Author Archives: Jennie

Something you’re looking forward to this year.

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There are lots of things to look forward to this year – babies, weddings, honeymoons and holidays amongst others. 

I have chosen to blog about mine and David’s first proper holiday together which will also be our first as a family of 4.

In the four years I have known David we have been away each year with his family to Ullswater, Wales, Brittany or Devon and we always have a lovely time.  We have also been out to Spain together to stay with my family.  We have had a few weekends away with friends and even a couple of short breaks together to Cornwall.  What we have never done is go away on what I would call a proper holiday together,  and this year we will be doing that twice.  Once an activity holiday in the UK and once for a week of relaxation in the sun. 

As we have not yet planned our week in the sun (recommendations for all inclusive destinations with twinfants very much welcomed!) I thought I would share the details of the holiday I am planning for us in the North of England.

First we will drive to Skipton where we are going to stay over night in a B&B.  The  following day we are going to go for a walk in the dales and do some wild swimming.  I bought David two wild swimming books for Christmas a couple of years ago, one coastal and one fresh water and we are going to use them as starting points for family holidays over the years as we both love the water and hope that our children will love it too. 

The place we will visit on this day is Grassington Weir and Ghaistrill’s Strid.  We will have a picnic lunch and play in the water.

In the afternoon we will drive on to our holiday cottage near Alnwick, Northumbria where we will be spending the next 7 nights.

During our 7 days we are going to explore the local beaches and castles.  We are going to go on a boat trip to see seals, dolphins and puffins.  We are going to do sandboarding on the massive dunes and David I am sure will be out on his wave canoe most days.  We are going to visit the island of Lindisfarne and have lunch at a place with ‘Goats on the Roof!’  I am really looking forward to our holiday and spending some quality time together as a family.  This was my Christmas present from David, William and Esther and it really is a wonderful one.  I think I have enjoyed planning the week almost as much as I will enjoy being there and doing it!

I am also looking forward to all the firsts that this holiday will hold for all of us but mostly for Esther and William.  What a wonderful experience for them in their first year!

And best of all, we get to go to Hogwarts!!

Alnwick Castle was used for exterior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films so we are going to see it.  It was also the castle used for Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.  I can’t wait to see it and I am also looking forward to seeing what David thinks of Harry Potter when he reads it for the first time this year!

I am the luckiest of all the ducks with all of this to look forward to.

It’s a wonderful life!

ps – This holiday is now just 2 weeks away as I repost this article for Show Off Show Case!

ShowOff Showcase

Do you prefer to talk, text message, or a different communication method?

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4th January 2010

Do you prefer to talk, text message, or a different communication method?

I used to use texting as my communication of choice but now I mostly use Facebook and email.  I think that this is because it allows me to say more, to more people.

I am not very good at talking.  I never have been.

I hate talking on the telephone even to close family and friends.  I don’t really know why but I avoid telephone conversations as much as I can. 

I find face to face chatting with people I don’t know very hard and people often think that I am rude when really I am actually quite shy of conversation.

I find it hard to say what I mean clearly when talking but find that I can write well with good expression and creativity even humour at times but I cannot say the same of my speech.

I can perform a script well with intonation and character.

I just don’t like to talk.

And yet I am a teacher and when put in front of a classroom of 30 children or even an entire school the words flow freely and coherently and the things I say are well listened to.

When Esther and William were born and had to stay in hospital I sent updates to people by text at first and then by email.  It was only on a very rare occasion that I would talk to someone on the phone and only then if they called me.

In spite of my fear of chat I would say that I am a people person and with my closest friends I do have much to say.

Friendship needs no words

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable

Thank You William Harvey! You Saved Our Lives!

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2nd January 2010

Name someone who deserves more credit than they get. And for bonus points, how to change things so they get more

This is an easy one!  The staff at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.  Particularly a midwife named Fiona and the whole NICU/SCBU team, each and everyone of them provide care above and beyond their call of duty.  And I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.

On the 10th July 2010 I was rushed into the William Harvey Hospital.  I was almost 26 weeks pregnant and feared the worst.  I was losing my babies.  We were taken straight to the Labour Ward where it was discovered very quickly that actually the babies were fine, the problem was with me.  I was given steroid injections to mature the babies’ lungs just in case I did go into labour, but that wasn’t to be.  Not yet.  It took 2 days of agonising pain and absolute fear for my fiance before I was operated on for a twisted bowel.  Before this stage he was sure that we were going to lose the babies and there were times when we thought that I might die.  I wanted to die rather than have anything happen to our babies.

The surgeon miraculously cut me from just below my chest bone to just below my belly button without disturbing the twins.  It took me 10 long days in hospital  and a blood transfusion to begin to recover from the op.  I was nil by mouth and then had to drink yoghurt drinks before being reintroduced to solids.  My whole body was swollen from pregnancy and water retention.  I was on oxygen and in and out of consciousness.  I was a mess!  I stayed two days in ITU before being kept on the labour ward for 8 days where my care was overseen by Fiona.  She was amazing, really looking after not only me but my fiance too.  Everyone who cared for us was wonderful and steered us through a very rough sea.  After 12 long days I was allowed to go home.  Everyone wished us well and said they would see us again in 13 weeks for the babies to be born.  72 hours later we were back and this time I was in preterm labour and I was terrified.  Once again Fiona was there, this time to welcome our children in to the world.  It was so fitting that she should be there to welcome Esther and William.

I went home from hospital just hours after the birth but at 27 weeks gestation it was without my babies.  For 59 long days and nights they were cared for by the fabulous doctors and nurses in NICU/SCBU.  This expert team cared for our babies and also looked after me as I adjusted to life as not just a mum, but a mum of twins and extremely premature twins at that.  You can read about them in this blog and understand what a fabulous job they do for very little recognition or thanks.

Thank you to everyone at William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent.  Thank you for helping my family get such a fantastic start and for supporting us, giving the babies time to grow bigger and stronger before we brought them home.  Thank you x

Post A Day!

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I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now.  I will be posting on this blog once a day for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Thank you and Happy 2011 x

Awarded an Award!

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Today I feel very honoured to have been recognised as a blog that at least one person reads and likes.  I must write more!  Not Even A Bag of Sugar is a wonderful blog full of honesty, emotion, courage and conviction.  It is beautifully written and fights the corners of mothers and mothers of preemies in particular everywhere.  Through the medium of interweb I am proud to now call its author my virtual friend.  A friend who has proven to be a rock and able to answer my many worries and questions.  Thank you.

As part of receiving the reward I must link back to and thank my nominator.  So thank you Kylie and keep up the super work.  You are an inspiration x

I must also tell 7 things about myself

1 – I am 34 years old and I am a primary school teacher when not being a full time Mummy to my twins. 

2 – I always wanted to be a secondary school English and Theatre Studies teacher and think that I will fulfill this ambition when I return to teaching when my children are older. 

3 – What I really wanted to be was an actress and I have been involved with amateur dramatics from a very early age.  I love to act and sing, I also enjoy directing and writing plays.  When Esther and William are older I would like to run a youth theatre group at the weekends.

4 – I am engaged to the most wonderful man I have ever had the good fortune to meet

Maybe we are supposed to meet the wrong people before we meet the right one so when they finally arrive we are truly grateful for the gift we have been given.
Maybe its true that we don’t know what we have lost until we lose it but it is also true that we don’t know what we’re missing until it arrives.
Maybe the happiest of people don’t have the best of everything, but make the best of everything that comes their way.
Maybe the best kind of love is the kind where you sit on the sofa together, not saying a word, and walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.
Maybe once in a lifetime you find someone who not only touches your heart but also your soul, someone who loves you for who you are and not what you could be.
Maybe the art of true love is not about finding the perfect person, but about seeing an imperfect person perfectly

5 – Being a Mum is the hardest thing I have ever done alongside actually becoming a Mum.  It is also the most wonderful and magical and every day brings something new and exciting, something challenging and rewarding, exhausting and stimulating.  Motherhood awakens every dormant emotion you have inside.  It is just amazing!

6 – I love fajitas and would eat them everyday if I could!

7 – I love watching Spooks and The West Wing.  Over and over in the case of The West Wing.  Something David and I do together.  One of the many things that make me sure we belong together.  We fit!

I must pass on the award to blogs I have recently doscovered and enjoyed.

David and I are getting married this summer and we are busy planning our special day.  There is one blog that is proving to be invaluable in our preparations, especially in mine!

The blog is called Rock My Wedding and I would definitely recommend a read.  It is full of real weddings and diy projects.  It is not just a haven of ideas and inspiration but a really good read.  Enjoy! 

I must now leave the recipients a note explaining about the award, which I will do on their Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Rock-My-Wedding/188635996773

And finally 10 questions

1 – Why did you create this blog?

I created this blog as a way of recording Esther and William’s time in NICU when they were born 13 weeks too soon.  I wanted to get my thoughts on to paper for my own sanity and to help my friends and family understand what David and I were going through on a day to day basis.  I also hope that it will help other people who find themselves in our situation.  I also hope that one day Esther and William will be able to read this blog and kknow how brave and strogn they both were when they first entered this world.

2 – What kind of blog do you follow?

To be honest I don’t or at least I didn’t!  Now I love reading Not Even A Bag of Sugar and Rock My Wedding.  Babies and weddings – they are my world at the moment!

3 – Favourite make up brand

I don’t really wear make up.  I love dermalogica skin care products and Johnsons Holiday Skin moisturiser and vaseline for my lips.

4 – Favourite clothing brand

I love H&M for basics, River Island for jeans and Monsoon for occasion wear.  I am a high street girl!  I like Mama Feels Good for funky breastfeeding wear!

5 – Your indispensable make up product

Rose tinted vaseline lip balm and Rimmel bronzer

6 – Your favourite colour

My favourite colour is blue

7 – Your favourite perfume

I love The Body Shop perfume oils and have in my time worn Coconut, Patchouli and White Musk. 

8 – Your favourite film

I love The Shawshank Redemption, Pursuit of Happiness and Mystic Pizza.  I love all of The Lord of the Rings movies and am looking forward to The Hobbit.

9 – What country would you like to visit and why?

My sister is living in Australia and I would like to go there and visit her.  I would also love to go to New Zealand and Borneo too.

10 – Are you a cat or a dog person?

Definitely dog!  Though David is definitely cat so not sure what the future holds for The Charing Henleys!!

Happy New Year everyone x

Thank you Kylie x

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

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As I write this I am watching my 5 month old son under his play gym while his twin sister sleeps soundly in their cot upstairs.  Weighing almost 9lbs Esther already sleeps through the night on a regular basis and when awake is a calm, contented, happy baby.  A little over 10lbs William feeds every 2 -3 hours he chats and giggles, smiles and coos the whole time he is awake and is growing into a strong baby boy who is now able to roll from front to back! 

2010 was a challenging year with IVF, pregnancy, emergency bowel surgery, premature birth, NICU, SCBU and being a Mummy to two newborns.  That is all on top of having a job, being a friend, a fiance, a relative to others.  Living an everyday life. 

2011 is going to be anything but everyday.  It is going to be extraordinary in so many ways.  I will continue to watch my children grow every day and see them celebrate their first birthdays this year.  We will welcome their new cousin into the world in a few short weeks and I will see my own little sister get married.  David and I will take Esther and William on the first of many family holidays and in September we will become husband and wife, cementing our own official little family.

There is so much to look forward to and I am going to try my hardest to document the key moments here for myself and our children to look back on.

David and I have been through the toughest of times in the last few months and I am hoping that 2011 will be more straightforward for us and yet wonderful in so many ways.

I am so full of pride and love for all our little family has achieved this year. 

I am stronger and braver than I knew I could be and together with David, Esther and William we are ready to take on the world.

So bring on a happy and healthy new year … for everyone x