A few more from our mini photo shoot :)

More on my Facebook page :)
xx

The new family :)

xx

Playing with digital

I have loads of photos of Alice but I'm not sure how many you actually want to see ;o)  So, today I'm posting a few digital layouts I was playing with yesterday afternoon. All the templates are from Ali Edwards Rounded Corner set (which I love!). The papers are Jessica Sprague Walk in the Park, Solid Pink; Jessica Sprague Strawberry Lemonade - stripe and Paislee Press On this Day pp3 - white with pink dots. The darker pink solid colour and the brown were made using the eye dropper tool and choosing the colours from the striped paper.

In this one you can't actually see the outline of the layout - there is a white border round it making it the same size as the one below.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I'll do with these layouts yet. I may yet play with them a bit more but for now, they make me smile :)
xx

5 days old

These last five days have gone by so quickly. We were just saying we can't believe that on Thursday Alice will be one week old and by Christmas she'll be over a month. Time is going to fly!

Claire and Craig are doing so well as new parents - they're sharing all the duties and Claire tells me Craig did the 4am feed this morning. Alice is now being bottle fed after a rather rocky start with breastfeeding - the midwife says she has no problem with that if it's what Claire is happiest with. She's certainly much more relaxed and Alice is more content so it can't be a bad thing :)

Alice is starting to spend a bit more time with her eyes open and fairly alert, when she wakes. She has been quite a hungry baby today and has wanted to feed a bit more often but then tends to sleep well between feeds too.

I love this photo, it's very much what Alice is like when she's awake!  :) :)

Craig put together this little bouncy chair that Grandad Paul had given to her and we put Alice in to see what she thinks of it.

She seemed to be watching the lights that flash on and off on the bar that goes across in front of her. Too cute!  I think tomorrow we may bring out the baby nest for her to lie on - it has some little toys that dangle above which will give her something to "focus" on. We know that she's hearing us as her eyes tend to move towards the person who's talking to her. It's such fun going through these early stages again - there's so much you forget but it doesn't take long before you remember again :)

xx

A few more photos

Well, my whole "I'll post again tomorrow" didn't happen, did it! First of all, thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post - we are thrilled that Alice is here safe and sound and are enjoying every minute.

I can't believe how busy we've been over the last couple of days. Claire came home from hospital on Friday afternoon and we've had visitors every day since :).  We're now slowing down as Claire gets into a routine with Alice.  

This little girl has been as good as gold. She is such a content baby and is happy to lie in her Moses basket or little crib and sleep. We're making a point of not holding her all the time so that she gets used to sleeping on her own. As you can see, she likes her dummy/pacifier.  I don't have a problem with that, she is a baby who loves to suck and if it isn't her dummy, it's her hands/sleeve/whatever she can get in her mouth ;o)  All three of my children had dummies when they were little and you know they'll get rid of them as they get older - a thumb isn't quite so easy!

This afternoon Alice was lying on her changing mat having a little look around so I took the chance to take some photos of her with her eyes open :o)

This is one on the very few where I am in the photo too (though you don't have to see much of me!). It was taken in the hospital the night she was born.

I have so many photos of Alice (with a lot of her visitors) but don't know that you really want to see all of them. Anyone that does want to see more, and has a Facebook account, feel free to add me (I've put my Facebook account on my sidebar now) and you'll be able to see the photos in Alice's photo album.

I'll be back again as soon as I get the chance :o) and likewise, look forward to catching up on everyone else's blogs - when I get a chance!

She's here :-)

I am an extremely proud Grandma today! Claire was absolutely amazing and did a fantastic job, I am so proud of her. She was in labour for 18 hours and got by with just gas and air. She, Craig and I are quite shattered tonight but over the moon. 

Alice Rose   Born at 16:14 on Thursday 18/11/2010

Weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces

Congratulations Claire and Craig - she is absolutely beautiful! 

More photos tomorrow but for now I'm off to have a bite to eat and then bed!!!

xx

Snippets from our day

We haven't been doing an awful lot around here today but I did take some random photos of our day.

We had been warned to expect severe fog this morning but woke to clear skies and by mid morning it was sunny and "warm". Tom went outside to make the most of it.

Bellatrix was also outside catching the rays (though more hidden than Tom!)

I hadn't even realised she was there to begin with.

It's not often I get to take photos of Hugh so I have to make the most of it when I can. Cloud is Hugh's dog and enjoys it when he makes a fuss of her.

He told me he wasn't going to look at me or smile so I'll take this more serious pose ;o) 

I had ordered a few bits for Christmas from Tesco as well as a couple of things I'd forgotten/not been able to get on Monday. 

This included some Raspberry Leaf Tea for Claire - it's supposed to help so she's on her 3rd cup as I type ;o)

She also spent a fair bit of time on the exercise ball, we went for a dog walk and a fair amount of pacing around the house took place as well

And finally, Brownies. You never know when these might be needed for guests coming to meet Baby (if there are any left!) ;o)

Keep watching for more updates.

xx

40 weeks today

I decided photos on the due date were required today.

We tried this one in the doorway (which turned out better than I had thought - despite the clutter in the background!)

Then Claire agreed to have a few taken in the garden - so long as I was quick ;o)

I think this is my favourite one :o)  

In the meantime, Claire is reading on the internet to see if they have any idea on how to get labour started again (she had some contractions yesterday but after nearly two hours, they stopped). Fingers crossed that something happens soon :o)

xx

The view from my front door this morning

It looked so pretty

And for those wondering, yes it's Claire's due date today but she's still at home and we're still waiting :) 

xx

Remembrance Sunday

 

Emily and I attended the Remembrance Sunday service in the High Street this morning. I wasn't in a position to take photos as they were laying the wreaths so had to be happy with a few shots of the procession as they were leaving. Lovely to see a good turnout again today.
xx

Lazy Saturday Morning

Bellatrix decided to join Emily on the sofa this morning :)

xx

While we wait ...

It's now 3 days and counting ;o).  Claire is feeling rather large and the bump is feeling heavy. We try to get out and do something each day but despite this, we know we're playing the waiting game now. The weather has been pretty miserable (to put it mildly) and it's certainly not helping Claire feel like she wants to go out for walks so she's sitting and bouncing on the exercise ball instead. We don't know whether it's doing much but it's more comfortable than sitting on the floor, which is what she had been doing.

Poor baby doesn't have much room to move around anymore

After hearing that she may be looking at a top 8 pounder (seeing as Alice is now virtually at due date) Claire decided it might be a good idea to wash the 0 - 3 month clothes, in case Alice outgrows the newborn clothes  very quickly.

So, yesterday I had some little clothes on the clothes airer :o)

And taking my mind off it all is the new Weight Watchers programme we were given on Wednesday night. They've changed the points system and we now have to count Protein, Carbohydrates, Fat and Fibre instead of just Calories and Saturated Fats. It's taking some getting used to and I don't know how well I'll do this week as I come to terms with it. I'm 1.5 lbs off my first stone and I would love to have lost it by the time Alice makes her appearance but if she's on time I don't think it's going to happen. That's fine, I think baby making her appearance is far more important at this stage :o)  Will keep you all posted as soon as we have news.

xx