter and saying "I couldn't imagine doing this same shit every weekend, I'm so glad I have a daughter."  But hey, when the 'ideal parents' are still carting their kids off to school at 40, I'll be relaxing on holiday sipping on cocktails whilst my grown up children can make their own sandwiches. 

More pro's:

• You are more likely to remember doing GCSE's - which actually helps a lot when they are doing theirs.

• You have so much more energy to run around after them and do fun activities when you are young.

• You might not have a lot of money when they are babies but your financial situation can only get better. 

• Your skin is more stretchy in your youth so it is more likely to repair itself to a pre-pregnancy state. Your body just works better, you're more flexible.

• Sleep isn't as big of a deal when you are younger - you can survive off less of it. Even pulling the occasional all nighter and still manage to get through the day. (I have done this 🙋🏼)

• Your kids will have longer lasting more memorable relationships with their grandparents.

• You're less likely to run into fertility issues.

• You have that much longer to enjoy motherhood ❤️

I am in no way justifying myself because I've just found out I'm pregnant for the second time. Honestly.. I now feel no need to do that. But this is a blog and it's my blog, there could be people out there in the same situation as me that don't have the same confidence and all these points that I've just made might make them see their situation in a completely different way. 

Never be ashamed, never let people tell you that you've ruined your life because you haven't. Never let someone force you into having an abortion because they have different views on the subject and think nothing of it. This is your life, your body and your decision. 

There are good young mothers and bad young mothers but there also good 30 year old mothers and bad 30 year old mothers. Age does not define how good of a mother you will be. 

So on May 2nd 2017, I will be an 18 year old mother to two children and I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks. I know I'm a good mum and that is what I will continue to be 💓

 

Nicole x

Summer vibes are glowin'

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted since August 7th I actually wrote a blog post on August 14th which I thought I posted, only to find out today it was in my drafts. Oops! But it's up now so you all get the joy of reading two blog posts in one day! Yay. 

This year I've been feeling as though summer has been pretty crap. The weather hasn't been as good and when it was I got all hot and bothered and I just haven't been enjoying it. I am 100% more of an Autumn/Winter type of girl. I also find it so much easier to pick out an outfit in colder weathers. Anyway.. It's the last month of summer now and I am actually starting to really enjoy it. We've been to the beach, I have a nice tan, we've been having lots of garden fun and I'm just over all loving it! I'm dealing with the heat much better now too. 

 

Brighton beach is nice in the hot weather but the rocks and stones drive me insane. They hurt my feet so much!😩 What I am mostly happy about though, is ever since Aiyanna was a young baby she has hated the sea. The crashing of the waves just didn't appeal to her what so ever. And to be honest considering how tiny she is I don't blame her lol. Buttt.. now she's a 'big girl' she absolutely loves it. There wasn't one minute where she didn't want to be out of the sea and all she kept shouting was "Water! Water! Water!" So I am very proud that my once scared little angel face is now a huge water baby!

 

You might of seen all over my social media this week that this picture of Aiyanna I have been non stop raving about. Just look at how grown up she looks. She doesn't even look like a toddler or a baby! She looks like a proper little girl, and oh boy is she adorable. 

 

Another rave is this!!

She is finally sleeping in her toddler bed without any problems what so ever. The first few nights she cried and called out for mummy. But now, she goes down with her milk and we read her a story and that's it she's gone. Honestly, I am just bursting with pride.

 

And last of all here is a recent picture of me looking all happy and healthy. Ready for my night out with Liam :)

Hope you've all had an amazing week.

Nicole x 

A happy ending to a sad week

Late upload, didn't realise this was in my drafts! 14th August 2016

Hey guys!

So as you might of seen on my Facebook and Instagram pages - @_raisingaprincess or on my personal accounts Nicole-Amelia Gater and @_nicoleamelia its been another very busy week in our household. We had Liam's Grandads funeral at the start of the week which was so intense and so so sad. Liam's grandad was American and so Liam has a lot of American family some of which flew over to be at the funeral so it was nice to meet them all. Liam's grandad also lived in Cambridge and that is where the funeral was held so it was a long old drive up there. We drove up to Cambridge with Liam's older sister Alannah and overall it was a nice drive. I never actually met Liam's grandad I went to the funeral to support Liam but even I felt emotional at the funeral as it was a burial and it was hard to see people I love so upset. 

 

 

Dartford Bridge.

I visited my Grandad again this week which was lovely and he is absolutely loving seeing me and Aiyanna-Rose more often than he used to which I'm happy about. Aiyanna is becoming very good friends with my Nan and Grandads gigantic black cat Slash.

 

I know, I know.. Most grandparents have a cat called buttons or marmalade. My grandparents didn't actually name Slash. It was my uncle James as his favourite artist is called Slash. 

Friday night, my mum had Aiyanna-Rose stay overnight and she had such a good time spending quality time with her nanny and two uncles Logan and Mason. Aiyanna had home made Spag Bol, watched lots of peppa pig, raided nannys fruit bowl for every last banana and wore everyone out. Although my mum reports that she slept like an angel! 

Well, me and Liam decided to go on a date night and it was amazing! We drank lots of cocktails, vodka and disaronno and then ate some beautiful food at Bella Italia. We then went to the arcade and had so much fun in the photo booth. We actually won 4 teddy's in the arcade machines which we brought home for Aiyanna. I really wanted to get the Finding Dory teddy for Aiyanna but the machine was out of use - wah! So instead Liam won a green pig from angry birds which Aiyanna is absolutely petrified of and I won 3 little ones a pig, a bird and a giraffe which Aiyanna isn't the slightest bit interested in. But hey ho! Atleast we won. Finally we went to the cinema to watch the new film out called Nerve. It was absolutely amazing! 5 stars from us guys. 

Yesterday, I went to town with my mum, my brothers and Aiyanna and we went on a shopping spree. Anyone who knows me knows how much of a shop-a-holic I am so this reallllly satisfied me! It was such a nice day and I came home very happy ☺️ all I had really was bags full of clothes for Aiyanna and some bath products but for a mum that's got an addiction to shopping this is a win. And now today on this very fine Sunday I am sat about to finish up this blog and then I need to do a huge blitz on my house from top to bottom.

Hope you all had a good week!

Nicole x

Aiyanna-Rose is 20 months!

I was supposed to upload this yesterday but I ended up getting distracted and just well didn't upload it I guess. 😅 although if you follow my Facebook page or Instagram 'Raising a princess' then you would of already seen the mini version.

So I'm going to attempt to keep this short and sweet! But YESTERDAY August 6th, Aiyanna-Rose turned 20 months! 

 

There is only 4 months left until she turns 2! Although I definitely think we've hit the terrible twos early. We dug out the baby albums and spent some of the day looking back, my god I didn't realise how much Aiyanna had changed until I looked back at old photos. We then had a really chilled day and watched lots of Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol. 

 

 

Baby Aiyanna 

 

Toddler Aiyanna 

They really do grow too fast. But to be fair this is my favourite age so far. 💗

Happy 20 months Aiyanna-Rose!

Nicole x

My manic week!

The past few days have been absolute madness. I took Aiyanna-Rose to go and visit my nan and grandad on Thursday as I feel I need to start seeing them more often (I've decided to visit them once a week religiously) as with Liam's nan passing a few months and ago and now recently his grandfather too it's made me realise how precious life and time truly is. Aiyanna hasn't seen my grandparents properly since Christmas so she was a bit shy at first but after she had settled in she made herself right at home. It was lovely to spend time with them and have a nice bowl of soup together. My grandad is starting to have trouble with his memory and loves to tell stories but he ends up telling stories that he's told you a million times before. I've learnt not to remind him that I've heard this story before but to just listen and let him tell me this story as many times as he likes because he enjoys it and that's all that matters and it's also something I wish always to remember even when he's not here anymore. My grandparents loved watching Aiyanna do her flash cards, to see how clever she had gotten and to overall just spend some lovely quality time together.

 

 

Today I decided to take Aiyanna to town... WITHOUT her buggy. Huge mistake!! She was very content on the bus all the way to town but as soon as we arrived into town that's when things turned manic! Outside Maplin they have these electronic toy cars for toddlers to ride in and as soon as I turned that corner I knew what was coming.. "CAAAARRR!!!!" Is all that came screeching from my sweet toddlers mouth and off she went. I knew from that moment that today was going to be a nightmare. So as she was sitting in this toy car I noticed beside me was a lady with her son around the same age in another car.. She smiled at me and said "I usually avoid this street but today I forgot" with an exhausted look on her face. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one with a very over excited, energy fuelled, draining but adorable toddler today in town at 10am wanting to ride in a crappy plastic over priced car. After 20 minutes I eventually bribed Aiyanna out of this car with chocolate (yes, I know health professionals bribing isn't ideal but let's be realistic sometimes I'd rather bribe my child with a little bit of chocolate than pull her away screaming infront of an audience.) As soon as we got into the shop all hell broke loose. Aiyanna didn't want to wait for her chocolate to be paid for, she wanted her chocolate now. So I un wrapped the god damn milky bar hoping no one thought I was stealing and proceeded on with my shopping but no..

I looked up to see Aiyanna trying to break through a crate of balls. "No balls today Aiyanna you have 3 at home" I said as I've taken her hand to guide her away. "BALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!" She screams and we now have a full on HTMD (horrendous toddler melt down) I spent another 10 minutes trying to calm her down and then I finally managed to pay for my items. As we was walking up towards the county mall they have various pointless stalls selling pointless stuff that will break within 5 minutes of having it but nope... if it is bright, colourful, looks like it great fun and definitely isn't toddler proof then Aiyanna wants it! I managed to weave my way to the end and we was at last on the second bus to go and pick up my little brother Logan from my mums as we was going to the cinema to see Finding Dory. But then Aiyanna got tired and the bus's back were literal mayhem. We had screaming, we had crying, we had tantrums, we had toy throwing, drink throwing, anything in arms reach throwing. Until we finally got off the bus and I hobbled up my road back to home sweet home. I walked in that front door feeling (and looking)  like I had just come back from world war 3. But we still had the cinema to go yet 😩

Aiyanna-Rose was so excited to go and see Finding Dory, the whole walk there was non stop "Dory, Dory, Dory!" We qued up for yet more over priced food and then finally caught Aiyanna from running round and round in circles and sat down to watch Dory. My darling daughter lasted no more than 10 minutes and that was it she was bored, she couldn't see, she didn't want to watch finding dory anymore. And then came the HTMD so Liam kindly scooped her up and took her home. Terrible twos is most definitely here 4 months early! Sitting down and watching the film with my brother was actually really nice and I have to say it was such a good and funny film! 10/10 again Disney! I am now home and Aiyanna is sleeping soundly and I can kick my feet up and relax. Tip 1. If you have a toddler like mine and they are under 2 then no they are not ready for the cinema yet.

 

This week I don't know what's wrong with me but I have been getting so tired and I mean extreme tiredness. I could barely open my eyes this morning and last night I cried I was that tired but I just couldn't sleep. I'm exhausted but yet I can't sleep at night.. It's driving me crazy. Hopefully I can sleep better tonight. Anyway, I hope you all have a fab weekend!

Oh and tip 2. If you have a toddler like mine then never take them to town without their buggy or their reigns. Most advised - their buggy! 

 

Nicole x

"Sunday is a day of rest" pfffttt

Whoever said Sunday is a day of rest clearly didn't have kids... Or was a man. (It probably was a man wasn't it 😣)

I had barely any sleep last night, for some reason I just couldn't sleep! In fact for the past 2 weeks I haven't been able to sleep I feel like I have developed insomnia. As soon as I finally did drift off Liam burst in from work with my doughnut. I probably would of killed him for waking me up if he didn't have a good enough reason but boy was that doughnut good! As I picked Aiyanna up from out of her cot this morning and started to walk down the stairs I thought to myself 'ahh, it's Sunday. We can have a lazy day and snuggle up on the sofa watching movies'. Until I opened the living room door and remembered I left all the mess from last night and brushed it off saying I would do it today. To be honest I've made out like its a bomb site it isn't even bad at all, all I've got to do is wash up the dishes, hang out the laundry and clear the cats litter tray out. Buttttt, today was supposed to be my day of rest so I still feel hard done by... Annnnd to top it off I burnt Aiyanna's toast this morning so all I can smell is the sickly stench of burnt toast. Lord please give me strength today.

I'm on a mums group on my Facebook (well I'm on many mums groups on my Facebook) but this one in particular all the girls were going on about this book. It's called 'the unmumsy mum', the cover looked very appealing and I thought to myself I haven't read a book in years maybe if I read this before bed it will help me sleep. So I dipped into the savings money and ordered this book from Amazon... It is the funniest mums book in the whole entire planet. I'm already a quarter and a half of the way through and I've had it two days. The whole idea of it helping me sleep has failed I can't put the bloody book down! I'm going to do a blog post review on it once I've finished it but for now I thought I'd add a snippet of it and a picture of the book. 

 

 

I don't want to say much more about it because I do want to save that all for the review. But so far a big thumbs up! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Anyway, I can hear the sound of the washing machine making its final movements and sucking up the water so I best go and get started on this house and then finally I can relax even if in my world relaxing does mean laying on the sofa with a cuppa whilst my toddler jumps all over me.

Nicole x

The classic introduction post..

I don't know if people will bother reading this, I don't know if maybe it's better thinking people aren't reading this so I can just let my mind run away.. Or is that a bad idea?

Oh well!

I'm Nicole, I am seventeen years old AAAAAND I have a nineteen month old toddler! Dun.. Dun ... Duuuuuun! Yep, I'm a teen mama. I fell pregnant and gave birth to my daughter Aiyanna-Rose at the age of fifteen so I was extremely young for a mother but yet I couldn't be prouder. I met her dad via social media in the summer of 2013, we got together officially January 1st 2014 and BAM 3 months into the relationship I was pregnant. Our bundle of joy (at the time, now I would describe her as our bundle of terror... And joy) arrived December 2014. Almost 2 years on and here I am July 31st 2016 writing a blog post at 00.50am snuggled next to my furr baby dying from the heat (the kitty furr isn't helping!) whilst my sweet toddler sleeps peacefully in her cot after hours of refusal to go to bed, screaming "MUM" at the top of her lungs and demanding peppa pig. Now I'm awaiting the arrival of my doughnut that her father is bringing me home at 2.30am after his work shift. Bliss eh!

Here is my family, I found it all on my own. It's little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good. - lilo and stitch

 

 

Unfortunately I don't have one of us all together as Aiyanna is no longer my photogenic love bug she used to be - you have to catch her at the right moment! And the kitten doesn't stay still or look at the camera for more than 5 seconds... Just like his small human friend. We are not perfect in any way shape or form but we are a family and that's the way we like it.

As you continue to read my future blog posts you'll get to know more and more about us, our mad antics and crazy adventures! I hope you enjoy reading my blog and laugh just as much as we do. 

Nicole x