Pregnancy....

Its been 2 whole months since I gave birth. I cant remember quite how it felt to be 2 stone heavier and still childless. The time has flown by, baby boy gets bigger, my body feels healthier, and the stresses of first time motherhood get fewer.

Do I miss being pregnant? A lot of women claim they do, but I don’t. Its not that I had a troublesome pregnancy - I didnt. But I didnt like feeling physically restricted & unfit, and my clothes just didnt hang right. I also found it hard to dress modestly (as a Muslim) when everything starts to fit so tightly.

I side stepped the varicose veins, piles, constipation, morning sickness, swollen ankles and strange cravings. God was kind to me wasn’t he?! Alhamdulillah!

But I did get fed up of being so fat that I couldn't get out of my chair without a 30 second gradual wriggle side to side until i hung off the edge of the sofa, it frustrated me that i became so lethargic due to both physical factors and my impatience - *hurry up baby* became my most common thought, and the uncomfortable nights sleep - i definitely don’t miss that, although it has been replaced by other sleep problems now baby is here!



At the start of my pregnancy I lost about half a stone and struggled to finish my meals – I NEVER struggle to finish meals! Then during the middle and end I was just always so hungry, and craved chocolate and sweets so badly (the craving continues unfortunately). I suffered terrible heartburn on a few occasions, id never had heartburn before and boy oh boy, it was bad! And always at night, typical, especially as lying down makes heartburn worse!


Another downside of pregnancy, but also a good thing – leaving work. I miss those ladies at ‘Medical Records’. But im so pleased that God willing I wont have to work now for the next 15 years or so (im hoping to home school) –unless I create my own small business from home again.

Is there anything I did enjoy about my pregnancy? I did really enjoy just holding and stroking my tummy, and knowing that I was nurturing this little being inside of me. It made me feel proud. I enjoyed the little kicks, reassuring me that there was a good chance I was soon to be a mummy and finally make my husband a daddy. I guess I enjoyed the attention it brought to me – mainly from the ladies at my work place – you know, checking how I was feeling, asking me my plans and thoughts on labour, childcare, expectations of motherhood etc. People took more of an interest in me. Which was nice!!

I definitely hope to do it all again someday, and again, and again! Four children would be nice, and hopefully at least one of them will be adopted.

But please God, not too soon!!

Aqeela xx

And the flower pictures? Just a few shots of my garden at the moment, Grunty (seen hiding through the leaves) has destroyed most of it but a few drops of colour appear here and there occasionally.

And if fresh flowers cant be seen in the garden then at least they can be seen in my house...

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PREGNANCY JOKES

Q/ I’m 2 months pregnant now, when will my baby move?
A/ With any luck, right after he finished college.

Q/ Should I have a baby after 35?
A/ No, 35 children is enough.

Q/ What is the most common pregnancy craving?
A/ For men to be the ones who get pregnant.

Q/ What is the best way to find out my baby’s sex?
A/ Childbirth.

Q/ Is there anything I should avoid whilst recovering from childbirth?
A/ Yes, pregnancy.

Q/ Does pregnancy cause haemorrhoid's?
A/ Pregnancy causes anything you want it to.

Q/ Do I have to have a baby shower?
A/ Not if you change the babies nappy very quickly.

a rare opportunity....

Another blog post!!! In the same week!!! Woah, a rare opportunity!!!

I just realised that as baby is gurgling away in the moses basket quite content and i have no chores to catch up on, well, i can write a little blog!

OK, maybe it will be mainly photos again (well, babies aren't content with their own company for that long) but these are some of my favorite photos. I love trees, a lot, and clouds. If i have the camera with me and i see a striking tree or inspiring cloud formation then beep and click, a photo is taken. So here are some of my tree shots....

The Lost gardens of Heligan in Cornwall

Bradgate Park, Leicester

Belgrave Gardens, Leicester

The tree that once stood in my tiny courtyard garden

Woods at the Tropical Bird Garden, Leicester


Woods at Thornton reservoir, Leicester


And now he's fallen asleep!

xx

Its been a while....

This little boy likes his milk, if he's full then he just likes being with mummy and so i spend a lot of time sitting holding him. That means i get plenty of time to sit reading your blogs, but i find it difficult to blog myself as i end up with only one hand free to type. It takes ages to type with one hand!!

So this blog today is all about the photos.

Ive enjoyed my garden in these past couple of months, although its mostly been through our dining room window.

The rhododendron finally bloomed (it produced big buds last year but they never opened) - i didn't manage any photos of the flowers as the buds opened a day or so after baby was born, then about 2 weeks later we had so much rain that they ended up very shabby and faded.

The bluebells were a delight, they tend to pop up just after the hyacinths have died down, sometimes its difficult to tell them apart.

They really do look like little blue bells!

My cowslip displayed teeny tiny yellow flowers, im slightly embarrassed to say that this is the first time ive seen cowslip... ever.

The silvery mass of lavender foliage became dotted with even teenier tinier lavender coloured flowers... the photo shows that the ants enjoyed them too.

And what about the bunnies?

The boys have switched between relaxing in the sun and hiding from the rain.

But at some point in the day they always have time for each other.

Indoors ive been enjoying the calm and tranquility of a home without a TV. We covered it up as a temporary solution to see if we could live without it.

We can! So now it has been taken away to a new home, its been about 2 months now since it left and we dont miss it at all, not even a little bit. We use the internet to watch our favorite programs on BBC i player, 4OD, or ITV Player. This saves us from having the TV on just for the sake of it. It also means that we no longer have to pay for a TV licence or a TV package from Virgin Media.

We catch up with the news using the BBC news website, Sky news or our local news website 'The Leicester Mercury'. But sometimes its nice to just turn off from the world for a few days which we never did when we had Mr TV sitting in the corner.

And now there is so much more time in the day! Which baby has taken up, so still no time for a multitude of sewing and crafting projects!

Aqeela xx